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Giants' Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton don't care about No. 1 pick: "I'm not finna let people tee off on me just to tank' | Sporting NewsJesse Hutch’s Daughter, Charlize, Made Her Acting Debut In A Little Women’s Christmas, And Co-Star Jen Lilley Had The Best Reaction To Her Performance
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he will nominate former White House aide Brooke Rollins to be his agriculture secretary, the last of his picks to lead executive agencies and another choice from within his established circle of advisers and allies. The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, which will be controlled by Republicans when Trump takes office Jan. 20. Rollins would succeed Tom Vilsack , President Joe Biden’s agriculture secretary who oversees the sprawling agency that controls policies, regulations and aid programs related to farming, forestry, ranching, food quality and nutrition. Then-President Donald Trump looks to Brooke Rollins, president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, as she speaks during a Jan. 11, 2018, prison reform roundtable in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Carolyn Kaster, Associated Press Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency. The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. Rollins previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The pick completes Trump’s selection of the heads of executive branch departments, just two and a half weeks after the former president won the White House once again. Several other picks that are traditionally Cabinet-level remain, including U.S. Trade Representative and head of the small business administration. Brooke Rollins, assistant to the president and director of the Domestic Policy Council at the time, speaks during a May 18, 2020, meeting with restaurant industry executives about the coronavirus response in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. Evan Vucci, Associated Press Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts Rollins, speaking on the Christian talk show “Family Talk" earlier this year, said Trump was an “amazing boss” and confessed that she thought in 2015, during his first presidential campaign, that he would not last as a candidate in a crowded Republican primary field. “I was the person that said, ‘Oh, Donald Trump is not going to go more than two or three weeks in the Republican primary. This is to up his TV show ratings. And then we’ll get back to normal,’” she said. “Fast forward a couple of years, and I am running his domestic policy agenda.” Trump didn’t offer many specifics about his agriculture policies during the campaign, but farmers could be affected if he carries out his pledge to impose widespread tariffs. During the first Trump administration, countries like China responded to Trump’s tariffs by imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports like the corn and soybeans routinely sold overseas. Trump countered by offering massive multibillion-dollar aid to farmers to help them weather the trade war. Brooke Rollins speaks at an Oct. 27 campaign rally for then-Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York. Evan Vucci, Associated Press President Abraham Lincoln founded the USDA in 1862, when about half of all Americans lived on farms. The USDA oversees multiple support programs for farmers; animal and plant health; and the safety of meat, poultry and eggs that anchor the nation’s food supply. Its federal nutrition programs provide food to low-income people, pregnant women and young children. And the agency sets standards for school meals. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has vowed to strip ultraprocessed foods from school lunches and to stop allowing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beneficiaries from using food stamps to buy soda, candy or other so-called junk foods. But it would be the USDA, not HHS, that would be responsible for enacting those changes. In addition, HHS and USDA will work together to finalize the 2025-2030 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. They are due late next year, with guidance for healthy diets and standards for federal nutrition programs. Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Associated Press writers Josh Funk and JoNel Aleccia contributed to this report. 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. Evan Vucci, Associated Press Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Evan Vucci, Associated Press 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. Wilfredo Lee, Associated Press 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. George Walker IV, Associated Press 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. Derik Hamilton 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. Matt Rourke, Associated Press 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. AP Photo/Alex Brandon 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. Evan Vucci, Associated Press 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. Matt Kelley, Associated Press 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.” Andrew Harnik, Associated Press 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. Jacquelyn Martin, Associated Press 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. Andy Cross, The Denver Post via AP 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. Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press Brooke Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency. The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Evan Vucci 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. AP Photo/Evan Vucci 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. John Bazemore, Associated Press 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. Ted Shaffrey, Associated Press 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. Evan Vucci, Associated Press 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.” Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press 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.” Matt Rourke, Associated Press 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. Jonathan Newton - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS 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. Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press 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. Andrew Harnik, Associated Press A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. “In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. “He did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.” Paul Sancya, Associated Press 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. Oded Balilty, Associated Press 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. Evan Vucci, Associated Press 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. Ted Shaffrey, Associated Press 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. Evan Vucci, Associated Press 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. John Bazemore, Associated Press 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. Matt Rourke, Associated Press 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.” Evan Vucci, Associated Press photos 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. Evan Vucci, Associated Press Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. James Blair, deputy chief of staff Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Taylor Budowich, deputy chief of staff Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. William McGinley, White House counsel 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.” Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press
Support Independent Arts Journalism As an independent publication, we rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. If you value our coverage and want to support more of it, consider becoming a member today . Already a member? Sign in here. Support Hyperallergic’s independent arts journalism for as little as $8 per month. Become a Member How often do you think of music when viewing a visual artwork — a painting, photograph, or collage mounted and framed? Scholar Nikki A. Greene’s new book, Grime, Glitter, and Glass: The Body and the Sonic in Contemporary Black Art , explores this juxtaposition, putting the visual into conversation with the aural and the tactile. Fittingly, the book’s structure follows the five main components of a song’s composition: “Prelude,” “Verse One,” “Verse Two,” “Verse Three,” and “Coda.” Greene focuses each verse on a single artist — Renée Stout, Radcliffe Bailey, and María Magdalena Campos-Pons, respectively — and dissects specific works in terms of musicality and sonic resonance as much as visual aesthetic. While the focus seems narrow, each verse does not rest with just one artist. Instead, it ambitiously presents the artist’s particular regional context of Black art, music, and people at large. In order to delve into Stout, for example, Greene frames the realities of the United States mid-Atlantic throughout the 20th century. For Bailey, the American South; for Campos-Pons, Cuba and Caribbean diasporic relations to the US. Thus each chapter blends mini-artist biographies with a socio-political historical account, mapping out a lush and generative artistic family tree. When writing about Stout, Greene references Betye Saar. Much of Campos-Pons ’s chapter is dedicated to Carrie Mae Weems. Bailey’s chapter is dotted with connections to Romare Bearden, David Hammons, Todd Gray, and director Barry Jenkins among others. Get the latest art news, reviews and opinions from Hyperallergic. Daily Weekly Opportunities And then, of course, there’s the music. Complete with an accompanying playlist , Greene maps sonic affect by relating artistic intention to musical artists, identifying musical influences for visual work, and highlighting actual music within work and performances. In “Verse One,” Greene compares Stout’s use of the physical form and the provocation of Black feminine sexuality in sculpture to that of funk and rock pioneer Betty Davis . For both artists, she draws out the ways in which defiance is often marked by stigma and society’s delayed understanding. “Verse Two” sees a more abstracted effort to explore Bailey’s mixed-media work within the dual reality of Black excellence and anti-Black violence demonstrated by the South, where the late artist was based. Greene first details the music video for hip-hop group Arrested Development’s “Tennessee” (1992) in which Bailey appears, drawing a line to jazz greats Miles Davis (invoking his aforementioned ex-wife Betty) and Sun Ra. “Verse Two” feels slightly unwieldy and disjointed, perhaps due to Greene’s effort to outline the weight of Black masculinity and shine with which these artists wrestle. More successfully, Campos-Pons’s “Verse Three” tackles the Western lack of recognition of Black validity: in contributions to art, in the power and gift of Black women, in Cuba’s struggle for autonomy, and more. Greene brings in saxophonist Neil Leonard’s heavily researched compositions for Campos-Pons’s work, such as the performance piece Identified (2016), connecting the dots with late Afro-Cuban singer Celia Cruz’s distinctive use of sugar — ¡Azucar! — as a claim of feminine, Black, and Afro-Caribbean power. For all its feats, this book is ultimately a scholarly work and occasionally veers into academic language. The coda, in particular, is a possibly too-dense display of social theories