connections game

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Aden Holloway established career highs of 26 points and eight 3-pointers to help No. 5 Alabama roll to a 105-82 nonconference men's basketball victory over South Dakota State on Sunday. Freshman Labaron Philon had the best game of his young career with 21 points and six assists for the Crimson Tide (11-2). Mark Sears had 20 points, including 6-for-14 3-point shooting. Grant Nelson added 17 points and eight rebounds and scored the game's first eight points. ADVERTISEMENT Alabama coach Nate Oats has sometimes been critical of his squad's defensive effort and the second half against the Jackrabbits will provide more fuel for that concern. Alabama did connect on a season-best 19 3-point shots but also attempted 55 long-range shots (34.5 percent). The Tide also saw South Dakota State put up 49 points in the second half to keep the score relatively competitive. Alabama claimed a fifth straight win with its third 100-plus point performance of the season. South Dakota State (9-6) was led by Washington State transfer Oscar Cluff, who had 21 points and 15 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. The Jackrabbits connected on 11-for-26 3-point shooting (42.3 percent), with guard Isaac Lindsey scoring 11 points, including 3-for-6 on 3-point tries. After Nelson's personal 8-0 run to open the game, South Dakota State pulled with 16-14 on a shot by William Whorton with 11:45 to play in the opening half. But Alabama then broke the game open, going on a 24-3 run culminating in a Holloway 3-pointer to give the Tide a 40-17 edge with 7:37 left in the opening half. South Dakota State trailed 57-33 at halftime, but played a much more competitive second half offensively by connecting on 17 of 33 shots (51.5 percent). Alabama will open 2025 with a home game against No. 12 Oklahoma on Saturday. South Dakota State will host Summit League opponent Denver on Thursday. ADVERTISEMENT ______________________________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here .PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter’s in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Carter’s path, , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That’s a very narrow way of assessing them,” Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn’t suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he’d be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter’s tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter’s lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the as “country come to town.” Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor’s race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama’s segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival’s endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King’s daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn Carter, who at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters’ early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan’s presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan’s Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —-connections game 。

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Nissan and Honda to attempt a merger that would create the world's No. 3 automaker TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda have announced plans to work toward a merger that would catapult them to a top position in an industry in the midst of tectonic shifts as it transitions away from its reliance on fossil fuels. The two companies said they signed an agreement on integrating their businesses on Monday. Smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors agreed to join the talks. News of a possible merger surfaced earlier this month. Japanese automakers face a strong challenge from their Chinese rivals and Tesla as they make inroads into markets at home and abroad. What a merger between Nissan and Honda means for the automakers and the industry BANGKOK (AP) — Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan will attempt to merge and create the world’s third-largest automaker by sales as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels. The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday and that smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors also had agreed to join the talks on integrating their businesses. Honda will initially lead the new management, retaining the principles and brands of each company. Following is a quick look at what a combined Honda and Nissan would mean for the companies, and for the auto industry. Nordstrom to be acquired by Nordstrom family and a Mexican retail group in $6.25 billion deal Century-old department store Nordstrom has agreed to be acquired and taken private by Nordstrom family members and a Mexican retail group in a $6.25 billion deal. Nordstrom shareholders will receive $24.25 in cash for each share of Nordstrom common stock, representing a 42% premium on the company’s stock as of March 18. Nordstrom’s board of directors unanimously approved the the proposed transaction, while Erik and Pete Nordstrom — part of the Nordstrom family taking over the company — recused themselves from voting. Following the close of the transaction, the Nordstrom Family will have a majority ownership stake in the company. An analyst looks ahead to how the US economy might fare under Trump WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump won a return to the White House in part by promising big changes in economic policy — more tax cuts, huge tariffs on imports, mass deportations of immigrants working in the United States illegally. In some ways, his victory marked a repudiation of President Joe Biden’s economic stewardship and a protest against inflation. It came despite low unemployment and steady growth under the Biden administration. What lies ahead for the economy under Trump? Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics spoke recently to The Associated Press. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. American consumers feeling less confident in December, Conference Board says American consumers are feeling less confident in December, a business research group says. The Conference Board said Monday that its consumer confidence index fell back in December to 104.7 from 112.8 in November. Consumers had been feeling increasingly confident in recent months. The consumer confidence index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months. The measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market tumbled more than a dozen points to 81.1. The Conference Board says a reading under 80 can signal a potential recession in the near future. Stock market today: Wall Street rises at the start of a holiday-shortened week Stocks closed higher on Wall Street at the start of a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% Monday. Several big technology companies helped support the gains, including chip companies Nvidia and Broadcom. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1%. Honda's U.S.-listed shares rose sharply after the company said it was in talks about a combination with Nissan in a deal that could also include Mitsubishi Motors. Eli Lilly rose after announcing that regulators approved Zepbound as the first prescription medicine for adults with sleep apnea. Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The internet is rife with fake reviews. Will AI make it worse? Researchers and watchdog groups say the emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools that allow people to efficiently produce detailed and novel online reviews has put merchants, service providers and consumers in uncharted territory. Phony reviews have long plagued many popular consumer websites, such as Amazon and Yelp. But AI-infused text generation tools enable fraudsters to produce reviews faster and in greater volume, according to tech industry experts. The deceptive practice is illegal in the U.S. and becomes a bigger problem for consumers during the holiday shopping season, when many people rely on reviews to buy gifts. A tech company and watchdog group that uses software to detect fake reviews says AI-generated reviews have multiplied. Romanian lawmakers narrowly approve new pro-European coalition during period of political turmoil BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian lawmakers have voted narrowly in favor of a new pro-European coalition government led by incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. The move on Monday could usher in an end to a protracted political crisis in the European Union country following the annulment of a presidential election. Parliament approved the new administration in a 240-143 vote in the 466-seat legislature. The new coalition is made up of the leftist Social Democratic Party, the center-right National Liberal Party, the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party and national minorities. President Klaus Iohannis swore in the new government on Monday night. Government regulators close investigation into Ford Focus recalls Government safety regulators are closing an investigation into two previous recalls of the Ford Focus after determining that Ford Motor Co. has satisfied its concerns. Ford recalled around 1.5 million Ford Focus sedans from the 2012-2018 model years in 2018 because they could lose power. The issue was a malfunctioning canister purge valve and software that didn’t adequately detect when it was stuck open. Ford fixed the software in two separate recalls, but after cars continued to stall, the government opened an inquiry last year. Earlier this fall, Ford offered to replace the canister purge valve on all of the vehicles, satisfying regulators' concerns. AI will eavesdrop on world's wildest places to track and help protect endangered wildlife PUERTO JIMÉNEZ, Costa Rica (AP) — A biologist hid 350 audio monitors across Costa Rica’s tropical rainforests to spy on endangered spider monkeys in order to help protect them. But she had to go back to collect the data and feed those sounds into artificial intelligence systems that can recognize monkey calls. Now tech giant Microsoft's philanthropic arm is hoping to supercharge AI-assisted wildlife research with new solar-powered devices that can capture sounds, images and other wilderness data for a year or more without human intervention. Researchers say more AI wildlife surveillance is urgently needed to monitor the health of species at risk of extinction.Saturday, December 21 is the shortest day of the year so we thought it would be a good time to appreciate the history of light bulbs. RELATED: Livermore’s 123-year-old Centennial Lightbulb glows up We walk into a dark room and flick a light switch and don’t think anything of it. But you are using one of the greatest inventions ever made. The light bulb led to new energy breakthroughs — from power plants and electric transmission lines to home appliances and electric motors. Research on the bulbs began more than 150 years ago and like most great inventions, the light bulb can’t be credited to one inventor. It was a series of small improvements on the ideas of previous inventors that have led to the light bulbs we use in our homes today. Here’s a timeline of key events and the evolution of our lighting. If you cannot read the graphic the text is below. You can learn more about global energy trends here. 1803 — 1809: First arc lamp created Related Articles Environment | Today in History: December 22, four shot by New York subway vigilante Environment | Today in History: December 21, Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie Environment | Today in History: December 20, US troops sent into Panama to remove Manuel Noriega from power Environment | Today in History: December 19, Bill Clinton is impeached Environment | Today in History: December 18, Donald Trump impeached for the first time Humphry Davy demonstrated the first incandescent light to the Royal Institute in Great Britain, using a bank of batteries and two charcoal rods. Arc lamps provided many cities with their first electric streetlights. 