A Republican senator has warned his colleagues must “step up” to appoint Donald Trump’s cabinet picks or face recess appointments. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee was on ABC’s This Week that the idea of recess appointments “is and should be on the table”, adding that previous presidents in modern history including Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton had utilized the constitutional clause allowing appointments when the Senate is not in session. The process would likely set up court battles and fray Trump’s relationship with GOP leaders — all while allowing him to confirm controversial choices despite concerns. “This is a constitutionally available tool,” Hagerty told Jon Karl. “What we want to see is the Democrats co-operate with us. But if the resistance movement gets as heavy as it was... I’ve been through the confirmation process myself. I turned in my paperwork on the 21st of January, I didn’t get confirmed until July.” But when Karl pointed out that Republican votes were the issue, and asked if the president-elect would use recess appointments to force through major positions, Hagerty reiterated his point with a message to other GOP senators. “What he [Trump] wants to do is see these appointments made quickly,” Hagerty replied. “I think everything should be on the table. I think if my colleagues understand that they will know they need to step up and move expeditiously to get these cabinet members confirmed.” The concept of recess appointments is a controversial one, and comes with restrictions: the appointments are temporary, and only last until the end of the applicable calendar year. They would also require the Senate to not be in session — something that members of the upper chamber of Congress could resist. The Senate has never triggered a recess simply for the purpose of allowing a president to make such appointments. But it still leaves open the possibility that Trump could make recess Cabinet appointments during one of the Senate’s scheduled breaks, including the August recess later in 2025. And the president-elect himself has made clear that he plans to utilize the tactic. “Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” he wrote on Truth Social. Republican Senator John Thune was chosen to be the GOP’s new majority leader when the Senate convenes in January. An ally of Mitch McConnell, Thune is an institutionalist and is not likely to wield the power of the Senate to suit Trump’s whims. On policy matters and most votes, however, he’s expected to toe the White House line. The Senate is set to be held by a solid GOP majority come next year; the president’s control is not absolute, however, and he has already seen his pick for attorney general go down in flames. The chamber won’t vote on his picks until next year, but resistance from almost a half-dozen Republicans sunk the bid of Matt Gaetz to lead the Justice Department. None of Trump’s other nominees have withdrawn yet, though a number of Republican senators appear publicly skeptical towards the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence (DNI). Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, is also coming under increased scrutiny as new revelations have come out surrounding a sexual assault case he was involved in. Hegseth has denied that the encounter described in the allegations was nonconsensual. On the right, Trump is also taking flack from traditional conservatives over his nomination of a candidate for secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemerm, who supported the Pro Act — a piece of pro-union legislation that failed to pass Congress under Joe Biden’s presidency.Veralto Co. ( NYSE:VLTO – Get Free Report ) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 19th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of 0.11 per share on Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Veralto’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Veralto has a dividend payout ratio of 11.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Veralto to earn $3.71 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.9%. Veralto Trading Down 0.7 % Shares of VLTO stock opened at $103.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Veralto has a fifty-two week low of $73.91 and a fifty-two week high of $115.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.55. The stock has a market cap of $25.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.91. Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VLTO shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Veralto in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Veralto from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Veralto from $119.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Veralto from $117.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veralto currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.50. View Our Latest Stock Report on Veralto Insider Buying and Selling In other Veralto news, SVP Surekha Trivedi sold 752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.91, for a total value of $77,388.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,071,601.83. This represents a 6.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink . Also, CEO Jennifer Honeycutt sold 13,190 shares of Veralto stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.15, for a total value of $1,452,878.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 138,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,260,841.90. This trade represents a 8.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders sold 14,695 shares of company stock valued at $1,615,017 over the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Veralto Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Veralto Corporation provides water analytics, water treatment, marking and coding, and packaging and color services worldwide. It operates through two segments, Water Quality (WQ) and Product Quality & Innovation (PQI). The WQ segment offers precision instrumentation and water treatment technologies to measure, analyze, and treat water in residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, research, and natural resource applications through the Hach, Trojan Technologies, and ChemTreat brands. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Veralto Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Veralto and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

