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winph99. com FAU_FG Suarez 20, 10:36. CHAR_Blake 54 pass from Purdie (Rusnak kick), 8:38. CHAR_FG Rusnak 50, 6:52. CHAR_FG Rusnak 45, 8:59. FAU_Terrell 21 run (Suarez kick), 4:59. CHAR_FG Rusnak 20, :34. CHAR_FG Rusnak 40, 10:11. FAU_FG Suarez 24, 1:59. CHAR_Blake 75 pass from Purdie (Rusnak kick), 1:47. FAU_O.Hayes 65 pass from Starks (Suarez kick), :49. FAU_Campbell 58 run (Suarez kick), 11:36. CHAR_Blake 47 pass from Purdie (run failed), 5:25. CHAR_Evans 22 fumble return (Rusnak kick), 2:05. RUSHING_Charlotte, Norton 14-38, Wilson 6-18, Purdie 1-(minus 4), (Team) 3-(minus 6). FAU, Campbell 21-150, Terrell 6-48, Sands 9-48, Mobley 9-46, Starks 5-(minus 13). PASSING_Charlotte, Purdie 16-30-1-396. FAU, Starks 12-23-0-179. RECEIVING_Charlotte, Blake 5-205, S.Brown 4-59, Jai.Mack 3-91, Thomas 2-7, Burris 1-16, Gainey 1-13. FAU, Campbell 3-25, M.Johnson 2-16, Hayes 1-65, E.Brown 1-22, Tucker 1-18, J.Smith 1-15, K.Brantley 1-10, G.Johnson 1-6, Moore 1-2. MISSED FIELD GOALS_None.Humacyte, Inc. Class Action Lawsuit Alert: Johnson Fistel Announces Shareholders with Losses Should Contact the Law Firm for More Information

PRIME Minister James Marape officially opened the centenary celebrations for Bougainville Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Mission on Boxing Day at Rumba in Central Bougainville. This centenary marked an incredible milestone of unwavering faith, community and mission in Bougainville since 1924 and celebrations in Bougainville were planned to be begin this month December 18 in Lavelai, Buin, where the first missionaries arrived from the Solomon Islands, then to Inus, which is accessible to the Atolls where the missionaries travelled to establish the church and then back to Rumba. Celebrations in Rumba began on December 26 with a march past and guard of honour accorded to the Prime Minister by the SDA youths of Bougainville. Marape in making his speech at the ceremony congratulated the Bougainville SDA Mission for reaching its’ 100 years of establishing the mission and called on Christians to acknowledge the past and celebrate the achievement but not to forget the reason for the celebration. “It is important that we come together to celebrate the work of the church and say thank you but lest we forget, we have to look at the reason why we exist and that is the promise of eternal life,” he said. “100 years is a long time, and along the way we had many that helped to bring the church this far, but we must not lose focus on the bigger picture and that is eternal life,”Marape said. Prime Minister Marape arrived in Bougainville on Thursday December 26 and participated in the historic commemoration of the SDA Church’s 100th Year Anniversary, celebrating a century of service and community engagement in Bougainville. The event, which marked the church’s establishment in 1924, drew thousands of attendees, including church leaders, local dignitaries, and church members from all over the country. Upon his arrival at Aropa Airport in Kieta, PM Marape was greeted with a warm welcome, highlighted by an impressive police guard of honour. The ceremonial inspection showcased the discipline and dedication of the AROB Police Force, symbolising the region’s commitment to peace and security as it celebrates this significant milestone. Mr Marape expressed gratitude for the contributions of the SDA Church to the social, educational, and health sectors in Bougainville. “Today, we not only celebrate a century of faith but also a century of service that has uplifted countless lives in our communities,” he stated. “The SDA Church has played an integral role in fostering unity, resilience, and hope among our people, especially during challenging times,” PM Marape said. The anniversary celebrations featured a series of events, including a special church service, cultural performances, and community outreach programs aimed at promoting health and education. The Prime Minister delivered a keynote address during the main event, reflecting on the church’s impact and the importance of collaboration between government and faith-based organisations in achieving sustainable development goals. Local leaders and representatives from the SDA Church also expressed their enthusiasm for the event. “We are honoured to have the Prime Minister join us in this momentous occasion,” said Pastor Mathias Foxsy, President of the Bougainville Mission. “This anniversary is not just a celebration of our past; it is a commitment to our future as we continue to serve our communities with love and compassion.” The commemoration also included discussions on the role of faith in promoting peace and reconciliation in Bougainville, a region that has experienced its share of challenges over the years. The SDA Church has been a beacon of hope, advocating for harmony and understanding among diverse communities. As the celebrations unfolded, the Prime Minister and other dignitaries engaged with local residents, sharing stories and experiences that highlight the enduring spirit of Bougainville. The event strengthened community ties and inspired future generations to uphold the values of service and faith.

