axiebet88 app download for android Georgetown is set to play its first road game of the season while West Virginia attempts to build off its successful 2-1 trip to the Bahamas when the former conference rivals meet on Friday in Morgantown, W. Va., as part of the Big 12-Big East Battle. Picked 13th out of 16 in the Big 12 preseason coaches' poll, West Virginia (5-2) has been riding the hot shooting of Javon Small and Tucker DeVries. Small averages a team-high 19 points and shoots 41.3 percent on 3-pointers while DeVries adds 14.9 points per game and hits on 46.9 percent of his threes. Every basket was needed last week as the Mountaineers upset then-No. 3 Gonzaga and then-No. 24 Arizona with a loss to Louisville sandwiched in between. All three contests went into overtime, believed to be a first in program history. First-year coach Darian DeVries, who led Drake to three NCAA Tournaments in the last four seasons, had never seen anything like it. "I've never been a part of three games like that, especially with the quality of opponents that we went up these last three days," he said after the Arizona win. "Just incredible resolve and grit and toughness from our group all three nights." Georgetown has started 7-1 for the first time since the 2018-19 season and has done so with a completely revamped roster that includes 14 freshmen or sophomores. As a result of an inexperienced squad, coach Ed Cooley specifically delayed the Hoyas' first trip out of the nation's capital. "Obviously, the competition is going to change," Cooley said after the Hoyas defeated UMBC 86-62 on Monday. "We systematically scheduled this way to build confidence, continuity and chemistry and let our players feel what it is to win, and that's something hopefully that will have some carryover as we now get ready to head out on the road for the first time." Since losing to Notre Dame on Nov. 16, Georgetown has won five straight games by an average of 25.2 points. Thomas Sorber leads the Hoyas in scoring at 15.8 points per game and leads the conference in rebounding at 8.9 per game. Sorber was named as the Big East Freshman of the Week for the third time in four weeks. Georgetown holds the narrowest of leads in the all-time series at 27-26. The two schools met 27 times between 1995 and 2012 as league foes. The Mountaineers captured their lone Big East Championship in 2010 by defeating the Hoyas 60-58 at Madison Square Garden. --Field Level MediaJOHN STOSSEL: It’s Time To Improve Our Ports

Trump picks Musk ally Jared Isaacman to head NASA

WASHINGTON — It's DOGE time at the U.S. Capitol. Billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy arrived Thursday on Capitol Hill meeting with legislators behind closed doors about President-elect Donald Trump's plans to “dismantle” the federal government. Trump tapped the two business titans to head his Department of Government Efficiency , tasked with firing federal workers , cutting government programs and slashing federal regulations — all part of what he calls his "Save America" agenda for a second term in the White House. “We're going to see a lot of change around here in Washington,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson , as Musk, with a small child on his shoulders, breezed by and into the private meeting. Washington has seen this before, with ambitious efforts to reduce the size and scope of the federal government that historically have run into resistance when the public is confronted with cuts to trusted programs that millions of Americans depend on for jobs, health care, military security and everyday needs. But this time Trump is staffing his administration with battle-tested architects of sweeping proposals, some outlined in Project 2025 , to severely reduce and reshape the government. Musk and Ramaswamy said they plan to work alongside the White House's Office of Management and Budget, headed by Trump's nominee Russ Vought, a mastermind of past cuts . “DOGE has a historic opportunity for structural reductions in the federal government,” Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal . “We are prepared for the onslaught.” The duo, invited for what Johnson called a “brainstorming” session as they begin this “journey” together, face a first test in private with House and Senate lawmakers — some eager to hear what they have in mind. “I am fired up to go out and do something,” said Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., who joined with Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, in launching what they are calling the DOGE caucus in the House, with more than 50 Republicans and two Democratic members. Bean said the DOGE caucus will unveil an email tip line where people can report wasteful spending. He also envisions a scoreboard of sorts that people can view on a website showing “how many positions we’ve cut, agencies we’ve cut, what the actual number is.” In the Senate, Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa and Rick Scott, R-Fla., have launched a similar caucus. “I think that’ll be a great start to the whole process,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who will chair a House Oversight subcommittee in the new year as part of “building the bridge between Congress and DOGE.” While neither Musk nor Ramaswamy have much public service experience, they bring track records in private business — Musk's operations have vast government contracts — and enthusiasm for Trump's agenda, having campaigned alongside him in the final stretch of the election. The world's richest man, Musk poured millions into a get-out-the-vote effort to help the former president return to the White House. He is known politically for having transformed the popular social media site formerly known as Twitter into X, a platform embraced by Trump's MAGA enthusiasts. Despite its name, the Department of Government Efficiency is neither a department nor part