7xm app HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s 2023-24 Legislative Session closed Dec. 1 and the next session, while officially underway, doesn’t fully begin until lawmakers are sworn into office Jan. 7. Looking back, members of the state House and Senate introduced 3,862 bills and 924 resolutions across the two-year session. There were 77 bills adopted into law in 2023 and 162 adopted in 2024. The combined total of 239 was far fewer than the previous six legislative sessions. There hasn’t been a lower total since 2009-10 when 226 bills advanced into law — the last time the Pennsylvania General Assembly had a partisan divide. Democrats controlled the House while Republicans led the Senate. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, often cites the challenge of advancing legislation with a split government. That dynamic won’t change in 2025-26. Though there are 20 new members joining the Legislature — 16 in the House, four in the Senate — the respective parties defended their majorities. Republicans have a 28-22 advantage in the Senate while Democrats maintained a 102-101 margin in the House. This week, The Daily Item will offer looks back at the outcome of legislation proposed last session by area lawmakers, beginning with Joanne Stehr, a Republican from the 107th Legislative District. Republican Rep. Joanne Stehr ran unopposed for re-election this year, securing a second term as the 107th Legislative District’s representative in the Pennsylvania House. Her district consists of southern Northumberland and western Schuylkill counties. Stehr served on the following committees during the 2023-24 Legislative Session: Aging & Older Adult Services, Health, Liquor Control and Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness. She was also the Republican chair for the Subcommittee on Programs & Benefits. Last session, Stehr co-sponsored 109 bills and resolutions and introduced one as a prime sponsor. A longtime home health care and hospice nurse, Stehr proposed through her House Bill 418 that Children & Youth agencies across Pennsylvania hire a nurse for their respective staffs. The bill also proposed that the agencies and their respective nurse hires have access to a physician for case consultation. Children & Youth agencies maintain constant caseloads of children who’ve been neglected or abused. Stehr believes a nurse on staff would help social workers better understand a child’s medical records as they’re investigating claims. The bill was referred to the House committee on Children & Youth but it didn’t receive consideration. Stehr joined a group of Republican representatives to propose a package of three bills intended to build out the long-term care workforce in Pennsylvania. Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate, too. Citing federal data that showed Pennsylvania’s long-term care workforce shrunk by 14% from 2019 to 2022, the respective legislative packages looked to allow nursing students and graduates to more quickly take the Certified Nurse Aide exam, pursue skills competency exams in lieu of a high school diploma or GED, and allow high school juniors and seniors to earn up to two credits toward graduation if they work in a congregate health care setting. The House package didn’t gain traction. Two of the three Senate bills advanced to the House but lost momentum. With her experience as a hospice nurse, Stehr joined a collective of House Republicans and Democrats in proposing a bill to allow licensed practical nurses to make death pronouncements in hospice settings. Again, companion legislation was introduced in the Senate, too, with Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver, R-Northumberland/Snyder/Montour/Columbia/Luzerne, as a prime sponsor. Culver’s and Stehr’s districts overlap. The Senate bill was the legislative vehicle lawmakers chose to advance and it moved into law as Act 137 of 2024 with almost no opposition. Though introduced too late last session to receive consideration, Stehr joined fellow Schuylkill County Republican Rep. Tim Twardzik in introducing a measure intended to further empower the Department of Health to determine which physicians should be included in Pennsylvania’s physician registry for its Medical Marijuana Program. They cited a Spotlight PA investigation that found that the Department of Health rarely prevents practitioners from inclusion on the registry despite past disciplinary action. Given the bill’s timing, it’s likely to be reintroduced in the 2025-26 session.The Giants were a no-show against the Bucs after releasing quarterback Daniel JonesFrom iconic classics to new music releases, Pitchfork recently chose the top 10 K-Pop albums to ever exist. Check out the ranking below! 10. Queendom — Red Velvet Queendom was packed with feel-good summer vibes and catchy tunes, showing off Red Velvet’s versatility and why they’re considered queens of K-pop concepts. 9. BE — BTS BE was like a comforting hug during the pandemic, with songs like “Life Goes On” bringing hope and connection to fans everywhere. 8. Love Yourself: Tear — BTS This album hit hard with its emotional take on heartbreak and self-discovery, and tracks like “Fake Love” showed why BTS connects with so many people. 7. FOREVER 1 — Girls’ Generation Celebrating 15 years together, FOREVER 1 was both nostalgic and fresh, proving Girls’ Generation is timeless. 6. Taste of Love — TWICE With its tropical, flirty vibe, Taste of Love felt like summer in album form and showed TWICE growing into a more mature sound. 5. 4 Walls — f(X) 4 Walls took f(x)’s music to the next level with EDM tracks and a super polished sound that’s still a favorite for fans of experimental K-pop. 4. CRUSH — 2NE1 CRUSH showed off 2NE1’s bold style, with hits like “Come Back Home” mixing futuristic beats and heartfelt lyrics. 3. The ReVe Festival 2022 – Feel My Rhythm — Red Velvet This album mixed classical vibes with Red Velvet’s creative edge, and “Feel My Rhythm” was the perfect mix of elegant and unique. 2. Get Up — NewJeans Get Up was full of fresh songs that proved NewJeans are trailblazers in the new era of K-pop. 1. Seo Taiji n Boys — Seo Taiji n Boys This debut changed the game by mixing Western sounds with Korean music, creating the blueprint for what K-pop is today.

