esports roster

esports roster Eli Manning and Antonio Gates are among the finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, former Defensive Players of the Year Luke Kuechly and Terrell Suggs, and prolific tight end Antonio Gates are among the finalists for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. The Hall on Saturday announced the names of the 15 modern-era finalists who advanced from a group of 25 to the final stage of voting. The selection committee will vote next month to pick the class of between three and five modern-era players that will be announced the week of the Super Bowl. Georgia quarterback Carson Beck announces plan to enter NFL draft after season-ending elbow injury Georgia quarterback Carson Beck has announced his plans to enter the NFL draft, five days after having season-ending elbow surgery. The fifth-year senior made his NFL plans official on social media. Beck suffered a right elbow injury in the first half of the Bulldogs’ 22-19 overtime win over Texas in the Southeastern Conference championship game on Dec. 7. Beck had surgery on Monday to repair his ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow. He is expected to begin throwing next spring. Backup Gunner Stockton will make his first start in the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame on Wednesday. Victor Wembanyama plays 1-on-1 chess with fans in New York Victor Wembanyama went to a park in New York City and played 1-on-1 with fans on Saturday. He even lost a couple of games. Not in basketball, though. Wemby was playing chess. Before the San Antonio Spurs left New York for a flight to Minnesota, Wembanyama put out the call on social media: “Who wants to meet me at the SW corner of Washington Square park to play chess? Im there,” Wembanyama wrote. It was 9:36 a.m. And people began showing up almost immediately. Panthers place 1,000-yard rusher Chuba Hubbard on IR for final 2 games with strained calf CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers have shut down leading rusher Chuba Hubbard for the final two games of the season because of a strained calf. He was placed on injured reserve Saturday. Hubbard was limited in practice Friday with a knee injury and was listed as questionable to play Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After practice, Hubbard complained of pain and had an MRI, which revealed a grade two calf strain, according to the team. Hubbard ran for 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. He becomes the third Panthers running back to be placed on injured reserve this season, joining Miles Sanders and rookie Jonathan Brooks. Patriots QB Drake Maye returns to game after evaluation for head injury vs. Chargers FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye has returned to the game after being evaluated for a head injury following a blow to the helmet in the first quarter of New England’s matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers. Maye was scrambling near the sideline on third down of the Patriots’ first possession of the game when he was hit by Chargers cornerback Cam Hart. Maye stayed down on the turf for several seconds before eventually getting up and jogging off the field on his own power. He briefly sat on the bench before going to the medical tent and then the locker room. He was replaced by backup Jacoby Brissett in the next series. But Maye returned at the 10:15 mark of the second quarter. Corbin Burnes and Arizona Diamondbacks agree to $210 million, 6-year deal, AP source says PHOENIX (AP) — Corbin Burnes and the Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a $210 million, six-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a successful physical. The 30-year-old Burnes was perhaps the top free agent pitcher on the market after going 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA for Baltimore last season. The Orioles acquired the right-hander in a February trade after he spent his first six major league seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. NBA coaches react with dismay over firing of 2-time coach of the year Mike Brown ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Not even two years ago, Rick Carlisle publicly lauded Mike Brown for the job he did on the way to winning the NBA’s coach of the year award. And on Friday, Carlisle was among the coaches reacting with dismay that Brown was fired. The Sacramento Kings dismissed Brown on Friday, with the team off to a 13-18 start this season and mired toward the bottom of the Western Conference — despite back-to-back winning seasons, something that franchise hadn’t managed in nearly two decades. Injured Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts won't play Sunday against Dallas PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Injured Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts won't play Sunday against Dallas. Hurts is still in the NFL concussion protocol. The Eagles will turn to backup Kenny Pickett on Sunday because Hurts is dealing with the lingering effects of a concussion suffered against Washington. Hurts was injured early at Washington after his head slammed against the ground on one run and he was hit in the helmet by Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu at the end of another. Hurts isn’t healthy enough to play just yet. UConn beats Carolina in Fenway Bowl, dominating Bill Belichick's next team in his old backyard. BOSTON (AP) — Joe Fagnano threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns to help UConn beat North Carolina 27-14 in the Fenway Bowl, embarrassing Bill Belichick’s new team in his old backyard. Belichick was not spotted in the home of the Boston Red Sox, about an hour north of the stadium where he and Tom Brady hung six Super Bowl championship banners. Interim coach Freddie Kitchens, who like Belichick is a former Cleveland Browns coach, took over when Mack Brown was fired and handled the bowl preparations. Mel Brown rushed for 96 yards for the Huskies. McCord throws for 453 yards, 5 TDs in No. 22 Syracuse's 52-35 Holiday Bowl win over Washington State SAN DIEGO (AP) — Kyle McCord threw for 453 yards and five touchdowns to break Deshaun Watson’s Atlantic Coast Conference season passing record and lead No. 22 Syracuse to a 52-35 victory over depleted-yet-scrappy Washington State in the Holiday Bowl on Friday night. LeQuint Allen rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns for his second straight 1,000-yard season for the Orange (10-3), who had their first 10-win season since 2018. Fran Brown joined Paul Pasqualoni (1991) as the only Orange coaches since World War II to win 10 game in their first season. The Cougars (8-5) lost their fourth straight game but were spirited despite losing coach Jake Dickert to Wake Forest, quarterback John Mateer to Oklahoma, both coordinators and the quarterbacks and running backs coach.The Angels still need help in the rotation, the bullpen and the lineup, but adding to the infield depth chart would seem to be one of their more pressing needs.

