EXCLUSIVE I own more than 100 homes in Australia. If you're a renter, this is why it's time to say THANK YOU to your landlord Investor Sam Gordon believes all Aussies should turn to investment READ MORE: Video of glamorous guests enjoying a luxury boat party enrages Aussies By MAX ALDRED FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA Published: 20:57 AEDT, 8 December 2024 | Updated: 20:57 AEDT, 8 December 2024 e-mail 4 View comments A landlord with 108 properties has a message for renters - the country needs more people like him and and he's part of the solution to the housing crisis. Sam Gordon, 34, built an investment empire worth an estimated $48million after 15 years of dealing in Australian property . A recent clip shared on his social media sparked a furore as employees of his investment buyers' firm revealed the size of their property portfolios while they were on a lavish yacht for their Christmas party. Viewers blasted the partygoers as out of touch and 'the whole reason Australia is in a rental crisis'. But Mr Gordon told Daily Mail Australia that many Aussies don't understand the work it took to get to his position. 'You get some people that have taken massive inspiration from (the party video), and then other people who want to throw stones and try and pull you down,' he said. 'People see the end picture now and - I've done very well for myself in 15 years - but I've been doing this for almost half the time that I've been alive. 'I think people just need to realise that it is literally accessible for anyone to do it (invest in property).' Investor Sam Gordon (above) has 108 properties worth an estimated $48million and believes Australia needs more people like him The 34-year-old said investors like himself weren't part of the housing crisis in Australia, instead, they form part of the solution. He argued the Hawke government's shift to favour private acquisitions over government owned public housing meant investors had been left to pick up the slack in the rental market. 'If it weren't for private investors like myself, the government wouldn't be able to afford to supply all the rental properties that Australians need,' Mr Gordon said. 'We're filling a gap that the government can't, and taking pressure off the public housing system. 'The Australian government holds less than one per cent of property in Australia, and 30 per cent of all properties are rental properties.' In the 70s and 80s, public housing made up about 10 per cent of residential dwellings built but over the past decade, it's barely scratched three per cent. 'If someone's willing to put the work in and go down the avenue of building a portfolio, it's literally what the government wants for people to replace their own incomes, or do that as close as possible, or even more,' Mr Gordon said. 'Then, when they get to retirement, they're not relying on the government for the pension.' Sam Gordon has built an expansive empire from humble beginnings in regional NSW Be the first to comment Be one of the first to comment Comments Now have YOUR say! Share your thoughts in the comments. Comment now Mr Gordon's portfolio includes commercial properties and decommissioned public housing stock that he has renovated and put back on the market. 'I buy a lot of stuff that almost 95 per cent of people couldn't buy, and 99 per cent people wouldn't buy, and do a lot of renovations (on the properties) to bring them back,' Mr Gordon said. 'I bought dilapidated, run-down, unliveable (homes) direct from banks, like repossessions. 'And then we renovate and bring that up to standard, and then a lot of the time we'll build a secondary dwelling, which is actually additional rental stock into the marketplace. Read More Aussie woman calls out real estate agent after 'inappropriate' email 'The simple fact is that we're obviously not going to do that for free, it's not a charity. 'We're doing it as a business, but we're also providing on that end as well.' Many have criticised the country's move to privatised housing stock, with detractors arguing discounts provided by social housing are a life-support for those in urgent need of a home. The gap between subsidised government rent and the private market sits at about $15,000 per rental home per year as according to the most recent estimates. The Albanese government has been called upon to provide more social and affordable housing for Australians in the current inflationary market. However, when it comes to personal investments, Mr Gordon said he didn't believe in limiting Aussies' investments and encouraged investors to take advantage of current market conditions. 'I 100 per cent do not agree with with capping people on what they're willing and able to do (to get ahead). 'It is open and available to anyone, but it is a sacrifice. Is everyone willing to do the same amount of sacrifice? One per cent of people will achieve what the 99 per cent of all people won't work to do. 'I think people need to realise that it is literally accessible to anyone to do it, if you're willing to want to educate yourself around how to do it properly.' When he was 19, Mr Gordon put $30,000 of savings he'd accrued for a Toyota Supra into his first investment property in Wollongong after his father suggested it. He said he then researched investment information and didn't worry about a university education, instead pursuing his dream of property ownership. He's since grown his portfolio to an estimated $48million as well as founding his investors' buyers' agency and related podcast, Australian Property Scout. 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Billionaire Elon Musk has been using his social media platform X to go to bat for President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks and promote his own preferred candidates, advocating for choices he views as change agents who will help remake the US government. In several high-profile cases, however, Musk backed people who either lost out on the roles or withdrew from consideration, suggesting some early limits to the Republican mega donor's influence even as he has emerged as one of Trump's most powerful allies. Musk, who has 206 million followers on X, posted or reposted about Trump's cabinet picks more than 70 times between Nov. 7 and Nov. 20, a Reuters review found. Though the posts represented just a fraction of his more than 2,000 posts during that period, Musk in many cases used them to give attention to Trump's most controversial choices, including former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for US intelligence chief and environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr to lead the top US health agency. Musk most enthusiastically rallied support for Matt Gaetz, the former congressman Trump initially tapped to be his attorney general. In the days following Gaetz's Nov. 13 nomination, Musk posted 37 times about Gaetz or his wife Ginger, mostly in positive terms. That was far more than his posts about Trump's other appointments. Gaetz backed out of consideration on Nov. 21, saying his candidacy had become a distraction for Trump amid allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug abuse. He has denied wrongdoing. For Trump's Treasury secretary, Musk pushed for Wall Street financier Howard Lutnick over hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, whom Musk dismissed as "a business-as-usual choice." Bessent got the job anyway. And in a separate fight over Senate leadership, Musk's endorsed candidate also came up short. One