ace88 bet Four years ago Nigel Dodman and Sandy Boulanger received a letter informing them of plans for 31 wind turbines, each 220m-high, near their home in Mid Wales. Later, the couple claimed the developer offered them a huge compensation sum in exchange for their home and their silence. When Mr Dodman looked into the planned Nant Mithil Energy Park, he estimated 10 of the 31 turbines would directly affect their small organic farm next to Radnor Forest, Powys. Given the amount being offered, they admit to being tempted – but ultimately they rejected it. Mr Dodman said compensation was offered following a meeting with Bute Energy who told him no-one would be materially affected by the planned turbines as no-one lived close enough to the site. It was only then that he realised the company didn’t actually know the couple lived there, he claimed. “At that time we were told by the managing director at Bute that we would not see or hear the turbines,” said Mr Dodman, who has lived in the idyllic rural spot for more than 20 years, says. “In reality they’ll shake our home. He changed his mind when he realised where we lived. I’m confident in saying Bute didn’t actually know there was a property here before we notified them.” Mr Dodman claims the company then offered a significant sum of money to him and his family – more than double the value of their property and land – to buy it from him on the condition he signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). This would prevent him discussing matters surrounding Bute Energy’s plans in future. “It was more than double the value of the property and land as well as £10,000 a year each year until they got full planning permission,” he recalled. “In return we’d sign an NDA. We thought hard about it. In the end I just couldn’t live with myself if we were bought out. We’ve got a little paradise here. It’s a small organic farm in beautiful surroundings which we’ve made our home for 25 years. I expect to be carried out of here in a box. No-one could take that away or replace what we have.” Locals claim the area is not close to suitable for large-scale energy development. At Nant Mithil, 23 of the 31 turbines would lie outside the area pre-determined by the Welsh Government to be suitable for large-scale wind energy production, reports WalesOnline . “You can see the Radnor Forest from a long way away,” said Mr Dodman. “You can see it from the Brecon Beacons, Shropshire, the Cambrian Mountains. It’s a beautiful part of the landscape which should be protected. So, no, we didn’t take the money and we’re going to fight these plans all the way.” Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now Refusing the offer was not just a decision from the heart, it was born out of principle too. He alleged: “The plans are nonsense and I think they’ll be unmasked as nonsense. Why would you ruin a landscape dependent on farming and tourism which people come here to enjoy in order to send power to England? Because that’s what all this is about. “The motivation for the planning of these energy parks is entirely financial. Money is made when the developer gets planning permission and then they sell the project on to a multinational company to do it. Wales has been seen as an easy target by companies with councils in a right mess and unable to challenge these plans.” The plans Nigel speaks about are not just at Nant Mithil. Within 17 square miles in Radnorshire, Bute Energy is planning 65 other turbines. A few miles down the road there are plans for up to 16 turbines at Bryn Gilwern Energy Park north of the village Hundred House. A couple of miles south there are plans for another 18 turbines at Aberedw Energy Park near Builth Wells. Bute Energy is behind all three of those as well as 13 others across Mid Wales. Further wind farms are planned by RES, EDF, Statkraft, Pennant Walters, RWE Renewables, Vattenfall, Galileo, Muirhall Energy, Coriolis Energy, Cenin, and Bryngygda Wind Farm Ltd. Plans for energy parks are growing at such a speed in rural Wales that groups like the Campaign for Protection of Rural Wales (CPRW) have stopped publishing updated maps regularly. As campaign trustee Dr Jonathan Dean puts it, “it’s almost pointless committing it to paper now”. You can see an interactive map showing planned renewable energy parks here. Ed Miliband, UK Government secretary of state for energy security and net zero, wants to turbocharge the creation of energy parks across the UK over the next six years, doubling onshore wind and tripling solar energy. The UK Government says it will enable the UK to reach its net zero target faster and more cheaply. The promise is to eventually make energy bills lower while easing Britain’s reliance on the international energy market. Critics believe that what’s happening across rural Wales is a sign of what’s to come for the rest of Britain. Four miles away from Mr Dodman’s home is a dormant energy park called Hendy Wind Farm where seven wind turbines 110m in height haven’t turned in five years because they can’t be connected to the national grid. Campaigners fought for year to block Hendy’s turbines before the Welsh Government ignored professional advice and approved the development. The decision came with a set of conditions, one of which was that the turbines would be taken down if they didn’t turn within six months. Years later, however, the dormant turbines are still standing. “These plans always leave an awful lot to planning conditions,” said Christine Hugh-Jones of CPRW. “They say, ‘You can do this