Nebraska Fish Art Contest Open For EntriesIt’s a testament to the energy and drive of Elon Musk that he’s now a key adviser to an incoming president of the United States that he helped elect this year — and this is a side project for him. What stamp-collecting is to most us — something we make time for when not engaged in our day jobs — influencing the future direction of the United States government is to Musk. This is not to minimize his significance. Far from it. The revolutionary businessman represents a distinctive and unexpected contribution to the Trump coalition. From the perspective of a decade ago, if you had said the most visionary and wealthy entrepreneur on the planet was at the right hand of a Republican president-elect, promising to cut a couple of trillion of dollars from the federal budget and bring massive innovation to the economy, you might have assumed Paul Ryan or someone in his ideological camp had gotten elected. The former Speaker of the House and vice-presidential nominee was a relentless advocate of entrepreneurship, economic dynamism and a slimmed-down government. Within the GOP, the rise of Trump the populist put the political squeeze on the likes of Ryan, whose business-oriented, free-market creed suddenly felt stale and out-of-touch. Now, a version of that worldview has returned via Musk. To be sure, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is a different animal. He has an in-your-face persona, a bit of a Silicon Valley version of Trump. He’s been radicalized on immigration, becoming a fierce opponent of Joe Biden’s open border. He’s cultural warrior seeking to destroy what he calls “the woke mind virus.” And he is hated with a passion by the other side, which would shut him down if it could. The Biden SEC has notably clashed with him, and is trying to sanction him for how he acquired Twitter. All of this, and especially that acquisition, have made him a populist hero in his own right, even as he champions an economic dynamism that would have thrilled conventional Republicans from the pre-Trump era. Trump contains multitudes. Part of him is an inward-looking protectionist who believes, almost no matter what, that we are getting ripped off by foreign countries. Part of him is also a champion of endless possibility. Part of him is a tribune of the working class. Part of him is also inclined to make the stock market the economic measure of all things. He’ll talk of American carnage, and of an American golden age. This is a protean mix, and subject to change depending on circumstances and who is around Trump at any given point. A danger of populism is that it can succumb to pure nostalgia and become overly defensive, giving in to a distrust of technology, big companies and economic change. So long Musk is a major player in Trump’s world, there is a strong counter to this tendency. Musk is the paladin of a future ripped from the covers of paperback science-fiction novels circa 1950 — rocket ships, futuristic cars, robots and giant tunnel-boring machines. He has almost single-handedly changed Republican attitudes toward Big Tech. He’s proven that you can be a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and not be woke or a cowardly fellow-traveler with left-wing politics. There’s still plenty of contempt of and distrust for tech companies on the right, but now it is Democrats who talk more of ideas like repealing Section 230 to hobble social-media companies. At the same time, Musk’s DOGE has made talk of cutting government fashionable again on the right, when this priority had mostly lost out to other concerns since the advent of the Trump era. The hope that DOGE will cut as much as $2 trillion from the budget is unrealistic, but any savings and efficiencies would be welcome. Who knows how effective Musk will be in his role as a change agent confronting government, the most difficult institution to change? Sending a man to Mars might be easier. But Musk brings a boundless optimism and can-do verve to the effort, and he’s a healthy new ingredient to Trump’s populist mix. Twitter: @RichLowry

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of commentary online and in print each day. To contribute, click here . ••• Just when the Minnesota Legislature really needs practitioners of bipartisan cooperation and mutual respect — not to mention a good Bob Dylan impression — Frank Hornstein is retiring. This is not my customary farewell to an able and long-serving legislator, though Hornstein surely fills that bill. That’s what I might have offered, had not Minnesota voters (abetted by some long-ago judges, whom I’ll blast shortly) opted to send 67 DFLers and 67 Republicans to the 2025 Minnesota House. Come January — unless one pending court challenge in a Shakopee district results in an outcome reversal — the House will be tied, as it has not been since 1979. Suddenly the relationship-building skills that DFLer Hornstein from southwest Minneapolis exhibited through 22 years in office aren’t just pleasantries. They are vital governing tools. The ability of the 2025 Legislature to perform its minimal duty — that is, to balance the state budget in 2026-27 and beyond — may depend on the prevalence of those qualities among rank-and-file legislators. Hornstein gets that. He is a 65-year-old former community organizer, husband of a rabbi and son of two Holocaust survivors. All four of his grandparents died at the hands of the Nazis. His family’s story can be seen as a cautionary tale about what can happen when governments abandon tolerance in favor of ideological purity, scapegoating and violence. He came to the Legislature in 2003 as more than a nice guy with a knack for funny impersonations. He wanted to make government work, and he knew that required collaboration, compromise and patience. He worked for at least 15 years on the major transportation funding bill he shepherded into law in 2023, all the while making friends throughout the chamber. That’s why I asked Hornstein recently to do more than reminisce. I wanted to hear his tips for working effectively across the partisan aisle while simultaneously upholding his own policy priorities — in his case, on transportation, climate and the environment. “It’s really important to make the extra effort to connect with people on a human basis,” Hornstein told me. “A lot of legislators engage now and then with the other side of the aisle. But doing that on an ongoing basis is the critical thing. It’s really important to not just start a relationship, but keep the relationship going.” Get to know not just each other’s names, but the names of spouses and children, Hornstein advises. Acquire private phone numbers. (Hornstein memorizes them.) Visit each other’s districts. Don’t blindside the opposition with “gotcha” surprises. Go to funerals. That’s what Hornstein did when Republican Rep. John Petersburg of Waseca lost his wife in 2022. Though Hornstein does not drive, he arranged a ride to attend the funeral. “I’ll always remember,” Petersburg told Governing magazine . Petersburg also retired this year. He was one of two House Republicans who showed up at Hornstein’s Nov. 10 retirement party in Linden Hills. Hornstein’s advice would have sounded self-evident to legislators a few decades ago. The fact that his friendship regimen made him stand out among his 133 fellow House members in recent years attests to how much the partisanship of the last several