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WASHINGTON — There's a common trait that President-elect Donald Trump is clearly prizing as he selects those to serve in his new administration: experience on television. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., speaks during a hearing July 18, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Duffy to be Transportation Secretary. Trump loves that "central casting" look, as he likes to call it. Some, like his choices for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, were until recently TV hosts on Trump's favorite network, Fox News. Mike Huckabee, his pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel, hosted the Fox show “Huckabee” from 2008 to 2015 after his time as Arkansas governor. Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former syndicated talk show host and heart surgeon, was tapped to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that oversees health insurance programs for millions of older, poor and disabled Americans. He would report to Trump's choice for health and human services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., himself a regular on the cable news circuit. Mehmet Oz visits the AW Driving School & License Testing Center on Sept. 23, 2022, in Allentown, Pa. Trump, a former reality television star himself, has made no secret of his intention to stack his administration with loyalists after his decisive 2024 election win — including some whose lack of relevant experience has raised concerns among lawmakers. But he's also working to set up a more forceful administration in this term, and in his eyes, many of those people happen to intersect with celebrity. The trend was not lost on Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, who posted on social media after the Oz nomination: “We are becoming the world’s first nuclear-armed reality television show.” For good measure, Himes added: “Just spitballing here, but what if the Attorney General and the Secretary of HHS fight each other in an octagonal cage?” That was a reference to Trump's affinity for the UFC fighters who do battle in the octagon. Choosing TV personalities isn't that unusual for the once-and-future president: A number of his first-term choices — John Bolton, Larry Kudlow, Heather Nauert and Mercedes Schlapp, were all on TV — mostly also on Fox. Omarosa Manigault Newman, a confrontational first-season member of Trump's NBC show “The Apprentice," was briefly at the White House before she was fired. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who ran Trump’s 2016 transition team until he was fired, said that eight years ago, Trump held “Apprentice-like interviews at Bedminster,” summoning potential hires to his club in New Jersey. On a call on Tuesday organized by the Council on Foreign Relations, Christie said this year’s Cabinet choices are different than 2016’s but it’s still “Donald Trump casting a TV show.” “He’s casting,” Christie said. Trump has readily highlighted the media experience of his choices as he's announced them. He said Duffy, a former lawmaker and onetime cast member of MTV’s “The Real World," was “a STAR on Fox News.” Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower on Dec. 15, 2016, in New York. Hegseth, a military veteran, “has been a host at FOX News for eight years, where he used that platform to fight for our Military and Veterans,” Trump said. He also noted that Hegseth's book “The War on Warriors” spent nine weeks on The New York Times “best-sellers list, including two weeks at NUMBER ONE.” As for Oz, Trump said: “He won nine Daytime Emmy Awards hosting ‘The Dr. Oz Show,’ where he taught millions of Americans how to make healthier lifestyle choices." It's also true that those seeking positions in Trump's orbit often take to the airwaves to audition for an audience of one. Tom Homan, Trump's choice for “border czar,” is a frequent Fox contributor. Ohio Sen. JD Vance was chosen as Trump's running mate in part because of how well he comes across on air. Trump's choice to lead the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, upped his profile when he took to Fox News to argue that a pre-election appearance on NBC's “Saturday Night Live” by Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was a violation of the “equal time” rule governing candidate appearances on television. The White House-to-cable news pundit pipeline tends to cut across administrations of both parties, to some extent. President Joe Biden had three MSNBC contributors on his transition team and his former press secretary went to the network after she left the White House. Biden, though, looked to career diplomats, longtime government workers and military leaders for key posts like the Defense Department. Trump's affinity for Fox News is well-documented, though the romance cooled for a time after Fox made an early call of Arizona for Biden in 2020, a move that infuriated Trump and many of the network’s viewers. Trump suggested viewers should migrate to other conservative news outlets. While the Arizona call ultimately proved correct, it set in motion internal second-guessing and led some Fox personalities to embrace conspiracy theories, which ultimately cost the network $787 million to settle a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems. But Trump is still an avid watcher — the network provides Trump a window into conservative thinking, with commentary from Republican lawmakers and thinkers who are, often, speaking directly to the president-elect. 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. 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. 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. Doug Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was acquitted by the Senate. Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. "We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need," Trump said in a statement about nominating Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. 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.” 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. 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.” 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. McGinley was White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first administration, and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee's election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign. In a statement, Trump called McGinley “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.” Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.Is President Trump prepared for President Xi? President-elect and his possible cabinet have to prepare for China The global power chess board is experiencing extraordinary changes. Old players are tumbling, and new ones are emerging. Once upon a time, US had the unchallenged and unparalleled power to define rules of global power chessboard. Thus, right after presidential elections in US, the world started preparing for new president. There was usually a race to connect with the new possible administration of the President-elect. It was considered a success to talk to president-elect. The lobbyists tried to exploit the opportunity up to maximum, and Washington became the lobbyists’ gala place. However, the paradigm started to shift in recent times. The world is not showing enthusiasm to connect with possible cabinet and president-elect, which was a common practice 20 years ago. However, situation for China is entirely different. Now, the President-elect and his possible cabinet have to prepare for China. Whether someone likes it or not, China is becoming a new rule-setter, or at least a player of equal weight to US, to set rules of global power chess board. This is not an exaggerated assumption or rhetoric; it is based on facts and data. China is fast becoming centre of global trade and economy. Countries and regions are eagerly signing free trade and economic partnerships with China. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is one of the most prominent example in recent times. The RCEP members account for 30pc of population and 30pc of global GDP ($29.7 trillion). It is considered largest trade bloc in history. On the other hand, China signed agreements with Arab countries, Gulf Cooperation Organisation, Latin American countries, African countries, etc. It is also strengthening cooperation at BRICS and SCO, among others. Besides, China International Import Expo (CIIE) was launched to strengthen trade links with the world. CIIE has been designed to promote rule-based, win-win cooperation and create opportunities for the world. Moreover, China has offered tariff-free entry into Chinese market to all the least developed countries. By doing so, China is on its way to becoming centre of global trade and ambit of global economy. China is home to many global initiatives in the fields of economy, security and diplomacy, such as BRI, GDI, GSI and GCI. First, China launched BRI to contribute to and satisfy economic and development needs of the world. Due to openness and inclusiveness in decision-making and implementation, it has become largest economic, trade, connectivity and investment program in human history, with 153 countries and 32 international organisations. The Global Security Initiative (GSI) has been built on four pillars: common, comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable security. It is helping the world combat new security challenges and secure sustainable peace without compromising dignity and sovereignty of countries. Second, Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank was introduced to achieve goals of a people-centric financial system, which must not be exploitative. It has become second-largest global bank with 109 members after World Bank. Third, China has accelerated its efforts to invest in global common goods, such as environment, free trade routes, poverty alleviation and sustainable food security. The Global Development Initiative (GDI), which was built on a vision of shared prosperity, is emerging as one of biggest common good provider initiatives. Fourth, China has emerged as leader of Fourth Industrial Revolution by strengthening its innovation and technological development base. No one can afford or dare to ignore China. Despite all propaganda and sanctions, many CEOs of leading tech companies visited China in 2023, including Bill Gates, co-founder of US tech giant Microsoft; Elon Musk, co-founder of electric vehicle front-runner Tesla; Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple and Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm. They are all in a race to build and strengthen their relationship with China. Fifth, China is home to a huge population and, in economic terms, a huge consumer market. President Xi has launched a drive to modernise Chinese economy, society and governance system. Modernisation is expected to initiate class shuffling, and almost 1,000 million people will change the class. It will create a trillion-dollar new economy. Thus, no country or bloc can ignore Chinese market, rather they will be in a race to build partnerships with China. These initiatives and strengths have made China centre of economic activity, trade, technology and hope for sustainable peace. People are keen to watch China, its policies and refine their policies to benefit from the opportunities. Plenary sessions of Central Committee of Communist Party of China attract a wide audience and media coverage. The world watches it closely because, as the centre of global trade, technology and economy, decisions at the session will have implications for global economy, trade and development. The world considers the session sets the tone for Chinese economy, society, and international economic and diplomatic engagements. People also listen to and thoroughly analyse President Xi’s and other Chinese leaders’ speeches. The importance of President Xi’s speech can be judged by its online viewership and traditional media coverage. For example, in 2021, President Xi’s speech at UN was the most viewed speech on social media and received worldwide coverage. This clearly indicates China’s importance has been enhanced, and the world considers President Xi’s speech a global tone-setter. The question is whether President Trump understands new dynamics or is ready to deal with President Xi. A bird’s-eye view of proposed cabinet and other nominees shows he neither comprehended nor prepared for President Xi. The President-elect and his team still live in the past. They think US can do anything and dictate anything to anyone. Unfortunately, most of his potential cabinet candidates are hoaxes and China bashers. They want to pick a trade and sanction war with China. They are exploring options to strengthen sanctions and CHIPS and Science Act because they believe these actions will assist American economy. Further, there are clear signs President Trump will revert back to his first-term anti-China policy. He believes his anti-China policy helped US. The above-discussed facts and data indicate US come out of past and understand the world has changed. The US is no longer in a position of strength to dictate its terms. The world is looking to China for economic and trade linkages to fulfil its growth and development goals. The President-elect and his team should try to comprehend new dynamics and realities. This will help US steer the relationship in right direction. Otherwise, the relationship may further deteriorate, which would be bad news for US, China, and the world. Moreover, US economic situation and rising debt do not allow it to engage in trade or sanction war, which will further deteriorate American economy, and inflation, inequality and poverty continue to rise.

US cloud-based designer platform Figma is keen on tapping India’s vast pool of designers and product developers to better support its customers, its cofounder and chief executive, Dylan Field , told ET. Around 85% of Figma’s weekly active users are from outside the US, and a substantial number of them are from India, Field said on the sidelines of the Slush technology summit 2024 in Helsinki, Finland. “I look forward to spending more time in India and finding ways to do our part to help the tech and designing ecosystem there,” Field said without confirming any specific plan or timeline for the company’s expansion into India. He, however, noted that they may kickoff operations with sales and marketing to support new and existing customers in the region. Indian brands like Zomato , Swiggy , Cred and Groww are already using the platform to scale their design process. Also, India leads in the Asia Pacific region with 44% integration of the firm's cloud-based design tools, according to a recent report by the company. “There is a real revenue opportunity in India. It is a myth that you cannot monetise India,” said Field, adding that as Figma spends more time in India, it will be able to find areas to improve its services there. “Right now, the (India) market seems underserved and it is important for us to be there.” Astrology Vastu Shastra Course By - Sachenkumar Rai, Vastu Shashtri View Program Web Development Java 21 Essentials for Beginners: Build Strong Programming Foundations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Pam Moore By - Pam Moore, Digital Transformation and Social Media Expert View Program Marketing Marketing & Sales Strategies for Startups: From Concept to Conversion By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Generative AI for Dynamic Java Web Applications with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Basics of Generative AI: Unveiling Tomorrow's Innovations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Tabnine AI Masterclass: Optimize Your Coding Efficiency By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Tally Prime & GST Accounting: Complete Guide By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Mastering C++ Fundamentals with Generative AI: A Hands-On By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance A2Z Of Money By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) ChatGPT Mastery from Zero to Hero: The Complete AI Course By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Master RESTful APIs with Python and Django REST Framework: Web API Development By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Data Science SQL for Data Science along with Data Analytics and Data Visualization By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital marketing - Wordpress Website Development By - Shraddha Somani, Digital Marketing Trainer, Consultant, Strategiest and Subject Matter expert View Program Web Development C++ Fundamentals for Absolute Beginners By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Mastering Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and 365 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Strategy ESG and Business Sustainability Strategy By - Vipul Arora, Partner, ESG & Climate Solutions at Sattva Consulting Author I Speaker I Thought Leader View Program Office Productivity Advanced Excel Course - Financial Calculations & Excel Made Easy By - Anirudh Saraf, Founder- Saraf A & Associates, Chartered Accountant View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance AI and Generative AI for Finance By - Hariom Tatsat, Vice President- Quantitative Analytics at Barclays View Program Web Development Django & PostgreSQL Mastery: Build Professional Web Applications By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Master in Python Language Quickly Using the ChatGPT Open AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program San Francisco-headquartered Figma was founded in 2012 by Field and Evan Wallace—both computer science enthusiasts from Brown University, US as a visual design product. The platform is used by designers, product teams and developers to create user interfaces (UI) and user experiences (UX), and is known for its cloud-based accessibility and real-time collaboration features, akin to Google Docs. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Valued at around $12.5 billion, Figma also supports prototyping, shared design systems, and a range of plugins and integrations, besides being a community repository of templates and resources that enhance its functionality, positioning it as a strong competitor to older design players like Adobe and Sketch. Figma’s product suite includes FigJam for brainstorming and ideation, Figma Design for software design, and Dev Mode, which helps developers translate designs into code. Field said there is a possibility of building more services like a ‘loop’, where developers can think about what comes in the later stages after coding, and then eventually bring all that back into ideation on the Figma platform. “If we can accomplish that, then we are really special,” he said. Adobe deal falling through In 2022, the Photoshop maker Adobe announced plans to acquire Figma for $20 billion. However, last year, in a big blow to both companies, they jointly declared the termination of the deal following scrutiny from UK and EU regulators on antitrust issues . Adobe was obligated to pay Figma a reverse termination fee of $1 billion in cash. Field addressed the fallout, saying they will now build the products independently which they would have developed if the deal had gone through. “It is impossible to know the counterfactual, but here we are, and we have tons to build. And the same things we are going to build if the deal has gone through,” Field said. Impact of AI On the role of artificial intelligence in the design process, Field highlighted that AI has been effective in lowering entry barriers for newcomers by simplifying and automating the more basic aspects of design, making it more accessible and approachable for everyone. “Our general framework is to make it easier for people to facilitate more design process along with making sure that they only the work that experts can do,” he said. Figma recently faced a setback with its AI-powered design tool, ‘Make Design,’ after it generated outputs resembling the Apple weather app. This raised concerns about the tool's reliance on existing app designs during its training process. Some critics argued that it was too dependent on pre-existing designs. In response, Figma temporarily disabled the feature. The reporter was in Helsinki at the invite of Business Finland.

Irish civil servants compiled a list of “major leaks” they claimed originated from the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) and Special Branch officers in the region, records show. The confidential briefing note is part of the tranche of documents made public in the annual release of State papers from the Irish National Archives. An Irish Department of Foreign Affairs official focusing on justice and security created the list in October 2002. The document starts by referencing a 1999 interview given by George Mitchell, the chairman of the Good Friday Agreement negotiations, in which he claimed the British and Irish governments, as well as Northern Ireland’s political parties, had leaked information to manipulate public opinion. However, he further accused the NIO of attempting to sabotage the process by leaking information on British Government policy to the media. Mr Mitchell, a former US senator, is said to have expressed alarm and anger over the frequency of leaks from the NIO – saying they were uniquely “designed to undermine the policy of the British Government of which they were a part”. The Irish civil servant notes Mr Mitchell himself was subjected to an attempted “smear” when he first arrived in Northern Ireland, as newspaper articles falsely claimed his chief of staff Martha Pope had had a liaison with Sinn Fein representative Gerry Kelly with ulterior motives. The Irish civil servant goes on to list several “leaks”, starting with the publication of a proposed deal in a newspaper while “intense negotiations” for the Downing Street Declaration were under way. Next, the Department lists two “high-profile and damaging leaks issued from the NIO”. A so-called “gameplan” document was leaked in February 1998, showing papers had been prepared weeks before the Drumcree march on July 6, 1997. In the preceding years, there had been standoffs and clashes as nationalists opposed the procession of an Orange parade down Garvaghy Road in Portadown. The gameplan document showed then secretary of state for Northern Ireland Mo Mowlam, who was publicly expressing a desire for a negotiated solution to the 1997 parade, advocated “finding the lowest common denominator for getting some Orange feet on the Garvaghy Road”. In 1997, a large number of security forces were deployed to the area to allow the march to proceed. The incident sparked heightened tension and a wave of rioting. The document further describes the release of a document submitted by the NIO’s director of communications to the secretary of state as a “second major leak”. It claims a publicity strategy was released to the DUP in the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement and showed how the UK Government would support a yes vote in a referendum following any talks agreement. In addition, it is claimed unionists used leaked sections of the Patten report on policing to invalidate its findings ahead of its publication in 1999. The report recommended the replacement of the Royal Ulster Constabulary with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the changing of symbols, and a 50-50 recruitment policy for Catholics and Protestants. At the time, UUP leader David Trimble said the recommendations would lead to a corruption of policing in Northern Ireland. Chris Patten, chairman of the independent commission on policing, said some of the assertions were a “total fabrication” and designed to “muddy the waters” to create a difficult political atmosphere. Elsewhere, the author notes it was leaked to the media there was serious disagreement between the governments of the UK and Ireland on the composition of that commission – with not a single name submitted by the Irish side being accepted by the other. The author notes this incident, still under the heading “NIO leaks”, was believed by British officials to have emanated from the Irish side. The report turns to leaks of other origin, claiming “disgruntled Special Branch officers in Northern Ireland” were blamed by the British Government for a series of releases about the IRA which were designed to damage Sinn Fein in the 2001 general election in Northern Ireland. One senior Whitehall source was quoted in the Guardian as complaining that Special Branch was “leaking like a sieve” after details of an IRA intelligence database containing the names of leading Tories – described at the time as a “hit list” – was passed to the BBC in April 2002. The briefing note adds: “This was followed days later by a leak to The Sunday Telegraph which alleged that senior IRA commanders bought Russian special forces rifles in Moscow last year. “The newspaper said it was passed details by military intelligence in London.” The briefing note adds that other Special Branch leaks were associated with the Castlereagh break-in. The final incident in the document notes the Police Ombudsman’s Report on the Omagh bombing was also leaked to the press in December 2001. Then Northern Ireland secretary John Reid said at the time: “Leaks are never helpful and usually malicious – I will not be commenting on this report until I have seen the final version.” The reason for creating the list of leaks, which the Irish National Archives holds in a folder alongside briefing notes for ministers ahead of meetings with officials from the UK Government and NIO, is not outlined in the document itself. – This document is based on material in 2024/130/6.Dejan Kulusevski cannot wait for the opportunity to play against Manchester City again after Tottenham ran riot at the Etihad Stadium. The Sweden midfielder hailed Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing of the champions as the best game of his career. The 24-year-old delivered an outstanding performance as Spurs shattered the champions’ 52-game unbeaten home run, helping start the rout with a superb cross for James Maddison’s opening goal. Kulusevski said: “I believed (we would win) this because in the past years, we’ve come here and played really well. “So this is the game I look forward to most in the year and, once again, it happened – glory to God. “I’d say it’s the best result ever in my career. It’s a big night for the whole club, for the coach, for the players. “Because City have a lot of the ball sometimes, we can rest when we defend. There’s also so much space up there, we play one against one and then it’s always dangerous because we have a lot of quality. “It’s always great to play great teams because they always want to play football. When you play lower teams, sometimes it’s not. There’s