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U.S. president-elect Donald Trump arrives before the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket in Boca Chica, Tex., on, Nov. 19. Brandon Bell/The Canadian Press As U.S. president-elect Donald Trump rattles his closest neighbours with threats of tariffs, he is also firming up the team of loyalists to put his plans into action. Trump’s team to lead his trade agenda and the American economy include trade lawyers, former advisers and Wall Street executives who have all expressed favourable views of tariffs. “He’s choosing a lot of people who are going to be loyal to him and his ideas,” said Matthew Lebo, a specialist in U.S. politics at Western University in London, Ont. “And that probably will lead to a lot more volatility than even we saw in the first term.” On Tuesday evening, Trump picked Jamieson Greer to be U.S. trade representative. The president-elect said Greer played a key role in the first Trump administration imposing tariffs on China and negotiating the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. If confirmed, Greer will oversee the trade pact’s review in 2026. “Jamieson will focus the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on reining in the country’s massive trade deficit, defending American manufacturing, agriculture, and services, and opening up export markets everywhere,” Trump said in a statement. Greer was the chief of staff to former U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer as the trilateral agreement was being crafted to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was torn up last time Trump entered office. Greer’s nomination came the day after Trump said he will impose a 25 per cent import tariff on goods coming from Canada and Mexico. He has also announced an additional 10 per cent tariff on goods from China. Trump said the tariffs against Canada and Mexico would remain in place until both countries stop people and drugs, in particular fentanyl, from illegally crossing the border into the U.S. A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report suggested Trump’s previous pledge to impose a 10 per cent levy would take a $30-billion bite out of the Canadian economy. More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S. and trade comprises 60 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Some economists have warned across-the-board duties would cause inflation in the U.S., even though Trump campaigned on lowering costs for Americans. Greer was deeply involved in Trump’s original sweeping tariffs on China and subsequent negotiations on the U.S.-China Phase 1 trade agreement, online biographies say. In testimony about China’s trade agenda at a House trade subcommittee last year, Greer said he believes “good fences make good neighbours, and trade enforcement is an important part of establishing those fences.” On Tuesday, Trump also tapped Kevin Hassett to be the director of the White House National Economic Council. The role will be key in fulfilling Trump’s campaign promise to fix the U.S. economy. His announcement said Hassett will also “ensure that we have fair trade with countries that have taken advantage of the United States in the past.” Hassett served during the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and the president-elect has called him a “true friend.” The latest nominations round out an economic team that includes hedge fund executive Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary and Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Wall Street investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, who was tapped for commerce secretary. If confirmed by the Senate, Lutnick would oversee a sprawling cabinet agency and Trump’s tariff agenda. He has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s tariff plans. In an CNBC interview in September he said tariffs are “an amazing tool for the president to use – we need to protect the American worker.” Lebo said as Trump prepares to return to office he is removing any person who could prove to be a guardrail or check on his power. “These are people aligned with Trump,” Lebo said. “More and more aligned with his campaign rhetoric.”
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By BEN FINLEY The Christmas tradition has become nearly global in scope: Children from around the world track Santa Claus as he sweeps across the earth, delivering presents and defying time. Related Articles National News | Heavy travel day off to a rough start after American Airlines briefly grounds all flights National News | Prosecutors withdraw appeal of dismissed case against Alec Baldwin in fatal movie set shooting National News | Today in History: December 24, former defense secretary pardoned in Iran-Contra scandal National News | NJ pharmaceutical exec in $38M stock scam: DoJ National News | Aaron Rodgers dating someone named Brittani Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the North American Aerospace Defense Command to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online in nine languages , from English to Japanese. On any other night, NORAD is scanning the heavens for potential threats , such as last year’s Chinese spy balloon . But