decades has damaged the institution’s social norms. It’s likely no coincidence that as civility eroded, so did legislative productivity when government is divided. And the Legislature can’t get more divided than it will be in 2025: 67-67 in the House, and 34 DFLers to 33 Republicans in the Senate. Who would design a legislative branch of government that allowed for such a nasty split, you might ask? That would be a panel of federal appellate judges with Minnesota pedigrees in 1972 — all of whom I admired for their work on cases other than this one. Gerald Heaney of Duluth, Earl Larson of Minneapolis and Edward Devitt of St. Paul handled Minnesota’s decennial redistricting lawsuit that year. They first tried to shrink the Senate to 35 members and the House to 105 — an arithmetically elegant but politically toxic idea that was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Then they decreed that Minnesota must end its practice of allowing one state Senate district to be served by three House members rather than the customary two. That took the House from 135 members to 134, creating the potential for an evenly divided body. The judges said they considered an even split highly unlikely. Just six years later, it happened. Now it has happened again. A systemic fix is possible. Minnesota could look again at what the three jurists tried, creating a 3:1 ratio of House to Senate members. The consequent political pain could be eased by enlarging the Legislature. That’s been done before. The Minnesota Legislature had 147 members in 1880, 183 in 1910, and 198 for a 40-year span in the mid-20th century . I expect ideas like those to simmer until 2031, when redistricting will again be on the Legislature’s front burner. For now, House members need to find a way to function with neither side clearly in charge. To do that, they’re going to need to shed some of the hyperpartisan bad habits of the last few decades. Hornstein’s advice: “People need to understand that they were elected to govern together. They can’t do their jobs alone.” Instead of working hard to make the other side look bad, they should aim together to make Minnesota look good. Lori Sturdevant is a retired Star Tribune editorial writer. She is at lsturdevant@startribune.com .ImmunityBio ( NASDAQ: IBRX ) on Tuesday said it intends to offer and sell shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. ImmunityBio intends to use the net proceeds to progress its continued commercialization of ANKTIVA for treatment of BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive

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Elon Musk pens opinion article backing AfD in German newspaper, prompts editor's resignationCaitlin Clark honored as AP Female Athlete of the Year

NoneHoroscope today, 23 November 2024: Daily predictions for all zodiac signs

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump's lawyers urged a judge again Friday to throw out his hush money conviction, balking at the prosecution's suggestion of preserving the verdict by treating the case the way some courts do when a defendant dies. They called the idea "absurd." The Manhattan district attorney's office asked Judge Juan M. Merchan to "pretend as if one of the assassination attempts against President Trump had been successful," Trump's lawyers wrote in a 23-page response. In court papers made public Tuesday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books after Trump's lawyers filed paperwork this month asking for the case to be dismissed. They include freezing the case until Trump leaves office in 2029, agreeing that any future sentence won't include jail time, or closing the case by noting he was convicted but that he wasn't sentenced and his appeal wasn't resolved because of presidential immunity. People are also reading... OSU football: A prediction gone badly wrong OSU men's basketball: Beavers hope blowout wins pave the way for bigger things Rebuilding the Pac-12 Conference Philomath driver suspected of DUII in Corvallis pileup Corvallis man fatally hit by vehicle in Washington Corvallis police seek grinches who stole Christmas OSU police chief put on leave Corvallis woman accused of hammer attack, break-in in Philomath As I See It: Six reasons why Trump won again Corvallis sued following DUII arrest of diabetic teen Corvallis Samaritan hospital has new CEO OSU police chief put on leave Corvallis middle housing project struggles to achieve liftoff thanks to a sewer pipe Why did Trump win? Election debrief hosted by Corvallis group Albany's Talking Water Gardens goes silent — with no restart date Former President Donald Trump appears May 30 at Manhattan criminal court during jury deliberations in his criminal hush money trial in New York. Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove reiterated Friday their position that the only acceptable option is overturning his conviction and dismissing his indictment, writing that anything less will interfere with the transition process and his ability to lead the country. The Manhattan district attorney's office declined comment. It's unclear how soon Merchan will decide. He could grant Trump's request for dismissal, go with one of the prosecution's suggestions, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump's parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court, or choose some other option. In their response Friday, Blanche and Bove ripped each of the prosecution's suggestions. Halting the case until Trump leaves office would force the incoming president to govern while facing the "ongoing threat" that he'll be sentenced to imprisonment, fines or other punishment as soon as his term ends, Blanche and Bove wrote. Trump, a Republican, takes office Jan. 20. The prosecution's suggestion that Merchan could mitigate those concerns by promising not to sentence Trump to jail time on presidential immunity grounds is also a non-starter, Blanche and Bove wrote. The immunity statute requires dropping the case, not merely limiting sentencing options, they contend. Attorney Todd Blanche listens May 30 as his client Donald Trump speaks at Manhattan criminal court during jury deliberations in his criminal hush money trial in New York. Blanche and Bove, both of whom Trump tapped for high-ranking Justice Department positions, expressed outrage at the prosecution's novel suggestion that Merchan borrow from Alabama and other states and treat the case as if Trump died. Blanche and Bove accused prosecutors of ignoring New York precedent and attempting to "fabricate" a solution "based on an extremely troubling and irresponsible analogy between President Trump" who survived assassination attempts in Pennsylvania in July and Florida in September "and a hypothetical dead defendant." Such an option normally comes into play when a defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. It is unclear whether it is viable under New York law, but prosecutors suggested that Merchan could innovate in what's already a unique case. "This remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding," prosecutors wrote in their filing this week. But at the same time, it wouldn't "precipitously discard" the "meaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers." Prosecutors acknowledged that "presidential immunity requires accommodation" during Trump's impending return to the White House but argued that his election to a second term should not upend the jury's verdict, which came when he was out of office. Longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Other world leaders don't enjoy the same protection. For example, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial on corruption charges even as he leads that nation's wars in Lebanon and Gaza. President-elect Donald Trump attends a Dec. 7 meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Trump has fought for months to reverse his May 30 conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier, which Trump denies. Trump's hush money conviction was in state court, meaning a presidential pardon — issued by Biden or himself when he takes office — would not apply to the case. Presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes. Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith ended his two federal cases, which pertained to Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in each case. Trump was scheduled for sentencing in the hush money case in late November, but following Trump's Nov. 5 election win, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president's sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office. Here are the people Trump picked for key positions so far President-elect Donald Trump 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, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Marco Rubio, Secretary of State 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, Secretary of Defense 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. Pam Bondi, Attorney General 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. Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security 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. Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior 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., Secretary of Health and Human Services 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, Treasury Secretary 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. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Labor Secretary Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment. Scott Turner, Housing and Urban Development 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, Secretary of Transportation 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. Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy 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. Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education 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, Secretary of Agriculture 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. Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce 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. Trump Transition FILE - Former Rep. Doug Collins speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Oct. 15, 2024, in Atlanta. Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary 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. Tulsi Gabbard, National Intelligence Director 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. John Ratcliffe, Central Intelligence Agency Director Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” Kash Patel, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel spent several years as a Justice Department prosecutor before catching the Trump administration’s attention as a staffer on Capitol Hill who helped investigate the Russia probe. Patel called for dramatically reducing the agency’s footprint, a perspective that sets him apart from earlier directors who sought additional resources for the bureau. Though the Justice Department in 2021 halted the practice of secretly seizing reporters’ phone records during leak investigations, Patel said he intends to aggressively hunt down government officials who leak information to reporters. Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator 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.” Brendan Carr, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission 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. Paul Atkins, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission Trump said Atkins, the CEO of Patomak Partners and a former SEC commissioner, was a “proven leader for common sense regulations.” In the years since leaving the SEC, Atkins has made the case against too much market regulation. “He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The commission oversees U.S. securities markets and investments and is currently led by Gary Gensler, who has been leading the U.S. government’s crackdown on the crypto industry. Gensler, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, announced last month that he would be stepping down from his post on the day that Trump is inaugurated — Jan. 20, 2025. Atkins began his career as a lawyer and has a long history working in the financial markets sector, both in government and private practice. In the 1990s, he worked on the staffs of two former SEC chairmen, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt. Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, 41, is a tech billionaire who bought a series of spaceflights from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and conducted the first private spacewalk . He is the founder and CEO of a card-processing company and has collaborated closely with Musk ever since buying his first chartered SpaceX flight. He took contest winners on that 2021 trip and followed it in September with a mission where he briefly popped out the hatch to test SpaceX’s new spacewalking suits. Elise Stefanik, Ambassador to the United Nations 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. Matt Whitaker, Ambassador to NATO 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. David Perdue, Ambassador to China President-elect Donald Trump tapped former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be ambassador to China, saying in a social media post that the former CEO “brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China.” Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff four years ago and ran unsuccessfully in a primary against Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. Perdue pushed Trump's debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for governor. Pete Hoekstra, Ambassador to Canada 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.” Mike Huckabee, Ambassador to Israel 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. Kimberly Guilfoyle, Ambassador to Greece Guilfoyle is a former California prosecutor and television news personality who led the fundraising for Trump's 2020 campaign and became engaged to Don Jr. in 2020. Trump called her “a close friend and ally” and praised her “sharp intellect make her supremely qualified.” Guilfoyle was on stage with the family on election night. “I am so proud of Kimberly. She loves America and she always has wanted to serve the country as an Ambassador. She will be an amazing leader for America First,” Don Jr. posted. The ambassador positions must be approved by the U.S. Senate. Guilfoyle said in a social media post that she was “honored to accept President Trump’s nomination to serve as the next Ambassador to Greece and I look forward to earning the support of the U.S. Senate.” Steven Witkoff, Special Envoy to the Middle East 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. Keith Kellogg, Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as