Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent is a credible, safe choice for US Treasury secretary -- and one that is likely positive for markets -- observers said Saturday following President-elect Donald Trump's highly anticipated nomination. His selection came after competition for the top economic job spilled into the open last weekend, with the world's richest man Elon Musk throwing his support instead behind Trump's transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick. Lutnick has since been named commerce secretary to lead Trump's tariff and trade agenda, and Bessent's nomination days later appears to be uncontroversial for now. "Scott Bessent is a credible, mainstream pick for Treasury Secretary," said Jason Furman, a professor at Harvard University and former top White House economic adviser. "I could see previous administrations as having chosen him," Furman, a former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, told AFP. But a key difference is that Bessent, 62, has had to adopt and defend views on topics like tariffs, in a way "he never would have in pursuit of the job for a previous Republican administration." Tariffs are a key part of Trump's economic agenda, with the Republican president-elect vowing sweeping duties on allies and adversaries alike. In an opinion piece published earlier this month on Fox News, Bessent defended the potential use of tariffs as a means to raise revenue for the government, protect strategic US industries and negotiate with trading partners. He would be one of the first openly gay Cabinet officials if confirmed by the Senate, and the first at the helm of the Treasury Department. Jens Nordvig, chief executive of data and analytics firm Exante Data who has worked with Bessent, drew a contrast between his demeanor and that of other Trump supporters. While some Trump allies have a tendency towards "general sweeping statements," Bessent is an "analytical thinker, and he communicates accordingly," Nordvig told AFP. He counts Bessent among his early clients. "I would expect his messaging to be very focused, to get his key points across, without any unnecessary flamboyance or gusto," Nordvig added of the Wall Street veteran. Calling Bessent a "safe choice," Brookings senior fellow in economic studies David Wessel told AFP: "He will be an adult in the room for the Trump administration." Besides Bessent, others seen as top contenders for Treasury chief in recent days included former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh, Apollo Global Management chief executive Marc Rowan, and Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty. It remains to be seen if Bessent will be a big influence "moderating some of the administration's more aggressive trade policy" or simply be a spokesman, Wessel said. He does not have much experience in dealing with Congress either, and this would be important next year as the Trump administration works to raise the debt ceiling and effort a tax bill to deliver on his economic promises. Bessent would also have to grapple with the country's debt burden, with debt borrowed at much lower interest rates previously and Trump's plans estimated to add trillions over time. In an open letter published Saturday, Nordvig called for "thoughtful leadership" at the Treasury, saying a realistic approach to tax cuts and bond issuance was needed. He also sounded a hopeful note, saying Bessent would work to reduce extreme risks for markets. Krishna Guha, vice chairman of Evercore ISI, believes Bessent's nomination "will be well received by financial markets," given his deep understanding of markets and macro conditions. Guha also warned of the risk of bond yields spiking and "pushing up mortgage rates and tanking the housing market, while also causing stocks to sell off." In his past administration, Trump has viewed the stock market as a gauge of his success. bys/mdSAN DIEGO (AP) — Syracuse coach Fran Brown and Washington State acting coach Pete Kaligis shared a heartfelt hug after their Holiday Bowl news conference on Thursday. Kaligis can certainly use all the support he can get, especially an embrace and some encouraging words from the opposing coach. No. 22 Syracuse (9-3, No. 21 CFP), led by national passing leader Kyle McCord, is a 17-point favorite according to BetMGM in Friday night’s Holiday Bowl against the depleted Cougars (8-4), whose season has nosedived since mid-November. After beating future Pac-12 opponent San Diego State 29-26 on Oct. 26 at Snapdragon Stadium, coach Jake Dickert, quarterback John Mateer and the rest of the Cougars were 7-1 and about to jump into The Associated Press Top 25. Now the Cougars are barely recognizable as they return to Snapdragon. Dickert was hired away by Wake Forest, Mateer transferred to Oklahoma and running back Wayshawn Parker left for Utah. Numerous coaches, including the offensive and defensive coordinators, are gone, and more than 20 players have entered the transfer portal. The Cougars, who lost their last three games, are a prime example of how college football’s rapidly changing landscape can dramatically affect a program. “Going into the ins-and-outs of the game tomorrow doesn’t matter,” Kaligis said. “We are who we are, we have what we have. I know that’s for both of us.” Kaligis said players who entered the portal after Dickert left can suit up Friday night. “I know we came here with 98 guys. That’s who we’re going to show up on the field with.” The state of the game Kaligis said relationships between players and coaches are more important than ever, even if there’s less time to develop trust “and coach them the right way.” “When a staff (member) leaves and guys get in the portal, it’s because of the relationships they have garnered with their position coaches. When that position coach isn’t guaranteed