but only on the basis you abide by these conditions’. Well, look what happened to Hendy. They had loads of conditions and they weren’t properly enforced.” Mr Dodman had always felt Hendy would go wrong, having lived off grid himself in the area for two decades. “Hendy was built in a valley in one of the most beautiful landscapes in Wales,” he said. “But there is no grid connection to this part of the country. “They justified it on the grounds of saving the planet and yet it’s never turned because it was never in the right place. Now it’s just a complete eyesore that offers nothing.” Mr Dodman and Ms Boulanger know more than most about the unpredictability of wind energy. They have a wind turbine in their own garden which they claim they can’t hear because it’s a small farm turbine. They have it, they say, because they’re off grid. But they rely on a back-up generator because the turbine is so unreliable – particularly in the winter when they need the energy the most. “Wind turbines only produce a fraction of their capacity,” Mr Dodman says. “For wind energy it’s less than 26%, I believe.” Developers have vowed to learn from Hendy. Bute Energy’s subsidiary company, GreenGen Cymru (GGC), plans two pylon highways to connect planned wind farms to the National Grid. These would travel 60 miles from Mid Wales to a substation in Carmarthen. Farmers and landowners have received letters informing them their land is earmarked for the pylons. One of the pylon highways, the Towy Usk route, would run from Nant Mithil to Llandyfaelog going through Aberedw Hill, Llangammach Wells, Llandovery, Llandeilo, and Llandyfaelog. The other, the Towy Teifi route, would run from Lan Fawr to Lampeter through Llanllwni, Alltwalis, Rhydargeau, and Llandyfaelog. The plan is for it to go for planning approval in 2026. If green-lighted, construction would start the following year with the scheme operational in 2028. Both schemes have to be decided by Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW). Ultimately, the aim is to connect up the electricity transmission systems of North and South Wales to facilitate the building of onshore wind farms in Mid Wales. While some landowners might be ready to host pylons and turbines on their land, most are angry. Drive through the villages in rural Mid Wales and you’ll see many landowners have erected signs telling Bute Energy and GreenGen Cymru to stay off their land. Some have received legal letters informing them that under law they are compelled to allow access to their land for surveys to be carried out for pylons. We tracked down one farmer who had erected signs in the local village. They said they didn’t want to speak to the Press because the situation was volatile - and they needed to maintain relationships with neighbouring farmers who’d agreed to sell their land for pylons. Other locals are more open in their opposition. Susan Williams, who has lived at Hundred House for more than a decade, said: “I can’t see how as a local person I will materially benefit from these plans. If it was benefiting our area, I wouldn’t be so against it. But this is people elsewhere thinking, ‘Not in my back yard but we can do it in theirs’. Sometimes I do feel as if rural people do not matter. “The problem around here is the pylons really. If they put them underground I think people wouldn’t mind. But to be putting all these pylons in people’s land and forcing them to accept it seems shocking to me. “A lot of people now have signs up on their gates saying ‘No entry’. This could end really badly. People will not put up with it. It’s as if there’s no respect for the people who live here and have farmed the land for years. And I very much doubt we’ll get cheaper electricity at the end of it.” GGC was set up with the aim of unlocking Wales’ green energy potential. The company said undergrounding cables was problematic. “Our investigations show that underground cables require more land and create more ground disturbance during construction,” it said. “This could also lead to longer-term ecological and environmental impacts. Using pylons will allow us to provide a new connection quickly with minimal disruption to the land, allowing us to fight back against climate change as soon as we can.” GGC said it is “working with industry experts” to get an accurate cost of delivering the project underground. But it believes overhead lines are “the most viable and cost-effective option at this stage for delivering a connection quickly”. The company said it will assess if any parts of the connection need to be placed underground - “for example in highly constrained or particularly sensitive areas”. The Welsh Government’s position is that new power lines should, where possible, be put underground but “that a balanced view must be taken against costs which could render otherwise acceptable projects unviable”. Bute Energy said it will donate 50% more than the industry average on things that will benefit the community in the Radnorshire hills as de facto compensation for the inconvenience. Campaigners say this doesn’t go far enough. On the strength of feeling across the region, CPRW's Christine Hugh-Jones said: “It’s very divisive because a lot of people stand to make a lot of money and on the other hand there’s a lot of local unhappiness about it all. But there are other ways things like this divide communities too such as the promises of community benefits for people affected by it all. “In reality, what happens is Bute will choose projects like a children’s playground or a rugby pitch