not much football played because they are a lot of fouls, a lot of injuries and it’s slow going.” Maddison stole the show with two goals in quick succession in the first half while Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson later got on the scoresheet. Kulu-chef-ski cooked 👨‍🍳 📊 @KumhoTyreUK pic.twitter.com/CsrTh5oUgn — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 24, 2024 Yet Kulusevski’s performance was also eye-catching and the player himself believes there is plenty more to come from him. Asked if his form made him feel “unstoppable”, Kulusevski said: “I feel like that. I feel very good and I’m trying to keep this way. I’m very happy, I’m trying to improve. “I started the season good but there is over half of the season left and I hope I can do much better. “I think I have something that no other player has. With my engine, with my heart – I don’t get tired – I feel like I can do a lot still in my career.” Spurs have won more matches against Pep Guardiola's Man City than any other side 👀 pic.twitter.com/BHLZqde9sP — Premier League (@premierleague) November 23, 2024 Tottenham’s scintillating performance marked a spectacular return to form after their dismal loss to Ipswich in their previous Premier League outing. Kulusevski said: “We have to be much more consistent. It’s not a turning point. We just have to be better in other games. “This game suited us perfectly but we have a lot of improvement to make in the other games.”

Checking your hearing just got much easier. Scammers keep coming up with new and, honestly, pretty clever ways to trick people. They socially engineer their phishing emails and messages so well that even the most tech-savvy users have to think twice. One example is the "Apple ID Suspended" phishing scam. You might have seen it before since it’s been going around for the past few years. Here’s how it works: You get an email from what looks like Apple, saying your Apple ID has been suspended. The sender's name shows "Apple," but the email is actually from a scammer trying to get you to click on a malicious link. I’M GIVING AWAY A $500 GIFT CARD FOR THE HOLIDAYS A woman looking at her iPhone (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson) What you need to know The Apple ID phishing emails have come a long way in recent years. They used to be plain text, had no Apple branding and didn’t even greet or address the user. Now, though, they look almost identical to genuine Apple emails . These fraudulent emails claim your Apple ID has been suspended to trick you into giving up login credentials or other sensitive information. They come complete with an Apple logo, show "Apple ID" as the sender name and have a big blue button that says "Go to Apple ID." WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)? The email pretends to be from Apple Support, claiming your access has been suspended due to "unusual activity" or missing or invalid information. It says you can't access your account or Apple services until you verify your identity. There’s usually a link that leads to a fake Apple site, asking you to enter your username, password and additional personal details to reactivate your account. To add urgency, it even warns that if you don’t verify your Apple ID within 24 hours, it will be permanently blocked. A person checking emails (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson) NEW CYBERATTACK TARGETS IPHONE AND APPLE IDS: HERE’S HOW TO STAY SAFE Watch out for red flags If you’re not paying attention, it’s easy to get tricked into clicking the link in a scam like this. But if you’re keeping an eye out, there are plenty of red flags. I’ve added a sample phishing email below, and you’ll spot the issues immediately. For one, it’s not actually from Apple; the email domain is @uaepass.ae, which has nothing to do with Apple. Any legit Apple email will end with "@email.apple.com," so anything else is an instant red flag. Then there’s the awful grammar and punctuation. A company worth $3.37 trillion can definitely afford a decent content writer. You know someone at Apple is not going to mix up past and present tense like it’s their first time writing an email. Take this gem: "Therefore we need to re-verify your account data. if you did not verify your account within 48 hour, your account will be permanently locked, go to Apple ID and verify as soon as possible." It reads like someone smashed a bunch of words together and called it a day. I'm not trying to give a grammar lesson here, but you get the point. GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE "Apple ID Suspended" phishing email (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson) HOW TO SECURELY LOCK YOUR IPHONE AND IPAD FROM PRYING EYES 6 ways to protect yourself from Apple ID phishing scams 1. Check the email address : Always verify the sender’s email address. Any legitimate email from Apple will come from a domain ending in "@email.apple.com." If it’s anything else, like @uaepass.ae, it’s a scam. 2. Look for spelling and grammar mistakes : Phishing emails often have poor grammar and punctuation. If the message sounds odd or looks like it was written by someone who doesn’t know how to write well, be suspicious. 3. Don’t click on suspicious links : If the email asks you to click a link, don’t do it right away. Hover over the link to see the actual URL. If it doesn’t look like an official Apple website (or any site you trust), don’t click it. The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best 2024 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices . 4. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) : This adds an extra layer of protection to your Apple ID. Even if a scammer gets your password, they won’t be able to log in without the second authentication step. 5. Verify directly with Apple : If you’re ever unsure about an email or message, go directly to Apple’s official website or contact their support team. Don’t use any contact info provided in a suspicious email. 6. Invest in data removal services : Scammers often use personal information that’s readily available online to craft more convincing phishing attempts. By investing in data removal services, you can reduce the amount of personal data that’s exposed on the web, making it harder for scammers to target you effectively. While no service promises to remove all your data from the internet, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services here. ​​ TOP PHONE CHARGING CABLES THAT WILL SUPERCHARGE YOUR APPLE DEVICES Kurt’s key takeaways Scammers are getting pretty clever, but you don’t have to fall for their tricks. By staying alert and keeping an eye out for those red flags, you can easily spot these phishing attempts before they catch you off guard. Always double-check the sender’s email address, watch for bad grammar and don’t click on any suspicious links. If something feels off, don’t hesitate to go directly to Apple’s official website or contact their support team. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Do you think companies like Apple are doing enough to protect users from scams? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you'd like us to cover Follow Kurt on his social channels Facebook YouTube Instagram Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions: What is the best way to protect your Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android devices from getting hacked? What is the best way to stay private, secure and anonymous while browsing the web? How can I get rid of robocalls with apps and data removal services? How do I remove my private data from the internet? New from Kurt: Try CyberGuy's new games (crosswords, word searches, trivia and more!) Enter Cyberguy’s $500 Holiday Gift Card Sweepstakes Copyright 2024 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.Albanese struggles to offload Sydney investment propertyPLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter's in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Carter's path, a mix of happenstance and calculation , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That's a very narrow way of assessing them," Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn't suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he'd be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter's tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter's lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924 , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor's race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama's segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival's endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King's daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters' early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan's presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan's Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —- Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.