Trump ally said those misses showed the limitations of Musk's sway. Musk's reach on X "doesn’t mean he’s an effective advocate for his positions or chosen cabinet members," the Trump ally said. "He's still learning how to operate in politics." Spokespeople for X and Musk did not respond to Reuters requests for comment for this story. Musk, who owns X and rocket company SpaceX and is chief executive of the electric car company Tesla Inc. TSLA.O, poured at least $119 million into getting Trump elected and has been a near-constant fixture at Trump's Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, since his election victory earlier this month. The two men attended an Ultimate Fighting Championship event in New York and a SpaceX launch in Texas, and Musk traveled with Trump to Washington for his meeting with President Joe Biden. On Saturday, Musk reposted a photo that showed him sitting with Trump, Lutnick and Republican Senator Joni Ernst at Mar-a-Lago, where they were discussing cabinet nominees, according to the caption. "Elon Musk and President Trump are great friends and brilliant leaders working together to Make America Great Again. Elon Musk is a once-in-a-generation business leader, and our federal bureaucracy will certainly benefit from his ideas and efficiency," said Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the Trump transition team. Musk's close proximity to Trump has prompted some hand-wringing and complaints from the transition team, who were not accustomed to him being around so much, according to two sources close to Trump staff. Amid increased scrutiny of his unusual role, Musk wrote in a post on X on Nov. 20 that while he had offered his opinion on some candidates, he was not in charge. "Many selections occur without my knowledge and decisions are 100% that of the President," Musk said. Elon Musk: Trump win could hand Tesla billionaire unprecedented power Efficiency and emojis Musk's political posts on X far outnumbered those he used to promote his three businesses, the Reuters review found. He frequently mocks liberals and posts about government waste and Trump's newly created government efficiency panel, which the president-elect tapped Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead. Musk's typical posts consist either of an emoji or a short response to other posts. "Exactly," he wrote on Nov. 14, in response to a post noting that Trump's cabinet picks were "young outsiders" who "skipped the line." He responded with “Awesome” and a smile emoji on Nov. 13 to a post that said: “They put Tulsi Gabbard on a terror watchlist. Now she’s Director of National Intelligence. The biggest ‘F you’ to the Deep State Swamp.” On Nov. 16, as questions swirled about who Trump would pick for his Treasury secretary, Musk wrote on X that Bessent was "a business-as-usual choice," while Lutnick would "actually enact change." Musk also lobbied against Bessent internally, two sources close to Trump said. His efforts fell flat. On Nov. 22, Trump tapped Bessent for the job. Earlier in the month, Musk threw his support behind Republican Senator Rick Scott for Senate majority leader. Trump chose not to weigh in, and Scott ultimately lost to Senator John Thune for the position. One source close to Musk was struck by Musk's willingness to stick with Trump even after he’s been “shut down a couple of times” by the president-elect. "That’s very rare for a billionaire," the source said. "In general when they don’t get what they want, they walk away." The source said Musk was committed to Trump's government efficiency efforts. "He's really focused on the goal," the source said. Another test of Musk's influence lies ahead. Since the election, he has posted six times in support of Trump loyalist Kash Patel running the FBI. Patel, who served on Trump's National Security Council during his first term, has promised to go after politicians and journalists perceived to be enemies of Trump. Musk's X posts make clear that he sees Patel as the best option for change and reform. On Nov. 14, Musk posted a “100%” emoji in response to a clip of Patel saying that he would shut down the FBI’s headquarters on day one of Trump's new administration and reopen it as a “Deep State Museum,” with the caption “Make him FBI director.” Reporting by Helen Coster in New York and Alexandra Ulmer in San Francisco. Additional reporting by Ned Parker. Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Alistair Bell.Romania’s presidential elections are heading towards a shock result after the first round held on Sunday, November 24. With about 80% of the votes counted and centralized, independent candidate Calin Georgescu is in the lead, ahead of social democrat prime minister Marcel Ciolacu. Calin Georgescu, 63, has a doctorate in pedology and has worked as a specialist in the environment conservation sector. His messages position him as a candidate with strong nationalistic. The partial results indicated over 1.73 million votes for Georgescu, representing 22% of the 7.85 million ballots counted so far, versus 1.64 million votes (20.9%) for PM Ciolacu. Reformist candidate Elena Lasconi (USR) was third, with 1.33 million votes (17% of the total), followed by far-right leader George Simion (AUR), with 1.13 million votes (14.4% of the total). Liberal leader Nicolae Ciuca was fifth (9.3%) and independent Mircea Geoana, the former NATO deputy secretary general, was only sixth (6.0%). If the current hierarchy doesn’t change, the second round will be fought between independent Calin Georgescu and PSD’s Marcel Ciolacu. However, there were still almost 2 million ballots to count and centralize, mostly from Bucharest and bigger cities and from Diaspora, which may help the USR’s Elena Lasconi close the gap on the top two. The first results coming from abroad from countries such as Germany, Italy and Spain point to an overwhelming vote for Georgescu, according to data centralized by the platform . Meanwhile, the first results from Bucharest, where only 25% of the ballot have been centralized, indicate a score of around 33% for Elena Lasconi, about double compared with PM Marcel Ciolacu. This may result in a tight race for second place between Lasconi and Ciolacu, currently split by about 300,000 votes. If the PM fails to make it to the second round, this will be the biggest shock recorded in Romania's post-Communist elections and the first time that the Social-Democrats are left without a candidate in the final. Even with the PSD leader narrowly qualifying in second place, the results are a total shock for the political establishment in Bucharest, as nobody predicted such a high score for an independent candidate who was almost absent from mainstream media during the campaign. Instead, Calin Georgescu’s campaign focused almost exclusively on social media channels such as Facebook and TikTok, where he gained a lot of traction. The exit polls showed PM Marcel Ciolacu comfortably in the lead, with 25%, and Elena Lasconi second, with 18%, followed by Calin Georgescu with 16%. Meanwhile, the polls carried out since the beginning of November didn't even point to Georgescu as a potential contender for the second round, as his score was estimated at about 5%. Meanwhile, everyone expected a three-way battle for the second place between AUR leader George Simion, PNL's Nicolae Ciuca and USR's Elena Lasconi. The results also show that Romanian voters are profoundly unhappy with the governing parties - PSD and PNL - whose candidates took just about 30% of the votes. Meanwhile, the