fish q

Brandon Stroud scores 16 as South Florida knocks off Webber International 106-49

None

The stars may be aligning again, and some Tesla shareholders are starting to get worried. This was, at least, after CEO Elon Musk seemed to be seriously pondering the idea of purchasing MSNBC in a series of posts on social media platform X. Recent reports have revealed that Comcast would be spinning off its cable news channels, including CNBC and MSNBC, and other TV brands, into a separate entity. Comcast’s announcement prompted speculations that MSNBC, which has become a notably left-leaning news outlet, might be up for sale. Check out the TESLARATI Marketplace! Head on over for more TESLARATI on TikTok! In a post on X, Donald Trump Jr., son of president-elect Donald Trump, told Tesla CEO Elon Musk that he has the “funniest idea ever.” Musk responded with a laughing emoji, before posting a response that read “How much is it?” Musk’s reply resulted in a lot of attention from social media users, especially since he had previously asked a similar question before. How much does it cost? Back in December 2017, Musk inquired about Twitter’s price after a user suggested that he buy the platform. Musk would indeed complete his acquisition of Twitter in October 2022 for $44 billion before renaming the social media platform to X. It was then unsurprising that the attention of many users on X was immediately caught after Musk asked about the price of MSNBC. Seemingly adding fuel to the fire, Musk posted a follow-up stating that “The most entertaining outcome, especially if ironic, is most likely.” The most entertaining outcome, especially if ironic, is most likely 😂 https://t.co/YX2EznXfoF While Musk’s apparent interest in potentially purchasing MSNBC is undoubtedly interesting, the idea has received polarizing reactions from some TSLA shareholders. A significant amount of Musk’s net worth is tied to his TSLA holdings, so if he does end up purchasing a cable news network, it would likely require the sale of some of his Tesla stock. This was the case when Musk purchased Twitter, and it resulted in retail TSLA shareholders taking heavy blows. Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

INTERVIEW | ‘Wasn’t prepared for heat in Malta’

Cameron Huefner scores 20 and Sam Houston beats Dallas 111-65

‘WW III has already begun,’ says former Ukrainian military chief; How India’s actions could tip the scales?By PETER SMITH A social-media tribute to Coptic Christians. A billboard in Amish country. A visit to a revered Jewish gravesite. While Donald Trump’s lock on the white evangelical vote is legendary, he and his campaign allies also wooed smaller religious groups, far from the mainstream. As it turned out, Trump won by decisive margins, but his campaign aggressively courted niche communities with the understanding that every vote could be critical, particularly in swing states. Voter surveys such as exit polls, which canvass broad swaths of the electorate, aren’t able to gauge the impact of such microtargeting, but some backers say the effort was worth it. Just one week before the election, Trump directed a post on the social-media platform X to Coptic Christians in the United States —- whose church has ancient roots in Egypt. He saluted their “Steadfast Faith in God, Perseverance through Centuries of Persecution and Love for this Great Country.” “This was the first time seeing a major U.S. presidential candidate address the community in this manner,” said Mariam Wahba, a Coptic Christian and research analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based research institute. “It was really a profound moment.” She said many Copts share the conservative social views of other Christian groups in the Republican constituency, and they may already have been Trump supporters. But the posting reinforced those bonds. Coptic bishops sent the president-elect congratulations after his victory and cited their “shared social and family values.” Some Assyrian Christians — another faith group with Middle Eastern roots — similarly bonded with Trump, whose mispronunciation of “Assyrian” at a rally created a viral video moment and drew attention to their support. Sam Darmo, a Phoenix real estate agent and co-founder of Assyrians for Trump, said many community members cited the economy, illegal immigration and other prominent voter issues. They echoed other conservative Christians’ concerns, he said, on issues such as abortion, gender identity and religious expression in public. But he said Trump supported various Middle Eastern Christians recovering from the Islamic State group’s oppressive rule. Darmo also credited Massad Boulos, father-in-law to Trump’s daughter Tiffany, for mobilizing various Middle Eastern Christian groups, including Chaldean Catholics, and other voters, particularly in Michigan, such as Muslims. “He brought all these minority groups together,” he said. “We’re hoping to continue that relationship.” But members of Middle Eastern-rooted Christian groups, and their politics, are far from monolithic, said