Thompson-Herro fight leads to ejections of multiple players and coaches in Heat's victory in HoustonChinese company completes ultra-high-speed remote sensing image laser transmission testPutin says Russia attacked Ukraine with a new missile that he claims the West can't stopWASHINGTON — The House shut down Democrats' efforts Thursday to release the long-awaited ethics report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, pushing the fate of any resolution to the yearslong investigation of sexual misconduct allegations into further uncertainty. Matt Gaetz talks before President-elect Donald Trump speaks during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate Nov. 14 in Palm Beach, Fla. The nearly party-line votes came after Democrats had been pressing for the findings to be published even though the Florida Republican left Congress and withdrew as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., was the sole Republican to support the effort. Most Republicans have argued that any congressional probe into Gaetz ended when he resigned from the House. Speaker Mike Johnson also requested that the committee not publish its report, saying it would be a terrible precedent to set. While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, it is extremely rare. Shortly before the votes took place, Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., who introduced one of the bills to force the release, said that if Republicans reject the release, they will have “succeeded in sweeping credible allegations of sexual misconduct under the rug.” Gaetz has repeatedly denied the claims. Earlier Thursday, the Ethics panel met to discuss the Gaetz report but made no decision, saying in a short statement that the matter is still being discussed. It's unclear now whether the document will ever see the light of day as lawmakers have only a few weeks left before a new session of Congress begins. It's the culmination of weeks of pressure on the Ethics committee's five Republicans and five Democrats who mostly work in secret as they investigate allegations of misconduct against lawmakers. The status of the Gaetz investigation became an open question last month when he abruptly resigned from Congress after Trump's announcement that he wanted his ally in the Cabinet. It is standard practice for the committee to end investigations when members of Congress depart, but the circumstances surrounding Gaetz were unusual, given his potential role in the new administration. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., the committee chairman, said Wednesday that there is no longer the same urgency to release the report given that Gaetz has left Congress and stepped aside as Trump's choice to head the Justice Department. “I’ve been steadfast about that. He’s no longer a member. He is no longer going to be confirmed by the Senate because he withdrew his nomination to be the attorney general,” Guest said. The Gaetz report has also caused tensions between lawmakers on the bipartisan committee. Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild, the top Democrat on the panel, publicly admonished Guest last month for mischaracterizing a previous meeting to the press. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and said last year that the Justice Department’s separate investigation against him into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls ended without federal charges. His onetime political ally Joel Greenberg, a fellow Republican who served as the tax collector in Florida’s Seminole County, admitted as part of a plea deal with prosecutors in 2021 that he paid women and an underage girl to have sex with him and other men. The men were not identified in court documents when he pleaded guilty. Greenberg was sentenced in late 2022 to 11 years in prison. Among President-elect Donald Trump's picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, former Democratic House member Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration's top diplomat. Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement. The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations. Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year. Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration. She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him. Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog, to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda. Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic. She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race. Burgum was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day. In comments to reporters before Trump took the stage, Burgum said that, in recent years, the power grid is deteriorating in many parts of the country, which he said could raise national security concerns but also drive up prices enough to increase inflation. “There's just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, and then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign. The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction. He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending. “This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then. Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment. Scott Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.” Sean Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children. A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Write is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States. Wright also won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term. President-elect Donald Trump tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump promised to dismantle. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Brooke Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency. The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Trump chose Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary, a position in which he'd have a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs. Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social. Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration. The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial. Doug Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was acquitted by the Senate. Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. "We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need," Trump said in a statement about nominating Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Karoline Leavitt, 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps. Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, was a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term before she became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump to be director of national intelligence, keeping with the trend to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities rather than veteran professionals in their requisite fields. Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party's 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump said in a statement. Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions. Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” Kash Patel spent several years as a Justice Department prosecutor before catching the Trump administration’s attention as a staffer on Capitol Hill who helped investigate the Russia probe. Patel called for dramatically reducing the agency’s footprint, a perspective that sets him apart from earlier directors who sought additional resources for the bureau. Though the Justice Department in 2021 halted the practice of secretly seizing reporters’ phone records during leak investigations, Patel said he intends to aggressively hunt down government officials who leak information to reporters. Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency . Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X , “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added. During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration. In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” Trump has named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband. Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission. Carr made past appearances on “Fox News Channel," including when he decried Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' pre-Election Day appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” He wrote an op-ed last month defending a satellite company owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk. Trump said Atkins, the CEO of Patomak Partners and a former SEC commissioner, was a “proven leader for common sense regulations.” In the years since leaving the SEC, Atkins has made the case against too much market regulation. “He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The commission oversees U.S. securities markets and investments and is currently led by Gary Gensler, who has been leading the U.S. government’s crackdown on the crypto industry. Gensler, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, announced last month that he would be stepping down from his post on the day that Trump is inaugurated — Jan. 20, 2025. Atkins began his career as a lawyer and has a long history working in the financial markets sector, both in government and private practice. In the 1990s, he worked on the staffs of two former SEC chairmen, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt. Jared Isaacman, 41, is a tech billionaire who bought a series of spaceflights from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and conducted the first private spacewalk . He is the founder and CEO of a card-processing company and has collaborated closely with Musk ever since buying his first chartered SpaceX flight. He took contest winners on that 2021 trip and followed it in September with a mission where he briefly popped out the hatch to test SpaceX’s new spacewalking suits. Rep. Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment. Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah. President-elect Donald Trump says he's chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO. Trump has expressed skepticism about the Western military alliance for years. Trump said in a statement Wednesday that Whitaker is “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.” The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is as a lawyer and not in foreign policy. Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as National Security Advisor to Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence. For the America First Policy Institute, one of several groups formed after Trump left office to help lay the groundwork for the next Republican administration, Kellogg in April wrote that “bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday. The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security. Thomas Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Former Rep. Billy Long represented Missouri in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2023. Since leaving Congress, Trump said, Long “has worked as a Business and Tax advisor, helping Small Businesses navigate the complexities of complying with the IRS Rules and Regulations.” Former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler was appointed in January 2020 by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and then lost a runoff election a year later. She started a conservative voter registration organization and dived into GOP fundraising, becoming one of the top individual donors and bundlers to Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign. Even before nominating her for agriculture secretary, the president-elect already had tapped Loeffler as co-chair of his inaugural committee. Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office. Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate. Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Russell Vought held the position during Trump’s first presidency. After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. James Blair, deputy chief of staff Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Taylor Budowich, deputy chief of staff Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. Jay Bhattacharya, National Institutes of Health Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya is a physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, and is a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He promoted the idea of herd immunity during the pandemic, arguing that people at low risk should live normally while building up immunity to COVID-19 through infection. The National Institutes of Health funds medical research through competitive grants to researchers at institutions throughout the nation. NIH also conducts its own research with thousands of scientists working at its labs in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Marty Makary, Food and Drug Administration Makary is a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against pandemic lockdowns. He routinely appeared on Fox News during the COVID-19 pandemic and wrote opinion articles questioning masks for children. He cast doubt on vaccine mandates but supported vaccines generally. Makary also cast doubt on whether booster shots worked, which was against federal recommendations on the vaccine. Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Surgeon General Nesheiwat is a general practitioner who serves as medical director for CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. She has been a contributor to Fox News. Dr. Dave Weldon, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Weldon is a former Florida congressman who recently ran for a Florida state legislative seat and lost; Trump backed Weldon’s opponent. In Congress, Weldon weighed in on one of the nation’s most heated debates of the 1990s over quality of life and a right-to-die and whether Terri Schiavo, who was in a persistent vegetative state after cardiac arrest, should have been allowed to have her feeding tube removed. He sided with the parents who did not want it removed. Jamieson Greer, U.S. trade representative Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council Trump is turning to two officials with experience navigating not only Washington but the key issues of income taxes and tariffs as he fills out his economic team. He announced he has chosen international trade attorney Jamieson Greer to be his U.S. trade representative and Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council. While Trump has in several cases nominated outsiders to key posts, these picks reflect a recognition that his reputation will likely hinge on restoring the public’s confidence in the economy. Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.” Hassett, 62, served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — Jordan Roberts scored 19 points as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beat Schreiner 103-44 on Sunday. Roberts went 7 of 11 from the field (3 for 4 from 3-point range) for the Islanders (8-6). Dian Wright-Forde scored 14 points while shooting 4 of 7 from the field and 6 for 8 from the line and added three steals. Sheldon Williams shot 5 of 6 from the field and 3 of 6 from the free-throw line to finish with 13 points. The Mountaineers were led by Beau Cervantes, who recorded nine points. Kamden Ross added seven points and three blocks. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .The cafe owner, the fund manager and the $35 million windfall

House rejects Democratic efforts to force release of Matt Gaetz ethics reportMarilyn Manson drops defamation lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood, will pay her legal fees

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Giants organization got exactly what it deserved in getting blown out by Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Giants were embarrassed in Sunday's 30-7 loss , taunted by Mayfield after a touchdown run just before halftime. And then they saw their fans walk out on them again when the Bucs extended their lead to 30-0 and sent New York (2-9) to its sixth straight loss. The losing streak is the longest for the Giants since 2019, when they dropped a franchise-record nine straight games to finish 4-12. That led to the firing of coach Pat Shurmur after two seasons. Third-year coach Brian Daboll is clearly in trouble, with the Giants guaranteed a second straight losing season. They were 6-11 in a 2023 season that featured a lot of injuries. Daboll, who denies he has lost the team, isn't the only one whose job is in jeopardy. General manager Joe Schoen is on the hot seat and so is this entire franchise, which is celebrating its 100th year. It's one thing to lose. It's quite another to give up, and that's what the organization did when it decided to bench Daniel Jones a week ago and then release him on Friday after the 27-year-old asked co-owner John Mara to let him walk away. While he wasn't playing well, Jones was the Giants' best quarterback. He gave them more a of chance to win than either Tommy DeVito or Drew Lock. Removing him from the picture was all but certain to make the Giants worse, even if it was a good business decision. If Jones was hurt and unable the pass his physical before the 2025 season, the team would have been on the hook for a $23 million cap hit. The problem is the players care about now. By getting rid of Jones and elevating DeVito to the starting role, the front office was telling the team it didn't care about winning with seven games left in the season. So the players gave a lackluster effort. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence called the team soft. Rookie receiver Malik Nabers said he was sick of losing. Left tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said he saw a lack of effort by some players. What they all were saying was they were angry at being betrayed. Money is never more important than winning, and the Giants made that mistake. What’s working At this point in the season? Nothing. What needs help The offense once again. The Giants have scored a league-low 163 points, including only 60 in six games at MetLife Stadium, where they are winless this season. They have scored in double figures at home twice. Daboll's team has been held scoreless in the first half in three of 11 games and it has been held without a first-half touchdown seven times. Daboll said he will continue to call the offensive plays. Stock up S Tyler Nubin. The rookie has had a team-high 12 tackles in each of the last two games. His 81 tackles for the season are just two behind team leader Bobby Okereke. Stock down RB Tyrone Tracy. The rookie leads Giants running backs with 587 yards on 116 carries — a 5.1-yard average for the fifth-round pick. But holding onto the ball has been a big issue. Tracy's fumble in overtime cost New York a chance to win in Germany against Carolina. He also lost the ball in the third quarter at the Bucs 5-yard line with New York down 23-0. It earned him a seat on the bench. Injuries LT Jermaine Eluemunor (quad) and OLB Azeez Ojulari (toe) left Sunday's game in the first quarter. Chris Hubbard filled in at tackle and the Giants luckily got back DL Kayvon Thibodeaux this past week after he missed five games with a broken wrist. DeVito was banged up but Daboll expects him to start against the Cowboys. Key numbers 10 — The Giants have gone 10 consecutive games without an interception, tying the NFL record held by the 1976-77 San Francisco 49ers and the 2017 Oakland — now Las Vegas — Raiders. The Giants and Raiders now share the single-season mark. What’s next A national showcase on Thanksgiving Day for the NFC-worst Giants at Dallas. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL Tom Canavan, The Associated PressCentral Washington football's season ends at Western ColoradoNBA fines Minnesota guard Edwards $75,000 for outburst