nationalist current, represented by AUR's George Simion and independent Calin Georgescu, has reached a score of 36%. This leaves the parliamentary elections scheduled for next Sunday, December 1 (Romania's National Day), open to a surprise result as well, depending on who Georgescu's voters decide to support. He is not currently affiliated with any political party, although he was AUR's proposal for the prime minister seat after the 2020 elections. Romania’s presidential elections are heading towards a shock result after the first round held on Sunday, November 24. With about 80% of the votes counted and centralized, independent candidate Calin Georgescu is in the lead, ahead of social democrat prime minister Marcel Ciolacu. Calin Georgescu, 63, has a doctorate in pedology and has worked as a specialist in the environment conservation sector. His messages position him as a candidate with strong nationalistic. The partial results indicated over 1.73 million votes for Georgescu, representing 22% of the 7.85 million ballots counted so far, versus 1.64 million votes (20.9%) for PM Ciolacu. Reformist candidate Elena Lasconi (USR) was third, with 1.33 million votes (17% of the total), followed by far-right leader George Simion (AUR), with 1.13 million votes (14.4% of the total). Liberal leader Nicolae Ciuca was fifth (9.3%) and independent Mircea Geoana, the former NATO deputy secretary general, was only sixth (6.0%). If the current hierarchy doesn’t change, the second round will be fought between independent Calin Georgescu and PSD’s Marcel Ciolacu. However, there were still almost 2 million ballots to count and centralize, mostly from Bucharest and bigger cities and from Diaspora, which may help the USR’s Elena Lasconi close the gap on the top two. The first results coming from abroad from countries such as Germany, Italy and Spain point to an overwhelming vote for Georgescu, according to data centralized by the platform . Meanwhile, the first results from Bucharest, where only 25% of the ballot have been centralized, indicate a score of around 33% for Elena Lasconi, about double compared with PM Marcel Ciolacu. This may result in a tight race for second place between Lasconi and Ciolacu, currently split by about 300,000 votes. If the PM fails to make it to the second round, this will be the biggest shock recorded in Romania's post-Communist elections and the first time that the Social-Democrats are left without a candidate in the final. Even with the PSD leader narrowly qualifying in second place, the results are a total shock for the political establishment in Bucharest, as nobody predicted such a high score for an independent candidate who was almost absent from mainstream media during the campaign. Instead, Calin Georgescu’s campaign focused almost exclusively on social media channels such as Facebook and TikTok, where he gained a lot of traction. The exit polls showed PM Marcel Ciolacu comfortably in the lead, with 25%, and Elena Lasconi second, with 18%, followed by Calin Georgescu with 16%. Meanwhile, the polls carried out since the beginning of November didn't even point to Georgescu as a potential contender for the second round, as his score was estimated at about 5%. Meanwhile, everyone expected a three-way battle for the second place between AUR leader George Simion, PNL's Nicolae Ciuca and USR's Elena Lasconi. The results also show that Romanian voters are profoundly unhappy with the governing parties - PSD and PNL - whose candidates took just about 30% of the votes. Meanwhile, the nationalist current, represented by AUR's George Simion and independent Calin Georgescu, has reached a score of 36%. This leaves the parliamentary elections scheduled for next Sunday, December 1 (Romania's National Day), open to a surprise result as well, depending on who Georgescu's voters decide to support. He is not currently affiliated with any political party, although he was AUR's proposal for the prime minister seat after the 2020 elections. Romania’s presidential elections are heading towards a shock result after the first round held on Sunday, November 24. With about 80% of the votes counted and centralized, independent candidate Calin Georgescu is in the lead, ahead of social democrat prime minister Marcel Ciolacu. Calin Georgescu, 63, has a doctorate in pedology and has worked as a specialist in the environment conservation sector. His messages position him as a candidate with strong nationalistic. The partial results indicated over 1.73 million votes for Georgescu, representing 22% of the 7.85 million ballots counted so far, versus 1.64 million votes (20.9%) for PM Ciolacu. Reformist candidate Elena Lasconi (USR) was third, with 1.33 million votes (17% of the total), followed by far-right leader George Simion (AUR), with 1.13 million votes (14.4% of the total). Liberal leader Nicolae Ciuca was fifth (9.3%) and independent Mircea Geoana, the former NATO deputy secretary general, was only sixth (6.0%). If the current hierarchy doesn’t change, the second round will be fought between independent Calin Georgescu and PSD’s Marcel Ciolacu. However, there were still almost 2 million ballots to count and centralize, mostly from Bucharest and bigger cities and from Diaspora, which may help the USR’s Elena Lasconi close the gap on the top two. The first results coming from abroad from countries such as Germany, Italy and Spain point to an overwhelming vote for Georgescu, according to data centralized by the platform . Meanwhile, the first results from Bucharest, where only 25% of the ballot have been centralized, indicate a score of around 33% for Elena Lasconi, about double compared with PM Marcel Ciolacu. This may result in a tight race for second place between Lasconi and Ciolacu, currently split by about 300,000 votes. If the PM fails to make it to the second round, this will be the biggest shock recorded in Romania's post-Communist elections and the first time that the Social-Democrats are left without a candidate in the final. Even with the PSD leader narrowly qualifying in second place, the results are a total shock for the political establishment in Bucharest, as nobody predicted such a high score for an independent candidate who was almost absent from mainstream media during the campaign. Instead, Calin Georgescu’s campaign focused almost exclusively on social media channels such as Facebook and TikTok, where he gained a lot of traction. The exit polls showed PM Marcel Ciolacu comfortably in the lead, with 25%, and Elena Lasconi second, with 18%, followed by Calin Georgescu with 16%. Meanwhile, the polls carried out since the beginning of November didn't even point to Georgescu as a potential contender for the second round, as his score was estimated at about 5%. Meanwhile, everyone expected a three-way battle for the second place between AUR leader George Simion, PNL's Nicolae Ciuca and USR's Elena Lasconi. The results also show that Romanian voters are profoundly unhappy with the governing parties - PSD and PNL - whose candidates took just about 30% of the votes. Meanwhile, the nationalist current, represented by AUR's George Simion and independent Calin Georgescu, has reached a score of 36%. This leaves the parliamentary elections scheduled for next Sunday, December 1 (Romania's National Day), open to a surprise result as well, depending on who Georgescu's voters decide to support. He is not currently affiliated with any political party, although he was AUR's proposal for the prime minister seat after the 2020 elections.