National Security Advisor to Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence. For the America First Policy Institute, one of several groups formed after Trump left office to help lay the groundwork for the next Republican administration, Kellogg in April wrote that “bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Mike Waltz, National Security Adviser 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, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy 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. Tom Homan, ‘Border Czar’ 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. Rodney Scott, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Customs and Border Protection, with its roughly 60,000 employees, falls under the Department of Homeland Security. It includes the Border Patrol, which Rodney Scott led during Trump's first term, and is essentially responsible for protecting the country's borders while facilitating trade and travel. Scott comes to the job firmly from the Border Patrol side of the house. He became an agent in 1992 and spent much of his career in San Diego. When he was appointed head of the border agency in January 2020, he enthusiastically embraced Trump's policies. After being forced out under the Biden administration, Scott has been a vocal supporter of Trump's hard-line immigration agenda. He appeared frequently on Fox News and testified in Congress. He's also a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Billy Long, Internal Revenue Service commissioner Former Rep. Billy Long represented Missouri in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2023. Since leaving Congress, Trump said, Long “has worked as a Business and Tax advisor, helping Small Businesses navigate the complexities of complying with the IRS Rules and Regulations.” Kelly Loeffler, Small Business Administration administrator Former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler was appointed in January 2020 by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and then lost a runoff election a year later. She started a conservative voter registration organization and dived into GOP fundraising, becoming one of the top individual donors and bundlers to Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign. Even before nominating her for agriculture secretary, the president-elect already had tapped Loeffler as co-chair of his inaugural committee. Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services administrator 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 and Vivek Ramaswamy to advise White House on government efficiency 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, Office of Management and Budget 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. Kari Lake, Voice of America Trump says he’s picking Kari Lake as director of Voice of America, installing a staunch loyalist who ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor and a Senate seat to head the congressionally funded broadcaster that provides independent news reporting around the world. Lake endeared herself to Trump through her dogmatic commitment to the falsehood that both she and Trump were the victims of election fraud. She has never acknowledged losing the gubernatorial race and called herself the “lawful governor” in her 2023 book, “Unafraid: Just Getting Started.” Additional selections to the incoming White House Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. James Blair, deputy chief of staff Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Taylor Budowich, deputy chief of staff Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. Jay Bhattacharya, National Institutes of Health Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya is a physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, and is a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He promoted the idea of herd immunity during the pandemic, arguing that people at low risk should live normally while building up immunity to COVID-19 through infection. The National Institutes of Health funds medical research through competitive grants to researchers at institutions throughout the nation. NIH also conducts its own research with thousands of scientists working at its labs in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Marty Makary, Food and Drug Administration Makary is a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against pandemic lockdowns. He routinely appeared on Fox News during the COVID-19 pandemic and wrote opinion articles questioning masks for children. He cast doubt on vaccine mandates but supported vaccines generally. Makary also cast doubt on whether booster shots worked, which was against federal recommendations on the vaccine. Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Surgeon General Nesheiwat is a general practitioner who serves as medical director for CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. She has been a contributor to Fox News. Dr. Dave Weldon, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Weldon is a former Florida congressman who recently ran for a Florida state legislative seat and lost; Trump backed Weldon’s opponent. In Congress, Weldon weighed in on one of the nation’s most heated debates of the 1990s over quality of life and a right-to-die and whether Terri Schiavo, who was in a persistent vegetative state after cardiac arrest, should have been allowed to have her feeding tube removed. He sided with the parents who did not want it removed. Jamieson Greer, U.S. trade representative Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council Trump is turning to two officials with experience navigating not only Washington but the key issues of income taxes and tariffs as he fills out his economic team. He announced he has chosen international trade attorney Jamieson Greer to be his U.S. trade representative and Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council. While Trump has in several cases nominated outsiders to key posts, these picks reflect a recognition that his reputation will likely hinge on restoring the public’s confidence in the economy. Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.” Hassett, 62, served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017. Ron Johnson, Ambassador to Mexico Johnson — not the Republican senator — served as ambassador to El Salvador during Trump's first administration. His nomination comes as the president-elect has been threatening tariffs on Mexican imports and the mass deportation of migrants who have arrived to the U.S.