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Katy Perry became emotional during an ‘American Idol’ audition after the potential contestant revealed he was a survivor of a school shooting. (ABC) Caleb Kennedy, known for making it to the top five during the 19th season of "American Idol," was sentenced to eight years in prison for a fatal 2022 DUI crash, Fox News Digital confirmed. Kennedy, 20, appeared in court in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Monday, where he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of driving under the influence where death results. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison with a $25,100 fine, with the sentence suspended to eight years with a $15,100 fine. He'll serve five years of his sentence with the South Carolina Department of Corrections and three in home detention, with credit being given for the time he's already served since his arrest. ‘AMERICAN IDOL' ALUM MANDISA DEATH AT 47 FOLLOWS LIFE OF STRUGGLES, FAITH, INSPIRATION Caleb Kennedy pleaded guilty to a charge of driving under the influence where death results. (South Carolina Department of Corrections; Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images) Following his release, Kennedy will be placed on probation for five years. He's also required to receive mental health and substance abuse counseling. Solicitor Barry J. Barnette, who prosecuted Kennedy, told Fox News Digital, "This case shows the dangers of vape pens to society." Barnette concluded the use of vape pens led to the death of Larry Parris, 54, the man killed in Kennedy's crash. Ryan Beasley, Kennedy's defense attorney, told Fox Carolina , "First of all, Caleb again wants to express his heartfelt sympathies to the Parris family. Caleb fully accepts his responsibility for this accident and hopes for healing for everyone affected by this tragedy." Caleb Kennedy was arrested Feb. 8, 2022. (Spartanburg County Jail via AP) "He’s got no record, and he was a minor when this happened," Beasley also told the Greenville News. "This wasn’t such an egregious act that you see most of the time, where people were drinking and driving then they hit somebody at night or going the wrong way down the road. This was a weird reaction from his prescription medicine and possibly THC." Before the Feb. 8, 2022, accident, Kennedy was said by prosecutors to have been smoking marijuana with a vape pen. His defense claimed his Prozac prescription had been increased at the time and that he'd had a bad reaction to it. Kennedy competed on the 19th season of "American Idol" but abruptly left after a video surfaced depicting him standing with someone who appeared to be wearing a KKK hood. (Christopher Willard via Getty Images) At the time, the South Carolina Highway Patrol told Fox News Digital, "A 2011 Ford pickup was traveling North on West Murph Road when the vehicle traveled onto a private drive ... and struck a building. A person inside the building sustained fatal injuries as a result of the collision." LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS Kennedy was 16 when he appeared on "American Idol" in 2021, earning his way to a spot as a finalist before abruptly leaving the competition after a video surfaced of him standing next to a person seemingly wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood. Caleb Kennedy was 16 when he appeared on "American Idol." (ABC/Eric McCandless) "Hey y'all, this is gonna be a bit of a surprise, but I am no longer gonna be on American Idol. There was a video that surfaced on the internet and it displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way. I was younger and did not think about the actions, but that's not an excuse," he wrote in a social media post. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER Caleb Kennedy was in the top five when he left the "American Idol" competition. (ABC/Eric McCandless) "I wanna say sorry to all my fans and everyone who I have let down. I'll be taking a little time off social media to better myself, but saying that, I know this has hurt and disappointed a lot of people and made people lose respect for me. I'm so sorry!" CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The singer finished the statement by saying he prayed one day he'd gain back the trust of his fans. Emily Trainham is an entertainment editor for Fox News Digital.

