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All-star Scottie Barnes returns to Raptors lineup vs. Timberwolves

Percentages: FG .303, FT .643. 3-Point Goals: 1-12, .083 (T.Johnson 1-5, Corrigan 0-1, Crews 0-1, Joppy 0-1, Newman 0-1, Bratcher 0-3). Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 2 (Corrigan, T.Johnson). Turnovers: 7 (Bratcher 2, Corrigan 2, T.Johnson 2, Newman). Steals: 6 (Bratcher 2, Corrigan, Joppy, Newman, T.Johnson). Technical Fouls: None. Percentages: FG .514, FT .737. 3-Point Goals: 15-38, .395 (Atwell 5-10, Giles 4-9, Polite 2-5, Bailey 1-2, Ahemed 1-3, Davis 1-4, Saizonou 1-4, Reath 0-1). Team Rebounds: 4. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 6 (Davis 2, Reath 2, Giles, Kauzonas). Turnovers: 6 (Breath 2, Ahemed, Henry, Polite, Webb). Steals: 3 (Breath 2, Atwell). Technical Fouls: None. A_462 (23,500).The U.S. defense budget is approaching $1 trillion. , who have a history of overcharging the Pentagon and fleecing American taxpayers. Raytheon recently agreed to pay investigations concerning defective pricing, foreign bribery and export control schemes. The public is tired of this waste and abuse. I want the U.S. to have the greatest military in the world and the resources to counter increasingly sophisticated threats from our adversaries, but we need a more sensible approach. That is why I have been the only member on . And that is why I look forward to working with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reduce waste and fraud at the Pentagon, while strongly opposing any cuts to programs like Social Security, Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. There are several areas of waste and abuse that I hope DOGE will address. As a starter, consolidation in the defense industry has allowed companies to drive up prices. When I was a freshman member of Congress, I led an investigation on the House Oversight Committee into the defense contractor TransDigm, which through mergers had acquired exclusive rights to sole-source aircraft parts. A report from the Defense Department’s inspector general revealed the company had exploited the American people by overcharging over 4,000 percent on those sole-source parts. In the end, TransDigm returned . Equally outrageous, found that the price of stinger missiles has increased from . One reason is that and can drive up costs. Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jet, which DOGE co-chair Elon Musk has rightly criticized, is another example of how a lack of competition has resulted in waste and zero incentive to innovate. The F-35 jet is perpetually and over budget. The lifetime cost to maintain them will be over . We should make defense contracting more competitive, helping small and medium-sized businesses to compete for Defense Department projects. We can do this by reducing massive sole-source contracts that only specific large companies can fulfill, breaking up major acquisitions into smaller programs, and improving funding and administrative support to help companies cross the “valley of death” between research and product commercialization. Our biggest program overruns, like the F-35 jet, are what’s known as “cost-plus contracts.” These make taxpayers shoulder the risk of increasing development costs, and take away contractors’ motivations to reduce costs. We must ensure better risk-sharing with contractors and provide incentives for them to reduce program costs. For example, we should award more contracts to vendors who invest in their industrial base and can rapidly respond to the military’s requirements, instead of engaging in stock buybacks. The Defense Department also needs better acquisition oversight. Defense contractors have gotten away with overcharging the Pentagon and ripping off taxpayers for too long. A revealed that the Air Force overpaid Boeing for the C-17 Cargo Aircraft. The most egregious purchase was . This happened because the Air Force failed to effectively monitor the prices that Boeing, the contractor, provided. One ingredient for effective price monitoring is better communication across the federal government to ensure the Pentagon isn’t paying more than any other department. The Defense Health Agency overpaid by , spending as much as . The department’s acquisition processes lacks sufficient controls for defense contractors who can get away with overcharging the government. We have a phenomenal workforce, but they must be paired with state-of-the-art systems and policies to ensure contracts only go to qualified contractors with reasonable prices. Industry obviously cannot be trusted to provide fair pricing and contract negotiations. DOGE should provide recommendations for systems to better manage government spending and acquisition. If the Defense Department had checked all the prices that Boeing provided during the contract negotiations and appropriately monitored price increases throughout the project, they could have prevented this waste. Another area where we can work with DOGE is reducing the billions being spent to maintain excess military property and facilities domestically and abroad. There are that cost taxpayers . Previous rounds of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) annually. A new round, focused internationally, could simultaneously save billions and improve national security. Finally, DOGE can also cut the Nuclear-Armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile program. report estimated that the missile and its warhead cost at least . Though the Navy , Congress has continued funding it. American taxpayers want and deserve the best return on their investment. Let’s put politics aside and work with DOGE to reduce wasteful defense spending. And let’s invest instead in domestic manufacturing, good-paying jobs and a modern national security strategy.by Vijaya Chandrasoma The traditions of the Presidential elections in the United States are different in a few significant ways from the elections to the Heads