-Mexico border. Johnson is also a former U.S. Army veteran and was in the Central Intelligence Agency. Tom Barrack, Ambassador to Turkey Barrack, a wealthy financier, met Trump in the 1980s while helping negotiate Trump’s purchase of the renowned Plaza Hotel. He was charged with using his personal access to the former president to secretly promote the interests of the United Arab Emirates, but was acquitted of all counts at a federal trial in 2022. Trump called him a “well-respected and experienced voice of reason.” Andrew Ferguson, Federal Trade Commission Ferguson, who is already one of the FTC's five commissioners, will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while alleging anticompetitive behavior. “Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History.” Jacob Helberg, undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment Dan Bishop, deputy director for budget at the Office of Budget and Management Leandro Rizzuto, Ambassador to the Washington-based Organization of American States Dan Newlin, Ambassador to Colombia Peter Lamelas, Ambassador to Argentina Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will miss Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers with a sore throwing shoulder. Purdy injured his right shoulder in last Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks . Purdy underwent an MRI that showed no structural damage but the shoulder didn't improve during the week and Purdy was ruled out for the game. Coach Kyle Shanahan said star defensive end Nick Bosa also will miss the game with injuries to his left hip and oblique. Left tackle Trent Williams is questionable with an ankle injury and will be a game-time decision. This will be the first time Purdy has missed a start because of an injury since taking over as the 49ers’ quarterback in December 2022. Brandon Allen will start in his place. The Niners (5-5) are currently in a three-way tie for second in the NFC West, a game behind first-place Arizona, and have little margin for error if they want to get back to the playoffs after making it to the Super Bowl last season. Purdy has completed 66% of his passes this season for 2,613 yards, 13 TDs, eight interceptions and a 95.9 passer rating that is down significantly from his league-leading mark of 113 in 2023. Allen has been mostly a backup since being drafted by Jacksonville in 2016. Allen last started a game in Week 18 of the 2021 season for Cincinnati and has thrown just three passes the last three seasons — including none since joining San Francisco in 2023. Joshua Dobbs will be the backup on Sunday. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Canada’s healthcare sector is looking at the cannabis industry. For years (mainly heading into federal legalization in Canada and a couple of years after legalization took hold), this sector rocketed higher as investors largely viewed these companies as the of the future. However, as many investors are well aware, this is a sector that’s since declined considerably, as hype and euphoria around the rise of cannabis as an investment class has waned. With that said, there are other companies operating in the healthcare technology space that are worth considering as well. This is a sector that continues to grow and become more diverse, so it’s a space I think is worth diving into. Here are two top Canadian healthcare stocks I think are worth taking a look at in 2025, given investors’ penchant for exposure to the healthcare sector right now. Canopy Growth One of the leading Canadian cannabis producers, ( ) is among the top options investors often consider when they look at this space. The company is a major producer of both recreational and medicinal marijuana and saw its valuation surge into 2021 amid a booming hype cycle in a number of high-growth industries. Unfortunately, as many investors can plainly see from the stock chart above, Canopy Growth is a shell of its former self. Having traded above $600 per share at its peak and now below $6 per share, this is a company that’s lost more than 99% of its value in roughly four years. Now, there have been volatile jumps and dips along the way in recent years, and some investors may be looking for any sort of exposure to Canadian cannabis companies like Canopy amid potential regulatory changes in the U.S. and other markets around the world. The thesis is that because Canada’s cannabis sector is so advanced, the company could garner interest as a potential global player as regulatory blockages are removed in key markets like the U.S. Personally, I’ve been bearish on Canopy in the past because this company’s previous valuation relative to the size of the Canadian market didn’t make sense. The market has caught on. However, there are some investors out there who may be looking at whether this sector and leaders like Canopy make sense at current prices. I’ll leave that up to the experts, but this is one part of the Canadian healthcare sector I think investors have to be very careful with right now. WELL Health Technologies In the healthcare technology space, ( ) is a top option for investors looking for outsized exposure to the Telehealth market. The company provides electronic medical record (EMR) solutions, a range of telehealth services, and a practice management software platform for providers. Thus, for those bullish on the pandemic-related trends of telemedicine continuing forward, this has become a hot stock for investors in recent years. The company’s stock chart above highlights some volatility similar to that of Canopy. However, this is a company that has roared back as investors price in a much more rosy growth environment moving forward. Indeed, the company’s recent Q3 results highlighted the strong organic growth the company has seen, with revenue increasing 23% year over year. Of course, there are risks to this space, but WELL Health has done a great job of building an international business with a competitive edge in certain markets within the fast-growing digital healthcare sector. With the U.S. and New Zealand markets key focal points for the company, it’s likely that investors will continue to see upside with this stock, so long as the company can push for greater profitability in addition to its revenue growth over time. In my view, WELL Health is the preferable stock of the two picks due primarily to the higher-growth nature of the digital healthcare space. This is one Canadian healthcare stock I think will continue to garner more attention over time and probably should.

LiSTNR has wrapped up 2024, retaining its position as Australia’s #1 Sales and Representation Podcast Network recording 7,124,155 monthly listeners^, according to the November Australian Podcast Ranker results. Adoption of LiSTNR’s AdTech Hub continues to drive growth, achieving a 166% year-on-year increase in the number of podcast campaigns utilising its advanced capabilities. The AdTech Hub clearly differentiates LiSTNR from local competitors, delivering cutting-edge advancements in digital audio advertising. Combining effectiveness with efficiency, the AdTech Hub has delivered significant ROI for advertisers through innovative tools like Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO) based on age, gender, fuel prices, and live contests; enhanced audience targeting with proprietary conversational tools; and Advertiser Data Matching via clean room solutions. LiSTNR had 62 podcasts ranked within the Top 200 on the Podcast Ranker. Popular podcasts in the top 50 include Hamish & Andy, Happy Hour with Lucy & Nikki, Crime Junkie, It’s A Lot with Abbie Chatfield, SmartLess, The Howie Games, and The Mel Robbins Podcast. Executive head of LiSTNR audience and growth, Grant Tothill , said: “It’s great to see the gap between audience and monetisation starting to narrow. With 70% of podcast advertising now involving some form of AdTech, LiSTNR is well positioned to continue to drive the commercial podcast marketplace. “Creating premium podcasts with our talented creators has always been a part of our DNA. It’s great to see audience growth month on month with some of our titles and for others to retain their audiences, helping us to continue to be the number one podcast sales network in Australia,” Tothill concluded. ARN’s