Percentages: FG .429, FT .738. 3-Point Goals: 2-15, .133 (Taylor 2-8, Phelps 0-2, Wilcher 0-2, Carter 0-3). Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 6 (Washington 4, Garcia, Obaseki). Turnovers: 12 (Phelps 4, Coleman 3, Taylor 3, Carter, Washington). Steals: 5 (Hefner 2, Carter, Garcia, Wilcher). Technical Fouls: Washington, 12:23 first. Percentages: FG .412, FT .882. 3-Point Goals: 6-26, .231 (Harper 2-6, Bailey 2-8, Williams 1-2, Hayes 1-5, Acuff 0-1, Davis 0-1, Derkack 0-1, Grant 0-2). Team Rebounds: 10. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 1 (Harper). Turnovers: 16 (Bailey 4, Williams 4, Derkack 2, Martini 2, Acuff, Hayes, Ogbole, Sommerville). Steals: 7 (Bailey 2, Derkack, Grant, Hayes, Martini, Williams). Technical Fouls: Williams, 12:23 first. .Celanese Corp. stock outperforms competitors on strong trading day

D-Wave Quantum Shares Are Up Today: What's Going On?

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George has a bone bruise on his left knee and will miss two games, the team said Thursday. The 76ers said George did not suffer any structural damage when he injured the same knee that he hyperextended during the preseason in Wednesday night's loss at Memphis. The game marked the first time this season the All-Star trio of George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey started a game together. George will miss home games Friday against Brooklyn and Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers, his former team. A nine-time All-Star, the 34-year-old George will be evaluated again on Monday. Wednesday's 117-111 loss to the Grizzlies dropped the Sixers to 2-12, the worst record in the NBA headed into Thursday night's games. George signed a four-year, $212 million contract with Philadelphia after five seasons with the Clippers. He has averaged 14.9 points in eight games this season. Embiid has been out with injuries, load management rest and a suspension, while Maxey was sidelined with a hamstring injury. An expected contender in the Eastern Conference, the Sixers haven't won since an overtime victory against Charlotte on Nov. 10. ___ AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba The Associated Press