Marcus Zacharia, founder of Progressive Copts, a program of Informed Immigrants, an organization that promotes dialogue on sensitive topics among such groups in the United States and Canada. He said many younger community members question Trump’s stances on issues such as immigration, and sense that conservatives sometimes tokenize them by focusing on the plight of persecuted Christians in the Middle East while neglecting wider issues of repression in countries there that the U.S. supports. He said there needs to be more informed dialogue across the political divide in these communities. “There is no more high time than these next four years to have that way of conducting conversations,” he said. Republicans also made an aggressive push for Amish voters , particularly in the swing state of Pennsylvania, where they are most numerous at about 92,000 (many below voting age). The GOP has made similar efforts in the past, even though researchers have found that less than 10% of them typically vote, due to their separatism from society. But Republicans used billboards, mailers, ads and door-to-door campaigner to drive turnout in Lancaster County, home base to the nation’s largest Amish settlement. On Election Day, Amish voters Samuel Stoltzfus and his wife Lillian Stoltzfus said they were supporting Trump, citing their anti-abortion beliefs. “We basically look at it as murder,” Stoltzfus, 31, said outside a polling center in the Lancaster County community of New Holland, where dozens of other members of the local Amish community voted. Trump has wavered on the issue, dismaying some abortion opponents, though many have said Republicans still align more closely to their views. Stolzfus added: “Make America great again and keep the moral values,” he said. “Let’s go back to the roots.” Steven Nolt, a history professor at Elizabethtown College in Lancaster College who studies the Amish and their voting patterns, said that while it’s too early to say definitively without further research, he doesn’t see evidence of a larger turnout this year. Lancaster County as a whole — most of which is not Amish — is a GOP stronghold that Trump won handily, though both parties’ votes edged up from 2020, according to unofficial results posted by the Pennsylvania Department of State. Trump’s biggest increases were in urban or suburban areas with few Amish, while some areas with larger Amish populations generally saw a modest increase in the Trump vote, said Nolt, director of the college’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. “Bottom line, percentage-wise, not much change in the parts of Lancaster County where the Amish live,” he said. Trump directly reached out to members of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of Orthodox Judaism. Related Articles National Politics | Attorneys want the US Supreme Court to say Mississippi’s felony voting ban is cruel and unusual National Politics | Trump convinced Republicans to overlook his misconduct. But can he do the same for his nominees? National Politics | Trump gave Interior nominee one directive for a half-billion acres of US land: ‘Drill.’ National Politics | Trump’s team is delaying transition agreements. What does it mean for security checks and governing? National Politics | Judge delays Trump hush money sentencing in order to decide where case should go now On Oct. 7, the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, Trump made a symbolically resonant visit to the “Ohel,” the burial site of the movement’s revered late leader, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson. Wearing a yarmulke, the traditional Jewish skullcap, Trump, who has Jewish family members, brought a written prayer to the Ohel and laid a small stone at the grave in keeping with tradition. The site in New York City, while particularly central to Chabad adherents, draws an array of Jewish and other visitors, including politicians. About two-thirds of Jewish voters overall supported Trump’s opponent, Democrat Kamala Harris, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters. But the Trump campaign has made a particular outreach to Orthodox Jews, citing issues including his policies toward Israel in his first administration. Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowitz of Chabad Lubavitch of Southwest Florida said it was moving for him to see images of Trump’s visit. “The mere fact that he made a huge effort, obviously it was important to him,” he said. Associated Press journalist Luis Henao contributed.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Tariq Francis had 23 points in NJIT's 69-64 win over Navy on Saturday. Francis shot 9 for 26 (1 for 8 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line for the Highlanders (2-9). Sebastian Robinson added 19 points while shooting 9 of 16 from the field while they also had five rebounds. Tim Moore Jr. went 4 of 6 from the field (1 for 3 from 3-point range) to finish with 10 points. The Midshipmen (3-7) were led in scoring by Donovan Draper, who finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Austin Benigni added 18 points and five assists for Navy. Aidan Kehoe also put up 10 points and seven rebounds. NJIT went into the half tied with Navy 33-33. Moore scored 10 points in the half. Francis' 17-point second half helped NJIT close out the five-point victory. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .None

NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani won his third Most Valuable Player Award and first in the National League, and Aaron Judge earned his second American League honor on Thursday. Ohtani was a unanimous MVP for the third time, receiving all 30 first-place votes and 420 points in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was second with 263 points and Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte third with 229. Judge was a unanimous pick for the first time. Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. got all 30 second-place votes for 270 points, and Yankees outfielder Juan Soto was third with 21 third-place votes and 229 points. Ohtani was unanimously voted the AL MVP in 2021 and 2023 as a two-way star for the Los Angeles Angels and finished second to Judge in 2022 voting. He didn't pitch in 2024 following elbow surgery and signed a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December. Ohtani joined Frank Robinson for Cincinnati in 1961 and Baltimore in 1966 as the only players to win the MVP award in both leagues. He was the first player to twice become an unanimous MVP. He had combined with Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2023 for the first year both MVPs were unanimous. Ohtani hit .310, stole 59 bases and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs exclusively as a designated hitter, becoming the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. He helped the Dodgers to the World Series title, playing the final three games with a torn labrum in his left shoulder. "The ultimate goal from the beginning was to win a World Series, which we are able to accomplish," he said through a translator. "The next goal is for me to do it again and so right now I'm in the middle of rehab and working out and getting stronger." When Ohtani returns to the mound, could he win MVP and the Cy Young Award in the same year? "That would obviously be great, but right now my focus is just to get to get back healthy, come back stronger, get back on the mound and show everybody what I can do," Ohtani said. Ohtani became the first primary DH to win an MVP in a season that started with the revelation his longtime interpreter and friend, Ippei Mizuhara, had stolen nearly $17 million from the star to fund gambling. Ohtani is the 12th player with three or more MVPs, joining Barry Bonds (seven) and Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout (three each). Balloting was conducted before the postseason. Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers, 144 RBIs and 133 walks while hitting .322. Witt topped the big leagues with a .332 average, hitting 32 homers with 31 stolen bases and 109 RBIs. Soto batted .288 with 41 homers and 109 RBIs. When Judge won his first MVP award in 2022, he received 28 first-place votes while Ohtani got the other two. Judge had discussed the MVP award with Philadelphia's Bryce Harper, the NL winner in 2015 and '21. "I was telling him, `Man, I'm going to try to catch up to you with these MVPs here, man,'" Judge recalled. "He'd say, hopefully, he could stay a couple ahead of me, which I think he'll do." When Judge won his first MVP award in 2022, he received 28 first-place votes while Ohtani got the other two. He is the Yankees' 22nd MVP winner, four more than any other team. Judge was hitting .207 with six homers and 18 RBIs through April, then batted .352 with 52 homers and 126 RBIs in 127 games. "March and April were not my friend this year." Judge said. "Just keep putting in the work and things are going to change. You can't mope. You can't feel sorry for yourself. Especially in New York, nobody's going to feel sorry for you. So you just got to go out there and put up the numbers?" ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The St. Petersburg City Council reversed course Thursday on whether to spend more than $23 million to repair the hurricane-shredded roof of the Tampa Bay Rays' ballpark, initially voting narrowly for approval and hours later changing course. The reversal on fixing Tropicana Field came after the council voted to delay consideration of revenue bonds for a proposed new $1.3 billion Rays ballpark. Just two days before, the Pinellas County Commission postponed a vote on its share of the new stadium bonds, leaving that project in limbo. “This is a sad place. I'm really disappointed,” council chair Deborah Figg-Sanders said. “We won’t get there if we keep finding ways we can’t.” The Rays say the lack of progress puts the new stadium plan and the future of Tropicana Field in jeopardy. “I can't say I'm confident about anything,” Rays co-president Brian Auld told the council members. The Trop's translucent fiberglass roof was