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WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith moved to abandon two criminal cases against Donald Trump on Monday, acknowledging that Trump’s return to the White House will preclude attempts to federally prosecute him for retaining classified documents or trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. The decision was inevitable, since longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Yet it was still a momentous finale to an unprecedented chapter in political and law enforcement history, as federal officials attempted to hold accountable a former president while he was simultaneously running for another term. Trump emerges indisputably victorious, having successfully delayed the investigations through legal maneuvers and then winning re-election despite indictments that described his actions as a threat to the country's constitutional foundations. FILE - Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to the media about an indictment of former President Donald Trump, Aug. 1, 2023, at an office of the Department of Justice in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) “I persevered, against all odds, and WON," Trump exulted in a post on Truth Social, his social media website. He also said that “these cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought.” The judge in the election case granted prosecutors' dismissal request. A decision in the documents case was still pending on Monday afternoon. The outcome makes it clear that, when it comes to a president and criminal accusations, nothing supersedes the voters' own verdict. In court filings, Smith's team emphasized that the move to end their prosecutions was not a reflection of the merit of the cases but a recognition of the legal shield that surrounds any commander in chief. “That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” prosecutors said in one of their filings. They wrote that Trump’s return to the White House “sets at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: on the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law.” In this situation, “the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” they concluded. Smith’s team said it was leaving intact charges against two co-defendants in the classified documents case — Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira — because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” Steven Cheung, Trump's incoming White House communications director, said Americans “want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.” Trump has long described the investigations as politically motivated, and he has vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January. Now he will start his second term free from criminal scrutiny by the government that he will lead. The election case brought last year was once seen as one of the most serious legal threats facing Trump as he tried to reclaim the White House. He was indicted for plotting to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020, an effort that climaxed with his supporters' violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. President-elect Donald Trump arrives before the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024 in Boca Chica, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP) But the case quickly stalled amid legal fighting over Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution for acts he took while in the White House. The U.S. Supreme Court in July ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which allegations in the indictment, if any, could proceed to trial. The case was just beginning to pick up steam again in the trial court in the weeks leading up to this year’s election. Smith’s team in October filed a lengthy brief laying out new evidence they planned to use against him at trial, accusing him of “resorting to crimes” in an increasingly desperate effort to overturn the will of voters after he lost to Biden. In dismissing the case, Chutkan acknowledged prosecutors' request to do so “without prejudice,” raising the possibility that they could try to bring charges against Trump when his term is over. She wrote that is “consistent with the Government’s understanding that the immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office.” But such a move may be barred by the statute of limitations, and Trump may also try to pardon himself while in office. immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office. The separate case involving classified documents had been widely seen as legally clear cut, especially because the conduct in question occurred after Trump left the White House and lost the powers of the presidency. The indictment included dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing federal efforts to get them back. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. The case quickly became snarled by delays, with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon slow to issue rulings — which favored Trump’s strategy of pushing off deadlines in all his criminal cases — while also entertaining defense motions and arguments that experts said other judges would have dispensed with without hearings. In May, she indefinitely canceled the trial date amid a series of unresolved legal issues before dismissing the case outright two months later. Smith’s team appealed the decision, but now has given up that effort. Trump faced two other state prosecutions while running for president. One them, a New York case involving hush money payments, resulted in a conviction on felony charges of falsifying business records. It was the first time a former president had been found guilty of a crime. The sentencing in that case is on hold as Trump's lawyers try to have the conviction dismissed before he takes office, arguing that letting the verdict stand will interfere with his presidential transition and duties. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is fighting the dismissal but has indicated that it would be open to delaying sentencing until Trump leaves office. Bragg, a Democrat, has said the solution needs to balance the obligations of the presidency with “the sanctity of the jury verdict." Trump was also indicted in Georgia along with 18 others accused of participating in a sprawling scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election there. Any trial appears unlikely there while Trump holds office. The prosecution already was on hold after an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. Four defendants have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty. Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Michael Sisak and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story. ___ Special Counsel Jack Smith plans to step down before Trump’s inauguration, according to The New York Times. Among President-elect Donald Trump's picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, former Democratic House member Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration's top diplomat. Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement. The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations. Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year. Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration. She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him. Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog, to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda. Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic. She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race. Burgum was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day. In comments to reporters before Trump took the stage, Burgum said that, in recent years, the power grid is deteriorating in many parts of the country, which he said could raise national security concerns but also drive up prices enough to increase inflation. “There's just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, and then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign. The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction. He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending. “This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then. 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. A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. “In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. “He did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.” Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday. The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security. Thomas Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office. Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate. Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Russell Vought held the position during Trump’s first presidency. After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. McGinley was White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first administration, and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee's election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign. In a statement, Trump called McGinley “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.” Associated Press writer Colleen Long contributed to this story. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
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There's one final way Biden can fund Ukraine's fight against Russia, researchers say
Revolutionary Single-Layer Film Eliminates Helmet Changes, Enhancing Driver Safety and Performance LAS VEGAS , Dec. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Racing Optics®, the global leader in high-performance tearoff visor film technology, proudly unveils its latest innovation: the Twilight Tearoff . This groundbreaking single-layer tearoff is engineered to elevate driver visibility during late-afternoon and early-evening races, providing superior glare reduction and contrast enhancement. The Twilight Tearoff redefines race-day performance by allowing drivers to maintain focus and adapt seamlessly to changing light conditions, eliminating the need for disruptive helmet changes. This innovation represents a significant leap forward in racing vision technology, delivering immediate and measurable benefits to professional drivers and teams alike. "The Twilight Tearoff solves one of racing's most persistent challenges—ensuring optimal visibility as lighting transitions rapidly during twilight races," said Chris Colton , Chief Applications Engineer at Racing Optics . "Our dedication to driver safety and performance drives every innovation, and the Twilight Tearoff is no exception." Transforming Racing at Twilight Racing teams are already embracing the Twilight Tearoff as a game-changing solution for twilight and low-light racing conditions. One racing team manager shared their experience: "In a recent twilight race, the Twilight Tearoff gave our drivers unmatched visual clarity. Transitioning from glaring sunlight to artificial lighting without pausing to change helmets was a decisive advantage that kept us competitive." By streamlining the driver experience, the Twilight Tearoff enhances safety and helps maintain uninterrupted race momentum—a critical edge in the high-stakes world of motorsports. Exclusive Debut at PRI Show 2024 The Twilight Tearoff will make its debut at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show , held December 12–14, 2024, in Indianapolis, Indiana . This highly anticipated event marks Racing Optics' 25th anniversary , celebrating a legacy of trailblazing innovations in motorsports safety and performance. Availability The Twilight Tearoff is now available for purchase at RacingOptics.com and through authorized dealers. Teams and drivers looking to gain a competitive edge are encouraged to explore this latest advancement. About Racing Optics For 25 years, Racing Optics has led the field in racing vision technology, delivering innovative solutions that enhance safety and performance. With a commitment to collaboration and innovation, the company continues to push the boundaries of motorsports protective equipment. For additional information, please visit RacingOptics.com . View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/racing-optics-introduces-game-changing-twilight-tearoff-to-enhance-visibility-in-low-light-racing-conditions-302329546.html SOURCE Racing Optics, Inc.Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size In mere months – March, to be exact – cult comedian Kate Berlant will complete her first-ever trip to Australia to perform. What she’ll perform when she gets here, though, she’s not yet sure. At this stage, she doesn’t even have the title. “What is the show?” Berlant deadpans, looking skyward as though contemplating a philosophical quandary she has no literal answer to. “That’s a really good question ... I mean, it’s just standup. I’m really just going to be doing standup.” Anyone familiar with Berlant’s comedy – her taped special Cinnamon in the Wind , for example; or her decade-long partnership with outlandish foil John Early (including their sketch special Would It Kill You To Laugh? ); even her podcast POOG (a play on GOOP) with fellow comedian Jacqueline Novak, and its spin-off Berlant & Novak – would understand that “just standup” is a loaded concept with Berlant. Although well-recognised from her acting work – she’s starred in films including Don’t Worry Darling , Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Dream Scenario , and on TV in A League of Their Own , The Other Two and Search Party – her cerebral comedy, an act of onstage pomposity that folds the form in on itself with absurdist, and delightfully silly, abandon (“intellectual vaudeville”, a critic once branded it), has made Berlant a beatified icon of alt-comedy. If the fact she hasn’t got her new show sorted four months out from her booked dates fills you with secondhand anxiety, fear not: this is how Berlant works, working bits out on stage with the improvisational acuity of a surgeon. Since February, she’s been regularly taking the stage at Largo’s in Los Angeles, her hometown club, to riff on “themes of contemporary alienation”, with the goal of putting together a new hour. “Relying so much on improvisation is terrifying and oftentimes I’ve been doing standup and thought, wow, it would be so nice to just know what you’re gonna say every night,” says Berlant of her process. “But so much of standup is about hiding the work, hiding the fact that you’ve said this thing a million times, and I’ve always struggled with that because it’s just hard to keep up that performance in a way that feels authentic.” Advertisement It’s a dry autumn afternoon in Los Angeles when we speak over Zoom, and the twilight sun splashes through Berlant’s bedroom window (not to mention her incredible curls) like Cheezel dust. She’s spent the day dealing with a sudden and, at 37, completely unexpected allergic reaction to tomatoes and nightshade. “If I sound a little weird it’s because my mouth is inflamed,” she offers apologetically. And yet, she’s eager to discuss her return to standup because for the past couple of years she’s been focused entirely on her play, Kate . Berlant ended Kate in February after a string of sold-out runs across New York, Los Angeles and London. A one-woman show about a flailing actor’s desperate