or something like that, so only the people who use those things get something back. Surely, if you have a wind farm and it’s making money since it’s producing electricity, you ought to decrease the bills of the people suffering from it. And since you’re trashing the environment, you should pay for environmental restoration elsewhere.” Jenny Chryss, of fellow campaign group ReThink, believes people are starting to “realise exactly what could be coming down the road”. He said: “As developments are beginning to get traction, what’s coming is becoming ingrained in people’s minds. “Some people of course have signed up to have turbines and pylons on their land and I’d assume they’re happy. Some don’t care. A lot of people and particularly those living near the developments proposed or the infrastructure are extremely fearful for their livelihoods. “Yes, compared to a lot of areas across the UK, this area is sparsely populated. But that shouldn’t mean, ‘We’ll just dump this here because there aren’t many of you’. These villages are vibrant communities. This isn’t a wasteland. They are thriving communities with agriculture and tourism at their hearts and this is going to decimate them. “People here are more or less going to be surrounded by wind farms at a size never demonstrated in the UK before. Understandably people living next to these things are very fearful for their futures.” The new-generation turbines proposed across Wales are giants. The construction of Nant Mithil, expected to be completed in 2029 if plans are approved, includes 31 turbines more than 200m in height. Bute Energy said this turbine-flation simply “reflects changes in technology over recent years”. The foundations will be five metres deep and 25 metres wide. Up to 59,000 cubic metres of concrete will be used at the site. The company said it will make every effort to restore the land after use. Campaigners argue wind energy is not needed at such a large scale and could be done more efficiently offshore. Ms Hugh-Jones says: “It’s not just the wind farms – it’s the roads infrastructure and what it would do to the whole area. To me there’s no point trashing your natural environment to get more energy if there are better places to put these turbines. “I care what this will do to a very special swathe of Mid Wales. It’s a relatively traditional and unchanged area of Wales and I feel this is being exploited and is not going to be good for the communities nor the landscape. Bute Energy has taken a look at Wales and have seen a hole in the market. They’ve spotted Wales as a prime money-making spot." ReThink’s Jenny Chryss pointed out that Wales has a nature emergency as well as a climate emergency. She said: “I am not at all convinced enough is being done with these projects to protect nature and ecology at the expense of building these energy parks. “I think the major issue with all of this is the scale of it all really. It’s the size of the proposals and how many of them there are. People are already starting to talk about Wales becoming the power station of England. “Awareness of how this all works is growing. Wales doesn’t need all the renewable energy produced here if all of these wind farms happen – it’ll make its way off to the grid and it’ll be exported out of Wales. That adds to the feeling of Wales being used as a power station. “The development phases would be at least as much concern for local people. It will be years and years of disruption to local people, never mind what the finished product looks like. We are not saying there isn’t a climate emergency and we’re not saying don’t build wind farms. We’re saying simply carpeting Mid Wales with pylons and turbines is not the way forward.” Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox A spokesperson for Bute Energy said: “We recognise the depth of feeling on the big questions that come with the climate emergency and the need to create a sustainable world for future generations. We also recognise the significant change our move to clean power represents for communities across Wales and the UK – including in mid Wales. Our belief is that we must act now to protect our environment and support vibrant, thriving communities. “We have spent the past two years engaging with host communities for our energy parks, answering questions and actively ensuring that we take on board community views while delivering a greener future for Wales. Meaningful and ongoing engagement with communities on the design of our energy parks is a key part of our approach. At Nant Mithil we reduced the number and maximum height of the turbines and shifted the project’s footprint away from people’s homes in response to the local feedback. “Nant Mithil will generate up to 205 MW of clean energy. That’s enough to power up to 202,000 homes and displace up to 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Our full £3bn portfolio is approximately 10 times that size and will meet around 25% of Wales’ expected electricity needs by 2035. “Our communities also help design and deliver our community benefit fund that could be worth up to £20m every year – the largest offered by any developer in Wales. We work with charities, schools, and other local organisations to ensure our investment remains in Wales and delivers a legacy of green skills, good jobs, and funding for projects that genuinely matter to local people. At Nant Mithil that fund is worth £1.5m a year.” The company did not directly address Mr Dodman’s claims around the financial offer he says was made, nor the request