No. 9 Oregon steamrolls Weber State to close nonconference slateThe Latest: Former President Jimmy Carter is dead at age 100

Amaravati: Former Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party President Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday flayed the TDP-led coalition government in Andhra Pradesh for its neglect of all sectors, especially education. He slammed the government for not releasing funds for fee reimbursement, which is badly affecting students. 1. @ncbn గారి కూటమి ప్రభుత్వం విద్యార్థుల జీవితాలతో చెలగాటం ఆడుతోంది. మూడు త్రైమాసికాలుగా ఫీజు రీయింబర్స్‌మెంట్‌ డబ్బులను పిల్లల చదువులకు చెల్లించకపోవడంతో చదువులు మానుకోవాల్సిన పరిస్థితులు వచ్చాయి. చంద్రబాబుగారు వారిపై కక్షకట్టినట్టు వ్యవహరిస్తున్నారు. ఒంగోలు జిల్లా జె.పంగులూరులో... pic.twitter.com/6aXEQoRKqv The former Chief Minister took to X to criticise the coalition for what he called playing with the lives of students. Stating that fee reimbursement was not cleared in the last three quarters, he said this had forced the students to discontinue education. “I am deeply saddened by the news that a student of J. Panguluru of Ongole district has turned into a laborer as he was unable to pay the fee,” he said. Jagan Mohan Reddy said that as soon as N. Chandrababu Naidu took office as the Chief Minister, all sectors appeared to have taken the regressive path. The education sector was badly hit with schemes like Amma Vodi, English medium, TOFEL from third standard, subject teachers from third standard, the transformation from CBSE to IB, tabs to Class VIII students, Byjus content, Nadu-Nedu abolished. This has badly hit students from class I to 12 and their parents. Implementation of Vasathi Deevena and Vidya Deevena were stopped and this has affected students of degree, engineering, and medicine courses. Jagan Mohan Reddy recalled that when YSRCP was in power, the government was crediting money to the bank accounts of mothers at the end of every quarter. During the previous academic year till December, the YSRCP government had credited Rs 12,609 crore under Vidya Devena itself. “As we believe that only education can change the destiny of generations, we spent Rs 18,000 crores on these two schemes,” he said. The YSR Congress chief said due to the election code, the amount for the January-March quarter could not be paid as the coalition had raised objections with the Election Commission. The coalition did not pay the money after assuming office in June. From then on, the coalition government did not pay any amount. Vasathi Deevena also met the same fate. Thereafter, there has been no response for the April-June and July-September quarters. Now, the October-December quarter is also coming to a close. With this, a total of Rs 2,800 crores is due as reimbursement fee. For Vasathi Devena, Rs 1,100 crore is due towards the hostel fee. Thus, the total amount due by December would touch Rs 3,900 crore. The former chief minister claimed that those who completed their studies are not getting certificates until they cleared the dues. About 11 lakh students are affected by the neglect of the coalition government forcing the parents to go for loans or sell their properties. If the parents have no resources, they are sending their children to work. This is the situation in the state which was once an education hub, he said. He demanded that the government immediately release dues under Ammaku Vandanam, fee reimbursement, and Vasathi Devena. Jagan Mohan Reddy said that after the government assumed office there has been scams in sand, and liquor while gambling dens have reopened and mafia dealings have resumed. Medical colleges and ports are being privatised, he added.None

You’re here if you want to learn about how the Australian national football team (the Socceroos) is getting ready for a competitive qualification campaign with the imminent 2026 FIFA World Cup. Keep in mind that so far, the team has won all six matches in the second round of World Cup qualification which is quite impressive. Now, the Socceroos are meticulously thinking about ways to ensure they qualify for the tournament for the 7th time - the event will be held by the USA, Canada, and Mexico, in fact. So, if you are a fan who likes to watch or even bet on matches, this article is for you. Besides, those who bet should choose instant withdrawal casinos in Australia that are reliable and licensed only. Anyway, we’re getting straight to the point. How Is Australia Performing in the World Cup Qualifiers? Australia’s journey to the World Cup 2026 started strong in the second round of the Asian qualifiers. The Socceroos dominated Group I, winning all six matches. They scored 22 goals and didn’t concede a single one. This perfect record showed how strong their attack and defence are, raising hopes for the next stage. However, the third round has been much tougher. Currently second in Group C, Australia has faced tough competition from Japan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China, and Indonesia. In five matches, they’ve managed just one win (a 3-1 victory over China), three draws, and one narrow loss to Bahrain (0-1). With six points, The Socceroos are still in a good position to secure one of the top two spots for automatic qualification. Star Players and Strategic Moves The Socceroos, led by their new coach Tony Popovic, play an energetic and flexible game. They switch between 3-4-3 and 4-3-3 formations based on their opponents, which helps them adapt during matches. Some of Australia’s key players include: Craig Goodwin: A key part of Australia’s attack, Goodwin is known for his creativity and ability to score from long range. Harry Souttar: A reliable defender, Souttar has played a big role in keeping Australia’s defence strong during the qualifiers. Nishan Velupillay: This one is also an important player of the Australian National football team who made a strong impression by scoring a stoppage-time goal in his debut against China, showing his potential. The team has also called up young players like Max Balard and Hayden Matthews, who bring fresh energy. With the team eager for more success, these young talents will need to give their best to help Australia move forward. Breaking Down the Qualification Process The road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup involves several rounds of matches in Asia. In the third round, the top two teams from each group qualify directly for the World Cup, while the third-place teams compete in a playoff for another chance to qualify. Australia is in a tricky position in Group C but let’s point out the fact that it’s far away from hopeless. Anyway, they’ll have to show a good result in the following games to guarantee that they have a seat among Asia's best teams heading into World Cup soccer. Can Australia Make It to the World Cup? Australia’s journey to the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been promising, but challenges remain. Success will require smart strategies and steady performance. Below, you’ll find insights into The Socceroos’ strengths, weaknesses, and what lies ahead as they aim for a spot in North America: Strengths Defensive organisation : Australia’s defence, led by Harry Souttar, has been solid during the qualifiers. They didn’t concede any goals in the second round, showing how well they can shut down opponents. This will be crucial in tight matches, especially against stronger teams. Dynamic attackers : New talents like Kusini Yengi and Nestory Irankunda have brought speed and unpredictability to Australia’s attack. Combined with experienced players like Mathew Leckie and Craig Goodwin, the Socceroos now have a