Opinion: B.C.’s business disadvantage about to get worseUnique among ‘Person of the Year’ designees, Donald Trump gets a fact-check from Time magazineFrench President Emmanuel Macron accused Haiti's transitional council of being "total morons" for dismissing the country's prime minister, according to a video shot at the G20 summit in Brazil this week and shared on social media Thursday. In the footage, the French leader is speaking on the sidelines of the G20 in Rio with an individual accusing Macron and France of "being responsible for the situation in Haiti". Haiti's transitional council pushed out then-prime minister Garry Conille after just five months in office, a move Macron called "terrible" in the clip. "They're total morons," said Macron referring to the transitional body, adding, "they never should have dismissed him." Condemning the remarks, Haiti's Foreign Ministry said Thursday that French Ambassador Antoine Michon had been summoned following the "unacceptable comments." Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste used the meeting to express "indignation" on behalf of the transitional council, which he said viewed the remarks as "an unfriendly and inappropriate gesture that must be rectified," according to a statement from the ministry. Haiti has suffered from decades of political instability. But in recent months, the Caribbean country has seen a surge in violence with gangs now controlling 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The clip also shows the French president, who is on a multi-leg tour of Latin America with his most recent stop in Chile, blaming Haitians for "letting drug trafficking take over". "Quite frankly, it was the Haitians who killed Haiti," the French president said in the clip. Businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aime was sworn in as Haiti's new prime minister on November 12, promising to restore security in the crisis-wracked country. fff-lum/ekf/sjw/bfm/mdNew Orleans (4-8) at New York Giants (2-10) Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox BetMGM NFL Odds: Saints by 5. Against the spread: Saints 5-7; Giants 3-9. Series record: Giants lead 17-15. Last meeting: Saints beat Giants 24-6 on Dec. 17, 2023, in New Orleans. Last week: Saints lost to Rams 21-14; Giants lost to Cowboys 27-20. Saints: overall (12), rush (10), pass (19), scoring (14) Saints defense: overall (30), rush (26), pass (29), scoring (19) Giants offense: overall (T26), rush (15), pass (31), scoring (32) Giants defense: overall (19), rush (29), pass (6), scoring (18) Turnover differential: Saints plus-2; Giants minus-8. Derek Carr. The quarterback completed 23 of 28 for 218 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in the previous meeting and had a 134.8 quarterback rating. Drew Lock. The veteran quarterback is going to make his second straight start with Tommy DeVito (forearm) hurt. He threw for 178 yards and ran for a career-high 57 yards in the loss to the Dallas. He scored on an 8-yard run and had a 28-yard scramble to set up another. He also made mistakes, throwing a pick-6 and losing a fumble on a scramble. Saints offense vs Giants defense. The Giants defense is banged up. DT Dexter Lawrence (elbow) was put on injured reserve Monday and fellow starter Rakeem Nunez-Roches (neck) missed practice earlier in the week. Leading tackler and ILB Bobby Okereke is dealing with a back issue. Saints: Tight end Taysom Hill's knee injury last week will sideline him the rest of the season. Running back Kendre Miller (hamstring) is eligible to come off injured reserve and could return to the lineup Sunday. Guards Cesar Ruiz (concussion) and Nick Saldiveri (knee) have been held out of practice this week. Center Erik McCoy (groin) , who sat out last week's game, returned to practice early this week on a limited basis. Guard Lucas Patrick (calf) has practiced on a limited basis after sitting out the past three games. Tyrann Mathieu (forearm) has returned to full practice this week after sitting out much of the second half of last week's loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Giants: Lawrence and rookie TE Theo Johnson (foot) were placed on injured reserve and probably are out for the season. ... DeVito (forearm) and LT Jermaine Eluemunor (quad) missed the Dallas game but they are making progress this week. DeVito will back up Lock. ... Eluemunor and RT Evan Neal (hip) may be game-time decisions. ... CB Deonte Banks (ribs), Okereke (back) and Nunez-Roches (neck) are unlikely to play. WR Malik Nabers was added to the report Thursday with a nagging groin issue. The Saints have won two of the past three meetings. The Giants are winless in all six games at MetLife Stadium this season. The Saints are 2-1 under interim coach Darren Rizzi, who was born in New Jersey and grew up a Giants fan. ... Carr ranks sixth among qualified passers with a 103.3 rating in 2024. ... WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling has had TD catches in his past three games. ... TE Juwan Johnson had five catches against the Rams. ... DT Bryan Bresee has a career-high 6 1/2 sacks and is looking for his third straight game with a sack. He had two sacks against New York last season. ... DL Chase Young has two sacks and three tackles for loss against the Giants in December. ... LB Demario Davis had 10 tackles and a sack in the previous meeting. ... CB Alontae Taylor is the only player with at least 10 passes defended and five tackles for loss in each of the past two seasons. ... Mathieu needs five tackles for his eighth straight season of at least 50 tackles. ... Giants: RB Tyrone Tracy ranks second among rookies with 619 yards rushing. He has run for four touchdowns. ... WR Malik Nabers has 75 catches for 740 yards. His reception total is the most by a