88 jili casino Colorado is gearing up for the rugged Big 12 schedule, but first the Buffaloes wrap up their nonconference slate with two more games, starting Friday night when they host South Dakota State in Boulder, Colo. Colorado (7-2) has won two straight after competing in the Maui Invitational, most recently a 72-55 win over in-state rival Colorado State. Now the focus turns to South Dakota State and shoring up issues before conference play. "Defensively, we're understanding what our jobs are. Now, we're not where we need to be for sure," coach Tad Boyle said. "But we're making strides in that area. And I think the guys are getting used to playing with each other, understanding each other." The Buffaloes lost a lot of talent from last year's NCAA Tournament team but boast some quality players. Andrej Jakimovski (13.0 points per game), Julian Hammond III (12.3 ppg) and Elijah Moore (12.0 ppg) lead the team in scoring. Sophomore big man Bangot Dak has shown he can be a force after scoring a career-high 16 points in the win over Colorado State. The Jackrabbits (8-4) are coming off a 77-63 loss at Nevada on Wednesday night and complete a two-game trip in Boulder. South Dakota State is led by senior center Oscar Cluff, who tops the team in scoring (17.3 points) and rebounding (11.0) but had a subpar night against Nevada when he scored a season-low six points while battling an ankle injury. "I wish he was feeling a little better," coach Eric Henderson said of Cluff. "He's going to be fine, but he's still nursing that ankle a little bit." Freshman Joe Sayler is second on the team in scoring at 12.8 ppg and has reached double figures in each of the last three games. Sophomore Kalen Garry is third on the Jackrabbits in scoring at 9.6 per contest, an average that has been hurt by his last three games when he has averaged just 5.3 points. --Field Level MediaBajaj Fin aims to double productivity with AIUAE Government launches 'Unified UAE Numbers' Project

Biden pardons his son, then commutes single-day record 1,500 sentences. What's next?Person-to-person e-money transfers of $1.8 billion as at 30 June 2024, 87 per cent population with active mobile money accounts as at December 2023, percentage of adult population making or receiving digital payments other than mobile money in 2023 at 45.4 per cent, currency in circulation as at 31 July 2024 at $1.1billion and inward personal remittances increasing by 8.8 per cent to $1.2billion in the 2023-2024 financial year, an increase of 23.2 per cent from the previous are some of the key data presented in the Reserve Bank of Fiji August 2023-July 2024 annual report that was released this week. THE RBF Governor Ariff Ali states in the report the Fijian economy exhibited resilience in dealing with ongoing risks stemming from restrictive monetary policy in its trading partner economies and the escalation of inflationary pressures from both domestic and international factors. He said after registering a record-high growth of 19.8 per cent in 2022, followed by a 7.5 per cent expansion last year, the domestic economy growth is projected to grow for the third consecutive year in 2024. He adds this is at a slower pace, stating the positive economic activity is driven by a robust tourism sector, supported by an increase in Government expenditure and historically low rates in the financial sector. The commercial banking industry RBF reports prudential assessment of the commercial banking industry’s capital, earnings and liquidity positions were satisfactory, with asset quality indicators rated as marginal as of June 30 2024. RBF reports total assets of the commercial banks grew over the year by 5 per cent to $14.8billion as of 30 June 2024, underpinned by the increase in loans and advances by $974.9million, and balances due from banks by $109.6million. Commercial banks’ loans and advances continued with its growth momentum conducive to the Fijian economy’s recovery, increasing over 12 months by 11.8 per cent to $9.3billion, said the RBF. The majority of the commercial banks’ lending were to the private individuals’ sector at 27.6 per cent, followed by wholesale, retail, hotels and restaurants, and real estate sectors at 22.4 per cent and 19.8 per cent, respectively. The RBF states total deposits of the commercial banks’ rose by 7.4 per cent to $11.6billion over the 2023-2024 period, attributed to demand and time deposits which grew by $0.5billion and $0.3billion, respectively. Credit institutions The RBF reports performance indicators of the credit institutions industry were satisfactory for capital, earnings and liquidity positions, while asset quality was rated as poor. Credit institutions industry’s total assets grew annually by 4.3 per cent to $777.6million as at June 2024, mainly attributed to the $58.5million increase in loans and advances, while decreases were noted in balance due from banks by $35.5million and fixed assets by $10.7million. The RBF adds the growth in loans and advances to $561.9million was largely driven by the private individuals, professional and business services, and wholesale, retail, hotels and restaurants sectors. Credit institutions’ balance due from banks, on the other hand, reported a reduction of 21.3 per cent when compared to the same period in 2023, to $130.8million, said the RBF. Total deposits of the credit institutions increased by 7.1 per cent over 12 months, to $447.2million. Payment service providers The RBF states the uptake and usage of digital payment platforms in Fiji remains promising, driven by technology advancements and an increase in consumer demand for convenient, efficient and accessible financial solutions. The RBF added this is supported by the high volume of inward remittances. As of June 30 2024, the total value of electronic money (e-money) in circulation was reported at $94.8million (June 2023: $80.1m), with an average of $97.4million in circulation on a monthly basis during the 12-month period. RBF adds while the number of registered e-money accounts declined by 0.3 per cent to 945,390 in June 2024 compared to the same period last year, the number of active e-money users increased from 454,092 in June 2023 to 655,493. Person-to-person (P2P) transfers significantly increased by 56.1 per cent over the 12-month period, to $1.8billion as of June 30 2024. E-money platforms The RBF states the increase in the usage of e-money platforms indicate the general shift in behaviour of consumers towards digital financial services largely due to its convenience and accessibility. International inward remittances via e-money platforms stood at $551.2million as of June 30 2024, increasing by 36.6 per cent (or $147.8m) over the year, largely supported by the increase in the volume of inward remittances from Australia, the United States of America, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Total transactions acquired via payment service providers payment platforms increased by 151 per cent to $550.5million as of June 30 2024, said the RBF. The significant increase in the volume of acquired transactions indicate local businesses’ uptake of payment service providers payment platforms as a means for accepting payment transactions. The RBF states the Fijian Government’s regulated public transport fare payment system, e-Transport, continues to operate on Vodafone Fiji’s M-PAiSA platform. Aggregate value of top-up transactions for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2024 was reported at $292.4million, declining by 17.1 per cent from $352.6million worth of top-up transactions recorded in the same period last year. Currency in circulation The RBF states as of July 31 2024, total currency in circulation stood at just above $1billion. The value of notes in circulation increased by 4.4 per cent to $982.8million during the financial year, with the $5, $10 and $100 denominations being the highest circulated notes. The value of coins in circulation increased by 6.3 per cent to $78.9million during the financial year. The $2 and $1 coins registered a growth of 7.7 per cent to $23.8million and 7.4 per cent to $20.3million, respectively. The RBF states for the financial year ended July 31 2024, the value of currency issued to commercial banks was $1,118.4million, of which $1,112.4million was in notes and $6million in coins. The RBF adds the $100 and $50 notes issued continued to be the highest in value, driven by its increasing usage in automated teller machines. The $2 and $1 coins issued continued to be the highest in value, reflecting the shift in public demand from low to high-value coins.

