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Ministers are hiring a new EU negotiator as Sir Keir Starmer seeks to reset Britain’s relationship with Europe. The post, worth at least £150,000 a year and advertised by the Cabinet Office, would act as a “sherpa” for all of the UK’s dealings with the bloc. The role is described as “principal adviser to the Prime Minister and the minister for European Union relations (Nick Thomas-Symonds) on matters relating to relations with the EU and delivering the ‘EU reset’ and on international economic issues”. The applicant would also need to represent the Prime Minister at negotiations. The Trade and Co-operation Agreement, the basis for the UK-EU relationship after Brexit, will be subject to renewal talks in 2025. The sherpa, ultimately appointed by the Prime Minister, would likely be responsible for overseeing these talks. The civil service position is being filled through an open and competitive process and will receive a salary between £153,000 and £200,000. Sir Keir has stressed the importance of resetting ties with Europe, and in his first months as Prime Minister has visited capitals across the continent to meet national leaders. However, the Tories sought to suggest hiring a new EU negotiator showed the Prime Minister was attempting to “undermine Brexit and our status as a sovereign nation with his plan to take the country back into the EU”. Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel added: “The Conservative Party will not stand by and allow the will of the British people be reversed while Labour arrogantly capitulates to the EU.” But a Labour source said: “This is truly desperate stuff from the Conservatives. There will be no return to the EU, customs union, single market or freedom of movement. “We are focused on acting in the national interest – tackling barriers to trade, improving co-operation on smashing the criminal people-smuggling gangs and working closely with our allies to stand up to Putin’s aggression. “We won’t take Britain back to the Tory days of chaos and division.” A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “As we reset our relationship with the EU, building closer trade and security links and encouraging more investment from around the world, this new role will oversee that work. “Reporting to the Minister for European Union Relations, they will lead official-level discussions with the EU as we drive economic growth.”
Quebec Conservative Party leader hospitalized with heart problem
When my officemate ‘unfriended’ me on Facebook
World number one Luke Humphries retained his Players Championship Finals title with an 11-7 victory over teenager Luke Littler in Minehead. Littler, who won the Grand Slam of Darts last week, hit checkouts of 170, 164 and 136 as he threatened to overturn an early deficit, but Humphries held his nerve to win the last three legs. “I’m really, really proud of that one to be honest,” Humphries told Sky Sports. FOR THE SECOND TIME 🏆🏆 Luke Humphries retains his 2024 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals title, beating Luke Littler 11-7 in the final. — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) “I didn’t feel myself this week playing-wise, I felt like I was a dart behind in a lot of the scenarios but there’s something that Luke does to you. He really drives me, makes me want to be a better player and I enjoy playing him. “He let me in really early in that first session to go 4-1 up, I never looked back and I’m proud that I didn’t take my foot off the gas. These big games are what I live for. “Luke is a special talent and he was right – I said to him I’ve got to get these (titles) early before he wins them all. “I’d love to be up here and hitting 105 averages like Luke is all the time but he’s a different calibre, he’s probably the best player in the world right now but there’s something about me that never gives up. “This is a great way to go into the worlds.” HUMPHRIES GOES BACK-TO-BACK! 🏆 Luke Humphries retains his Players Championship Finals title! Cool Hand puts on an absolute clinic to defeat Luke Littler 11-7 in an epic final! 📺 | Final — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) Littler, who lost the world championship final to Humphries last year, said: “It was tough, missed a few doubles and if you don’t take chances early on, it’s a lot to come back. “I hit the 170 and the 164 but just didn’t have enough in the end. “It’s been a good past two weeks. I just can’t wait to go home, chill out, obviously practice at home for the worlds. That’s it now, leading up to the big one.”