Social Consumption Lounges in Massachusetts: Proposed RulesSasa Ciani scores 16 to help UIC secure 73-67 victory over Illinois State

The yummy festive dessert that celebrates British favourite hitting supermarket shelves this Christmas for first time‘Saturday Night Live” alum Kyle Mooney’s directorial debut “Y2K” makes for a fascinating test case for Gen Z’s appetite for all things 2000s. His comedic sensibility, honed through throwback TV parodies on “SNL,” is at once broad and hyper-specific. In the nostalgia piece “Y2K,” he hits the big signposts that will delight the younger generation craving the simpler times of a pre-9/11 world, but he also gets granular with late-’90s music, fashion and culture in a way that one could only understand if they actually lived through it. Zoomers just won’t pick up everything he’s putting down, and that may work against this otherwise exuberant and somewhat messy teen horror-comedy. Mooney and co-writer Evan Winter fuse the “big party” teen-comedy formula to “The Terminator” for their “Y2K” script, but it also feels like they just wrote down everything they could remember from the late-’90s era and threw it at the wall: Enron, the Macarena, PalmPilots, Limp Bizkit, the swing revival. Some are quite obvious and on the nose, others more arcane. Add in some teen-movie tropes, a list of outrageous horror-movie kills and a “TRL”-friendly soundtrack, and that’s essentially the movie. Jaedan Martell, one of the preeminent horror-movie sad boys (see: “It,” “The Lodge,” etc.), plays Eli, a dorky kid who loves his ebullient best friend Danny (Julian Dennison) and has a crush on Laura (Rachel Zegler), whom he hopes to kiss at the big 1999-2000 New Year’s Eve party after he finds out she’s broken up with her college boyfriend (Mason Gooding). But in a bit of revisionist history, the Y2K bug is real — so real, in fact, that all electronic devices and appliances band together into freakish robotic monsters in order to kill the teens, enslave the parents and achieve “the singularity.” Despite the deep wealth of millennium culture on display, “Y2K” doesn’t necessarily feel lived-in — it’s a bit too wink-wink, nudge-nudge with it, and it feels forced, especially with the wall-to-wall needle drops. There are fun nods to era-specific tribes and trends with quick nods to the swing kids, ravers and rap-rock skater types, but where Mooney and Winter’s approach excels is in the deep cuts for the real ’90s-heads out there, like Daniel Zolghadri’s character as CJ, a conscious hip-hop kid, wearing baggy khakis and a bucket hat, scolding his peers for their “corporate” music taste. Mooney is also a standout as Garrett, a burnout video-store clerk with white-guy dreads, who represents jam-band stinky-hippie culture. But references like this will likely sail right over the heads of a Zoomer audience — you simply had to be there in order to get it. Still, there’s something kind of profound in contemplating the year 2000, even if it is refracted through this silly lens. In the 24 years since, it’s been decades of terrorism, war, political instability, a widening wealth gap and rapid technological advancements that have rewired our culture, our brains and how we relate to one another. Perhaps 2000 was indeed a fundamental switch, which Mooney has zeroed in on through the imperfect but amusing “Y2K.” Ultimately, his project is a success, because he made this millennial — who was age 16 in 1999 — profoundly nostalgic for what seems a more innocent time. Get local news delivered to your inbox!On the grassy plains of the set of Martin Scorsese’s “ Killers of the Flower Moon, ” the Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Pietro received an unexpected call from Netflix. The streaming giant had recently purchased the movie rights to the Mexican novel “Pedro Páramo,” and they were offering him his directorial debut. “I actually didn’t think too much about it,” said the 58-year-old filmmaker. “If I had, maybe, I would have hesitated. Instead, I said yes — thinking that it would happen years after. But, indeed, it did happen pretty soon.” As he moved from the set of 1920s Oklahoma to the bright pink neighborhood of dream houses in Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” the ghostly tale of “Pedro Páramo” remained on Pietro’s mind. As he prepared shots of Margot Robbie as Barbie rollerskating through Venice and Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” musical breakout, Pietro was simultaneously vetting potential scripts for the literary classic. Within a matter of months, the Mexico City-born creative was in the director’s chair, for the first time, overlooking the seemingly deserted ghost town in rural Mexico. Describing the new role as a “natural step to expand [his] creative playground,” Pietro knew Netflix’s “Pedro Páramo,” released Nov. 6, was the ideal way to test the directing waters. Since he first read the 1955 Juan Rulfo novel in high school, the story has always resonated with him. In the face of die-hard Rulfo fans and three previous unsuccessful adaptations, Pietro leans on his deep-rooted understanding of the text itself, its cultural significance and new age technology to create an on-screen companion for the haunting tale. Regarded as one of the first works of magical realism and the inspiration behind Gabriel García Márquez’s “ One Hundred Years of Solitude ,” the story follows a man named Juan Preciado who travels to the town of Comala in search of his father, Pedro Páramo. In the deserted town, Preciado confronts his father’s past through a nonlinear series of supernatural encounters. “When I was a teenager, Rulfo’s descriptions of these mysterious, scary nighttime scenes in Mexico’s countryside really stuck out to me,” said Pietro, who at first connected the most to Preciado. “Growing up, my father used to like hunting. I didn’t like hunting, but I went with him and would spend nights in the same setting. Hearing these stories about witches and ghosts was so fascinating to me.” As he turned the pages of Rulfo’s novel, the cold and dark nights were not the only images that felt familiar. “Pedro Páramo” is set during the Mexican Revolution — a piece of history that dominated Pietro’s childhood imagination. His grandfather fought alongside Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata and often shared his war stories from the early 1900s. “To be able to have revolutionaries and adelitas [female soldiers] on their horses in front of the camera was fabulous,” said Pietro. “[The revolution] used to be a big theme in Mexican cinema back in the ‘40s and ‘50s, but not really anymore. I was excited to bring it back and be able to use authentic and handmade costumes.” Consumed by the story, Pietro says through the making of this film he embarked on a similar journey to Preciado’s. Most of the film’s exterior shots were set in San Luis Potosí, coincidentally the same city where Prieto’s ancestors resided. But instead of encountering ghosts like in the surrealist novel, he was aiding actors like Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, who plays Páramo, in expressing the feelings Juan Rulfo penned nearly 70 years ago. “There is a personal connection that somehow translates into the film,” Pietro said. “The work of a director is introspective, but it is something you end up putting out there. I had to understand what moved me in each dialogue and each character to be able to transmit that to the actors.” Páramo is portrayed as an evil tyrant who rules over Comala, eventually destroying it. Lead actor Garcia-Rulfo, a distant relative of the novel’s author, set out to find the human nature within the disagreeable character. Focusing on Páramo’s lifelong yearning for his lost love Susanna San Juan, the 43-year-old known for his role on Netflix’s “Lincoln Lawyer” says bringing a sense of vulnerability was essential to connecting with the protagonist. “He’s a dreamer and a lover. He’s obsessed with this unreciprocated love and that kills him,” said Garcia-Rulfo. “This guy is a villain, but at the end, you start seeing why. He ends up being this guy who just never felt loved. I felt his pain. As an actor, you start putting yourself in different shoes and I think you become more empathetic.” Garcia-Rulfo plays Páramo throughout his life, excluding the early childhood scenes. Due to the unconventional passage of time, the entire movie is spliced into disordered moments from Páramo’s past and Preciado’s present. At one moment, Páramo, as a little boy, runs through the river with San Juan. Next, he’s a corrupt father begging the priest for forgiveness until eventually becoming a decaying, heartbroken elder. And between these moments, Preciado is left to uncover his father’s actions through spiritual encounters. With rotating camera angles, disappearing figures and scenes shot in candlelight, Pietro says he wanted to walk the “line of naturalism, but with something strange going on.” Through the adaptation of this complex tale, Pietro comes to the conclusion that filmmaking isn’t meant to be a form of therapy — it’s purely an avenue for exploration. He says he appreciates that “Pedro Páramo” has no clear message and doesn’t offer any answers. “If anything, [‘Pedro Páramo’] does raise questions about who we are as Mexicans and what is in our blood? What’s in our past and why so much violence?” said Pietro. “It’s a very important exploration to just try to talk about why do we still have such problems of violence in Mexico, or even Latin America, for that matter.”