NEW YORK (AP) — Top-ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen is headed back to the World Blitz Championship on Monday after its governing body agreed to loosen a dress code that got him fined and denied a late-round game in another tournament for refusing to change out of jeans . Lamenting the contretemps, International Chess Federation President Arkady Dvorkovich said in a statement Sunday that he'd let World Blitz Championship tournament officials consider allowing “appropriate jeans” with a jacket, and other “elegant minor deviations” from the dress code. He said Carlsen's stand — which culminated in his quitting the tournament Friday — highlighted a need for more discussion “to ensure that our rules and their application reflect the evolving nature of chess as a global and accessible sport.” Carlsen, meanwhile, said in a video posted Sunday on social media that he would play — and wear jeans — in the World Blitz Championship when it begins Monday. “I think the situation was badly mishandled on their side,” the 34-year-old Norwegian grandmaster said. But he added that he loves playing blitz — a fast-paced form of chess — and wanted fans to be able to watch, and that he was encouraged by his discussions with the federation after Friday's showdown. “I think we sort of all want the same thing,” he suggested in the video on his Take Take Take chess app’s YouTube channel. “We want the players to be comfortable, sure, but also relatively presentable.” The events began when Carlsen wore jeans and a sportcoat Friday to the Rapid World Championship, which is separate from but held in conjunction with the blitz event. The chess federation said Friday that longstanding rules prohibit jeans at those tournaments, and players are lodged nearby to make sartorial switch-ups easy if needed. An official fined Carlsen $200 and asked him to change pants, but he refused and wasn't paired for a ninth-round game, the federation said at the time. The organization noted that another grandmaster, Ian Nepomniachtchi, was fined earlier in the day for wearing sports shoes, changed and continued to play. Carlsen has said that he offered to wear something else the next day, but officials were unyielding. He said “it became a bit of a matter of principle,” so he quit the rapid and blitz championships. In the video posted Sunday, he questioned whether he had indeed broken a rule and said changing clothes would have needlessly interrupted his concentration between games. He called the punishment “unbelievably harsh.” “Of course, I could have changed. Obviously, I didn’t want to,” he said, and “I stand by that.” Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get local news delivered to your inbox!AP News in Brief at 6:04 p.m. ESTHOUSTON (AP) — An elaborate parody appears to be behind an effort to resurrect Enron, the Houston-based energy company that exemplified the worst in American corporate fraud and greed after it went bankrupt in 2001. If its return is comedic, some who lost everything in Enron’s collapse aren’t laughing. “It’s a pretty sick joke and it disparages the people that did work there. And why would you want to even bring it back up again?” said former Enron employee Diana Peters, who represented workers in the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Here’s what to know about the history of Enron and the purported effort to bring it back. Once the nation’s seventh-largest company, Enron filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 2, 2001, after years of accounting tricks could no longer hide billions of dollars in debt or make failing ventures appear profitable. The energy company’s collapse put more than 5,000 people out of work, wiped out more than $2 billion in employee pensions and rendered $60 billion in Enron stock worthless. Its aftershocks were felt throughout the energy sector. Twenty-four , including , were eventually convicted for their roles in the fraud. Enron founder Ken Lay’s convictions were vacated after he died of heart disease following his 2006 trial. On Monday — the 23rd anniversary of the bankruptcy filing — a company representing itself as Enron announced in a news release that it was relaunching as a “company dedicated to solving the global energy crisis.” It also posted a video on social media, advertised on at least one Houston billboard and a took out a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle In the minute-long video that was full of generic corporate jargon, the company talks about “growth” and “rebirth.” It ends with the words, “We’re back. Can we talk?” Enron’s new website features a company store, where various items featuring the brand’s tilted “E” logo are for sale, including a $118 hoodie. In an email, company spokesperson Will Chabot said the new Enron was not doing any interviews yet, but that “We’ll have more to share soon.” Signs point to the comeback being a joke. In the “terms of use and conditions of sale” on the company’s website, it says “the information on the website about Enron is First Amendment protected parody, represents performance art, and is for entertainment purposes only.” Documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show that College Company, an Arkansas-based LLC, owns the Enron trademark. The co-founder of College Company is Connor Gaydos, who helped create a joke conspiracy theory that claims all birds are actually surveillance drones for the government. Peters said that since learning about the “relaunch” of Enron, she has spoken with several other former employees and they are also upset by it. She said the apparent stunt was “in poor taste.” “If it’s a joke, it’s rude, extremely rude. And I hope that they realize it and apologize to all of the Enron employees,” Peters said. Peters, who is 74 years old, said she is still working in information technology because “I lost everything in Enron, and so my Social Security doesn’t always take care of things I need done.” “Enron’s downfall taught us critical lessons about corporate ethics, accountability, and the consequences of unchecked ambition. Enron’s legacy was the employees in the trenches. Leave Enron buried,” she said.