The much-awaited Boxing Day sales of 2024 are already underway, with major retailers offering irresistible early deals. Traditionally a post-Christmas shopping frenzy, this year’s sales have started early, with big names like Amazon, Currys, and John Lewis unveiling discounts on a wide array of products. From electronics to fashion, home appliances to beauty products, shoppers can expect incredible bargains as retailers aim to capitalize on the holiday season rush. Why Shop Early for Boxing Day Sales 2024? In recent years, retailers have moved away from limiting sales to Boxing Day itself, opting instead to start their discounts early. This year is no exception. With prices slashed to match or even beat Black Friday deals, early Boxing Day sales are giving shoppers the chance to snag big savings without waiting until December 26. Popular categories like laptops, TVs, headphones, and home appliances are already seeing significant price cuts, making this the perfect time to shop for last-minute Christmas gifts or treat yourself to that long-awaited upgrade. Data Science SQL for Data Science along with Data Analytics and Data Visualization By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) ChatGPT Mastery from Zero to Hero: The Complete AI Course By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development 12-Factor App Methodology: Principles and Guidelines By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass By - CA Himanshu Jain, Ex McKinsey, Moody's, and PwC, Co - founder, The WallStreet School View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Collaborative AI Foundations: Working Smarter with Machines By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Java Programming with ChatGPT: Learn using Generative AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI-Powered Python Mastery with Tabnine: Boost Your Coding Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Intermediate C++ Skills: Master Pointers, Structures and File Stream By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Entrepreneurship Boosting Startup Revenue with 6 AI-Powered Sales Automation Techniques By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Office Productivity Advanced Excel Course - Financial Calculations & Excel Made Easy By - Anirudh Saraf, Founder- Saraf A & Associates, Chartered Accountant View Program Strategy Succession Planning Masterclass By - Nigel Penny, Global Strategy Advisor: NSP Strategy Facilitation Ltd. View Program Web Development Intermediate Java Mastery: Method, Collections, and Beyond By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Tally Prime & GST Accounting: Complete Guide By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Entrepreneurship Building Your Winning Startup Team: Key Strategies for Success By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Office Productivity Microsoft Word Mastery: From Beginner to Expert By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Web Development JavaScript Essentials: Unlock AI-Driven Insights with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Crypto & NFT Mastery: From Basics to Advanced By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Marketing Modern Marketing Masterclass by Seth Godin By - Seth Godin, Former dot com Business Executive and Best Selling Author View Program Finance Financial Literacy for Non-Finance Executives By - CA Raja, Chartered Accountant | Financial Management Educator | Former AVP - Credit, SBI View Program Web Development Maximizing Developer Productivity: The Pomodoro Technique in Practice By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Design Canva Magic Write: Ideas to Stunning Slides in No Time By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Entrepreneurship Marketing & Sales Strategies for Startups: From Concept to Conversion By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Web Development Advanced C++ Mastery: OOPs and Template Techniques By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Top Retailers Offering Early Boxing Day Deals Here’s a roundup of the best early deals from some of the most popular retailers, as mentioned in a report by Tech Radar: Amazon: Massive discounts across all categories, from electronics to home essentials and last-minute Christmas gifts. Currys: Up to 30% off laptops, TVs, and headphones, with deals on trusted brands. John Lewis: Premium discounts on fashion, home decor, and tech, with their renowned price-matching guarantee. Boots: Beauty products, fragrances, and baby essentials are available at attractive prices. Dell and HP: Special offers on laptops, desktops, and accessories for tech enthusiasts. Samsung: Price drops on smartphones, TVs, and kitchen appliances. Furniture Village: Discounts on decor, furnishings, and premium furniture pieces. Other notable participants include JD Sports, New Look, and Urban Outfitters, offering up to 80% off clothing and accessories. Tech Deals to Watch Out For Electronics remain a favorite category during Boxing Day sales, and early deals in 2024 don’t disappoint. Currys and Laptops Direct have slashed prices on popular laptop models, while Jessops offers enticing discounts on cameras and drones. Gaming enthusiasts can explore CDKeys for Christmas sale deals on games, while Ebuyer and Scan cater to PC builders with reduced prices on computing components, as per the Tech Radar report. Fashion and Lifestyle Deals Fashion retailers like H&M, Boohoo, and Next are offering up to 80% off on clothing, with a wide range of options for men, women, and kids. Beauty enthusiasts can turn to Lush and Boots for skincare, bath products, and luxury fragrances at discounted prices. FAQs What are the dates for Boxing Day sales? Boxing Day, observed annually on December 26th, is one of Australia’s biggest shopping events of the year. Originally rooted in the UK as a day for employers to give gifts to their staff, it has since evolved into a major occasion for securing incredible discounts and deals. How long does the Boxing Day sale last? Boxing Day sales usually run from December 26th until supplies are depleted, giving you ample opportunity to secure an end-of-year bargain. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )Wall Street bulls mounted a valiant effort and pushed the stock market sharply Friday on a double dose of encouraging news. But the rally was not enough to overcome Wednesday's Fed-driven plunge. The S&P 500 dropped for the second straight week, losing 2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average made it three down weeks in a row, with a loss of more than 2.2%. The Nasdaq posted a 1.8% weekly decline, breaking a four-week winning streak. Looking under the hood of the S&P 500, all sectors closed lower for the week, despite Friday's rally. Energy was the worst-performing sector followed by real estate and materials. Investors got several important updates this week that influenced markets — the most consequential being the Fed's 25-basis-point interest rate cut at the conclusion of its December two-day meeting on Wednesday afternoon. While the move was largely expected, the market took issue with the monetary policy committee's more hawkish outlook on rate cuts in 2025. The so-called dot plot, which illustrates central bankers' future rate expectations, pointed to a committee consensus that it will be appropriate to reduce rates only twice next year, half the number of moves indicated back in September. There is no denying that rate expectations are important, but we would caution Club members from allowing updates like this to weigh on investment decisions too heavily. While we now know who will sit in the White House come Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, and have since received more updates on inflation and the job market, nobody truly knows what 2025 will bring. There will be countless updates on inflation, rates, geopolitics, and more over the coming months, some of which we can see coming and some that will completely surprise us. The Fed, as it has been and as it should, will adjust its outlook accordingly. While we certainly don't want to fight the Fed, we also don't want to let every word out the mouth of a Fed official have us running to our brokerage account and making sweeping changes to our exposure. Rather, as long-term investors, we have the luxury of knowing that when the market might overreact to updates from the Fed or any other event, it can provide us with opportunities to buy shares in great companies with staying power. This is exactly what we did last week as the market got more and more oversold, according to our trusted S&P 500 Short Range Oscillator . In other words, keep focused on the fundamentals and use the volatility to your advantage. The other big update came Friday, with the cooler-than-expected personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's favorite inflation gauge. Headline November PCE showed a 2.4% increase versus the 2.5% gain expected. Core PCE, excluding volatile food and energy prices, rose 2.8% year over year versus the 2.9% increase expected. While still above the Fed's 2% target inflation rate, the PCE data was just what the oversold market needed, and it was off to the races, turning sharp premarket losses into a powerful Friday rally. Helping the market take another leg higher, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee told CNBC in a Friday interview that "rates come down a fair bit more" if the economic conditions over the last 18 months continue over the next 12 to 18 months. Goolsbee's comments soothed a nervous market following Wednesday's hawkish remarks from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell in his post-meeting news conference. Not to mention, if rates do remain higher for longer, that's not exactly a bad thing as it almost certainly means that the economy is still growing, and we would much rather be in a market contending with high rates because the economy is strong than a market benefiting from low rates because the economy is struggling to avoid a recession. In other economic news last week, November retail sales came in mixed, with the headline number outpacing expectations. The results, however, were short when stripping out automotive and gasoline sales. November's industrial production and capacity utilization were short versus expectations. The third and final read on third-quarter gross domestic product was better than estimates. On the release, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said the update GDP, measuring U.S. economic activity, "primarily reflected upward revisions to exports and consumer spending that were partly offset by a downward revision to private inventory investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, were