on Christmas Eve, volunteers in Colorado Springs are fielding questions like, “When is Santa coming to my house?” and, “Am I on the naughty or nice list?” “There are screams and giggles and laughter,” said Bob Sommers, 63, a civilian contractor and NORAD volunteer. Sommers often says on the call that everyone must be asleep before Santa arrives, prompting parents to say, “Do you hear what he said? We got to go to bed early.” NORAD’s annual tracking of Santa has endured since the Cold War , predating ugly sweater parties and Mariah Carey classics . The tradition continues regardless of government shutdowns, such as the one in 2018 , and this year . Here’s how it began and why the phones keep ringing. It started with a child’s accidental phone call in 1955. The Colorado Springs newspaper printed a Sears advertisement that encouraged children to call Santa, listing a phone number. A boy called. But he reached the Continental Air Defense Command, now NORAD, a joint U.S. and Canadian effort to spot potential enemy attacks. Tensions were growing with the Soviet Union, along with anxieties about nuclear war. Air Force Col. Harry W. Shoup picked up an emergency-only “red phone” and was greeted by a tiny voice that began to recite a Christmas wish list. “He went on a little bit, and he takes a breath, then says, ‘Hey, you’re not Santa,’” Shoup told The Associated Press in 1999. Realizing an explanation would be lost on the youngster, Shoup summoned a deep, jolly voice and replied, “Ho, ho, ho! Yes, I am Santa Claus. Have you been a good boy?” Shoup said he learned from the boy’s mother that Sears mistakenly printed the top-secret number. He hung up, but the phone soon rang again with a young girl reciting her Christmas list. Fifty calls a day followed, he said. In the pre-digital age, the agency used a 60-by-80 foot (18-by-24 meter) plexiglass map of North America to track unidentified objects. A staff member jokingly drew Santa and his sleigh over the North Pole. The tradition was born. “Note to the kiddies,” began an AP story from Colorado Springs on Dec. 23, 1955. “Santa Claus Friday was assured safe passage into the United States by the Continental Air Defense Command.” In a likely reference to the Soviets, the article noted that Santa was guarded against possible attack from “those who do not believe in Christmas.” Some grinchy journalists have nitpicked Shoup’s story, questioning whether a misprint or a misdial prompted the boy’s call. In 2014, tech news site Gizmodo cited an International News Service story from Dec. 1, 1955, about a child’s call to Shoup. Published in the Pasadena Independent, the article said the child reversed two digits in the Sears number. “When a childish voice asked COC commander Col. Harry Shoup, if there was a Santa Claus at the North Pole, he answered much more roughly than he should — considering the season: ‘There may be a guy called Santa Claus at the North Pole, but he’s not the one I worry about coming from that direction,’” Shoup said in the brief piece. In 2015, The Atlantic magazine doubted the flood of calls to the secret line, while noting that Shoup had a flair for public relations. Phone calls aside, Shoup was indeed media savvy. In 1986, he told the Scripps Howard News Service that he recognized an opportunity when a staff member drew Santa on the glass map in 1955. A lieutenant colonel promised to have it erased. But Shoup said, “You leave it right there,” and summoned public affairs. Shoup wanted to boost morale for the troops and public alike. “Why, it made the military look good — like we’re not all a bunch of snobs who don’t care about Santa Claus,” he said. Shoup died in 2009. His children told the StoryCorps podcast in 2014 that it was a misprinted Sears ad that prompted the phone calls. “And later in life he got letters from all over the world,” said Terri Van Keuren, a daughter. “People saying ‘Thank you, Colonel, for having, you know, this sense of humor.’” NORAD’s tradition is one of the few modern additions to the centuries-old Santa story that have endured, according to Gerry Bowler, a Canadian historian who spoke to the AP in 2010. Ad campaigns or movies try to “kidnap” Santa for commercial purposes, said Bowler, who wrote “Santa Claus: A Biography.” NORAD, by contrast, takes an essential element of Santa’s story and views it through a technological lens. In a recent interview with the AP, Air Force Lt. Gen. Case Cunningham explained that NORAD radars in Alaska and Canada —- known as the northern warning system — are the first to detect Santa. He leaves the North Pole and typically heads for the international dateline in the Pacific Ocean. From there he moves west, following the night. “That’s when the satellite systems we use to track and identify targets of interest every single day start to kick in,” Cunningham said. “A probably little-known fact is that Rudolph’s nose that glows red emanates a lot of heat. And so those satellites track (Santa) through that heat source.” NORAD has an app and website, www.noradsanta.org , that will track Santa on Christmas Eve from 4 a.m. to midnight, mountain standard time. People can call 1-877-HI-NORAD to ask live operators about Santa’s location from 6 a.m. to midnight, mountain time.