iHeart and Magellan AI have unveiled the top 15 brands advertising on Australian podcasts in Q3 2024, with online therapy provider BetterHelp emerging as the leading investor in Australian podcasts this period. They invested heavily into Australian podcasts across a range of shows and publishers including Australian True Crime, Dyl & Friends, Morbid, The Imperfects, Toni and Ryan plus Outspoken. The report also found an increased spend of 92% into the True Crime category year-on-year with Comedy podcast investment also on the rise. The Top 15 Advertisers for Q3 2024 on Australian podcast advertising features brands from a broad range of categories including technology, finance, retail, and healthcare. Airbnb and Amazon follow BetterHelp on the list as having the highest investment. The Top 15 advertisers for Q3 2024 are: 1. BetterHelp 2. Airbnb 3. Amazon 4. Wise 5. Commbank 6. Entain 7. ANZ 8. Specsavers 9. Unilever 10. Aussie Broadband 11. McDonald’s 12. Myer 13. Booking.com 14. Vanta 15. American Express [Read more] BBC Studios and ARN’s iHeart have signed a multi-year partnership deal that will see iHeart represent BBC podcasts in Australia. iHeart will sell inventory across hundreds of hours of premium BBC podcasts as well as amplifying content in market. The BBC is one the largest producers of audio in the world with a range of premium podcasts that are widely listened to by audiences in Australia and New Zealand, including BBC Global News Podcast, Football Daily, The Infinite Monkey Cage and History’s Youngest Heroes. Earlier this year a dedicated audio division was created in BBC Studios, paving the way for the company to fully realise the commercial opportunities in the global audio market. The partnership provides advertisers with access to over 900,000 Australians who choose to listen to BBC content every month. Louise la Grange , SVP, BBC Audio, digital news and streaming BBC Studios, said: “The BBC has a big and loyal podcast fan base in Australia. We’re delighted to partner with market leader iHeart for representing the BBC’s rich portfolio of shows including World of Secrets, The Global Story and You’re Dead to Me to the ad market in Australia where iHeart has enormous scale, deep expertise and a proven track record of representing premium brands.” [Read more] As part of its presence at SXSW Sydney in 2024, The Growth Distillery hosted a series of 10 vodcasts (a podcast with video) hosted by Dan Krigstein and branded Rules Don’t Apply. The ninth guest in the series was Dr Karen Nelson-Field , a globally recognised authority on the attention economy. Nelson-Field reveals how platforms dictate what we see, how we think, and where we focus. With over 3 billion data points collected across 17 countries, Karen unpacks the science of attention and the hidden mechanisms shaping our digital interactions. Discover why not all reach is created equal and how user experience design, immersive formats, and platform engineering control what captures our attention. Karen also shares invaluable insights into the future of marketing, offering guidance on how brands can adapt to these dynamics to drive better results. From the transformative potential of augmented reality to the surprising truths about attention measurement, this episode is filled with practical takeaways for marketers, innovators, and anyone navigating the rapidly changing digital landscape. [Read more] iHeart’s Casefile True Crime is #1 on the November 2024 Podcast Ranker with 879,550 monthly listeners and 2,110,618 monthly downloads. LiSTNR’s Hamish & Andy podcast dropped 1 spot to take rank #2. It recorded 868,685 monthly listeners and 1,670,609 monthly downloads. The highest debut on the chart for the month was Full Story from The Guardian Australia, in at #14. It received 307,000 monthly listeners in November, and 686,000 downloads. Guardian Australia’s managing director Rebecca Costello , said: “We’re thrilled that Full Story has debuted at number 14 on the Australian Podcast Ranker. It reflects Guardian Australia’s commitment to delivering quality journalism in innovative formats. It’s a testament to the trust our listeners place in us and the exceptional efforts of our talented team.” [Read more]

Examining Bill Belichick's Wins Total, Super Bowl Resume After Leaving NFL for UNC

Trump's lawyers rebuff DA's idea for upholding his hush money convictionThe Tennessee Titans will turn to Mason Rudolph as their starter at quarterback for a second consecutive week, despite a three-interception performance in a loss Sunday to the Indianapolis Colts. Titans head coach Brian Callahan announced the decision Tuesday after calling his starting quarterback situation a week-to-week proposition moving forward for his 3-12 team. Rudolph, who was inserted as starter Sunday in place of a struggling Will Levis, was 23-of-34 passing for 252 yards and two touchdowns, but the turnovers proved costly in a 38-30 loss at Indianapolis. Rudolph, who made three starts for an injured Levis earlier this season, has completed 63.8 percent of his passes this season in 188 attempts for 1,267 yards, eight TDs and eight interceptions. Callahan yanked Levis in the third quarter of a 37-27 loss to the visiting Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15. Levis threw for just 89 yards and three interceptions, including a pick returned for a touchdown. He also lost a fumble. Rudolph came on to complete 21 of 26 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns -- one on the final play of the game -- and an interception. Levis has thrown for 1,916 yards with 12 TDs and 12 INTs this season. He is 5-15 as a starter in his first two seasons in the NFL after he was a second-round draft pick in 2023 out of Kentucky. --Field Level Media

The New York Times reports that BYD, Chery, Geely, and SAIC are rushing to open dealerships in Mexico, where their electric cars are attracting lots of customers. While they may cost more than conventional gasoline-powered cars, there are advantages that make the vehicles attractive. Mexico City has some of the worst air pollution of any world city. When it gets especially bad, some drivers are prohibited from operating their cars within city limits. Those restrictions do not apply to electric cars, however. That helps make the BYD Dolphin Mini an attractive choice, said Daniela Alvarez, a salesperson at a BYD dealership. She listed some of the features of the car, including its advanced battery technology, rotating video display, and four airbags. But what gets customers excited is the exemption from driving restrictions on smoggy days and the lower operating costs of an EV. In Mexico City, the cost of electricity is only 30% of the cost of gasoline. “Electricity is cheaper than gas. You can make up the difference,” she said. EV sales in Mexico are tiny at the present time — only about 2% of total sales. But they are up 40% this year compared to 2023. Chinese manufacturers are anxious to build factories in Mexico and sell their cars throughout Central and South America. They specifically think they can break the dominance of Japanese companies like Toyota in countries such as Brazil. Their ambition to expand overseas is on vivid display in Mexico and across Latin America. Ads for Chinese brands are in airports and soccer stadiums, and loom above Mexico City streets on large billboards. Chinese cars, both gasoline and electric models, are an