of State in other countries, based as they are on a constitution framed and ratified in the latter part of the 18th century. The USA elects its new president on the first Tuesday of November once every four years. But on the following Wednesday, or soon after his electoral victory is confirmed, he is just the President-elect, an ordinary citizen, with none of the powers of the Commander-in-Chief. All presidential power continues to reside with the defeated, incumbent President, until his official presidential term is over, when the transition of power takes place with the inauguration of the President-elect on January 20 of the following year, a full 11 weeks after the election. Traditionally, the defeated and outgoing president is called a Lame Duck, a president “whose successor has already been selected, leaving him politically weakened”. To emphasize, weakened traditionally, though still carrying the full powers of the Commander-in-Chief. The framers certainly did not predict that the good people of the USA would ever elect a president like Donald Trump, who not only defied all oaths taken to uphold the constitution during his first presidential term. He actually used his “Lame Duck” presidential powers in an attempt to overthrow a legally elected government and to violently prevent the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election. Four years later, the good people of the USA, in a recurrence of white-blindness combined with a severe case of amnesia, have re-elected the same convicted felon for another four years – to complete the job he started on that fateful day in 2015, when he climbed down that golden escalator in Trump Tower with the promise to Make America White Again. This time, however, eight years older at age 78, he is definitely behaving more like a weakened Lame Duck President. His mind, never blessed with an IQ much higher than that of a moron, is evidently unhinged, on the slippery slope to dementia. His absolute dominance of his Republican cult also seems to be waning. His decisions are being questioned for the lunacy they clearly represent by a few of the more principled members of his party, who appear, amazingly, no longer threatened by the loss of their careers if they don’t toe the Trump line. Even his leadership is being overtly challenged by the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, whose finances were largely responsible for his re-election. One of the main functions of the President-elect during the transition period is to submit, for Senate approval, nominations for members of his future cabinet. Seemingly a mere formality, as the Republican Party will have a 53/47 majority in the new Senate to be sworn in on January 3, 2025. However, some of the nominations submitted for the key positions in the cabinet seem destined for rejection even by the lick-spittle Senate. One, Trump’s nomination for Attorney-General, former Congressman Matt Gaetz, which also had the unqualified supporter of his “Co-President”, Elon Musk and his Vice-President-elect, JD Vance, has already bitten the dust. Gaetz was forced to withdraw his candidacy in the swirl of criminal allegations of illegal drug use and trafficking, statutory rape of a 17-year-old girl and sex trafficking. A recent report released by the Ethics Committee of the House gives detailed evidence of these crimes. The report was released to the public despite objections by Trump, Musk and the most pious Speaker Johnson, showing some defiance by Republican congressmen – not that difficult to predict, as Gaetz is mightily despised on a bipartisan basis in the House. Rather like Ted Cruz in the Senate. Of course, there is a valid argument that even a criminal like Gaetz is eminently qualified to act as the chief law enforcement officer of the land in an administration headed by a felon convicted of many more felonies, 91 to be exact. In fact, such criminal behavior may actually be deemed to be a qualification in that sort of an administration. I have already written about the other dangerous and totally unqualified Trump nominations for key positions in his Cabinet. Vital appointments which include: Defense Secretary – Pete Hegseth, alcoholic Fox news presenter and sexual predator, guilty of financial mismanagement in non-profit Veterans organizations; Attorney-General – Pam Bondi, nominated after the withdrawal of Matt Gaetz; Bondi, a long-time Trump loyalist, famously dropped the case of fraud against Trump University in her capacity as Attorney General of Florida, after receipt of a bribe of $25,000 from the Trump Organization; Secretary, Health and Human Services – Robert F. Kennedy Jr, anti-vaxxer and health nut, whose brain was eaten by a worm in 2008 – the worm was said to have died of starvation; Kennedy has vowed to Make America Healthy Again by taking FDA approval away from all vaccinations, including polio and measles, and removing fluoride from drinking water; Director of National Intelligence – Tulsi Gabbard, Russian asset – if appointed, American allies will be requested to cut the red tape and send all top-secret information direct to Putin; Secretary, Homeland Security – Kristi Noem, self-confessed puppy killer, who will keep the southern border personally secure from dangerous puppies and goats; Education Secretary – Linda McMahon, ex pro-wrestler, who has promised to add another R – ‘Restlin’ – to America’s three traditional educational goals of three Rs – Readin’, ‘Ritin’ and ‘Rithmetic; Head of Medicare and Medicaid Services, with a budget of over $1 trillion – Dr. Mehmet Oz, who has won nine Daytime Emmy Awards for a medical show he uses to promote magic weight-loss coffee beans and other types of snake-oils to ward off Parkinson’s etc.; FBI Director, to replace current Director Christopher Wray, who resigned last week three years before the end of his tenure, in anticipation of being summarily fired by Trump – Kash Patel, Trump’s Retribution Czar, who has vowed to come after all