Richard Parsons, prominent Black executive who led Time Warner and Citigroup, dies at 76

Activision’s 20,000 cheater ban mocked by BO6 & Warzone players as “worthless”Innovators from universities and research institutions worldwide are encouraged to submit proposals until January 31, 2025 , at https://bridge.lgensol.com/ . Since its inaugural competition in 2017, BIC has been LG Energy Solution's flagship research contest. This year's edition has been revamped to foster greater collaboration between academia and industry. Selected researchers will receive annual research funding of up to USD 150,000 annually. Additional funding may be granted to projects making significant achievements through extended contracts. "By presenting specific research optics, we aim to go beyond merely supporting academia and maximize the mutual benefits between the industry and academia," said an LG Energy Solution spokesperson. To facilitate active collaboration, LG Energy Solution has introduced the ' BRIDGE ' system, a platform designed to manage open innovation programs like BIC. The system facilitates seamless collaborations with features that help teams working on joint research projects track their objectives and deliverables. LG Energy Solution has unveiled the preselected 18 research topics for collaborative projects on the ' BRIDGE ' platform, such Battery Safety diagnosis algorithm technology and New materials for LFP Batteries topic. At the same time, the contest retains its traditional format to ensure participants are free to propose completely original research ideas. All research proposals must be submitted through the ' BRIDGE ' system. "The BIC platform serves as a bridge of wisdom between members of academia and industry, driving technological innovation for the all-important battery sector," said Je-Young Kim , CTO of LG Energy Solution. "Through this initiative, we aim to provide differentiated value to our customers by strengthening our technology leadership." As of today, LG Energy Solution has supported 26 battery research projects through the 'BIC' initiative, with some evolving into large-scale projects that have received additional funding and resources. Thanks to the success of this competition, the company continues to establish partnerships with world-leading universities and research institutions, reinforcing its commitment to preparing the battery field for the future. About LG Energy Solution LG Energy Solution (KRX: 373220), a split-off from LG Chem, is a leading global manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, mobility, IT, and energy storage systems. With 30 years of experience in revolutionary battery technology and extensive research and development (R&D), the company is the top battery-related patent holder in the world with over 58,000 patents. Its robust global network, which spans North America, Europe, and Asia , includes battery manufacturing facilities established through joint ventures with major automakers. Committed to building sustainable battery ecosystem, LG Energy Solution aims to achieve carbon neutrality across its value chain by 2050, while embodying the value of shared growth and promoting diverse and inclusive corporate culture. To learn more about LG Energy Solution's ideas and innovations, visit https://news.lgensol.com .SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Getting blown out at Green Bay following another squandered late lead the previous week against Seattle has quickly turned the San Francisco 49ers from a Super Bowl contender into a team just fighting to get back to the playoffs. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Getting blown out at Green Bay following another squandered late lead the previous week against Seattle has quickly turned the San Francisco 49ers from a Super Bowl contender into a team just fighting to get back to the playoffs. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Getting blown out at Green Bay following another squandered late lead the previous week against Seattle has quickly turned the San Francisco 49ers from a Super Bowl contender into a team just fighting to get back to the playoffs. If San Francisco doesn’t get healthy and eliminate the errors that led to Sunday’s 38-10 loss to the Packers, the focus will turn from playoff permutations to what offseason changes are necessary. “I think everyone understands completely outside and inside what the situation is,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday. “That’s why the Seattle game was so tough of a loss and that’s why last night was even worse. We know what we got ahead of us. We know exactly what the playoff situation is. That is what it is. But really, all that matters is this week when you do need to go on a run and put a lot of wins to even think of that.” The task doesn’t get any easier as the Niners (5-6) get set to play at Buffalo on Sunday night. The 49ers are hoping to get injured stars Brock Purdy, Nick Bosa and Trent Williams back for that game, but their presence alone won’t fix everything that went wrong on Sunday. The defense got repeatedly gashed early and put San Francisco in a 17-0 hole before the offense even generated a first down. The running game never got going as Christian McCaffrey has looked nothing like the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year in his three games back from Achilles tendinitis. And whenever the Niners appeared to do something right, a penalty came back to haunt them. It added up to the most lopsided loss for San Francisco since the 2018 season, before Shanahan had turned the Niners into perennial contenders. “It’s probably one of the worst ones I’ve been a part of,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “It is embarrassing. You’ve got to take it on the chin, take it like a man and move on.” Despite the doom and gloom, the 49ers are only one game behind Seattle and Arizona in the NFC West standings with six games to go. But San Francisco already has three division losses and a difficult schedule featuring games against the Bills this week and Detroit in Week 17. “My optimism is not broken by any means,” tight end George Kittle said. “We still have a lot of very talented players. We will get some guys back and I still have full trust in the coaching staff to put our guys in position to make plays. I have no worry about that. But definitely an uphill grind. We’ll see what we’re made of, which I’m looking forward to.” What’s working Red-zone passes to Kittle. Backup QB Brandon Allen connected on a 3-yard TD pass to Kittle late in the second quarter for San Francisco’s only TD. Kittle leads the NFL with eight touchdown catches in the red zone, which is tied with Vernon Davis (2013) for the most in a season for a Niners player since 2000. Kittle was the only consistent part of the San Francisco offense with six catches for 82 yards. What needs help Avoiding penalties. San Francisco had nine penalties for 77 yards and they were costly and sloppy. The Niners had 12 men on the field on defense on back-to-back plays, three false starts, a pass interference in the end zone and three penalties on special teams, including a holding on Eric Saubert that negated an 87-yard kickoff return by Deebo Samuel to open the second half. Rookie Dominick Puni had three penalties after being penalized just once in the first 10 games. Stock up DE Leonard Floyd. There were few positive performances on defense, but Floyd had both of the team’s sacks. Stock down Run defense. San Francisco allowed 169 yards rushing, including 87 in the first quarter for the team’s second-worst performance in the opening quarter since 1991. The Niners missed 19 tackles, according to Pro Football Focus, as Josh Jacobs gained 83 of his 106 yards rushing after contact. Injuries Purdy took part in a light throwing session without pain on Monday and Shanahan is hopeful he can return to practice Wednesday after missing the Green Bay game with a shoulder injury. ... Bosa (hip, oblique) and Williams (ankle) also could return this week after sitting out Sunday. ... LG Aaron Banks, DT Jordan Elliott and WR Jacob Cowing all in the concussion protocol. ... RG Dominick Puni (shoulder) and CB Deommodore Lenoir (knee) underwent MRIs on Monday and the team is waiting for results. ... CB Renardo Green (neck) and LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee) are day to day. Key number Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 11 — The Niners generated only 11 first downs, tied for the fewest in any game in eight seasons under Shanahan. They also had 11 in the 2022 NFC title game loss at Philadelphia when Purdy hurt his elbow and in Week 2 against Seattle in Shanahan’s first season in 2017. What’s next The 49ers visit Buffalo on Sunday night. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL Advertisement Advertisement

The ruling comes after a lawsuit was filed by nine current players who argued that letting her compete was a safety risk and unfair.

President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia held extensive discussions at the State House in Asmara, Eritrea, on Wednesday, focusing on the consolidation of bilateral ties and addressing regional and international issues of mutual concern. A statement from the Eritrean Foreign Ministry said the two leaders underlined the importance of Somalia's stability for the entire Horn of Africa region. "Securing and [guaranteeing] Somalia's stability is pivotal for enduring regional peace and stability. In this respect, the two leaders discussed, in greater depth, salient agendas that promote achievement of the desired objective," the statement said. Leaders meet for summit In October, the leaders of Egypt, Eritrea and Somalia met for a three-way summit in Asmara against a backdrop of heightened tensions in the Horn of Africa region between Somalia and Ethiopia. The October meeting, in which the leaders aligned to sign an agreement covering defense, security, and diplomatic and political cooperation, followed concerns about security and stability that resulted from a controversial deal Ethiopia signed in January with the breakaway Somali region of Somaliland. That deal, if enacted, would give Ethiopia long-sought access to the Red Sea. Somali diplomats, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter, told VOA that the two leaders also discussed on Dec. 11 an Ethiopia-Somalia agreement in Ankara that aimed at ending diplomatic tensions between the neighboring countries. They said they have an agreement in principle but are working on technicalities. According to the Eritrean Foreign Ministry, during their talks on Wednesday, Isaias said that it was necessary for the region to overcome external interventions that often exacerbate conflicts, stressing that local challenges must be addressed internally. "President Isaias elaborated on the imperative for the region to extricate itself from external interventions that often advance agendas of incubating and fomenting conflict and chaos in the region. In the event, it is critical for the region to address and resolve its own challenges." In a subsequent statement to the Eritrean Press, Somali's president expressed his appreciation for Eritrea's contributions in the ongoing efforts for training Somalia's National Army and security institutions. "The support of Eritrea to Somalia is vital for the stability of Somalia as well as the Horn of Africa region. Somalia can learn from Eritrea's vast experiences in the efforts to foster viable and robust partnerships," Mohamud said. Leaders reaffirm objectives The two leaders in a statement reaffirmed the objectives laid out in the October Tripartite Summit agreement between Eritrea, Somalia and Egypt, aimed at enhancing cooperation and promoting stability in the region. The discussions come against the backdrop of Egypt's commitment to contribute troops to the African Union Somalia peacekeeping mission, highlighting the growing collaboration between Somalia and Egypt amid regional tensions, particularly concerning Ethiopia's plans to get sea access in Somaliland. Eritrea has been training thousands of Somalia forces for at least four years. Most of the military has received regular and specialized training, including the naval force, as well as mechanized units. Mohamud's visit was the eighth since his reelection in May 2022 and the fourth this year.

Good Mama detergent has rewarded loyal consumers with prizes worth over N5m during its recently concluded ‘Good Mama’s Day Out’ campaign in Ibadan, Lagos, and Ilorin, blending fashion, entertainment, and community engagement to celebrate personal style and brand loyalty. In a statement, Good Mama stated that its campaign kicked off in Ibadan on November 23, 2024, and culminated in Ilorin, with Lagos hosting a fashion show featuring social media influencer Tomike Adeoye, popularly known as Olori Ebi. Attendees competed in categories like Best Dressed, Best Head Tie, and Best Catwalk for prizes that included cash, washing machines, and pressing irons. Brand Manager, Ramat Haruna, explained that the event aimed to “celebrate personal style and community spirit,” while also showcasing the practical benefits of the Good Mama detergent. Related News Drop in beans price excites Lagos traders, consumers Electricity consumers demand disconnection over rising tariffs Consumers exploited through counterfeit products – Minister Head of Marketing, Toyin Dania, emphasised the campaign’s focus on creating meaningful consumer connections, stating, “This was an opportunity to celebrate consumers’ confidence and style. It allowed us to go beyond selling a product by creating a community-driven experience.” Participants also engaged in interactive activities like wash demonstrations, games, and raffle draws. The events showcased Good Mama’s advanced detergent formula, which promises extra clean and fresh results, aligning with the campaign’s theme of presenting one’s best self. The brand added it launched an ongoing online campaign tagged ‘Vibe in Style with Good Mama’ to complement the physical events, including Lyrical Challenge, Laundry Moment, and Own Your Style, offering consumers additional chances to win cash prizes and other rewards.Smith to be assessed for Palace visit after 'feeling some tightness' at United

Climate Justice at ICJWASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee's long-awaited report on Matt Gaetz documents a trove of salacious allegations, including sex with an underage girl, that tanked the Florida Republican's bid to lead the Justice Department. Citing text messages, travel receipts, online payments and testimony, the bipartisan committee paints a picture of a lifestyle in which Gaetz and others connected with younger women for drug-fueled parties, events or trips, with the expectation the women would be paid for their participation. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., closes a door to a private meeting with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. The former congressman, who filed a last-minute lawsuit to try to block the report's release Monday, slammed the committee's findings. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and has insisted he never had sex with a minor. And a Justice Department investigation into the allegations ended without any criminal charges filed against him. "Giving funds to someone you are dating — that they didn't ask for — and that isn't 'charged' for sex is now prostitution?!?" Gaetz wrote in one post Monday. "There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve-Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses." Here's a look at some of the committee's key findings: The committee found that between 2017 and 2020, Gaetz paid tens of thousands of dollars to women "likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use." He paid the women using through online services such as PayPal, Venmo and CashApp and with cash or check, the committee said. The committee said it found evidence that Gaetz understood the "transactional nature" of his relationships with the women. The report points to one text exchange in which Gaetz balked at a woman's request that he send her money, "claiming she only gave him a 'drive by.'" Women interviewed by the committee said there was a "general expectation of sex," the report said. One woman who received more than $5,000 from Gaetz between 2018 and 2019 said that "99 percent of the time" that when she hung out with Gaetz "there was sex involved." However, Gaetz was in a long-term relationship with one of the women he paid, so "some of the payments may have been of a legitimate nature," the committee said. Text messages obtained by the committee also show that Gaetz would ask the women to bring drugs to their "rendezvous," the report said. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., attends the cocktail hour of New York Young Republican Club's annual gala at Cipriani Wall Street, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in New York. While most of his encounters with the women were in Florida, the committee said Gaetz also traveled "on several occasions" with women whom he paid for sex. The report includes text message exchanges in which Gaetz appears to be inviting various women to events, getaways or parties, and arranging airplane travel and lodging. Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg, who pleaded guilty to sex trafficking charges in 2021, initially connected with women through an online service. In one text with a 20-year-old woman, Greenberg suggested if she had a friend, the four of them could meet up. The woman responded that she usually does "$400 per meet." Greenberg replied: "He understands the deal," along with a smiley face emoji. Greenberg asked if they were old enough to drink alcohol, and sent the woman a picture of Gaetz. The woman responded that her friend found him "really cute." "Well, he's down here for only for the day, we work hard and play hard," Greenberg replied. The report details a party in July 2017 in which Gaetz is accused of having sex with "multiple women, including the 17-year-old, for which they were paid." The committee pointed to "credible testimony" from the now-woman herself as well as "multiple individuals" who corroborated the allegation. The then-17-year-old — who had just completed her junior year in high school — told the committee that Gaetz paid her $400 in cash that night, "which she understood to be payment for sex," according to the report. The woman acknowledged that she had taken ecstasy the night of the party, but told the committee that she was "certain" of her sexual encounters with the then-congressman. There's no evidence that Gaetz knew she was a minor when he had sex with her, the committee said. The woman told the committee she didn't tell Gaetz she was under 18 at the time and he didn't ask how old she was. Rather, the committee said Gaetz learned she was a minor more than a month after the party. But he stayed in touch with her after that and met up with her for "commercial sex" again less than six months after she turned 18, according to the committee. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., center, attends the cocktail hour of New York Young Republican Club's annual gala at Cipriani Wall Street, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in New York. In sum, the committee said it authorized 29 subpoenas for documents and testimony, reviewed nearly 14,000 documents and contacted more than two dozen witnesses. But when the committee subpoenaed Gaetz for his testimony, he failed to comply. "Gaetz pointed to evidence that would 'exonerate' him yet failed to produce any such materials," the committee said. Gaetz "continuously sought to deflect, deter, or mislead the Committee in order to prevent his actions from being exposed." The report details a months-long process that dragged into a year as it sought information from Gaetz that he decried as "nosey" and a "weaponization" of government against him. In one notable exchange, investigators were seeking information about the expenses for a 2018 getaway with multiple women to the Bahamas. Gaetz ultimately offered up his plane ticket receipt "to" the destination, but declined to share his return "from" the Bahamas. The report said his return on a private plane and other expenses paid by an associate were in violation of House gift rules. In another Gaetz told the committee he would "welcome" the opportunity to respond to written questions. Yet, after it sent a list of 16 questions, Gaetz said publicly he would "no longer" voluntarily cooperate. He called the investigation "frivolous," adding, "Every investigation into me ends the same way: my exoneration." The report said that while Gaetz's obstruction of the investigation does not rise to a criminal violation it is inconsistent with the requirement that all members of Congress "act in a manner that reflects creditably upon the House." The committee began its review of Gaetz in April 2021 and deferred its work in response to a Justice Department request. It renewed its work shortly after Gaetz announced that the Justice Department had ended a sex trafficking investigation without filing any charges against him. The committee sought records from the Justice Department about the probe, but the agency refused, saying it doesn't disclose information about investigations that don't result in charges. The committee then subpoenaed the Justice Department, and after a back-and-forth between officials and the committee, the department handed over "publicly reported information about the testimony of a deceased individual," according to the report. "To date, DOJ has provided no meaningful evidence or information to the Committee or cited any lawful basis for its responses," the committee said. Many of the women who the committee spoke to had already given statements to the Justice Department and didn't want to "relive their experience," the committee said. "They were particularly concerned with providing additional testimony about a sitting congressman in light of DOJ's lack of action on their prior testimony," the report said. The Justice Department, however, never handed over the women's statements. The agency's lack of cooperation — along with its request that the committee pause its investigation — significantly delayed the committee's probe, lawmakers said. 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. FILE - Former Rep. Doug Collins speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Oct. 15, 2024, in Atlanta. 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. A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. “In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. “He did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.” 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. 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.” 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 Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

Don’t show me porn, no religion talk no fat-shaming... how Blake Lively’s 30 demands on toxic behaviour rocked Hollywood

The top are reliable investments for starting a worry-free passive-income stream. For instance, leading utility companies in Canada, such as and , have been known for consistently paying and increasing their distributions for more than 50 consecutive years. Meanwhile, energy giants like and have been consistently increasing their dividends for multiple decades. While these are a no-brainer for income investors, they offer quarterly payouts. Here, I’ll focus on a stock that pays a monthly dividend. In addition, it offers an attractive yield, making it a solid stock for earning $124 in monthly passive income with a $20,000 investment. The TSX has several stocks that offer monthly distributions. Among the leading companies, ( ) stands out for its solid dividend payment history, dependable payouts, and high yield. It’s worth noting that this owns and operates a diverse portfolio of 195 mixed-use properties, including retail shopping centres. A key feature of its portfolio is the significant presence of grocery-anchored shopping centres. These properties add stability to its operations, as grocery stores remain resilient even during challenging economic times. Thanks to its resilient portfolio, SmartCentres generates solid net operating income (NOI) and witnesses a high demand for its real estate in all market conditions. Currently, SmartCentres pays a monthly dividend of $0.154 per share, equating to a compelling yield of about 7.5% based on its recent closing price of $24.69 (as of December 23, 2024). SmartCentres REIT is a compelling investment for investors seeking consistent and reliable income. The solid performance of its core retail business, backed by a high occupancy rate and ongoing contributions from its mixed-use development projects, lays a strong foundation for growing its net operating income. This growth is expected to drive its monthly dividend payouts. The REIT’s portfolio of high-quality, high-traffic, value-oriented centres continues to see strong demand. An increasing number of new tenants, combined with a solid mix of existing tenants, enhances cash flow and drives even higher occupancy rates. Notably, SmartCentres’s occupancy rate reached an impressive 98.5% by the end of the third quarter (Q3) of 2024. In addition, rental growth and robust cash collections further bolster its financial performance. The momentum in SmartCentres’s leasing activity reflects the strength of its tenant mix and market positioning. New tenant demand and favourable renewal rates suggest that the company’s NOI will continue to grow in the coming quarters, reinforcing its ability to deliver stable and attractive dividends. Beyond its retail portfolio, SmartCentres is actively diversifying its revenue streams through its mixed-use development strategy. By integrating residential, self-storage, and industrial formats, the company is broadening its income base while enhancing long-term growth prospects. SmartCentres also benefits from several strategic advantages, including long-term contracts with retail tenants, a high retention rate, and a vast land bank, which provides significant opportunities for future growth and will likely drive its payouts. SmartCentres’s resilient real estate portfolio, continued demand, strong renewal trends, solid cash collection, and high occupancy rate position it well to enhance its shareholders’ value through regular monthly payouts. The table below illustrates how a $20,000 investment can help you buy 810 SmartCentres stock to generate a reliable income stream of over $124 per month.Bali, Jakarta, and Yogyakarta Target to Welcome More Than 16 Million International Holidaymakers, Expecting to Create 25.8 Million Tourism Industry Jobs

NEW YORK , Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Halper Sadeh LLC, an investor rights law firm, is investigating the following companies for potential violations of the federal securities laws and/or breaches of fiduciary duties to shareholders relating to: Altair Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTR)'s sale to Siemens for $113.00 per share in cash. If you are an Altair shareholder, click here to learn more about your legal rights and options . Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ: SASR)'s sale to Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation for 0.900 shares of Atlantic Union common stock for each share of Sandy Spring . If you are a Sandy Spring shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options . Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE: AUB)'s merger with Sandy Spring Bancorp. If you are an Atlantic shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options . Cyclo Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYTH)'s merger with Rafael Holdings, Inc. If you are a Cyclo shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options . Halper Sadeh LLC may seek increased consideration for shareholders, additional disclosures and information concerning the proposed transaction, or other relief and benefits on behalf of shareholders. We would handle the action on a contingent fee basis, whereby you would not be responsible for out-of-pocket payment of our legal fees or expenses. Shareholders are encouraged to contact the firm free of charge to discuss their legal rights and options. Please call Daniel Sadeh or Zachary Halper at (212) 763-0060 or email sadeh@halpersadeh.com or zhalper@halpersadeh.com . Halper Sadeh LLC represents investors all over the world who have fallen victim to securities fraud and corporate misconduct. Our attorneys have been instrumental in implementing corporate reforms and recovering millions of dollars on behalf of defrauded investors. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Halper Sadeh LLC Daniel Sadeh, Esq. Zachary Halper, Esq. (212) 763-0060 sadeh@halpersadeh.com zhalper@halpersadeh.com https://www.halpersadeh.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shareholder-investigation-halper-sadeh-llc-investigates-altr-sasr-aub-cyth-on-behalf-of-shareholders-302338489.html SOURCE Halper Sadeh LLPGuardion Health Sciences Announces Declaration of Cash Distribution

Dana Hull | (TNS) Bloomberg News Jared Birchall, Elon Musk’s money manager and the head of his family office, is listed as the chief executive officer. Jehn Balajadia, a longtime Musk aide who has worked at SpaceX and the Boring Co., is named as an official contact. Related Articles National Politics | Biden will decide on US Steel acquisition after influential panel fails to reach consensus National Politics | Biden vetoes once-bipartisan effort to add 66 federal judgeships, citing ‘hurried’ House action National Politics | A history of the Panama Canal — and why Trump can’t take it back on his own National Politics | President-elect Trump wants to again rename North America’s tallest peak National Politics | Inside the Gaetz ethics report, a trove of new details alleging payments for sex and drug use But they’re not connected to Musk’s new technology venture, or the political operation that’s endeared him to Donald Trump. Instead, they’re tied to the billionaire’s new Montessori school outside Bastrop, Texas, called Ad Astra, according to documents filed with state authorities and obtained via a Texas Public Information Act request. The world’s richest person oversees an overlapping empire of six companies — or seven, if you include his political action committee. Alongside rockets, electric cars, brain implants, social media and the next Trump administration, he is increasingly focused on education, spanning preschool to college. One part of his endeavor was revealed last year, when Bloomberg News reported that his foundation had set aside roughly $100 million to create a technology-focused primary and secondary school in Austin, with eventual plans for a university. An additional $137 million in cash and stock was allotted last year, according to the most recent tax filing for the Musk Foundation. Ad Astra is closer to fruition. The state documents show Texas authorities issued an initial permit last month, clearing the way for the center to operate with as many as 21 pupils. Ad Astra’s website says it’s “currently open to all children ages 3 to 9.” The school’s account on X includes job postings for an assistant teacher for preschool and kindergarten and an assistant teacher for students ages 6 to 9. To run the school, Ad Astra is partnering with a company that has experience with billionaires: Xplor Education, which developed Hala Kahiki Montessori school in Lanai, Hawaii, the island 98% owned by Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison. Ad Astra sits on a highway outside Bastrop, a bedroom community about 30 miles from Austin and part of a region that’s home to several of Musk’s businesses. On a visit during a recent weekday morning, there was a single Toyota Prius in the parking lot and no one answered the door at the white building with a gray metal roof. The school’s main entrance was blocked by a gate, and there was no sign of any children on the grounds. But what information there is about Ad Astra makes it sound like a fairly typical, if high-end, Montessori preschool. The proposed schedule includes “thematic, STEM-based activities and projects” as well as outdoor play and nap time. A sample snack calendar features carrots and hummus. While Birchall’s and Balajadia’s names appear in the application, it isn’t clear that they’ll have substantive roles at the school once it’s operational. Musk, Birchall and Balajadia didn’t respond to emailed questions. A phone call and email to the school went unanswered. Access to high quality, affordable childcare is a huge issue for working parents across the country, and tends to be an especially vexing problem in rural areas like Bastrop. Many families live in “childcare deserts” where there is either not a facility or there isn’t an available slot. Opening Ad Astra gives Musk a chance to showcase his vision for education, and his support for the hands-on learning and problem solving that are a hallmark of his industrial companies. His public comments about learning frequently overlap with cultural concerns popular among conservatives and the Make America Great Again crowd, often focusing on what he sees as young minds being indoctrinated by teachers spewing left-wing propaganda. He has railed against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and in August posted that “a lot of schools are teaching white boys to hate themselves.” Musk’s educational interests dovetail with his new role as Trump’s “first buddy.” The billionaire has pitched a role for himself that he — and now the incoming Trump administration — call “DOGE,” or the Department of Government Efficiency. Though it’s not an actual department, DOGE now posts on X, the social media platform that Musk owns. “The Department of Education spent over $1 billion promoting DEI in America’s schools,” the account posted Dec. 12. Back in Texas, Bastrop is quickly becoming a key Musk point of interest. The Boring Co., his tunneling venture, is based in an unincorporated area there. Across the road, SpaceX produces Starlink satellites at a 500,000-square-foot (46,000-square-meter) facility. Nearby, X is constructing a building for trust and safety workers. Musk employees, as well as the general public, can grab snacks at the