bid to be taken seriously, the conceit went deep. Shows reportedly featured Berlant herself mingling in crowded foyers before doors opened, holding a sign saying “Ignore me”. It premiered off-Broadway in September 2022, and earned rave reviews for its metatextual skewering of artistic self-indulgence. The Guardian labelled it the “one-woman show to end all one-woman shows”. Berlant says it was her biggest success yet. Which begs the question: why did she end it? Why is she not just bringing Kate to Australia? “Again, a really good question,” Berlant jokes. “It’s not that I’ll never do it again, but I do think it’s healthy to step away from things. I think things ripen and they absolutely rot. It just felt to me like it was time to do something else, just for my own brain.” “I just wanted to step away from it for a second”: Berlant during the opening night performance of her acclaimed play Kate in Pasadena in January. Credit: Getty Images She very well could have kept Kate going, Berlant concedes. But her hope is that, as the show operates in a separate universe to her standup, she can revive it a year from now, or two years from now, or even five years from now, and the material will organically grow with her. In the meantime, she’s been in discussions with her director, Bo Burnham, to potentially film and release it. “But that’s something for down the line. Because the show is extremely meta, it’s not just a show you throw a camera in front of,” says Berlant. “I just wanted to step away from it for a second and get back to what I really love doing the most, which is standup.” Advertisement When I speak to Berlant, it’s the week after Donald Trump’s crushing win in the US election – a desolate new landscape in America made real. “It’s scary, it’s dark, it’s intensely depressing, and kind of just surreal. It’s such a bizarre time to be alive,” Berlant says, staring into the camera, eyes like saucers to underscore the understatement. “It’s a really bizarre, rather depressing time.” Is that mood already affecting her new standup? “I’m reacting to it maybe in, like, a subtextual way, but not directly,” says Berlant. “No, certainly the show I’ll be doing will not be about me wrestling with, like, how to live in America under Trump. Like, I would sooner die.” It’s for the best. Because if there’s a through line to Berlant’s work, it’s that her performances have always been about the act of performing. Onstage, whether in a scripted play or in a standup set, she’s Kate, but she’s also “Kate”. The persona she’s made her own is of the self-serious artist desperate for attention, for fame, to be noticed as special. A piss take of the narcissism inherent in showbiz, it’s also a well-wrought personification of today’s wider condition, where social media has given everyone main character syndrome. “It just turns out that way with everything I do. My comedy is often about comedy and my performance is usually about performance, and so inevitably with my standup it’s hard for me to ignore how bizarre standup is when I’m doing standup, and it’s hard for me to not kind of call out how inherently strange the dynamic is and how strange it is as a form,” says Berlant. ‘Performing is inherently embarrassing and, I would say, something to be avoided if you can.’ “The idea of a person standing there and just talking about what’s on their mind, it denies that standup is such a highly constructed persona and performance, down to the shoes you wear. I’ve always looked at the conditions of performance as being really bizarre and also funny. And also just the fact that performance is, of course, a naked plea for attention and adoration. I can’t pretend that that’s not what’s going on in the room, you know?” The focus on performance is never far from Berlant; she’s been thinking about it forever (she even has degrees in the cultural anthropology of comedy and performance studies from New York University). A child actor, she scored her first onscreen gig at 15, playing Student #2 in an episode of Lizzie McGuire , and believed it would set her on a path to screen stardom (it didn’t). There was enough self-awareness in her failure to fuel another mode of expression: when she started doing comedy at 17, she quickly found that her standup landed on a self-referential conceit. Advertisement “I would end up kind of talking about standup in the standup. Which sounds awful,” Berlant laughs. “But, I mean, just talking about the encounter between performer and audience, and how performing is inherently embarrassing and, I would say, something to be avoided if you can.” She’d experienced something similar to that indescribable ick in her upbringing, too, as the only child of two artists – her father Tony Berlant is a prominent US sculptor; her mother Helen Mendez performed in experimental theatre before becoming a set designer. In an episode of Netflix’s The Characters , she portrayed an insufferable Marina Abramović type, lampooning the pretentious art world egos she’d witnessed growing up. “The self-importance of the art world, like the self-importance of Hollywood, there’s almost nothing to comment on because it’s so in plain sight,” Berlant says. “From an early age, I think I was aware of performance as not just being something people do on stage, but just as a child watching adults perform: perform being smart, perform being interesting, perform the performance of being an artist. “I mean, if you call yourself an ‘artist’ ...” she glances into the camera with an are you serious? stare. “That’s quite a part to play.” Berlant with her comedy partner John Early at this year’s Creative Arts Emmys, where their sketch special was nominated. Credit: Getty Images Is she never not aware of the performance? Like, even in this interview: me, playing the role of the politely probing interviewer, trying to dig at some defining childhood trauma; she, the subject, playing at being revealing, as if she’s never considered these stories before. “Yeah, it’s hard to separate, I think I’m always aware of it,” says Berlant. “But what I really find funny are people who don’t know that we can see them performing. We live in a world now where everyone’s a performer, even people who aren’t performers are used to performing for social media. So there’s been a huge breakdown in those terms and in their definitions.” Advertisement Complicating Berlant’s obsession with the artifice of authenticity in comedy and theatre is a sincere love of live performance. In a world where standup careers can thrive exclusively through crowd-work clips on TikTok, she still craves the sacredness of the club. Loading “When I started standup, the only way to get good or build a career was to perform, do shows, as many shows as you could do. Even just, like, spiritually, I feel so lucky that was how I came up,” she says. “So I do think that in today’s world, it’s still very exciting when people show up physically to see a show. I think that’s something that will persist, but it is feeling more and more rarefied and less valued.” It’s why Berlant is excited for the set she’ll be bringing to Australia, whatever shape it ends up taking. After her journey with Kate , a return to the spontaneous possibilities of her standup has been calling. “There’s something that feels good about just being like, okay, this is where I am right now in my life, this is how I’m reacting to it, and not being too precious about it or spending years crafting it. I think that’s what makes it feel alive, for me and the audience.” Kate Berlant will be performing at Melbourne Recital Hall on March 7 and at Sydney Opera House as part of All About Women on March 9. To read more from Spectrum , visit our page here .