flexible offence that can handle various defensive strategies which puts them in a more or less winning position. Home advantage : We all know that Australia has always done well at home, benefiting from crowd support and familiarity with the conditions. Key home matches, like those against strong teams such as Saudi Arabia, will be crucial as the Socceroos look to secure as many points as possible. Weaknesses Finishing struggles : Although Australia creates plenty of chances, they’ve sometimes had trouble turning them into goals. While they scored 22 times in the second round, they relied on a few strong performances. Close wins, like the 1-0 victory over Palestine, show they need to be more clinical. Vulnerability to upsets : The Socceroos have occasionally dropped points against lower-ranked teams. Staying focused and avoiding complacency will be key for sure. Final Thoughts: What Lies Ahead for Australia Australia's 2026 FIFA World Cup dream is a mix of promise and challenges that could prove tough to overcome. Under Tony Popovic’s tactical leadership, with a blend of experienced players and rising stars, plus one of the best home-field advantages, the Socceroos have what it takes. While fans can be proud of the team’s resilience and adaptability, the road ahead requires sharp performances and tactical precision. If Australia soccer rises to the challenge, they are well-positioned to secure their place on the global stage and uphold their proud World Cup legacy. *The San Francisco Examiner newsroom and editorial were not involved in the creation of this content.

Nov 2, 2024; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes defensive back Jermari Harris (27) reacts against the Wisconsin Badgers during the second quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images/ File Photo Iowa cornerback Jermari Harris has opted out of the remainder of the 2024 season in order to prepare for the NFL draft, according to a report by 247Sports.com. The 6-foot-1 sixth-year senior from Chicago has recorded 27 tackles, three interceptions and a team-high seven pass breakups in 10 games for the Hawkeyes this season. That includes a pick-6 in a 38-21 win over Troy earlier this season. Iowa (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) plays at Maryland on Saturday before closing out its regular season at home against Nebraska on Nov. 29. The Hawkeyes are already bowl eligible, so Harris is likely opting out of three games in total. After missing the entire 2022 season due to an ankle injury, Harris was suspended for two games of the following season for his involvement in the gambling investigation into Iowa athletics. He later emerged as the Hawkeyes' top cornerback, earning the team's comeback player of the year award after compiling 42 tackles, one interception and eight pass breakups. Harris will finish his college career with 105 tackles and eight interceptions. --Field Level Media REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel nowLouise Redknapp wraps up warm in a black coat as she and boyfriend Drew Michael enjoy date night at Scott's restaurant Have YOU got a story? Email tips@dailymail.com By CAROLINE PEACOCK Published: 11:06 EST, 23 November 2024 | Updated: 11:08 EST, 23 November 2024 e-mail 1 View comments Louise Redknapp and her boyfriend Drew Michael were all smiles as they enjoyed a romantic date night at Scott's restaurant in Mayfair on Friday night. The singer, 50, looked as stylish as ever in a sleek black dress layered under a long black coat. She teamed the look with a pair of patterned black stockings and added inches to her frame in black pointed heels. Her stunning ensemble was complimented with gold jewellery and she toted her belongings in a small stylish black bag. Walking closely behind her, Drew looked dashing in tailored black trousers paired with a deep purple button-up shirt. He stayed cozy in a black coat and completed his polished look with glossy brown shoes. Louise Redknapp and her boyfriend Drew Michael were all smiles as they enjoyed a romantic date night at Scott's restaurant in Mayfair on Friday night The singer, 50, looked chic in a sleek black midi dress layered under a long black coat The pair appeared in high spirits as they flashed the camera a smile while leaving the celebrity hotspot. It comes after Louise cosied up to her boyfriend Drew at the Pride of Britain Awards 2024. She was among the famous faces posing at the event which was held at the The Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The star looked incredible as she wore a black silk and lace dress while cosying up to her boyfriend Drew Michael on the red carpet. Louise boosted her height with pointed heels, sheer tights and dangly silver earrings as she posed up a storm. By her side Michael looked dapper in a navy jacket, white shirt and light grey trousers. Louise went Instagram official with Drew in November last year as they celebrated his 40th birthday with her eldest son Charles, 19. It is the first public relationship for the star since her 2017 divorce from former footballer Jamie, 51, who married model Frida Andersson in 2021. Walking closely behind her, Drew looked dashing in tailored black trousers paired with a deep purple button-up shirt Louise went Instagram official with Drew in November last year as they celebrated his 40th birthday with her eldest son Charles, 19 (pictured at the Pride of Britain Awards 2024) Speaking about finding love again previously, Louise said: 'I'm very happy, he's great, lovely, it's really nice. Read More Louise Redknapp puts on a leggy display while leaving her star-studded 50th birthday party 'It's been a really long time for me. It's lovely to have met somebody that makes me so happy.' Jamie and Louise share two sons, Charlie and Beau, 14, while the former footballer also shares a son Raphael, two, with wife Frida. Frida also has four children who she shares with her ex-husband, Jonathan Lourie. Amid her new relationship milestone, Louise recently ventured out of the music industry and embarked on a new career path. Louise, who first found fame in the RnB group Eternal in the early 90s, has launched a new beauty business called Nakd Beauty Ltd, selling 'wholesale of perfume and cosmetics', according to The Sun. It is the first public relationship for Louise since her 2017 divorce from former footballer Jamie, who is now married to model Frida Andersson (Louise and Jamie in 2016) Already, the star has her own fashion range with the clothing store Peacocks and her own cosmetics blog Lou Loves By Louise. In September, Louise and Drew looked chic in leather jackets as they put on a loved-up display in Soho. She looked incredible as she wore a black leather coat layered over a black top and light blue denim jeans. Adding inches to her statuesque physique, she slipped into a pair of towering black stilettos. London Louise Redknapp Share or comment on this article: Louise Redknapp wraps up warm in a black coat as she and boyfriend Drew Michael enjoy date night at Scott's restaurant e-mail Add comment