Trump’s opponents, political, media, leftists and other enemies in the deep recesses of his Fuhrer’s hallucinations; Border Czar – Tom Homan, who will be in charge of implementing Trump’s “Greatest Mass Deportation Program in history”, family separations, concentration camps and all; Surgeon General – Dr. Jeanette Nesheiwat, Fox News medical contributor, who runs a chain of urgent care clinics, and like her aforementioned cabinet colleague, Dr Oz, is also a snake-oils saleslady, peddling pills for weight loss and anti-aging supplements on her Fox medical shows. There are more, but these are perhaps the most spectacularly unqualified nominations for Trump’s cabinet, which seemed certain to be confirmed by the Republican majority Senate, when Trump was elected in November. However, recent developments indicate that some Republican members are beginning to locate the whereabouts of their spines and testicles. And a few especially horrendous and dangerous nominations – Hegseth, Gabbard, Kennedy, Patel to name just four – may actually fail to get the necessary Senate confirmations. Both Elon Musk and Trump have threatened any such dissenting Republican Senators and Congressmen that they will be primaried at the next election, which would mean the end of their political careers. In spite of such threats, some of these Republicans are showing signs of defiance. Perhaps the hitherto iron grip Trump and the MAGA (Make America Great Again) cult had on the Republican Party is weakening? One such development was the recent death blow dealt by both Musk and Trump on the bipartisan congressional budget bill, negotiated with the Democrats by Speaker Johnson. This episode highlighted the growing political influence of Elon Musk, who first urged the cancellation of the bill with a volley of tweets, followed only two hours later by Trump. In fact, Musk took credit for the scuttling of the bill when he tweeted: “The voice of the people was heard. This was a great day for America”. Actually, it wasn’t. The result of the budget bill failing meant that the government faced a shutdown the Friday before Christmas, when millions of Americans would have faced a bleak, paycheck-free Christmas. Fortunately, much to the chagrin of the Co-Presidents, a compromise was found. Within hours of the deadline, a bipartisan short-term spending bill to fund the government till March 14, was signed by President Biden, with overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers. The last-minute chaos caused by the intervention of Co-Presidents Musk and Trump, who wanted the debt ceiling removed as an integral factor in the bill, was averted. Trump wanted the debt ceiling removed during the Biden administration to accommodate his multi-trillion dollar plans for a tax cut for the super wealthy and to fund his Mass Deportation Program. The 34 Republican members who thwarted Trump’s plans by voting against the removal of the debt ceiling have incurred the ire of the Co-Presidents, who have already threatened them with certain loss of their congressional seats at the next midterms. At least, there is hope that our “Dictator for a Day” may not have his own way once he becomes, in his eyes, “The King of all he Surveys” on January 20, 2025. Trump talks little about the main issues on which he won the election, when he promised to reduce inflation and prices on the day he was inaugurated. In fact, he has claimed that the economy is already the strongest in the world, inflation and prices are already coming down. He attributes these successes solely to the confidence caused by his re-election and the inevitability of the future greatness of the United States of America, now that he is, once again, at the helm. The economic policies of the Biden administration over the past few years to rescue the near-recession left by him in 2021 had, according to Trump, nothing to do with this recovery. Trump has decided that there are other matters that need his immediate attention and action. He has once again renewed his call to purchase Greenland from Denmark, stating “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity”. Greenland, the world’s largest island with a population of 56,000, is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom Denmark, a sovereign state within NATO. Denmark has no intention of “selling” Greenland. He intends to “retake the control of the Panama Canal if something isn’t done to ease rising shipping costs, and curb China’s rising influence in the region”, which he considers America’s backyard. He posted a picture of the United States flag with the caption: “Welcome to the United States Canal”. He suggests that Canada becomes the 51st state of the United States of America, and referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “Governor of the Great State of Canada”. Not a word about the wars raging in Ukraine and the Gaza, which he said he would settle before Inauguration Day. Trump’s territorially aggressive bluster is typically symbolic, delusions of grandeur to provide distraction to the fact that the Republican Party has no new plans for the control of inflation, high prices, income and wealth inequality, abortion, gun violence and other problems that plague the nation. Trump will merely take credit for the gradual improvements brought about by the legislative and economic policies of the Biden administration. And carry on with his stated policies of spending trillions of dollars in tax cuts to benefit the super wealthy, to cozy up to the nation’s adversaries and to steal the country blind to make himself the richest man in the world, second to none. Not even Musk and Putin. I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful holiday season and wish you the very best for many happy, healthy years ahead. In spite of Trump.

UP, Manipur Govts Sign Mou For 'Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat' Programme