NoneRumours swirl that Ontario might have an early election very soon
In a major boost to the operations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigerian capital market, the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has passed the Investments and Securities Bill 2024. The Investments and Securities Bill, meant to repeal the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Act, was passed on the floor of the Senate Wednesday. During the consideration of the report on the Bill from the committee on Capital Market, Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno stated that it will protect investors and eliminate fraudulent dealings in the capital market. Leading the debate, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market, Senator Osita Izunaso said the bill sought to repeal the Investments and Securities Act, of 2007 and enact the Investments and Securities Act, 2024 stating that the ISB is capable of transforming the capital market, encourage the influx of foreign investors as well as boost investors’ confidence, among others. Izunaso said: “The Bill seeks to repeal the existing Investments and Securities Act 2007, and to establish a new market infrastructure and wide-ranging system of regulation of investments and securities businesses in Nigeria especially in the areas of derivatives, systematic risk management, financial market infrastructure and Ponzi scheme and platforms. He said, “It was meant to establish the Securities and Exchange Commission as the apex regulatory authority for the Nigerian Capital Market. It will be a regulation of the Market to ensure capital formation, the protection of investors, maintenance of fair, efficient and transparent market, and reduction of systemic risk.” Izunaso further said the main objective of the bill was to enact legislation that aligned with global dynamics as they relate to the regulation of capital market through the provision of an innovative regulatory framework. “It will protect the integrity of the security market against all forms of market abuse and insider dealing. It will prevent unauthorised, illegal, unlawful, fraudulent and unfair trade practices, relating to securities and investments.” Speaking recently, Director General of the SEC Dr. Emomotimi Agama said the Bill is pushing for harsher penalties on Ponzi scheme operators through the proposed Investments and Securities Bill (ISB) 2024, which mandates a minimum fine of N20 million or up to 10 years in prison, or both. Agama explained that the bill explicitly prohibits Ponzi and pyramid schemes, fortifying protections for investors against illegal fund managers adding that it aims to shield Nigerian investors from fraudulent schemes and enhance the capital market’s global competitiveness. A notable amendment in the Bill would allow the Investor Protection Fund (IPF), established by securities exchanges, to cover investor losses linked to the deregistration of brokerage firms, extending beyond the current coverage of bankruptcy or negligence cases. Agama also noted the need for updates to the existing ISB 2007 to reduce ambiguities and align Nigeria’s capital market regulations with international standards. “This bill’s passage would be pivotal in setting Nigeria on the path to a world-class capital market,” he stated, underscoring the role of a robust capital market in economic diversification. The ISB 2024 also introduces regulatory frameworks for Commodity Exchanges and Warehouse Receipts, essential steps for developing Nigeria’s commodities sector.DAISO NEW STORE OPENING IN PLANO, TEXASNEW YORK , Dec. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Report on how AI is driving market transformation - The global mosquito repellent market size is estimated to grow by USD 4.16 billion from 2024-2028, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of almost 6.4% during the forecast period. Increase in number of awareness campaigns by government organizations and vendors is driving market growth, with a trend towards increasing demand for natural organic repellents. However, competition from professional household insecticide services poses a challenge. Key market players include Baldha Industries Pvt. Ltd., Coghlans Ltd., Dabur India Ltd., Enesis Group, Globe Janakantha Shilpa Paribar Ltd., Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Goodluck Syndicate, Healthium Medtech Pvt. Ltd., Henkel AG and Co. KGaA, Juno Laboratories Pty Ltd., Jyothy Labs Ltd., Kalpana Naturals, Maruti Plastorub Industries, Mosfly International Sdn Bhd, Murphys Naturals Inc., Pascoes Pty Ltd., PT. SINAR ANTJOL, Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, Sarex, and Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc.. Key insights into market evolution with AI-powered analysis. Explore trends, segmentation, and growth drivers- View Free Sample PDF Market Driver The mosquito repellent market is experiencing significant growth due to the increasing threat of mosquito-borne diseases such as Dengue, Zika, and Yellow fever in both urban and rural areas. The proliferation of mosquito populations is influenced by environmental conditions, including humid climate and heavy rains. Key players in the market include PelGar International, AoGrand Group, Enesis Group, and Herbal Strategi. Pest control services are also expanding their offerings to include mosquito control, recognizing the need for effective solutions in the face of urbanization and the movement of people. The production and distribution of mosquito repellents are increasing in areas with high mosquito activity, such as Berkshire and Buckinghamshire in the UK, and Dusseldorf in Germany . Consumers are seeking quality products to protect against these deadly diseases, leading to a wide variety of mosquito repellent types, including coils, sprays, creams and oils, and plant-based repellents. However, concerns over the adverse effects of chemical repellents have led to the development of alternative solutions. The home care industry is also responding to the growing demand for mosquito repellents, with consumer lifestyles driving the trend towards online shopping for non-essential items. The market is expected to continue growing as the threat of mosquito-borne diseases persists, particularly in semi-urban and rural places where abiotic factors and climate change can contribute to insect growth and reproduction. Additionally, the market is also witnessing the emergence of new technologies such as smart filtration systems and nanofiber filtration to improve product efficiency and workplace safety. The market is expected to face challenges from regulatory bodies and environmental concerns, particularly with regards to the use of chemicals and greenhouse gases in production and the disposal of plastic containers and cartridges. In summary, the mosquito repellent market is witnessing significant growth due to the increasing threat of mosquito-borne diseases, particularly in urban and rural areas. Key players are expanding their offerings to meet consumer demand for effective and safe solutions, while new technologies are being developed to improve product efficiency and reduce environmental impact. However, regulatory and environmental challenges remain, and companies must continue to innovate to meet these challenges and stay competitive in the market. The mosquito repellent market is experiencing a notable trend towards organic and natural products. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the potential health risks associated with synthetic repellents, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and pregnant women. In response, vendors are introducing mosquito repellents formulated with natural ingredients. This shift in consumer preferences is expected to significantly boost market growth during the forecast period. The rising demand for organic and natural mosquito repellents is a key market driver. Request Sample of our comprehensive report now to stay ahead in the AI-driven market evolution! The mosquito repellent market faces significant challenges in both urban and rural areas due to the proliferation of mosquitoes in various environmental conditions. Mosquitoes carry deadly diseases such as Dengue, Zika, and Yellow fever, which pose health risks to consumers. Urbanization and construction of buildings and apartments contribute to the growth of mosquito populations, especially in semi-urban and rural places. PelGar International, AoGrand Group, Enesis Group, Herbal Strategi, and pest control services are key players in the market. However, the movement of people and undisturbed conditions facilitate mosquito breeding, leading to an increase in mosquito-borne diseases. Cockroach infestation and rodent activities can also contribute to mosquito breeding. Hand sanitizers, Red Cross Society, and personal protective equipment are essential in preventing the spread of diseases. However, the production and use of pesticides, such as Cyfluthrin, Permethrin, and Pyrethroids, can have adverse effects on consumers and the environment. The market offers a wide variety of products, including sprays, vaporizers, and plant-based repellents. Malaria cases and deaths continue to be a concern, especially in areas with heavy rains and humid climates. Consumers prioritize quality products and are increasingly turning to online shopping for convenience. Climate change and weather conditions also impact mosquito reproduction and mortality rates. Companies must address environmental concerns, such as emission levels and microchips, semiconductors, and recycling, to ensure sustainable business practices. The market also faces challenges related to workplace safety, respiratory ailments, and health consciousness. The mosquito repellent market has faced challenges due to the rise of professional household insecticide services. These services offer effective and long-lasting solutions against household insects, including mosquitoes, although they come with a higher price tag and are not ideal for regular maintenance. Allergic reactions to insecticide fumes are a concern for some consumers, but professional services use non-irritating, odorless, residue-free, and safe products, even in kitchen spaces. Despite these advantages, the growth of the mosquito repellent market has been hindered by the increasing popularity of professional insecticide services. Discover how AI is revolutionizing market trends- Get your access now! This mosquito repellent market report extensively covers market segmentation by 1.1 Offline 1.2 Online 2.1 Self-applicable 2.2 Others 3.1 APAC 3.2 Europe 3.3 North America 3.4 South America 3.5 Middle East and Africa 1.1 Offline- In the global mosquito repellent market, offline distribution channels held the largest share in 2023. Consumers prefer this mode of distribution due to its tangible experience and easy access to a wide range of products. Major offline channels include specialty stores, hypermarkets and supermarkets, convenience stores, and drug stores. The increasing number of supermarkets and hypermarkets, driven by population growth, is a significant trend in the market. Consumers increasingly prefer these retail formats for mosquito repellent purchases due to the ability to read product labels, immediate access, and expert advice. Major retailers, such as Walmart Inc., Target Brands, Inc., and Tesco Plc, have dedicated spaces for mosquito repellent products. The expansion of these retailers and the rise in the number of hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores, and drug stores contribute to the growth of the mosquito repellent market through these channels. Download a Sample of our comprehensive report today to discover how AI-driven innovations are reshaping competitive dynamics The mosquito repellent market encompasses a wide range of products designed to prevent the proliferation of mosquitoes in both urban and rural areas. Mosquitoes, known carriers of deadly diseases such as Dengue, Zika, and Yellow fever, thrive in humid climates and are particularly active in environmental conditions conducive to their population growth. Rapid urbanization and construction contribute to the increase in mosquito breeding sites, making mosquito repellents essential. The market includes various types of repellents such as bags, cartridges, drums, and water treatment solutions. The production process involves greenhouse gases emission from chemical processing, drug manufacturing, and environmental remediation. Process efficiency and workplace safety are crucial considerations in the market to ensure the production of effective and safe mosquito repellents. The mosquito repellent market encompasses urban and rural areas, with environmental conditions playing a significant role in mosquito breeding and the proliferation of deadly diseases such as Dengue, Zika, Yellow fever, and malaria. Mosquitoes thrive in undisturbed conditions, particularly in areas of heavy rain and humid climates, leading to an increase in mosquito populations and malaria cases. The movement of people and construction of buildings in semi-urban and rural places further contributes to the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. The market for mosquito repellents includes a wide variety of products such as coils, sprays, creams and oils, and plant-based repellents. Consumers are increasingly conscious of health problems associated with mosquito-borne diseases and are buying quality products from brand owners. Online shopping and non-essential items have also become popular in the home care industry, driving business expansion. However, the use of mosquito repellents comes with its own set of health concerns, including skin reactions, rashes, swelling, itching, and eye irritation from chemicals. Adverse effects from chemicals such as cyfluthrin, permethrin, pyrethroids, picaridin, and citronella have been reported. The market also includes pest control services, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and