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wowjili 55 With a rapid assembly of his second administration — faster than his effort eight years ago — the former and incoming president has combined television personalities , former Democrats, a wrestling executive and traditional elected Republicans into a mix that makes clear his intentions to impose tariffs on imported goods and crack down on illegal immigration but leaves open a range of possibilities on other policy pursuits. “The president has his two big priorities and doesn’t feel as strongly about anything else — so it’s going to be a real jump ball and zigzag,” predicted Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence during Trump’s 2017-21 term. “In the first administration, he surrounded himself with more conservative thinkers, and the results showed we were mostly rowing in the same direction. This is more eclectic.” Indeed, Secretary of State-designee Marco Rubio , the Florida senator who has pilloried authoritarian regimes around the world, is in line to serve as top diplomat to a president who praises autocratic leaders like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s Viktor Orban. Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon has been tapped to sit at the Cabinet table as a pro-union labor secretary alongside multiple billionaires, former governors and others who oppose making it easier for workers to organize themselves. The prospective treasury secretary, Scott Bessent , wants to cut deficits for a president who promised more tax cuts, better veterans services and no rollbacks of the largest federal outlays: Social Security, Medicare and national defense. Abortion-rights supporter Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is Trump's choice to lead the Health and Human Services Department, which Trump’s conservative Christian base has long targeted as an agency where the anti-abortion movement must wield more influence. Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich allowed that members of Trump’s slate will not always agree with the president and certainly not with one another. But he minimized the potential for irreconcilable differences: “A strong Cabinet, by definition, means you’re going to have people with different opinions and different skills.” That kind of unpredictability is at the core of Trump’s political identity. He is the erstwhile reality TV star who already upended Washington once and is returning to power with sweeping, sometimes contradictory promises that convinced voters, especially those in the working class, that he will do it all again. “What Donald Trump has done is reorient political leadership and activism to a more entrepreneurial spirit,” Gingrich said. There's also plenty of room for conflict, given the breadth of Trump's 2024 campaign promises and his pattern of cycling through Cabinet members and national security personnel during his first term. This time, Trump has pledged to impose tariffs on foreign goods, end illegal immigration and launch a mass deportation force, goose U.S. energy production and exact retribution on people who opposed — and prosecuted — him. He's added promises to cut taxes, raise wages, end wars in Israel and Ukraine , streamline government, protect Social Security and Medicare, help veterans and squelch cultural progressivism. Trump alluded to some of those promises in recent weeks as he completed his proposed roster of federal department heads and named top White House staff members. But his announcements skimmed over any policy paradoxes or potential complications. Bessent has crusaded as a deficit hawk, warning that the ballooning national debt , paired with higher interest rates, drives consumer inflation. But he also supports extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts that added to the overall debt and annual debt service payments to investors who buy Treasury notes. A hedge-fund billionaire, Bessent built his wealth in world markets. Yet, generally speaking, he’s endorsed Trump's tariffs. He rejects the idea that they feed inflation and instead frames tariffs as one-time price adjustments and leverage to achieve U.S. foreign policy and domestic economic aims. Trump, for his part, declared that Bessent would “help me usher in a new Golden Age for the United States.” Chavez-DeRemer, Trump promised, “will achieve historic cooperation between Business and Labor that will restore the American Dream for Working Families.” Trump did not address the Oregon congresswoman’s staunch support for the PRO-Act, a Democratic-backed measure that would make it easier for workers to unionize, among other provisions. That proposal passed the House when Democrats held a majority. But it’s never had measurable Republican support in either chamber on Capitol Hill, and Trump has never made it part of his agenda. When Trump named Kennedy as his pick for health secretary, he did not mention the former Democrat’s support for abortion rights. Instead, Trump put the focus on Kennedy’s intention to take on the U.S. agriculture, food processing and drug manufacturing sectors. The vagaries of Trump’s foreign policy stand out, as well. Trump's choice for national security adviser , Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, offered mixed messages Sunday when discussing the Russia-Ukraine war, which Trump claims never would have started had he been president, because he would have prevailed on Putin not to invade his neighboring country. Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Waltz repeated Trump’s concerns over recent escalations, which include President Joe Biden approving sending antipersonnel mines to Ukrainian forces. “We need to restore deterrence, restore peace and get ahead of this escalation ladder, rather than responding to it,” Waltz said. But in the same interview, Waltz declared the mines necessary to help Ukraine “stop Russian gains” and said he’s working “hand in glove” with Biden’s team during the transition. Meanwhile, Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence , the top intelligence post in government, is an outspoken defender of Putin and Syrian President Bashar al Assad, a close ally of Russia and Iran. Perhaps the biggest wildcards of Trump’s governing constellation are budget-and-spending advisers Russell Vought, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Vought led Trump’s Office of Management and Budget in his first term and is in line for the same post again. Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, and Ramaswamy, a mega-millionaire venture capitalist, are leading an outside advisory panel known as the “Department of Government Efficiency.” The latter effort is a quasi-official exercise to identify waste. It carries no statutory authority, but Trump can route Musk’s and Ramaswamy’s recommendations to official government pathways, including via Vought. A leading author of Project 2025 , the conservative movement’s blueprint for a hard-right turn in U.S. government and society, Vought envisions OMB not just as an influential office to shape Trump’s budget proposals for Congress but a power center of the executive branch, “powerful enough to override implementing agencies’ bureaucracies.” As for how Trump might navigate differences across his administration, Gingrich pointed to Chavez-DeRemer. “He might not agree with her on union issues, but he might not stop her from pushing it herself,” Gingrich said of the PRO-Act. “And he will listen to anybody. If you convince him, he absolutely will spend presidential capital.” Short said other factors are more likely to influence Trump: personalities and, of course, loyalty . Vought “brought him potential spending cuts” in the first administration, Short said, “that Trump wouldn’t go along with.” This time, Short continued, “maybe Elon and Vivek provide backup,” giving Vought the imprimatur of two wealthy businessmen. “He will always calculate who has been good to him,” Short said. “You already see that: The unions got the labor secretary they wanted, and Putin and Assad got the DNI (intelligence chief) they wanted. ... This is not so much a team-of-rivals situation. I think it’s going to look a lot like a reality TV show.”Giants' potential No. 1 pick explains why he's good fit for New York | Sporting News

African Union chairperson candidates advocate for permanent UN Security Council seats

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Big Ten shouts out Penn State legend who achieved feat last accomplished by Walter Payton in the NFL | Sporting News

For travelers, Puerto Rico is a floating island of desirability'Conspiracy theorist' lawmaker reveals why he's 'vindicated' by report disclosing number of FBI spies on January 6 Rep. Thomas Massie has wondered for years if the feds were involved in J6 CLICK HERE: Sign up for DailyMail.com's daily U.S. politics newsletter By JON MICHAEL RAASCH, U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 19:03 GMT, 13 December 2024 | Updated: 19:51 GMT, 13 December 2024 e-mail 14 View comments A Republican lawmaker says a bombshell report revealing the FBI had spies on the ground on January 6 backs up his suspicions. Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie for years has grilled officials on whether the federal government had any agents or sources at the Capitol riot. Attorney General Merrick Garland , FBI Director Christopher Wray and FBI Inspector General Michael Horowitz all told Massie they either didn't know or were unaware of a federal presence at the January 6 events. But following years of investigation by the FBI, Horowitz finally published an internal review on what happened on Thursday, including an admission that federal assets were not only in the crowd outside the Capitol , but some even went inside. 'For years I was called a conspiracy theorist for asking Garland, Wray, and Horowitz whether government assets participated in J6,' Massie posted on X Friday. 'Yesterday I was vindicated,' he continued. 'DOJ IG report confirms there were FBI confidential human sources in the crowd, entering the Capitol, and breaking laws.' Attached to his post was a edited video playing his questions to the top law enforcement officials in the years since January 2021. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wrote on X that he feels vindicated for his efforts to uncover whether federal officials were in the crowd at the January 6 protest after an FBI report published this week revealed confidential human sources were present Pro-Trump protesters, including Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs, (plaid shirt at bottom center of frame,) gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 The clips show Massie questioning Garland, Wray and Horowtiz at different congressional hearings about what they knew and when. They didn't provide the Republican with how many assets were there, often claiming to have zero knowledge on that topic, despite their powerful positions atop the DOJ. 'We found no evidence in the materials we reviewed or the testimony we received showing or suggesting that the FBI had undercover employees in the various protest crowds, or at the Capitol, on January 6 ,' the report released Thursday stated. But the inspector general revealed that the DOJ had 26 confidential human sources working for the FBI in Washington, D.C., during the protests. Confidential human sources work with the FBI to offer them information and insights about the inner workings of organizations threatening the country, such as criminal, terrorist and espionage networks. According to the DOJ, these informants can be cashed out for the information they pass along to the feds. During the Capitol riot four of the confidential human sources entered the Capitol building, 13 of them entered the restricted area around the Capitol. The report stated that none of the confidential sources were authorized to enter the Capitol or break the law, but that four of them did. Protestors on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 President-elect Donald Trump signaled Sunday night that he intends to use Joe Biden's pardon of his son Hunter to his own advantage and pardon January 6 defendants The FBI report further noted there was a confidential human source who was in contact with the leadership of far-right groups such as the Oath Keepers, and were aware of plans discussed by the Proud Boys. According to the Justice Department, 140 police officers were assaulted during the attack on the Capitol, including 80 U.S. Capitol Police officers and 60 from DC's Metropolitan Police Department. Vice President JD Vance reacted to the report on social media Thursday afternoon. 'For those keeping score at home, this was labeled a dangerous conspiracy theory months ago,' he wrote. 'None of the CHSs who entered the Capitol or a restricted area has been prosecuted to date,' the report notes. It comes after Trump signaled Sunday night that he intends to use Joe Biden's pardon of his son Hunter to his own advantage and pardon January 6 defendants. 'Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!' Trump wrote, in his first public comment since Biden announced the pardon. FBI Politics Share or comment on this article: 'Conspiracy theorist' lawmaker reveals why he's 'vindicated' by report disclosing number of FBI spies on January 6 e-mail Add commentPyxus Releases Fiscal Year 2024 Sustainability Report

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Former Newfoundland and Labrador premiers say a draft energy agreement signed Thursday with Quebec marks a historic break in a long-standing political standoff. Brian Tobin, who was premier from 1996 to 2000, describes the sweeping new energy contract as a long-awaited "breaking of political gridlock" between Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec. Tobin says he has no doubt that ending the 1969 deal that gave Quebec nearly free electricity from Labrador was a top priority for every premier since Joey Smallwood, the man who signed the contract. Roger Grimes ran the province between 2001 to 2003, and he says all of the province's premiers wished they had found a willing partner in Quebec to reshape the agreement. Pointing to the province's unsuccessful attempts to challenge the deal in court, he says Quebec Premier François Legault had no obligation to throw out the contract but saw a good opportunity and showed political will. The two provinces signed an agreement in principle Thursday under which Quebec will pay higher rates for power and partner with Newfoundland and Labrador on new hydroelectric projects in Labrador. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2024. Sarah Smellie, The Canadian PressSBA Administrator Guzman Hosts Inaugural Artificial Intelligence Small Business Summit at Georgia Tech

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