for an NDA. GreenGen Cymru also issued a statement. It said: “Tackling the climate emergency, connecting new community and renewable energy projects, creating and expanding businesses, and electrifying our heating and transport systems will all require more grid capacity. These are challenge that Wales faces – ones that need to be tackled urgently and ones that we are trying to help address. “Whether it is undergrounding cables, wood poles, or lattice towers, across our projects all suitable technology options are being considered, reviewed, and utilised and typically a network will involve a combination of technologies. Throughout Wales and the wider UK electricity connections are a tried and tested technology that have been operating safely within communities for decades. This includes areas popular with tourism and on agricultural land. “Towy Teifi and Towy Usk, along with all our projects, are currently going through consultation phases where we are asking for feedback on our proposals. As is standard across the industry changes are made between these stages. For example, thanks to feedback and further environmental and technical assessments, numerous changes were made on Towy Usk. This includes a 5.5km of underground section near Llanarthne and the rerouting of the project to better avoid tourism businesses near Builth Wells. “Our second round of consultation on our Towy Teifi project will launch in the spring where we will be able to share updated proposals and where we will once again be asking for detailed feedback. In terms of agriculture, if approved, the towers we would propose to use on our 132kv overhead line are around half the size of the transmission pylons already seen in places like Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire along the M4. “There is no evidence that overhead lines and pylons have a materially adverse impact on livestock or grazing behavior which can continue up to and within the footings of the pylons. “The footprint of the pylons currently proposed for the Towy Teifi connection will be modest. Except in the footprint of the pylon it is anticipated the normal farming practice will be able to continue under the overhead lines. “Detailed consideration of pylon siting and overhead line alignment during the design and environmental impact assessment (EIA) process will seek to reduce the loss of agricultural land and disruption of agricultural activities to the extent feasible. We will work closely with farmers and landowners in developing the project to understand their concerns and to reduce any effects on their operation of their land as much as possible. “GreenGen Cymru’s overwhelming preference is to seek voluntary engagements with landowners. As such, we and our external land agents have been actively engaged in negotiating voluntary agreements with landowners on the Towy Teifi project since January 2024. Unfortunately we have been unable to reach voluntary agreements with all landowners and some as a result have recently received statutory notice under section 172 of the Housing & Planning Act. “All landowners have been offered and continue to be offered in person meeting with members of the GGC team and our external land agents. It is always stressed that agreeing to surveys in no way restricts landowners’ ability to respond to project consultations or express their views on our proposals.” Find out what's happening near you

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Tech slump slays Santa rally, weak yen lifts Japan stocks higherFormer US president Jimmy Carter dies aged 100The list of President-elect Donald Trump's legal cases is shrinking — or being delayed. On Monday, Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a motion to dismiss the Washington, D.C. election subversion case. He also asked a federal appeals court to stop reviewing the classified documents case in Florida. On Tuesday, that court granted dismissal of the case against Trump — though not against other appellees. In dismissing the cases, the Special Counsel cited the Department of Justice's long-standing policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents. "After careful consideration, the Department has determined that OLC's prior opinions concerning the Constitution's prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting President apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated," Smith wrote in his court filing regarding the election subversion case. "We've used the word unprecedented a lot over the course of the last four years, and yet again this is something that is unprecedented, and Smith himself said this in his motion," former state and federal prosecutor David S. Weinstein told Scripps News. "He took great detail to point out that this was not based on the strength or weakness of the case." In a post on Truth Social , Trump said in part "These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless." RELATED STORY | Special counsel evaluating how to wind down federal cases against Trump Earlier this year, Trump faced four on-going criminal cases. He was convicted in his New York hush money case in May, but sentencing — which was scheduled for this week — has been delayed . After Smith's actions Monday, Trump now faces only the Georgia election interference case. In Georgia, Trump was indicted along with 18 allies, accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. But that case is now on hold after the state appeals court unexpectedly removed a December hearing from its calendar. That court