1835: First constant electric light demonstrated James Bowman Lindsay demonstrated a constant electric light at a public meeting in Scotland. Some have credited him with being the inventor of the incandescent light bulb. 1850 — 1859: Lightning in a tube In the 19th century, two Germans discovered that they could produce light by removing almost all of the air from a long glass tube and passing an electrical current through it. Called Geissler tubes, they became the basis of many lighting technologies including fluorescent lights. 1877 — 1885: Competition for the incandescent light bulb heats up Inventors all across the world — including William Sawyer and Albon Man in the U.S. and Joseph Swan in England — worked on creating an electric incandescent lamp. 1882: Developing the lighting system Thomas Edison focused on the entire lighting grid, showing that it was possible to distribute electricity from a centrally located generator with the Holborn Viaduct in London and developing the first commercial power utility in lower Manhattan. 1901: Precursor to fluorescent lights Peter Cooper Hewitt created a blue-green light by passing an electric current through mercury vapor. The lights had few suitable uses because of the color but were one of the precursors to fluorescent lights. 1904: Out with the carbon filament and in with the tungsten In 1904, incandescent lamps with tungsten filaments appear on the European market. These bulbs lasted longer, were brighter and more efficient than lamps with carbon filaments. 1908: Edison screws Part of Edison’s contribution to the light bulb was the socket he developed, which today is called the Edison Screw. By 1908, it was the most commonly used light bulb socket used, and today, it is used for almost all residential lighting applications. 1913: Doubling the efficiency of incandescents Irving Langmuir discovered that filling a light bulb with inert gas-like nitrogen instead of vacuuming out the air doubled the light bulb’s efficiency. 1926 — 1934: Neon tubes By the late 1920s and early 1930s, European researchers were doing experiments with neon tubes coated with phosphors. Word of these experiments helped spark fluorescent lamp research in the U.S. 1951: Fluorescents overtake incandescents By 1951, more light in the U.S. was being produced by linear fluorescent lamps than incandescent — a change that was led by the need for efficient lighting during World War II. 1962: First light-emitting diode (LED) is invented While working for General Electric, Nick Holonyak Jr., invented the first visible-spectrum LED in the form of red diodes. Pale yellow and green diodes were invented next. 1973: Energy is not cheap The 1973 oil crisis marked a turning point in U.S. energy consumption because energy was no longer cheap. Researchers rose to the challenge and began developing fluorescent bulbs for residential use. 1976: Fluorescent bulbs go spiral In 1976, Edward Hammer at General Electric figured out how to bend the fluorescent tube into a spiral shape, creating the first compact fluorescent light. 1978: LEDs appear in consumer products As researchers improved red diodes and their manufacturing, companies began incorporating them into consumer products such as calculator displays and indicator lights. 1985: First compact fluorescent lamp hits the market Early CFLs hit the market in the mid-1980s and ranged from $25-$35 a bulb. 1994: First blue, then white LEDs The invention of the blue diode in the 1990s quickly led to the discovery of white LEDs. Shortly thereafter, researchers demonstrated white light using red, green and blue LEDs. This leads to development of high-definition flat screen TVs. 2000: Energy Department works to push LEDs forward In 2000, the Energy Department partnered with private industry to push white LED technology forward by creating a high-efficiency packaged LED device. 2002 — 2008: First residential LED bulb hits the market By 2008, there were just a few LED replacement bulbs on the market, and most were 25-40 watt equivalents. 2012: 49 million LED products installed In 2012 alone, more than 49 million LED products were installed in the U.S., saving about $675 million in annual energy costs. 2013: CFLs for as little as $1.74 Nearly 30 years after CFLs were first introduced on the market, their costs have dropped to as low as $1.74 a bulb. They also use about 75% less energy than incandescents and last about 10 times longer. 2013: LED costs drop dramatically Since 2008, the cost of LED bulbs has fallen more than 85%, and most recently, a number of retailers announced that they will be selling LEDs at $10 or less. Sources: U.S. Department of Energy , Edison Tech Center, The International Energy Agency, The Franklin Institute, Constellation Energy

With the fall of Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad from power, the newly re-established Syria has been occupying the regional and world agenda. Many see this as the liberation of Syria, while issues such as the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Palestine conflicts linger in the background. Almost exactly four years ago, an incident took place that occupied the agenda in the South Caucasus and was similar to the situation in Assad’s Syria. Namely, the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, which had been under Armenian occupation for 30 years, was liberated. The Republic of Türkiye did not withhold its diplomatic and political support from its brother and ally Azerbaijan in the liberation of Karabakh, where the Azerbaijani army lost 3,000. There are many similarities and some differences between the Syria that Assad left behind and Karabakh, which was liberated from Armenian occupation in 2020. After the events of 2011, Assad massacred Syrians opposing him in the country, and many escaped to save their lives. Around 1 million people lost their lives during the Syrian war, while more than 10 million Syrians were forced to flee to neighboring countries. Now, however, with Assad gone, these refugees hope of returning has re-emerged. What the Assad regime did in Syria, Armenia did during the occupation of Karabakh 30 years ago. As a result of Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani lands, 30,000 people were killed, and 1 million people became refugees from their own lands. That is, Armenia