of the government, which frees Musk and Ramaswamy from having to go through the typical ethics and background checks required for federal employment. They said they will not be paid for their work. One good-government group has said that DOGE, as a presidential advisory panel, should be expected to adhere to traditional practices of transparency, equal representation and public input — as happened with similar advisory entities from the Reagan to the Obama administrations. The Federal Advisory Committee Act “is designed expressly for situations like this," wrote Lisa Gilbert and Robert Weissman, the co-chairs of Public Citizen in a letter to the Trump transition team. "If the government is going to turn to unelected and politically unaccountable persons to make recommendations as grand as $2 trillion in budget cuts, it must ensure those recommendations come from a balanced and transparent process not rigged to benefit insiders.” The nation's $6 trillion federal budget routinely runs a deficit, which this year ran $1.8 trillion, a historic high, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It has not been balanced since the Clinton administration more than two decades ago. Republicans generally blame what they see as exorbitant spending for the deficit, while Democrats point to tax cuts enacted under Republican presidents Trump and George W. Bush as the major driver. Receipts last year as a percentage of gross domestic product came in just below the average for the past 50 years, while outlays were equal to 23.4% of GDP, compared to the 50-year average of 21.1% Some of the biggest increases in spending last year occurred with politically popular programs that lawmakers will be reticent to touch. For example, spending on Social Security benefits went up 8%, Medicare outlays increased 9%, spending on defense went up 7% and spending on veterans health care rose 14%, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said he would like to see Musk testify before the House Armed Services Committee on the “bloated defense budget.” “I’d like to see Elon recommend some cuts. Let’s have him testify,” Khanna said. He said he’s open to hearing proposals on non-defense spending, but was skeptical. “If they find waste, maybe, but in terms of big numbers, I mean, no one is going to allow for cutting education funding for special needs kids and for low-income schools, or for cutting Social Security and Medicare,” Khanna said. “If they want to do that, they’re going to hand us a landslide in 2026.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — She’s an Iraq War combat veteran and sexual assault survivor who has advocated for years to improve how the military handles claims of sexual misconduct. But when appeared initially cool to the nomination of ’s choice of — a man who once said and who has himself been — she faced an onslaught of criticism from within her own party, including threats of a potential primary challenge in 2026. “The American people spoke,” said Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the Family Leader and a conservative activist in Ernst’s home state. “When you sign up for this job, it’s a big boy and big girl job, and she’s feeling the pressure of people vocalizing their disappointment, their concern with how she’s handling this.” The pressure campaign against Ernst, once a rising member of the GOP leadership, shows there is little room in Trump’s party for those who can’t get to yes on Hegseth or any of his other picks for his incoming administration It underscores the power Trump is expected to wield on Capitol Hill in a second term and serves as a warning to other lawmakers who may be harboring their own concerns about other Trump selections, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary and Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence. “If the king wants a different senator from Iowa, we’ll have one. If he doesn’t, we won’t,” said Iowa talk show host Steve Deace, that he would be willing to jump in against Ernst if Trump wanted a challenger. “I think someone’s got to be made an example out of, whether it’s Joni or someone else.” People close to Ernst, a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel, stress her mettle and say her eventual decision will depend on her assessment of Hegseth, a former “Fox & Friends Weekend” host and veteran, and nothing else. “Has there been Twitter pressure? Sure. But Joni’s a combat veteran. She’s not easily pressured,” said David Kochel, an Iowa Republican strategist and longtime Ernst friend and adviser. Ernst has worked steadily to shore up her relationship with Trump after declining to endorse him before the Iowa caucuses that kicked off this year’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. During a recent visit to Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida club, she met with Trump and billionaire Elon Musk with ideas for their budget-slashing Department of Government Efficiency. She heads up a newly formed DOGE caucus in the Senate. Trump has not tried personally to pressure Ernst to back Hegseth, according to a person familiar with their conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose them. And he has not targeted her — or any potential holdouts — publicly in social media posts. He also hasn’t had to. The response to Ernst built quickly, first in whispers following her initially cool remarks after meeting with Hegseth, then into a pile-on from powerful figures in the “Make America Great Again” movement. Only about 2 in 10 Americans approve of Hegseth’s nomination, according to . About one-third of Republicans approve of him as a pick, and 16% disapprove. Another 1 in 10 Republicans, roughly, are neutral and say they neither approve nor disapprove. Trump allies had been concerned that a successful effort to derail Hegseth’s candidacy would empower opposition to other nominees, undermining