revised up." November housing starts disappointed, but November existing home sales edged out expectations. Within the portfolio, no companies reported earnings, however, we did initiate a new position in Goldman Sachs while trimming and downgrading Morgan Stanley to a 3 rating . As noted in Thursday's trade alert , we started making the switch because Goldman Sachs' exposure to investment banking is much more significant than Morgan Stanley's exposure — and if capital markets activity accelerates over the next few years as many analysts expect, we'll want to be invested with the highest quality investment bank. We also opted to trim and downgrade our position in Advanced Micro Devices to our 3 rating. While initially thinking AMD would prove a winner as it provides alternatives to Club name Nvidia , what we're seeing now is that Nvidia is even more deeply entrenched than we thought and when companies do look for alternatives, they're more so focused on custom chip solutions, like those made by Broadcom and Marvell Technology , than they are on general GPU alternatives. While we like Broadcom for the long haul, we did trim and downgrade the stock after it went parabolic after strong earnings the prior week. Looking ahead, it will be a light week with the stock market closing at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday and closing all day on Wednesday for Christmas Day. That said, November new home sales are out Tuesday. Housing reports have been and will continue to be a key watch item for investors given that shelter cost inflation has proven extremely sticky and a key source of upward pressure on inflation, which is in turn keeping rates elevated. However, investors should take any positive update from Tuesday's report with a grain of salt. Mortgage rates rebounded following the Fed's rate announcement on Wednesday, and investors are going to be far more focused on figuring out what that means for home sales and affordability going forward than what's in this backward-looking release. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable TrusT.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested two people on Sunday, including a suspected human trafficker, for allegedly smuggling Pakistani nationals onto a migrant vessel, which capsized off the coast of Greece on December 14. At least five migrants drowned after their wooden boat, carrying many Pakistanis, capsized off Greece’s southern island of Gavdos, the coastguard said, with witnesses saying many were still missing as search operations continued. The number of Pakistanis killed in a Greek shipwreck rose to four on December 16, the Foreign Office said, additionally confirming that there were 47 Pakistani survivors . Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed authorities to take solid action against human trafficking and ordered the immediate implementation of the Integrated Border Management System (IBMS) to monitor international travellers. “The recurrence of such incidents is due to the sluggish actions against the people involved,” he added. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the FIA booked four alleged human traffickers and reportedly detained two suspects from Sialkot and Gujrat. According to an FIA press release issued today, FIA Director General Ahmed Ishaq Jahangir ordered a crackdown against elements involved in the Greece boat accident. The release stated that two suspects had been arrested and were identified as Saeed Ahmed and alleged human trafficker Mohammad Aslam. “The suspect (Aslam) is an operative of an international gang involved in human smuggling,” the FIA alleged in the press release. “The suspect extorted Rs8.5 million from the victims.” According to the release, Aslam allegedly sent people to Libya with the help of accomplices, before attempting to send them from Libya to Greece by boat. “The suspect was arrested from Gujranwala using modern technology,” the FIA said in the release. In a separate operation, another alleged trafficker was arrested in Gujrat, according to the FIA. This suspect would allegedly produce false travel documents in exchange for “large sums of money”, the agency said. Director of the FIA’s Gujranwala Zone Abdul Qadir Qamar said in the press release that the crackdown against those involved in the Greek shipwreck remains ongoing and that “all resources are being utilized to arrest the accused”. He added that if there is strong evidence, the accused will receive the death penalty.

Home | News | Opinion Trumps Looming Shadow On Multilateralism Opinion: Trump’s looming shadow on multilateralism Is multilateralism up for its biggest turbulence yet under Trump 2.0, or will his presidency eventually prove all sound and fury? By Telangana Today Published Date - 22 November 2024, 11:58 PM By Monish Tourangbam A flurry of multilateral summits, dealing with global governance, has dotted the international landscape recently, with political leaders and policymakers descending on different corners of the world. From the G20 grouping under Brazil’s presidency meeting in Rio De Janeiro to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru, the Conference of Parties (COP 29) gathering in Azerbaijan to the BRICS summit in Russia, multilateralism was in full display. However, an election somewhere else was the elephant in the room. The American electorate has decisively voted former incumbent Donald J Trump as the 47th President of the United States, and he is not a lover of multilateralism by any measure. The last time he was in the White House, he had pulled America out of the Paris Climate Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) economic grouping. The US returned to the Paris Climate Agreement through the Biden administration, and a successor to the TPP came in the form of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). However, Trump has promised to walk out of both once he officially takes over the presidency in January next year. So, is multilateralism up for its biggest turbulence yet under Trump 2.0 or will the Trump presidency eventually prove all sound and fury but of not much consequence for the future of multilateralism? Phantom in the Room The world is truly passing through a time of polycrisis, with wars in Europe and West Asia upending regional security orders, with consequent impact on a host of human-centric issues under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), further slipping away from policy bandwidths. The mounting imminence of fighting the climate challenge together and shifting to greener energy cuts across the future of multilateral economic and technology governance. It is natural for the outgoing Biden administration to fade from the scene as he attended the last of his global summits before handing over the keys to the White House to President-elect Trump soon. Leaders across the world, irrespective of allies or adversaries are anxious, curious and wary of what the incoming Trump team might hold for some of the most pressing issues of multilateral governance. Trump’s quid pro quo and transactional style of presidency is the hallmark of his ‘America First’ strategy and bilateral deals are dearer to him than multilateral platforms. He believes that the latter takes undue advantage of America. Transatlantic partners of America, in Europe, are more anxious than Asian partners given Trump’s earlier brush with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and his uncertain path to handling the Ukraine war. The forecast is overall positive for India, but it is no time to be complacent, and New Delhi needs to relook at the unintended consequences of Trump’s ‘America First’ Moreover, the nominees for some of the topmost positions in Trump’s cabinet are already raising eyebrows in the American beltway and across the world. Unlike his first term, when as a newbie in Washington, he had to depend on the Republican Party’s old guards to fill his cabinet, hard-core Trump loyalists,have rather risen to the forefront of American politics and foreign policy in 2024. Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan commented, “The incoming administration is not in the business of providing us assurances about anything, and they’ll make their own decisions as they go forward.” Future of Multilateralism Multilateral summits and groupings no longer function entirely at the whims and fancies of the United States. With or without Trump, the West-led post-World War II financial and security order was already under considerable pressure to reform and restructure to reflect the changing global power balance of the 21st century. Moreover, multilateralism works best when competition between the great powers of the international system is better managed and the strategic guardrails are acknowledged, allowing greater predictability in strategic behaviours. However, with the wars in Ukraine and West Asia having no clear sight of resolution and confrontations growing across the geopolitical hotspots in the continental and maritime Indo-Pacific, uncertainty is rather the overwhelming mood. Trump’s presidential style might see incentives for ‘America First’ in chaos and uncertainty but the prospects for effective multilateralism might suffer in the next four years. What transpires in the White House affects the political, security and economic landscape across the world, and so the question that begs an answer is: Will Trump’s disdain for multilateralism create a domino effect among world leaders? Amid the Trump turbulence, Beijing will jump to the opportunity and project itself as the new leader of free trade, as America’s friends and foes brace for a transactional Trump and his love for tariffs as the anti-dote to all of America’s economic challenges. Particularly since India’s G20 presidency, the Global South has emerged as a major reference point for the future of multilateralism, where the consequence of its successes or failures will be most acutely felt, specifically, on the commitments to SDGs. Wait and Watch How the incoming Trump administration looks at the Global South, and its alignment with US foreign policy objectives, particularly on development aid and assistance will have to be seen. The world is also witnessing a sharpening divide on emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), wherein multilateral commitments are at the most nascent stages. Will growing US-China competition over technological research & innovation, deployment, market access and national security create widening rifts? In this extremely complicated environment, where would trusted-technologies come from and how can a country aspire for self-reliance and prevent technological governance from falling prey to geopolitics? Trump 2.0 has not caused much discomfort in New Delhi, and there is a calm confidence that the India-US relationship grew in Trump’s first presidency. It will do so this time as well. The forecast is overall positive for India, but it is no time to be complacent. New Delhi needs to relook at the unintended consequences of Trump’s ‘America First’ that have a bearing on India’s own calculations of uninterrupted economic growth and regional security. In other words, India may not be in the direct firing line of Trump 2.0, but it needs to be prepared to dodge the stray bullets as well. (The author is Director at the Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies [KIIPS], New Delhi) Follow Us : Tags America First Biden administration foreign policy geopolitical tensions Related News Qatar suspends mediation efforts between Hamas, Israel Israel launches precision strikes on Iran Opinion: Netanyahu and US election Editorial: Strong message to China