McCray scores 21 as Jacksonville knocks off Siena 75-64

Israel has agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon that will take effect at 4 a.m. Wednesday. Moments after U.S. President Joe Biden announced the ceasefire deal , which Israel's Cabinet approved late Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike slammed into the Lebanese capital. Residents of Beirut and its southern suburbs have endured the most intense day of Israeli strikes since the war began nearly 14 months ago, as Israel's nationwide onslaught of bombings signaled it aims to keep pummeling Hezbollah before the ceasefire is set to take hold. At least 42 people have been killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Tuesday, according to local authorities. Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens in the country’s north. An Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza. Hezbollah began attacking Israel a day after Hamas’ attack. The fighting in Lebanon escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes across the country and an Israeli ground invasion of the south. In Gaza, more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded in the nearly 14-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Here's the Latest: PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah marked a “new page” for Lebanon and called on its leaders to elect a president “without delay.” In a video message on X, Macron said restoring Lebanon’s sovereignty depends on ending the presidential vacuum. “It is the responsibility of Lebanese authorities and all those in senior political roles,” he said. BEIRUT — Ahmad Khateeb, a musician and artist who performs in a renowned theater in Beirut’s Hamra neighborhood, fled to the city’s seaside promenade with seven members of his family after the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for four targets in central Beirut, including one close to his area. “This is the first time this area in Ras Beirut, Hamra, has received such a threat. This neighborhood has historically been a refuge for everyone,” Khateeb told The Associated Press. Outside the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Hamra, dozens of people sought refuge, hoping the hospital would not be targeted. Among them was Rima Abdkhaluk, who sat on a sidewalk with a backpack at her side. “I was at home having lunch when I received a call from (relatives) in Syria telling me they were about to hit Hamra,” she said. She quickly packed her belongings and left with her mother. She convinced the hospital’s staff to allow her mother inside while she waited outside on a piece of cardboard. Israeli jets struck Beirut’s Mar Elias neighborhood as Abdkhaluk was speaking to The Associated Press. She held her hands tightly together and prayed. “I just need to see where they hit,” she started saying frantically. Asked about the expected ceasefire, Abdkhaluk was skeptical. “I don’t believe it. Israel can’t be trusted.” BEIRUT — The Health Ministry in Lebanon says 18 more people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes across the country, bringing the total death toll on Tuesday to at least 42 people. Eleven people were killed by Israeli bombing in eastern Lebanon, four were killed by strikes on border crossings between northern Lebanon and Syria, and three people were killed in southern Lebanon, the Health Ministry said early Wednesday. In the hours before a ceasefire with Hezbollah was to take effect, Israel launched its most intense wave of strikes on the capital Beirut and its southern suburbs since the start of the conflict. Strikes have targeted what Israel said were Hezbollah-related targets in several other parts of the country as well. Israel’s military issued a record number of evacuation warnings in Beirut, sending people fleeing from their homes. Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens across the country’s north. UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations chief welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, and hopes it can end the violence and suffering of people in both countries, the U.N. spokesman says. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Hezbollah to swiftly implement all commitments under the agreement, and take immediate steps toward fully implementing the 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the last Israel-Hezbollah war, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said late Tuesday. Resolution 1701 called for the deployment of Lebanese forces throughout the south, which borders Israel and is now mainly controlled by Hezbollah, and it calls for all armed groups including Hezbollah to be disarmed. Neither has happened in the past 17 years. Dujarric said U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon “both stand ready to support the implementation of this agreement, in line with their respective mandates.” WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s senior national security team was briefed by the Biden administration as negotiations unfolded, according to the senior U.S. official. The official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity in a White House-organized call, added that the incoming Trump administration officials were not directly involved in the talks, but that it was important that the incoming administration knew “what we were negotiating and what the commitments were.” The official said “all fire will stop from all parties” at 4 a.m. local time. The next step would be what the official described as a “phased withdrawal” by the Israeli military. As the Israelis pull back, Lebanese national forces will occupy the territories. The process is slated to finish within 60 days. Lebanese forces is supposed to patrol the area and remove Hezbollah weaponry and infrastructure there. “Hezbollah is incredibly weak at this moment, both militarily and politically,” the official said. “And this is the opportunity for Lebanon to re-establish its sovereignty over its territory.” The official said the ceasefire agreement will strengthen what’s known as the “tripartite mechanism” by including the United States and France. The goal is to address violations of the ceasefire without a return to hostilities. UNITED NATIONS – The top U.N. envoy for Lebanon welcomed the ceasefire announcement and urged Israel and Hezbollah militants to take concrete actions to fully implement the 2006 agreement that ended their last war. U.N. Special Coordinator Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said the agreement “marks the starting point of a critical process” that must see both sides fully implement U.N. Security Council resolution 1701. It called for the deployment of Lebanese armed forces in the south bordering Israel and the disarmament of all armed groups including Hezbollah – neither of which has happened in the past 17 years. “Nothing less than the full and unwavering commitment of both parties is required,” Hennis-Plasschaert said. “Neither side can afford another period of disingenuous implementation under the guise of ostensible calm.” She commended the parties for “seizing the opportunity to close this devastating chapter,” stressing that “Now is the time to deliver, through concrete actions, to consolidate today’s achievement.” UNITED NATIONS — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is calling for urgent international intervention to stop what he described as “an ongoing genocidal war” in Gaza. Abbas heads the Palestinian Authority which has limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but not Gaza, which has been controlled by Hamas. The U.S. and others want a reinvigorated Palestinian Authority to run Gaza when the war ends. In a speech on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Abbas accused Israel of repeating what happened to the Palestinians in 1948 and 1967 – displacing them and seizing their land and resources. Abbas demanded to know how long the world will remain silent and refuse to compel Israel to abide by international law. The speech to U.N. member nations was read by Palestinian U.N. ambassador Riyad Mansour. “The only way to halt the halt the dangerous escalation we are witnessing in the region, and maintain regional and international stability, security and peace, is to resolve the question of Palestine,” Abbas' speech said. This must be done in accordance with U.N. Security Council resolutions which call for a two-state solution, he said. BEIRUT -- Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the U.S.