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Arizona State makes College Football Playoff with 45-19 win over Iowa State in Big 12 title game
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins were ready to deal veteran defensive tackle Calais Campbell to the Baltimore Ravens ahead of the Nov. 5 trade deadline until Mike McDaniel stepped in. “I may or may not have thrown an adult temper tantrum,” Miami's coach said, confirming the news first reported by NFL Network Sunday morning. The Dolphins were 2-6 and had lost three straight at that point. They'd played four uninspired games without their starting quarterback, going 1-3 after Tua Tagovailoa went on injured reserve on Sept. 17 with a concussion. Campbell would have had a chance to rejoin the contending Ravens, and Miami would have received a 2026 fifth-round pick in return, NFL Network reported. McDaniel argued that Campbell was too valuable to lose. “I was happy that they brought me into the conversations," Campbell said after Miami's 34-15 win over the New England Patriots . “They didn't have to say anything to me at all. We had a really good conversation about what we think about this team, where we are. We felt like we had a good shot to get back into the fight.” Added McDaniel: “I think it wasn’t like it was (GM) Chris (Grier) versus me. ... That’s the tricky thing about Chris’ job is he has to look long-term and short-term at the same time, what’s the best for the organization.” Campbell, a 17-year veteran, signed with the Dolphins after playing for Atlanta last season. Players and coaches have praised the 38-year-old's contributions on the field and in the locker room. “There’s no one’s game I’ve come to respect more than Calais up front on the D-line,” defensive tackle Zach Sieler said, “being with him this year and just the energy, the attitude and the mindset he brings every week. It can’t be matched, and that’s the reason why he is who he is today and doing what he’s doing at 17 years.” Campbell leads the team with four sacks. With back-to-back sacks in Weeks 10 and 11, he became the eighth player 38 or older to record sacks in consecutive games since the 1970 merger. He also has nine tackles for loss, giving him at least five tackles for loss in 15 of his 17 seasons. He played for Baltimore from 2020-2022, totaling 11 sacks and 113 tackles. “I think he means a great deal to not only the defensive line room, but the entire defense as well as the entire team,” McDaniel said earlier this week. “It’s rare for a guy to get here when he did, and then be voted, with such conviction, captain. I think the way that he operates to be a pro, I think has had a substantial impact on a lot of players that hadn’t been fortunate enough to be around someone with sustained success like he’s had.” The Dolphins have won three straight games since the deadline. Miami's defense held the Patriots scoreless until the fourth quarter on Sunday. Campbell broke down the team's pregame huddle as he has done before most games this season. He was also seen coaching up rookie linebacker Chop Robinson, who is always seeking pointers from the six-time Pro Bowler. “My job is to speak on behalf of what’s the best thing for the 2024 Dolphins,” McDaniel said. “I’m just fortunate to work in an organization where myself and the GM can be transparent and work together. “And he didn’t want to see any more adult temper tantrums.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLTarget Stock Plunges: Should You Buy the Dip or Run for Cover?
Families across the country will be coming together for Thanksgiving this year, a holiday meant to remind people to be grateful for their loved ones. But, it’s also a time of old wounds and debates making the rounds over the dinner table, and after one of the most divisive elections in recent memory some families could see their reunions strained even more than usual. Despite its more optimistic themes, Thanksgiving is seen by many as a time for family fights as much as friendly gatherings. Michele Kerulis, a clinical associate professor at the Family Institute at Northwestern University, gave a few reasons why people can find themselves fighting over the turkey dinner. The holidays are a time of old memories and emotions, she said, but not all of them are heartwarming. Some are “quite the opposite, contentious or angering.” And people who may feel obligated to spend time together during the holidays will have a “shorter fuse,” walking on “pins and needles,” expecting things to go badly. Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, right, in 2024. (AP Photos) The recent election may also cause strife for some families, Kerulis said. “I think politics definitely play a role, especially during election season, and because we most recently had an election that felt, to many people, to be extremely polarizing,” she said. “That polarization exists among a lot of families that I have spoken with.” Generational differences can also spawn conflict. Gen X, Gen Z, Millennials and Baby Boomers grew up during different significant national and world events, changing how they perceive things. She compared 9/11 to the COVID pandemic as the most recent example. “A lot of people don’t understand how and why different generations view current events in such dramatically different ways,” Kerulis said. “It takes ... emotional maturity, to step back and say, ‘I understand that you’ve had different life experiences than I have.’” It’s important to set realistic expectations for the holiday, she said, and take into consideration the family dynamic, which can change depending on who is in the room at any given time. “People need to have an understanding, what do they want out of the holiday?” Kerulis said. “What’s a realistic expectation, and if there tends to be disagreements or drama, if everyone can set ground rules before they get together that could be very helpful.” It may also be worthwhile avoiding the “big three” topics — money, religion and politics — that were once much more taboo to raise. Today with social media, Kerulis said people are much more public with their opinions, political and otherwise. “People