carried out ethnic cleansing in Karabakh. Then, in 2020, with the liberation of Karabakh as a result of the 44-day war, people began to return. A destroyed and dispersed Syria emerged after Assad. The same situation applies to Karabakh. According to the information provided in President Ilham Aliyev’s latest report, Armenia caused $150 billion worth of damage to Azerbaijan in Karabakh. While Armenia occupied 12 regions of Azerbaijan, the complete destruction of three cities and the partial destruction of five took place. The Armenians plundered these regions and sold the spoils. The Assad regime took people captive in Syria, held them captive in Sednaya prison and tortured them. Armenia did the same in Karabakh, in a prison in the occupied city of Shusha. Azerbaijanis who were taken captive for defending their own lands or civilians were tortured in Shusha prison. Mass graves have emerged in Syria following Assad’s fall. This also happened in the Azerbaijani lands that were liberated from occupation. The mass graves of 4,000 Azerbaijanis who went missing in the First Karabakh War and of whom there was no news for 30 years were located in the liberated regions. Russia and Iran helped the Assad regime to continue the civil war in Syria for many years. Assad left power because Russia withdrew its support, and Iran was left alone. Armenia’s allies were also Russia and Iran. For many years, Armenia was supported by Russia and Iran in military, political and economic terms and thus was able to sustain the occupation for 30 years. In fact, there were very close relations between the Assad regime and the Armenian government. Armenians living in Syria were settled illegally in the occupied Azerbaijani lands. After Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was elected prime minister, he sent congratulatory letters to Assad on many occasions. In addition, at Russia’s request, Pashinyan sent a 100-strong military unit to the city of Aleppo, which was under the control of Assad and a Shiite militia. As a result of the war in Syria, the country’s territorial integrity was disrupted. Terrorist organizations seized certain regions of the country and used those lands for drug trafficking. The occupation of Karabakh also led to the settlement of Armenian terrorist organizations in the region, which became a center for drug trafficking. There are also differences between the situations in Syria and Karabakh. First, while the great powers are making efforts to financially support the return of refugees from Syria and calling for international meetings for the repair of the country, Azerbaijan is rebuilding the cities and villages that were destroyed as a result of the Armenian occupation through its own capabilities, without receiving any assistance. It also facilitates the return of refugees by itself. While almost everyone in the international community believes Assad is guilty of causing Syria to fall into its current state, the Armenian leaders who occupied Azerbaijani lands were honored internationally. For example, Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan were accepted in international official meetings as presidents of Armenia. While sanctions were being imposed on the Assad regime, the occupying Armenia was being armed by France and India. Pashinyan, who went to the occupied regions of Azerbaijan before the 44-day war and said “Karabakh is Armenia,” was protected by the West and named a "democrat." Aid was provided to Armenia while it was distributing Azerbaijani lands. Even now, EU observers are being placed in Armenia to "protect" its borders. In contrast, Azerbaijan is bringing justice to separatists in Karabakh who carried out massacres and land appropriations in its occupied territories by trying and imprisoning them. However, some countries in the West do not censure those who occupied Azerbaijani lands and committed massacres and acts of genocide but instead blame Azerbaijan. In other words, those who were subject to massacres and genocide are blamed, not those who committed them. The most important indicator of the double standard is the European Parliament's request from Azerbaijan to release the separatist leaders who committed massacres in Karabakh. This request came at a time when mass graves and destruction were revealed after the liberation of Karabakh. Everyone is talking about the return of migrants who fled Syria to their own lands. However, no one talks about the rights of the 300,000 Azerbaijanis who were expelled from Armenia at the beginning of the war. Although these people have collectively written letters to Pashinyan in the hope of returning, the Armenian administration has ignored their demands. This remains an unresolved problem created by the Karabakh War. In this context, the world must recognize this fundamental human right to return. A failed Syria created by the Assad regime and a failed Armenia created by successive Armenian governments have become threats to the countries in their regions. Asad's Syria and Pashinyan's Armenia have become weapons depots and bases for terror. Both Armenia and the Assad regime have ceded the real sovereignty of their nations to other countries. But the support or reactions shown by the international community regarding Syria in contrast to Armenia, which occupied Karabakh, provide a new example of a global double standard . The Syrian refugee and regional geopolitical issues are the main reasons for the double standard. Karabakh`s Azerbaijani refugees settled in Azerbaijan, but Syrian refugees reached Europe, including regional countries and caused security and political problems. The return of millions of Syrian migrants is of great concern to these states. For this, Syria needs to be repaired as soon as possible. Another important reason is Syria's position in the global and Middle Eastern power struggle. Many states do not want Russia and Iran to gain influence in Syria again. At the current stage, the main reason for visits from Western countries to Syria is to have a role in the newly established Syria. However, they may step back when a situation arises that is contrary to their regional interests.