-brokered ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hezbollah, describing it as a crucial step toward stability, the return of displaced people to their homes and regional calm. Mikati made these comments in a statement issued just after U.S. President Joe announced the truce deal. Mikati said he discussed the ceasefire agreement with Biden by phone earlier Tuesday. The prime minister reaffirmed Lebanon’s commitment to implementing U.N. resolution 1701, strengthening the Lebanese army’s presence in the south, and cooperating with the U.N. peacekeeping force. He also called on Israel to fully comply with the ceasefire and withdraw from southern Lebanon in accordance the U.N. resolution. JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet has approved a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah, clearing the way for the truce to take effect. Netanyahu’s office said the plan was approved by a 10-1 margin. The late-night vote came shortly before President Joe Biden was expected to announced details of the deal in Washington. Earlier, Netanyahu defended the ceasefire, saying Israel has inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah and could now focus its efforts on Hamas militants in Gaza and his top security concern, Iran. Netanyahu vowed to strike Hezbollah hard if it violates the expected deal. WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Waltz, President-elect Donald Trump’s designate to be national security adviser, credited Trump’s victory with helping bring the parties together toward a ceasefire in Lebanon. “Everyone is coming to the table because of President Trump,” he said in a post on X on Tuesday. “His resounding victory sent a clear message to the rest of the world that chaos won’t be tolerated. I’m glad to see concrete steps towards deescalation in the Middle East.” He added: “But let’s be clear: The Iran Regime is the root cause of the chaos & terror that has been unleashed across the region. We will not tolerate the status quo of their support for terrorism.” BEIRUT — Israeli jets targeted a building in a bustling commercial area of Beirut for the first time since the start of the 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel. The strike on Hamra is around 400 meters (yards) from the country’s central bank. A separate strike hit the Mar Elias neighborhood in the country’s capital Tuesday. There was no immediate word on casualties from either strike, part of the biggest wave of attacks on the capital since the war started. Residents in central Beirut were seen fleeing after the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for four targets in the city. Meanwhile, the Israeli army carried out airstrikes on at least 30 targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs Tuesday, including two strikes in the Jnah neighborhood near the Kuwaiti Embassy. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that 13 people were injured in the strikes on the southern suburbs. BEIRUT — Hezbollah has said it accepts the ceasefire proposal with Israel, but a senior official with the group said Tuesday that it had not seen the agreement in its final form. “After reviewing the agreement signed by the enemy government, we will see if there is a match between what we stated and what was agreed upon by the Lebanese officials,” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, told the Al Jazeera news network. “We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state.” of Lebanon, he said. “Any violation of sovereignty is refused.” Among the issues that may remain is an Israeli demand to reserve the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations under the emerging deal. The deal seeks to push Hezbollah and Israeli troops out of southern Lebanon. JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his Cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people. The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal. In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting. Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending. BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state media said Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed at least 10 people in Baalbek province the country’s east. At least three people were killed in the southern city of Tyre when Israel bombed a Palestinian refugee camp, said Mohammed Bikai, a representative of the Fatah group in the area. He said several more people were missing and at least three children were among the wounded. He said the sites struck inside the camp were “completely civilian places” and included a kitchen that was being used to cook food for displaced people. JERUSALEM — Dozens of Israeli protesters took to a major highway in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening to call for the return of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, as the country awaited news of a potential ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah. Protesters chanted “We are all hostages,” and “Deal now!” waving signs with faces of some of the roughly 100 hostages believed to be still held in Gaza, at least a third of whom are thought to be dead. Most of the other hostages Hamas captured in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack were released during a ceasefire last year. The prospect of a ceasefire deal in Lebanon has raised desperation among the relatives of captives still held in Gaza, who once hoped that the release of hostages from Gaza would be included. Instead of a comprehensive deal, the ceasefire on the table is instead narrowly confined to Lebanon. Dozens of Israelis were also demonstrating against the expected cease-fire, gathering outside Israel’s military headquarters in central Tel Aviv. One of the protesters, Yair Ansbacher, says the deal is merely a return to the failed 2006 U.N. resolution that was meant to uproot Hezbollah from the area. “Of course that didn’t happen,” he says. “This agreement is not worth the paper it is written on.” FIUGGI, Italy — Foreign ministers from the world’s industrialized countries said Tuesday they strongly supported an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and insisted that Israel comply with international law in its ongoing military operations in the region. At the end of their two-day summit, the ministers didn’t refer directly to the International Criminal Court and its recent arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over crimes against humanity . Italy had put the ICC warrants on the official meeting agenda, even though the G7 was split on the issue. The U.S., Israel’s closest ally, isn’t a signatory to the court and has called the warrants “outrageous.” However, the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said all the other G7 countries were signatories and therefore obliged to respect the warrants. In the end, the final statement adopted by the ministers said Israel, in exercising its right to defend itself, “must fully comply with its obligations under international law in all circumstances, including international humanitarian law.” And it said all G7 members — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – “reiterate our commitment to international humanitarian law and will comply with our respective obligations.” It stressed that “there can be no equivalence between the terrorist group Hamas and the State of Israel.” The ICC warrants say there's reason to believe Netanyahu used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny. BEIRUT — An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city’s downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded in Beirut, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. It was not immediately clear if anyone in particular was targeted, though Israel says its airstrikes target Hezbollah officials and assets. The Israeli military spokesman issued a flurry of evacuation warnings for many areas, including areas in Beirut that have not been targeted throughout the war, like the capital’s commercial Hamra district, where many people displaced by the war have been staying. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks in Lebanon during the final hours before a ceasefire is reached, sparked panic and sent residents fleeing in their cars to safer areas. In areas close to Hamra, families including women and children were seen running away toward the Mediterranean Sea’s beaches carrying their belongings. Traffic was completely gridlocked as people tried to get away, honking their car horns as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead. The Israeli military also issued warnings for 20 more buildings in Beirut’s suburbs to evacuate before they too were struck — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah in the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. TEL AVIV, Israel — The independent civilian commission of inquiry into the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel has found Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly responsible for the failures leading up to the attack, alongside former defense ministers, the army chief and the heads of the security services. The civil commission presented its findings today after a four-month probe in which it heard some 120 witnesses. It was set up by relatives of victims of the Hamas attack, in response to the absence of any state probe. The commission determined that the Israeli government, its army and security services “failed in their primary mission of protecting the citizens of Israel.” It said Netanyahu was responsible for ignoring “repeated warnings” ahead of Oct. 7, 2023 for what it described as his appeasing approach over the years toward Hamas, and for “undermining all decision-making centers, including the cabinet and the National Security Council, in a way that prevented any serious discussion” on security issues. The commission further determined that the military and defense leaders bear blame for ignoring warnings from within the army, and for reducing the army’s presence along the Gaza border while relying excessively on technological means. On the day of the Hamas attack, the report says, the army’s response was both slow and lacking. The civil commission called for the immediate establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 attack. Netanyahu has opposed launching a state commission of inquiry, arguing that such an investigation should begin only once the war is over. JERUSALEM -- The Israeli military says its ground troops have reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River — a focal point of the emerging ceasefire. In a statement Tuesday, the army said it had reached the Wadi Slouqi area in southern Lebanon and clashed with Hezbollah forces. Under a proposed