want to have more open conversations, to gain an understanding of each other and to try to understand people’s perspective,” she said. But Kerulis argued that since the COVID pandemic, there’s been an uptick in “canceling” people if they didn’t agree with you, and jumping to “major assumptions” based on more mundane actions. “I think it’s important for people to understand that there’s a whole world of gray,” she said. “People have to be willing to listen to other people.” If people are dead set on having those conversations, she advised setting aside a different time and place and, if they’re going to be especially intense, consider involving a counselor. Going into the conversations expecting to change someone’s mind or values is “not fair,” Kerulis said, since “we don’t want people to force values on us and try to change our minds either.” “Everybody wants to feel emotionally safe and everybody wants to feel heard, and we all have different definitions of what that means,” she said. “Keep in mind that when you’re going into the holidays, go in there with grace and know that, yes, there might be a difference of opinion, but this is your family.” Another way to ease contention during the holidays is a simple apology, but getting two people to apologize is anything but simple. Shereen Chaudhry is an assistant professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She said research shows the conflicts that last involve what she described as “two-sided transgressions,” where both people share some amount of blame. “That’s interesting because what needs to happen for reconciliation is both people making amends,” Chaudhry said. It’s an apology stalemate, as each worries the other person won’t apologize back or unfairly place more blame on them. People often have a self-serving bias, she said, typically assigning less blame on themselves than the other person. Research shows people are much more likely to reply to an apology with their own apology than be the first to go, Chaudhry said. It could be beneficial to take that first step, helping lower the other person’s defenses. It’s important not to open an apology by blaming the other person, though, Chaudhry said. People have a tendency to start by explaining what the other person did wrong, feeling if they can explain they’ll get an apology. It usually doesn’t work. “People reciprocate. If you blame me, I’m going to blame you. If you apologize to me, I’m going to apologize to you,” she said. “What’s interesting is that people don’t seem to do that or realize that.” They are all good things to consider while passing the mashed potatoes and gravy. Faced with such contentions, Kerulis said it comes down to what someone wants their family relationship to be. She feels it is important for families to try to find some middle ground rather than focus on “polarizing talking points.” “I hate to see families separating themselves from each other because of different points of view, or a lack of understanding,” she said. “Be a little more open-minded about how to have insightful conversations with each other, with the spirit of listening and not the spirit of changing somebody’s mind.” That being said, Kerulis acknowledged some families don’t have good relationships to start with, and open-mindedness isn’t going to fix that. She recommends people turn to professional counseling to help “find some peace” with their family situation, “so they can heal from the inside and not carry so much anger and resentment as they go into family events.”
Is the overthrow of Assad good for the Palestinians?Cop accused of misplacing fileMigrant apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border reached a new low of the Biden administration in November, preliminary data show, largely due to an ongoing aggressive effort in Mexico to slow migrants' northward progress. U.S. Border Patrol agents recorded 46,700 migrant arrests between ports of entry in November, down 17% from October, according to preliminary numbers reported by the Associated Press. The November encounters data reflects a steady, steep decline from last year's highs, and an 80% reduction in encounters compared with the 250,000 in the month of December 2023. Experts say that's due to a combination of Mexico's heightened enforcement, at the behest of Biden administration leaders, as well as Biden’s controversial June order restricting asylum access. Immigrant rights advocates call the order an illegal violation of the right to seek asylum under U.S. and international law. In the Tucson sector, there were an estimated 7,450 migrant apprehensions in November, a 35% drop from October, according to a tally of Tucson sector chief Sean McGoffin's weekly reports on X, formerly Twitter. The reality at, and south of, the U.S.-Mexico border conflicts with President-elect Donald Trump's claim that migrants are “pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before” in a Nov. 25 post on his social media site, Truth Social. In the post, he promised 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada for not sufficiently reducing the flow of migrants and drugs into the U.S. "Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem," Trump wrote in the post . The misleading characterization from Trump has prompted pushback from immigration experts, as well as Mexico's new president, Claudia Sheinbaum. "The starting point of these posts online is fictional," said Stephanie Brewer, director for Mexico at the Washington Office on Latin America, or WOLA, a human-rights research and advocacy group. "This is an example that reminds us that the starting point to any kind of effective action, to any policy solution, needs to be facts, needs to be reality and needs to be centered on the people affected." A vehicle drives along the U.S. side of the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Nogales, Arizona. Mexico's enforcement efforts have led to rampant human rights abuses against vulnerable migrants traveling through the country, including widespread kidnapping, assaults and extortion by organized crime groups and Mexican authorities alike, researchers and advocates say. Mexico