The German government pledged Sunday to fully investigate whether there were security lapses before the Christmas market car-ramming attack that killed five people and injured over 200. Political pressure has built on the question of potential missed warnings about Saudi suspect Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old psychiatrist who had made online deaths threats and previously had trouble with the law. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and the heads of Germany's domestic and foreign intelligence services are due to answer questions at parliamentary committee hearings on December 30, a senior lawmaker told AFP. Faeser vowed Sunday that "no stone will be left unturned" in shedding light on what information had been available to security services ahead of last Friday's bloody attack in the eastern city of Magdeburg. She stressed that the attacker did "not fit any previous pattern" because "he acted like an Islamist terrorist although ideologically he was clearly an enemy of Islam". Abdulmohsen has in the past called himself a "Saudi atheist" who helped women flee Gulf countries and charged Germany was doing too little to help them. In online posts, he also strongly criticised Germany for allowing in too many Muslim refugees and backed far-right conspiracy theories about the "Islamisation" of Europe. In one post, he wrote: "Is there a path to justice in Germany without blowing up a German embassy or randomly slaughtering German citizens?... If anyone knows it, please let me know." News magazine Der Spiegel, citing security sources, said the Saudi secret service had warned Germany's spy agency BND a year ago about a tweet in which Abdulmohsen threatened Germany would pay a "price" for how it treated Saudi refugees. Die Welt daily reported, also citing security sources, that German state and federal police had carried out a "risk assessment" on Abdulmohsen last year but concluded that he posed "no specific danger". The city of Magdeburg has been in deep mourning over the mass carnage on Friday evening, when an SUV smashed through a crowd at its Christmas market, killing four women and a nine-year-old child and injuring 205 people. Surgeons at overwhelmed hospitals have worked around the clock, and one health worker told local media of "blood on the floor everywhere, people screaming, lots of painkillers being administered". Scholz on Saturday condemned the "terrible, insane" attack and made a call for national unity, at a time Germany is headed for early elections on February 23. But as German media dug into Abdulmohsen's past, and investigators gave away little, criticism rained down from opposition parties. Conservative CDU lawmaker Alexander Throm charged that "many citizens feel... that the Scholz government has completely failed in terms of internal security". He demanded greater police powers to monitor and analyse data from social media platforms, telecommunications and surveillance cameras with facial recognition technology. The far-right AfD called for a special session of parliament, and the head of the far-left BSW party, Sahra Wagenknecht, demanded that Faeser explain "why so many tips and warnings were ignored beforehand". Mass-circulation daily Bild asked: "Why did our police and intelligence services do nothing, even though they had the Saudi on their radar?... And why were the tips from Saudi Arabia apparently ignored?" It charged that "German authorities usually only find out about attack plans in time when foreign services warn them" and called for sweeping reforms after the election for a complete "turnaround in internal security". Senior MP Dirk Wiese of Scholz's Social Democrats said the December 30 hearings will summon the heads of the BND, the domestic intelligence service BfV and the Office for Migration and Refugees. Media meanwhile reported more details on Abdulmohsen, who had worked at a clinic that treats offenders with substance addiction problems, but had been on sick leave since late October. Der Spiegel reported that in 2013 a court fined him for "disturbing the public peace by threatening to commit crimes" after he had darkly referenced the deadly attack on the Boston marathon. The chairwoman of the group Central Council of Ex-Muslims, Mina Ahadi, said Abdulmohsen "is no stranger to us, because he has been terrorising us for years". She labelled him "a psychopath who adheres to ultra-right conspiracy ideologies" and said he "doesn't just hate Muslims, but everyone who doesn't share his hatred." bur/fz/gv

Pride, bragging rights and more than $115M at stake when final college playoff rankings come outCHARLESTOWN, Mass., Dec. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Solid Biosciences Inc. (Nasdaq: SLDB) (the “Company” or “Solid”), a life sciences company developing precision genetic medicines for neuromuscular and cardiac diseases, today announced that it was added to the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index ® (Nasdaq: NBI) effective prior to the market open on Monday, December 23, 2024. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index is designed to track the performance of a set of securities listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market ® (Nasdaq ® ) that are classified as either biotechnology or pharmaceutical according to the Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB). The NBI is calculated under a modified capitalization-weighted methodology. Companies in the NBI must meet eligibility requirements, including minimum market capitalization, average daily trading volume, and seasoning as a public company, among other criteria. Nasdaq selects constituents once annually in December. For more information about the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, please visit https://indexes.nasdaqomx.com/Index/Overview/NBI . About Solid Biosciences Solid Biosciences is a precision genetic medicine company focused on advancing a portfolio of gene therapy candidates including SGT-003 for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Duchenne), SGT-501 for the treatment of catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), SGT-601 for the treatment of TNNT2-mediated dilated cardiomyopathy, SGT-401 for the treatment of BAG3-mediated dilated cardiomyopathy, and additional assets for the treatment of fatal cardiac diseases. Solid is advancing its diverse pipeline across rare neuromuscular and cardiac diseases, bringing together experts in science, technology, disease management, and care. Patient-focused and founded by those directly impacted, Solid’s mandate is to improve the daily lives of patients living with these devastating diseases. For more information, please visit www.solidbio.com . Solid Biosciences Investor Contact: Nicole Anderson Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Solid Biosciences Inc. investors@solidbio.com Media Contact: Glenn Silver FINN Partners glenn.silver@finnpartners.comFirst 12-team CFP set: Oregon seeded No. 1, SMU edges Alabama for final spot