'American Idol' finalist Caleb Kennedy sentenced to 8 years in prison after deadly DUI crashSrinagar, Nov 27: Veteran journalist and noted author, M L Kak, breathed his last on Wednesday morning in Gurugram after a prolonged illness. He was 85. Originally from Naidyar, Rainawari, in Kashmir, he lived first in Jammu and then in Gurugram for the last many years. He started his career as a journalist in The Tribune newspaper after receiving a postgraduate degree in English literature from the University of Kashmir (KU) and a Diploma in Journalism from Punjab University, Chandigarh. As The Tribune’s correspondent, he worked in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and J&K. When the Emergency was imposed in June 1975, he was amongst the top journalists and political leaders who were arrested and detained in Hissar Jail, after a showdown with the then Chief Minister of Haryana, Bansi Lal. After spending about 10 days in Hissar Jail, he was transferred to Central Jail Srinagar on the intervention of the then Chief Minister of J&K, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah. The then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, went on record, describing his arrest as a “sheer misuse of Emergency powers” and ordered his immediate release. Kak was ultimately released from Central Jail, Srinagar, after spending another 60 days there. Kak authored many books: ‘Jailed without Crime: Untold Story of Emergency’, ‘Waves in Kashmir: History of Kashmir and Political Developments’, ‘Away From Homeland: Plight of Kashmiri Pandits Post Migration and Their Aspirations’ and ‘Behind The Veil’, a Collection of write ups published in a local English daily in Jammu about the issues related to J&K and Pakistan.

He finished it by producing an astonishing save that vindicated those awards. The Argentina international illuminated a 0-0 draw between his Aston Villa team and Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday by plucking the ball from behind him and scooping it off the goal line to deny Francisco Conceição what could have been the winner. Replays showed the ball was almost entirely over the line before Martinez hooked it clear, and the goalkeeper was quickly congratulated by his teammates. No save by Martinez will ever beat the one he pulled off for Argentina in the last seconds of extra time in the 2022 World Cup final , denying France striker Randal Kolo Muani and keeping teammate Lionel Messi’s dream alive of finally winning soccer’s biggest prize. He might just have run it close. It was fitting he produced his wonder save against Juve on the night he showed off the two Yashin Trophies he claimed at the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony in each of the past two years. The most recent one came last month. As for Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio, he finished the game relieved that what appeared to be a mistake in the final seconds of stoppage time didn't cost his team. Di Gregorio spilled a cross under pressure from Villa defender Diego Carlos and Morgan Rogers was there to poke the ball into the net. A goal was awarded by the on-field referee but after a two-minute check, it was ruled out for a foul on Di Gregorio by Carlos. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Karnataka has a rapidly growing corrugated packaging industry and with a market size of approximately ₹50,000 crore annually and a growth rate of 10-12%, India’s corrugated box manufacturing sector is poised to continue its upward trajectory for the next 5 to 10 years, said industry players. Corrugated cartons are made up of a few layers of material rather than just a single sheet like cardboard. Defence Economist and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, who spoke at the 52nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the Federation of Corrugated Box Manufacturers (FCBM) held in Bengaluru highlighted the significant role of the sector in driving sustainability, efficiency, and innovation across various industries, including food and beverage, e-commerce, and more. The event saw participation from leading industry experts, manufacturers, and policy makers, who discussed the key drivers and future trends shaping the industry. FCBM is the apex body of India’s corrugated packaging industry with a membership of over 2000 corrugated box manufacturers. According to industry experts who spoke at the event, India has over 600 automated plants and another 7,000 semi-automatic plants in the corrugated box manufacturing space. The industry employs over half a million people and processes about 2 million tons of kraft paper annually into corrugated boxes. Dharmendra V. Pandya, President of FCBM said, the corrugated box industry in the country was witnessing unparalleled growth, driven by strong demand in key sectors and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies. The global corrugated packaging Industry is estimated to be at $300 billion and is growing at a CAGR of 4.3% fueled by expansion of e-commerce consumer preference for biodegradable packaging and innovations in lightweight materials. The Indian packaging industry is estimated to grow at 22 to 25% annually and the corrugated packaging Industry is expected to grow at 10-12%. ‘’As we look ahead, we anticipate significant shifts toward larger