has set up highway roadblocks and accelerated a program of detaining and busing migrants to the south of the country, where many simply begin their journey again, Brewer said. "Right now, the reasons that border arrival numbers are down so much are reasons that should not be celebrated," Brewer said. "They are reflections of policies that are not sustainable. They’re not policies that actually manage or address regional migration in any constructive way." Mexican immigration authorities are now logging more migrant encounters each month than the U.S., said Ariel Ruiz Soto, senior policy analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, a migration-policy think-tank. With limited shelter and detention capacity, Mexico's current enforcement program is not sustainable, he said. In August, Mexican immigration authorities encountered 97,000 migrants, while in the U.S., border agents encountered 58,000 people who entered the U.S. between ports of entry, he said. "Since May, Mexico has encountered more migrants in its territory than the U.S. has on its border with Mexico," Ruiz Soto said. "Just because we see less people coming to the U.S.-Mexico border doesn’t mean there are less people coming towards the U.S. ... The Mexicans are doing today significantly more than they were under the Trump administration, and with a fraction of the funding and capacity of U.S. authorities." That includes using the military to deter people from reaching the U.S.-Mexico border, the migrant-busing operation redirecting migrants to the south of Mexico, increasing checkpoints along traditional migration routes, agreeing to accept non-Mexican deportees from the U.S., and allowing the Biden administration's CBP One application to function across the country, Ruiz Soto said. A Trump transition team spokeswoman did not directly answer emailed questions from the Arizona Daily Star about the low migrant-arrest figures and what more Mexico should do to slow migration. “President Trump was given a mandate by the American people to stop the invasion of illegal immigrants, secure the border, and deport dangerous criminals and terrorists that make our communities less safe. He will deliver," spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in an emailed statement. Mexican president's response In a strongly worded response to Trump's tariff threats, Mexican president Sheinbaum emphasized that due to Mexico’s enforcement, migrant caravans are no longer reaching the border and migrant arrivals at the U.S. border have plummeted. She said collaboration, not a trade war, was the best way to tackle the issues of migration and drug trafficking. She also blamed U.S. drug consumers for the high demand for fentanyl and the flow of high-powered weapons from the U.S. for escalating violence in Mexico. "Seventy percent of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country," Sheinbaum said, reading from her letter to Trump in a Nov. 26 press conference. "We do not produce the weapons. We do not consume synthetic drugs. The deaths from crimes responding to the demand for drugs in your country, unfortunately, falls on us." She said the countries must work together to find a new model to address U.S. labor needs and the root causes compelling many to leave their homes out of necessity. “If a percentage of what the United States spends on war were dedicated to peace-building and development, that would address the underlying causes of migration,” she said. A day later, Sheinbaum also pushed back against Trump's characterization of the two leaders' Nov. 27 phone call, in which Trump claimed Sheinbaum promised to "close the border." Sheinbaum disputed the claim, saying she'd explained to Trump what Mexico has been doing to stem migration to the U.S. border. "We reiterate that Mexico's position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples," she said in a Nov. 27 post on X. Sheinbaum may also face pressure from her constituents in Mexico, where frustration is rising with large numbers of migrants, and the prospect of receiving more deportations from the U.S. under Trump, experts say. Currently, Mexico has an agreement with the Biden administration to accept deported people originally from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, countries to which the U.S. struggles to deport people directly. But Mexico's cooperation in this respect might be changing. In a Thursday press conference , Sheinbaum indicated Mexico will try to avoid receiving non-Mexicans deported under Trump's promised mass deportation campaign. "We hope to reach an agreement with the Trump administration so that, in case these deportations happen, they send people from other countries directly to their countries of origin," she said. Ruiz Soto said Mexico will likely continue to cooperate with the U.S. under most scenarios, due to the countries' linked geography, economies and history. “No matter what, Mexico is an indispensable partner in managing regional migration to the U.S.,” he said. Points of negotiation will likely center over Mexico’s willingness to receive deportations of non-Mexican nationals, and whether the U.S. should provide assistance or supplies to Mexico as it grapples with its heightened enforcement campaign, he said. Enforcement called short-sighted Immigrant rights advocates say long-term solutions to address the reality of a global surge in migration must include a scaled-up asylum system and increased resources at U.S. ports of entry to process asylum seekers' requests in an orderly, humane way. Otherwise, desperate people will continue trying to reach the U.S. border any way they can, said human rights advocate and immigration expert Ari Sawyer, a Mexico City-based consultant for Refugees International. Sheinbaum could break from her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, by resisting U.S. pressure to carry out inhumane, short-sighted enforcement strategies that harm vulnerable people, Sawyer said. With its migrant-busing program, Mexican authorities "are engaging in this policy of exhaustion on behalf of the United States," Sawyer said. While researching in southern Mexico in