Pakistan developing missiles that eventually could hit US, says White House officialThe Bears look for an interim coach bump when they visit the struggling 49ersWASHINGTON — The House shut down Democrats' efforts Thursday to release the long-awaited ethics report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, pushing the fate of any resolution to the yearslong investigation of sexual misconduct allegations into further uncertainty. Matt Gaetz talks before President-elect Donald Trump speaks during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate Nov. 14 in Palm Beach, Fla. The nearly party-line votes came after Democrats had been pressing for the findings to be published even though the Florida Republican left Congress and withdrew as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., was the sole Republican to support the effort. Most Republicans have argued that any congressional probe into Gaetz ended when he resigned from the House. Speaker Mike Johnson also requested that the committee not publish its report, saying it would be a terrible precedent to set. While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, it is extremely rare. Shortly before the votes took place, Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., who introduced one of the bills to force the release, said that if Republicans reject the release, they will have “succeeded in sweeping credible allegations of sexual misconduct under the rug.” Gaetz has repeatedly denied the claims. Earlier Thursday, the Ethics panel met to discuss the Gaetz report but made no decision, saying in a short statement that the matter is still being discussed. It's unclear now whether the document will ever see the light of day as lawmakers have only a few weeks left before a new session of Congress begins. It's the culmination of weeks of pressure on the Ethics committee's five Republicans and five Democrats who mostly work in secret as they investigate allegations of misconduct against lawmakers. The status of the Gaetz investigation became an open question last month when he abruptly resigned from Congress after Trump's announcement that he wanted his ally in the Cabinet. It is standard practice for the committee to end investigations when members of Congress depart, but the circumstances surrounding Gaetz were unusual, given his potential role in the new administration. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., the committee chairman, said Wednesday that there is no longer the same urgency to release the report given that Gaetz has left Congress and stepped aside as Trump's choice to head the Justice Department. “I’ve been steadfast about that. He’s no longer a member. He is no longer going to be confirmed by the Senate because he withdrew his nomination to be the attorney general,” Guest said. The Gaetz report has also caused tensions between lawmakers on the bipartisan committee. Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild, the top Democrat on the panel, publicly admonished Guest last month for mischaracterizing a previous meeting to the press. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and said last year that the Justice Department’s separate investigation against him into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls ended without federal charges. His onetime political ally Joel Greenberg, a fellow Republican who served as the tax collector in Florida’s Seminole County, admitted as part of a plea deal with prosecutors in 2021 that he paid women and an underage girl to have sex with him and other men. The men were not identified in court documents when he pleaded guilty. Greenberg was sentenced in late 2022 to 11 years in prison. Among President-elect Donald Trump's picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, former Democratic House member Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration's top diplomat. Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement. The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations. Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year. Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration. She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him. Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog, to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda. Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic. She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race. Burgum was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day. In comments to reporters before Trump took the stage, Burgum said that, in recent years, the power grid is deteriorating in many parts of the country, which he said could raise national security concerns but also drive up prices enough to increase inflation. “There's just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, and then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign. The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction. He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending. “This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then. Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment. Scott Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.” Sean Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children. A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Write is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States. Wright also won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term. President-elect Donald Trump tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump promised to dismantle. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Brooke Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency. The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Trump chose Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary, a position in which he'd have a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs. Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social. Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration. The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial. Doug Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was acquitted by the Senate. Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. "We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need," Trump said in a statement about nominating Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Karoline Leavitt, 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps. Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, was a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term before she became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump to be director of national intelligence, keeping with the trend to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities rather than veteran professionals in their requisite fields. Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party's 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump said in a statement. Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions. Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” Kash Patel spent several years as a Justice Department prosecutor before catching the Trump administration’s attention as a staffer on Capitol Hill who helped investigate the Russia probe. Patel called for dramatically reducing the agency’s footprint, a perspective that sets him apart from earlier directors who sought additional resources for the bureau. Though the Justice Department in 2021 halted the practice of secretly seizing reporters’ phone records during leak investigations, Patel said he intends to aggressively hunt down government officials who leak information to reporters. Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency . Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X , “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added. During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration. In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” Trump has named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband. Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission. Carr made past appearances on “Fox News Channel," including when he decried Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' pre-Election Day appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” He wrote an op-ed last month defending a satellite company owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk. Trump said Atkins, the CEO of Patomak Partners and a former SEC commissioner, was a “proven leader for common sense regulations.” In the years since leaving the SEC, Atkins has made the case against too much market regulation. “He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The commission oversees U.S. securities markets and investments and is currently led by Gary Gensler, who has been leading the U.S. government’s crackdown on the crypto industry. Gensler, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, announced last month that he would be stepping down from his post on the day that Trump is inaugurated — Jan. 20, 2025. Atkins began his career as a lawyer and has a long history working in the financial markets sector, both in government and private practice. In the 1990s, he worked on the staffs of two former SEC chairmen, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt. Jared Isaacman, 41, is a tech billionaire who bought a series of spaceflights from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and conducted the first private spacewalk . He is the founder and CEO of a card-processing company and has collaborated closely with Musk ever since buying his first chartered SpaceX flight. He took contest winners on that 2021 trip and followed it in September with a mission where he briefly popped out the hatch to test SpaceX’s new spacewalking suits. Rep. Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment. Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah. President-elect Donald Trump says he's chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO. Trump has expressed skepticism about the Western military alliance for years. Trump said in a statement Wednesday that Whitaker is “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.” The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is as a lawyer and not in foreign policy. Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as National Security Advisor to Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence. For the America First Policy Institute, one of several groups formed after Trump left office to help lay the groundwork for the next Republican administration, Kellogg in April wrote that “bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday. The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security. Thomas Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Former Rep. Billy Long represented Missouri in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2023. Since leaving Congress, Trump said, Long “has worked as a Business and Tax advisor, helping Small Businesses navigate the complexities of complying with the IRS Rules and Regulations.” Former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler was appointed in January 2020 by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and then lost a runoff election a year later. She started a conservative voter registration organization and dived into GOP fundraising, becoming one of the top individual donors and bundlers to Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign. Even before nominating her for agriculture secretary, the president-elect already had tapped Loeffler as co-chair of his inaugural committee. Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office. Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate. Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Russell Vought held the position during Trump’s first presidency. After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. James Blair, deputy chief of staff Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Taylor Budowich, deputy chief of staff Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. Jay Bhattacharya, National Institutes of Health Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya is a physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, and is a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He promoted the idea of herd immunity during the pandemic, arguing that people at low risk should live normally while building up immunity to COVID-19 through infection. The National Institutes of Health funds medical research through competitive grants to researchers at institutions throughout the nation. NIH also conducts its own research with thousands of scientists working at its labs in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Marty Makary, Food and Drug Administration Makary is a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against pandemic lockdowns. He routinely appeared on Fox News during the COVID-19 pandemic and wrote opinion articles questioning masks for children. He cast doubt on vaccine mandates but supported vaccines generally. Makary also cast doubt on whether booster shots worked, which was against federal recommendations on the vaccine. Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Surgeon General Nesheiwat is a general practitioner who serves as medical director for CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. She has been a contributor to Fox News. Dr. Dave Weldon, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Weldon is a former Florida congressman who recently ran for a Florida state legislative seat and lost; Trump backed Weldon’s opponent. In Congress, Weldon weighed in on one of the nation’s most heated debates of the 1990s over quality of life and a right-to-die and whether Terri Schiavo, who was in a persistent vegetative state after cardiac arrest, should have been allowed to have her feeding tube removed. He sided with the parents who did not want it removed. Jamieson Greer, U.S. trade representative Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council Trump is turning to two officials with experience navigating not only Washington but the key issues of income taxes and tariffs as he fills out his economic team. He announced he has chosen international trade attorney Jamieson Greer to be his U.S. trade representative and Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council. While Trump has in several cases nominated outsiders to key posts, these picks reflect a recognition that his reputation will likely hinge on restoring the public’s confidence in the economy. Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.” Hassett, 62, served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

MILWAUKEE , Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual today announced the appointment of Dave Gordon to executive vice president and chief digital and information officer. In his role, Gordon will be accountable for technology and digital strategy, with oversight of the company's AI capabilities, software engineering, data engineering, enterprise architecture, technology infrastructure, and information risk and cybersecurity. He also has responsibilities for the company's digital products and foundational tech capabilities. Gordon will report to Northwestern Mutual President and incoming CEO Tim Gerend and join the company's senior leadership team. "Dave's deep technology experience, collaborative style and track record of success make him well-positioned to lead Northwestern Mutual's overarching tech and digital strategy," said Tim Gerend , president, Northwestern Mutual. "His leadership across a strong team of technology disciplines will ensure that we continue to enhance the relevance and improve the experience of working with Northwestern Mutual." Gordon previously served as vice president and chief technology officer with responsibilities for the software development of the company's customer experience, digitally enabled products and corporate solutions, since joining Northwestern Mutual in 2023. Prior to Northwestern Mutual, Gordon served as chief technology and data officer with USAA Federal Savings Bank, U.S. chief technology and operations officer with BMO Harris Bank, and credit card divisional CIO and head of IT operations with Capital One. He holds an MBA from the University of Richmond and a bachelor's degree in computer science from Indiana University . Gordon succeeds Christian Mitchell , who recently stepped down from his role as executive vice president and chief digital and information officer to pursue new opportunities. "I'm thankful for Christian's leadership that spanned nearly two decades at Northwestern Mutual," said Gerend. "He's had a meaningful impact on our employees, financial advisors and clients throughout his tenure and has set us up successfully for the future." About Northwestern Mutual Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 165 years. Through a comprehensive planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With over $627 billion of total assets 1 being managed across the company's institutional portfolio as well as retail investment client portfolios, more than $36 billion in revenues, and $2.3 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than five million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. Northwestern Mutual ranked 110 on the 2024 FORTUNE 500 and was recognized by FORTUNE ® as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2024. Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (investment brokerage services), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company ® (NMWMC) (investment advisory and services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance). Not all Northwestern Mutual representatives are advisors. Only those representatives with "Advisor" in their title or who otherwise disclose their status as an advisor of NMWMC are credentialed as NMWMC representatives to provide investment advisory services. 