will issue a new order on how this case will move forward, but with less than two months before the inauguration, the future of the Georgia and New York hush money cases are still being decided. "The two state cases are likely to recede into the background — at best," former Department of Justice attorney and current partner at Gelber, Schachter & Greenberg, Barbara Llanes, told Scripps News. "We probably won't hear much about these cases following the inauguration of President-elect Trump." Defense attorneys for Trump believe his election victory is enough for the hush money case to be dismissed. They need to file a motion by Dec. 2 making that argument. Then prosecutors have until Dec. 9 to file a rebuttal. They still believe Trump should be sentenced — even if it's after he leaves office. Judge Juan Merchan will then make a decision on how this case should move forward. There's no set date on exactly when he will make that decision.How Trump’s bet on voters electing him managed to silence some of his legal woes

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Hopes for a Santa Claus rally on Wall Street fell Friday as tech stocks slid lower, while a weaker yen lifted Japanese equities. US indices slid lower at the opening bell, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite losing two percent during morning trading. Shares in Tesla were down over three percent in late morning trading while those in AI chipmaker NVIDIA shed around two percent. Wall Street stocks have historically performed well around the year-end holidays in what is popularly known as a Santa Claus rally. A Christmas Eve jump in equities got the Santa rally off to a flying start and indices barely budged in Thursday trading. Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare also pointed to an increase in 10-year US Treasury bond yields to around 4.6 percent, which he noted is an increase of nearly 0.9 percentage points since the US Federal Reserve made its first interest rate cut in September. "The Fed doesn't hold sway over longer-dated maturities like it does over shorter-dated securities, so the bump in rates at the back end of the curve is being watched with an anxious eye as a possible harbinger of a pickup in inflation and/or the budget deficit," O'Hare said. Wall Street stocks took a knock earlier this month when the Fed indicated it would likely cut interest rates less than it had previously expected to. That was in part because of uncertainty tied to the stated intention of incoming president Donald Trump to raise tariffs, which could boost inflation that is already proving sticky. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index closed up nearly two percent, with the yen's recent weakness proving a boon for major exporters. The yen hit 158.08 per US dollar on Thursday evening -- its lowest in almost six months -- following comments made by Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda that failed to give a clear signal on a possible interest rate increase next month. Recent data has showed Japan's inflation rose for a second month in December, while industrial production declined less than expected in November and retail sales came in higher than estimated last month. Japan's government also on Friday approved a record budget for the next fiscal year, ramping up spending on social welfare for its ageing population and on defence to tackle regional threats. In Seoul, the stock market closed down one percent after the won plunged to a nearly 16-year low of 1,487.03 against the dollar on Friday morning. South Korea is struggling to emerge from political turbulence in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration this month, which prompted his impeachment. Acting President Han Duck-soo was also impeached Friday in a vote that prompted governing party lawmakers to protest with angry chants and raised fists. South Korea's business outlook for January fell in the Bank of Korea's composite sentiment index, the biggest month-on-month slide since April 2020, according to data based on almost 3,300 firms released Friday. In Europe, Frankfurt's DAX index rose after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolved parliament on Friday and confirmed the expected date for the early general election, emphasising the need for "political stability" in Europe's largest economy. New York - Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent at 42,987.31 New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.2 percent at 5,967.31 New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.7 percent at 19,676.01 London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,149.78 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 7,355.37 (close) Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 19,984.32 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.8 percent at 40,281.16 points (close) Seoul - Kospi: DOWN 1.0 percent at 2,404.77 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 20,116.93 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,400.14 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0431 from $1.0424 on Thursday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2589 from $1.2526 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.53 yen from 158.00 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.85 pence from 83.19 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.2 percent at $70.42 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.1 percent at $73.62 per barrel burs-rl/rlpPresident-elect Donald