his projections of complete dominance of the party. In the narrowly held Senate, with a 53-47 GOP majority in the new year, any Trump nominee can only afford a few Republican “no” votes if all Democrats are opposed. Those piling on included Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Ernst’s political career was “in serious jeopardy” and that primary challengers stood at the ready. One social media post from the CEO of The Federalist featured side-by-side photos , R-Wyo., whom Trump .Remember what you searched for in 2024? Google does. Google released its annual “Year in Search” on Tuesday, rounding up the top trending queries entered into its namesake search engine in 2024. The results show terms that saw the highest spike in traffic compared to last year — ranging from key news events, notably global elections, to the most popular songs, athletes and unforgettable pop-culture moments that people looked up worldwide. Sports — particularly soccer and cricket — dominated Google’s overall trending searches in 2024. Copa América topped those search trends globally, followed by the UEFA European Championship and ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, the U.S. election led news-specific searches worldwide. Queries about excessive heat and this year’s Olympic Games followed. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump topped searches in Google’s people category this year — followed by Catherine, Princess of Wales, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who also led athlete-specific searches. Meanwhile, the late Liam Payne, Toby Keith and O.J. Simpson led search trends among notable individuals who died in 2024. In the world of entertainment, Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” was the top trending movie of the year, while Netflix’s “Baby Reindeer” led TV show trends. And Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” dominated song trends. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Queries for the Olympic village’s chocolate muffin, made famous by Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen over the summer games, led Google’s global recipe trends this year. The New York Times’ “Connections” puzzle topped game searches. And in the U.S., country-specific data shows, many people asked Google about online trends like the word “demure” and “ mob wife aesthetic.” You can find more country-specific lists, and trends from years past, through Google’s “Year in Search” data published online. The California company said it collected 2024 search results from Jan. 1 through Nov. 23 of this year. Google isn’t the only one to publish an annual recap or top trends as 2024 draws to a close. Spotify Wrapped, for example, as well as Collins Dictionary and Merriam-Webster’s words of the year, have offered additional reflections for 2024. U.S. stock indexes drifted lower Tuesday in the runup to Remember what you searched for in 2024? Google does. Google The proposed merger between supermarket giants Kroger and Albertsons floundered When President Joe Biden visited Angola last week, one of

A deal which could see the Elgin Marbles returned to Greece is “still some distance” away, George Osborne has signalled. The former Tory chancellor, now chairman of the British Museum, suggested Sir Keir Starmer had contributed to a warmer spirit of the negotiations over the famous ancient artworks. Greece has long called for the return of the Marbles, also known as the Parthenon sculptures, and maintains they were illegally removed from Athens’ acropolis during a period of foreign occupation. The British Museum – where they are currently on display – is forbidden by law from giving away any of its artefacts, and the Government has no plans to change the law to permit a permanent move. But under Mr Osborne’s leadership, the museum is negotiating the possibility of a long-term loan of the sculptures, in exchange for rolling exhibitions of famous artworks. No 10 has indicated the Prime Minister is unlikely to stand in the way of such a deal. Speaking on Political Currency, the podcast he hosts alongside former Labour politician Ed Balls, Mr Osborne said the museum was “looking to see if we can come to some arrangement where at some point some of the sculptures are in Athens, where, of course, they were originally sited”. He added: “And in return, Greece lends us some of its treasures, and we made a lot of progress on that, but we’re still some distance from any kind of agreement.” The Greek government has suggested negotiations with the museum have taken a warmer tone since Labour came to power in the summer. Mr Osborne appeared to concur with this view and praised Sir Keir’s hands-off approach, adding: “It is not the same as Rishi Sunak, who refused to see the Greek prime minister, if you remember, he sort of stood him up. “So it seems to me a more sensible and diplomatic way to proceed.” Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek premier, discussed the Elgin Marbles with Sir Keir when they met on Tuesday morning at Downing Street, he said after returning to Athens. Mr Mitsotakis has signalled his government is awaiting developments on the negotiations. A diplomatic spat between the Greek leader and Mr Sunak emerged last year when the then-prime minister refused to meet his counterpart. Mr Mitsotakis had compared splitting the Elgin Marbles from those still in Athens to cutting the Mona Lisa in half. The marble statues came from friezes on the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple and have been displayed at the British Museum for more than 200 years. They were removed by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Some of the remaining temple statues are on display in the purpose-built Acropolis Museum in Athens, and Greece has called for the collections to be reunited.

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