automatic plants and advanced machinery, which will not only enhance productivity but also meet the evolving needs of consumers and businesses alike,’‘ added Pandya. Some of the key factors fuelling the growth of the industry include the increasing demand for packaging solutions in the food and beverage industry, the rapid rise of e-commerce, and favorable government initiatives aimed at boosting manufacturing capabilities and sustainability. Published - December 21, 2024 10:18 pm IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp RedditWASHINGTON – Working-class voters helped Republicans make steady election gains this year and expanded a coalition that increasingly includes rank-and-file union members, a political shift spotlighting one of President-elect Donald Trump’s latest Cabinet picks: a GOP congresswoman, who has drawn labor support, to be his labor secretary. Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her bid for a second term this month, despite strong backing from union members, a key part of the Democratic base but gravitating in the Trump era toward a Republican Party traditionally allied with business interests. Recommended Videos “Lori’s strong support from both the Business and Labor communities will ensure that the Labor Department can unite Americans of all backgrounds behind our Agenda for unprecedented National Success - Making America Richer, Wealthier, Stronger and more Prosperous than ever before!” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice Friday night. For decades, labor unions have sided with Democrats and been greeted largely with hostility by Republicans. But with Trump's populist appeal, his working-class base saw a decent share of union rank-and-file voting for Republicans this year, even as major unions, including the AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers , endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in the White House race. Trump sat down with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union leadership and members this year, and when he emerged from that meeting, he boasted that a significant chunk of union voters were backing him. Of a possible Teamsters endorsement, he said, “Stranger things have happened.” The Teamsters ultimately declined to endorse either Trump, the former president, or Harris, the vice president, though leader Sean O’Brien had a prominent speaking slot at the Republican National Convention. Kara Deniz, a Teamsters spokesperson, told the Associated Press that O’Brien met with more than a dozen House Republicans this past week to lobby on behalf of Chavez-DeRemer. “Chavez-DeRemer would be an excellent choice for labor secretary and has his backing,” Deniz said. The work of the Labor Department affects workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employers' rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. On Election Day, Trump deepened his support among voters without a college degree after running just slightly ahead of Democrat Joe Biden with noncollege voters in 2020. Trump made modest gains, earning a clear majority of this group, while only about 4 in 10 supported Harris, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide. Roughly 18% of voters in this year's election were from union households, with Harris winning a majority of the group. But Trump's performance among union members kept him competitive and helped him win key states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Chavez-DeRemer was one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act, which would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The measure would 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. Trump's first term saw firmly pro-business policies from his appointees across government, including those on the National Labor Relations Board. Trump, a real estate developer and businessman before winning the presidency, generally has backed policies that would make it harder for workers to unionize. During his recent campaign, Trump criticized union bosses, and at one point suggested that UAW members should not pay their dues. His first administration did expand overtime eligibility rules, but not nearly as much as Democrats wanted, and a Trump-appointed judge has since struck down the Biden administration’s more generous overtime rules. He has stacked his incoming administration with officials who worked on the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025” blueprint, which includes a sharp swing away from Biden’s pro-union policies. “Chavez-DeRemer’s record suggests she understands the value of policies that strengthen workers’ rights and economic security,” said Rebecca Dixon, president and CEO of National Employment Law Project, which is backed my many of the country’s major labor unions. “But the Trump administration’s agenda is fundamentally at odds with these principles, threatening to roll back workplace protections, undermine collective bargaining, and prioritize corporate profits over the needs of working people. This is where her true commitment to workers will be tested.” Other union leaders also issued praise, but also sounded a note of caution. “Educators and working families across the nation will be watching ... as she moves through the confirmation process,” the president of the National Education Association, Becky Pringle, said in a statement, “and hope to hear a pledge from her to continue to stand up for workers and students as her record suggests, not blind loyalty to the Project 2025 agenda.” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler welcomed the choice while taking care to note Trump's history of opposing polices that support unions. "It remains to be seen what she will be permitted to do as secretary of labor in an administration with a dramatically anti-worker agenda,” Shuler said.Bray teams sweep first basketball games of season