Jimmy Carter’s public service heralded by Southern California lawmakers on either side of the aisleKyodo News penalizes top editors after false report on Yasukuni visitAthabasca Oil Announces 2025 Budget Focused on Cash Flow Per Share Growth and Directing 100% of Free Cash Flow to Shareholder Returns

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As 2025 draws near, analysts are becoming increasingly optimistic about Lightchain AI (LCAI), with some predicting a rise to $10 as the token gains traction in the crypto space. Currently priced at just $0.003 during its presale, LCAI combines advanced blockchain tech and AI-driven features, making it a strong player in the market. Unlike speculative tokens like Shiba Inu, LCAI brings real-world value and a clear roadmap for long-term growth. Lightchain AI's Rise in Crypto Market Lightchain AI (LCAI) has attracted attention in the cryptocurrency space as it blends artificial intelligence with blockchain technology, promising to revolutionize the industry. Analysts believe it could follow a similar trajectory as some of the most successful tokens, with projections indicating a potential rise to $10. As the market for AI-integrated tokens expands, Lightchain AI stands out as one of the most innovative projects. Early investors are thrilled by the long-term opportunities LCAI offers. Unlike other speculative tokens, Lightchain AI has built a strong foundation with a clear, exciting roadmap that speaks to both blockchain and AI fans. It’s this mix of smart tech, security, and growth potential that’s making LCAI a project to watch. Groundbreaking Blockchain Meets Artificial Intelligence Lightchain AI is changing the mix of blockchain and smart machines, giving traits that boost both techs. At the heart of its new͏ ideas is a Proof of Intelligence (PoI) way, which encourages nodes to finish key AI jobs like model training, data checking, and improving. Different from old blockchain systems, PoI ties AI’s power right into network safety and work, making it a fast and changing system. Also, Lightchain AI brings in the Smart Brain Virtual Machine (SBVM), which is made for using smart AI methods inside a blockchain setup. The SBVM makes sure that tough AI tasks run smoothly right away, helping makers to develop shared apps with clever AI features. This mix of blockchain and AI puts Lightchain AI as a leader in the shared tech area making real answers for fields all over globe. Comparison to Other Popular Tokens When compared to meme coins like Shiba Inu (SHIB), which gained fame mostly through social media hype, Lightchain AI offers a more solid investment based on real-world utility. While Shiba Inu has captured attention with its wild price fluctuations, it lacks the technological foundation and use cases that Lightchain AI brings to the table. Lightchain’s focus on practical applications, such as the integration of AI into blockchain operations, makes it stand out in the crowded crypto space. While meme tokens tend to rely on community-driven interest, Lightchain’s technology has been developed with a clear vision to solve real problems. As the market increasingly seeks tokens with tangible utility, LCAI is poised to attract not only speculative investors but also those looking for practical, long-term value. This gives it a stronger chance of sustained growth compared to its meme coin counterparts. Real-World Utility Driving Demand Lightchain AI is catching the eye of many because it focuses on real-world applications. Unlike tokens that are mostly about trading and speculation, LCAI was designed with clear uses in mind—from advancing AI research to making financial transactions more secure. This practical approach gives it a solid foundation, making it an exciting option for investors and developers who want to see long-term growth and real impact. Moreover, Lightchain AI ’ s technology ensures that its applications can scale with the growing needs of users. Its AI tools and decentralized network are designed to meet the challenges of today’s fast-paced technological environment, ensuring that its value only increases as demand for AI-driven solutions continues to rise. Strong Roadmap Fuels Investor Confidence Lightchain AI’s roadmap is packed with exciting steps that show its commitment to innovation and growth. Kicking off in November 2024, the Prototype Development phase will focus on building and testing key features like the Proof of Intelligence (PoI) consensus mechanism and the Artificial Intelligence Virtual Machine (AIVM). Plus, they'll be launching a developer portal to bring in early adopters and contributors, making it easy for everyone to get involved from the start. In January 2025, Lightchain AI moves into the Testnet Rollout phase, where the community gets a chance to interact with the project’s core systems. During this phase, AIVM node operators and developers will help run the testnet, validate token staking, and test out AI workloads through the AIVM. In March 2025, Lightchain AI will reach an exciting milestone with its Mainnet Launch. This will bring in a variety of validator and contributor nodes, ensuring the platform is both decentralized and scalable. These steps highlight Lightchain AI's commitment to building a strong, future-proof system and solidify its reputation as an investment opportunity you can trust. Future Growth Potential for Lightchain AI Lightchain AI is positioned for significant