Jessica Hamilton, a clinical psychologist at University of Kansas Health System, said people concerned about bitter political arguments during Thanksgiving gatherings could opt out of those conversations. She said holiday dinner hosts could set boundaries for guests to forbid quarrels about the November election. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from KU Health System YouTube channel) TOPEKA — Personal political agendas, social-media inflamed partisanship and tough-to-swallow outcomes in the 2024 election are likely to simmer as families with divergent perspectives gather around dinner tables for annual Thanksgiving meals. Instead of settling whether it was acceptable to substitute lasagna for turkey as the main course, folks were likely to argue about attributes and shortcomings of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Rather than consider whether the menu should include fried apples, braised collard greens, macaroni and cheese or roasted broccoli, relatives could slide into debate on the potential of tariffs igniting inflation. In lieu of conversation about whether pecan pie should be displaced by English toffee for dessert, diners might bicker about implications of Republicans simultaneously controlling the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Clinical psychologists Greg Nawalanic and Jessica Hamilton, of the University of Kansas Health System, said supper-time strife could be reduced by taking a healthy approach to political differences. They recommended families and friends strive to set boundaries, be courteous, actively listen to others, express curiosity and focus on the big picture of a holiday associated with counting blessings. “If you are on the winning side, then that’s great for you. Have those feelings. Celebrate it. Maybe keep it inside of you. Talk to like-minded people about that,” Nawalanic said. “But when you have friends or family who were opposing, try to be gracious about it. Remember, they were just as invested as you were ... but now are very disappointed.” He said that during the two weeks after the Nov. 5 election about 90% of his counseling sessions were tied to ballot-box results. Hamilton said some of her patients were suffering anticipatory anxiety because they understood their personal political ideas didn’t align with others in the family. Some clients, she said, were experiencing political grief because a majority of voters didn’t see national, state or local candidates in the same way or took a contrary position on taxation, gambling or abortion questions. She said the desire of people to stand up for personal values made it difficult to accept the political opinions of rivals. One option on Thanksgiving was to not participate in political dialogue at the dinner table, she said. Those who do ought to take a deep breath before commenting to avoid escalating a rhetorical quarrel, she said. “If you want to engage, I would say engage in a way that is true to the kind of person that you want to be,” Hamilton said. “Are you wanting to be ‘right’ as far as politics go? Or, do you want to be understanding and recognize that there is a difference and be respectful?” She suggested individuals direct conversations toward poignant or humorous family stories and histories rather than squabble about political events capable of driving people apart. Hamilton said it would be acceptable for a Thanksgiving host to set ground rules in advance that precluded back-and-forth friction on political topics. Adults and children might be well-served by looking at election results through the lens of good sportsmanship, she said. “We teach our kids this,” she said. “Why aren’t we displaying that as adults? How can we be good sports and appreciate one another?” Nawalanic said the environment of some Thanksgiving gatherings could be compared to a visit to a dentist. It might not be pleasant, he said, but the agony was of limited duration. He said individuals consumed political news in different ways with some remaining glued to social media and others taking passive interest until Election Day. He said social media amplified discord during the 2024 elections. In the end, he said, technology played a larger role in this election because messaging left little room to calmly consider the range of candidates and issues. “We have to understand that when we go into these conversations there’s been an echo chamber that is so reinforced and impregnable,” Nawalanic said. “If you try to talk or communicate at your dinner table the way you’re doing it online — if you’re one of those little snipers who wants to nail you — let’s not do that.” He advised people to resist the temptation to sever family relationships based on results of November’s voting. Perhaps it would be best to explore more substantive reasons for contemplating closure of those doors, he said. “If you’re considering ending a relationship because of politics, it’s probably less about the politics and more about personality attributes in the way they’ve gone about it,” Nawalanic said. Nawalanic said it could be useful to snack before arriving for the big Thanksgiving meal, because hunger could trigger what he referred to episodes of “hanger” when controversial topics were broached. He said consumption of alcoholic beverages ought to be minimized at dinners where discord could arise because “wine is not adaptive coping.” He said it was important to remember this year’s snapshot of people around the dinner table was certain to change by next year. “Do you want to look back on this Thanksgiving and think, ‘It was such a nice, lovely family time together and a great meal,'” Nawalanic said. “Or, do you want to remember, ‘I burned her with that comment. When I said that, she felt it.'”

MTG Calls America ‘Spoiled,’ Threatens to Defund NPR and ‘Toilets in Africa’

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Andrej Stojakovic made 11 free throws to help craft a team-high 20 points, freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson had his second consecutive big game off the bench and Cal ran its winning streak to three with an 83-77 nonconference victory over Sacramento State on Sunday afternoon in Berkeley, Calif. Wilkinson finished with 16 points and Rytis Petraitis 13 for the Golden Bears (5-1), whose only loss this season was at Vanderbilt. Jacob Holt went for a season-high 25 points for the Hornets (1-4), who dropped their fourth straight after a season-opening win over Cal State Maritime. Seeking a fourth straight home win, Cal led by as many as 12 points in the first half and 40-33 at halftime before Sacramento State rallied. The Hornets used a 14-5 burst out of the gate following the intermission to grab a 47-45 lead. Julian Vaughns had a 3-pointer and three-point play in the run. But Cal dominated pretty much the rest of the game, taking the lead for good on a Petraitis 3-pointer with 14:50 remaining. Stojakovic, a transfer from rival Stanford, went 11-for-15 at the foul line en route to his third 20-point game of the young season. Cal outscored Sacramento State 26-17 on free throws to more than account for the margin of victory. Coming off a 23-point explosion in his first extended action of the season, Wilkinson hit five of his 10 shots Sunday. The Golden Bears outshot the Hornets 47.2 percent to 43.1 percent. Joshua Ola-Joseph contributed 10 points and six rebounds, Mady Sissoko also had 10 points and Petraitis found time for a team-high five assists. Holt complemented his 25 points with a game-high eight rebounds. He made four 3-pointers, as did Vaughns en route to 18 points, helping Sacramento State outscore Cal 30-21 from beyond the arc. EJ Neal added 16 points for the Hornets, while Emil Skytta tied for game-high assist honors with five to go with seven points. --Field Level Media