he’s going to be there, that’s who that young man trusts,” Kaligis said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time,” he added. “What’s been hard for me, I spent 13 years at Wyoming, I saw three graduating classes. I remember I was the longest-tenured coach there. To see them all the way through. When I came to Wazzu, I was their fourth D-line coach.” Wazzu’s slump The Cougs improved to 8-1 by beating Utah State 49-28 on Nov. 9 but then lost three straight, including to Oregon State in the de facto championship game between the two teams left in the Pac-12. They also lost to New Mexico and Wyoming, two of the Mountain West teams that weren’t invited to join the reconstituted Pac-12 starting in 2026. Airing it out McCord, who transferred from Ohio State, rewrote the Orange’s record book this season with 4,326 yards passing, 29 touchdowns and 367 completions. He’s well within range of breaking Deshaun Watson’s ACC single-season record of 4,593, which he set in 15 games in 2016. Orange goals A win will give Syracuse 10 wins for the first time since 2018 and just the third time since 2000. Brown can become the second Syracuse coach since World War II to record 10 wins in his first season, joining Paul Pasqualoni, who did it in 1991. In their final regular-season game, the Orange rallied from a 21-0 deficit for a 42-38 win against then-No. 6 Miami that knocked the Hurricanes out of ACC title contention and ended their College Football Playoff hopes. McCord threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns. “We want to go out and have a good game,” Brown said. “We have an opportunity of winning 10 games, which means you’re starting to become a successful program, right? Our players haven’t had a chance of winning a bowl game. So there’s a lot of things that are on the line for us to really be able to build our program and being able to move forward.” Series history This will be the teams’ second meeting. Syracuse beat Washington State 52-25 in 1979. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up . AP college football: and
Kaligis can certainly use all the support he can get, especially an embrace and some encouraging words from the opposing coach. No. 22 Syracuse (9-3, No. 21 CFP), led by national passing leader Kyle McCord, is a 17-point favorite according to BetMGM in Friday night's Holiday Bowl against the depleted Cougars (8-4), whose season has nosedived since mid-November. After beating future Pac-12 opponent San Diego State 29-26 on Oct. 26 at Snapdragon Stadium, coach Jake Dickert, quarterback John Mateer and the rest of the Cougars were 7-1 and about to jump into The Associated Press Top 25. Now the Cougars are barely recognizable as they return to Snapdragon. Dickert was hired away by Wake Forest, Mateer transferred to Oklahoma and running back Wayshawn Parker left for Utah. Numerous coaches, including the offensive and defensive coordinators, are gone, and more than 20 players have entered the transfer portal. The Cougars, who lost their last three games, are a prime example of how college football's rapidly changing landscape can dramatically affect a program. “Going into the ins-and-outs of the game tomorrow doesn’t matter,” Kaligis said. “We are who we are, we have what we have. I know that’s for both of us.” Kaligis said players who entered the portal after Dickert left can suit up Friday night. “I know we came here with 98 guys. That's who we’re going to show up on the field with.” The state of the game Kaligis said relationships between players and coaches are more important than ever, even if there's less time to develop trust “and coach them the right way.” “When a staff (member) leaves and guys get in the portal, it’s because of the relationships they have garnered with their position coaches. When that position coach isn’t guaranteed he’s going to be there, that’s who that young man trusts,” Kaligis said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time," he added. "What’s been hard for me, I spent 13 years at Wyoming, I saw three graduating classes. I remember I was the longest-tenured coach there. To see them all the way through. When I came to Wazzu, I was their fourth D-line coach." Wazzu's slump The Cougs improved to 8-1 by beating Utah State 49-28 on Nov. 9 but then lost three straight, including to Oregon State in the de facto championship game between the two teams left in the Pac-12. They also lost to New Mexico and Wyoming, two of the Mountain West teams that weren't invited to join the reconstituted Pac-12 starting in 2026. Airing it out McCord, who transferred from Ohio State, rewrote the Orange's record book this season with 4,326 yards passing, 29 touchdowns and 367 completions. He's well within range of breaking Deshaun Watson's ACC single-season record of 4,593, which he set in 15 games in 2016. Orange goals A win will give Syracuse 10 wins for the first time since 2018 and just the third time since 2000. Brown can become the second Syracuse coach since World War II to record 10 wins in his first season, joining Paul Pasqualoni, who did it in 1991. In their final regular-season game, the Orange rallied from a 21-0 deficit for a 42-38 win against then-No. 6 Miami that knocked the Hurricanes out of ACC title contention and ended their College Football Playoff hopes. McCord threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns. “We want to go out and have a good game,” Brown said. “We have an opportunity of winning 10 games, which means you’re starting to become a successful program, right? Our players haven’t had a chance of winning a bowl game. So there’s a lot of things that are on the line for us to really be able to build our program and being able to move forward.” Series history This will be the teams' second meeting. Syracuse beat Washington State 52-25 in 1979.