1 Includes investments and separate account assets of Northwestern Mutual as well as retail investment client assets held or managed by Northwestern Mutual. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/northwestern-mutual-appoints-dave-gordon-to-chief-digital-and-information-officer-302336464.html SOURCE Northwestern MutualSouthfield, Michigan, Dec. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Credit Acceptance Corporation (Nasdaq: CACC) (referred to as the "Company”, "Credit Acceptance”, "we”, "our”, or "us”) announced today that we have increased the amount of Warehouse Facility V (the "Facility”), one of our revolving secured warehouse facilities, from $200.0 million to $250.0 million. We also extended the date on which the Facility will cease to revolve from December 29, 2025 to December 29, 2027. The maturity of the Facility was also extended from December 27, 2027 to December 27, 2029. The interest rate on borrowings under the Facility has decreased from the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR”) plus 245 basis points to SOFR plus 185 basis points. There were no other material changes to the Facility. As of December 5, 2024, we did not have a balance outstanding under the Facility. Description of Credit Acceptance Corporation We make vehicle ownership possible by providing innovative financing solutions that enable automobile dealers to sell vehicles to consumers regardless of their credit history. Our financing programs are offered through a nationwide network of automobile dealers who benefit from sales of vehicles to consumers who otherwise could not obtain financing; from repeat and referral sales generated by these same customers; and from sales to customers responding to advertisements for our financing programs, but who actually end up qualifying for traditional financing. Without our financing programs, consumers are often unable to purchase vehicles or they purchase unreliable ones. Further, as we report to the three national credit reporting agencies, an important ancillary benefit of our programs is that we provide consumers with an opportunity to improve their lives by improving their credit score and move on to more traditional sources of financing. Credit Acceptance is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol CACC. For more information, visit creditacceptance.com . CONTACT: Investor Relations: Douglas W. Busk Chief Treasury Officer (248) 353-2700 Ext. 4432 [email protected]Tesla’s Game-Changing Move! Entering the Gaming Universe?

Will Commence Trading on OTC Markets on Friday, December 20 Miami, FL, Dec. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blue Star Foods Corp., (“Blue Star,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us”) (NASDAQ: BSFC ) , an integrated Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) sustainable seafood company with a focus on Recirculatory Aquaculture Systems (RAS), today announced that it received formal notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC that its securities will be delisted from Nasdaq. The Company has decided not to appeal its delisting determination, which was based on the Company’s violation of Listing Rule 5550(a)(2), the “Minimum Bid Price Requirement” and will begin trading on OTC Markets on Friday, December 20. John Keeler, Chairman and CEO of Blue Star Foods, commented, “this by no means has any reflection on our operations, nothing has changed and we have returned to revenue growth and our current cash position is in a very good place.” Keeler, continued, “in deciding to not appeal the Nasdaq delisting notice, we realized some positives by listing in OTC Markets: Lowers our public company costs No immediate plans for reverse split as no longer needed to comply with Nasdaq listing standards We intend to apply to list our securities on the OTCQB as soon as practicable. About Blue Star Foods Corp. (NASDAQ: BSFC ) Blue Star Foods Corp. an integrated Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) sustainable seafood company with a focus on Recirculatory Aquaculture Systems (RAS) that processes, packages and sells high-value seafood products. The Company believes it utilizes best-in-class technology, in both resource sustainability management and traceability, and ecological packaging. The Company also owns and operates the oldest continuously operating Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) full grow-out salmon farm in North America. The company is based in Miami, Florida, and its corporate website is: https://bluestarfoods.com Forward-Looking Statements: The foregoing material may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts, including without limitation statements regarding the Company’s product development and business prospects, and can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “project,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “should,” “continue” or the negative versions of those words or other comparable words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future actions or performance. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and its current plans or expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect current plans. Risks concerning the Company’s business are described in detail in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and other periodic and current reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investor Contacts: investors@bluestarfoods.comSANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Once-promising seasons hit new lows for the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers last week. Another late-game meltdown sent the Bears to their sixth straight loss and led to the firing of coach Matt Eberflus. The 49ers suffered their second straight blowout loss and more crushing injuries to go from Super Bowl contenders to outside the playoff picture in a matter of weeks. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.