IndiQube Spaces Limited, a managed workplace solutions company dedicated to transforming the traditional office experience through comprehensive, sustainable, and technology-driven solutions has filed the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with capital markets regulator, SEBI to raise Rs. 850 crore through an initial public offering (IPO). IndiQube is backed by prominent venture capital firm, WestBridge Capital and renowned individual investor, Ashish Gupta with Rishi Das, Chairman, Executive Director and CEO and Meghna Agarwal, COO and Executive Director at the helm. The IPO of the Bengaluru based company comprises of a Fresh Issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs. 750 crores and an Offer for Sale (OFS) of equity shares aggregating up to Rs. 100 crores by the Promoter Selling Shareholders – Rishi Das and Meghna Agarwal IndiQube Spaces Limited proposes to utilize the Net Proceeds of the Fresh Issue towards funding capital expenditure towards establishment of new centers (Rs. 462.6 crores); repayment or prepayment, in full or in part, of certain borrowings availed by the company (Rs. 100 crores); and general corporate purposes. The company which was incorporated in 2015, manages a portfolio of 103 centers across 13 cities, covering 7.76 million square feet of area under management (AUM) in super built-up area with a total seating capacity of 172,451 as of June 30, 2024 and has a balanced portfolio of global capability centers (GCCs) and Indian enterprises as part of its clientele. IndiQube’s clients include GCCs, Indian corporates, unicorns as well as start-ups across sectors like Myntra, upGrad, Zerodha, No Broker, Redbus, Juspay, Perfios, Moglix, Ninjacart, Siemens, Narayana Health to name a few. IndiQube Grow is the company’s core offering which represents a comprehensive workplace solution, for plug and play workspaces incorporating interiors, technology, facility management and value-added services. It has also developed four additional verticals, namely IndiQube Bespoke, IndiQube One, MiQube and IndiQube Cornerstone to service specialized client requirements. It reported a Total Income of Rs. 867.6 crores in Fiscal 2024 as against Rs. 601.2 crores in Fiscal 2023. FY24 EBITDA stood at Rs. 263.4 crores, while for Q1FY25 itself the EBITDA was Rs. 153 crores. IndiQube recently expanded its Board with addition of four Independent Directors, including one woman Independent Director. Naveen Tewari, chief executive officer and founder of the InMobi Group, Avalur Gopalaratnam Muralikrishnan, a certified chartered accountant with over 35 years of experience in the finance industry; Rahul Matthan, partner at Trilegal with 30 years of experience, and Sachi Krishana, with 20 years of experience in the field of human resources are the new members of the Board. Flexible workspaces are becoming an integral part of the commercial office market. The rise of hybrid work models, prudence in the use of capital, the need for flexibility, workspace planning, and a shift in work culture are amongst the factors fuelling the demand for flexible workspaces. According to a CBRE report, the flexible workspace stock in India currently stands over 79 million sq.ft. out of which Tier 1 cities account for over 72 million sq.ft. The Tier 1 stock is estimated to grow to approximately 124 Mn sq. ft. by end of CY2027. Bengaluru is the largest commercial office and flexible workspace market in India currently, accounting for over 30% of the total flexible workspace stock amongst Tier I cities. IndiQube is amongst the leading operators in Bengaluru with a portfolio of 60 centers spanning 5.04 million square feet in AUM. The Book Running Lead Managers to the offer are ICICI Securities Limited and JM Financial Limited The equity shares are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE.
Ravens’ Derrick Henry responds to Chargers LB Khalil Mack’s commentsAP News Summary at 3:42 p.m. ESTSome prominent critics of President-elect Donald Trump - including three officials in his first administration - are instructing their accountants to safeguard against the possibility of Trump ordering investigations into their tax records after he returns to the White House, according to interviews with Reuters. Several American administrations in the 20th century misused the Internal Revenue Service, the US tax collection agency, to target opponents by ordering audits of their tax filings, historians say. Six Trump critics, including two national security officials and one CIA officer in his first administration, told Reuters they fear a malicious IRS audit. Five are taking protective measures in response to the former president’s vows to seek retribution against perceived enemies. “We are going through our finances with a fine-tooth comb,” one of the former national security officials told Reuters. On the campaign trail Trump repeatedly called for the prosecution of perceived enemies, including Democratic President Joe Biden and his family, prosecutors who brought criminal cases against him while he was out of power, and former intelligence officials who investigated alleged ties between his 2016 election campaign and Russia. This week Trump filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register newspaper and its former top pollster, alleging interference in the November 5 election. While Trump has not spoken publicly about using the IRS as an instrument of revenge, Mark Zaid, a whistleblower attorney representing two of the Trump critics who spoke to Reuters, said many such clients fear that they could be targeted by the IRS with groundless audits. Even if no issue is found with their taxes, he said, an audit would force them to spend money on legal and accounting fees and stress them emotionally. A Trump spokesman referred Reuters to an interview that aired on NBC’s Meet the Press on December 8. ‘They went after me’ Asked if he wants to see investigations of his political enemies, Trump told the