growth, making it one of the most promising tokens in the market. Right now, Lightchain AI available at just $0.003 during its presale – a great chance for investors to get in early! With its advanced technology, clear roadmap, and growing interest, LCAI is on track for some exciting growth in the months ahead. With its innovative mechanism and the AI Virtual Machine, Lightchain AI has already set itself apart from other tokens, showing real utility rather than just speculative value. As the token continues to develop, its presale price may be viewed as one of the best opportunities for those seeking to invest in the next big success story in crypto. https://lightchain.ai https://lightchain.ai/lightchain-whitepaper.pdf https://x.com/LightchainAI https://t.me/LightchainProtocol Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp _____________ Disclaimer: Analytics Insight does not provide financial advice or guidance. Also note that the cryptocurrencies mentioned/listed on the website could potentially be scams, i.e. designed to induce you to invest financial resources that may be lost forever and not be recoverable once investments are made. You are responsible for conducting your own research (DYOR) before making any investments. Read more here.

Autel IMEA Hosts Annual Partners Summit and Gala Dinner, Launches New EV Chargers and Advanced Automotive Diagnostic Solutions, and Continues Its Commitment to Sustainability through Mangrove Tree Planting InitiativeVoters in parts of Scott, Clinton and Jackson counties will vote in a special election for their state senator on Jan. 28, 2025, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Monday. Former senator for District 35, Chris Cournoyer, was sworn in a week ago as the state's new lieutenant governor. Cournoyer resigned her senate seat at that time. Candidates wanting to run for the seat have until Jan. 14, 2025, to file their paperwork, Iowa Secretary of State spokesperson Ashley Hunt Esquivel wrote in an email. Candidates may be nominated by special convention of one of the political parties or collect signatures and file as a no-party candidate. For special elections, absentee voting begins "as soon as ballots are available, but not earlier than 20 days prior to the election," Hunt Esquivel wrote. Scott County Auditor Kerri Tompkins anticipates having early voting available in-person at the county administration building starting Jan. 16, she wrote in an email. Polls will be open on Jan. 28 for Election Day from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Voters can send in ballot requests now, but Tompkins warned mail-in ballots for the special election will have a tight turnaround. Mailed ballots may not be sent out until Jan. 17 or later, Tompkins wrote, and must arrive in the auditor's office by the time polls close on Jan. 28. "I encourage voters to take this into consideration as they make their voting plans," Tompkins wrote. Cournoyer, a Republican from LeClaire, was first elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022. There's still two years left in the term representing the district, which includes Clinton, DeWitt, Camanche, Wheatland, Maquoketa, and Princeton. In Clinton County, where the bulk of the district is located, a new auditor will take office in the new year. Republican David Troester defeated Democrat Eric Van Lancker in the November election. Iowa Senate Democrats, in a statement, called the upcoming special election "a pivotal moment for Eastern Iowa to send a clear message: enough is enough." "This election allows voters to demand bold leadership and real solutions to move Iowa forward. It's about electing a Senator who will fully fund our schools, grow Iowa's middle class, and fight for a fair deal for every family — not just the wealthy few," the statement reads. "While we wait to see who the Democratic nominee will be, the Senate Majority Fund is wasting no time organizing in preparation for this election to move Iowa forward and tackle the challenges Iowa families face head-on." Americans may have elected Donald Trump in November, but that doesn't mean they have high confidence in his ability to choose well-qualified people for his cabinet according to a new AP-NORC poll. Among President-elect Donald Trump's picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, former Democratic House member Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration's top diplomat. Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement. The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations. Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year. Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration. She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him. Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog, to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda. Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic. She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race. Burgum was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day. In comments to reporters before Trump took the stage, Burgum said that, in recent years, the power grid is deteriorating in many parts of the country, which he said could raise national security concerns but also drive up prices enough to increase inflation. “There's just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, and then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign. The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction. He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending. “This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then. Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment. 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.” Sean Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children. A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Write is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States. Wright also won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term. President-elect Donald Trump tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump promised to dismantle. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. 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. 