ROYAL STARS | GEORGIA NICOLSFox News Politics: ‘Kids for Cash' Clemency Sparks Keystone ClamorMysterious googly eyes go viral after appearing on public art in Oregon

Two of Japan's biggest automakers, Honda and Nissan, have reportedly begun merger talks, according to a report in Japan's financial Nikkei Asia newspaper. The two Japanese-headquartered automakers are looking to join forces as a way to contend in an ever-challenging industry increasingly focused on electric vehicles, the newspaper reported . Both companies responded to a question about the report from USA TODAY with identical statements, which did not deny merger talks were underway. "The content of the report is not something that has been announced by either companies," the statements read. "As announced in March of this year, Honda and Nissan are exploring various possibilities for future collaboration, leveraging each other's strengths. If there are any updates, we will inform our stakeholders at the appropriate time." Honda and Nissan have recently increased ties to persist in an EV marketplace fueled by competition from Tesla and Chinese automakers – and stalling demand in the U.S. and Europe. Holiday deals: Shop this season’s top products and sales curated by our editors. The companies announced in August they were "deepening the framework of the strategic partnership" agreed on in March 2024 to collaborate on research and development – and investments – in new EVs and the software used by next-generation vehicles. "Going forward, Nissan and Honda will continue to study ways to create further synergies between the two companies and work toward the speedy implementation of specific measures," the companies said . Seat belt warnings: They will soon be required for rear seats: Here's what to know Honda and Nissan merger: 'Positioning' for the future The merger makes sense, according to Jessica Caldwell, head of insights for auto research and news company Edmunds. “A merger would be a long-term strategy, not a solution to any short-term challenges either company is facing. Both Nissan and Honda are positioning themselves for the future, which will be defined by electrification and autonomous technology – developments that are extremely costly," Caldwell told USA TODAY. With the future turning to EVs and self-driving vehicles, "it’s logical that smaller automakers may need to collaborate to keep pace with larger players, including rising competition from Chinese manufacturers that have entered the market aggressively," Caldwell said. The two companies may operate under a holding company, Nikkei reported, and are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding soon. A merged company could also eventually include Mitsubishi Motors, of which Nissan owns a 24% stake. Mitsubishi joined the Honda-Nissan initiative on EV and next-gen vehicle development in August. Collectively, the company would have combined sales of about 8 million annually, making it the third-largest automaking company in the world, Nikkei reported. The merger would put the combined automaker in a better competitive position, according to Bloomberg . Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi combined sold about 4 million vehicles worldwide in the first six months of 2024, behind the global leader, Toyota, which sold 5.2 million, Bloomberg said. The number two global automaker, Volkswagen , sold 4.35 million. Electric vehicles: Is now a good time to switch to an EV? The capital-intensive EV business requires billions of dollars in investment for new factories and battery development, said K. Venkatesh Prasad, chief innovation officer at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. For legacy automakers such as Honda and Nissan, "it only makes sense to consolidate while you still can to create the volumes you need for cost to be kept low and to be able to design and build premium content capabilities." Securing a profitable business in traditional vehicles using internal combustion engines "is a necessary condition to make way for the money needed to build an EV business with a mid-to-long-term business sustainability plan," Prasad said. Honda-Nissan merger could face Trump roadblocks Other hurdles include the potential rollback of EV-friendly policies by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and merger scrutiny from the Trump Administration. The incoming president has vowed to take a hard line on imported vehicles, including 25% tariffs on vehicles shipped from Canada and Mexico . Both companies currently have plants in Mexico and Honda has a plant in Canada. Trump could seek concessions from Honda and Nissan to approve any deal, auto industry officials said. During his first term, Trump threatened tariffs on Japanese vehicles. Honda and Nissan also manufacture vehicles in the U.S. Honda has 12 manufacturing plants in the U.S., where it makes automobiles, power equipment and aircraft engines. Nissan, which has three plants in the U.S., announced 9,000 global layoffs last month and a 20% production cut. Contributing: Hadley Hitson, USA TODAY Network, and Reuters. Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider . What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the daySCHAUMBURG, Ill. , Dec. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Creative Group, a full-service meeting, event, and incentive agency, is proud to highlight its insights and contributions to Skift Meetings' Megatrends 2025 report. The report reveals a dynamic landscape shaped by transformative forces, from artificial intelligence and sustainability to mental health and generational inclusivity. Creative Group's expertise underscores how strategic event design can address complex organizational goals while delivering exceptional attendee experiences. Trends Redefining the Events Landscape 1. Events Have Become More Strategic Melissa Van Dyke , Creative Group's Senior Vice President of Integrated Marketing, Design, and Innovation, highlights the shift in event strategy. "Today's events must go beyond flawless logistics to deeply align with business initiatives," Van Dyke states in the report. Events must begin with a deep understanding of their purpose. Creative Group advocates for aligning all aspects of event planning with business initiatives, ensuring every element—from agenda to attendee engagement—supports organizational goals. By starting with the "why," planners can craft experiences that not only meet attendee expectations but also drive organizational objectives forward. This more intentional design focus is the crucial middle between events that check a box and events that move the needle. 2. Addressing Generational Shifts With Millennials and Gen Z comprising an increasing share of the workforce, event strategies must reflect values like sustainability, inclusivity, and experiential depth—with more immersive and interactive experiences. Creative Group's methods integrate these elements seamlessly, ensuring events resonate with all age groups while fostering connections across diverse demographics. 3. Immersive and Interactive Engagement Understanding the purpose of an event also shapes how planners design interactions. Creative Group incorporates principles of behavioral economics—awareness, engagement, and nudges—to create meaningful moments before, during, and after the event, ensuring participants stay inspired by and connected to event messaging, brand and core business objectives. Meeting New Expectations in 2025 Sustainability as a Business Imperative As sustainability becomes non-negotiable for many attendees, Creative Group emphasizes adopting eco-friendly practices, such as waste reduction and locally sourced elements, to meet expectations while reflecting each brand's business values. Mental Health Integration Event designers are increasingly tasked with addressing attendee well-being, making it essential to create events that reduce stress and promote emotional connection. Creative Group's approach integrates wellness strategies that are empathy-based and customizable to meet the needs of the modern attendee. Looking Ahead Creative Group's contributions to the Megatrends 2025 report reinforce the idea that understanding the "why" behind every event is crucial in today's meetings landscape, especially critical given the additional scrutiny on event budgets in 2025. "Corporate events are no longer about simply gathering people for a single objective—they are about achieving complex business challenges, reinforcing organizational culture, boosting brand loyalty, and recognizing and retaining top talent," says Van Dyke . To explore how Creative Group and other industry leaders are addressing the trends shaping 2025, download the full Skift Meetings Megatrends 2025 report. About Creative Group Creative Group is a full-service meeting, event, and incentive agency that delivers business results by inspiring people to thrive. An industry leader, Creative Group has been honored with numerous Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) awards and the CMI 25 Award, which recognizes the top 25 most influential meeting and incentive management companies in the U.S. Creative Group was founded in 1970, and has served clients in financial services, life sciences, insurance, manufacturing, retail, technology, automotive, and hospitality. Employing 220+ people, the company is headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois , and maintains offices in San Francisco , Appleton, Wisconsin , and Toronto, Canada . For more information about Creative Group, visit http://www.creativegroupinc.com . View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/creative-group-spotlights-event-industrys-2025-megatrends-in-skift-meetings-report-302334125.html SOURCE Creative Group, Inc.