ripped to pieces on Oct. 9 when Hurricane Milton swept ashore just south of Tampa Bay. There was also significant water damage inside the ballpark, with a city estimate of the total repair costs pegged at $55.7 million. The extensive repairs cannot be finished before the 2026 season, city documents show. The Rays made a deal with the Yankees to play next season at 11,000-seat Steinbrenner Field, New York's spring training home across the bay in Tampa. The initial vote Thursday was to get moving on the roof portion of the repair. Once that's done, crews could begin working on laying down a new baseball field, fixing damaged seating and office areas and a variety of electronic systems — which would require another vote to approve money for the remaining restoration. The subsequent vote reversing funding for the roof repair essentially means the city and Rays must work on an alternative in the coming weeks so that Tropicana Field can possibly be ready for the 2026 season. The city is legally obligated to fix the roof. Pittsburgh hired Matt Hague as its hitting coach, bringing him back to the team that drafted him in 2008. Hague replaces Andy Haines, who was fired after Pittsburgh finished in the bottom 10 in the majors in every significant statistical category last season, including runs (24th) and home runs (25th), while also striking out a club-record 1,504 times, second-most in the National League behind Colorado. The 39-year-old Hague spent last season as an assistant hitting coach with the Toronto Blue Jays. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

The big news out of the baseball world on Thursday is that Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge are unanimous MVP winners for the 2024 MLB season. Well, duh. Here's hoping everyone enjoyed their work, because the likes of it will probably never be seen again. Ohtani winning the National League MVP and Judge winning the American League MVP is about as surprising as the sun and moon changing places every 24 hours. Frankly, MLB Network's hour-long reveal special could have been condensed into two seconds. Though it was his first in the NL for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani now has three MVPs. That puts him in a club with only 11 other players, though he is the only one (h/t Sarah Langs of MLB.com) to win each of his three by unanimous votes. Judge, meanwhile, now has two MVPs and can count himself as one of seven players to win multiple MVPs as a New York Yankee. Though neither lived up to his billing in the playoffs, this moment is nothing if not an exclamation point for Ohtani and Judge. And in all likelihood, the 2024 season will go down as arguably the finest hour either slugger ever had. MLB Has Never Had an MVP Duo Like This One Remember when Ohtani and Judge went head-to-head in the 2022 AL MVP race? Though Judge won with 28 out of 30 first-place votes, even his AL-record-setting 62 home runs didn't paper over Ohtani's case completely. Rightfully so, as he was a top-five hitter and pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels that year. Compared to 2024, though, the '22 season looks like a warm-up act for Ohtani and Judge. Forced to take a break from pitching by way of a second major elbow operation , Ohtani set a career-high with a 190 OPS+ and, oh yeah, chartered MLB's 50-50 Club with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. For his part, Judge came two homers short of becoming the third hitter to post multiple 60-homer seasons. And this time, he posted career bests with a .322 average, a .458 OBP, a .701 slugging percentage and a 1.159 OPS. At his hottest, Judge had a 100-game span in which he had a 1.344 OPS and 45 home runs. The only other player to hit those marks within a single season: Barry Bonds in 2001. Don't say "Holy smokes" just yet, because it gets better. When you combine key stats for Ohtani and Judge, here's where they rank among MVP duos since the modern version of the award was born in 1931: This is not counting 1979, when Willie Stargell and Keith Hernandez shared the NL award and made it an MVP trio with AL winner Don Baylor. Otherwise, you just have to hand it to Stan Musial and Lou Boudreau for beating Ohtani and Judge with a combined 21.7 rWAR in 1948. As for what comes next for Ohtani and Judge, well, that's a nice parade you've got there. It would be a shame if someone rained on it. What's Next for Ohtani? As a general rule, doubting Shohei Ohtani is dangerous. It's because of him, after all, that we know it is possible for one person to be an elite hitter and an elite pitcher. And, of course, to top 50 homers and 50 steals in a season. Anyone who dared to proclaim as such before he came from Japan in 2017 probably would have tried as a heretic. It is nonetheless plausible that 2024 will be Ohtani's high point as a sheer offensive force, if for no other reason than he likely won't ever go 50-50 again. History says as much, as hitters are now just 1-for-95,387 in making such seasons happen. With his return to pitching due up in 2025, it's also worth remembering that Ohtani's two-way act functioned as a sort of tax on his offensive output between 2021 and 2023: Granted, the Dodgers will live with Ohtani being a less effective hitter if he still has the goods to dominate from the mound. And he will do so if his fastball still touches triple digits and his splitter and sweeper are filth-tastic. But does anyone want to bank on it? We know that Ohtani has had one Tommy John surgery . And while we knew frustratingly little at first, we learned via his surgeon in March that his second elbow surgery was part-Tommy John, part-internal brace procedure. Those who would be optimistic about Ohtani's pitching future after these surgeries don't have much to lean on. There aren't many success stories among pitchers who've had Tommy John multiple times. For pitchers who've had Tommy John and internal brace procedures, there's basically only Rich Hill and Drew Rasmussen to consider. Oh, and the Dodgers? They're not great at keeping pitchers healthy . Ohtani obviously won't be out of work if his return to pitching doesn't pan out. The surgery he had to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder after the World Series doesn't set off loud alarms. It is neither his throwing shoulder nor his lead shoulder in the batter's box. Even still, you can probably rule out Ohtani ever stealing 50 bases again. He will enter his age-30 season in 2025, putting him in territory where 50-steal seasons have been exceedingly uncommon ( i.e., twice since 2001 ) in the 21st century. Otherwise, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported in May that Ohtani would "likely be amenable" if the Dodgers asked him to give up pitching to be an outfielder. If that comes to pass, he'll have a whole new reason to spare his legs undue effort. What's Next for Judge? As for Judge, well, what is there to worry about? He just became only the second hitter since 1957 to top a 220 OPS+ in a season, and his Baseball Savant page looks like somebody spilled red paint all over it. Still, Judge is a 6'7", 282-pounder who will turn 33 on April 26, 2025, and who may or may not be needed back in center field. Where Judge plays going forward hinges on whether the Yankees re-sign Juan Soto. If they don't, right field will be open. If they do, it's notable that the Yankees preferred Judge in center even after they called up Jasson Domínguez late in 2024. If the Yankees continue to use Judge in center, they wouldn't be the first team to use a 33-year-old as a regular out there. But in recent times, precedents for that kind of behavior include guys like Kevin Kiermaier, Brett Gardner, Lorenzo Cain, Denard Span, Ángel Pagán and Coco Crisp. None of them was as big as Judge, whose size may be destined to become a problem no matter what. He's at an age where most hitters are either already burning out or are in danger of doing so. And for bigger hitters, the risk is greater. Upon tallying all the Runs Created ever produced, I found that hitters of 250 pounds or more compiled a larger percentage (87 percent) through the age of 32 than hitters under 250 pounds (84 percent). And this is just a general picture. Judge really is a special case, as he's one of only three hitters of at least 6'5" and 250 pounds to have had a notable career in MLB. The others are Adam Dunn and Frank Howard, and neither offers a compelling reason to believe Judge has a long runway of good seasons still ahead of him. Both were still pretty good at 33 and then a cliff came for each soon after. It's hard to imagine Judge's own cliff arriving so soon after he did [waves hands] that in 2024, but bear in mind that cliffs sneak up on hitters all the time. Heck, it was just two years ago that Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado finished first and third in the NL MVP voting. Now, the former is a middle-tier free agent and the latter is a salary-dump trade candidate . All this said, please don't mistake the takeaway here for a dire warning that Ohtani and Judge are doomed to fail in 2025 and forever afterward. This has been an attempt to ponder their mortality, not to dig their graves. Even more so, this is a plea not to take what Ohtani and Judge did in 2024 for granted. Their individual and collective feats were extraordinary in every known sense of the word. A couple of MVP awards are the least that they deserve. What they really earned is the right to have their 2024 seasons remembered forever. Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference , FanGraphs and Baseball Savant .TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Shaquil Barrett is rejoining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs signed the two-time Super Bowl champion on Saturday, while also announcing safety Jordan Whitehead was activated from injured reserve ahead of Sunday’s home game against the Carolina Panthers. Barrett spent five seasons with Tampa Bay from 2019 to 2023. He led the NFL with a franchise-record 19 1-2 sacks in his first year with the Bucs, then helped the team win its second Super Bowl title the following season. In all, Barrett started 70 games with Tampa Bay, amassing 45 sacks, 15 forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and three interceptions. He was released last winter in a salary cap move, signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins in free agency, then abruptly announced his retirement on social media before the start of training camp in July. Barrett, who also won a Super Bowl during a four-season stint with the Denver Broncos, decided to unretire last month. He signed with the Bucs after clearing waivers earlier in the week. Whitehead has missed the past four games with a pectoral injury. His return comes of the heels of the Bucs placing safety Christian Izien on IR with a pectoral injury. On Saturday, the Bucs also activated rookie wide receiver Kameron Johnson from IR and elevated punter Jack Browning to the active roster from the practice squad. NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflNEW YORK (AP) — He's making threats, traveling abroad and negotiating with world leaders. Donald Trump has more than a month and a half to go before he's sworn in for a second term. But the Republican president-elect is already moving aggressively not just to fill his Cabinet and outline policy goals, but to achieve those priorities . Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, prompting emergency calls and a visit from Canada's prime minister that resulted in what Trump claimed were commitments from both U.S. allies on new border security measures. The incoming president has warned there will be “ALL HELL TO PAY" if, before his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, Hamas does not release the hostages being held in Gaza . He has threatened to block the purchase of U.S. Steel by a Japanese company, warning "Buyer Beware!!!” And this weekend, Trump was returning to the global stage, joining a host of other foreign leaders for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral five years after it was ravaged by a fire. On Saturday, he met with French President Emmanuel Macron — joined at the last minute by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — and had plans to see Britain's Prince William also in Paris. Absent in Paris: lame duck President Joe Biden, who has largely disappeared from headlines, except when he issued a pardon of his son , Hunter, who was facing sentencing for gun crimes and tax evasion. First lady Jill Biden is attending in his place. “I think you have seen more happen in the last two weeks than you’ve seen in the last four years. And we’re not even there yet,” Trump said in an over-the-top boast at an awards ceremony Thursday night . For all of Trump's bold talk, though, it is unclear how many of his efforts will bear fruit. The pre-inauguration threats and deal-making are highly unusual, like so much of what Trump does, said Julian Zelizer, a political historian at Princeton University. “Transitions are always a little complicated in this way. Even though we talk about one president at a time," he said, “the reality is one president plus. And that plus can act assertively sometimes." Zelizer said that is particularly true of Trump, who was president previously and already has relationships with many foreign leaders such as Macron, who invited both Trump and Biden to Paris this weekend as part of the Notre Dame celebration. “Right now he’s sort of governing even though he’s not the president yet. He’s having these public meetings with foreign leaders, which aren't simply introductions. He's staking out policy and negotiating things from drug trafficking to tariffs," Zelizer said. Trump already has met with several foreign leaders, in addition to a long list of calls. He hosted Argentinian President Javier Milei in Florida at his Mar-a-Lago club in November. After the tariff threat, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago for a three-hour dinner meeting. Canadian officials later said the country is ready to make new investments in border security, with plans for more helicopters, drones and law enforcement officers. Last Sunday, Trump dined with Sara Netanyahu, wife of the Israeli prime minister. Incoming Trump aides have also been meeting with their future foreign counterparts. On Wednesday, several members of Trump's team, including incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz, met with Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Zelenskyy, in Washington, as Ukraine tries to win support for its ongoing efforts to defend itself from Russian invasion, according to a person familiar with the meeting. Yermak also met with Trump officials in Florida, he wrote on X . That comes after Trump's incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Qatar and Israel for high-level talks about a cease-fire and hostage deal in Gaza, according to a U.S familiar with the efforts, meeting with the prime ministers of both countries. There is no prohibition on incoming officials or nominees meeting with foreign officials, and it is common and fine for