By MICHELLE L. PRICE and ROB GILLIES NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s recent dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his visit to Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral were not just exercises in policy and diplomacy. They were also prime trolling opportunities for Trump. Related Articles National Politics | Biden issues veto threat on bill expanding federal judiciary as partisan split emerges National Politics | Trump lawyers and aide hit with 10 additional felony charges in Wisconsin over 2020 fake electors National Politics | After withdrawing as attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz lands a talk show on OANN television National Politics | What will happen to Social Security under Trump’s tax plan? National Politics | Republican-led states are rolling out plans that could aid Trump’s mass deportation effort Throughout his first term in the White House and during his campaign to return, Trump has spun out countless provocative, antagonizing and mocking statements. There were his belittling nicknames for political opponents, his impressions of other political figures and the plentiful memes he shared on social media. Now that’s he’s preparing to return to the Oval Office, Trump is back at it, and his trolling is attracting more attention — and eyerolls. On Sunday, Trump turned a photo of himself seated near a smiling first lady Jill Biden at the Notre Dame ceremony into a social media promo for his new perfume and cologne line, with the tag line, “A fragrance your enemies can’t resist!” The first lady’s office declined to comment. When Trudeau hastily flew to Florida to meet with Trump last month over the president-elect’s threat to impose a 25% tax on all Canadian products entering the U.S., the Republican tossed out the idea that Canada become the 51st U.S. state. The Canadians passed off the comment as a joke, but Trump has continued to play up the dig, including in a post Tuesday morning on his social media network referring to the prime minister as “Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada.” After decades as an entertainer and tabloid fixture, Trump has a flair for the provocative that is aimed at attracting attention and, in his most recent incarnation as a politician, mobilizing fans. He has long relished poking at his opponents, both to demean and minimize them and to delight supporters who share his irreverent comments and posts widely online and cheer for them in person. Trump, to the joy of his fans, first publicly needled Canada on his social media network a week ago when he posted an AI-generated image that showed him standing on a mountain with a Canadian flag next to him and the caption “Oh Canada!” After his latest post, Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday: “It sounds like we’re living in a episode of South Park.” Trudeau said earlier this week that when it comes to Trump, “his approach will often be to challenge people, to destabilize a negotiating partner, to offer uncertainty and even sometimes a bit of chaos into the well established hallways of democracies and institutions and one of the most important things for us to do is not to freak out, not to panic.” Even Thanksgiving dinner isn’t a trolling-free zone for Trump’s adversaries. On Thanksgiving Day, Trump posted a movie clip from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” with President Joe Biden and other Democrats’ faces superimposed on the characters in a spoof of the turkey-carving scene. The video shows Trump appearing to explode out of the turkey in a swirl of purple sparks, with the former president stiffly dancing to one of his favorite songs, Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” In his most recent presidential campaign, Trump mocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, refusing to call his GOP primary opponent by his real name and instead dubbing him “Ron DeSanctimonious.” He added, for good measure, in a post on his Truth Social network: “I will never call Ron DeSanctimonious ‘Meatball’ Ron, as the Fake News is insisting I will.” As he campaigned against Biden, Trump taunted him in online posts and with comments and impressions at his rallies, deriding the president over his intellect, his walk, his golf game and even his beach body. After Vice President Kamala Harris took over Biden’s spot as the Democratic nominee, Trump repeatedly suggested she never worked at McDonalds while in college. Trump, true to form, turned his mocking into a spectacle by appearing at a Pennsylvania McDonalds in October, when he manned the fries station and held an impromptu news conference from the restaurant drive-thru. Trump’s team thinks people should get a sense of humor. “President Trump is a master at messaging and he’s always relatable to the average person, whereas many media members take themselves too seriously and have no concept of anything else other than suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome,” said Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director. “President Trump will Make America Great Again and we are getting back to a sense of optimism after a tumultuous four years.” Though both the Biden and Harris campaigns created and shared memes and launched other stunts to respond to Trump’s taunts, so far America’s neighbors to the north are not taking the bait. “I don’t think we should necessarily look on Truth Social for public policy,” Miller said. Gerald Butts, a former top adviser to Trudeau and a close friend, said Trump brought up the 51st state line to Trudeau repeatedly during Trump’s first term in office. “Oh God,” Butts said Tuesday, “At least a half dozen times.” “This is who he is and what he does. He’s trying to destabilize everybody and make people anxious,” Butts said. “He’s trying to get people on the defensive and anxious and therefore willing to do things they wouldn’t otherwise entertain if they had their wits about them. I don’t know why anybody is surprised by it.” Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.BALTIMORE (AP) — Will Thomas had 27 points in Morgan State's 86-76 win over Campbell on Sunday. Thomas added seven rebounds for the Bears (6-8). Kameron Hobbs scored 21 points while going 8 of 12 from the floor, including 2 for 5 from 3-point range, and 3 for 4 from the line and added five assists. Marland Harris had nine points and shot 4 of 5 from the field. Nolan Dorsey led the way for the Fighting Camels (5-6) with 21 points and six rebounds. Jasin Sinani added 16 points, six rebounds and four assists for Campbell. Israel Yaw also had 10 points. Thomas scored nine points in the first half and Morgan State went into halftime trailing 33-31. Thomas' 18-point second half helped Morgan State finish off the 10-point victory. Up next for Morgan State is a matchup Sunday with Iowa State on the road. Campbell hosts Longwood on Wednesday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Liverpool head coach Arne Slot continued to play down the significance of their place at the top of the Premier League despite it being strengthened by their 3-1 win over Leicester. Chelsea’s surprise defeat by Fulham meant victory over the Foxes stretched their lead to seven points, with a match in hand, with the halfway point of the campaign fast approaching. But Slot is maintaining his level-headed approach despite the clamour growing around their chances of adding another title to the one won in 2020. Tonight's goalscorers 💪 pic.twitter.com/xn9sfZbVow — Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 26, 2024 “If you are in this game for a long time like the players and I am then 20 games before the end you don’t look at it as there are so many challenges ahead of you,” he said after Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah scored to turn around an early deficit following Jordan Ayew’s strike. “Injuries and and a bit of bad luck can happen to any team, it is far too early to be already celebrating – but it is nice for us to be where we are. “I don’t think there was any easy win for us in any of these games; it could have been an easy win against Tottenham but we conceded two and it was then 5-2 – that tells you how difficult it is to win even when you have all your players available. “That is why we have to take it one game at a time. The league table is something of course we are aware of but we always understand how many games there are to go.” Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy felt his side held their own until Salah scored in the 82nd minute. “I think we were in the contest for a result for a long time,” he said. “Three-one was the turning point in the sense the game was done there to get a result. “I think the 60th minute I remember a chanced for Daka to score the equaliser so we were in the game to get a surprising result. “We did well, we did what we could: a good start with the goal but if you speak of a turning point, 3-1 with Salah, the game was done.” Van Nistelrooy left goalkeeper Danny Ward out of the squad after he struggled in the defeat to Wolves and was jeered by his own fans. “The change in goal was one to make and the conversation with Wardy was impressive, the way he was thinking of the team and the club,” added the Dutchman. “I insisted on a conversation and of course it is a private conversation but what I want to share is the person and the professional he is. “I was impressed with that and his willingness for the team and the club to do well. “Really tough what happened for him. We are professionals but human beings as well, when frustration is being directed towards one person that is difficult.”
Ruben Amorim on mission to steer Man Utd away from RELEGATION as he emphatically rules out European finish
Trump names Andrew Ferguson as head of Federal Trade Commission to replace Lina Khan
Police considering undercover work to fight 'dark job' crime waveIndia has skill, technology, manpower that 'New' Kuwait needs, says PM Modi; praises diaspora's roleonce wanted a “popular uprising” against fossil fuels, but as he has aligned himself with the political right, Musk’s plan for to fight the climate crisis by “accelerat[ing] the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” But as Tesla executives gathered in Palo Alto, California, earlier this year to pitch Musk, the billionaire rejected the idea, to buy computer chips to improve Tesla’s luxury vehicles. The discussions over what was known as the Tesla Model 2 reveal the change in Musk’s approach to the climate crisis as he becomes more and more embedded in President-elect ’s transition team. His change could help boost measures in the nation’s capital against clean energy and possibly even against electric cars. Musk called for a “popular uprising” against the fossil fuel industry in a film released in 2016, the year Trump was first elected to the White House. The world is “unavoidably headed toward some level of harm and the sooner we can take action, the less harm will result,” he told actor Leonardo DiCaprio at the time. “Tesla is working hard to help stop global warming,” he tweeted in 2019, also telling followers that the world was heading toward a “climate change meltdown.” All PowerPoint presentations at Tesla had to include data from former Vice President Al Gore’s documentary pointing to rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to remind employees of Tesla’s goals, according to But the information from the film is no longer required in the presentations. The climate crisis also appears to have dropped significantly as a priority for Musk. In August, he took part in a live stream on X with Trump, in which he said, “We don’t need to rush” to solve the climate issue. He also said that efforts to address climate change should take place without “demonizing people” and that “It’s not like the house is on fire immediately.” While those close to Musk told that he still thinks the climate crisis is a problem, he now believes that the risks of climate disasters have been overblown. “Global warming risk is overblown in the short term, but significant in the long term,” he wrote on X in May last year. Five people told the paper that his views have been affected by a right-wing media universe online and from his time in Texas. More recently, he’s grown fond of technological solutions to the climate crisis, including nuclear power and carbon capture. He’s now rarely seen talking about the climate crisis as a looming problem. Now, he is more focused on seeing robotics, AI, addressing population decline and getting to Mars as more important to human survival. Some executives at Tesla have left the business amid Musk’s change of heart, and Trump has campaigned on ending the electric vehicle tax credit which has been a boost for the company’s business. Musk has also noted that the tax credit will have to be removed. But he’s set to argue to Trump that he should help all his business ventures, such as and Starlink, not simply focus on Tesla, one person told The change in Musk’s views has been taking place over the course of years, five people told the paper, adding it comes after fights with environmentalists, a strained relationship with the Biden administration and a shift to the right in his views tied to the Covid-19 pandemic. “He used to be a Democrat who believed everything he was told was true about this,” one person told the paper. “And now he thinks for himself and realizes, yes, climate change is real, but it’s not nearly among the top problems right now.” In 2020, the pandemic began to change Musk’s views as lockdowns forced the closure of Tesla’s main plant. Musk began tearing down mask mandate posters, noted. Musk revealed in May 2020 that Tesla headquarters was leaving California. Musk’s transgender daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson received gender-affirming care around that same time, with those close to Musk saying that he was distraught at her transition. The pandemic and his daughter’s gender transition both pushed him to turn against Democrats and everything they stand for, including their views on climate change. “Anything the left saying [was] conspiratorial and bulls***,” one person told The following year, Musk grew irate after Tesla wasn’t invited to an EV summit at the White House. Musk began discussing climate issues with others who held skeptical views of climate predictions, such as Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Musk associate Robert Zubrin told the paper: “He decided he would join this camp, and this was more important than the whole climate cause. He decided to go all in,” Zubrin said. “And I guess in one sense, that is characteristic Musk – When he decides to do something, he goes all in.” Last year, Musk met entrepreneur and 2024 primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The duo is now in charge of the outside commission the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, . In a taste of what’s to come, last month Musk reposted the names and titles of four people with low-profile climate-related jobs in the government, prompting negative attention with at least one of the four women removing her social media accounts.
NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, widely regarded as the architect of India’s economic reform program and a landmark nuclear deal with the United States, has died. He was 92. Singh was admitted to New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences late Thursday after his health deteriorated due to a “sudden loss of consciousness at home,” the hospital said in a statement. “Resuscitative measures were started immediately at home. He was brought to the Medical Emergency” at 8:06 p.m., the hospital said, but “despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9:51 p.m.” Singh was being treated for “age-related medical conditions,” the statement said. A mild-mannered technocrat, Singh became one of India’s longest-serving prime ministers for 10 years and leader of the Congress Party in the Parliament's Upper House, earning a reputation as a man of great personal integrity. He was chosen to fill the role in 2004 by Sonia Gandhi, the widow of assassinated Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi . But his sterling image was tainted by allegations of corruption against his ministers. Singh was reelected in 2009, but his second term as prime minister was clouded by financial scandals and corruption charges over the organization of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. This led to the Congress Party’s crushing defeat in the 2014 national election by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of Narendra Modi . Singh adopted a low profile after relinquishing the post of prime minister. Prime Minister Modi, who succeeded Singh in 2014, called him one of India’s “most distinguished leaders” who rose from humble origins and left “a strong imprint on our economic policy over the years.” “As our Prime Minister, he made extensive efforts to improve people’s lives,” Modi said in a post on the social platform X. He called Singh’s interventions in Parliament as a lawmaker “insightful” and said “his wisdom and humility were always visible.” Rahul Gandhi, from the same party as Singh and the opposition leader in the lower house of the Indian Parliament, said Singh’s “deep understanding of economics inspired the nation” and that he “led India with immense wisdom and integrity.” “I have lost a mentor and guide. Millions of us who admired him will remember him with the utmost pride,” Gandhi wrote on X. Born on Sept. 26, 1932, in a village in the Punjab province of undivided India, Singh’s brilliant academic career took him to Cambridge University in Britain, where he earned a degree in economics in 1957. He then got his doctorate in economics from Nuffield College at Oxford University in 1962. Singh taught at Panjab University and the prestigious Delhi School of Economics before joining the Indian government in 1971 as economic advisor in the Commerce Ministry. In 1982, he became chief economic adviser to the Finance Ministry. He also served as deputy chair of the Planning Commission and governor of the Reserve Bank