Mr. Big Shot: Carson Rehkopf cracks Canada lineup a decade after busting a family applianceHOUSTON (AP) — Rockets forward Amen Thompson threw Heat guard Tyler Herro to the floor to trigger an altercation that resulted in six ejections in the closing minute of Miami's 104-100 victory over Houston on Sunday. Thompson and Herro became entangled with Miami about to inbound the ball leading 99-94 with 35 seconds left. Thompson grabbed Herro by the jersey and tossed him, with referee Marc Davis describing it as Thompson “body slams Herro .” “I didn’t see it live, but I re-watched it,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “They were in each other’s face, bumping chests a little bit, and one guy’s stronger than the other.” Herro, Thompson, and Udoka were ejected, as were Heat guard Terry Rozier, Rockets guard Jalen Green, and Rockets assistant coach Ben Sullivan. Davis said Green and Rozier escalated the altercation, while Sullivan was assessed a technical foul and ejected for unsportsmanlike comments as the referee was trying to redirect the Rockets' Alperen Sengun. The altercation occurred after Miami had come from 12 points down in the second half to regain the lead with the help of Houston missing 11 straight shots in the fourth quarter. Herro keyed the comeback, leading all scorers with 27 points and adding nine assists and six rebounds. He believed that's what frustrated Thompson. “Guess that’s what’s happens when someone’s scoring, throwing dimes, doing the whole thing,” Herro said. “I’d get mad, too.” Herro said he had never spoken to Thompson, who did not talk to reporters after Sunday’s game, so there was no previous bad blood between the two. “Just two competitors going at it, playing basketball,” Herro said. “It was a regular game that we were playing throughout.” Houston's Fred VanVleet had been ejected just before the fight, with Davis saying VanVleet made contact with him after being called for a 5-second violation. The win for Miami came 24 hours after losing 120-110 in Atlanta. The Heat were missing second-leading scorer Jimmy Butler for a fifth straight game, so Herro was proud of his team played against one of NBA’s best teams this season. “They’re top two, three in the West,” Herro said. “Very good defense. Got a bunch of young, athletic guys that can really play, so that’s a good win for us. That’s a stepping stone. We go 2-1 on the road. Put ourselves in a position to win yesterday, and I like how it’s going. We just got to continue to keep getting better.”

AP Business SummaryBrief at 2:56 p.m. EST

ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, roughly 22 months after entering hospice care, at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023, spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. "Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia," the center said on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. As reaction poured in from around the world, President Joe Biden mourned Carter's death, saying the world lost an "extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian" and he lost a dear friend. Biden cited Carter's work to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil and human rights, promote free and fair elections and house the homeless as an example for others. "To all of the young people in this nation and for anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning – the good life – study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith, and humility," Biden said in a statement. Biden spoke later Sunday evening about Carter, calling it a "sad day" but one that "brings back an incredible amount of good memories." "I've been hanging out with Jimmy Carter for over 50 years," Biden said in his remarks. He recalled the former president being a comfort to him and his wife Jill when their son Beau died in 2015 of cancer. The president remarked how cancer was a common bond between their families, with Carter himself having cancer later in his life. "Jimmy knew the ravages of the disease too well," said Biden, who was ordering a state funeral for Carter in Washington. Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world — Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation's highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s. "My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference," Carter once said. A president from Plains A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. His no-frills campaign depended on public financing, and his promise not to deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon's disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. "If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don't vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president," Carter repeated before narrowly beating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford, who had lost popularity pardoning Nixon. Carter governed amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over racism, women's rights and America's global role. His most acclaimed achievement in office was a Mideast peace deal that he brokered by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the bargaining table for 13 days in 1978. That Camp David experience inspired the post-presidential center where Carter would establish so much of his legacy. Yet Carter's electoral coalition splintered under double-digit inflation, gasoline lines and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His bleakest hour came when eight Americans died in a failed hostage rescue in April 1980, helping to ensure his landslide defeat to Republican Ronald Reagan. Carter acknowledged in his 2020 "White House Diary" that he could be "micromanaging" and "excessively autocratic," complicating dealings with Congress and the federal bureaucracy. He also turned a cold shoulder to Washington's news media and lobbyists, not fully appreciating their influence on his political fortunes. "It didn't take us long to realize that the underestimation existed, but by that time we were not able to repair the mistake," Carter told historians in 1982, suggesting that he had "an inherent incompatibility" with Washington insiders. Carter insisted his overall approach was sound and that he achieved his primary objectives — to "protect our nation's security and interests peacefully" and "enhance human rights here and abroad" — even if he fell spectacularly short of a second term. And then, the world Ignominious defeat, though, allowed for renewal. The Carters founded The Carter Center in 1982 as a first-of-its-kind base of operations, asserting themselves as international peacemakers and champions of democracy, public health and human rights. "I was not interested in just building a museum or storing my White House records and