them to do so — unless those meetings are designed to subvert or otherwise impact current U.S. policy. Trump aides were said to be especially cognizant of potential conflicts given their experience in 2016, when interactions between Trump allies and Russian officials came under scrutiny. That included a phone call in which Trump's incoming national security adviser, Michael Flynn, discussed new sanctions with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, suggesting things would improve after Trump became president. Flynn was later charged with lying to the FBI about the conversation. Trump’s incoming press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that, “All transition officials have followed applicable laws in their interactions with foreign nationals.” She added: “World leaders recognize that President Trump is returning to power and will lead with strength to put the best interests of the United States of America first again. That is why many foreign leaders and officials have reached out to correspond with President Trump and his incoming team.” Such efforts can nonetheless cause complications. If, say, Biden is having productive conversations on a thorny foreign policy issue and Trump weighs in, that could make it harder for Biden “because people are hearing two different voices” that may be in conflict, Zelizer said. Leaders like Russia's Vladimir Putin and Netanyahu may also anticipate a more favorable incoming administration and wait Biden out, hoping for more a better deal. It also remains unclear how extensively the Biden administration has been kept apprised of Trump transition efforts. Although there is no requirement that an incoming administration coordinate calls and meetings with foreign officials with the State Department or National Security Council, that has long been considered standard practice. That is, in part, because transition teams, particularly in their early days and weeks, do not always have the latest information about the state of relations with foreign nations and may not have the resources, including interpretation and logistical ability, to handle such meetings efficiently. Still, the Biden and Trump teams have been talking, particularly on the Middle East, with the incoming and outgoing administrations having agreed to work together on efforts to free hostages who remain in held in Gaza, according to a U.S. official, who, like others, was not authorized to comment publicly about the sensitive talks and spoke on condition of anonymity. That includes conversations between Witkoff and Biden’s foreign policy team as well as Waltz and Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Last month, Biden administration officials said they had kept Trump’s team closely apprised of efforts to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah on the Israel-Lebanon border. “I just want to be clear to all of our adversaries, they can’t play the incoming Trump administration off of the Biden administration. I’m regularly talking to the Biden people. And so, this is not a moment of opportunity or wedges for them," Waltz said Friday in a Fox Business interview. But when it comes to immigration, Biden administration officials haven’t been entirely in the loop on discussions around how to execute on Trump’s pledge to deport millions of migrants, according to four administration officials with knowledge of the transition who spoke on condition of anonymity. That’s not terribly surprising given how differently the teams view migration. Trump’s team, meanwhile, is already claiming credit for everything from gains in the stock and cryptocurrency markets to a decision by Walmart to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion policies Trump opposes. “Promises Kept — And President Trump Hasn’t Even Been Inaugurated Yet,” read one press release that claimed, in part, that both Canada and Mexico have already pledged "immediate action” to help “stem the flow of illegal immigration, human trafficking, and deadly drugs entering the United States." Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has stopped short of saying Trump mischaracterized their call in late November. But she said Friday that Trump “has his own way of communicating, like when we had the phone call and he wrote that we were going to close the border. That was never talked about in the phone call.” Earlier this week, Mexico carried out what it claimed was its largest seizure of fentanyl pills ever. Seizures over the summer had been as little as 50 grams per week, and after the Trump call, they seized more than a ton. Security analyst David Saucedo said that "under the pressure by Donald Trump, it appears President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration is willing to increase the capture of drug traffickers and drug seizures that Washington is demanding.” Biden, too, tried to take credit for the seizure in a statement Friday night. ___ Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani, Colleen Long and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.