WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump’s supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump’s movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump’s Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off last week when Laura Loomer , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer’s comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.” Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government , weighed in, defending the tech industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump’s world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift. His presidential transition team did not respond to questions about positions on visas for highly skilled workers or the debate between his supporters online. Instead, his team instead sent a link to a post on X by longtime adviser and immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller that was a transcript of a speech Trump gave in 2020 at Mount Rushmore in which he praised figures and moments from American history. Musk, the world’s richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump’s movement but his stance on the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Trump’s own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump’s businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country” and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” he told the “All-In” podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump’s budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.
2 Vaccine Stocks to Buy on the Dip
Supporters of suspected CEO killer Luigi Mangione establish defense fundSportscaster Greg Gumbel dies from cancer at age 78
Saskatchewan parties to focus on affordability as legislature resumes
‘World at dawn of third nuclear age’, armed forces chief warnsWake Forest keeps trying new things early in the season, even if not all of the adjustments are by design. The Demon Deacons will try to stick to the script when Detroit Mercy visits for Saturday's game in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Demon Deacons (5-1) will be at home for the final time prior to three consecutive road games. Detroit Mercy (3-2) already has two more victories than all of last season. After a couple of narrow wins and a loss at Xavier, Wake Forest had a smoother time earlier this week in defeating visiting Western Carolina 82-69 on Tuesday night. Yet these are games when teams have to figure where contributions are going to come from in certain situations. The experimenting took a turn for Wake Forest in the Western Carolina game. Center Efton Reid III had limited minutes because of migraines, so there was a shift in responsibilities. Normal backcourt players Cameron Hildreth and Juke Harris logged time at the power forward slot. "That's just part of it," coach Steve Forbes said. "They did a good job adjusting. We ran a lot of stuff and there are several guys learning different positions. ... I give credit to those guys for doing the best job that they could do on the fly and adjusting to the play calls that we ran and the stuff that we changed." Wake Forest could excel if both Parker Friedrichsen and Davin Cosby can be consistent 3-point threats. Friedrichsen slumped with shooting in the first few games of the season and was replaced in the starting lineup by Cosby. In Tuesday's game, Friedrichsen drained four 3-pointers, while Cosby hit two. "It was really good to see Parker and Davin both make shots together," Forbes said. Not everything was solved for the Demon Deacons. Western Carolina collected 12 offensive rebounds, and that took some of the shine off Wake Forest's defensive efforts. "We can't be a good defensive team, or a really good defensive team, unless we rebound the ball," Forbes said. "It's demoralizing to your defense to get stops and then not get the ball." In Detroit Mercy's 70-59 win at Ball State on Wednesday, Orlando Lovejoy tallied 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists. "We got the ball to the shooters and playmakers," first-year Titans coach Mark Montgomery said. "You could tell by the guys' body language that we were going to get a road win. It had been a long time coming." On Saturday, the Titans will look for their second road victory since February 2023. The outcome at Ball State seemed significant to Montgomery. "We had to get over the hump," he said. "Our guys grinded it out." --Field Level MediaThe US says it pushed retraction of a famine warning for north Gaza. Aid groups express concern.
Initial plans released for 75th season in 2026, including 75th anniversary logo and rings, commemorative ticket and more INDIANAPOLIS , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Set to celebrate its landmark 75th season in 2026, NHRA officials revealed a series of special plans today to kick off the campaign for the historic year in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. NHRA revealed a special 75th anniversary logo for the 2026 season to launch the campaign, as NHRA looks to celebrate 75 years of incredible racing, founder Wally Parks and the incredible legends that have played a huge role in NHRA's illustrious history. The buildup to the landmark 75th season in 2026 will take place throughout the 2025 campaign with several initiatives set to take place this year, starting at the season-kickoff NHRA Gatornationals on March 6-9 at Gainesville Raceway. Some of the items introduced today at the 75th anniversary campaign launch include: "The 75th anniversary of NHRA drag racing marks a landmark moment in our sport's history and we're excited to kick off the campaign for that historic season in 2026 throughout our upcoming 2025 season," NHRA President Glen Cromwell said. "From a special logo and 75th anniversary rings, we're thrilled to introduce several initiatives already for that celebratory season in 2026 and we will have many more to announce throughout 2025 in this exciting year-long buildup. NHRA has an incredible history – as well as a bright future – and we look forward to celebrating that with our fans, race teams, member track and partners." Additional announcements and initiatives for the 75th anniversary season in 2026 will be released throughout the 2025 campaign. NHRA legends will also be included in the year-long celebration that year, with appearances and special celebrations to be announced in the coming weeks and months. For more information on NHRA, including the full 2025 schedule, please visit www.nhra.com . About Mission Foods MISSION®, owned by GRUMA, S.A.B. de C.V., is the world's leading brand for tortillas and wraps. MISSION® is also globally renowned for flatbreads, dips, salsas and Mexican food products. With presence in over 112 countries, MISSION® products are suited to the lifestyles and the local tastes of each country. With innovation and customer needs in mind, MISSION® focuses on the highest quality, authentic flavors, and providing healthy options that families and friends can enjoy together. For more information, please visit https://www.missionfoods.com/ About NHRA NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States . NHRA presents 20 national events featuring the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, as well as the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock ShowdownTM, NHRA Holley EFI Factory X, Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle and Johnson's Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock at select national events. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and NHRA Street LegalTM. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street® program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League® for youth ages 5 to 17. With 110 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA's Youth and Education Services® (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA's streaming service, NHRA.tv ®, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida ; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Southern California . For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com , or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nhra-announces-launch-of-landmark-75th-anniversary-campaign-for-2026-season-302330705.html SOURCE NHRA