memorabilia," Carter wrote in a memoir published after his 90th birthday. "I wanted a place where we could work." That work included easing nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, helping to avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiating cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, The Carter Center had declared at least 113 elections in Latin America, Asia and Africa to be free or fraudulent. Recently, the center began monitoring U.S. elections as well. Carter's stubborn self-assuredness and even self-righteousness proved effective once he was unencumbered by the Washington order, sometimes to the point of frustrating his successors. He went "where others are not treading," he said, to places like Ethiopia, Liberia and North Korea, where he secured the release of an American who had wandered across the border in 2010. "I can say what I like. I can meet whom I want. I can take on projects that please me and reject the ones that don't," Carter said. He announced an arms-reduction-for-aid deal with North Korea without clearing the details with Bill Clinton's White House. He openly criticized President George W. Bush for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He also criticized America's approach to Israel with his 2006 book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." And he repeatedly countered U.S. administrations by insisting North Korea should be included in international affairs, a position that most aligned Carter with Republican President Donald Trump. Among the center's many public health initiatives, Carter vowed to eradicate the guinea worm parasite during his lifetime, and nearly achieved it: Cases dropped from millions in the 1980s to nearly a handful. With hardhats and hammers, the Carters also built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The Nobel committee's 2002 Peace Prize cites his "untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development." Carter should have won it alongside Sadat and Begin in 1978, the chairman added. Carter accepted the recognition saying there was more work to be done. "The world is now, in many ways, a more dangerous place," he said. "The greater ease of travel and communication has not been matched by equal understanding and mutual respect." 'An epic American life' Carter's globetrotting took him to remote villages where he met little "Jimmy Carters," so named by admiring parents. But he spent most of his days in the same one-story Plains house — expanded and guarded by Secret Service agents — where they lived before he became governor. He regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined and the coronavirus pandemic raged. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world to the small sanctuary where Carter will receive his final send-off after a state funeral at Washington's National Cathedral. The common assessment that he was a better ex-president than president rankled Carter and his allies. His prolific post-presidency gave him a brand above politics, particularly for Americans too young to witness him in office. But Carter also lived long enough to see biographers and historians reassess his White House years more generously. His record includes the deregulation of key industries, reduction of U.S. dependence on foreign oil, cautious management of the national debt and notable legislation on the environment, education and mental health. He focused on human rights in foreign policy, pressuring dictators to release thousands of political prisoners. He acknowledged America's historical imperialism, pardoned Vietnam War draft evaders and relinquished control of the Panama Canal. He normalized relations with China. "I am not nominating Jimmy Carter for a place on Mount Rushmore," Stuart Eizenstat, Carter's domestic policy director, wrote in a 2018 book. "He was not a great president" but also not the "hapless and weak" caricature voters rejected in 1980, Eizenstat said. Rather, Carter was "good and productive" and "delivered results, many of which were realized only after he left office." Madeleine Albright, a national security staffer for Carter and Clinton's secretary of state, wrote in Eizenstat's forward that Carter was "consequential and successful" and expressed hope that "perceptions will continue to evolve" about his presidency. "Our country was lucky to have him as our leader," said Albright, who died in 2022. Jonathan Alter, who penned a comprehensive Carter biography published in 2020, said in an interview that Carter should be remembered for "an epic American life" spanning from a humble start in a home with no electricity or indoor plumbing through decades on the world stage across two centuries. "He will likely go down as one of the most misunderstood and underestimated figures in American history," Alter told The Associated Press. A small-town start James Earl Carter Jr. was born Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains and spent his early years in nearby Archery. His family was a minority in the mostly Black community, decades before the civil rights movement played out at the dawn of Carter's political career. Carter, who campaigned as a moderate on race relations but governed more progressively, talked often of the influence of his Black caregivers and playmates but also noted his advantages: His land-owning father sat atop Archery's tenant-farming system and owned a main street grocery. His mother, Lillian, would become a staple of his political campaigns. Seeking to broaden his world beyond Plains and its population of fewer than 1,000 — then and now — Carter won an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1946. That same year he married Rosalynn Smith, another Plains native, a decision he considered more important than any he made as head of state. She shared his desire to see the world, sacrificing college to support his Navy career. Carter climbed in rank to lieutenant, but then his father was diagnosed with cancer, so the submarine officer set aside his ambitions of admiralty and moved the family back to Plains. His decision angered Rosalynn, even as she dived into the peanut business alongside her husband. Carter again failed to talk with his wife before his first run for office — he later called it "inconceivable" not to have consulted her on such major life decisions — but this time, she was on board. "My wife is much more political," Carter told the AP in 2021. He won a state Senate seat in 1962 but wasn't long for the General Assembly and its back-slapping, deal-cutting ways. He ran for governor in 1966 — losing to arch-segregationist Lester Maddox — and then immediately focused on the next campaign. Carter had spoken out against church segregation as a Baptist deacon and opposed racist "Dixiecrats" as a state senator. Yet as a local school board leader in the 1950s he had not pushed to end school segregation even after the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, despite his private support for integration. And in 1970, Carter ran for governor again as the more conservative Democrat against Carl Sanders, a wealthy businessman Carter mocked as "Cufflinks Carl." Sanders never forgave him for anonymous, race-baiting flyers, which Carter disavowed. Ultimately, Carter won his races by attracting both Black voters and culturally conservative whites. Once in office, he was more direct. "I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over," he declared in his 1971 inaugural address, setting a new standard for Southern governors that landed him on the cover of Time magazine. 