ceasefire, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the Israeli border. The military says the clashes with Hezbollah took place on the eastern end of the Litani, just a few kilometers (miles) from the border. It is one of the deepest places Israeli forces have reached in a nearly two-month ground operation. The military says soldiers destroyed rocket launchers and missiles and engaged in “close-quarters combat” with Hezbollah forces. The announcement came hours before Israel’s security Cabinet is expected to approve a ceasefire that would end nearly 14 months of fighting. BEIRUT — Israeli jets Tuesday struck at least six buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs Tuesday, including one that slammed near the country’s only airport. Large plumes of smoke could be seen around the airport near the Mediterranean coast, which has continued to function despite its location beside the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah’s operations are based. The strikes come hours before Israel’s cabinet was scheduled to meet to discuss a proposal to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The proposal calls for an initial two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. There were no immediate reports of casualties from Tuesday’s airstrikes. FIUGGI, Italy — EU top diplomat Josep Borrell, whose term ends Dec. 1, said he proposed to the G7 and Arab ministers who joined in talks on Monday that the U.N. Security Council take up a resolution specifically demanding humanitarian assistance reach Palestinians in Gaza, saying deliveries have been completely impeded. “The two-state solution will come later. Everything will come later. But we are talking about weeks or days,” for desperate Palestinians, he said. “Hunger has been used as an arm against people who are completely abandoned.” It was a reference to the main accusation levelled by the International Criminal Court in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. Borrell said the signatories to the court, including six of the seven G7 members, are obliged under international law to respect and implement the court’s decisions. Host Italy put the ICC warrants on the G7 agenda at the last minute, but there was no consensus on the wording of how the G7 would respond given the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, has called the warrants “outrageous.” Italy, too, has said it respects the court but expressed concern that the warrants were politically motivated and ill-advised given Netanyahu is necessary for any deal to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. “Like it or not, the International Criminal Court is a court as powerful as any national court,” Borrell said. “And if the Europeans don’t support International Criminal Court then there would not be any hope for justice,” he said. Borrell, whose term ends Dec. 1, said he proposed to the G7 and Arab ministers who joined in talks on Monday that the U.N. Security Council take up a resolution specifically demanding humanitarian assistance reach Palestinians in Gaza, saying deliveries have been completely impeded. “The two-state solution will come later. Everything will come later. But we are talking about weeks or days,” for desperate Palestinians, he said. “Hunger has been used as an arm against people who are completely abandoned.” It was a reference to the main accusation levelled by the International Criminal Court in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. Borrell said the signatories to the court, including six of the seven G7 members, are obliged under international law to respect and implement the court’s decisions. Host Italy put the ICC warrants on the G7 agenda at the last minute, but there was no consensus on the wording of how the G7 would respond given the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, has called the warrants “outrageous.” Italy, too, has said it respects the court but expressed concern that the warrants were politically motivated and ill-advised given Netanyahu is necessary for any deal to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. “Like it or not, the International Criminal Court is a court as powerful as any national court,” Borrell said. “And if the Europeans don’t support International Criminal Court then there would not be any hope for justice,” he said. (edited)Walmart ( WMT 0.42% ) stock has had an incredible run over the last few years. Since the end of 2022, the stock has doubled in value and sits close to an all-time high. Walmart shares have trounced the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI -0.28% ) , which has returned 35%. But investors shouldn't assume that Walmart's stock performance is the result of accelerating growth in its business. There hasn't been a noticeable change in the company's growth trajectory. For the full year, Wall Street analysts expect the company's sales to increase by 5.3%, compared to a 6.7% increase in fiscal 2023 (which ended in January). Stocks can make huge moves if a company shows a significant increase in profitability, or earnings per share (EPS) . While Walmart is showing double-digit growth in earnings, the 11.8% expected increase for the current fiscal year may not be enough to justify its current share price, especially when another Dow Jones stock is offering more growth at a comparable price-to-earnings ( P/E ) multiple. Amazon 's ( AMZN 2.94% ) sales are expected to grow 11% for 2024, with earnings expected to increase by 77% this year, as the company optimizes its cost structure. Importantly, investors can buy Amazon shares for 43 times this year's earnings estimate, compared to a forward P/E of 38 for Walmart. That's a reasonable premium to pay for a stock that is growing earnings at significantly higher rates. Wall Street Estimates Walmart Amazon Full-year sales growth 5.3% 10.9% Full-year EPS growth 11.8% 77% Long-term annualized EPS growth 9.2% 23.2% Forward P/E 38.1 42.5 Data source: Yahoo! Finance and YCharts. Chart by author. Amazon has a massive lead in e-commerce Amazon is winning in more ways than just retail. Retail sales made up only 42% of Amazon's business in the third quarter. The rest of its sales are generated from services, including advertising and cloud computing , which generate higher margins than retail sales and are growing at high double-digit rates year over year. One area where Walmart is growing faster than Amazon is e-commerce. It posted an increase of 27% in the most recent quarter, compared to Amazon's 8% online sales increase, but this can be attributed to Walmart's e-commerce business growing from a smaller base of sales. In 2023, Amazon's share of U.S. e-commerce was 37%, according to Statista. Walmart was a distant second, controlling just 6% of the U.S. e-commerce market. Amazon is using the high traffic on its website to offer ad services to third-party merchants to advertise on product pages. Over the last year, Amazon generated $53.5 billion in trailing revenue from ad services. Along with strong growth in its cloud business and better cost management in retail, this is helping drive robust earnings growth. Walmart is benefiting from similar opportunities outside of retail. Its advertising business grew 28% year over year last quarter. Walmart is also investing in automation in its supply chain and generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools to improve the customer experience and efficiency at its fulfillment centers. Amazon is investing in similar initiatives and still delivering higher earnings growth. This growth stock should keep winning Analysts expect Amazon's earnings to grow 23% on an annualized basis over the next several years, while they expect Walmart's earnings to grow 9%. Unless Walmart significantly accelerates its earnings growth, the stock could revert back to its previous 10-year average P/E of 28, which would cause a short-term sell-off in the share price. This isn't to say that Amazon shares couldn't also fall, but its superior growth provides more justification for its valuation . Because of this, I would bet on Amazon stock to outperform Walmart in 2025 -- and over the long term, too.

OTTAWA — The statistics don’t lie: far more illegal drugs and migrants are caught entering the United States from Mexico than from Canada. But the numbers from Canada have increased. And Donald Trump is noticing. On Monday evening, the incoming U.S. president dropped a stink bomb on Canadian politicians and businesses when he vowed to slap a punishing 25-per-cent tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico. His reason? “Thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before,” Trump wrote on . He said the tariffs would remain until drugs — in particular, fentanyl — and “all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” Members of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet responded Tuesday by stating they share concerns about border security. At least one of them, however, noted that Mexico is a much larger source of Trump’s concerns than Canada. “It’s the equivalent, on a yearly basis, of a significant weekend at the Mexico border,” said Immigration Minister Marc Miller. How bad is the problem with drugs and illegal immigrants crossing over from Canada into the U.S., especially compared to the flow of each from Mexico? According to from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the enforcement agency responsible for American borders, hundreds of thousands of pounds in illegal drug imports have been seized in recent years. Drugs seized in the northern border region are a small slice of that, one that has dropped since the 2022 fiscal