Tagovailoa carves up Pats with 4 TDs, Dolphins win 3rd straight game with 34-15 rout of New EnglandGeneral Mills’ (GIS) Strategic Moves and Market Outlook: Pet Food Acquisition and Earnings UpdateRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — CNN wants a court to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson that attacks its report that he made explicit posts on a pornography website’s message board. The network says Robinson presented no evidence that the network believed its story was false or aired it recklessly. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — CNN wants a court to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson that attacks its report that he made explicit posts on a pornography website’s message board. The network says Robinson presented no evidence that the network believed its story was false or aired it recklessly. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — CNN wants a court to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson that attacks its report that he made explicit posts on a pornography website’s message board. The network says Robinson presented no evidence that the network believed its story was false or aired it recklessly. The September report says Robinson, who ran unsuccessfully for governor this month, left statements over a decade ago on the message board in which, in part, he referred to himself as a “black NAZI” and said he enjoyed transgender pornography. The report also says he preferred Adolf Hitler to then-President Barack Obama and slammed the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as “worse than a maggot.” Robinson, who was seeking to become the state’s first Black governor, said he didn’t write those posts and sued in October, just before early in-person voting was to begin. While filing a dismissal motion Thursday in Raleigh federal court, attorneys for CNN said Robinson’s arguments suggesting he was the likely victim of a computer hacking operation that created fake messages would require a series of events that is not just “implausible, it is ridiculous.” Generally speaking, a public official claiming defamation must show a defendant knew a statement it made was false or did so with reckless disregard for the truth. “Robinson did not and cannot plausibly allege facts that show that CNN published the Article with actual malice,” attorney Mark Nebrig wrote in a memo backing the dismissal motion, adding that the lawsuit “does not include a single allegation demonstrating that CNN doubted the veracity of its reporting.” For Robinson, who already had a history of inflammatory comments about topics like abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, the CNN story nearly led to the collapse of his campaign. After the report’s airing, most of his top campaign staff quit, advertising from the Republican Governors Association stopped and fellow Republicans distanced themselves from him, including President-elect Donald Trump. Robinson lost to Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein by nearly 15 points and will leave office at year-end. Robinson’s lawsuit was initially filed in state court. It says, in part, that CNN chose to run its report based on data from the website NudeAfrica, which had been hacked several years ago and ran on vulnerable, outdated software. His suit claims the network did nothing to verify the posts. He’s seeking monetary damages. Thursday’s memo highlights the network’s story, including a section where the CNN journalists showed how they connected Robinson to a username on the NudeAfrica site. 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. As the CNN story said previously, the memo says the network matched details of the account on the message board to other online accounts held by Robinson by comparing usernames, an email address and his full name. The details discussed by the account holder matched Robinson’s length of marriage, where he lived at the time, and that both Robinson and the account holder had mothers who worked at a historically Black university, the memo says. CNN also said it found matches of figures of speech used by both the NudeAfrica account holder and in Robinson’s social media posts. “This is hardly a case where, as Robinson alleges, CNN ‘disregarded or deliberately avoided the truth’ rather than investigate,” Nebrig said, adding later that the network “had no reason to seriously doubt that Robinson was the author” of the posts. Robinson’s attorneys didn’t immediately respond to an email Friday seeking comment. The lawsuit says anyone could have used Robinson’s breached data to create accounts on the internet. His state lawsuit also sued Louis Love Money, a former porn shop worker who alleged in a music video and a media interview that for several years starting in the 1990s, Robinson frequented a porn shop where Money was working and that Robinson purchased porn videos from him. Robinson said that was untrue. Money filed his own dismissal motion in the state lawsuit. But since then, CNN moved the lawsuit to federal court, saying that it’s the proper venue for a North Carolina resident like Robinson and a Georgia-based company like CNN and that the claims against Money are unrelated. Advertisement AdvertisementAlex Ovechkin is expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks with a broken left leg

Unlike scores of people who scrambled for the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight in recent years, Danielle Griffin had no trouble getting them. The 38-year-old information technology worker from New Mexico had a prescription. Her pharmacy had the drugs in stock. And her health insurance covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost. For Griffin, the hardest part of using the new drugs wasn’t access. It was finding out that the much-hyped medications didn’t really work for her. “I have been on Wegovy for a year and a half and have only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches her diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly. “I’ve done everything right with no success. It’s discouraging.” In clinical trials, most participants taking Wegovy or Mounjaro to treat obesity lost an average of 15% to 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But roughly 10% to 15% of patients in those trials were “nonresponders” who lost less than 5% of their body weight. Now that millions of people have used the drugs, several obesity experts told The Associated Press that perhaps 20% of patients — as many as 1 in 5 — may not respond well to the medications. It's a little-known consequence of the obesity drug boom, according to doctors who caution eager patients not to expect one-size-fits-all results. “It's all about explaining that different people have different responses,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Massachusetts General Hospital The drugs are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists because they mimic a hormone in the body known as glucagon-like peptide 1. Genetics, hormones and variability in how the brain regulates energy can all influence weight — and a person's response to the drugs, Stanford said. Medical conditions such as sleep apnea can prevent weight loss, as can certain common medications, such as antidepressants, steroids and contraceptives. “This is a disease that stems from the brain,” said Stanford. “The dysfunction may not be the same” from patient to patient. Despite such cautions, patients are often upset when they start getting the weekly injections but the numbers on the scale barely budge. “It can be devastating,” said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. “With such high expectations, there’s so much room for disappointment.” That was the case for Griffin, who has battled obesity since childhood and hoped to shed 70 pounds using Wegovy. The drug helped reduce her appetite and lowered her risk of diabetes, but she saw little change in weight. “It’s an emotional roller coaster,” she said. “You want it to work like it does for everybody else.” The medications are typically prescribed along with eating behavior and lifestyle changes. It’s usually clear within weeks whether someone will respond to the