Trump has tapped several Californians — including former San Joaquin Valley congressman Devin Nunes — for posts in his next administration. Nunes, a Republican and former dairy farmer from Tulare, resigned his House seat after nearly two decades in 2022 to become chief executive of Trump Media & Technology Group, which is the parent company of the president-elect's Truth Social platform. On Saturday, Trump announced on the platform that he had selected Nunes to serve as chairman of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board. The board "exists exclusively to provide the President with an independent source of advice" on intelligence matters, and "has access to all information necessary to perform its functions," according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Its members do not require Senate confirmation. Trump wrote that Nunes would use his experience as former chair of the House Intelligence Committee "and his key role in exposing the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax" to provide Trump with "independent assessments of the effectiveness and propriety" of actions taken by the U.S. intelligence agencies. Nunes was a staunch ally of Trump throughout the House's investigation into ties between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia, which Nunes helped lead given his intelligence committee post. He dismissed various connections between Trump campaign officials and Russian assets even as now-Sen. Adam B. Schiff — a Democrat from California on the intelligence committee — alleged Trump's team had colluded with the Russians and the Justice Department pursued its own investigation. Trump said Nunes would maintain his CEO position with Trump Media. Trump has also nominated other Trump Media officials to prominent posts in his administration — including pro wrestling mogul Linda McMahon, his pick for Education secretary, and Kash Patel, his pick for FBI director. Patel is a former staffer on the House Intelligence Committee under Nunes, and a fellow Trump loyalist. Nunes wrote on Truth Social that he was "looking forward to serving our great nation again" under Trump. On Fox News, Nunes sang Patel's praises and said they would work together — with Trump's other justice and intelligence nominees — to "restore integrity back into" the system. "It's critical to do what the president wants to do, what he promised the American people, (which) is to get these agencies focused on going after bad guys and keeping Americans safe," Nunes said. Trump also on Saturday named Richard "Ric" Grenell, another loyalist from California, as his "envoy for special missions" — a role that does not currently exist. Grenell, who during Trump's first term served as acting director of national intelligence and as ambassador to Germany, previously worked at the United Nations Security Council. Trump said Grenell "will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea," and "will continue to fight for Peace through Strength, and always put AMERICA FIRST." Grenell called working under Trump "an honor of a lifetime" in a post on X. "President Trump is a problem solver who keeps Americans safe and prosperous," he wrote. "We have so much to do. Let's get to work." Grenell is a firebrand known for his caustic attacks on social media. He was heavily criticized by German officials while ambassador — one called him "a biased propaganda machine" — and his appointment as acting national intelligence director during Trump's first term was met with scorn from Democrats, who said he lacked the intelligence experience necessary for the post. Grenell, who has a home in Palm Springs and previously taught at the USC Annenberg School of Communication, has also drawn both support and derision from California lawmakers. Grenell, who is gay, has been flagged as anti-LGBTQ+ by queer rights groups for railing against transgender youth rights and the Equality Act. When California Republicans honored Grenell on the California Senate floor in the name of Pride Month in 2023, several Democrats walked off the floor in protest — including gay state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who called Grenell "a guy who is truly a self-hating gay man, who takes tons of anti-LGBTQ positions." Trump on Saturday also nominated former Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar to serve as deputy secretary of Homeland Security. Edgar, an IBM executive, previously served in Trump's first term as chief financial officer and as associate deputy undersecretary of management for Homeland Security. In a Truth Social post announcing his selection, Trump credited Edgar with helping to lead a "revolt" against sanctuary cities as mayor of Los Alamitos, a tiny Orange County city. "I am very excited to have Troy on our team, as he will help us Make America Great Again!" Trump wrote. The California Values Act, which took effect Jan. 1, 2018, restricts local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration officials in many cases. Edgar and other Los Alamitos officials approved an ordinance that tried to exempt the city from the state law — galvanizing support from other conservative officials in the state and drawing the attention of Trump, who invited Edgar to the White House. The Trump administration sued to block the California law, but the Supreme Court rejected the challenge in 2020, leaving the law intact. _____ ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.How Trump’s bet on voters electing him managed to silence some of his legal woes