rookie in his first 10 games. .... Wan'Dale Robinson has career-high 63 catches. ... OLB Brian Burns has a career-high eight passes defended and 10 tackles for loss. ... Okereke needs seven tackles for his fourth straight season of 100 or more tackles. ... S Tyler Nubin leads all rookies and ranks fourth among DBs with 93 tackles. ... The Giants have set an NFL record going 11 straight games without an interception. They have one interception this season. The NFL record for fewest in a season is two by the 2018 San Francisco 49ers. The fewest in a season by the Giants was six in 2022. Look for running back Alvin Kamara to have a big game. He has 894 yards rushing on 206 carries and he has caught 59 passes for 450 yards. He has seven touchdowns, six rushing. The 29-year-old has had eight games of at least 100 yards from scrimmage this season and he is third in the league with 1,344 yards from scrimmage. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
A multibillion-dollar plan to create “clean” hydrogen from Australian brown coal and ship it to Japan is on the brink of collapse. Japanese media has reported Kawasaki Heavy Industries has withdrawn from the trial, blaming procurement delays. The controversial plan was billed as a lifeline for the Latrobe Valley’s ageing brown coal industry. Under the plan, hydrogen would be extracted from coal, creating the world’s first liquefied hydrogen supply chain. Kawasaki Heavy Industries has reportedly withdrawn from plan to create “clean” hydrogen from brown coal sourced from the Latrobe Valley. Credit: Eamon Gallagher Proponents said the joint venture, led by Japan’s largest industrial conglomerates, would use commercially unproven CO2 capture and storage technology to sequester carbon in the Bass Strait. It was also to send the super-cooled hydrogen extracted from coal in purpose-built bulk carriers out of Hastings to Kawasaki in the Asian nation’s industrial heartland. The Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain project (HESC) was a partnership between international fossil energy companies, including Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd (KHI), Royal Dutch Shell and AGL. It was supported by a $2.35 billion investment from the Japanese government, and a $50 million in start-up investment from the Victorian government in 2018. Japanese outlet Nikkei reported that Kawasaki Heavy Industries had abandoned its bid to establish an international supply chain to procure hydrogen from Australia because it had become “difficult to procure hydrogen in Australia within the deadline”. “With the completion of the demonstration test by fiscal year 2030, as originally scheduled, being an absolute requirement for ensuring competitiveness, the company has changed hydrogen procurement to domestic,” Nikkei reported. “It has also downsized its hydrogen carriers and is now steering toward a more ‘realistic’ solution.”KEYCORP DECLARES QUARTERLY CASH DIVIDEND ON COMMON SHARES AND PREFERRED STOCKS‘Three-way tie:’ Trump Treasury pick hanging in limbo
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NextNav CEO Mariam Sorond sells $4.15 million in stockBy DAVID BAUDER Time magazine gave Donald Trump something it has never done for a Person of the Year designee: a lengthy fact-check of claims he made in an accompanying interview. Related Articles National Politics | Trump’s lawyers rebuff DA’s idea for upholding his hush money conviction, calling it ‘absurd’ National Politics | Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time National Politics | Ruling by a conservative Supreme Court could help blue states resist Trump policies National Politics | A nonprofit leader, a social worker: Here are the stories of the people on Biden’s clemency list National Politics | Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ on official trip to Luxembourg The fact-check accompanies a transcript of what the president-elect told the newsmagazine’s journalists. Described as a “12 minute read,” it calls into question 15 separate statements that Trump made. It was the second time Trump earned the Time accolade; he also won in 2016, the first year he was elected president. Time editors said it wasn’t a particularly hard choice over other finalists Kamala Harris, Elon Musk, Benjamin Netanyahu and Kate Middleton. Time said Friday that no other Person of the Year has been fact-checked in the near-century that the magazine has annually written about the figure that has had the greatest impact on the news. But it has done the same for past interviews with the likes of Joe Biden, Netanyahu and Trump. Such corrections have been a sticking point for Trump and his team in the past, most notably when ABC News did it during his only debate with Democrat Kamala Harris this fall. There was no immediate response to a request for comment on Friday. In the piece, Time called into question statements Trump made about border security, autism and the size of a crowd at one of his rallies. When the president-elect talked about the “massive” mandate he had received from voters, Time pointed out that former President Barack Obama won more electoral votes the two times he had run for president. The magazine also questioned Trump’s claim that he would do interviews with anyone who asked during the campaign, if he had the time. The candidate rejected a request to speak to CBS’ “60 Minutes,” the magazine said. “In the final months of his campaign, Trump prioritized interviews with podcasts over mainstream media,” reporters Simmone Shah and Leslie Dickstein wrote. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's latest nominee for U.S. attorney general has established herself as a staunch conservative, Trump loyalist and outspoken defender of the president-elect, both personally and professionally. Trump announced his selection of former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, just hours after former Florida U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for the post. From his Truth Social media account, Trump praised Bondi and what she will bring to the office. "For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans — Not anymore," Trump wrote. "Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting crime and making America safe again." The 59-year-old Bondi was one of the lawyers on Trump's defense team during his first impeachment trial, and she played a leading role in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Raised, educated in Florida Bondi was born and raised in Florida, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida, and a law degree from the Stetson University College of Law in DeLand, Florida. Early in her law career, Bondi worked as prosecutor and spokeswoman in Hillsborough County, where she was assistant state's attorney. In 2010, she became the first female attorney general elected to the state of Florida. In that role, "she pioneered impactful anti-trafficking initiatives, hosted groundbreaking conferences to combat sexual exploitation, and championed innovative solutions that other states have since followed," said the non-profit National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which welcomed her appointment in a statement Friday. While in office, Bondi defended a 2008 amendment to the state constitution that would ban same sex marriages. In 2018, she joined other Republican state attorney generals in an unsuccessful lawsuit attempting to overturn the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare. Bondi received widespread criticism in 2013 when, following a $25,000 donation to a political action committee supporting her re-election campaign from the Donald J. Trump Foundation, she chose not to join a lawsuit initiated by the attorney general of New York against Trump University for "persistent fraudulent, illegal and deceptive conduct." Prior to the donation, Bondi had said she was considering joining the lawsuit, as her office had received at least 22 complaints about Trump University. She endorsed Trump in the Florida primary during the 2016 presidential campaign. Organization founded to advance Trump's agenda Bondi serves as chair for the Center for Litigation and co-chair of the Center for Law and Justice at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative organization that was founded in 2021 to advance Trump's agenda. Bondi is also a partner at the Washington-based Ballard Partners lobbying firm, where she chairs the firm's Corporate Regulatory Compliance practice. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.A former special agent who claims he received financial backing from a foundation associated with Kash Patel, the man nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as the FBI’s next director, has called for the agency to shut down its Intelligence Branch, which plays a strategic role in domestic violent extremism investigations. Steve Friend, an ex-agent who was suspended in 2022 after complaining about the agency’s use of a SWAT team to arrest a Jan. 6 offender, made the comment on Monday during an interview with podcaster Carl Jackson. He also called on Patel to “get rid of” the agency’s Integrated Program Management system which he claimed “perversely incentivizes the FBI to go after people” to inflate case numbers. “And that’s also tied to the intelligence collection apparatus because there’s a quota for the number of intelligence products that they have to create,” Friend continued. “So, if you eliminate the Intelligence Branch, if you eliminate the quota system, that takes a huge chunk away.” Patel has indicated that he is also considering changes to the Intelligence Branch, although he has not called for its elimination. “And the biggest problem the FBI has had has come out of its intel shop,” he told podcaster Shawn Ryan earlier this year. “I’d break that component out of it.” Patel did not directly respond to a request to explain his comment about the FBI’s intelligence functions or to say whether he agrees with Friend, but Alex Pfeifer, a spokesperson for the Trump transition, told Raw Story that Patel is committed to maintaining the agency’s mission of combating terrorism. “Kash Patel will restore integrity to the FBI and protect Americans from terrorism as the agency’s director,” Pfeiffer said. “Kash Patel has a lengthy career fighting terrorism stretching from working as a terrorism prosecutor for the Obama Justice Department to serving as the chief of staff at the Department of Defense. Patel’s financial support was recounted by Friend when he spoke under oath to the Republican members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government in early 2023. He repeated the claim in an interview on Wednesday with pro-Trump podcaster Benny Johnson that he received a call from an unfamiliar phone number during Thanksgiving two years ago and that it was Patel. “Hey, this is Kash Patel, and I have a foundation that supports whistleblowers,” Patel said, according to Friend. “I would like to give you — because you’re unpaid, indefinitely suspended forever by the FBI — $5,000. My foundation is going to give you that donation to get you through Christmas.” Patel also arranged for Friend to take a job as a senior fellow at the Center for Renewing America, a conservative nonprofit headed by Russell Vought, whom Trump recently named to lead the Office of Management and Budget during the incoming administration, Friend said. Vought announced Friend’s position in an X post in January 2023, saying that he would “help uncover the full extent of the FBI’s weaponization against