September, Sawyer and fellow researchers encountered exhausted families who had been repeatedly detained and taken by bus to Tabasco, Mexico, where there are few resources for them. "What you started to see was a huge build-up of asylum seekers in Mexico, and rising animosity among local Mexican populations who are already struggling with violent crime and who are watching violent crime increase as cartels are getting rich off of kidnapping," Sawyer said. Immigration crackdowns also push people to travel via riskier routes to avoid detention, or to hire human smugglers to shepherd them through the country, Brewer said. Those rounded up often include people waiting for an appointment through Biden's CBP One application, which the administration has said is the appropriate way for migrants to enter the U.S. to request asylum. Migrants report waiting eight months or more , in dangerous conditions, to secure an appointment through the app, which requires daily access to the internet. Those with CBP One appointments are increasingly targeted by criminals who exploit "the urgency people feel when they finally get a CBP One appointment to extort them for even more money," Sawyer said. The incoming Trump administration has promised to end the CBP One program, and other legal mechanisms the Biden administration has set up to encourage people to cross the border through regular processes at ports of entry, rather than between ports of entry where many surrender to border agents. Brewer said cutting those legal pathways to enter the U.S. and counting on Mexico to "indefinitely host" migrants south of the U.S. border is "not a realistic solution." "What is the plan here? If you're not providing a solution to the people in movement, you will not solve the problem," Brewer said. "They will not stop coming, no matter how cruel U.S. policy has been or becomes. People who are driven from their homes will not stop trying to seek safety for their families." Before leaving office, Biden should increase the relatively small number of CBP One app appointments available, and ensure that those currently waiting for an appointment get one quickly, as Trump is unlikely to honor any appointments assigned by the app, Sawyer said. In Mexico, Sheinbaum could also expand the capacity of Mexico's so-called "safe mobility corridor," aimed at helping migrants with CBP One appointments safely reach the border. Sawyer's research found the effort had served only 1,300 people in its first six weeks of operation. "Biden has left a lot of people very vulnerable in Mexico," Sawyer said. "Biden created this monster of a system. He should undo it before Trump gets into office." Contact reporter Emily Bregel at ebregel@tucson.com . On X, formerly Twitter: @EmilyBregel Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Border reporter
(The Center Square) – Adoption of institutional neutrality is supported by better than 6 in 10 tenured and nontenured faculty at the University of North Carolina, Wake Forest University and Duke University, a report says. Nationally, 66% of faculty say “colleges and universities should not take positions on political and social issues,” says Silence in the Classroom, the 2024 FIRE Faculty Survey Report. At Duke, the percentage is 71%, at Carolina 65%, and at Wake 64%. Higher education is facing mounting challenges, from the costs to the positions it favors. Silencing students or faculty has drawn sharp criticism from Capitol Hill to every corner of the nation sending people to the ballot box. Carolina, established in 1789, is the nation’s oldest public university. It also earlier this year became embattled in free speech controversy tied to the war between Hamas and Israel. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression , as FIRE is more formally known, is a nonprofit nonpartisan organization billing itself as “defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought.” Surveys on topics related to free expression and academic freedom were made of 6,269 tenured, tenure-track and nontenure faculty at 55 four-year colleges and universities in America. In North Carolina, the sampling was of 145 at Carolina, 80 at Duke, and 55 at Wake Forest. For each campus, respondents said the top “difficult issue to discuss” is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Asked for top three issues, the Middle East saga was 79% at Carolina, 71% at Wake Forest and 68% at Duke. Each campus was split on the second and third choices. At Duke, 57% said affirmative action and 51% transgender rights. At Carolina, 54% said affirmative action and 53% racial inequality. And at Wake, 63% said racial inequality and 55% transgender rights. All were talking points of various candidates, particularly the presidential race, in the election cycle climaxing last month. In response to faculty feeling “they could not express their opinion because of how others would respond,” the choices of “occasionally,” “fairly often” and “very often” drew a combined 69% at Wake Forest, 69% at Duke and 67% at Carolina. Fairly often and very often were 35% at Duke. Statements pledging commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is rarely or never justified of faculty job candidates, said 61% at Duke, 44% at Carolina and 42% at Wake Forest. Nationally, the response was 50%. Academic freedom leaned more toward secure than not at all three institutions on a split of about 60%-40%. As for faculty feeling a need to “hide their political beliefs from other faculty in an attempt to keep their job,” answers of “never” were chosen by 43% at Duke, 42% at Carolina and 36% at Wake Forest. Among the national findings of the FIRE survey: • More faculty (35%) than during the McCarthy era (9%) say they toned down their writing for fear of controversy. • Threats of discipline for teaching, research, academic talks or other off-campus speech was incurred by 14%. • Faculty feeling unable to speak freely for fear of how others would respond was 27%. • Fear of damaged reputations because of misunderstandings with something said or done was 40%. • Fear of losing jobs because of misunderstandings with something said or done was 23%.