and observations from Greene. But while the style demands some additional effort from the reader, it also means that the numerous Black names in the book — of both visual and musical artists — are now forever published and etched into the record of increasingly interdisciplinary approaches to creative fields. Sun Ra’s Afrofuturistic jazz does interact with Romare Bearden’s collage style, which in turn impacts Bailey’s glittering “Pullman” heart. Exploring the sonic grime via funk, glitter via shine, and glass via colonial histories of Black contemporary art through these selected artists, Greene adds a novel component to Black American cultural critique. Grime, Glitter, and Glass: The Body and the Sonic in Contemporary Black Art (2024) by Nikki A. Greene is published by Duke University Press and is available online and through independent booksellers. We hope you enjoyed this article! Before you keep reading, please consider supporting Hyperallergic ’s journalism during a time when independent, critical reporting is increasingly scarce. Unlike many in the art world, we are not beholden to large corporations or billionaires. Our journalism is funded by readers like you , ensuring integrity and independence in our coverage. We strive to offer trustworthy perspectives on everything from art history to contemporary art. We spotlight artist-led social movements, uncover overlooked stories, and challenge established norms to make art more inclusive and accessible. With your support, we can continue to provide global coverage without the elitism often found in art journalism. If you can, please join us as a member today . Millions rely on Hyperallergic for free, reliable information. By becoming a member, you help keep our journalism free, independent, and accessible to all. Thank you for reading. Share Copied to clipboard Mail Bluesky Threads LinkedIn Facebook
Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy start ‘brainstorming’ with Congress to cut government spendingCardinals' feel-good month comes to a screeching halt after a head-scratching loss to Seahawks
White Wine Market to Witness Huge Growth in Coming Years With Profiling Leading Companies 12-22-2024 12:57 PM CET | Business, Economy, Finances, Banking & Insurance Press release from: Coherent Market Insights White Wine Market According to the latest research from Coherent Market Insights, the White Wine Market is projected to experience significant growth between 2024 and 2031. This market intelligence report offers in-depth analysis based on thorough research, highlighting current trends, financial performance, and historical data evaluation. The company profiles within the report are derived from the current performance of the White Wine market, considering key factors such as drivers, trends, and challenges, as well as global market share, size, and revenue forecasts for comprehensive insights. To provide a clear understanding, the report examines leading companies, types, applications, and the factors contributing to a positive future outlook. The White Wine market report includes detailed charts, tables, and data analysis, with clear objectives aimed at potential stakeholders. It offers a comprehensive study of the White Wine market, providing valuable insights to support strong growth in the future. This report is designed for a wide range of interested parties, including stakeholders, market participants, investors, researchers, and other individuals associated with the business. ✅ Purchase This Research Report and Get Upto 45% Discount at : https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/promo/buynow/101598 📈 Overview and Scope of the Report: The Global White Wine Market Analysis Report offers a comprehensive overview of the market size across various segments and countries, including historical data and future forecasts. The report outlines the competitive landscape of the global market, discussing market dynamics, drivers, and segmentation by application, type, region, and manufacturer. It provides both qualitative and quantitative insights into the industry for the regions and countries covered. Additionally, the report highlights key opportunities in the White Wine market, identifying the factors driving growth and expected to continue fueling expansion. It also considers past growth trends, current drivers, and future market developments. The financial standings of key players, including gross profits, sales volumes, revenue, manufacturing costs, and other financial ratios, are accurately assessed. Additionally, analytical tools such as investment evaluation, SWOT analysis, and Porter's Five Forces analysis have been employed to examine the production and distribution capabilities of market participants. Deep-dive Analysis: The Report provides deep-dive qualitative and quantitative analysis on White Wine Market for all the regions and countries covered below: • North America (the United States, Canada, and Mexico) • Europe (Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, SCANDIVAN, Benelux, Russia, and Rest of Europe) • Asia-Pacific (Japan, South Korea, India, China, Southeast Asia, and Australia) • South America (Brazil, Argentina, and Rest of South America) • Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, South Africa, and Rest of the Middle East & Africa) • Each Country is covered in detail, and report provides qualitative and quantitative analysis on White Wine Market on each country. Highlights of Our Report: ⏩Extensive Market Analysis: A deep dive into the manufacturing capabilities, production volumes, and technological innovations within the White Wine Market. ⏩ Corporate Insights: An in-depth review of company profiles, spotlighting major players and their strategic manoeuvres in the market's competitive arena. ⏩Consumption