of India. As finance minister, Singh in 1991 instituted reforms that opened up the economy and moved India away from a socialist-patterned economy and toward a capitalist model in the face of a huge balance of payments deficit, skirting a potential economic crisis. His accolades include the 1987 Padma Vibhushan Award, India’s second-highest civilian honor; the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress in 1995; and the Asia Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year in 1993 and 1994. Singh was a member of India’s Upper House of Parliament and was leader of the opposition from 1998 to 2004 before he was named prime minister. He was the first Sikh to hold the country’s top post and made a public apology in Parliament for the 1984 Sikh Massacre in which some 3,000 Sikhs were killed after then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by Sikh bodyguards. Under Singh, India adopted a Right to Information Act in 2005 to promote accountability and transparency from government officials and bureaucrats. He was also instrumental in implementing a welfare scheme that guaranteed at least 100 paid workdays for Indian rural citizens. The coalition government he headed for a decade brought together politicians and parties with differing ideologies that were rivals in the country’s various states. In a move hailed as one of his biggest achievements apart from economic reforms, Singh ended India’s nuclear isolation by signing a deal with the U.S. that gave India access to American nuclear technology. But the deal hit his government adversely, with Communist allies withdrawing support and criticism of the agreement growing within India in 2008 when it was finalized. Singh adopted a pragmatic foreign policy approach, pursuing a peace process with nuclear rival and neighbor Pakistan. But his efforts suffered a major setback after Pakistani militants carried out a massive gun and bomb attack in Mumbai in November 2008. He also tried to end the border dispute with China, brokering a deal to reopen the Nathu La pass into Tibet, which had been closed for more than 40 years. His 1965 book, “India’s Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth,” dealt with India’s inward-oriented trade policy. Singh is survived by his wife Gursharan Kaur and three daughters. Associated Press writer Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report.The top Democrat on the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee said on Friday that Republicans in Congress were protecting Elon Musk's Chinese investments by scrapping provisions restricting US investments. Representative Rosa DeLauro said in a letter that Musk, CEO of electric carmaker Tesla, may have upended the government funding process to remove a provision that would regulate US investments in China given his "extensive investments in China in key sectors and his personal ties with Chinese Communist Party leadership, and calls into question the real reason for Musk's opposition to the original funding deal." Musk posted a number of critical posts about DeLauro on X on Friday including one that said she "needs to be expelled from Congress!" President-elect Donald Trump has named Musk, a billionaire, as co-head of a project to cut government costs. Musk helped lead opposition online to a government funding bill that would have included the Chinese investment restrictions. "Musk's investments in China and his ties with the Chinese Community Party have only grown over the last few years with Tesla's Shanghai plant producing about 50% of Tesla's global automobile output," DeLauro wrote. Nearly a quarter of Tesla's global revenue in 2023 drew from sales of Chinese-made vehicles from the Shanghai factory, DeLauro said, adding that Tesla broke ground on a $200 million factory in China to manufacture large batteries critical to its electric vehicle supply chain. She added that proponents of regulating US investment in China "have advocated for the inclusion of large battery manufacturing in the list of technologies subject to outbound investment screening." COMMENTS Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive. For more information, please see our
Adrian Chiles has been defended for the 'sweetest' tribute after coming under fire for his outfit at Liam Payne's funeral. The funeral of the former One Direction member, who tragically passed away aged 31 in Argentina last month, was held earlier this week. High-profile attendees included Cheryl, Simon Cowell and his ex-bandmates. TV host Adrian Chiles, 57, donned a West Bromwich Albion jacket, leading to 'crass' remarks from some online. But fans of the star have defended the star as they praised his tribute to his late friend. Not only was Payne a WBA supporter, but he and Chiles also bonded over attending football matches together. Read more British Airways flight attendant 'suspended after callous post about Liam Payne' Chiles, currently a host on BBC Radio 5 Live, shared his relationship with Payne with listeners, saying: "I got to know him when he first did X Factor. He came up to me and said "up the Albion" he was a West Brom fan. "I remember we managed to sneak him into a Boxing Day game and his parents sat with me. We hid him in the commentary gantry so he wouldn't be disturbed. Then a friend texted me asking, "Why are West Brom trending number one on Twitter?' "I went, 'Well it could be because Liam Payne is here and he tweeted he was here and the whole world went mad for it'." One fan spoke out in Adrian's defence, writing: "Any sense of deeper meaning or genuine emotion is lost or impossible. Wearing the West Brom coat was a heartfelt gesture of love and respect." "Got a lot of admiration for Adrian Chiles attending Liam Payne's funeral in a West Brom coat, given their shared love of the team," another fan shared, while another added: "People mocking Adrian Chiles for wearing a WBA coat when actually it's the sweetest thing when you realise Liam Payne supported WBA."Nassau County Assault Attorney Russ Kofman Explains How to Get Assault Charges Dismissed