personal protective equipment from companies like PelGar International, AoGrand Group, Enesis Group, and Herbal Strategi. The Red Cross Society and various community organizations also play a role in disease prevention and control. The production and bottling of mosquito repellents involve chemical processing, drug manufacturing, and environmental remediation. Process efficiency, workplace safety, and health consciousness are key concerns for consumers and manufacturers alike. The market for mosquito repellents is not limited to mosquitoes, as cockroach infestation and rodent activities also contribute to the need for effective pest control solutions. The use of hand disinfectants, water treatment, and various filter systems are also important in preventing the spread of diseases. The market for mosquito repellents is influenced by various abiotic factors, including climate change, weather, and physiology, which can impact mosquito reproduction and mortality rates. The use of mosquito repellents is essential in preventing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, which can lead to significant health problems and even deaths. The market for mosquito repellents is also impacted by the production and use of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, which can contribute to the degradation of the atmosphere and the environment. The use of microchips, semiconductors, and recycling are important in reducing the environmental impact of mosquito repellent production and use. The market for mosquito repellents is also influenced by various other industries, including the automotive industry, which contributes to the production of dust, dirt, contaminants, and particulate matter, which can impact air quality and contribute to respiratory ailments. The use of nanofiber filtration, smart filtration systems, and the Internet of Things are important in reducing the impact of these pollutants on health and the environment. In conclusion, the mosquito repellent market plays a crucial role in preventing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases and ensuring public health and safety. However, it is essential to consider the potential health concerns and environmental impact of mosquito repellents and take steps to mitigate these risks through the use of quality products, effective production processes, and responsible disposal practices. 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 3 Market Sizing 4 Historic Market Size 5 Five Forces Analysis 6 Market Segmentation Distribution Channel Offline Online Product Self-applicable Others Geography APAC Europe North America South America Middle East And Africa 7 Customer Landscape 8 Geographic Landscape 9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 10 Company Landscape 11 Company Analysis 12 Appendix Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE TechnavioElectronic Arts Inc. stock underperforms Friday when compared to competitors
Zilinskas shot 11 for 20 (5 for 10 from 3-point range) and 5 of 5 from the free-throw line for the Jaguars (3-5). Jarvis Walker scored 13 points while going 3 of 9 from the floor, including 2 for 5 from 3-point range, and 5 for 7 from the line. Timaris Brown and Sean Craight both added 11 points. Darius Ford led the Bulldogs (4-4) in scoring, finishing with 20 points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Anthony Bryant added 17 points for Alabama A&M. Chad Moodie also had 16 points and three blocks. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .From Noah Ebije, Kaduna As Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has urged them to pray for God’s intervention against nepotism, insecurity, and corruption, which it noted are bedevilling the country’s polity. In a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the ACF also called on all Nigerians to pray for economic prosperity and improvements in the sociopolitical challenges facing the nation. The Forum lamented that major communities in the North continue to bear the burden of the negative effects of these challenges without any hope of redemption in sight. “The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) wishes happy celebrations to the multitudes of Nigerian and other Christians across the world as the 2024 Christmas is observed. As well, ACF wishes all a very happy and prosperous New Year, which comes up a week after Christmas. “ACF rejoices with all and prays for God’s grace and mercies for Nigeria as the people celebrate the Christmas and New Year occasions amid daunting existential economic, social and political challenges, as well as a state of debilitating insecurity, corruption, and nepotism in the polity, disappointing political representation, etc. As has sadly become all too familiar, communities in Nigeria’s North continue to bear a disproportionate burden of the negative effects of the aforementioned challenges. “This is not to downplay the effects of the problems on people in other parts of the country, but the situation in the North remains dire, even as people fervently look forward to a better future. “In spite of or, in fact, because of the challenges that the people face, ACF asserts that surrendering to despair and hopelessness are not options. Therefore, in the spirit of the season, [the Forum] calls on Christians, and indeed all Nigerians, to pray for peace, security, and economic recovery for Nigeria; for God Almighty’s intervention to see that Nigeria’s leaders are re-endowed with faith, strength, divine love, wisdom, and righteousness in intentions and deeds as they pilot Nigeria’s affairs; for God Almighty to endow and guide Nigeria’s security agencies with the needed strength and bold resolve to crush all agents of terrorism, criminality, insecurity, corruption, social and political destabilisation, and all other evils against Nigeria and its people. “That the fear of God Almighty enters to change the evil minds of all manner of terrorists and criminals so that they repent and refrain from their culture of criminality; and for God Almighty to restore hope for a better, prosperous, more equitable, and more hospitable Nigeria, ruled by justice, fairness, and justice for all citizens,” the statement said.Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 04.12.2024This cult comedian is touring in March. She still has no idea what her act will be