the American public” and predicting that he would “play a huge role in maximizing the potential” of the Weaponization subcommittee. Friend’s criticism of the FBI — voiced in testimony before the Weaponization subcommittee, on podcasts, and in policy papers for the Center for Renewing America — has consistently homed in on the FBI’s intelligence function and supposed exaggeration of the domestic violent extremism threat. “The Integrated Program Management system incentivizes the use of inappropriate investigatory processes and tools to achieve arbitrary statistical accomplishments,” Friend testified to Congress in May 2023. “Mission creep within the National Security Branch has refocused counterterrorism from legitimate foreign actors to political opponents within our borders. “Your own intelligence analysis capability increasingly dictates operations,” he added, “turning the FBI into an intelligence agency with law enforcement capability.” In his 2023 book, Government Gangsters: The Deep State, The Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy , Patel made a similar argument. A chapter titled “Made-Up Domestic Terrorism” includes this statement: “To pump up public support for their attacks on conservative Americans, the FBI leadership has been reportedly pushing agents to artificially inflate data about domestic terrorism to make the problem seem much worse than it is.” A footnote reveals that the claim is sourced from a story in the Tennessee Star online news outlet, which is in turn based on a letter from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), then the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, to FBI Director Christopher Wray. Citing unnamed “whistleblowers,” Jordan’s letter — sent in July 2022, prior to the Republicans retaking control of the House — asserts in language strikingly similar to what Friend would later use to assail the agency “that FBI officials are pressuring agents to reclassify cases as ‘domestic violent extremism’ even if the cases do not meet the criteria for such a classification.” Staff for the Democratic members of the Weaponization subcommittee who interviewed Friend and Garret O’Boyle — another former FBI agent who reportedly received a $5,000 donation from Patel's foundation — contend the two men could not provide any evidence to substantiate Jordan’s claim. “While both Friend and O’Boyle testified they had concerns about the reclassification of cases to ‘pad’ DVE numbers, and O’Boyle suggested that such case numbers might play a role in FBI budgeting decisions, both also admitted that they were not involved in decision-making regarding performance metric or manner in which resources were allocated, including whether case numbers played a role in such allocations,” the Democratic minority wrote in a report released in March 2023. The Democratic members, led by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI), also expressed concern that their Republican counterparts were downplaying the threat of extremism. “Committee Democrats find it both disingenuous and alarming that Committee Republicans are suggesting that domestic violent extremism does not present an increasing threat, particularly since data from nonpartisan DVE trackers provides evidence to the contrary.” The Democrats cited research by the Center for Strategic and International Studies that recorded 1,040 terrorist attacks and plots in the United States from 1994 through 2021, while tracking “a shift in motivation for domestic terrorism away from the kind of extremism inspired by the Islamic State and al-Qaeda and towards white nationalism and anti-government sentiments.” Racially motivated mass shootings have spanned the first Trump and Biden administrations — including attacks in El Paso, Texas, in 2019 and Buffalo, N.Y. in 2022, with death tolls of 23 and 10, respectively. Raw Story has tracked at least a dozen terror plots disrupted by the FBI since 2019, including plans to carry out mass shootings, ambush law enforcement or attack the power grid that were motivated by hatred of people of color, Jews and LGBTQ + people. Friend has expanded on the criticism that he leveled against the FBI’s intelligence capabilities during his congressional testimony in his writings and comments for podcasts over the past two years. While claiming that the FBI’s abuse of intelligence led to the investigation and prosecution of Trump’s former national security advisor Michael Flynn — a central preoccupation of the president-elect and his allies — Friend has acknowledged that the agency’s intelligence functions are also integral to its investigation of domestic violent extremists. In a policy paper published by the Center for Renewing America in December 2023, Friend wrote that “the FBI established the National Security Branch, the original home of the Intelligence Branch division, in September 2005, as part of its mission to detect, deter, and disrupt national security threats in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.” The paper goes on to argue that “to justify its outsized budget and power, the FBI has increased its focus on ‘homegrown violent extremists.’ Over time, Friend wrote that “the FBI’s counterterrorism mission shifted from homegrown violent extremism to ‘domestic violent extremists.’” Friend admitted during his testimony before Congress that he has put out a tweet advocating to “defund, disband, dismantle and abolish the FBI.” Celebrating Patel’s appointment to lead the FBI on a podcast he co-hosts with O’Boyle on Tuesday, Friend indicated he might be willing to change position. “I’d prefer disillusion, but if we can make the renovation look more like a demolition, then I guess we’ll take what we can,” he said. Both Friend and O’Boyle hinted that they were contemplating whether they might be summoned to return to the FBI to serve under Patel. The Trump transition team did not respond to a question about whether Patel is considering bringing Friend back to the FBI. During the podcast, Friend said he would only agree to return to the FBI on condition that he receive a preemptive pardon. “I want everything pardoned for what I’m going to do,” Friend said. “Because I’m going to hurt lots of feelings. And I’m sure that they’ve demonstrated — the communist has — that they will contrive whatever I say or do as a conspiracy against rights, and put me in prison if they ever re-attain power.” Friend framed preemptive pardons as a hedge against future accountability measures that he claimed could lead to a “civil war” between MAGA forces and a Democratic opposition he describes as “communist” and “terrorists.” He said he was glad that President Joe Biden issued a pardon to his son, Hunter Biden, because now it gives Trump “cover” to do the same thing for his henchmen. “They’ve done it to their side,” Friend said. “You do it for yours. And if you’re unwilling to do that, then you’re just going to continue to see this asymmetrical civil war spiral out of control. It’s cold right now. But it’s not very long until it goes hot.None
'Some voters feel betrayed' as Trump gives 'middle finger' to campaign promises: analystNew Jersey’s mysterious UFOs may finally have an explanation
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he will nominate former White House aide Brooke Rollins to be his agriculture secretary, the last of his picks to lead executive agencies and another choice from within his established circle of advisers and allies. The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, which will be controlled by Republicans when Trump takes office Jan. 20. Rollins would succeed Tom Vilsack , President Joe Biden’s agriculture secretary who oversees the sprawling agency that controls policies, regulations and aid programs related to farming, forestry, ranching, food quality and nutrition. Then-President Donald Trump looks to Brooke Rollins, president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, as she speaks during a Jan. 11, 2018, prison reform roundtable in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. 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. Rollins previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The pick completes Trump’s selection of the heads of executive branch departments, just two and a half weeks after the former president won the White House once again. Several other picks that are traditionally Cabinet-level remain, including U.S. Trade Representative and head of the small business administration. Brooke Rollins, assistant to the president and director of the Domestic Policy Council at the time, speaks during a May 18, 2020, meeting with restaurant industry executives about the coronavirus response in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. Rollins, speaking on the Christian talk show “Family Talk" earlier this year, said Trump was an “amazing boss” and confessed that she thought in 2015, during his first presidential campaign, that he would not last as a candidate in a crowded Republican primary field. “I was the person that said, ‘Oh, Donald Trump is not going to go more than two or three weeks in the Republican primary. This is to up his TV show ratings. And then we’ll get back to normal,’” she said. “Fast forward a couple of years, and I am running his domestic policy agenda.” Trump didn’t offer many specifics about his agriculture policies during the campaign, but farmers could be affected if he carries out his pledge to impose widespread tariffs. During the first Trump administration, countries like China responded to Trump’s tariffs by imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports like the corn and soybeans routinely sold overseas. Trump countered by offering massive multibillion-dollar aid to farmers to help them weather the trade war. Brooke Rollins speaks at an Oct. 27 campaign rally for then-Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York. President Abraham Lincoln founded the USDA in 1862, when about half of all Americans lived on farms. The USDA oversees multiple support programs for farmers; animal and plant health; and the safety of meat, poultry and eggs that anchor the nation’s food supply. Its federal nutrition programs provide food to low-income people, pregnant women and young children. And the agency sets standards for school meals. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has vowed to strip ultraprocessed foods from school lunches and to stop allowing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beneficiaries from using food stamps to buy soda, candy or other so-called junk foods. But it would be the USDA, not HHS, that would be responsible for enacting those changes. In addition, HHS and USDA will work together to finalize the 2025-2030 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. They are due late next year, with guidance for healthy diets and standards for federal nutrition programs. Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Associated Press writers Josh Funk and JoNel Aleccia contributed to this report. Among President-elect Donald Trump's picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, former Democratic House member Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration's top diplomat. Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement. The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations. Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year. Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration. She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him. Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog, to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda. Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic. She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race. Burgum was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day. In comments to reporters before Trump took the stage, Burgum said that, in recent years, the power grid is deteriorating in many parts of the country, which he said could raise national security concerns but also drive up prices enough to increase inflation. “There's just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, and then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign. The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction. He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending. “This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then. Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment. Scott Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.” Sean Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children. A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Write is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States. Wright also won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term. President-elect Donald Trump tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump promised to dismantle. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Brooke Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency. The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Trump chose Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary, a position in which he'd have a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs. Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social. Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration. The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial. Doug Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was acquitted by the Senate. Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. "We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need," Trump said in a statement about nominating Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Karoline Leavitt, 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps. Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, was a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term before she became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump to be director of national intelligence, keeping with the trend to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities rather than veteran professionals in their requisite fields. Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party's 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump said in a statement. Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions. Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency . Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X , “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added. During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration. In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” Trump has named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband. Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission. Carr made past appearances on “Fox News Channel," including when he decried Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' pre-Election Day appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” He wrote an op-ed last month defending a satellite company owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk. Rep. Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment. Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah. President-elect Donald Trump says he's chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO. Trump has expressed skepticism about the Western military alliance for years. Trump said in a statement Wednesday that Whitaker is “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.” The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is as a lawyer and not in foreign policy. A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. “In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. “He did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.” Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday. The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security. Thomas Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office. Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate. Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Russell Vought held the position during Trump’s first presidency. After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. McGinley was White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first administration, and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee's election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign. In a statement, Trump called McGinley “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.” Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