'Jimmy Who?' His statehouse initiatives included environmental protection, boosting rural education and overhauling antiquated executive branch structures. He proclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the slain civil rights leader's home state. And he decided, as he received presidential candidates in 1972, that they were no more talented than he was. In 1974, he ran Democrats' national campaign arm. Then he declared his own candidacy for 1976. An Atlanta newspaper responded with the headline: "Jimmy Who?" The Carters and a "Peanut Brigade" of family members and Georgia supporters camped out in Iowa and New Hampshire, establishing both states as presidential proving grounds. His first Senate endorsement: a young first-termer from Delaware named Joe Biden. Yet it was Carter's ability to navigate America's complex racial and rural politics that cemented the nomination. He swept the Deep South that November, the last Democrat to do so, as many white Southerners shifted to Republicans in response to civil rights initiatives. A self-declared "born-again Christian," Carter drew snickers by referring to Scripture in a Playboy magazine interview, saying he "had looked on many women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times." The remarks gave Ford a new foothold and television comedians pounced — including NBC's new "Saturday Night Live" show. But voters weary of cynicism in politics found it endearing. Carter chose Minnesota Sen. Walter "Fritz" Mondale as his running mate on a "Grits and Fritz" ticket. In office, he elevated the vice presidency and the first lady's office. Mondale's governing partnership was a model for influential successors Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Biden. Rosalynn Carter was one of the most involved presidential spouses in history, welcomed into Cabinet meetings and huddles with lawmakers and top aides. The Carters presided with uncommon informality: He used his nickname "Jimmy" even when taking the oath of office, carried his own luggage and tried to silence the Marine Band's "Hail to the Chief." They bought their clothes off the rack. Carter wore a cardigan for a White House address, urging Americans to conserve energy by turning down their thermostats. Amy, the youngest of four children, attended District of Columbia public school. Washington's social and media elite scorned their style. But the larger concern was that "he hated politics," according to Eizenstat, leaving him nowhere to turn politically once economic turmoil and foreign policy challenges took their toll. Accomplishments, and 'malaise' Carter partially deregulated the airline, railroad and trucking industries and established the departments of Education and Energy, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He designated millions of acres of Alaska as national parks or wildlife refuges. He appointed a then-record number of women and nonwhite people to federal posts. He never had a Supreme Court nomination, but he elevated civil rights attorney Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the nation's second highest court, positioning her for a promotion in 1993. He appointed Paul Volker, the Federal Reserve chairman whose policies would help the economy boom in the 1980s — after Carter left office. He built on Nixon's opening with China, and though he tolerated autocrats in Asia, pushed Latin America from dictatorships to democracy. But he couldn't immediately tame inflation or the related energy crisis. And then came Iran. After he admitted the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979 by followers of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Negotiations to free the hostages broke down repeatedly ahead of the failed rescue attempt. The same year, Carter signed SALT II, the new strategic arms treaty with Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, only to pull it back, impose trade sanctions and order a U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Hoping to instill optimism, he delivered what the media dubbed his "malaise" speech, although he didn't use that word. He declared the nation was suffering "a crisis of confidence." By then, many Americans had lost confidence in the president, not themselves. Carter campaigned sparingly for reelection because of the hostage crisis, instead sending Rosalynn as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy challenged him for the Democratic nomination. Carter famously said he'd "kick his ass," but was hobbled by Kennedy as Reagan rallied a broad coalition with "make America great again" appeals and asking voters whether they were "better off than you were four years ago." Reagan further capitalized on Carter's lecturing tone, eviscerating him in their lone fall debate with the quip: "There you go again." Carter lost all but six states and Republicans rolled to a new Senate majority. Carter successfully negotiated the hostages' freedom after the election, but in one final, bitter turn of events, Tehran waited until hours after Carter left office to let them walk free. 'A wonderful life' At 56, Carter returned to Georgia with "no idea what I would do with the rest of my life." Four decades after launching The Carter Center, he still talked of unfinished business. "I thought when we got into politics we would have resolved everything," Carter told the AP in 2021. "But it's turned out to be much more long-lasting and insidious than I had thought it was. I think in general, the world itself is much more divided than in previous years." Still, he affirmed what he said when he underwent treatment for a cancer diagnosis in his 10th decade of life. "I'm perfectly at ease with whatever comes," he said in 2015. "I've had a wonderful life. I've had thousands of friends, I've had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence." ___ Sanz is a former Associated Press reporter. Get any of our free daily email newsletters — news headlines, opinion, e-edition, obituaries and more.