year, which the U.S. border agency counts from October to September. For 2022, the agency seized roughly 60,000 pounds of drugs in its northern border region, representing about nine per cent of the yearly total of 656,000 pounds of drugs. The following fiscal year, about 55,000 pounds of drugs were seized in the northern border region, or about 10 per cent of the annual total in the entire U.S. Then in the 2024 fiscal year, which ended in September, U.S. border agents seized about 11,600 pounds of drugs. That’s about two per cent of the year’s total. But Trump mentioned fentanyl specifically in his justification for the big tariff on everything. The potent opioid is so powerful that just a few grains can be fatal, according to , which blames the drug for “causing high rates of overdose and overdose deaths.” Most of the drugs seized in the northern border region in recent years, by weight, have been marijuana, cocaine, khat and other drugs like amphetamines, hashish and opium, the agency’s statistics show. At the same time, in this region was a fraction of the amount of the drug that the border agency has obtained each year, both in weight and by number of doses. In the 2023 fiscal year, the agency seized 1.2 billion doses of fentanyl; 239,000 of them, or 0.02 per cent, were found in the northern border region. The following fiscal year, which ended in September, the number of fentanyl doses seized at the northern border jumped to 839,000, a number that represented about 0.07 per cent of the annual total. Fentanyl seized in the southwest border region, meanwhile, was more than 91 per cent of the border agency’s haul of the drug in 2023, and more than 82 per cent in the 2024 fiscal year. On Parliament Hill, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters Tuesday that Canada is prepared to beef up resources at the border, but generally defended Canada’s efforts to ensure illegal goods don’t cross it. “We absolutely share the Americans’ concerns around security at the border,” he said, noting in particular that law enforcement agencies in both countries share intelligence on how to stop the flow of fentanyl. Bottom line: Fentanyl seizures in the U.S. northern border region spiked over the past year, but still represent a fraction of the total that the American border security agency has intercepted over the past two years. The same border agency that tracks drug seizures also on “encounters” with people who are apprehended, turned away and expelled after entering the U.S. — a number that jumped from about 109,000 at the northern land border in 2022 to almost 200,000 in the 2024 fiscal year. But to know the exact number of illegal immigrants entering the country from Canada is not easy, since the published statistics don’t reflect that exact category. The more precise statistics on the U.S. Border Patrol’s apprehensions at the northern border can give an idea. And this number, though it remains a small fraction of those at the border with Mexico, has also increased significantly in recent years. In , U.S. border agents apprehended 916 people in the northern border region under their “Title 8” authority, which means detaining someone who is not allowed in the U.S., compared to more than 1.65 million apprehensions at the southern border. Two years later, in the 2023 fiscal year, the number of Title 8 apprehensions at the northern border had jumped to 9,514, compared to more than 1.49 million at the U.S. border with Mexico, U.S. border agency . The number increased further during the 2024 fiscal year, to 23,721 U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions at the northern land border, while the southern border saw more than 1.53 million U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions. LeBlanc said Canada is prepared to add technology like drones to improve surveillance and add personnel to address illegal border crossing. Miller said that while the numbers are smaller at the U.S.‘s northern border, Canada still needs to take American concerns seriously. “There’s work to be done here to make sure that people aren’t going in irregularly into the U.S., and we would ask the same of the Americans,” he said. “So, sit down with them when we get the opportunity, work on our common plans, and make sure that we do have a secure border.”Polls close in Uruguay’s election, with ruling coalition and opposition headed for photo finish

John Prescott's clash with Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear audience goes viralWASHINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. Congress are discussing a two-step plan to push ahead on President-elect Donald Trump's agenda when they take control of both chambers next year, potentially starting with border security, energy and defense before turning to tax cuts. Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, whose Republicans will hold a 53-47 majority, laid out a plan in a closed-door party meeting on Tuesday that included a call from Trump himself. It aims to use a parliamentary maneuver to bypass the chamber's " filibuster " rule that requires 60 senators to agree to advance most legislation. According to the Senate plan, the first bill would focus on Trump's agenda for border security, energy deregulation and defense spending, while the second would extend tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed during the first Trump presidency, which are due to expire next year. Thune told reporters that the plan amounted to "options, all of which our members are considering." To enact Trump's agenda, the Senate will have to work closely with the president-elect and the House of Representatives, which is expected to have a razor-thin Republican majority. "We were always planning to do reconciliation in two packages. So we're discussing right now how to allocate the various provisions, and we're making those decisions over the next couple of days," said House Speaker Mike Johnson, who joined Senate Republicans at their meeting. "There are different ideas on what to put in the first package and what in the second, and we're trying to build consensus around those ideas," Johnson told reporters. The speaker also said that he believes Congress in coming weeks will pursue a continuing resolution, or CR, that would fund federal agencies into March. Current funding is set to expire on Dec. 20. Before moving a first reconciliation bill, the House and Senate will need to agree on a budget resolution to unlock the "reconciliation" tool they plan to use to bypass the filibuster. Aides said senators hope to do that by the end of January and then move quickly to complete the first bill by March 31. "We have the trifecta for two years. About 18 months is all we're really going to have to really get things done," Republican Senator Mike Rounds told reporters. Democrats also leaned heavily on reconciliation to pass legislation when they held control of both chambers during the first two years of President Joe Biden's term. Republican Senator Rand Paul, a fiscal hawk, raised concerns about the plan's cost. "This is not a fiscally conservative notion," Paul said. "So at this point, I'm not for it, unless there are significant spending cuts attached." Extending Trump's tax cuts for individuals and small businesses will add $4 trillion to the current $36 trillion in total U.S. debt over 10 years. Trump also promised voters generous new tax breaks, including ending taxes on Social Security, overtime and tip income and restoring deductions for car loan interest. The tab is likely to reach $7.75 trillion , opens new tab above the CBO baseline over 10 years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-partisan fiscal watchdog group. Sign up here. Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone, Stephen Coates and Shri Navaratnam Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

Billionaire Elon Musk has been using his social media platform X to go to bat for President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks and promote his own preferred candidates, advocating for choices he views as change agents who will help remake the US government. In several high-profile cases, however, Musk backed people who either lost out on the roles or withdrew from consideration, suggesting some early limits to the Republican mega donor's influence even as he has emerged as one of Trump's most powerful allies. Musk, who has 206 million followers on X, posted or reposted about Trump's cabinet picks more than 70 times between Nov. 7 and Nov. 20, a Reuters review found. Though the posts represented just a fraction of his more than 2,000 posts during that period, Musk in many cases used them to give attention to Trump's most controversial choices, including former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for US intelligence chief and environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr to lead the top US health agency. Musk most enthusiastically rallied support for Matt Gaetz, the former congressman Trump initially tapped to be his attorney general. In the days following Gaetz's Nov. 13 nomination, Musk posted 37 times about Gaetz or his wife Ginger, mostly in positive terms. That was far more than his posts about Trump's other appointments. Gaetz backed out of consideration on Nov. 21, saying his candidacy had become a distraction for Trump amid allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug abuse. He has denied wrongdoing. For Trump's Treasury secretary, Musk pushed for Wall Street financier Howard Lutnick over hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, whom Musk dismissed as "a business-as-usual choice." Bessent got the job