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A lifelong Chiefs fan had the experience of a lifetime after getting to dance with Travis Kelce during the Tuesday, December 3, episode of Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? “Now he’s danced with Taylor Swift and me,” Allie Dees told the Owensboro Times in an interview published on Wednesday, December 4. “I popped out of the womb a Chiefs fan. Meeting Travis Kelce and dancing on stage with him was surreal.” Dees, a traveling nurse who currently lives in San Diego, took the stage in April earlier this year to compete on the Amazon Prime game show, which Kelce, 35, hosts. The Kentucky native ended up walking away with $15,000 after correctly answering the minimum five questions to take home the prize; however, the subject of geography nearly cost her the winnings. “I had to name a U.S. territory that borders Canada but doesn’t touch the mainland,” she told the outlet after the episode aired. “I panicked and guessed Washington. Looking back, it’s embarrassing because the answer was Alaska.” In addition to appearing on Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? , Dees said she also appeared in a commercial for financial technology company Chime, where she said she won $100,000. “This whole year has been a whirlwind. Between the game show and the commercial, I’ve been able to live out some incredible dreams,” she continued before reflecting on her experience with Kelce and her time on the show. “Up on stage, I just wanted to be authentic and enjoy every second,” she said. “That mindset allowed me to fully embrace the moment and have fun.” It was announced in April that Kelce would serve as host of the new game show, which premiered on Amazon Prime in October and is based on the Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? series. “I grew up loving game shows, and I’m excited to be following in the footsteps of so many TV icons by hosting my very first one with Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? ” Kelce said in a statement earlier this year. “The original show is a great success, so to be bringing a new format with everyone’s favorite celebrities to the screen, will definitely be entertaining.” A source exclusively told Us Weekly that same month why the Kansas City Chiefs tight end was the perfect pick for the show. “He’s funny and has the wits for it,” the insider dished to Us . “He’s the perfect host. It’s a great gig for him.” The show was filmed earlier this year during the Chiefs offseason. The NFL team’s 2024-2025 season kicked off in September, with Kelce’s girlfriend, Swift, 34, making an appearance at Arrowhead Stadium during the Chiefs’ home opener against the Baltimore Ravens. The Tortured Poets Department artist has since appeared at a total of six home games, with the most recent being the Chiefs’ November 29 game against the Las Vegas Raiders , which she attended with her dad, Scott Swift , and Kelce’s mom, Donna Kelce . As the Chiefs take on the Los Angeles Chargers this weekend in the quest for their third consecutive Super Bowl title, the 14-time Grammy winner will be wrapping her years-long Eras Tour with a string of three shows in Vancouver beginning Friday, December 6. She’ll play her final show on Sunday, December 8. You have successfully subscribed. By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly Check our latest news in Google News Check our latest news in Apple News Once the Eras Tour ends, Taylor is reportedly looking forward to spending more time with Travis, whom she began dating in the summer of 2023. “Taylor and Travis are very committed and serious about their future,” a separate source exclusively told Us in September. “Taylor is ready for the next era of her life. She knows it will be special.” A third insider added, “They’ve built a lot of trust. They both knew what they signed up for and navigated it well. They’re in love and don’t care what others think.”(The Center Square) – California Attorney General Rob Bonta said that his office will protect “the health and rights of transgender individuals to access medically necessary care.” Bonta made this statement after the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday about Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1. This bill prevents minors from receiving hormone and puberty blockers as well as getting surgery to identify as “a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's sex.” “Laws such as Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1 are dangerous and discriminatory by denying transgender youth the critical, lifesaving care they need,” Bonta said. “Amid a growing wave of legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, it is more important than ever to stand against these harmful measures,” he added. “ I urge the Supreme Court to protect the rights of transgender youth and ensure they are not denied the care they need to live full and authentic lives.” Following the oral arguments, several media outlets reported that the Supreme Court appeared likely to uphold Tennessee’s law. After the Supreme Court oral arguments, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said it should be up to the General Assembly. “Tennessee’s General Assembly reviewed the medical evidence, as well as the evidence-based decisions of European countries that restricted these procedures, and ultimately passed this bipartisan law prohibiting irreversible medical interventions," Skrmetti said in a statement after oral arguments ended. "The plaintiffs in this case are asking the court to take the power to regulate the practice of medicine away from the people’s elected representatives and vest it in unaccountable judges.” Bonta and 19 other state attorneys general filed an amicus brief in the U.S. v. Skrmetti case, urging the Supreme Court to overturn Senate Bill 1. In California, at least 2,024 minors received sex reassignment procedures between 2019 and 2023, The Center Square previously reported . This was the most in the country for a state. Families that underwent these procedures were billed almost $ 29 million. This means that the average medical intervention costs per child were an estimated $14,300. The data came from Do No Harm (DNH), which “represents physicians, nurses, medical students, patients, and policymakers focused on keeping identity politics out of medical education, research, and clinical practice.” DNH data shows three of the top 12 hospitals performing these procedures are in California.None
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