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jerry Nadler announced Wednesday that he will be stepping down as the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee next year, avoiding an intra-party fight over a prominent position as the party prepares to confront a second Trump presidency. Nadler’s decision to relinquish control of the powerful committee came a day after fellow Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin announced his bid for the job and quickly amassed support from colleagues. “I am also proud that, under my leadership, some of our caucus’s most talented rising stars have been given a platform to demonstrate their leadership and their abilities,” Nadler wrote in the letter to Democrats that was obtained by The Associated Press. “That includes Jamie Raskin, who in just a few terms in Congress has already proven himself to be an exceptional leader and spokesperson for our party’s values.” The 77-year-old chose to step aside as the Democratic party undergoes an internal reckoning over their losses in the election, which swept Republicans into a trifecta of power in Washington. Many Democrats are eager for generational change and a new approach as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. The decision by Nadler, who is serving his 17th term in Congress, reflects that generational shift. Before he made his decision Wednesday morning, Nadler spent time speaking with staff about what his next step should be. He also made a call to Raskin, which was described as cordial by a person familiar with the conversation who was not authorized to discuss it publicly. “Jerry Nadler is an extraordinary lawyer, patriot and public servant,” Raskin posted on X. “His dogged defense of civil rights and civil liberties is a great inspiration to our people.” He added, “I am honored and humbled to have his support in the battles ahead.” Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries also reached out to Nadler, according to the same person, and offered him an emeritus status on the Judiciary committee, an honorary title that recognizes a member’s seniority and service to the chamber. Nadler said he plans to stay on the committee as a senior member and will likely take up a ranking member role on one of the various subcommittees. But despite the cordial back-and-forth, the timeline of events that led to Raskin’s surprise bid and Nadler’s swift decision to step down damaged a close friendship between the two men. Nadler’s staff had expected that there would likely be a challenger for the ranking member spot. And a week before Thanksgiving, they heard that Raskin, a former constitutional law professor, was making the rounds, talking to Democratic colleagues about a potential run. Nadler, who ran the vote counting operation to successfully land Raskin the top spot on the House Oversight Committee, confronted the Maryland lawmaker, who denied he was making a play for the job, according to the same person. Raskin told him that he would soon put out a letter announcing that he would run for the Oversight post again. Raskin’s office did not respond to a request for comment. That letter never came and when Nadler inquired again about it days later, Raskin softened his stance, according to the person, saying that he was hearing from a lot of people that he should run. On Saturday, reports came out of Raskin pursuing the post before he made it official with a letter to colleagues on Monday. He wrote that the Judiciary Committee under his leadership would become “the headquarters of Congressional opposition to authoritarianism” as well as other efforts by Trump and his allies to thwart the Constitution. It was a stunning turn of events given that over the years Democrats have rarely broken from the seniority system for committee assignments, no matter how long someone has held a position, making the outcome of the race uncertain. But being the face of the resistance against Trump is not new territory for Raskin who spent the last two years on the House Oversight committee as the most vocal defender of President Joe Biden and his family as they faced a sprawling Republican investigation — encouraged by Trump — into their various business affairs. He also helped draft articles of impeachment against the incoming president for his encouragement of the violent mob on Jan. 6, 2021, and led the impeachment prosecution in the Senate. “As our country faces the return of Donald Trump, and the renewed threats to our democracy and our way of life that he represents, I am very confident that Jamie would ably lead the Judiciary Committee as we confront this growing danger,” Nadler wrote at the end of his letter.None