Trends: A detailed analysis of consumption patterns, offering insight into current demand dynamics and consumer preferences. ⏩Segmentation Details: An exhaustive breakdown of end-user segments, depicting the market's spread across various applications and industries. ⏩ Pricing Evaluation: A study of pricing structures and the elements influencing market pricing strategies. ⏩ Future Outlook: Predictive insights into market trends, growth prospects, and potential challenges ahead. ✅ Purchase This Research Report and Get Upto 45% Discount at : https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/promo/buynow/101598 Reason to Buy this Report: ■ Study of the impact of technological developments on the market and the emerging trends shaping the industry in the coming years. ■ Analysis of the regulatory and policy changes affecting the market and the effects of these changes for market participants. ■ Summary of the competitive landscape in the White Wine market, including profiles of the key players, their market share, and strategies for growth. ■Identification of the major challenges facing the market, such as supply chain disruptions, environmental concerns, and changing consumer preferences, and analysis of how these challenges will affect market growth. ■Assessment of the potential of new products and applications in the market, and analysis of the investment opportunities for market participants. Questions Answered by the Report: (1) Which are the dominant players of the White Wine Market? (2) What will be the size of the White Wine Market in the coming years? (3) Which segment will lead the White Wine Market? (4) How will the market development trends change in the next five years? (5) What is the nature of the competitive landscape of the White Wine Market? (6) What are the go-to strategies adopted in the White Wine Market? Author of this marketing PR: Alice Mutum is a seasoned senior content editor at Coherent Market Insights, leveraging extensive expertise gained from her previous role as a content writer. With seven years in content development, Alice masterfully employs SEO best practices and cutting-edge digital marketing strategies to craft high-ranking, impactful content. As an editor, she meticulously ensures flawless grammar and punctuation, precise data accuracy, and perfect alignment with audience needs in every research report. Alice's dedication to excellence and her strategic approach to content make her an invaluable asset in the world of market insights. ☎ Contact Us: Mr. Shah Senior Client Partner - Business Development Coherent Market Insights Phone: US: +12524771362 UK: +442039578553 AUS: +61-2-4786-0457 India: +91-848-285-0837 Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Website: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com About Us: Coherent Market Insights is a global market intelligence and consulting organization that provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. We are known for our actionable insights and authentic reports in various domains including aerospace and defense, agriculture, food and beverages, automotive, chemicals and materials, and virtually all domains and an exhaustive list of sub-domains under the sun. We create value for clients through our highly reliable and accurate reports. We are also committed in playing a leading role in offering insights in various sectors post-COVID-19 and continue to deliver measurable, sustainable results for our clients. This release was published on openPR.
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eGain extends stock repurchase program to 2025Amazon and Starbucks workers are on strike. Trump might have something to do with it Amazon delivery drivers and Starbucks baristas are on strike in a handful of U.S. cities as they seek to exert pressure on the two major companies to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract. Strikes during busy periods like the holidays can help unions exercise leverage during negotiations or garner support from sympathetic consumers. One expert says he thinks workers at both companies are “desperate” to make progress before President-elect Donald Trump can appoint a Republican majority to the National Labor Relations Board. Workers at Starbucks, Amazon and some other prominent consumer brands are fighting for their first contracts after several locations voted to unionize. Bluesky finds with growth comes growing pains — and bots Bluesky has seen its user base soar since the U.S. presidential election, boosted by people seeking refuge from Elon Musk’s X, or wanting an alternative to Meta’s Threads and its algorithms. The platform grew out of the company then known as Twitter and was eventually intended to replace it. While this is still very much a pie in the sky, Bluesky’s growth trajectory could make it a serious competitor to other social platforms. With growth, though, comes growing pains. It’s not just human users who’ve been flocking to Bluesky but also bots, including those designed to create partisan division or direct users to junk websites. Farmers are still reeling months after Hurricane Helene ravaged crops across the South LYONS, Ga. (AP) — Farmers in Georgia are still reeling more than two months after Hurricane Helene blew away cotton, destroyed ripened squash and cucumbers and uprooted pecan trees and timber. Agribusinesses in other Southern states saw costly damage as well. The University of Georgia estimates the September storm inflicted $5.5 billion in direct losses and indirect costs in Georgia alone. In rural Toombs County, Chris Hopkins just finished harvesting his ravaged cotton crop and figures he lost half of it, costing him about $430,000. Poultry grower Jeffrey Pridgen in Georgia's Coffee County had four of his 12 chicken houses destroyed and others badly damaged. Farmers say more government disaster assistance is needed. Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI’s strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products. But he grew disillusioned with the company and told The Associated Press this fall he would “try to testify” in copyright infringement cases against it. Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge shows price pressures eased last month WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge that is closely watched by the Federal Reserve barely rose last month in a sign that price pressures cooled after two months of sharp gains. Prices rose just 0.1% from October to November. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices also ticked up just 0.1%, after two months of outsize 0.3% gains. The milder inflation figures arrived two days after Federal Reserve officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, rocked financial markets by revealing that they now expect to cut their key interest rate just two times in 2025, down from four in their previous estimate. Albania to close TikTok for a year blaming it for promoting violence among children TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s prime minister says the government will shut down video service TikTok for one year, blaming it for inciting violence and bullying, especially among children. Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents following the stabbing death of a teenager in mid-November by another teenager following a quarrel that started on TikTok. Prime Minister Edi Rama, speaking at a meeting with teachers and parents, said TikTok “would be fully closed for all. ... There will be no TikTok in the Republic of Albania.” Rama says the ban will begin sometime next year. Albanian children comprise the largest group of TikTok users in the country, according to domestic researchers. Stock market today: Wall Street rises to turn a dismal week into just a bad one NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to turn what would have been one of the market’s worst weeks of the year into just a pretty bad one. The S&P 500 rallied 1.1% Friday to shave its loss for the week down to 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped nearly 500 points, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. A report said a measure of inflation the Federal Reserve likes to use was slightly lower last month than expected. It’s an encouraging signal after the Fed shocked markets Wednesday by saying worries about inflation could keep it from cutting interest rates in 2025 as much as earlier thought. Starbucks workers begin strikes that could spread to hundreds of US stores by Christmas Eve Workers at U.S. Starbucks stores have begun a five-day strike to protest a lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company. The strikes began in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle and could spread to hundreds of stores across the country by Christmas Eve. Workers at 535 of the 10,000 company-owned Starbucks stores in the U.S. have voted to unionize. The Starbucks Workers United union accuses the Seattle-based coffeehouse chain of failing to honor a commitment made in February to reach a labor agreement this year. Starbucks says the union prematurely left the bargaining table this week. It said Friday there's been no significant impact to store operations. It's beginning to look like another record for holiday travel Drivers and airline passengers without reindeer and sleighs better make a dash for it: it’s beginning to look like another record for holiday travel in the U.S. The auto club AAA predicts that more than 119 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Saturday and New Year’s Day. The two weekends on either side of Christmas are tempting a lot of people to head out earlier. U.S. airlines expect to have their busiest days to be Friday and Sunday this week and next Thursday, Friday and Sunday. A government shutdown that could start as soon as Saturday was not expected to immediately affect flights and airport operations. Amazon workers are striking at multiple facilities. Here's what you should know Amazon workers affiliated with the Teamsters union are on strike for a second day at seven of the company’s delivery hubs just days before Christmas. At midnight on Saturday, the Teamsters say workers at a prominent unionized warehouse in New York will also join. The union has not indicated how many employees were participating in the walkout or when it will end. The Teamsters say the workers were continuing their strike on Friday after Amazon ignored a Sunday deadline the union had set for contract negotiations. The company says it doesn’t expect the strikes taking place in Southern California, San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta, and Skokie, Illinois, to impact holiday shipments.Macaulay Culkin shares 3-year-old son’s feelings for ‘Home Alone’ Macaulay Culkin, ‘Home Alone’ star talks about 3-year-old son’s love for the 1990 movie Macaulay Culkin’s son loves Home Alone . The actor, best known for his role as Kevin McCallister in the beloved holiday classic Home Alone , recently shared a heartwarming story about his 3-year-old son Dakota’s reaction to the iconic film. Speaking to E! News , the actor revealed that his eldest child, whom he shares with fiancée Brenda Song, has taken quite a liking to the 1990 movie. According to Culkin, Dakota not only enjoys watching the film but also hilariously believes he is Kevin. “He thinks he’s Kevin,” Culkin shared. “I’m like, ‘Do you remember going down the stairs on the sled?’ He’s like, ‘Mmhmm, yep. Sure do.’” The actor continued, “I’m like, ‘Do you remember when he had yellow hair?’ And he’s like, ‘Uh-huh, yep.’” Culkin went on to explain how Dakota insists he also “fought the burglars” in real life, prompting a playful response from his dad: “You’re a lying liar who lies. That was me!” Home Alone , released in 1990, became a holiday favorite and also starred Catherine O’Hara, John Heard, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, and Culkin’s brother Kieran Culkin. The film's success led to the 1992 sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York . This isn’t the first time Culkin has shared his son’s affection for the movie. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight last December, the actor said, “I already showed it to him last year; he thinks it’s so funny. I convinced my oldest that he’s the kid in the movie.” Culkin and Song, who began dating in 2018, are also parents to a younger son, age two. Noah Beck trades viral videos for scripted roles: 'I'm Excited to take on new challenges' Keira Knightley pays price of fame after ‘Pirates of Caribbean’ success Billie Eilish opens up about her complicated relationship with social media Billie Eilish makes shocking admission about body image struggle
First Nations chiefs in Manitoba call on Ottawa to address Jordan's Principle backlog
AP Trending SummaryBrief at 4:56 p.m. ESTVice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla is the Chief of Naval Staff, he was appointed to the position by President Tinubu in June 2023. A seasoned navigator, he is expected to lead the Nigerian Navy in manning Nigeria’s vast maritime frontier which stretches a formidable 84,000 nautical miles, with over 3,000 lakes and rivers, the former equating with a third of Nigerians landmass. This herculean task demands a leader that is determined, disciplined, with a wealth of experience and exceptionally focused vision, to harness the potentials in both the Maritime Sector and develop the nation’s Blue Economy, who also appreciates the imperatives of building the capacity of the Nigerian Navy to secure its maritime environment, as well as extend it to the Gulf of Guinea CNS Ogalla may not command all the salient qualities demanding of his formidable and highly demanding office. No one, even him nor President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who appointed him, genuinely expected that he possess such conspicuous qualities. Ikechukwu simply came in unexpectedly, simply put the current CNS came on board as a dark horse. His emergence was greeted with mixed reactions. Not many believe in his capacity, and his capability to deliver just as the C-in-C knew. But today he has proven many wrong. Ogalla has shown that, one’s ethnicity is not what is required to deliver on a job like this. He has proved that contrary to misconceptions about him, he is a man prepared for the job. Under the leadership of CNS Ogalla, the Nigerian Navy maritime security made significant improvements in legitimate shipping activities due to reduction of crimes in Nigerian waters, leading to appreciable rise in oil production and progressive decline in oil theft and illegal oil bunkering activities. Ogalla through the annual sea inspection exercise has made giant strides in positively impacting on the readiness for combat operations of the naval personnel, which also has exposed other maritime agencies to the benefits of interagency cooperation. This has led to positive rise in oil production as several companies have reported 100 per cent terminal factor. The sustained presence of Nigerian Navy ships at sea, deployment of technology for surveillance, improved inter agency collaboration and international partnerships as facilitated by exercises such as DEIN ABAJI which translates to ‘Calm Waters’ in Kalabari dialect, has led to unprecedented breakthroughs as well as curb maritime threats in line with the statutory roles of the Nigerian Navy which include protecting the maritime environment for national economic prosperity, and supporting existing domestic and regional maritime security initiatives. Ogalla utilized his comprehensive strategy; the Total Spectrum Maritime Strategy (TSMS), and his vast knowledge of the maritime domain and tactical operations to tackle maritime crimes and promote economic growth. This holistic agenda which includes the designation of Special Courts for Maritime Crimes, Advocacy Campaigns to enlist community support, and Socioeconomic Crime Prevention Strategies, also focuses on enhancing naval capabilities through fleet renewal, operational readiness, and infrastructural development, and the prioritization of human capital development through personnel welfare and motivation, manpower training, and youth and sports development has greatly impacted on the Nigerian Navy. Part of his strategy of is to effectively implement a robust maritime stakeholders’ engagement and interagency cooperation. By implementing these measures, the CNS aims to safeguard Nigeria’s maritime interests, promote economic growth, and enhance regional stability. Through this robust confidence-building, partnership and interagency relationship dialogue, he initiates the various security outcomes within Nigeria’s maritime domain and the littorals, including land-based engagements in fulfilment of national interest. The synergy has led to intelligence sharing amongst various agencies such as NIMASA, NPA, NDLEA, NOSDRA, and NEMA, as well as many foreign bilateral meetings and talks with the American Chief of Naval Service, Operation (CNO), and also enhanced trust, confidence building, synergy and operational successes. A strong believer in a highly motivated professional naval force, CNS Emmanuel Ogalla, set in various measures and alternatives aimed at maintaining and equipping a professionally competent and ethical naval force, which will leverage on all the elements of national