A New Jersey coffee favorite is on the move. Sewell’s own Blended Joe is relocating its beans and percolators to a new Washington Township location next year. Blended Joe’s is currently pouring hot cups in the Pizza Tower at 745 Woodbury Glassboro Road. The cafe will be moving into the Harbor Plaza shopping center at 421 Hurffville-Cross Keys Road. A post on Blended Joe’s official Facebook states that while an exact opening date is not presently available, owner Joe Ioconelli is aiming to open doors in February. Blended Joe has been delighting customers with its small-batch coffees since its founding in 2018. The concept debuted its first brick and mortar cafe location earlier this year. The new storefront will allow Joe’s to debut its “revamped menu, bakery, and breakfast cafe offerings.” While Blended Joe pours a mean cup of coffee, the company aspires to so much more. The website states the brand’s mission statement as “Our mission is to help others by leveraging our coffee to combat issues such as social prejudices, bigotry, poverty induced hunger, and racism while creating opportunities for individuals to “blend” together in peace! We proudly donate a portion of our proceeds to local charities and organizations that are working to bring a positive change to our communities.”NoneThe week after the November election, President-elect Donald Trump gathered his top advisers in the tearoom at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, to plan the transition to his second-term government. Trump had brought two of his most valued houseguests to the meeting: billionaire Tesla boss Elon Musk and billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Trump looked around the conference table and issued a joking-not-joking challenge. "I brought the two richest people in the world today," Trump told his advisers, according to a person who was in the room. "What did you bring?" Trump has delighted in a critical addition to his transition team: the Silicon Valley billionaires and millionaires who have been all over the transition, shaping hiring decisions and even conducting interviews for senior-level jobs. Many of those who are not formally involved, such as Ellison, have been happy to sit in on the meetings. Their involvement, to a degree far deeper than previously reported, has made this one of the most potentially conflict-ridden presidential transitions in modern history. It also carries what could be vast implications for the Trump administration's policies on issues including taxes and the regulation of artificial intelligence, not to mention clashing mightily with the notion that Trump's brand of populism is all about helping the working man. The presence of the Silicon Valley crew during critical moments also reflects something larger. Silicon Valley was once seen as a Democratic stronghold, but the new generation of tech leaders -- epitomized by Musk -- often has a right-wing ideology and a sense that they have an opportunity now to shift the balance of power in favor of less-fettered entrepreneurship. Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the presidential transition, said Trump and Musk are "great friends and brilliant leaders." "Elon Musk is a once-in-a-generation business leader, and our federal bureaucracy will certainly benefit from his ideas and efficiency," he said. This article is based on interviews with more than a dozen people with insight into the transition, including people who have participated in the process. Most spoke on condition of anonymity to preserve their relationships with Trump. The tech leaders in Trump's orbit are pushing for deregulation of their industries and more innovative use of private sector technologies in the federal government, especially the defense industry. About a dozen Musk allies took breaks from their businesses to serve as unofficial advisers to the Trump transition effort. Broadly, the group is pushing for less-onerous regulation of industries such as cryptocurrency and AI, a weaker Federal Trade Commission to allow for more deal-making and the privatization of some government services to make government more efficient. Musk himself has called some executives at major public companies and asked how the government is thwarting their business -- and what he can do to help. These tech leaders have played a far broader role than simply contributing to the nascent Department of Government Efficiency -- the Musk-led effort, abbreviated as DOGE, that is intended to effectively audit the entire government and cut $2 trillion out of federal spending. Musk's friends are also influencing hiring decisions at some of the most important government agencies. Inside the Trump transition team's headquarters, in West Palm Beach, Fla., billionaire Marc Andreessen, a tech investor who decades ago founded one of the first popular internet browsers, has interviewed candidates for senior roles at the State Department, the Pentagon, and the Department of Health and Human Services. Jared Birchall, head of Musk's family office with no experience in foreign affairs, has interviewed a few candidates for jobs at the State Department. Birchall has been involved in advising the Trump transition team on space policy and AI, helping to put together councils for AI development and crypto policy. Shaun Maguire, another Musk friend, is now advising Trump on picks for the intelligence community. Maguire, a brash Caltech graduate with a