By JILL COLVIN and STEPHEN GROVES WASHINGTON (AP) — After several weeks working mostly behind closed doors, Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role: Helping Donald Trump try to get his most contentious Cabinet picks to confirmation in the Senate, where Vance has served for the last two years. Vance arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday with former Rep. Matt Gaetz and spent the morning sitting in on meetings between Trump’s choice for attorney general and key Republicans, including members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The effort was for naught: Gaetz announced a day later that he was withdrawing his name amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations and the reality that he was unlikely to be confirmed. Thursday morning Vance was back, this time accompanying Pete Hegseth, the “Fox & Friends Weekend” host whom Trump has tapped to be the next secretary of defense. Hegseth also has faced allegations of sexual assault that he denies. Vance is expected to accompany other nominees for meetings in coming weeks as he tries to leverage the two years he has spent in the Senate to help push through Trump’s picks. Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., center, and Vice President-elect JD Vance, left, walk out of a meeting with Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, departs the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, March 15, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, center speaks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, right, speaks with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, before testifying at a hearing, March 9, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a classified briefing on China, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a vote on Capitol Hill, Sept. 12, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance R-Ohio speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) The role of introducing nominees around Capitol Hill is an unusual one for a vice president-elect. Usually the job goes to a former senator who has close relationships on the Hill, or a more junior aide. But this time the role fits Vance, said Marc Short, who served as Trump’s first director of legislative affairs as well as chief of staff to Trump’s first vice president, Mike Pence, who spent more than a decade in Congress and led the former president’s transition ahead of his first term. ”JD probably has a lot of current allies in the Senate and so it makes sense to have him utilized in that capacity,” Short said. Unlike the first Trump transition, which played out before cameras at Trump Tower in New York and at the president-elect’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, this one has largely happened behind closed doors in Palm Beach, Florida. There, a small group of officials and aides meet daily at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to run through possible contenders and interview job candidates. The group includes Elon Musk, the billionaire who has spent so much time at the club that Trump has joked he can’t get rid of him. Vance has been a constant presence, even as he’s kept a lower profile. The Ohio senator has spent much of the last two weeks in Palm Beach, according to people familiar with his plans, playing an active role in the transition, on which he serves as honorary chair. Vance has been staying at a cottage on the property of the gilded club, where rooms are adorned with cherubs, oriental rugs and intricate golden inlays. It’s a world away from the famously hardscrabble upbringing that Vance documented in the memoir that made him famous, “Hillbilly Elegy.” His young children have also joined him at Mar-a-Lago, at times. Vance was photographed in shorts and a polo shirt playing with his kids on the seawall of the property with a large palm frond, a U.S. Secret Service robotic security dog in the distance. Related Articles On the rare days when he is not in Palm Beach, Vance has been joining the sessions remotely via Zoom. Though he has taken a break from TV interviews after months of constant appearances, Vance has been active in the meetings, which began immediately after the election and include interviews and as well as presentations on candidates’ pluses and minuses. Among those interviewed: Contenders to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray , as Vance wrote in a since-deleted social media post. Defending himself from criticism that he’d missed a Senate vote in which one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees was confirmed, Vance wrote that he was meeting at the time “with President Trump to interview multiple positions for our government, including for FBI Director.” “I tend to think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45,” Vance added on X. “But that’s just me.” While Vance did not come in to the transition with a list of people he wanted to see in specific roles, he and his friend, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is also a member of the transition team, were eager to see former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. find roles in the administration. Trump ended up selecting Gabbard as the next director of national intelligence , a powerful position that sits atop the nation’s spy agencies and acts as the president’s top intelligence