There are now fewer than 1000 households living in emergency housing - a 68 percent drop since December, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. At the end of last year there were 3141 households in emergency housing, and that plummeted to 993 by the end of October. Spending on emergency housing had also reduced from $31.6 million in October last year to $10.7m in October this year. "National campaigned on a promise to deliver real change for people stuck in emergency housing and we are delivering on that promise," Potaka said. The progress was down to the introduction of a new 'Priority One' fast track policy in April that saw households with children move to the top of the social housing waitlist, he said. "Since then, 786 households including 1608 tamariki who were in emergency housing have been placed in social housing through the Priority One pathway." The government also made changes in August that made emergency housing harder to get into, and harder to stay in. People must now prove they meet the criteria for the housing, and meet certain obligations while they are living there. Labour's housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty argued that was the reason for the drop in emergency housing numbers. "The need hasn't reduced, but applications have," he said. "People don't tend to apply if they know they won't qualify under the new rules." The rate of applications being declined had also spiked. Between 2019 and the end of last year, the percentage declined in a month had never been higher than 3.8 percent - but it leapt to 10 percent in August. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

Yolo County is proud to announce its participation as the first pilot jurisdiction in the Bridge initiative, a new program launched by the Institute for Local Government (ILG). This initiative aims to strengthen California’s local government workforce by creating Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) in non-traditional fields, including human resources, accounting, information technology (IT), health and human services and more. “I’m thrilled that Yolo County will serve as an inaugural participant in ILG’s Bridge Public Sector Registered Apprenticeship program,” said Yolo County Board of Supervisors Chair Lucas Frerichs. “Apprenticeships have a long history of success in the construction trades, and I’m excited to bring this innovative model to support our broader local government workforce in Yolo County.” Like many local governments across the state, Yolo County is facing significant workforce challenges, with recruitment and retention issues affecting nearly 70% of California’s cities, counties, and special districts. These challenges can lead to vacancies in essential roles, potentially disrupting services such as social services, permitting, and more. The Bridge initiative is designed to address this issue by providing innovative, community-based solutions to hire for high-demand, difficult-to-fill positions, while expanding career opportunities for underserved and underrepresented populations. As the first confirmed pilot jurisdiction for the Bridge initiative, Yolo County will help test and implement non-traditional RAPs over the next year. The program will focus on training and hiring individuals for a wide range of roles in local government, including positions in IT, human resources, and health services. ILG will provide crucial support to Yolo County, including capacity building, grant writing, marketing assistance, and technical guidance throughout the program’s development. Through this pilot, Yolo County will work closely with local education agencies, community-based organizations and other partners to ensure the successful implementation of apprenticeship programs that align with the county’s workforce needs. Yolo County’s participation in the Bridge initiative is a crucial step toward building a sustainable, skilled workforce capable of meeting the challenges of the future. As part of the pilot program, the county will lead the way in developing a scalable model for apprenticeships that can be adopted by other local governments across California. “Apprenticeships are a proven strategy to develop a resilient workforce while opening doors for underserved communities,” states Erica Manuel, CEO and Executive Director of the Institute for Local Government. “The Bridge initiative brings this model to the public sector, ensuring local governments have the talent they need to meet the challenges of tomorrow. With Yolo County leading the way, we’re building a blueprint for other jurisdictions across California to follow.” The Institute for Local Government (ILG) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that supports local governments with tackling their most pressing and evolving issues related to workforce development, climate action, leadership, ethics, and public engagement. Since 1955, ILG has provided conscious counsel, training, resources, and technical assistance to empower and educate local agency leaders and deliver real-world expertise to help them navigate complex issues, increase their capacity, and build trust in their communities. As the nonprofit affiliate of the League of California Cities, the California State Association of Counties, and the California Special Districts Association, ILG proudly serves municipalities large and small, urban and rural throughout California. Find out more at www.CA-ILG.org .A Tennessee man is convicted of killing 2 at a high school basketball game in 2021

Thurston County Sheriff's Office gets federal grant to purchase two more 'Grappler Police Bumper' systemsMisr Real Estate Asset Management Partners With Belmazad For Digital Auctions

Analysis: Barkley is NFL's version of OhtaniWalmart’s DEI rollback signals profound shift in the wake of Trump election victory

How WhatsApp became the world’s ‘everything app’Drivers could pay extra to keep journeys private in new pay-per-mile car tax proposalPrepare for a major leap in graphics technology as Nvidia gears up for a CES unveiling of its latest RTX 50-series! Leaks from industry insiders mark January as the month when Nvidia introduces its most advanced GPUs to date. Nvidia’s affiliates, including gaming hardware giants Zotac and Acer, have let slip tantalizing details about these upcoming tech marvels. Expect a revelation of four stellar graphics cards, soaring at the top end of Nvidia’s portfolio. This rumored lineup includes the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070. Additionally, the RTX 5090D is rumored to be a special variant for the Chinese market, designed to adapt to US export parameters. The leaks offered insight into the flagship RTX 5090, which is set to feature an impressive 32GB of GDDR7 memory, a significant upgrade over the RTX 4090. Acer’s leaked spec sheet for its Predator Orion desktops also confirms these specs, suggesting a similar memory leap for the RTX 5080 with 16GB of GDDR7. This launch is particularly exciting for performance enthusiasts, as the RTX 5090 aims to set new benchmarks, challenging the two-year dominance of the RTX 4090. Previous options, like Nvidia’s 2024 Super refresh of the 40-series and AMD’s RX 7900 XTX, appear overshadowed by this new powerhouse. With the CES announcement fast approaching, the gaming and tech community eagerly awaits the official confirmation of these groundbreaking developments. Get ready to feel the next wave of cutting-edge graphics innovation! Nvidia RTX 50-Series: Revolutionary Graphics Cards Set to Transform Gaming and AI The upcoming unveiling of Nvidia’s RTX 50-series graphics cards at CES promises to redefine the standards of performance and efficiency in the world of GPUs. As leaks about these highly anticipated devices circulate, we explore new insights, features, and potential impacts on the market. Cutting-Edge Specifications and Features The flagship of this series, the RTX 5090, is expected to push boundaries with its 32GB of GDDR7 memory, a substantial enhancement over its predecessor, the RTX 4090. This leap not only bolsters its gaming capabilities but also promises vast improvements in applications requiring high computational power, such as artificial intelligence and data science. Meanwhile, the RTX 5080 is rumored to come with 16GB of GDDR7, positioning it as a formidable contender in the mid-high range segment. Pros and Cons Pros: – Higher Memory Bandwidth: The integration of GDDR7 memory increases bandwidth, enabling smoother gaming experiences and more efficient handling of data-heavy tasks. – Performance Leap: Expected to surpass the performance of any currently available graphics card, including the notable RTX 4090 and AMD’s RX 7900 XTX. Cons: – Potential Cost: Cutting-edge technology typically comes with a higher price tag, which may be a consideration for budget-conscious users. – Power Consumption: With greater performance, these cards may