increasingly common sight. While none of the companies even so much as hints at selling cars in the United States, where tariff barriers have been erected specifically to keep them out, there is little doubt that eventually, Chinese carmakers hope to use Mexico as an on-ramp to the United States, the New York Times says. The incoming administration has suggested it may slap another 25% tariff on cars manufactured in Mexico. That would be in addition to the 100% tariff put in place by the current administration. The fear is that low priced cars from Chinese manufacturers would do major damage to the domestic auto industry in the US, and there is every reason to believe that fear is realistic. But you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, and if people in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California find out that cars on the other side of the border cost significantly less that comparable cars in the US, the pressure to reduce or eliminate those tariffs will intensify. Millions of cars sold in America today are manufactured in Mexico. It would be difficult for the US to say “Come on in,” to some cars and “Stay out,” to others. America once had a similar fear of Japanese-made cars. Today, Toyota and Honda have an extensive network of factories, suppliers, and dealers in the United States. Time heals all wounds, as my old Irish grandmother liked to say. If there is any culture that knows how to play the long game, it is China. 20 years ago, the internet was awash in videos showing Chinese-made cars folding up like tuna fish cans during crash tests. But in recent years, China’s manufacturers have pulled even with foreign rivals in mechanical quality, analysts say, and often surpass American, Japanese, and European carmakers in battery technology, autonomous driving, and entertainment software. Chinese carmakers have clawed significant market share domestically from once-dominant companies like Volkswagen. Even Tesla, which has a large factory in Shanghai, has lost ground to BYD and other Chinese carmakers. “Before the pandemic, the rules were set down by the Western carmakers,” said Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics, a research firm. “Now it’s the opposite.” The auto industry has never seen anything like the current wave of Chinese brands, which have quickly overtaken Japanese companies as the world’s largest auto exporters. Chinese carmakers have made deep inroads in countries where they have local production or face few significant trade barriers. In Brazil, Chinese brands have a 9% share of car sales, up from 1% in 2019. In Thailand, they have 18% of the market, up from 5% in 2019, according to JATO. In Mexico, Chinese brands now account for 9% of new car sales, up from effectively nothing five years ago. “They gained market share when other brands didn’t have inventory and there were long waits to get cars in Mexico,” said Guillermo Rosales Zárate, president of the Mexican Association of Automobile Distributors. In San Luis Potosí, an industrial hub 250 miles north of Mexico City, BYD models are taking customers from Toyota, said Fernando López, manager of a dealership that sells both brands from a showroom in an upscale neighborhood. The BYD Shark pickup, a $45,000 plug-in hybrid, is poaching buyers from the Toyota Tacoma, he said, while the BYD Song, a $30,000 plug-in SUV, is luring customers from the Toyota RAV4. The Chinese models cost $10,000 less than the comparable Toyota products, on average. “I don’t know if people are going to let them sell in the United States,” López said, referring to BYD, “but they can compete with any brand.” Representatives of several Chinese carmakers declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment from the New York Times . Jorge Vallejo, BYD’s director general for Mexico, agreed to an interview but canceled abruptly as New York Times reporters waited outside his office in Mexico City. The company’s representative declined to reschedule or make other executives available. China is the world’s largest car market, and the growing prowess of domestic producers is having far-reaching effects. General Motors has been losing money on its Chinese operations for several years. Last week, it said it would take a more than $5 billion hit to its profit as it restructured its operations in China. Mary Barra, the CEO of GM, acknowledged the price pressure from Chinese carmakers during an interview in October. “We’ll continue to look at smart ways to take cost out,” she said, while insisting that the company could still compete with China. Arno Antlitz, the chief financial officer of Volkswagen, noted that the industry had dealt with new competitors before, including Japanese carmakers in the 1970s and South Korean carmakers in recent decades. “We think we have a competitive setup,” he said in an interview in October. Lots of industry observers think those remarks from Barra and Antlitz are little more than whistling in the dark. Mexico is the world’s seventh largest auto producer, just behind South Korea and Germany. Most major carmakers have factories in Mexico, including GM, Ford, Stellantis, and Volkswagen. Many of the parts used to build those cars come from Chinese companies. More that two million cars produced in Mexico are intended for the US market, according to the Mexican Automotive Industry Association. Although US tariffs on cars made in China are high, in theory Chinese cars made in Mexico and exported north of the border would currently have to pay a maximum tariff of just 2.5%. But the United States would almost certainly put pressure on Mexico to erect barriers to Chinese automakers. Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has played down talk of a BYD factory in Mexico and emphasized that relations with the United States are the government’s top priority. Mexico is “so economically tied to the US, at the end of the day this is a straightforward calculation,” said Joshua Meltzer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who focuses on international economic relations. In October, the Mexican government raised the tariff on imported cars to 20% from 15%, in what was widely seen as a reaction to growing sales of Chinese vehicles. China has become a manufacturing juggernaut, largely because of its insistence that western companies wanting to manufacture in China partner with a Chinese company. That has led to a rapid transfer of technology that now allows Chinese companies to design new models and get them into production faster than any other automakers. As a result, China has the models customers want today. Tesla makes great cars, but its offerings have changed little in the past five years. Chinese competitors simply have fresher models available with the most current technology at prices that are too good to ignore. It is too early to say that China will disrupt the entire auto manufacturing industry worldwide, but if you think that could not happen, you aren’t paying attention. The US will fuss and fume and try everything to keep Chinese cars from being sold in America, but the views expressed around the sundeck at CleanTechnica global headquarters suggest cars from Chinese companies will be on sale in the US by 2030. Check back with us on New Year’s Eve, 2029 to see how accurate our crystal ball was. CleanTechnica's Comment Policy LinkedIn WhatsApp Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit