Concerns raised over hospitality staff after smoking curbs ditched
Teenage West Ham goalkeeper dies aged 15 after cancer battle
Rev Richard Coles says girls threw knickers at him when he was in The CommunardsOscar Fairs from Benfleet, Essex, was diagnosed with a rare 7cm ependymoma brain tumour in August 2023 and underwent seven surgeries, one round of chemotherapy and one round of radiotherapy to be told palliative care was the only option. A GoFundMe page was set up to help the family raise £100,000 towards a treatment trial in France. West Ham footballers donated £27,000, chairman David Sullivan donated £10,000 and Arsenal footballer and former West Ham star Declan Rice gave £5,000, according to Ms Fairs. On Friday, West Ham announced that the 15-year-old had died. Sporting director Mark Noble said: “Oscar was adored by everyone at the Academy – not only was he a great goalkeeper, he was a true Hammer and a fantastic young person, who will be deeply missed by everyone who had the pleasure to know him. “I have wonderful memories of Oscar playing in my garden – (my son) Lenny and his teammates all loved him. “He was a friendly, happy, well-mannered and polite young man, who had such a bright future ahead of him, and it is just so unimaginably devastating that he has been taken from his family and friends at this age. “The thoughts and sincere condolences of everyone at the Club are with Oscar’s parents, Natalie and Russell, and his brother Harry, and we kindly ask that the family’s privacy is respected at this extremely difficult time.” All scheduled Academy fixtures over the weekend have been postponed as a mark of respect.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks tiptoed to more records amid a mixed Tuesday of trading, tacking a touch more onto what’s already been a stellar year so far. The S&P 500 edged up by 2 points, or less than 0.1%, to set an all-time high for the 55th time this year. It’s climbed in 10 of the last 11 days and is on track for one of its best years since the turn of the millennium. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 76 points, or 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.4% to its own record set a day earlier. AT&T rose 4.6% after it boosted its profit forecast for the year. It also announced a $10 billion plan to send cash to its investors by buying back its own stock, while saying it expects to authorize another $10 billion of repurchases in 2027. On the losing end of Wall Street was U.S. Steel, which fell 8%. President-elect Donald Trump reiterated on social media that he would not let Japan’s Nippon Steel take over the iconic Pennsylvania steelmaker. Nippon Steel announced plans last December to buy the Pittsburgh-based steel producer for $14.1 billion in cash, raising concerns about what the transaction could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden also came out against the acquisition. Tesla sank 1.6% after a judge in Delaware reaffirmed a previous ruling that the electric car maker must revoke Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package. The judge denied a request by attorneys for Musk and Tesla’s corporate directors to vacate her ruling earlier this year requiring the company to rescind the unprecedented pay package. All told, the S&P 500 rose 2.73 points to 6,049.88. The Dow fell 76.47 to 44,705.53, and the Nasdaq composite gained 76.96 to 19,480.91. In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady after a report showed U.S. employers were advertising slightly more job openings at the end of October than a month earlier. Continued strength there would raise optimism that the economy could remain out of a recession that many investors had earlier worried was inevitable. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.23% from 4.20% from late Monday. Yields have seesawed since Election Day amid worries that Trump’s preferences for lower tax rates and bigger tariffs could spur higher inflation along with economic growth. But traders are still confident the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate again at its next meeting in two weeks. They’re betting on a nearly three-in-four chance of that, according to data from CME Group. Lower rates can give the economy more juice, but they can also give inflation more fuel. The key report this week that could guide the Fed’s next move will arrive on Friday. It’s the monthly jobs report , which will show how many workers U.S. employers hired and fired during November. It could be difficult to parse given how much storms and strikes distorted figures in October. Based on trading in the options market, Friday’s jobs report appears to be the biggest potential market mover until the Fed announces its next decision on interest rates Dec. 18, according to strategists at Barclays Capital. In financial markets abroad, the value of South Korea’s currency fell 1.1% against the U.S. dollar following a frenetic night where President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law and then later said he’d lift it after lawmakers voted to reject military rule. Stocks of Korean companies that trade in the United States also fell, including a 1.6% drop for SK Telecom. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.9% to help lead global markets. Some analysts think Japanese stocks could end up benefiting from Trump’s threats to raise tariffs , including for goods coming from China . Trade relations between the U.S. and China took another step backward after China said it is banning exports to the U.S. of gallium, germanium, antimony and other key high-tech materials with potential military applications. The counterpunch came swiftly after the U.S. Commerce Department expanded the list of Chinese technology companies subject to export controls to include many that make equipment used to make computer chips, chipmaking tools and software. The 140 companies newly included in the so-called “entity list” are nearly all based in China. In China, stock indexes rose 1% in Hong Kong and 0.4% in Shanghai amid unconfirmed reports that Chinese leaders would meet next week to discuss planning for the coming year. Investors are hoping it may bring fresh stimulus to help spur growth in the world’s second-largest economy. In France, the CAC 40 rose 0.3% amid continued worries about politics in Paris , where the government is battling over the budget. AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.Memorial planned on Dec. 11 for homeless man who died in Windsor, N.S.
Profitable and green: innovative hull maintenance helps Hapag-Lloyd reduce emissions and cut costsTrump team signs agreement to allow Justice to conduct background checks on nominees, staffBy Tom Hals and Jonathan Stempel WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - A Delaware judge ruled on Monday that Tesla CEO Elon Musk still is not entitled to receive a $56 billion compensation package despite shareholders of the electric vehicle company voting in June to reinstate it. The ruling by the judge, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Court of Chancery, follows her January decision that called the pay package excessive and rescinded it, surprising investors, and cast uncertainty over Musk's future at the world's most valuable carmaker. Musk did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Tesla in a statement on X said, "The ruling is wrong, and we're going to appeal," saying that the judge had overruled a supermajority of shareholders. Musk and Tesla can appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court as soon as McCormick enters a final order, which could come as soon as this week. The appeal could take a year to play out. Tesla has said in court filings that the judge should recognize a subsequent June vote by its shareholders in favor of the pay package for Musk, the company's driving force who is responsible for many of its advances, and reinstate his compensation. McCormick said Tesla’s board was not entitled to hit “reset” to restore Musk’s pay package. “Were the court to condone the practice of allowing defeated parties to create new facts for the purpose of revising judgments, lawsuits would become interminable,” she said in her 101-page opinion. She said a ratification vote like the one used by Tesla had to be conducted before the trial and a company cannot ratify a transaction involving a conflicted controller. She had determined Musk controlled the pay negotiations. She also said Tesla made multiple material misstatements in its proxy statement regarding the vote, and could not claim the vote was a “cure-all” to justify restoring Musk’s pay. Tesla shares fell 1.4% in after hours trade, after the ruling. Gary Black, managing partner of The Future Fund, which owns Tesla stock, said on X that he believed the Delaware Supreme Court was more pragmatic than McCormick. "I doubt this ruling will be resolved anytime soon, and it will likely be overturned by a more moderate court along the way," he wrote. The pay package had awarded Musk stock options if the company hit performance and valuation goals. While the award originally was valued at up to $56 billion, Tesla's shares have surged 42% since Nov. 5, when Republican candidate Donald Trump, supported by Musk, won the U.S. presidential election. Following that rally, the pay package is worth about $101 billion. The ruling comes as Musk has been tasked by Trump with creating a more efficient government by slashing spending. The role as co-lead of the new Department of Government Efficiency would be informal rather than a government position, allowing Musk to keep his job at Tesla as well as leading other companies including rocket maker SpaceX. Musk threw himself behind Trump's election campaign and has become a close adviser in the process. PAY DAY FOR PLAINTIFF'S LAWYERS McCormick also ordered Tesla to pay the attorneys who brought the case $345 million, well short of the $6 billion they initially requested, but still one of the largest fee awards ever in securities litigation. She said the fee could be paid in cash or Tesla stock. “We are pleased with Chancellor McCormick’s ruling, which declined Tesla’s invitation to inject continued uncertainty into Court proceedings," said a statement from Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann, one of the three law firms for the plaintiff. The law firm also said it looked forward to defending the court's opinion if Musk and Tesla appealed. After the January ruling, Tesla shareholders flooded the court with thousands of letters arguing that rescinding Musk's pay increased the possibility he would leave Tesla or develop some products like artificial intelligence at ventures other than Tesla. Mom-and-pop investors and Musk's influential fans helped Tesla and Musk win the June shareholder vote and many were speaking up on social media against Monday's decision. "Beyond the pedantic details of legal procedure, the bigger issue here is that the voice of shareholders is being overruled," Omar Qazi said in a post on X from the handle @WholeMarsBlog after Monday's ruling. "If they can't consider the vote in this case, hopefully they'll consider it on appeal," said Qazi who has more than 551,000 followers. McCormick in January found that Musk improperly controlled the 2018 board process to negotiate the pay package. The board had said that Musk deserved the package because he hit all the ambitious targets on market value, revenue and profitability. After the January ruling, Musk criticized the judge on his social media platform X and encouraged other companies to follow the lead of Tesla and reincorporate in Texas from Delaware, although it is unclear if any companies did so. The judge in her January ruling called the pay package the "biggest compensation plan ever - an unfathomable sum." It was 33 times larger than the next biggest executive compensation package, which was Musk's 2012 pay plan. Musk's 2018 pay package gave him stock grants worth around 1% of Tesla's equity each time the company achieved one of 12 tranches of escalating operational and financial goals. Musk did not receive any guaranteed salary. Tornetta argued that shareholders were not told how easily the goals would be achieved when they voted on the package. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; additional reporting by Abhirup Roy and Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Editing by Bill Berkrot, Amy Stevens, Peter Henderson and Sonali Paul) Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .
TOKYO: Australia’s social media ban for teens will not keep young people safe online. It may prevent some 15-year-olds from entering a burning building, but leaves the doors to the inferno open as soon as they turn 16. It would make more sense for policymakers to focus on putting out the fires inside. But this far-reaching new law, which restricts anyone under the age of 16 from social media and fines companies up to A$49.5 million (US$32 million) for systemic breaches, is delivering Big Tech an ultimatum that the status quo is no longer acceptable. The rest of the world is watching closely. It’s spurring a much-needed global debate among lawmakers, companies, parents and researchers on how best to safeguard the next generation as they come of age in the digital era. The last time the United States passed federal law aimed at protecting children online was in 1998, and by the time lawmakers figured out there were issues, an entire generation had already grown up on the internet. Australia’s ban has its own imperfections, but forcing these conversations to find solutions may be better than doing nothing. SOCIAL MEDIA AGE BAN IS WELL-MEANING BUT FLAWED Moreover, 77 per cent of Australians back the age limits, some of the most extensive restrictions on social platforms outside of China, even though so far the government has offered few answers on how they will work. I’ve written about this new law before, and I still think it is well-meaning but flawed, grasping for a soundbite-y solution to complex problems. Research shows that blanket age bans aren’t effective at preventing online harms to developing minds, as they ignore adolescents’ different maturity levels. While they may seem appealing to parents, they disregard the glaring realities of growing up in the modern world, especially after the pandemic forced more online education, work and socialising. Completely shutting out young people from digital communities can sever lifelines for marginalised groups in Australia, and more broadly distracts from the harder policy work of coming up with comprehensive solutions to make these platforms safer. Tech-savvy teens also tend to be very good at bypassing age limits, and Australia has said that it won’t penalise parents or young people for doing so. Norway, for example, currently has restrictions barring children under 13 from social media, but found that 72 per cent of 11-year-olds still log on. Australia’s law gives platforms one year to figure out how to implement age-verification technology that doesn’t require IDs to be uploaded due to privacy concerns. There are some exceptions, including for messaging services. DEMAND MORE TRANSPARENCY FROM SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES But while the policy is overwhelmingly popular, it’s not just Elon Musk and Big Tech interests coming out against it. Australia’s Human Rights Council, the United Nations’ children’s agency, and dozens of academics and researchers are arguing for a different approach. There are valid concerns that these measures could push teens to even more dangerous and unregulated online spaces. More comprehensive laws are needed to force companies to roll out digital safeguards, rather than just defer access to online communities entirely by a couple of years. Yet as broken as Australia’s ban may be, it has ushered these and myriad other policy recommendations that the rest of the world can learn from as this debate picks up. Global lawmakers should also demand that social media companies offer more transparency; giving outside researchers the ability to look under the hood and better identify potential harms for developing minds and youth mental health. This would allow experts to understand the opaque ways algorithms work to keep teens hooked on these sites, or drive them down unsafe rabbit holes, and recommend targeted remedies. GLOBAL COORDINATION TO REIN IN BIG TECH Pressure from regulators is already linked to change. Roughly a week after Australia first announced its plans to introduce the minimum age for social media, Facebook parent Meta unveiled sweeping new privacy settings for teens on Instagram . The company said the restrictions were in the works for a while and not the result of mounting scrutiny. It's not the first time Canberra has taken on Silicon Valley. Australia has raged a years-long battle to try and force tech platforms to pay news publishers, and celebrated an initial win when Meta and Alphabet’s Google were forced to negotiate contracts with news organisations. (Meta earlier this year said it has no plans to renew those deals.) When Canada followed suit, however, Meta barred news in the country entirely on its platforms. This move revealed some painful realities about unintended consequences when taking on the world’s most powerful tech companies, and why global coordination to rein in Big Tech is important. Australia has managed to do what no other democratic jurisdiction has, but the litmus test will be how it enforces the new regulation and whether it even can. Canberra hasn’t solved the bigger issues regarding how to keep teens safe from online harms, but it has elicited a much-needed debate from stakeholders who are now sharing more creative and effective solutions. Parents around the globe should hope that their lawmakers are paying close attention.None
NoneScientists identify brain cell type as master controller of urination
Nokia Corporation Stock Exchange Release 3 December 2024 at 22:30 EET Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 03.12.2024 Espoo, Finland - On 3 December 2024 Nokia Corporation (LEI: 549300A0JPRWG1KI7U06) has acquired its own shares (ISIN FI0009000681) as follows: On 22 November 2024, Nokia announced that its Board of Directors is initiating a share buyback program to offset the dilutive effect of new Nokia shares issued to the shareholders of Infinera Corporation and certain Infinera Corporation share-based incentives. The repurchases in compliance with the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR), the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 and under the authorization granted by Nokia's Annual General Meeting on 3 April 2024 started on 25 November 2024 and end by 31 December 2025 and target to repurchase 150 million shares for a maximum aggregate purchase price of EUR 900 million. Total cost of transactions executed on 3 December 2024 was 3,497,006. After the disclosed transactions, Nokia Corporation holds 365,807,161 treasury shares. Details of transactions are included as an appendix to this announcement. On behalf of Nokia Corporation BofA Securities Europe SA About Nokia At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together. As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs. With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today - and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future. Inquiries: Nokia Communications Phone: +358 10 448 4900 Email: [email protected] Maria Vaismaa, Global Head of External Communications Nokia Investor Relations Phone: +358 40 803 4080 Email: [email protected] Attachment Daily Report 2024-12-03
When the Colorado Rockies drafted him 48th overall as a third baseman out of Stillwater High School in Stillwater, Oklahoma, just like someone else the Rockies famously drafted 19 years earlier, the comparisons that greeted Ryan Vilade were inevitable. That doesn't make them fair. "He’s definitely a legend at Stillwater High School," Vilade told Jack Etkin and Baseball America about his hometown's leading ballplayer, Matt Holliday. "The greatest guy ever to probably play at Stillwater.” Vilade, now 25 and mostly an outfielder, finalized a minor league deal Tuesday with Holliday's second big league organization, the Cardinals' player development department announced. The deal includes a non-roster invitation to major league spring training. The 48th overall selection by the Rockies out of high school in 2017, Vilade spent the past two seasons in the Pittsburgh and Detroit organizations. He made his major league debut in 2021 with the Rockies, and he appeared in 17 games this past season with the Tigers, most of them coming in July and early August. A right-handed batter, Vilade hit .178/.208/.244 in the majors with Detroit, and he split 12 starts between left and right field. He spent most of the summer with Class AAA Toledo, where he hit .278/.346/.449 in 108 games. He stole 20 bases, hit 13 home runs and had 64 RBIs. Through 446 Triple-A games, Vilade is a .271/.350/.399 hitter with 31 homers and 49 stolen bases. It was actually a Holliday who originally brought Vilade to Stillwater for the final year of high school. A Texas native, Vilade had been around the Rangers as a young player, spending time with Elvis Andrus at shortstop and taking batting practice with Joey Gallo. But when his father, James Vilade, took a job as an assistant coach for Josh Holliday's Oklahoma State baseball program, Ryan went with him to play on Matt Holliday's old stomping grounds. Stillwater's starting shortstop in the years before Matt's eldest Jackson took over, Vilade starred beyond Oklahoma as a high schooler. He played on Team USA's 18-under gold medal team at the COPABE Pan Am "AAA" Championships in 2016 and during a Home Run Derby contest at Wrigley Field he won by outslugging future big leaguers Jo Adell and Hunter Greene. They were both first-round picks in 2017, and Vilade was wooed away from a commitment to Oklahoma State by the Rockies' 48th overall pick. He represented Colorado in the 2021 Futures Game, the same summer he appeared in three games and got six at-bats for the Rockies, four of them in a single game at Washington. Vilade then went 962 days between his debut and his first big league hit, which came this past summer for the Tigers, complete with his first RBI, too. “There’s that period of time you start questioning,” Vilade told MLB.com after the hit . “But you have to keep going, you have to keep working. And that’s what I did. I was just looking for an opportunity, and that’s why I signed here with the Tigers.” In the weeks leading up to Major League Baseball's winter meetings in Dallas, the Cardinals, like most teams, have been completing deals at the minor league level to start filling in depth for spring training and rosters for the highest affiliates. This used to be a time of year when the Cardinals would sign a new backup catcher, but with the focus going toward youth (especially at that position), the acquisitions have been about building out the depth chart. The Cardinals previous signed infielder Jose Barrero and right-hander Michael Gomez to minor league deals with invites to spring training. They also acquired right-handed starter Roddery Munoz off waivers from the Marlins. The winter meetings are set to begin next Monday, and the Cardinals expect much of their focus will be on trade conversations, as detailed previously by the Post-Dispatch . 'Tis the season for minor league movement throughout the majors. A week ago, on the eve of Thanksgiving, 11 teams signed 13 players to minor league deals, according to the transactions list for Minor League Baseball.
Scientists identify brain cell type as master controller of urination December 3, 2024 eLife Researchers have identified a subset of brain cells in mice that act as the master regulators of urination. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email Researchers have identified a subset of brain cells in mice that act as the master regulators of urination. The research, published today as a Reviewed Preprint in eLife , is described by editors as an important study with convincing data showing that estrogen receptor 1-expressing neurons (ESR1+) in the Barrington's nucleus of the mouse brain coordinate both bladder contraction and relaxation of the external urethral sphincter. Urination requires the coordinated function of two units of the lower urinary tract. The detrusor muscle of the bladder wall relaxes to allow the bladder to fill and empty, while the external sphincter opens when it's appropriate to allow urine to flow out, but otherwise keeps tightly shut. "Impairment of coordination between the bladder muscle and the sphincter leads to various urinary tract dysfunctions and can significantly degrade a person's quality of life," says first author Xing Li, Advanced Institute for Brain and Intelligence, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, China. "But although we know the individual nerve signalling pathways that control each of these urinary tract components, we don't know which brain areas ensure they cooperate at the right time." To explore this, the authors used state-of-the-art live cell imaging to study the activity of brain cells in anaesthetised and awake mice during urination. They focused on a brain region called the pontine micturition centre (PMC), otherwise known as the Barrington's nucleus, and compared the activity of different PMC nerve cell subtypes. In their first experiments, they measured the activity of the cells as the bladder empties by measuring changes in levels of calcium. This revealed that the electrical firing rate of a subset of PMC cells expressing estrogen receptors (PMC ESR1+ cells) was tightly linked to bladder emptying. When they combined this with monitoring bladder physiology, they found that it was not only the timing of PMC ESR1+ cell activity that correlated with bladder emptying, but the strength of cell electrical activity, too. Next, they tested what happened to urination if they blocked or triggered the PMC ESR1+ cells. They found that when PMC ESR1+ cell activity was blocked, the amount of urine the mice passed was significantly reduced and ongoing urination was suspended from the moment the cells were inactive. To understand the mechanism behind this, they measured the activity of the bladder muscle and sphincter. They discovered that both increase of bladder pressure and sphincter muscle bursting activity associated with bladder emptying both stopped when PMC ESR1+ cell activity was blocked during an ongoing voiding even. Similarly, when PMC ESR1+ cells were artificially activated using light, bladder emptying occurred 100% of the time. This suggests that PMC ESR1+ cells work as a reliable master switch that either initiates or suspends bladder emptying. To test whether PMC ESR1+ cells can influence bladder emptying independently of controlling the sphincter, they disconnected either the nerve carrying messages from the brain to the sphincter, or the nerve carrying messages from the brain to the bladder. They found that PMC ESR1+ cell control of the bladder was fully operational even when communication to the sphincter was blocked, and vice versa. This showed the cells could control the bladder and sphincter independently of one another, but the question remained: could they coordinate the action of the bladder muscle and sphincter together? That is, operate them in a controlled, perfectly timed manner, to trigger bladder emptying when appropriate? To explore this, they simultaneously recorded bladder pressure and electromyography measurements of sphincter activity. The timing of bladder pressure changes immediately before sphincter bursting activity was consistent for both spontaneous bladder emptying and emptying caused by activating the PMC ESR1+ cells, showing that these cells can coordinate the two steps in a precisely temporal sequence and controlled way. "Our study shows that a subset of cells in the Barrington's nucleus of the brain can initiate and suspend bladder emptying with 100% accuracy when needed, for example, to release only a small volume for landmarking by animals, or for a human to urinate into a small sample tube for a health check," concludes senior author Xiaowei Chen, Third Military Medical University, and Chongqing Institute for Brain and Intelligence, China. "While other cells will no doubt be involved in perfect urination control, our pinpointing of PMC ESR1+ cells' crucial role in bladder-sphincter coordination will aid the development of targeted therapies for treating urination dysfunction caused by brain or spinal cord injury or peripheral nerve damage." Story Source: Materials provided by eLife . Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Journal Reference : Cite This Page :US President Joe Biden issued an official pardon for his son Hunter, who was set to face sentencing this month on federal felony gun and tax convictions. US President Joe Biden has issued an official pardon for his son Hunter, who was set to face sentencing this month on federal felony gun and tax convictions. Republicans have criticised Biden's decision, after the president previously said he would not pardon his son. But on Sunday evening, he said although he believed in the justice system, politics has infected this process, leading to a miscarriage of justice. The White House has defended the president, saying he "wrestled" with the decision and ultimately made up his mind at the weekend. President-elect Trump called the pardon an "abuse and miscarriage of justice", while some Republicans have branded Joe Biden "a liar". Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax charges in September, and was found guilty in a separate trial in June of being an illegal drug user in possession of a gun. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1531230668029-0'); });
Charities facing tax hike have 'nowhere to cut'WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump's transition team on Tuesday signed an agreement to allow the Justice Department to conduct background checks on his nominees and appointees after a weekslong delay. The step lets Trump transition aides and future administration staffers obtain security clearances before Inauguration Day to access classified information about ongoing government programs, an essential step for a smooth transition of power. It also allows those nominees who are up for Senate confirmation to face the background checks lawmakers want before voting on them. Teams of investigators have been standing by to process clearances for Trump aides and advisers. "This agreement with the Department of Justice will ensure President Trump and his team are ready on Day 1 to begin enacting the America First Agenda that an overwhelming majority of our nation supported on Election Day," said Susie Wiles, Trump's designate to be White House chief of staff. People are also reading... The announcement came a week after the Trump transition team signed an agreement with the Biden White House to allow transition staff to coordinate with the existing federal workforce before taking office Jan. 20. The White House agreement was supposed to have been signed by Oct. 1, according to the Presidential Transition Act, and the Biden White House issued both public and private appeals for Trump's team to sign on. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts Security clearances are required to access classified information, including on ongoing operations and threats to the nation, and the Biden White House and outside experts emphasized to Trump's team the importance of having cleared personnel before Inauguration Day so they could be fully briefed and ready to run the government. President-elect Donald Trump arrives before the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024 in Boca Chica, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP) Brandon Bell President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urge judge to toss his hush money conviction Republican Senators also insisted on FBI background checks for Trump's nominees before they face confirmation votes, as has been standard practice for decades. Lawmakers were particularly interested in seeing the findings of reviews into Trump's designated nominee for defense secretary, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, and for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence. "That's why it's so important that we have an FBI background check, a committee review of extensive questions and questionnaires, and a public hearing," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Monday. John Thune, incoming Senate Republican leader, said the Trump team "understands there's going to have to be a thorough vetting of all these nominees." Here are the people Trump has picked for key positions so far President-elect Donald Trump 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. Evan Vucci, Associated Press Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Evan Vucci, Associated Press Marco Rubio, Secretary of State 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. Wilfredo Lee, Associated Press Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense 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. George Walker IV, Associated Press Pam Bondi, Attorney General 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. Derik Hamilton Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security 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. Matt Rourke, Associated Press Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior 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. AP Photo/Alex Brandon Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services 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. Evan Vucci, Associated Press Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary 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. Matt Kelley, Associated Press Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Labor Secretary 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. Andrew Harnik, Associated Press Scott Turner, Housing and Urban Development 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.” Andrew Harnik, Associated Press Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation 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. Jacquelyn Martin, Associated Press Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy 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. Andy Cross, The Denver Post via AP Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education 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. Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture 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. Evan Vucci Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce 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. AP Photo/Evan Vucci Doug Collins, Secretary of Veterans Affairs 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. John Bazemore, Associated Press Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary 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. Ted Shaffrey, Associated Press Tulsi Gabbard, National Intelligence Director 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. Evan Vucci, Associated Press John Ratcliffe, Central Intelligence Agency Director 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.” Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator 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.” Matt Rourke, Associated Press Brendan Carr, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission 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. Jonathan Newton - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS Elise Stefanik, Ambassador to the United Nations 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. Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press Matt Whitaker, Ambassador to NATO 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. Andrew Harnik, Associated Press Mike Huckabee, Ambassador to Israel 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. Oded Balilty, Associated Press Steven Witkoff, Special Envoy to the Middle East 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. Evan Vucci, Associated Press Keith Kellogg, Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia 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) AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib Mike Waltz, National Security Adviser 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. Ted Shaffrey, Associated Press Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy 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. Evan Vucci, Associated Press Tom Homan, ‘Border Czar’ 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. John Bazemore, Associated Press Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services administrator 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. Matt Rourke, Associated Press Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to advise White House on government efficiency 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.” Evan Vucci, Associated Press photos Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget 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. Evan Vucci, Associated Press Additional selections to the incoming White House 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. William McGinley, White House counsel McGinley was White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first administration, and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee's election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign. In a statement, Trump called McGinley “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.” 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. 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. Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox!
PHOENIX — Owners of off-road vehicles seeking to register their vehicle in Arizona will need to complete a new safety course starting on Jan. 1. As a result of new legislation signed by the governor earlier this year, the Arizona Department of Transportation is requiring at least one owner of an OHV to complete a free course prior to registrations or renewals done between Jan. 1, 2025, and June 1, 2027. The course consists of watching a 10-minute video followed by a 20-question quiz. Arizona residents can complete the online course through the ADOT portal and out-of-state residents can complete the course on the Arizona Game and Fish Department's website. Moving forward, the OHV decals will show law enforcement officials that the vehicle's owner has completed the required safety course. Arizona Senate Bill 1567 made other changes to how the state defines an "off-road vehicle" and how liquor laws now apply to all "self-propelled vehicles." RELATED: 'You're waking a sleeping giant': Residents warn Mesa leaders there will be consequences to raising utility rates RELATED: Tempe is cracking down on 'urban camping.' Here's what that's going to look like. Watch 12News for free You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12+ app! The free 12+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV . 12+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona. Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives. Roku : Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX." Amazon Fire TV : Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12+ app to add to your account , or have the 12+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.
If you've been eyeing a large-screen upgrade for your television, Cyber Monday deals can get you some of the best smart TVs for hundreds of dollars less. Right now, Toshiba's 50-inch Class C350 Series 4K Television is discounted to just $190 . That's one of the lowest prices we've seen yet and makes for an excellent $130 discount over its usual $320 list price. The Toshiba C350 has all the features that make for a great smart TV . Powered by the Regza Engine 4K, this TV produces breathtaking Ultra HD visuals with stunning clarity and detail, ensuring every scene comes to life with professional theater-quality precision. Whether you’re streaming your favorite shows or watching live over-the-air TV, the intuitive Fire TV interface brings all your content together on one easy-to-navigate home screen. Designed for immersive viewing and gaming, the Toshiba 4K Fire TV features Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10 for cinematic image quality that captivates with vibrant colors and incredible realism. Gamers will appreciate the Auto Low Latency Game Mode, which minimizes input lag for seamless, responsive gameplay. With its 4K resolution providing four times the detail of Full HD, this TV ensures that everything from movies to games is displayed with uncompromising sharpness. Why this deal matters This is the lowest price we've seen for the Toshiba C350 4K television, making it a rare opportunity to snag an excellent deal on a quality television. The TV is a 2023 model, but it includes the most popular standards and streaming smarts, ensuring it'll be a reliable performer for years to come. Looking for additional options? Take a look at CNET's roundup of the best TV deals this Cyber Monday. From thrifty steals under $25 , to some of the best savings at Best Buy, Walmart , Amazon and more, CNET's team is working around the clock to get you the best savings.