drugs, said Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrine specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Weight loss typically begins right away and continues as the dosage increases. For some patients, that just doesn't happen. For others, side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea force them to halt the medications, Dushay said. In such situations, patients who were counting on the new drugs to pare pounds may think they’re out of options. “I tell them: It's not game over,” Dushay said. Trying a different version of the new class of drugs may help. Griffin, who didn't respond well to Wegovy, has started using Zepbound, which targets an additional hormone pathway in the body. After three months of using the drug, she has lost 7 pounds. “I'm hoping it's slow and steady,” she said. Other people respond well to older drugs, the experts said. Changing diet, exercise, sleep and stress habits can also have profound effects. Figuring out what works typically requires a doctor trained to treat obesity, Saunders noted. “Obesity is such a complex disease that really needs to be treated very comprehensively,” she said. “If what we’re prescribing doesn’t work, we always have a backup plan.” The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.Container handling at Ctg port rises 10% in Aug-Oct

Washington recovers from upset, rolls past NJITMIAMI — The trade speculation surrounding Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler has grown louder this week, but Butler doesn’t mind. “I actually like it,” Butler said following the Heat’s practice at Kaseya Center on Wednesday. “It’s good to be talked about. I don’t think there’s such a thing as bad publicity to a point. But if somebody is talking about me getting traded, that’s a lot.” Butler spoke to reporters just one day after ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday that “the Heat are open to listening to offers for Butler and making a deal if the proposal is right.” Charania also reported that Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, has indicated in league circles that Butler is open to trade destinations such as the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors. Charania added that teams have been informed that Butler intends to decline the $52.4 million player option in his contract to become a free agent this upcoming offseason. The Heat, which sometimes publicly denies trade reports, declined to comment on the ESPN report. Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, also declined to comment. With most free agents who signed with teams this past offseason becoming eligible to be dealt on Sunday, it’s not a coincidence that trade rumors around the league have started to pick up in recent days. With the uncertainty surrounding Butler’s current contract situation, the expectation is his name will continue to be a prominent part of trade rumors in the coming weeks leading up to the NBA’s Feb. 6 trade deadline. “It’s fine with me,” Butler said of the trade speculation. “It doesn’t bother me one bit and I do appreciate it. I appreciate going out there and hooping and I appreciate being efficient, being effective and helping my team win. I don’t ever take playing basketball for anybody for granted.” While Charania reported that the Heat is now open to “listening” to trade offers for Butler, it’s important to note that Butler has not asked to be traded and the Heat is not aggressively shopping him. If Butler opts out and becomes a free agent next offseason, he will be eligible to sign a four-year max contract projected to be worth about $243 million with the Heat or a max three-year contract worth $171 million elsewhere. But Butler and the Heat don’t have to reach that point if they can agree to the two-year max contract extension worth about $113 million that he’s already eligible for. The Heat also has until June 30 to sign Butler to this extension, which would keep him in Miami through the 2026-27 season when he’ll be 37 years old. When asked about his long-term future with the Heat, Butler said Wednesday: “Who knows?” After the Heat declined to quickly give Butler a max extension this past summer, Butler decided to play this season out and become a free agent this upcoming summer. That remains his plan with the intention of signing a max contract with the Heat or another team this offseason, according to a league source. “Not really,” Butler said when asked Wednesday if getting another max contract is his top priority. “My kids matter, my happiness matters, my well-being matters and my family matters. Right now, it’s all about competing, staying healthy, playing some great basketball. I think I’ve done that so far, so we’ll see what we got.” Does Butler still hope to spend the rest of his NBA career with the Heat? “I don’t know,” said Butler, who is in the middle of his sixth season with the Heat. “I’m pretty sure y’all are going to get a report that’s going to say otherwise anyways. So there’s no sense in me answering that question.” Butler has averaged 19 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 55.7 percent from the field this season. He has played in 17 of the Heat’s first 22 games, missing four because of a sprained right ankle and one because of right knee soreness. At 35 years old, Butler remains the driving force behind much of the Heat’s success. He leads the Heat in most advanced metrics this season, including estimated plus/minus, win shares and box plus/minus. The Heat is 7-2 when Butler records a usage rate (an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while on the court) of more than 20 percent and holds a 3-5 record when his usage rate doesn’t cross 20 percent in games that he has played in this season. “I feel like we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing,” said Butler, who has helped lead the Heat to three Eastern Conference finals appearances and two NBA Finals appearances since joining the team during the 2019 offseason. “We’ve won a couple in a row. I’m not worried about an extension. We’ll handle all of that whenever it gets here and take it day by day. The more articles that come out, the more y’all are going to ask me questions about it. So keep the articles coming.” The Heat (12-10) is riding a three-game winning streak entering Thursday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors (7-15) at Kaseya Center (7:30 p.m. ET, FanDuel Sports Network Sun). “I mean, it’s always going to be a championship,” Butler said of the potential of this current Heat roster. “Tyler [Herro] is playing at an extremely high level, Bam [Adebayo] is doing what Bam does, we got the young fellas that are hooping and gaining more confidence. So we’re rolling. We’re going to continue to win and I’m proud of the guys. You see everybody out here working and we know what we’re capable of.” Injury report The only Heat players who were held out of Wednesday’s practice were Pelle Larsson (sprained right ankle) and Josh Richardson (right heel inflammation). For Thursday’s matchup against the Raptors, the Heat ruled out Josh Christopher and Richardson. Richardson received an injection in his injured heel and will be re-evaluated in one week. Larsson, who has missed the last two games with his ankle injury, is listed as doubtful for Thursday’s contest. Butler is probable to play despite lingering right knee soreness. The Raptors ruled out Scottie Barnes (right ankle sprain), Bruce Brown (return to competition reconditioning), Ulrich Chomche (G League) and Immanuel Quickley (partial UCL tear in left elbow) for Thursday’s game in Miami. ©2024 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.