Rigetti Computing's stock surged 30% in the morning but settled at a 20% increase by midday after the company unveiled its 84-qubit Ankaa-3 quantum computer, which promises to accelerate algorithmic research. The stock was among the top 10 trending tickers on Stocktwits, though it is currently trading about 10% below its 52-week high of $12.75, achieved just last week. “We are constructing computing systems with capabilities that have not been seen before,” said chief technical officer David Rivas, in a statement. The 84-qubit Ankaa-3 system processes information much faster than traditional systems, with a 99.5% accuracy in its quantum movements, making it more precise than competitors, according to the company. Rigetti also emphasized the computer's dramatically reduced error rates and advanced cooling technology, designed to improve quantum computation reliability. The system, accessible via cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, broadens Rigetti's reach to enterprise customers. This launch is part of Rigetti's broader plan to create increasingly powerful quantum computers, with future systems surpassing 100 qubits. The company also plans to leverage its $225 million cash reserve to fund ongoing innovations, according to the company’s statement. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits shifted from 'bearish' to 'bullish' within a day, with message volumes rising from 'low' to 'normal.' Users debated the stock's long-term potential, with some speculating that the stock may go ‘to the moon.’ However, others remained more cautious given the stock’s recent volatility. Analysts note that Rigetti holds a first-mover advantage in quantum computing, positioning it to play a significant role in fields like cryptography, AI, and advanced material science. However, they also point out that quantum computing remains a high-risk sector, citing Rigetti’s ability to deliver on its technological promises and scale its systems commercially as critical for sustained growth. Rigetti's future success will depend on its ability to meet technological promises and scale its systems commercially. Rigetti's stock, which recently surpassed a $2 billion market capitalization, has gained over 1,000% year-to-date. For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<

MINISTERS sparked fury over plans to pay millions in legal aid to “leftie" asylum lawyers. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is preparing to announce extra funding to represent the migrants to speed up the processing backlog. Court delays are thwarting efforts to get them out of hotels and on return flights — or to be given leave to stay. But the plan has sparked fury for spending even more taxpayer cash. Tory MP Nick Timothy said: “The public want the Channel crossings stopped and illegal immigrants deported. “Yet Labour’s latest big idea is to throw yet more public money at claimant lawyers who will do anything to keep illegal immigrants in the country. READ MORE ON MIGRANT CRISIS "It says everything about their completely wrongheaded priorities.” Reform UK deputy Richard Tice added: “This needs to be called out for what it is. "This is a left wing Government funding lefty lawyers to game the legal system so that those who arrive here illegally can stay in the country.”These are the speakers I’d buy the music lover I love during Black Friday 2024

In Portland’s Central Eastside, small acts of kindness are supersized — blown up, immortalized in colorful bursts of paint and splashed across the walls of once-drab buildings. Strolling along Belmont Street, you might find yourself sucked into a perfectly still scene alive with good intentions. Faceless, purple figures clink coffee cups and chat with other equally purple, equally frozen friends. They recycle cans, hold up umbrellas for pets and dance against the colorful, brick-textured background. The mural, titled “Streets of Hope,” covers two walls on the corner of Southeast Eight Avenue and Yamhill Street. It’s the most recent project by the Portland Street Art Alliance and part of its ongoing initiative to uplift the city’s unhoused community through art. To accurately reflect a community, you have to be willing to involve them in the process, said Tiffany Conklin, PSAA’s executive director. “We make murals in the streets, and many times we go out there and we’re in their living room essentially, right?” she said. “For us, it feels right to bring them into the fold.” This mission began in 2021 with the inauguration of the Leroy Blocks , a series of murals honoring and inspired by Leroy Sly Scott, a beloved Portlander who spent 30 years living unhoused in the Sunnyside area. Community members rallied in support of the project, Conklin said — holding up flashlights and helping to redirect traffic during painting days. “Streets of Hope” takes community involvement to the next level. Exploring themes related to how Portland’s unhoused community cares for each other, the mural was created in collaboration with five local nonprofits: P:ear , Street Books , Street Roots , Sisters of the Road and Ground Score Association . With more than a decade of experience as a project manager at Portland State University’s survey research lab, data-informed design has always been a dream of Conklin’s. “Streets of Hope” brought this aspiration to life. Although the first swipe of paint didn’t hit the walls until late August, initial planning and grant applications began more than two years earlier. In March, the group contracted Damon Smyth , a Portland-raised muralist and comic book artist — and he and Conklin spent the next few months interviewing members of each nonprofit. In every conversation, Smyth encouraged individuals to be unfiltered in their answers. He often started sessions by prompting members to draw something that connected to them, then looked for ways to incorporate these ideas into the mural’s final design. Connecting with the community — especially those from P:ear, a mentorship organization for unhoused youth — was both a learning opportunity and a chance to serve as a role model, Smyth said. As a 16-year-old living in Portland in 2008, Smyth was incarcerated for three years, a sentence that was followed by a 6-month period of homelessness, he said. It was in prison that comic books became his go-to escape mechanism, he said, a hobby that later turned into a career illustrating historical graphic novels. In 2020, amid the wave of national and local Black Lives Matter protests, Smyth started painting again — reviving a casual childhood interest in graffiti and turning it into massive downtown murals featuring George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. He’s been painting murals full time since 2021. “We can go down the wrong path sometimes, but you can still be successful,” Smyth said. “ You can still be a great person. You can still be highly empathetic. You can still be valued. You can still be seen as someone that contributes to society.” There’s a lot of beauty in Portland’s unhoused communities, he said. The heart of “Streets of Hope” isn’t just depicting the community’s struggles — it’s showing how much joy, light and kindness individuals emit despite them. Every element of the mural is directly inspired by the stories of those he interviewed, Smyth said. The massive, realistic depiction of two hands reaching for each other was pulled from an instance he witnessed first-hand where two people helped each other up during a drawing session. After noticing how unhoused individuals prioritize their pets’ needs, he sketched a vignette where a man holds an umbrella over his dog. There’s a hand holding a rolled-up newspaper, a reference to the weekly social justice paper dispersed by Street Roots. Scattered coffee allusions — a pair of people holding takeout cups, a giant mug sloshing liquid across the wall — exist as a nod to the P:ear cafe, where some interviews took place. One scene youth were adamant Smyth included was an image of three people dancing, arms stretched up toward the sky. “I felt so inspired that people that don’t even have a roof over their head can still laugh and dance and sing together,” he said. “They were always excited to be around me, and I was excited to be around them.” PSAA invited nonprofit members to join in on a few early days of painting, filling in Smyth’s outlines with spray paint gusts and soaked acrylic paint rollers. For Smyth, art gave him an outlet through which to channel his energy during his incarceration. Making art offers individuals something they have complete control over, he said — a way to reclaim a sense of childhood nostalgia, a spark of life. He’s currently wrapping up two murals at Beaverton’s first year-round homeless shelter , where he’ll teach art classes as part of its yearlong residency program. “Part of the human experience is creation,” Smyth said. “ We have machines that build better than us, we have computers that are better at math — but art is still one of those things that can’t be duplicated.” With “Streets of Hope,” he said, the goal is that the mural’s inherent empathy will be infectious. “ I hope that people will see it and they’ll treat someone different that day because of it,” he said. — Veronica Nocera covers life and culture. You can reach her at vnocera@oregonian.com , 503-221-8111 or @vernocera