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NEW YORK and LONDON , Dec. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Pearl Diver Credit Company Inc. (NYSE: PDCC) (the "Company") has commenced an underwritten public offering of its Series A Preferred Stock Due 2029. Certain financial and other terms of the Series A Preferred Stock are to be determined by negotiations between the Company and the underwriters. Shares of the Series A Preferred Stock are rated 'BBB' by Egan-Jones Ratings Company, an independent rating agency. In addition, the Company plans to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase additional shares of Series A Preferred Stock pursuant to the same terms and conditions. Shares of the Series A Preferred Stock are expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and to trade thereon within 30 days of the original issue date under the ticker symbol "PDPA." Lucid Capital Markets, LLC ("Lucid"), B. Riley Securities, Inc. and Kingswood Capital Partners, LLC are acting as joint book-running managers and InspereX LLC and Janney Montgomery Scott LLC are acting as lead managers for the offering. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the offering to acquire investments in accordance with the investment objectives and strategies described in the prospectus supplement and for general working capital purposes. Investors should consider the Company's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. The preliminary prospectus, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), contains this and other information about the Company and should be read carefully before investing. The information in the preliminary prospectus and this press release is not complete and may be changed. The preliminary prospectus and this press release are not offers to sell these securities and are not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where such offer or sale is not permitted. A registration statement relating to these securities is on file with, but has not yet been declared effective by, the SEC. Copies of the preliminary prospectus (and the final prospectus, when available) may be obtained by writing to Lucid Capital Markets, LLC, 570 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10022, by calling Lucid toll-free at 646-362-0256 or by sending an e-mail to Lucid at prospectus@lucid.com . Copies also may be obtained on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov . Egan-Jones Ratings Company is a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO). A security rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities, and any such rating may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the applicable rating agency. About Pearl Diver Credit Company Inc. Pearl Diver Credit Company Inc. (NYSE: PDCC) is an externally managed, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. Its primary investment objective is to maximize its portfolio's total return, with a secondary objective of generating high current income. The Company seeks to achieve these objectives by investing primarily in equity and junior debt tranches of CLOs collateralized by portfolios of sub-investment grade, senior secured floating-rate debt issued by a large number of distinct US companies across several industry sectors. The Company is externally managed by Pearl Diver Capital LLP. For more information, visit www.pearldivercreditcompany.com . Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described in the prospectus and the Company's other filings with the SEC. The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement made herein. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. NOT FDIC INSURED • NO BANK GUARANTEE • MAY LOSE VALUE Investor Contact: Info@Pearldivercap.com UK: +44 (0)20 3967 8032 US: +1 617 872 0945 View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pearl-diver-credit-company-inc-announces-offering-of-series-a-preferred-stock-302329464.html SOURCE Pearl Diver Credit Company Inc.Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. In mere months – March, to be exact – cult comedian Kate Berlant will complete her first-ever trip to Australia to perform. What she’ll perform when she gets here, though, she’s not yet sure. At this stage, she doesn’t even have the title. “What is the show?” Berlant deadpans, looking skyward as though contemplating a philosophical quandary she has no literal answer to. “That’s a really good question ... I mean, it’s just standup. I’m really just going to be doing standup.” Anyone familiar with Berlant’s comedy – her taped special Cinnamon in the Wind , for example; or her decade-long partnership with outlandish foil John Early (including their sketch special Would It Kill You To Laugh? ); even her podcast POOG (a play on GOOP) with fellow comedian Jacqueline Novak, and its spin-off Berlant & Novak – would understand that “just standup” is a loaded concept with Berlant. Although well-recognised from her acting work – she’s starred in films including Don’t Worry Darling , Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Dream Scenario , and on TV in A League of Their Own , The Other Two and Search Party – her cerebral comedy, an act of onstage pomposity that folds the form in on itself with absurdist, and delightfully silly, abandon (“intellectual vaudeville”, a critic once branded it), has made Berlant a beatified icon of alt-comedy. If the fact she hasn’t got her new show sorted four months out from her booked dates fills you with secondhand anxiety, fear not: this is how Berlant works, working bits out on stage with the improvisational acuity of a surgeon. Since February, she’s been regularly taking the stage at Largo’s in Los Angeles, her hometown club, to riff on “themes of contemporary alienation”, with the goal of putting together a new hour. “Relying so much on improvisation is terrifying and oftentimes I’ve been doing standup and thought, wow, it would be so nice to just know what you’re gonna say every night,” says Berlant of her process. “But so much of standup is about hiding the work, hiding the fact that you’ve said this thing a million times, and I’ve always struggled with that because it’s just hard to keep up that performance in a way that feels authentic.” It’s a dry autumn afternoon in Los Angeles when we speak over Zoom, and the twilight sun splashes through Berlant’s bedroom window (not to mention her incredible curls) like Cheezel dust. She’s spent the day dealing with a sudden and, at 37, completely unexpected allergic reaction to tomatoes and nightshade. “If I sound a little weird it’s because my mouth is inflamed,” she offers apologetically. And yet, she’s eager to discuss her return to standup because for the past couple of years she’s been focused entirely on her play, Kate . Berlant ended Kate in February after a string of sold-out runs across New York, Los Angeles and London. A one-woman show about a flailing actor’s desperate bid to be taken seriously, the conceit went deep. Shows reportedly featured Berlant herself mingling in crowded foyers before doors opened, holding a sign saying “Ignore me”. It premiered off-Broadway in September 2022, and earned rave reviews for its metatextual skewering of artistic self-indulgence. The Guardian labelled it the “one-woman show to end all one-woman shows”. Berlant says it was her biggest success yet. Which begs the question: why did she end it? Why is she not just bringing Kate to Australia? “Again, a really good question,” Berlant jokes. “It’s not that I’ll never do it again, but I do think it’s healthy to step away from things. I think things ripen and they absolutely