adviser. And he chose Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services , a massive agency that oversees everything from drug and food safety to Medicare and Medicaid. Vance was also a big booster of Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who will serve as Trump’s “border czar.” In another sign of Vance’s influence, James Braid, a top aide to the senator, is expected to serve as Trump’s legislative affairs director. Allies say it’s too early to discuss what portfolio Vance might take on in the White House. While he gravitates to issues like trade, immigration and tech policy, Vance sees his role as doing whatever Trump needs. Vance was spotted days after the election giving his son’s Boy Scout troop a tour of the Capitol and was there the day of leadership elections. He returned in earnest this week, first with Gaetz — arguably Trump’s most divisive pick — and then Hegseth, who has was been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017, according to an investigative report made public this week. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing. Vance hosted Hegseth in his Senate office as GOP senators, including those who sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee, filtered in to meet with the nominee for defense secretary. While a president’s nominees usually visit individual senators’ offices, meeting them on their own turf, the freshman senator — who is accompanied everywhere by a large Secret Service detail that makes moving around more unwieldy — instead brought Gaetz to a room in the Capitol on Wednesday and Hegseth to his office on Thursday. Senators came to them. Vance made it to votes Wednesday and Thursday, but missed others on Thursday afternoon. Vance is expected to continue to leverage his relationships in the Senate after Trump takes office. But many Republicans there have longer relationships with Trump himself. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, said that Trump was often the first person to call him back when he was trying to reach high-level White House officials during Trump’s first term. “He has the most active Rolodex of just about anybody I’ve ever known,” Cramer said, adding that Vance would make a good addition. “They’ll divide names up by who has the most persuasion here,” Cramer said, but added, “Whoever his liaison is will not work as hard at it as he will.” Cramer was complimentary of the Ohio senator, saying he was “pleasant” and ” interesting” to be around. ′′He doesn’t have the long relationships,” he said. “But we all like people that have done what we’ve done. I mean, that’s sort of a natural kinship, just probably not as personally tied.” Under the Constitution, Vance will also have a role presiding over the Senate and breaking tie votes. But he’s not likely to be needed for that as often as was Kamala Harris, who broke a record number of ties for Democrats as vice president, since Republicans will have a bigger cushion in the chamber next year. Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

Ametek Inc. stock underperforms Tuesday when compared to competitorsPresident Joe Biden's Sunday move to pardon his son Hunter weeks before he was set to be sentenced for his federal convictions served as Jon Stewart's comedy fodder this week. During Monday's episode of "The Daily Show," the guest host said that while he respects Biden's decision to protect his son, the sweeping pardon is a knock for Democrats because they framed Biden's prior insistence on respecting the outcome of his son's trial as their "Mason-Dixon line of morality." "Hypocrisy isn't illegal. Nor is it particularly unusual in politics," Stewart said. "It's not like he's ever going to run again, so why not take care of your kid, even if you said weren't gonna. I respect it, I don't have a problem with it. "The problem is the rest of the Democrats made Biden's pledge to not pardon Hunter the foundation of their defense of America, this grand experiment," he added before playing several clips of Democratic lawmakers using Biden's promise as a moral threshold. Stewart then showed news clips that he said depicted "the dance Democrats have to do" in response to Biden's switch-up. "Be honest, the only reason why they went after Hunter the way they did — and I've talked to many federal prosecutors about this — is because he's the president's son," Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., said in one of the clips. Biden used a similar defense in a Sunday statement explaining his decision to issue the pardon, which effectively rolled back his son's convictions in two federal cases relating to gun ownership and taxes. "I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice," he said. "I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision." Later in his opening monologue, Stewart also joked about the timing of Biden's announcement, which came over Thanksgiving weekend. Stewart did not reserve his digs for the Democrats, whom he conceded "have a tougher road of defending our institutions and systems as being flawed, but still valuable." Whereas, Republicans, he said, "just run on blowing this s— up." He also mocked President-elect Donald Trump's response to Biden's pardon. Trump asked on his social media platform Truth Social if Biden's decision also includes Jan. 6 insurrection "hostages." He also characterized Biden's decision as "an abuse and miscarriage of Justice." "Oh, you pardoned your son?" Stewart said, pantomiming the former president. "Well, what about the people who tried to help me overthrow the government? That's kind of a leap there. It's like going, you know, 'Oh you're going to let the kids stay up to watch "SNL," but you're not even going to try to help me burn the neighbor's house down?'" Along with Stewart, several other late-night hosts chimed in with their own pardon-related jabs Monday night. "It was a big shopping weekend, and millions of people got great deals," Jimmy Fallon said on "The Tonight Show." "But nobody got a better deal than Hunter Biden." Fox News contributor Tyrus kept the holiday theme going on "Gutfield," quipping, "Christmas came early for this guy." ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.The Gophers football program is on the verge of signing the state’s top-rated high school prospect to headline its recruiting class for a second straight year. The U hasn’t done that since 2017-18. Robbinsdale Cooper linebacker Emmanuel Karmo is set to join Minnesota when the early signing period opens Wednesday, just like Esko safety Koi Perich did a year ago. The U fought off fellow Big Ten schools in both recruiting battles. “It feels amazing,” Karmo told the Pioneer Press this week. “I’ve waited a long time for this.” Karmo, a four-star prospect, said his other top contenders were Wisconsin, Nebraska and, to a lesser degree, Ohio State. His more than 15 scholarship offers also included Southern California, Penn State, Oregon, with some interest from Michigan. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound athlete, who is also the U’s overall No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class, played nearly everywhere in high school and committed to Minnesota in April, but that didn’t stop others from pursuing him and seeing if he would be willing to visit their campuses. “When coaches come in, they just see his build and his film speaks for itself,” said Robbinsdale Cooper head coach Tony Patterson. “The recruiting process was a little bit stressful for him. He wanted to make sure that he was making the right decision and not really basing it on when the big-time schools come in. “Some kids can get glamor and glitz in their eyes, but I think he did it his way. He spoke with his family. He made the best decision for him and his family to stay home in Minnesota.” Karmo is close with his large family, especially his mother, and was looking for a close-knit connection in a college. The Gophers weren’t among the first to offer Karmo, but he found a bond with U defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere. “He showed how invested he was in his family, and also Emmanuel as a person,” Patterson said. “So, I think that’s what drew him to Minnesota.” Karmo played four years on varsity and started the final three for the Class 5A school a few miles west of Minneapolis. He played everywhere — safety (as an underclassman) and linebacker/edge rusher (as upperclassman), wide receiver, tight end, running back, wildcat quarterback and punter. In 10 games as a senior, Karmo had five rushing touchdowns and five receiving touchdowns, along with 64 tackles, two sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery. Other teams ran away from his side of the field, but he worked to track ball carriers down. The Hawks finished 8-2, but fell short of the state tournament. The Gophers see Karmo’s skills best translating at linebacker in college. “They told me I would be useful on third-down situations and stuff like that,” Karmo said. “They want me to come in and play early.” The Gophers nearly had the top-rated in-state recruit sign with the U in three straight classes, but Cooper defensive lineman Jaxon Howard went to Louisiana State for a year before transferring back to Minnesota. He played 118 snaps for the Gophers as a redshirt freshman this fall. Howard gave Karmo the space to make his own college decision but was instrumental in showing Karmo how to lead in high school. “He just passed down the torch when he left (Cooper),” Karmo said. “I took over and now I’m on the way.” Karmo, who spent part of his youth in St. Louis, said he had a “pretty rocky start” at Cooper, but began to lead by example during his junior year. “He’s invested in Cooper,” Patterson said. “... His play on the field spoke for itself, but it’s the off-the-field things that, sometimes, they get unnoticed. He’s encouraging guys, giving (car) rides to guys, making sure that the young guys understand what it means to be a Cooper Hawk.” Patterson sees Karmo as a no-nonsense worker with twitchy athleticism. “Emmanuel is a special guy. He’s one of those kids that coaches kind of just salivate over,” Patterson said. “He has all the intangibles: great GPA, smart player, size, frame. He has the ability to get even bigger, faster, stronger in college, under their weight program. “He’s one of those guys that just show up and go to work, no complaints about anything. He doesn’t have kind of a look-at-me attitude; he wants a team to succeed. This year I saw that, putting the team on his back and trying to do everything in his power to have us reach that next level.”

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