anyway. And in a separate fight over Senate leadership, Musk's endorsed candidate also came up short. One Trump ally said those misses showed the limitations of Musk's sway. Musk's reach on X "doesn’t mean he’s an effective advocate for his positions or chosen cabinet members," the Trump ally said. "He's still learning how to operate in politics." Spokespeople for X and Musk did not respond to Reuters requests for comment for this story. Musk, who owns X and rocket company SpaceX and is chief executive of the electric car company Tesla Inc. TSLA.O, poured at least $119 million into getting Trump elected and has been a near-constant fixture at Trump's Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, since his election victory earlier this month. The two men attended an Ultimate Fighting Championship event in New York and a SpaceX launch in Texas, and Musk traveled with Trump to Washington for his meeting with President Joe Biden. On Saturday, Musk reposted a photo that showed him sitting with Trump, Lutnick and Republican Senator Joni Ernst at Mar-a-Lago, where they were discussing cabinet nominees, according to the caption. "Elon Musk and President Trump are great friends and brilliant leaders working together to Make America Great Again. Elon Musk is a once-in-a-generation business leader, and our federal bureaucracy will certainly benefit from his ideas and efficiency," said Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the Trump transition team. Musk's close proximity to Trump has prompted some hand-wringing and complaints from the transition team, who were not accustomed to him being around so much, according to two sources close to Trump staff. Amid increased scrutiny of his unusual role, Musk wrote in a post on X on Nov. 20 that while he had offered his opinion on some candidates, he was not in charge. "Many selections occur without my knowledge and decisions are 100% that of the President," Musk said. Elon Musk: Trump win could hand Tesla billionaire unprecedented power Efficiency and emojis Musk's political posts on X far outnumbered those he used to promote his three businesses, the Reuters review found. He frequently mocks liberals and posts about government waste and Trump's newly created government efficiency panel, which the president-elect tapped Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead. Musk's typical posts consist either of an emoji or a short response to other posts. "Exactly," he wrote on Nov. 14, in response to a post noting that Trump's cabinet picks were "young outsiders" who "skipped the line." He responded with “Awesome” and a smile emoji on Nov. 13 to a post that said: “They put Tulsi Gabbard on a terror watchlist. Now she’s Director of National Intelligence. The biggest ‘F you’ to the Deep State Swamp.” On Nov. 16, as questions swirled about who Trump would pick for his Treasury secretary, Musk wrote on X that Bessent was "a business-as-usual choice," while Lutnick would "actually enact change." Musk also lobbied against Bessent internally, two sources close to Trump said. His efforts fell flat. On Nov. 22, Trump tapped Bessent for the job. Earlier in the month, Musk threw his support behind Republican Senator Rick Scott for Senate majority leader. Trump chose not to weigh in, and Scott ultimately lost to Senator John Thune for the position. One source close to Musk was struck by Musk's willingness to stick with Trump even after he’s been “shut down a couple of times” by the president-elect. "That’s very rare for a billionaire," the source said. "In general when they don’t get what they want, they walk away." The source said Musk was committed to Trump's government efficiency efforts. "He's really focused on the goal," the source said. Another test of Musk's influence lies ahead. Since the election, he has posted six times in support of Trump loyalist Kash Patel running the FBI. Patel, who served on Trump's National Security Council during his first term, has promised to go after politicians and journalists perceived to be enemies of Trump. Musk's X posts make clear that he sees Patel as the best option for change and reform. On Nov. 14, Musk posted a “100%” emoji in response to a clip of Patel saying that he would shut down the FBI’s headquarters on day one of Trump's new administration and reopen it as a “Deep State Museum,” with the caption “Make him FBI director.” Reporting by Helen Coster in New York and Alexandra Ulmer in San Francisco. Additional reporting by Ned Parker. Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Alistair Bell.Staff and students at Cambrian College in Sudbury came together to mark 'Giving Tuesday' this year by raising money for various funds that help support students. 'Giving Tuesday' is a global movement that began in 2012 and encourages generosity and community support. Students, faculty, alumni, and community and industry partners of Cambrian College spent the day collecting donations for different funds the college has in place to help students. They include scholarships and bursaries, the student food bank, the emergency hardship fund, and the Equipment Renewal Fund. The Equipment Renewal Fund was identified as the top priority for this year's campaign. It's used to make sure students have access to the latest equipment and technology in classrooms, labs, and workshops. "It could be something as simple as a new piece of equipment down in trades to support our welding students, for example, all the way up to IT-based technology for students in our business programs," said Brandi Braithwaite, director of development and alumni at Cambrian College. Brandi Braithwaite is director of development and alumni at Cambrian College. She said the college's goal this year for Giving Tuesday was to raise $30,000 for the various funds in place to help students. (Erika Chorostil/CBC) "The world is changing. Technology is rapidly evolving and you know, being able to keep up with that is incredibly important because we want to be putting our students out prepared in the workforce for, you know, what they're actually going to be encountering." Braithwaite said the school's goal this year was to raise $30,000 for the various funds, and they had almost reached that amount halfway through the day. She said students are always in a position where funds of any kind will help, especially through the holiday season. "The more support that we can give students, the better." Matthew Pheaton is a second year student at Cambrian College in one of the computer programming courses. He says the school prioritizing the Equipment Renewal Fund is important in order to make sure students have the latest technology needed to be succcessful. (Erika Chorostil/CBC) Matthew Pheaton is a second-year student in the Computer Programming - Internet of Things (CPIN) program at Cambrian College. He says the school prioritizing the Equipment Renewal Fund is important in order to keep up with the latest technology needed in sectors like mining. "I can't express how important it is to have up-to-date software, up-to-date hardware," said Pheaton. "We need to maintain our level of sophistication because we are working with the mining industry to revamp their automation and doing driverless systems down in the mines." In addition to the fundraising, some students also organized a food drive for those on campus in need of items like canned goods, fresh foods, household items, games, and hygiene products. Students at Cambrian College also organized a food drive for students in need on campus, collecting canned goods, fresh foods, household items and hygiene products. (Submitted by Cambrian College) The 'Fill Hearts, Fill Bags' initiative was started this year by students in the Service Learning Experience class. "We had a bunch of students bring in food and collect donations and then we also had a bunch of money donations as well," said one of the organizers, Briah Tear. Tear said all the donated items were snapped up by students within 45 minutes. Post-secondary institutions in northeast help campus food banks stock up to meet need 'Everyone is needing help': Northern Ontario food banks say their numbers are higher than ever

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Ian Schieffelin had 18 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in leading Clemson to a 75-67 win over Penn State on Tuesday and the championship of the Sunshine Slam Beach Division. Chase Hunter added 17 points, Chauncey Wiggins 14 and Del Jones 10 for the Tigers (6-1), who shot 44% and made 9 of 19 3-pointers led by Hunter's three. Ace Baldwin Jr. scored 20 points and had 11 assists, Yanic Konan Niederhauser added 14 points and Nick Kern Jr. 11 for the Nittany Lions (6-1), who shot 46% and were just 4 of 18 from the arc. Neither team had a double-digit lead in the game and it was tied with seven minutes to go. But Penn State had a six-minute drought without a field goal while committing three turnovers and the Tigers went up by six. A hook shot from Schieffelin with a minute to go made it a five-point lead and free throws sealed it from there. The eight-point final margin was the largest of the game. Konan Niederhauser's dunk to open the second half tied the game but a Hunter 3-pointer gave the lead back to Clemson. Penn State took its first lead of the second half on a 9-0 run, seven coming from Baldwin, to go up 57-54 with midway through the period. Penn State had its largest lead of seven in the first half but three consecutive 3s put Clemson ahead with three minutes to go and the Tigers led at 38-36 at halftime. Clemson had a 16-9 edge on points off turnovers. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball