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By JILL COLVIN and STEPHEN GROVES WASHINGTON (AP) — After several weeks working mostly behind closed doors, Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role: Helping Donald Trump try to get his most contentious Cabinet picks to confirmation in the Senate, where Vance has served for the last two years. Vance arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday with former Rep. Matt Gaetz and spent the morning sitting in on meetings between Trump’s choice for attorney general and key Republicans, including members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The effort was for naught: Gaetz announced a day later that he was withdrawing his name amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations and the reality that he was unlikely to be confirmed. Thursday morning Vance was back, this time accompanying Pete Hegseth, the “Fox & Friends Weekend” host whom Trump has tapped to be the next secretary of defense. Hegseth also has faced allegations of sexual assault that he denies. Vance is expected to accompany other nominees for meetings in coming weeks as he tries to leverage the two years he has spent in the Senate to help push through Trump’s picks. The role of introducing nominees around Capitol Hill is an unusual one for a vice president-elect. Usually the job goes to a former senator who has close relationships on the Hill, or a more junior aide. But this time the role fits Vance, said Marc Short, who served as Trump’s first director of legislative affairs as well as chief of staff to Trump’s first vice president, Mike Pence, who spent more than a decade in Congress and led the former president’s transition ahead of his first term. ”JD probably has a lot of current allies in the Senate and so it makes sense to have him utilized in that capacity,” Short said. Unlike the first Trump transition, which played out before cameras at Trump Tower in New York and at the president-elect’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, this one has largely happened behind closed doors in Palm Beach, Florida. There, a small group of officials and aides meet daily at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to run through possible contenders and interview job candidates. The group includes Elon Musk, the billionaire who has spent so much time at the club that Trump has joked he can’t get rid of him. Vance has been a constant presence, even as he’s kept a lower profile. The Ohio senator has spent much of the last two weeks in Palm Beach, according to people familiar with his plans, playing an active role in the transition, on which he serves as honorary chair. Vance has been staying at a cottage on the property of the gilded club, where rooms are adorned with cherubs, oriental rugs and intricate golden inlays. It’s a world away from the famously hardscrabble upbringing that Vance documented in the memoir that made him famous, “Hillbilly Elegy.” His young children have also joined him at Mar-a-Lago, at times. Vance was photographed in shorts and a polo shirt playing with his kids on the seawall of the property with a large palm frond, a U.S. Secret Service robotic security dog in the distance. On the rare days when he is not in Palm Beach, Vance has been joining the sessions remotely via Zoom. Though he has taken a break from TV interviews after months of constant appearances, Vance has been active in the meetings, which began immediately after the election and include interviews and as well as presentations on candidates’ pluses and minuses. Among those interviewed: Contenders to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray , as Vance wrote in a since-deleted social media post. Defending himself from criticism that he’d missed a Senate vote in which one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees was confirmed, Vance wrote that he was meeting at the time “with President Trump to interview multiple positions for our government, including for FBI Director.” “I tend to think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45,” Vance added on X. “But that’s just me.” While Vance did not come in to the transition with a list of people he wanted to see in specific roles, he and his friend, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is also a member of the transition team, were eager to see former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. find roles in the administration. Trump ended up selecting Gabbard as the next director of national intelligence , a powerful position that sits atop the nation’s spy agencies and acts as the president’s top intelligence adviser. And he chose Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services , a massive agency that oversees everything from drug and food safety to Medicare and Medicaid. Vance was also a big booster of Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who will serve as Trump’s “border czar.” In another sign of Vance’s influence, James Braid, a top aide to the senator, is expected to serve as Trump’s legislative affairs director. Allies say it’s too early to discuss what portfolio Vance might take on in the White House. While he gravitates to issues like trade, immigration and tech policy, Vance sees his role as doing whatever Trump needs. Vance was spotted days after the election giving his son’s Boy Scout troop a tour of the Capitol and was there the day of leadership elections. He returned in earnest this week, first with Gaetz — arguably Trump’s most divisive pick — and then Hegseth, who has was been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017, according to an investigative report made public this week. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing. Vance hosted Hegseth in his Senate office as GOP senators, including those who sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee, filtered in to meet with the nominee for defense secretary. While a president’s nominees usually visit individual senators’ offices, meeting them on their own turf, the freshman senator — who is accompanied everywhere by a large Secret Service detail that makes moving around more unwieldy — instead brought Gaetz to a room in the Capitol on Wednesday and Hegseth to his office on Thursday. Senators came to them. Vance made it to votes Wednesday and Thursday, but missed others on Thursday afternoon. Vance is expected to continue to leverage his relationships in the Senate after Trump takes office. But many Republicans there have longer relationships with Trump himself. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, said that Trump was often the first person to call him back when he was trying to reach high-level White House officials during Trump’s first term. “He has the most active Rolodex of just about anybody I’ve ever known,” Cramer said, adding that Vance would make a good addition. “They’ll divide names up by who has the most persuasion here,” Cramer said, but added, “Whoever his liaison is will not work as hard at it as he will.” Cramer was complimentary of the Ohio senator, saying he was “pleasant” and ” interesting” to be around. ′′He doesn’t have the long relationships,” he said. “But we all like people that have done what we’ve done. I mean, that’s sort of a natural kinship, just probably not as personally tied.” Under the Constitution, Vance will also have a role presiding over the Senate and breaking tie votes. But he’s not likely to be needed for that as often as was Kamala Harris, who broke a record number of ties for Democrats as vice president, since Republicans will have a bigger cushion in the chamber next year. Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

Eminent economist Prof Rehman Sobhan yesterday said the interim government could form a separate commission to protect the rights of the disadvantaged or marginalised communities. "If that is not possible, representatives from those communities and civil society could establish such a commission. And that commission should put forward its proposals to the interim government," he said. Sobhan was speaking at a discussion and book launch at the capital's CIRDAP auditorium. The event titled "End Discrimination, Celebrate Partnership with Marginalised Communities" was jointly organised by Brattyajan Resource Centre (BRC), Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD), and Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC). These organisations have long been working with different marginalised communities, including indigenous communities, tea workers, Harijan, Bede and Rishi communities. Eight books were also launched at the event as part of their ongoing research. Speaking at the programme as chief guest, Sobhan said he has been advocating for social justice and people's rights since the beginning of his professional career in the 1950s. He highlighted the socio-economic disparities in the region before 1971, against which he had worked. He said people of the country fought the Liberation War in 1971 to secure independence, and achieving independence was a massive achievement. "However, even after gaining independence, all forms of deprivation have not come to an end." Sobhan, a member of the country's first Planning Commission, said social and economic inequality still persists in various sectors of the society, and this inequality is increasing. The marginalised communities continue to bear the brunt of this discrimination. He regretted that nothing significant has been done over the years to end the discrimination. Hossain Zillur Rahman, a former adviser to a caretaker government and also the executive director of PPRC, put forward three proposals for the development of the marginalised communities -- increasing their presence, amplifying their voice, and ensuring their presence in discussions on national policies. People have high expectations of the interim government formed through the mass uprising, said Zillur, adding that the members of the interim government should listen to the concerns of the marginalised people with patience and interest. "The word 'reform' is being used a lot now. I want to say that reforms must be carried out to ensure justice." Reforms should focus on ensuring justice, as mere reforms would not be sufficient, he added. Philip Gine, executive director of SEHD, delivered the keynote speech. Prof Rounaq Jahan, senior fellow of Centre for Policy Dialogue, Prof Syed M Hashemi of BRAC University, Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua, and Prof Zakir Hossain Raju of Independent University, among others, spoke at the event.College Football Playoff's first 12-team bracket is set with Oregon No. 1 and SMU in, Alabama out SMU captured the last open spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff, bumping Alabama to land in a bracket that placed undefeated Oregon at No. 1. The selection committee preferred the Mustangs, losers of a heartbreaker in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, who had a far less difficult schedule than Alabama of the SEC but one fewer loss. The inaugural 12-team bracket marks a new era for college football, though the Alabama-SMU debate made clear there is no perfect formula. The tournament starts Dec. 20-21 with four first-round games. It concludes Jan. 20 with the national title game in Atlanta. Alabama left out of playoff as committee rewards SMU's wins over Crimson Tide's strong schedule The College Football Playoff committee took wins over strength of schedule, taking SMU over Alabama for the final at-large spot in the field. The field was expanded from four to 12 teams this season, but that didn’t save the committee from controversy. SMU showed it could compete against a traditional power, losing to Clemson 34-31 on a 56-yard field goal in the ACC title game on Saturday. Alabama had some ups and downs in its first season under coach Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide had quality wins against Georgia and South Carolina, but lost at Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma. Big Ten wins playoff selection derby, followed by SEC despite notable Alabama omission College football’s conference shakeup left concerns about two super conferences dominating the playoff field. They weren’t totally unfounded, or 100% born out. The Big Ten, not the Southeastern Conference, was the biggest winner. The ACC scored, too. The Big Ten led the initial 12-team playoff field with four making the cut, topped by a No. 1 Oregon team that was part of the Pac-12 exodus. Then came the SEC — and one notable omission. ACC runner-up SMU got the nod over college football blue-blood Alabama, another blemish in Kalen DeBoer’s first season as Nick Saban’s championship-or-bust successor. Darnold delivers for Vikings with career-high 347 yards and 5 TDs to beat Falcons, Cousins 42-21 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sam Darnold threw for 347 yards and five touchdowns, both career highs, and the Minnesota Vikings pulled away from Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons 42-21 for their sixth straight victory. Darnold added another highlight to his brilliant first season with the Vikings following Cousins' departure in free agency to Atlanta with a 22-for-28 performance and no turnover-worthy plays despite heavy first-half pressure. Jordan Addison had eight catches for 133 yards and three scores and Justin Jefferson racked up seven receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Cousins threw two more interceptions without a touchdown in his return to Minnesota. Saquon Barkley sets Eagles season rushing record and has Dickerson's NFL mark in his sights PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley has broken LeSean McCoy's Eagles franchise record for rushing yards in a season. Barkley has 1,623 yards. He surpassed McCoy's mark of 1,607 yards with a 9-yard run in Sunday's 22-16 win over Carolina. Barkley finished the game with 124 yards, within a yard of his season average. He has four games left and is on pace to break Eric Dickerson's 40-year-old NFL record of 2,105 yards. Dickerson set that record in a 16-game season and Barkley has one more game. Eagles fans serenaded Barkley with “MVP!” chants and McCoy congratulated him on social media. Saints QB Derek Carr injures left hand on dive in 4th quarter of win over Giants EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr injured his left hand late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 14-11 victory over the New York Giants when he went airborne while trying for a first down and crashed to the turf. Carr tried to leap over a Giants tackler and landed at the New Orleans 39-yard line, extending his non-throwing hand to break his fall. He was on the turf for a minute or two before walking to the medical tent. He was examined and slowly walked to an area where X-rays are done. The injury could hurt the already slim playoff hopes of the Saints. Tamar Bates scores 29 points to help Missouri beat No. 1 Kansas 76-67 COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Tamar Bates had 29 points and five steals to help Missouri beat Hunter Dickinson and No. 1 Kansas 76-67. Mark Mitchell scored 17 points in Missouri’s first win over Kansas since a 74-71 victory on Feb. 4, 2012. Anthony Robinson II had 11 points and five steals for the 8-1 Tigers. Dickinson had 19 points and 14 rebounds, but he also committed seven turnovers. The 7-2 Jayhawks have lost two straight on the road after falling 76-63 against Creighton on Wednesday night. Scottie Scheffler ends his big year in the Bahamas with his 9th victory NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Scottie Scheffler ended his biggest year with another victory. Scheffler was coming off a two-month break and looked as good as ever. He shot 63 in the Hero World Challenge and set tournament records at Albany with a 72-hole total of 263 and a six-shot victory. Tom Kim was the runner-up and Justin Thomas finished third. Scheffler ends his year with nine victories in 21 tournaments. That includes the holiday tournament in the Bahamas and the Olympic gold medal in Paris. It's the third-highest winning percentage in the last 40 years. Tournament host Tiger Woods had two better years. Lindsey Vonn is encouraged by how close she is to being competitive in ski racing return at age 40 COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. (AP) — Lindsey Vonn is encouraged by how close she is to being competitive again in her ski racing return at 40 years old. Vonn is still getting her ski equipment dialed in and getting used to going full speed again on her new titanium knee. That’s why all that she's reading into being more than two seconds behind in a pair of lower-level super-G races Sunday is that she’s right there. This after nearly six years away from ski racing and an abbreviated prep period. She was 2.19 seconds behind in the first race and 2.06 in the second. Both were won by her American teammate Lauren Macuga. Plane circles MetLife Stadium with message to co-owner John Mara to fix the Giants' 'dumpster fire' EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — A small plane circled MetLife Stadium roughly 90 minutes before New York was to play host to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, asking Giants co-owner John Mara to overhaul the team that has made the playoffs twice since winning the Super Bowl in February 2012. “Mr. Mara, enough. Please fix this dumpster fire!” the message read as it was towed behind the rear of a small plane.

Thirty-five years after “When Harry Met Sally...” asked the question of whether straight men and women can be friends without sex getting in the way, “ Matt and Mara ” rephrases it with more anxiously fraught social stakes — raising the accompanying and ever-relevant query of whether two neurotic writers should really fraternize with each other at all. The fourth feature from Canadian writer-director Kazik Radwanski is an itchy, unsettled and often poignant relationship drama, consistent with his previous works not just in shared personnel — notably lead actors Deragh Campbell and Matt Johnson , who also headlined Radwanski’s 2019 breakout “Anne at 13,000 Ft.” — but in a tingly, seasick storytelling sensibility that makes something volatile and cinematic out of ostensibly static material. A decade or two ago, when the mumblecore movement was at its zenith in North American indie filmmaking, a trim, talky character piece like “Matt and Mara” — a highlight of this year’s Berlinale Encounters competition — might have seemed less of an outlier than it does on the 2024 arthouse scene. Which isn’t to say that Radwanski’s freewheeling, improvisatory approach feels dated or derivative. As with “Anne at 13,000 Ft.,” a gnawing character study which ran on the quivery sense of characters and actors being pushed to the edge of their comfort level, his latest resists coziness even as it pursues a sometimes warm, sometimes raw intimacy between characters who know each other either too well or not quite enough, depending on what level of companionship they settle on. At the outset, Radwanski’s fleet, on-the-fly script furnishes the audience with little backstory regarding its syllabically compatible title characters, instead trusting us to fill in their history (which turns out to be both simple enough and a little complicated) as we get to know them. Mara (Campbell), a thirtysomething creative writing professor at a Toronto university, appears to have several reactions at once — exhilaration and exasperation lapping each other on the actor’s remarkable, sharp-planed face — when Matt (Johnson), whom she hasn’t seen in several years, blusters unannounced into one of her classes. It’s a typically brash, entitled stunt from a man whose cocksure personality and easy, dudeish tone have made him something of a celebrity on the New York lit scene, with multiple well-regarded novels to his name. Half a lifetime ago, they were close friends at college in Canada, and regarded as equally prodigious talents. Now Mara has gone the teaching route while still awaiting her literary breakthrough, and raising a young daughter with her husband Samir (Mounir Al Shami), a handsome, accomplished musician from whom she seems almost entirely disconnected. To mutual friends, she rather jarringly announces that she has no feeling whatsoever for music; the subtext is discomfitingly obvious. Into this breach, calculatedly or otherwise, steps Matt — back in town for an indefinite period, and determined to work his way back into Mara’s life with his considerable force of personality. When they’re mistaken for a couple by a stranger, she runs with the charade, in part because her old friend brings a fizzy energy to her life that it’s been missing for some time, but perhaps more crucially because he reminds her of when her life was less placid and more promising. When Samir drops out of driving her to an out-of-town literary festival where she’s due to give a talk, Matt agreeably steps in — adding a charged stop to that most romantically auspicious of tourist spots, Niagara Falls, to the itinerary. For much of the film, we don’t know exactly whether Matt and Mara’s first estrangement was merely a matter of geography and circumstance, or a more personally motivated rift. Yet the more time the reunited friends spend together, the edges of their relationship edging uncertainly into less platonic territory, we see the ways in which their respective vanities and insecurities chafe against each other, now exacerbated by age and past experience. Campbell’s and Johnson’s performances, both expert in aptly clashing registers, contribute to the unease: Her nervy, compressed intensity is initially tempered by his breezy jocularity before, in time, the two energies begin to aggravate each other. Radwanski’s script is low on incident — and the film, at a tight, jittery 80 minutes, can afford to be — but this tension keeps it taut and urgent, in the manner of particularly gripping people-watching: Even Nikolay Michaylov’s restless, sometimes invasively close-up camera operates on a close interest in human nature itself, its gaze fixed keenly on its protagonists’ reactions to various miniature, everyday epiphanies and bombshells. “Matt and Mara” isn’t a relationship study where you especially root for the union of its title characters, but you can’t look away from them either way.None

Best Beginnings families automatically eligible for more public benefitsMan, 99, still at work 7 decades after opening eastern Ontario Christmas tree farmAn ugly, ugly game, but the outcome was a thing of beauty for Edinburgh, who battled back from last week’s Hampden humiliation to restore a measure of pride and claim four valuable URC points. Nobody in the home changing room will have cared that they never threatened to overhaul the 19-point differential when it came to the 1872 Cup — from the very earliest stages, it was painfully clear that this was not going to be that kind of game. Still, Sean Everitt and his men deserve praise for the character and cussedness they showed to get the job done and to thoroughly becalm what was meant to be a Glasgow juggernaut but which more resembled a 36-wheel trundler. The key moment came 10 minutes