powers to effectively defend Nigeria’s maritime area against all forms of threat and deliver the imperatives of national security. In order to give action to his words, the CNS carried out various practical reforms and projects aimed at recapitalizing the Naval ship, one of such is the re-equipping of the Naval Shipyard Limited to construct and fabricate small boats, big vessels and other facilities of the Navy, has eliminated capital flight and encouraged the training and development of skilled manpower not just within the Navy but as a means to entrepreneurial development and self-employment. This move has in no small measure reduced capital flight and enhanced, as well as encouraged the training and development of skilled manpower. As part of his commitment and dedication to the welfare of his personnel, Vice Admiral Ogalla conducts frequent inspection and supervisory tours of the various Naval ships aimed at fostering closer ties, as well as establishing the welfare of the personnel. Those visits served as a morale booster and helped to motivate the personnel, as it equally becomes an avenue for having firsthand knowledge of the conditions of the personnel. The visit has been adjudged to greatly increase the morale of the officers and men, as well as a forum for a one-on-one with the CNS. For instance, in one fell swoop operation, within three months, the Nigerian Navy recorded a debilitating breakthrough against the criminals, leading to the seizure of 95 wooden boats, 119 de-activated storage tanks refining ovens, 447 deactivated dugout pits, 120 deactivated Illegal Refining Sites, 13 seized fibre boats, 9 seized vehicles, 74 arrested suspects, and 14 arrested vessels including MT KALI, MT HARBOUR SPIRIT, MT SAISNIL, MV TOKITO, MT VINILLARIS and MT SWEET MIRI, among others. Some of the arrested vessels include MT KALI, MT HABOUR SPIRIT, MT SAISNIL, MV TOKITO, MT VINILLARIS, and MT SWEET MIRI. The Nigeria Navy under his watch, has shown avowed commitment to the ideals of the Tinubu Presidency, by supporting land operations in all the geopolitical zones of the country, winning the war against evil and ensuring a crime-free Nigeria through the strategy of Maritime Domain Awareness Capacity, he strategy has also compelled naval personnel to civility, and activated deterrent measures to curb negligence and unprofessional conduct of personnel but also provided all year-round situation awareness of Nigeria’s maritime domain extending to the limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone. With the capitalization of 2 XSeaward Defense Boats (SDB); constructed locally, the various Platforms, thereby ensuring and supporting its anti-piracy, anti-CoT, anti-IUU and anti-illegal drugs, combined with the acquisition of 2nd Offshore Survey Vessels, 2 by 32m FPBs and helicopters (NNS CHALAWA, P196-Seaward Defense Boat, NNS ZUR P195 – Seaward Defense Boat and NNS OCHUZOR Survey Vessels and the delivery of 2 by 76m OPVs from Turkey, the Nigeria Navy remains the most dominant in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) and the 4th largest in Africa. Presently, under Vice Admiral Ogalla, the Nigerian Navy has over 50 capital ships and several hundreds of boats to cover the maritime space and internal waters. While the capital ships are used to patrol the sea, the small vessels carry out routine patrols also. His non-kinetic approach has brokered several peace initiatives amongst communities and deepened community-military harmony within Nigeria’s Oil/Gas littoral area. Not leaving out the welfare of the personnel, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, has also demonstrated leadership and empathy by ensuring the construction of 50 units of 3 bedrooms, 128 units of 2 bedrooms and 120 units of 2 bedrooms apartments in Galadimawa, Asokoro Abuja, Lagos, Calabar and Port-Harcourt. With an eye on sustainability, intellectual development and research, the Chief of Naval Staff on the 1st of June, 2024 launched the International Maritime Institute (IMION), an institution which will serve as a confluence for maritime discourse, the scintillation of ideas, and a vehicle for the articulation of maritime strategy on the African Continent. With the launch of this crowning glory, the CNS intends to decimate, with a single shot, an institution which will also serve as a think-tank for maritime strategic thinkers, practitioners and allies with a far-reaching benefit of enhancing effective interaction, idea sharing and research into maritime strategic affairs affecting not only the Gulf of Guinea but the rest of the world, in such thematic areas as, maritime and ocean governance, maritime security, law enforcement, hydrography, blue economy, and climate change amongst others. Under Ogalla’s visionary leadership, Nigeria’s war against oil theft has witnessed unprecedented success. His bold strategies, collaborative approach, and commitment to personnel welfare have transformed the Nigerian Navy into a formidable force. The Total Spectrum Maritime Strategy has yielded remarkable results, significantly boosting national security and contributing to global maritime stability. Ogalla’s efforts have solidified his legacy as a champion of maritime security and economic growth, earning the confidence of Nigerians and international partners alike. It is instructive to note that the FALCON eye system of the Nigerian Navy is a state-of-the-art surveillance facility that incorporates various sensors located along the nation’s enormous coastline, such as Radars, long-range Electro Optic Systems with thermal or night vision capability, Automatic Identification System receivers, Weather Stations and marine Very High-Frequency Radios for communication. The device consists of over-the-horizon radars with a range of 200 miles, long-range