Jimmy Carter, 39th US president, Nobel winner, dies at 100The normally reliable centre-back passed the ball into his own net in the 26th minute after failing to spot goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel’s positioning. But a brilliant turn and finish on the hour mark from Daizen Maeda changed the game and ultimately earned the Scottish champions a 1-1 home draw. On the opener, Rodgers said: “Mistakes happen and it was just unfortunate. He’s played that pass a million times and it’s gone back and then we’ve been able to play forward. It was just one of those unfortunate moments in the game that happens. “But he’s a really, really tough character. He’s a great guy, he picked himself up. He was really strong and aggressive again in the game and got on with it and had a real bravery in the second half, because he was the one carrying the ball forward for us to start the attack.” Despite the gift, Brugge were worthy of their lead and Rodgers admitted his side were too passive in their pressing in the opening half. Some tactical tweaks – and the introduction of Paulo Bernardo – helped Celtic dominate after Maeda’s equaliser, although Brugge had a goal disallowed for a marginal offside. “I can only credit the players for the second half, because we had to fight,” Rodgers said. “And we’re still one of those teams that’s really pushing to try and make a mark at this level. So to make the comeback, score the goal, play with that courage, I was so pleased. “You want to win but I’ve been here enough times to have lost a game like that, but we didn’t. We showed a real strong mentality and we kept pushing right to the very end and the players did well. “I thought they showed great courage in the second half because we weren’t at our level in the first half. Sometimes a game like that can get away from you, but it didn’t. “We stayed with it, showed that determination, showed that mentality, never to quit, to keep going. And then we were much, much better, much freer in the second half. “So we’re on eight points, nine to play for. We’re still very much on course to get to where we want to get to and still three games to go.” Rodgers added: “It’s 20 games now and we’ve won 16 and drawn three and lost one, so it shows you the mentality is there, and especially at this level, you need to have that.”Public Health Director Theresa Arriola said none of the nine investigated restaurants on Guam that served food to Japanese tourists who reportedly showed symptoms of food poisoning when they came back to Japan early this month needed to be temporarily closed. The nine restaurants were based on a narrative survey that the Department of Public Health and Social Services, through its Division of Environmental Health, got from Holiday Tours Micronesia, the tour agency that handled the group of tourists. “The good news is all nine facilities did not warrant any means of closure,” Arriola told the Pacific Daily News. “That means the people of the nine establishments are still passing sanitation standards, and we didn’t have to close them.” While the investigation is still ongoing, the Public Health director reassured the public that based on findings so far, Guam’s restaurants remain safe. “I don’t have the list with me, but for the people of Guam, our restaurants are safe,” Arriola said. “After we left the establishments and conducted re-inspections, we know that they’re good to open for consumption, for the people of Guam.” These are the nine restaurants that Public Health investigated, along with the dates they were inspected: Arriola added that if food poisoning had occurred at local restaurants, there would likely be a rise in reports of illness from local residents. “People are eating there, and we have not heard of a cluster of illnesses,” Arriola said. “Outside of the students’ illness, if an establishment was the cause, then we should be seeing or hearing of local people getting sick.” This comes weeks after then acting Gov. Josh Tenorio tasked Public Health and the Guam Visitors Bureau to investigate the suspected food poisoning of 34 Japanese tourists. Japanese media outlets reported that 34 passengers, including high school students and their teachers, fell ill with suspected food poisoning symptoms after two flights from Guam arrived in Japan. Sixteen of the passengers were on Japan Airlines Flight 942, and 18 were on United Airlines Flight 873. Japanese officials suspected the illness was contracted while the group was on Guam, as passengers on both flights, traveling separately, reported similar symptoms. Arriola noted that the illness experienced by the Japanese tourists during their visit to Guam remains undetermined due to the lack of laboratory results from their doctor visits in Japan. Despite multiple requests, Public Health has not yet received the necessary lab results to identify the cause of the illness, she said. “It’s really up to the students, and in this case, their parents, because they’re minors, to give us their laboratory results from their doctor visits in Japan,” Arriola said. “Until we get that, there’s no conclusion of what actually made the kids sick.” Speculation continues about the cause of the illness, but there is no conclusive evidence linking it to any specific food or establishments. “There’s no conclusion that everybody ate at the same place or the same dish,” Arriola added. “Nobody will be sure until we get more data.”