doctorate in physics and who is an investor at Sequoia Capital, has been a staple of the Trump transition over the past month, including interviewing potential candidates for senior Defense Department jobs. "The incoming Trump admin is working 16 hour days 6 days per week," Maguire tweeted last week. Musk replied simply with a correction: "7 days a week." "Was trying to underestimate, but you're obviously right," Maguire replied. Those are just three of the friends and lieutenants of Musk's -- venture capitalists, tech CEOs and other allies of the world's richest man -- who have spent the past month around Trump's home and private club and the transition offices nearby in West Palm Beach, staying at luxury hotels such as The Breakers or the Ritz-Carlton. Some of the Silicon Valley elite have been involved in interviews, technically as representatives of Musk's government efficiency office, but their mandate, in practice, is wider as they sit in the interview rooms alongside longtime Trump aides. A core goal of Musk and the Silicon Valley set has to been to improve the efficiency of government services. One tech executive who has been seen at Mar-a-Lago, investor Shervin Pishevar, has called for an agenda that pushes substantial privatization of U.S. government functions, such as the Postal Service, NASA and the federal prison system, and the creation of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund. "By leveraging the ingenuity of the private sector and creating pathways for direct citizen ownership, a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) -- spearheaded by visionaries like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy -- could lead a revolutionary restructuring of public institutions," Pishevar wrote. He ended his post with an AI-generated image of what Washington might look like in 2032.
Morgan Stanley boosts consumer finance outlook for 2025
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In a letter to the Prime Minister, shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel and shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick claimed the decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) had “no proper basis in international law”. They said the UK’s refusal to explicitly say whether or not the Israeli premier would be detained if he arrived in the country “opens the farcical spectre of your Government trying to sanction the arrest” of an ally to Britain. Criticising the ICC warrant, the shadow ministers said: “It is hard to escape the conclusion this is an activist decision, motivated by politics and not the law.” They argued the court was established to pursue cases in instances where countries do not have robust and independent judiciaries, which could not be said of Israel. “The UK Government’s response to the decision has been nonsensical,” they said. “On Friday, the Home Secretary refused to say whether Mr Netanyahu would be detained if he travelled to the UK. “This opens the farcical spectre of your Government trying to sanction the arrest on UK soil of the leader of an ally of the UK, while you continue a diplomatic charm offensive with the Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. “It falls to you to clarify the Government’s position – now. The Government must make clear that it does not support an arrest warrant being issued which has no proper basis in international law.” Downing Street on Friday indicated that Mr Netanyahu could face arrest if he entered the UK, refusing to comment on “hypotheticals” but saying Britain would always follow its “legal obligations”. The International Criminal Court Act 2001 states that a Secretary of State must, on receipt of a request for arrest from the ICC, “transmit the request and the documents accompanying it to an appropriate judicial officer”. Asked whether the UK would comply with requirements under the Act, Sir Keir’s spokesman said: “Yes, the Government would fulfil its obligations under the Act and indeed its legal obligations.” The ICC has issued a warrant for Mr Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza. Number 10 previously said the domestic process linked to ICC arrest warrants has never been used to date by the UK because no-one wanted by the international court had visited the country. It added that Israel remained a “key partner across a range of areas”. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “It is important that we have a dialogue with Israel at all levels to reach the ceasefire that we all want to see, to bring an end to the violence, to protect civilians and ensure the release of hostages.” The ICC also issued a warrant for Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas’s armed wing, over the October 7 2023 attacks that triggered Israel’s offensive in Gaza. A domestic court process would be required before Mr Netanyahu faced arrest if he set foot in the UK. The ICC said there are “reasonable grounds to believe” Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant were responsible for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts”. The court’s pre-trial chamber also found “reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant each bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population”. The impact of the warrants is likely to be limited since Israel and its major ally, the US, are not members of the ICC.US election: Elon Musk’s total spending to support Trump, others revealed