electro-optical systems with a range of 30 miles, and automatic identification system (AIS) receivers. These are linked to three regional control centres and a network operations centre to provide real-time situational awareness of the country’s waters. The integration of these technologies has led to the generation of real-time situational awareness of the activities of vessels in the Nigerian maritime domain and some selected parts in the Gulf of Guinea. Presently, the deployment of technology has assisted in attaining real-time aerial surveillance. Drones equipped with high-resolution cameras and sensors can provide continuous aerial surveillance of pipelines, oil facilities, and surrounding areas, capturing real-time data and visual feeds. Drones can capture detailed images and videos, allowing for the identification of unauthorized activities, potential threats, and illegal taps on pipelines, all of these enhance rapid response. In the area of criminal detection, prevention and deterrence, with detection being the key reason for the deployment of the technology, early detection and deterrence can be easily and promptly achieved. Early detection, advanced sensors and AI algorithms are now effectively and efficiently used to detect anomalies such as leaks, illegal taps, and unauthorized movements along pipelines thereby preventing wastages and the dangers of scooping and its potential risk. Thermal imaging by drones equipped with thermal cameras is also used to identify heat signatures from illegal activities or equipment tampering, even in low visibility conditions such as nighttime or dense vegetation, this has become a potent tool for deterrence, while the physical visible presence of drones also acts as a deterrent to potential thieves, reducing the likelihood of thefts. While in flight, drones programmed to send automated alerts can automatically alert security personnel and local authorities upon detecting suspicious activities, enabling rapid intervention. The deployment of innovative mandatory of the technology has led to an unprecedented high level of safety for all personnel and minimization of access to hazardous areas, thereby reducing the risk of injury or exposure to toxic substances and dangerous situations including armed attacks by oil thieves. Instead Naval personnel can now monitor and respond to incidents from a safe distance, enhancing overall safety and minimizing direct human involvement. All these leads also to overall cost efficiency, the strengthening of the operational capacity of the Navy and the enhancement of its capability to keep personnel abreast of global trends relating to evolving technological advancements in the maritime industry, as well as maintain a competitive edge during operations. Aside, the use of AI has greatly improved the Nigerian Navy’s decision-making processes, such as predicting the most fuel-efficient way to operate a vessel and has also affected the ship’s navigation system, radar operations or threat-detection systems to help operators’ process information faster, effectively respond to a range of maritime threats such as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU); drug smuggling; and piracy, eliminating the loss in revenue suffered annually by Nigeria of about $70 million to IUU fishing perpetrated by a host of foreign fleets, mostly Chinese. Part of the achievements of the automatic mode is that the CMS can detect a target and identify, classify and prioritize targets before deploying weapons, although people are involved in decisions about when and how to use weapons. As part of another landmark breakthrough, the CNS has established an overarching control facility at Naval Headquarters in Abuja. The Command-and-Control Centre is filled with television screens on one wall, directly faced by at least a dozen individual workstations for monitoring the sensors. The Command-and-Control Centre is to enable the Nigerian Navy generate a comprehensive intelligence picture of activities within the maritime environment. This can thereafter be analyzed in appropriate cases, dispatching a Nigerian Navy ship for interdiction, investigation, and/or subsequent arrest of erring vessels. The various operations with clear mandate to tackle Crude Oil Theft (COT), Illegal oil bunkering, pipeline vandalism and a host of other criminalities on the nation’s maritime area have significantly disrupted oil thieves and vandals, leading to the recovery of substantial amounts of stolen products and the dismantling of illegal refining sites, with the recovery of massive quantities of stolen products, the dismantling of Illegal Refining Sites, arrest of suspects, and seizure of stolen products, are clearly eloquent testimonies of a determined result-oriented leader. Today, the Nigerian Navy is at its highest state of operational readiness and ranks as the 4th largest Navy in Africa. Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla’s footprints are clearly on the rock of time, as a clear case of not judging a book by its cover. Adebayo is a maritime communication expert based in Abuja.OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett renewed his Thanksgiving tradition of giving by handing out more than $1.1 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to four of his family's foundations Monday, and he offered new details about who will be handing out the rest of his fortune after his death. Buffett has said previously that his three kids will distribute his remaining $147.4 billion fortune in the 10 years after his death, but now he has also designated successors for them because it's possible that Buffett's children could die before giving it all away. He didn't identify the successors, but said his kids all know them and agree they would be good choices.