interviewer: “No, I don’t think so.” He then added: “If they were crooked, if they did something wrong, if they have broken the law, probably. They went after me. You know, they went after me and I did nothing wrong.” Since he won the election, Trump has been less vocal about going after his enemies. He has not named any of the individuals who spoke to Reuters. The critics Reuters interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity. They fear that talking publicly will make them more likely to be targeted. Another of the former national security officials told Reuters they have directed their accountant that there can be no “gray areas” in their tax returns and they must be audit-proof. A Republican strategist said he and his accountant are in negotiations with the IRS over more than $100,000 in back taxes. “We are hoping to settle with the IRS before Trump takes office,” the strategist told Reuters. Fifteen other prominent Trump critics did not respond to interview requests or declined to be interviewed. They include two senior officials in Democratic president Barack Obama’s administration, former CIA director John Brennan and former director of national intelligence James Clapper, and former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney. Brennan headed the CIA during an intelligence community investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election that concluded in a January 2017 report that the effort was aimed at swaying the vote to Trump. A 2018 bipartisan Senate intelligence committee report and Special Counsel Robert Mueller in 2019 reached similar conclusions and found contacts between Trump campaign aides and Russian officials. Both probes, however, found that the campaign did not conspire in Moscow’s interference operations. Last year, Trump reposted on his Truth Social platform a fabricated image of Brennan, Clapper and others behind bars with a caption suggesting they be tried for treason. Cheney was vice-chair of the congressional committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters and voted to impeach the former president. During the election, she campaigned for his opponent, Vice-President Kamala Harris. In a post on his Truth Social site last Wednesday, Trump said the FBI should investigate Cheney for her role in the January 6 investigation. “Liz Cheney could be in a lot of trouble.” A spokesperson for Cheney did not respond to requests for comment. ComplexThe US has one of the most complex tax systems in the world. But, in general, tax audits are rare. For all returns filed for tax years 2013 through 2021, the most recent long-term data available, the IRS audited just 0.44% of individual returns. An audit typically requires a taxpayer to produce receipts, bank statements or other documents and can involve costly accountants’ fees. A major audit can last months and even years with the possibility of a fine. In extremely rare cases - less than 400 in 2023 - people can be jailed for wilful criminal tax evasion. The IRS said in a statement to Reuters that they operated without political bias. “Audits and collections are handled by career, non-partisan civil servants, and the IRS has safeguards in place to protect the exam and collection process,” the IRS said. Three of those who told Reuters they were worried about the prospect of heightened IRS scrutiny of their finances cited the cases of former FBI director James Comey and his deputy Andrew McCabe, who were selected for the most intrusive type of examination, called a National Research Program audit. “Would I be surprised if I got an IRS audit? No.” said the former CIA official. The FBI leaders infuriated Trump during his first term over their handling of the Russia investigation. In his first term Trump repeatedly called both men corrupt and said they should be investigated. In June 2024, Trump reposted a warning by his former White House advisor Steve Bannon that McCabe should be worried about being targeted if Trump wins re-election. Comey was subjected to an IRS audit in 2019, when Trump was still in office. McCabe was audited in 2021, after Trump left office, but when the IRS was still under the leadership of Trump’s choice to head the agency, according to The New York Times. The audits concluded that the IRS owed Comey and his wife $347, according to The New York Times. McCabe and his wife owed a small amount, which they paid, The Times reported. A 2022 IRS inspector general’s report cleared the IRS of wrongdoing in the Comey and McCabe audits. The IRS is barred by law from discussing individual audits. Nixon and the IRS Several previous US administrations have used the IRS to seek retribution against political enemies, according to the 1989 book *A Law Unto Itself: Power, Politics, and the IRS, by former New York Times investigative journalist David Burnham, who died in October. Those presidents include Calvin Coolidge, a Republican, and Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat. Richard Nixon, a Republican, also ordered the agency to audit people on his enemies’ list - but the IRS commissioner at the time refused, said Timothy Naftali, a historian and former director of the Nixon Presidential Library in California. “There’s certainly a lot of people in the Nixon era who were quite convinced that Nixon had audited them,” Naftali said. Brian Davis, an accountant in Virginia who has handled audits for clients, said under US laws put in place after Nixon left office a president cannot directly order an audit. However, “the fact that Comey and McCabe got those audits, it certainly raised some questions,” he added. Comey and McCabe declined requests for interviews. Jamie Raskin, a senior House Democrat who was a lead prosecutor in Trump’s second impeachment, said many members of Congress are keeping a close eye on who Trump will target, and how. “Everybody is clearly following the various threats being levelled against private citizens and public officials,” Raskin said.