rot. It just felt to me like it was time to do something else, just for my own brain.” “I just wanted to step away from it for a second”: Berlant during the opening night performance of her acclaimed play Kate in Pasadena in January. Credit: Getty Images She very well could have kept Kate going, Berlant concedes. But her hope is that, as the show operates in a separate universe to her standup, she can revive it a year from now, or two years from now, or even five years from now, and the material will organically grow with her. In the meantime, she’s been in discussions with her director, Bo Burnham, to potentially film and release it. “But that’s something for down the line. Because the show is extremely meta, it’s not just a show you throw a camera in front of,” says Berlant. “I just wanted to step away from it for a second and get back to what I really love doing the most, which is standup.” When I speak to Berlant, it’s the week after Donald Trump’s crushing win in the US election – a desolate new landscape in America made real. “It’s scary, it’s dark, it’s intensely depressing, and kind of just surreal. It’s such a bizarre time to be alive,” Berlant says, staring into the camera, eyes like saucers to underscore the understatement. “It’s a really bizarre, rather depressing time.” Is that mood already affecting her new standup? “I’m reacting to it maybe in, like, a subtextual way, but not directly,” says Berlant. “No, certainly the show I’ll be doing will not be about me wrestling with, like, how to live in America under Trump. Like, I would sooner die.” It’s for the best. Because if there’s a through line to Berlant’s work, it’s that her performances have always been about the act of performing. Onstage, whether in a scripted play or in a standup set, she’s Kate, but she’s also “Kate”. The persona she’s made her own is of the self-serious artist desperate for attention, for fame, to be noticed as special. A piss take of the narcissism inherent in showbiz, it’s also a well-wrought personification of today’s wider condition, where social media has given everyone main character syndrome. “It just turns out that way with everything I do. My comedy is often about comedy and my performance is usually about performance, and so inevitably with my standup it’s hard for me to ignore how bizarre standup is when I’m doing standup, and it’s hard for me to not kind of call out how inherently strange the dynamic is and how strange it is as a form,” says Berlant. ‘Performing is inherently embarrassing and, I would say, something to be avoided if you can.’ “The idea of a person standing there and just talking about what’s on their mind, it denies that standup is such a highly constructed persona and performance, down to the shoes you wear. I’ve always looked at the conditions of performance as being really bizarre and also funny. And also just the fact that performance is, of course, a naked plea for attention and adoration. I can’t pretend that that’s not what’s going on in the room, you know?” The focus on performance is never far from Berlant; she’s been thinking about it forever (she even has degrees in the cultural anthropology of comedy and performance studies from New York University). A child actor, she scored her first onscreen gig at 15, playing Student #2 in an episode of Lizzie McGuire , and believed it would set her on a path to screen stardom (it didn’t). There was enough self-awareness in her failure to fuel another mode of expression: when she started doing comedy at 17, she quickly found that her standup landed on a self-referential conceit. “I would end up kind of talking about standup in the standup. Which sounds awful,” Berlant laughs. “But, I mean, just talking about the encounter between performer and audience, and how performing is inherently embarrassing and, I would say, something to be avoided if you can.” She’d experienced something similar to that indescribable ick in her upbringing, too, as the only child of two artists – her father Tony Berlant is a prominent US sculptor; her mother Helen Mendez performed in experimental theatre before becoming a set designer. In an episode of Netflix’s The Characters , she portrayed an insufferable Marina Abramović type, lampooning the pretentious art world egos she’d witnessed growing up. “The self-importance of the art world, like the self-importance of Hollywood, there’s almost nothing to comment on because it’s so in plain sight,” Berlant says. “From an early age, I think I was aware of performance as not just being something people do on stage, but just as a child watching adults perform: perform being smart, perform being interesting, perform the performance of being an artist. “I mean, if you call yourself an ‘artist’ ...” she glances into the camera with an are you serious? stare. “That’s quite a part to play.” Berlant with her comedy partner John Early at this year’s Creative Arts Emmys, where their sketch special was nominated. Credit: Getty Images Is she never not aware of the performance? Like, even in this interview: me, playing the role of the politely probing interviewer, trying to dig at some defining childhood trauma; she, the subject, playing at being revealing, as if she’s never considered these stories before. “Yeah, it’s hard to separate, I think I’m always aware of it,” says Berlant. “But what I really find funny are people who don’t know that we can see them performing. We live in a world now where everyone’s a performer, even people who aren’t performers are used to performing for social media. So there’s been a huge breakdown in those terms and in their definitions.” Complicating Berlant’s obsession with the artifice of authenticity in comedy and theatre is a sincere love of live performance. In a world where standup careers can thrive exclusively through crowd-work clips on TikTok, she still craves the sacredness of the club. “When I started standup, the only way to get good or build a career was to perform, do shows, as many shows as you could do. Even just, like, spiritually, I feel so lucky that was how I came up,” she says. “So I do think that in today’s world, it’s still very exciting when people show up physically to see a show. I think that’s something that will persist, but it is feeling more and more rarefied and less valued.” It’s why Berlant is excited for the set she’ll be bringing to Australia, whatever shape it ends up taking. After her journey with Kate , a return to the spontaneous possibilities of her standup has been calling. “There’s something that feels good about just being like, okay, this is where I am right now in my life, this is how I’m reacting to it, and not being too precious about it or spending years crafting it. I think that’s what makes it feel alive, for me and the audience.” Kate Berlant will be performing at Melbourne Recital Hall on March 7 and at Sydney Opera House as part of All About Women on March 9. To read more from Spectrum , visit our page here .
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