Boring Bodega, a convenience store housed within Musk’s Hyperloop Plaza, which also contains a bar, candy shop and hair salon. Ad Astra is just a five-minute drive away. It seems to have been designed with the children of Musk’s employees — if not Musk’s own offspring — in mind. Musk has fathered at least 12 children, six of them in the last five years. “Ad Astra’s mission is to foster curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking in the next generation of problem solvers and builders,” reads the school’s website. A job posting on the website of the Montessori Institute of North Texas says “While their parents support the breakthroughs that expand the realm of human possibility, their children will grow into the next generation of innovators in a way that only authentic Montessori can provide.” The school has hired an executive director, according to documents Bloomberg obtained from Texas Health and Human Services. Ad Astra is located on 40 acres of land, according to the documents, which said a 4,000-square-foot house would be remodeled for the preschool. It isn’t uncommon for entrepreneurs to take an interest in education, according to Bill Gormley, a professor emeritus at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University who studies early childhood education. Charles Butt, the chairman of the Texas-based H-E-B grocery chain, has made public education a focus of his philanthropy. Along with other business and community leaders, Butt founded “Raise Your Hand Texas,” which advocates on school funding, teacher workforce and retention issues and fully funding pre-kindergarten. “Musk is not the only entrepreneur to recognize the value of preschool for Texas workers,” Gormley said. “A lot of politicians and business people get enthusiastic about education in general — and preschool in particular — because they salivate at the prospect of a better workforce.” Musk spent much of October actively campaigning for Trump’s presidential effort, becoming the most prolific donor of the election cycle. He poured at least $274 million into political groups in 2024, including $238 million to America PAC, the political action committee he founded. While the vast majority of money raised by America PAC came from Musk himself, it also had support from other donors. Betsy DeVos, who served as education secretary in Trump’s first term, donated $250,000, federal filings show. The Department of Education is already in the new administration’s cross hairs. Trump campaigned on the idea of disbanding the department and dismantling diversity initiatives, and he has also taken aim at transgender rights. “Rather than indoctrinating young people with inappropriate racial, sexual, and political material, which is what we’re doing now, our schools must be totally refocused to prepare our children to succeed in the world of work,” Trump wrote in Agenda 47, his campaign platform. Musk has three children with the musician Grimes and three with Shivon Zilis, who in the past was actively involved at Neuralink, his brain machine interface company. All are under the age of five. Musk took X, his son with Grimes, with him on a recent trip to Capitol Hill. After his visit, he shared a graphic that showed the growth of administrators in America’s public schools since 2000. Musk is a fan of hands-on education. During a Tesla earnings call in 2018, he talked about the need for more electricians as the electric-car maker scaled up the energy side of its business. On the Joe Rogan podcast in 2020, Musk said that “too many smart people go into finance and law.” “I have a lot of respect for people who work with their hands and we need electricians and plumbers and carpenters,” Musk said while campaigning for Trump in Pennsylvania in October. “That’s a lot more important than having incremental political science majors.” Ad Astra’s website says the cost of tuition will be initially subsidized, but in future years “tuition will be in line with local private schools that include an extended day program.” “I do think we need significant reform in education,” Musk said at a separate Trump campaign event. “The priority should be to teach kids skills that they will find useful later in life, and to leave any sort of social propaganda out of the classroom.” With assistance from Sophie Alexander and Kara Carlson. ©2024 Bloomberg News. Visit at bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Countless cables are used in the home — whether for charging smartphones, transferring data, or connecting audio systems. However, frequent use and regular bending can quickly lead to unsightly kinks or even damage to sensitive areas. Caution is advised in the event of serious damage, such as a broken or exposed cable core: Repairs in such cases should be left to experienced users. For non-experts, replacing the cable is usually the safer option. In other cases, however, anyone can attempt an uncomplicated repair: If the cables are only kinked or the sheath is broken, damaged household cables can be quickly repaired. Find out here how you can easily repair kinked or broken cables — and even repair-damaged cable cores (conductors). Repairing kinked cables: This is how it works Bent or kinked cables are a typical occurrence in the home, and sometimes such cables are delivered completely bent: When manufacturers severely compress or twist them in the packaging for space reasons. If such kinks do not disappear on their own and cannot be straightened, there is a simple trick to help: the heat trick. Plastic cables are thermoplastic. This means that the warmer they are, the easier they are to bend and move. In winter, you can therefore simply place bent cable sections on a warm radiator for a few minutes and then carefully straighten the bent section with your hands; the process can also be repeated several times if the cable is severely bent. : Always disconnect the cable from connected devices or the socket beforehand and allow it to cool down after the process. Alternatively, kinked cable sections (if not directly on the plug) can also be heated in a hot water bath and then smoothed by hand. However, this method requires special care: The plugs must never get wet and there is a risk of water ingress if the cable sheaths are porous. Make sure that the plugs remain dry — and remember to disconnect the cable from the power supply beforehand. Both methods work best if you heat the cable to around 50 to 60 degrees Celsius. You should avoid higher temperatures. Repairing a broken cable: Depending on the damage, only for experienced hobbyists After the kink often comes the break, at least in cable management. A distinction must be made between two levels of damage: If only the sheath is broken, then the repair is child’s play and can be done quickly. However, if the cable core, i.e. the cable inside, is also damaged, it is a little more complicated. We only recommend such repairs to users with some experience. Headphone, audio, or charging cables can also be repaired inexpensively. If the cables of larger household appliances such as vacuums or lawnmowers break, laymen should not attempt to repair them and should leave the repair to specialized personnel. How to repair a broken cable sheath With older cables or cables that are used frequently (such as charging cables), it is often the case that the cable sheaths become cracked or break open completely. As long as the actual conductor inside remains undamaged, the problem can be quickly solved with some insulating tape. Such special tapes only cost a few dollars, and you can also find offers for them at the end of this article. The damaged area can be easily repaired by wrapping two to three layers of insulating tape around it — and the cable is ready for use again. Tighten the insulating tape slightly when wrapping to seal the damaged area more tightly and ensure better adhesion. Alternatively, heat-shrink tubing (see below) is suitable for sealing open cable sheaths quickly and reliably. Repair the cable core in just a few steps If cables from low-current devices (up to 50 volts) break, you can also try to repair them at home. Proceed as follows: : As a first step, pull the cable plug out of the connected appliance or power source. : Now locate the damaged area — in most cases the break is obvious. : You can then use a wire stripper or cable cutter (see below) to cut the damaged area out of the cable. If necessary, you can also use a cutter knife. Try to work evenly and cut the cable cleanly. : Strip the two new ends of the cable to a length of about one centimeter. The wire stripper is perfect for this. : Now reconnect the separated cable. This works best with crimping pliers, but you can also twist the conductors together by hand and wrap them with insulating tape. Heat-shrink tubing is a particularly clean and safe way to do this. If you do not have this equipment in stock, you will find suitable purchase recommendations at the end of the article. Prevent cable breakage or kinking with simple tricks Annoying cable breaks or kinks in sensitive areas can be avoided with a simple trick. The weak point is usually at the transition to the plug — exactly where the fixed plug joins the flexible cable. The load is particularly high at this point, which is why damage often occurs here sooner or later. To prevent this, you can reinforce the area, which is easy to do with some insulating tape. Simply wrap two to three layers of tape over a length of two to three cm of the cable sheath at the sensitive point. The cable end then remains flexible, but no longer bends so much under load that you have to fear a cable break. : Instead of tape, you can also use the nib of a biro at this point. To do this, simply open an old biros, pull the nib off the lead, and wind it over the sensitive end of the cable. Useful equipment for cable repair With these tools, you can make broken cables functional and safe to use again in no time at all or reinforce sensitive areas. Insulating tape black PVC 19mm x 20m Erko Price: $1 Stretchy, thick, and flexible to use: A roll of insulating tape belongs in every household. This inexpensive tool reliably and securely seals open cables and is helpful or even necessary for many of the repairs described in this article. You can find the tape in a variety of colors and also a narrower version measuring just 15 × 10mm. Stanley FatMax automatic wire stripper and cutter Stanley Price: $39 Powerful tool for working with cables: This multi-tool can strip cables (0.2 to 6 mm2) or cut them cleanly. Cable conduits can be quickly and easily pulled from the conductor core (stripped) so that the ends can then be reconnected and re-insulated. The robust pliers are well made and offer a secure, non-slip grip. Someline crimping pliers cable connector set Someline Price: $17 Crimping pliers are the best tool for reconnecting exposed and separated cable cores. With this practical tool, you can press cable sleeves firmly and securely onto the open cable points, ensuring that the new insulation holds reliably. The package already includes three different butt connectors for different conductor cross-sections. After crimping, you can shrink the cable sleeves with a heat source (such as a lighter) so that they adhere inseparably to the cable. Heat-shrink tubing set with various sizes, 580 pieces Amazon Price: $7 Heat-shrink tubing in all standard sizes can be used to seal damaged cable sheaths or safely insulate newly connected cable ends. To do this, simply pull the appropriate heat-shrink tubing over the affected area of the cable. When heated, the material shrinks and adheres firmly and inseparably to the cable sheath. A heat gun is best suited for heating, but if you are careful, you can also simply use a lighter. This article originally appeared on our sister publication and was translated and localized from German. Steffen Zellfelder is a freelance graduate journalist from Bonn. As an experienced software expert, he is particularly enthusiastic about apps, tools and future trends.

Border measures aimed at responding to Trump's tariff threat begin to take effectGood afternoon, Chicago. Chicagoans can expect a chilly Thanksgiving holiday weekend , with a chance of rain or snow overnight on Wednesday. Temperatures for Turkey Day itself are expected to be in the upper 30s, with a predicted high of 40 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service. Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Daily horoscope | Asking Eric Susan Reyna-Guerrero of Covenant House Illinois, center, talks with Anjela Brooks, right, and her daughter, Sanaii Hale, before their participation in an event called Sleep Out at 10 S. Wacker Drive, Nov. 21, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) Social service providers sometimes refer to young adults ages 18-24 as a hidden sector within the overall homeless population because of their tendency to pivot among different housing situations as opposed to staying in more visible locations like a tent city. Read more here. More top news stories: Chicago White Sox’s fan festival returns for 1st time since 2020: ‘SoxFest Live’ will be at Ramova Theatre Vintage Chicago Tribune: Thanksgiving Parade turns 90 Sheila Evans poses for a portrait at a CTA Red Line’s Belmont station on Nov. 21st, 2024. She said she was threatened with a knife while witnessing an argument on a CTA Red Line train during rush hour the day before. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) Though the incident was not immediately reported by police as a major crime, it offers a window into the transit agency’s response to uncertain and sometimes scary situations for passengers. Read more here. More top business stories: Retired WMAQ-Channel 5 reporter Renee Ferguson sells Kenwood home for $775,000 McDonald’s to expand US value menu as fast food chains battle for bargain seekers Bulls guard Zach LaVine walks on the court before a game against the Magic on Oct. 30, 2024, at the United Center. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) LaVine is back to his old-school heroics, slinging 3-pointers and throwing down splashy dunks over the heads of his defenders. And he’s doing it more efficiently — and with less frustration — than ever. Read more here. More top sports stories: 5 takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks’ 3-1 win, including Connor Bedard’s defense being the best offense Surprise! It’s No. 5 Indiana — not Michigan — that’s facing No. 2 Ohio State with postseason chances on the line Slow Pulp, led by singer and guitarist Emily Massey, performs at Thalia Hall, Nov. 21, 2024, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) Slow Pulp is everything you want a rock band to be: earnest and cool yet freewheeling and fierce. Since the release of their breakthrough 2023 record, “Yard,” the group has found a rapturous audience that loves their talents. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: Review: ‘Annie’ at the Chicago Theatre is a lovely new production with the best Sandy ever Column: Brady Corbet’s epic movie ‘The Brutalist’ came close to crashing down more than once A Red Cross vehicle carrying Israeli hostages drives by at the Gaza Strip crossing into Egypt in Rafah on Nov. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair) Bloodshed in the Middle East has been the single-biggest cause of the 281 deaths among humanitarians globally this year, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Read more here. More top stories from around the world: Warrants put Israeli prime minister and others in a small group of leaders accused of crimes against humanity Supreme Court allows multibillion-dollar class action lawsuit to proceed against Meta

Bitcoin breaks from rally, CHIPS Act future: Market DominationSindh, Punjab team up to bolster social security initiatives

FORT COLLINS, Colorado — Lilly Downs rolled out of bed in her new apartment and began setting up her morning’s IV fluids, which flow from a tube in her chest into her bloodstream to keep the 20-year-old hydrated. Lilly’s journey The Denver Post has chronicled Colorado resident Lilly Downs’ experience with long COVID for three years. 2021: “She is such a puzzle”: Colorado teen’s months-long ordeal spotlights mysteries of long COVID 2022: A Colorado teen’s long COVID isn’t just persisting — after 2 years, it’s getting worse Next, she crushed and dissolved pills so they could run through a separate tube into her intestines, which absorb the medicine better than her stomach. The steps Lilly took that October morning are necessary because her stomach stopped working properly following her first bout with COVID-19 four years ago. But her routine also served another purpose: It was content she filmed for a video that she later posted on TikTok , where she has amassed nearly 470,000 followers. Lilly added Tylenol to her mix of medicine that morning, she explained in the video, because her mom was going to be giving her an intravenous immunoglobulin, or IVIG, infusion, which doctors have found to be an effective treatment for patients who have long COVID. “I always have to pre-medicate with Benadryl and Tylenol so that I don’t have a reaction to the infusion,” Lilly said during the minute-long clip. For Lilly, TikTok has become a kind of a job — and definitely a distraction — while living with long COVID, the name given to the physical and cognitive symptoms that can persist for months and even years after patients’ initial infections. She’s become a social media influencer, earning thousands of dollars and brand deals by documenting what it’s like to face life with a chronic illness . She first fell ill with COVID-19 as a teen in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, and The Denver Post has followed Lilly since 2021 through multiple hospital stints and her search for normalcy and answers as to why symptoms, including a high heart rate and brain fog, still linger. The Post last caught up with Lilly in 2022, when she wasn’t just still sick, her symptoms were getting worse and she was hospitalized with life-threatening infections. Now, Lilly said in a recent interview, she’s doing better physically, living on her own and planning to resume her education in January while using her platform on social media to educate people about her life and illness. “Filming and editing my videos — it gave me something else to focus on,” she said. On TikTok, Lilly shares her experiences with feeding tubes, medications and being interviewed by news reporters . Hundreds of thousands — sometimes millions — of people watch her individual videos. But she also shares things you’d expect from a typical 20-year-old — moving into her first apartment , traveling with friends — and it’s these things that show how far Lilly has come. Two years ago, Lilly was an 18-year-old who just wanted to go home after spending months at Denver’s Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children. Any travel and college plans she entertained were on hold out of fear she’d need to return to the hospital again. Now, she’s living life outside the hospital’s walls, on her own for the first time, traveling with friends to Utah, and volunteering at a camp for chronically ill kids — and she’s sharing it with the world. Lilly was 16 when she first became sick and was hospitalized during one of Colorado’s deadliest waves of the virus. Soon after, she began developing ulcers all over her body that doctors were unable to explain and struggled to treat. When she first became ill, pediatric doctors were unprepared for patients with COVID-19 to develop persisting symptoms. Long COVID was first seen in adults, and researchers and physicians didn’t know how common it was in children and teens. A lot has changed since Lilly first became sick, and even since 2022, when her symptoms worsened to the point she had to relearn how to walk on her own and she spent most of the year in the hospital. While COVID-19 is still around, vaccines and treatments are now available. Doctors and researchers have also learned more about long COVID, including how it affects adolescents, and are working on finding better treatments, such as IVIG, for patients with persisting symptoms, said Dr. Alexandra Yonts, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. Doctors still don’t know why someone specifically develops long COVID, but there are risk factors, such as if someone has multiple symptoms when they first get sick or have autoimmune diseases, she said. Adolescent girls are at a higher risk of developing long COVID, although the condition also appears more in boys ages 5 and younger, said Yonts, director of the hospital’s post-COVID program. In 2022, researchers estimated that as many as 651,000 Coloradans had long COVID, with clinics struggling to keep up with the demand for treatment. Studies also show that the more times a person gets COVID-19, their risk of developing lingering symptoms increases, she said, adding that getting vaccinated decreases a person’s risk of getting long COVID. “We’re definitely in a much more knowledgeable place of this disease,” Yonts said. At Yonts’ clinic, doctors have found that patients can experience a range of long COVID symptoms. Fatigue and decreased exercise tolerance are among the most common. Patients also appear to fall into two groups, Yonts said. One group has more cardiovascular symptoms, such as heart palpitations and difficulty breathing. The other group has more gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms, such as headaches, vomiting and stomach pain. While there had been a period in 2021 when Lilly appeared to be doing better, she took an unexpected turn as she began vomiting and had trouble swallowing and eating. She landed in the hospital again at the end of summer 2021, missing the first days of her senior year at Lakewood High School. Lilly was eventually diagnosed with gastroparesis, which means food doesn’t move through her body when she eats, and was placed on a feeding tube. But her central line — the very thing that gave her nutrients — kept causing life-threatening infections that put her in repeatedly in the intensive-care unit. So when the autumn of 2022 rolled around and Lilly’s friends left for college without her, she decided to make the best of the situation by posting on TikTok. The social media app became not just a distraction, but a way to meet people. Lilly has met others living in Fort Collins who also follow her videos, she said. “It was a way to connect with people because it’s a lot harder in real life when your friends are gone,” Lilly said. TikTok helped Lilly not only make new friends, it also let her friends from high school better understand her illness, she said. The TikTok videos help show “that I am a normal person,” she said. Elisa Downs, Lilly’s mother, said she didn’t quite understand when her daughter started making TikToks — even as she helped make Lillly’s dance videos in the hospital. “When she really started to pick up momentum, I was, of course, worried because this world is cruel,” Downs said, noting how controversial the topic of COVID-19 can be online. But then, Downs said, she witnessed the community her daughter found online. “I saw that it was giving her a sense of purpose,” she said, adding, “She was able to really find a great network of people there who understood.“ Lilly has also been able to earn money for her TikTok videos via the platform’s Creator Fund, which pays users based on how many people view and engage with their posts. To join the fund, a person must be at least 18, have a minimum of 10,000 followers and at least 100,000 video views in the past 30 days, according to the social media app. Lilly’s videos about her illness — especially the ones about how she receives supplemental nutrition — earn the most views. One of her clips about her nighttime routine received more than 60 million views, bringing in about $5,000 alone. Lilly said she is “technically” a social media influencer — she has a manager and has started getting brand deals, such as with BeeKeeper’s Naturals, which sells natural remedies. Lilly posted a video showing her using one of the company’s products to help with her brain fog. But Lilly has other plans, too. She moved to Fort Collins from Golden in August and is adjusting to living on her own for the first time. She wants to get another job and start college next semester at Colorado State University, studying nutrition science in hopes of becoming a pediatric dietitian. “I’m excited to have a routine,” Lilly said. “Being in class — I’m nervous just because my brain... is just not where it used to be.” Physically, Lilly said, her symptoms have gotten better. She still has days where they flare and she struggles with brain fog, which makes her lose her train of thought. “I’m definitely having better days,” Lilly said, adding, “Just taking care of myself is a full-time job.” Her gastroparesis has also improved to the point where Lilly can sometimes eat food without getting sick. She craves things that she didn’t like before, such as condiments and ranch dressing, and is on a self-proclaimed cream cheese kick, especially with pizza. “It’s so good,” Lilly said. There was a time, Lilly said, when she expected that her life would go back to the way it was before the pandemic, before she got COVID-19, when she used to play soccer and go to school. “For so long we were just holding out for the normalcy,” she said. But, Lilly said, “This is my new normal.”