require more power, necessitating efficient cooling solutions and robust power supplies. Market Implications This launch is poised to shift the market dynamics, further solidifying Nvidia’s dominance in the GPU sector. Competing brands may need to innovate swiftly to keep pace with the strides Nvidia offers. For consumers, this competition could lead to more varied options and potential price adjustments across the market. Sustainability and Environmental Impact Nvidia has been progressively working towards sustainability in its operations. The introduction of this new series is an opportunity for the company to incorporate more eco-friendly manufacturing processes and components. However, the actual environmental impact will depend on Nvidia’s execution and strategic commitments. Forward-Looking Insights The RTX 50-series could set the tone for future technology trends, influencing developments in gaming graphics, AI computing, and more. The enhancements in memory and processing power may pave the way for new innovations in real-time ray tracing and realistic graphics rendering in gaming, as well as breakthroughs in scientific computing. For those eager to explore more about Nvidia’s plans and technological advancements, visit the official Nvidia website . As the tech world watches, Nvidia’s CES announcement could herald a new era in graphics technology.

Barry Jenkins truly is a miracle worker. The Oscar-winning director of the intimate indie “Moonlight,” the romantic period drama “If Beale Street Could Talk” and the Amazon series “The Underground Railroad” isn’t the first filmmaker who comes to mind to tackle the prequel to Jon Favreau’s poorly received 2019 remake of the beloved animated feature “The Lion King.” And yet, somehow, Jenkins and his creative team — including his longtime collaborators, cinematographer James Laxton and editor Joi McMillon — make magic with “Mufasa: The Lion King,” offering up a visually dazzling and emotionally affecting coming-of-age story about Simba’s father, whose death traumatized an entire generation of kids in 1994. There were elements of the 2019 “The Lion King” that were traumatizing too, having to do with the conceit of transposing this familiar story (“Hamlet” for kids) onto photorealistic animals, who then sang. It’s simply not right for a startlingly lifelike, digitally conjured apex predator to open their jaws and belt out a Broadway-style tune, though French philosopher Jean Baudrillard would certainly have had a field day with the horrific apparition. That mental hurdle still presents as an obstacle in “Mufasa,” as we’re jarred into the reality of this cinematic world where stunningly accurate representations of African wildlife speak — nay, elocute — and of course, sing (songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda). It’s a long leap to make, but it’s a testament to the absorbing story and soaringly gorgeous and beautifully staged visuals that the leap isn’t so difficult to land. The script is also by 2019 “The Lion King” writer Jeff Nathanson, but liberated from penning a line-for-line remake of the original, he is able to imagine the story of how Mufasa and Scar became brothers, and then how they became enemies. We’re plunged into the action right away, so there’s not much time to dwell on the speaking or the singing, as we keep up with the harrowing journey of the tiny lion cub Mufasa (Braelyn Rankins; Aaron Pierre voices the grown Mufasa). Mufasa’s coming of age is framed by Rafiki (John Kani), the mystical mandarin, imparting the tale to Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter), the cub of Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter). Much like the other blockbuster fantasy film of this fall, it’s the story of how two famous enemies were once friends, or in this case, brothers. A young Mufasa is separated from his parents in a great flood, and is rescued by young lion Taka (Theo Somolu; later, Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and his mother, Eshe (Thandiwe Newton). As a stray, Mufasa is not accepted by Obasi (Lennie James), their pride’s king, so he is trained to hunt with the lionesses, while Taka is groomed to take over his royal birthright, though the young cubs quickly become brothers. Their pride’s uneasy harmony is disrupted when an invading pride of menacing white lions, led by Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen) begins to stalk and hunt them, seeking revenge for a young prince killed in combat. So begins Mufasa’s journey to his destiny, which he never imagined, and to his rift with his brother, fueled by jealousy and bitterness. What Jenkins does so well with Nathanson’s script is make it emotionally palpable to an audience, with an intense focus on the faces of the lions. The technology allows for nuanced micro-expressions in the brows and eyes, while incorporating the animal behaviors that big cats use to communicate: nuzzling, swatting, clawing, caressing. We’re able to connect with these animal characters during their harrowing adventure, and relate to the entire range of emotions along the way. There are smaller moments and big betrayals, and elements that make the story much more human and compelling in terms of the love triangles and double-crosses; the disappointments and the grief; the triumph and the joy. And like the other big blockbuster musical of the fall, it’s a story about standing together to fight tyranny. This may feel a bit deflating (and even dated) in light of recent national events, but the message of uniting to fight each other’s battles because the next one could be ours could not be more bracing and potent, even if it feels already defeated in times like these. But the true message of “Mufasa” is to never doubt Jenkins, even when he makes a choice that seems outside of his wheelhouse. As a kid, he said he watched “The Lion King” at least 150 times. He knows the characters and the story intimately, and in “Mufasa,” he expands the scope and range of this world, offering up a story that exists in the realm of “The Lion King” but doesn’t retread on old material (or desecrate it). Let’s pretend that the 2019 version never existed, because “Mufasa: The Lion King,” is the boundary-pushing prequel that the beloved original film deserves. ‘MUFASA: THE LION KING’ 3 stars (out of 4) MPA rating: PG (for action/violence, peril and some thematic elements) Running time: 2:00 How to watch: In theatersPolice to implement strict security measures

SEATTLE — Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice and Philipp Grubauer made 33 saves as the Seattle Kraken beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 on Thursday night. Jaden Schwartz and Vince Dunn also scored for the Kraken. Jared McCann had an empty-net goal and an assist, and Shane Wright added two assists. Brad Marchand scored on a penalty shot for Boston in the second period. Seattle jumped to a 2-0 lead early in the first. Bjorkstrand scored on a power play 24 seconds into the game, just eight seconds after David Pastrnak took a double minor for high-sticking. Schwartz backhanded the puck over goalie Joonas Korpisalo about five minutes later. Dunn batted the puck into Boston’s net early in the third period and the goal stood after a replay review. Seattle made it 4-1 when Wright set up Bjorkstrand for his 11th goal at 9:16. Zegras has knee surgery: Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras will be out for six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. Five Star General, the winner of the last two Longacres Miles at Emerald Downs, has been retired from racing and will not attempt to become the first three-time winner of the most prestigious horse race in the Northwest. Five Star General owner Ken Alhadeff, whose grandfather created the Longacres Mile in 1935, has sold half-interest in the horse to Covilar, a racing and breeding operation in Virginia. The horse will begin a career as a stallion next year at Covilar’s Owl Hollow Farm near Floyd, Va. Five Star General became the fifth horse to win the Longacres Mile twice and finished in the top three the past five years. No other horse has finished in the top three of the race more than three times, and he tied the record for oldest winner last year when he won at 8. BOULDER, Colo. — Travis Hunter is the The Associated Press college football player of the year, receiving 26 of 43 votes Thursday from a panel of AP Top 25 voters. Boise State tailback Ashton Jeanty finished second with 16 votes and Arizona State running back Cameron Skattebo received one vote. Hunter kept piling up the hardware later Thursday night. He won the Walter Camp Award as player of the year along with the Chuck Bednarik Award as the top defensive player and the Biletnikoff Award for the best wide receiver. The Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back went to Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron, who led the SEC with five interceptions. Jeanty won the Maxwell Award as college football’s top player and the Doak Walker Award for the nation’s top running back after leading the nation with 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns. Miami’s Cam Ward was the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Year award winner with a nation-best 36 passing touchdowns along with 4,123 passing yards. The coach of the year was Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, who led his team to the playoffs after being picked to finish 17th of 18 Big Ten teams. South Carolina defensive end Kyle Kennard captured the Bronco Nagurski Trophy as the top defensive player. Georgia’s Jalon Walker won the Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker. Ohio State center Seth McLaughlin won the Rimington Trophy. Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. was the Outland Trophy winner as the top interior lineman. The top punter was USC’s Eddie Czaplicki, who captured the Ray Guy Award. Louisiana’s Kenneth Almendares was picked as the top placekicker, winning the Lou Groza Award. Rodriguez returning to West Virginia: Rich Rodriguez is returning to West Virginia for a second stint as head coach at his alma mater. UNLV hires Mullen: UNLV is hiring former Florida and Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen as head coach. FCS title game going back to Tennessee: The NCAA is taking its Football Championship Subdivision title game back to Tennessee, with games at the end of the 2025 and 2026 seasons played in Nashville on the Vanderbilt campus. Basketball: LeBron James was ruled out of the Lakers’ game at Minnesota on Friday due to soreness in his left foot. College: Louisville approved a five-year contract extension for AD Josh Heird . Pro football: The Broncos signed left tackle Garett Bolles to a four-year extension. ... Houston receiver Nico Collins was fined about $5,000 for throwing a football into the stands after a touchdown. Court: Raiders player Charles Snowden was “passed out” behind the wheel of a Jeep Cherokee with its engine running before his arrest on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. ... The West Coast Conference is suing Grand Canyon University over breach of contract after the school changed course and decided to join the Mountain West Conference. ... The trial against Rays shortstop Wander Franco was postponed and scheduled to resume June 2, 2025. Motor sports: Front Row Motorsports , one of two teams suing NASCAR in federal court, accused the stock car series of rejecting the planned purchase of a charter from Stewart-Haas Racing unless the lawsuit was dropped. Golf: Pro Shop , the new golf media company led by “Full Swing” executive producer Chad Mumm , announced a deal with the PGA Tour that brings back The Skins Game for the first time since 2008. ... Andy Sullivan shot 8-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead at the Alfred Dunhill Championship. Tennis: Three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka was among nine wild-card entries awarded for the Australian Open in January.STOCKHOLM/GDANSK, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Northvolt's financial collapse deals a blow to Europe's plan to set up its own battery industry to power electric cars, stirring a debate about whether it needs to do more to attract investment as startups struggle to catch up with Chinese rivals. Europe's biggest hope for an electric vehicle battery champion filed for U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday after talks with investors and creditors including Volkswagen and Goldman Sachs for funding failed. The Swedish company, whose motto is "make oil history", has received more than $10 billion in equity, debt and public financing since its 2016 start-up. Volkswagen and Goldman Sachs each own about one fifth of its shares. Northvolt said on Friday it needed $1.0-$1.2 billion in new funds under the restructuring process, which it hopes will end by the end of March. In recent months, it has shrunk the business and cut jobs in a bid to shore up its finances. But it has struggled to produce sufficient volumes of high-quality batteries, and lost a 2 billion euro ($2.1 billion) contract from BMW (BMWG.DE) , opens new tab in June. That has left Europe's ambitions to build its own battery industry looking a distant dream. In recent years, Northvolt led a wave of European startups investing tens of billions of dollars to serve the continent's automakers as they switch from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. But growth in EV demand is moving at a slower pace than many in the industry projected, and China has taken a huge lead in powering EVs, controlling 85% of global battery cell production, International Energy Agency data shows. Making batteries and cells, the units that store and convert chemical energy into electricity, is a delicate process and doing so at scale is a challenge for any battery maker. Northvolt has missed some in-house targets and curtailed production at its battery cells plant in northern Sweden, underscoring the difficulties, Reuters reported on Monday. "The biggest issue is that batteries are not easy to make and Northvolt haven’t satisfied the supply demands of their customers - that is a management issue," said Andy Palmer, founder of consultancy Palmer Automotive said. “The Chinese are technologically 10 years ahead of the West in batteries. That’s a fact," he said. At least eight companies have postponed or abandoned EV battery projects in Europe this year, including China's Svolt and joint venture ACC , led by Stellantis (STLAM.MI) , opens new tab and Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) , opens new tab . In 2024, Europe's battery pipeline capacity out to 2030 has fallen by 176 gigawatt-hours, according to data firm Benchmark Minerals. That's equivalent to almost all the current installed capacity in Europe, according to Reuters calculations. Some executives say Europe should do more to attract and support home-grown projects so they can compete with Chinese rivals such as CATL (300750.SZ) , opens new tab and BYD (002594.SZ) , opens new tab . "Europe needs to rethink how it supports a nascent sector before China eats up the entire value chain, which is due to smart planning," said James Frith, European head of Volta Energy Technologies, which specialises in battery and energy storage technology. Among its $5.8 billion in debts, Northvolt owes the European Investment Bank (EIB) some $313 million. EIB vice president Thomas Östros said it had been a constructive partner to Northvolt, but it needed to safeguard the EIB and EU's interests. "It remains the case that Europe has a strategic interest in a European battery industry for electric cars and we will follow developments very closely. But it is much to early to say what the outcome will be," he said. The Swedish government has repeatedly said it does not plan to take a stake in Northvolt. On Friday, Northvolt's outgoing CEO and co-founder Peter Carlsson said he was a "little worried" Europe is giving up on its dream of competing with China. He said Europe would regret it in 20 years time if it retreated. "It's not a straight journey and right now, we're all in a bit of a down in that journey where there's more hesitations, there's more questions on the speed of the transition from the carmakers, from policymakers, from the investor community," he told reporters in a call. Sign up here. Reporting by Marie Mannes in Stockholm, Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen and Alessandro Parodi in Gdansk. Additional reporting by Simon Johnson in Stockholm. Writing by Josephine Mason. Editing by Mark Potter Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Thomson Reuters Stockholm-based company news correspondent who mainly covers anything to do with retail and industrial companies in Sweden as well as other sectors with Swedish companies. She previously covered the general Nordic stock market from Gdansk, reporting on a range of subjects, from companies exiting Russia to M&As and supply chain concerns. Marie has degrees in journalism and international relations and is keen on finding stories that drive the market and that have unreported elements to it. Thomson Reuters Alessandro is an Italian journalist based in Gdansk reporting on European markets, with focus on Italian companies. Previously, he worked as a multimedia freelancer in South Africa covering general news and cultures.NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump's lawyers urged a judge again Friday to throw out his hush money conviction, balking at the prosecution's suggestion of preserving the verdict by treating the case the way some courts do when a defendant dies. They called the idea "absurd." The Manhattan district attorney's office is asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to "pretend as if one of the assassination attempts against President Trump had been successful," Trump's lawyers wrote in a 23-page response. In court papers made public Tuesday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books after Trump's lawyers filed paperwork this month asking for the case to be dismissed. They include freezing the case until Trump leaves office in 2029, agreeing that any future sentence won't include jail time, or closing the case by noting he was convicted but that he wasn't sentenced and his appeal wasn't resolved because of presidential immunity. Former President Donald Trump appears May 30 at Manhattan criminal court during jury deliberations in his criminal hush money trial in New York. Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove reiterated Friday their position that the only acceptable option is overturning his conviction and dismissing his indictment, writing that anything less will interfere with the transition process and his ability to lead the country. The Manhattan district attorney's office declined comment. It's unclear how soon Merchan will decide. He could grant Trump's request for dismissal, go with one of the prosecution's suggestions, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump's parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court, or choose some other option. In their response Friday, Blanche and Bove ripped each of the prosecution's suggestions. Halting the case until Trump leaves office would force the incoming president to govern while facing the "ongoing threat" that he'll be sentenced to imprisonment, fines or other punishment as soon as his term ends, Blanche and Bove wrote. Trump, a Republican, takes office Jan. 20. The prosecution's suggestion that Merchan could mitigate those concerns by promising not to sentence Trump to jail time on presidential immunity grounds is also a non-starter, Blanche and Bove wrote. The immunity statute requires dropping the case, not merely limiting sentencing options, they contend. Attorney Todd Blanche listens May 30 as his client Donald Trump speaks at Manhattan criminal court during jury deliberations in his criminal hush money trial in New York. Blanche and Bove, both of whom Trump tapped for high-ranking Justice Department positions, expressed outrage at the prosecution's novel suggestion that Merchan borrow from Alabama and other states and treat the case as if Trump died. Blanche and Bove accused prosecutors of ignoring New York precedent and attempting to "fabricate" a solution "based on an extremely troubling and irresponsible analogy between President Trump" who survived assassination attempts in Pennsylvania in July and Florida in September "and a hypothetical dead defendant." Such an option normally comes into play when a defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. It is unclear whether it is viable under New York law, but prosecutors suggested that Merchan could innovate in what's already a unique case. "This remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding," prosecutors wrote in their filing this week. But at the same time, it wouldn't "precipitously discard" the "meaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers." Prosecutors acknowledged that "presidential immunity requires accommodation" during Trump's impending return to the White House but argued that his election to a second term should not upend the jury's verdict, which came when he was out of office. Longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Other world leaders don't enjoy the same protection. For example, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial on corruption charges even as he leads that nation's wars in Lebanon and Gaza. President-elect Donald Trump attends a Dec. 7 meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Trump has fought for months to reverse his May 30 conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier, which Trump denies. Trump's hush money conviction was in state court, meaning a presidential pardon — issued by Biden or himself when he takes office — would not apply to the case. Presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes. Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith ended his two federal cases, which pertained to Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in each case. Trump was scheduled for sentencing in the hush money case in late November, but following Trump's Nov. 5 election win, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president's sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office. 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. 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. President-elect Donald Trump tapped former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be ambassador to China, saying in a social media post that the former CEO “brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China.” Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff four years ago and ran unsuccessfully in a primary against Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. Perdue pushed Trump's debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for governor. 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. Guilfoyle is a former California prosecutor and television news personality who led the fundraising for Trump's 2020 campaign and became engaged to Don Jr. in 2020. Trump called her “a close friend and ally” and praised her “sharp intellect make her supremely qualified.” Guilfoyle was on stage with the family on election night. “I am so proud of Kimberly. She loves America and she always has wanted to serve the country as an Ambassador. She will be an amazing leader for America First,” Don Jr. posted. The ambassador positions must be approved by the U.S. Senate. Guilfoyle said in a social media post that she was “honored to accept President Trump’s nomination to serve as the next Ambassador to Greece and I look forward to earning the support of the U.S. Senate.” 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. Customs and Border Protection, with its roughly 60,000 employees, falls under the Department of Homeland Security. It includes the Border Patrol, which Rodney Scott led during Trump's first term, and is essentially responsible for protecting the country's borders while facilitating trade and travel. Scott comes to the job firmly from the Border Patrol side of the house. He became an agent in 1992 and spent much of his career in San Diego. When he was appointed head of the border agency in January 2020, he enthusiastically embraced Trump's policies. After being forced out under the Biden administration, Scott has been a vocal supporter of Trump's hard-line immigration agenda. He appeared frequently on Fox News and testified in Congress. He's also a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. 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. Ron Johnson, Ambassador to Mexico Johnson — not the Republican senator — served as ambassador to El Salvador during Trump's first administration. His nomination comes as the president-elect has been threatening tariffs on Mexican imports and the mass deportation of migrants who have arrived to the U.S.-Mexico border. Johnson is also a former U.S. Army veteran and was in the Central Intelligence Agency. Tom Barrack, Ambassador to Turkey Barrack, a wealthy financier, met Trump in the 1980s while helping negotiate Trump’s purchase of the renowned Plaza Hotel. He was charged with using his personal access to the former president to secretly promote the interests of the United Arab Emirates, but was acquitted of all counts at a federal trial in 2022. Trump called him a “well-respected and experienced voice of reason.” Andrew Ferguson, Federal Trade Commission Ferguson, who is already one of the FTC's five commissioners, will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while alleging anticompetitive behavior. “Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History.” Jacob Helberg, undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment Dan Bishop, deputy director for budget at the Office of Budget and Management Leandro Rizzuto, Ambassador to the Washington-based Organization of American States Dan Newlin, Ambassador to Colombia Peter Lamelas, Ambassador to Argentina Trump says he’s picking Kari Lake as director of Voice of America, installing a staunch loyalist who ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor and a Senate seat to head the congressionally funded broadcaster that provides independent news reporting around the world. Lake endeared herself to Trump through her dogmatic commitment to the falsehood that both she and Trump were the victims of election fraud. She has never acknowledged losing the gubernatorial race and called herself the “lawful governor” in her 2023 book, “Unafraid: Just Getting Started.” Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.