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. FILE - Former Rep. Doug Collins speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Oct. 15, 2024, in Atlanta. Karoline Leavitt, 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps. Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, was a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term before she became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump to be director of national intelligence, keeping with the trend to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities rather than veteran professionals in their requisite fields. Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party's 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump said in a statement. Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions. Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” Kash Patel spent several years as a Justice Department prosecutor before catching the Trump administration’s attention as a staffer on Capitol Hill who helped investigate the Russia probe. Patel called for dramatically reducing the agency’s footprint, a perspective that sets him apart from earlier directors who sought additional resources for the bureau. Though the Justice Department in 2021 halted the practice of secretly seizing reporters’ phone records during leak investigations, Patel said he intends to aggressively hunt down government officials who leak information to reporters. Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency . Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X , “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added. During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration. In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” Trump has named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband. Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission. Carr made past appearances on “Fox News Channel," including when he decried Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' pre-Election Day appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” He wrote an op-ed last month defending a satellite company owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk. Trump said Atkins, the CEO of Patomak Partners and a former SEC commissioner, was a “proven leader for common sense regulations.” In the years since leaving the SEC, Atkins has made the case against too much market regulation. “He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The commission oversees U.S. securities markets and investments and is currently led by Gary Gensler, who has been leading the U.S. government’s crackdown on the crypto industry. Gensler, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, announced last month that he would be stepping down from his post on the day that Trump is inaugurated — Jan. 20, 2025. Atkins began his career as a lawyer and has a long history working in the financial markets sector, both in government and private practice. In the 1990s, he worked on the staffs of two former SEC chairmen, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt. Jared Isaacman, 41, is a tech billionaire who bought a series of spaceflights from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and conducted the first private spacewalk . He is the founder and CEO of a card-processing company and has collaborated closely with Musk ever since buying his first chartered SpaceX flight. He took contest winners on that 2021 trip and followed it in September with a mission where he briefly popped out the hatch to test SpaceX’s new spacewalking suits. Rep. Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment. Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah. President-elect Donald Trump says he's chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO. Trump has expressed skepticism about the Western military alliance for years. Trump said in a statement Wednesday that Whitaker is “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.” The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is as a lawyer and not in foreign policy. President-elect Donald Trump tapped former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be ambassador to China, saying in a social media post that the former CEO “brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China.” Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff four years ago and ran unsuccessfully in a primary against Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. Perdue pushed Trump's debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for governor. 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.” 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. Guilfoyle is a former California prosecutor and television news personality who led the fundraising for Trump's 2020 campaign and became engaged to Don Jr. in 2020. Trump called her “a close friend and ally” and praised her “sharp intellect make her supremely qualified.” Guilfoyle was on stage with the family on election night. “I am so proud of Kimberly. She loves America and she always has wanted to serve the country as an Ambassador. She will be an amazing leader for America First,” Don Jr. posted. The ambassador positions must be approved by the U.S. Senate. Guilfoyle said in a social media post that she was “honored to accept President Trump’s nomination to serve as the next Ambassador to Greece and I look forward to earning the support of the U.S. Senate.” Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as National Security Advisor to Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence. For the America First Policy Institute, one of several groups formed after Trump left office to help lay the groundwork for the next Republican administration, Kellogg in April wrote that “bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday. The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security. Thomas Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Customs and Border Protection, with its roughly 60,000 employees, falls under the Department of Homeland Security. It includes the Border Patrol, which Rodney Scott led during Trump's first term, and is essentially responsible for protecting the country's borders while facilitating trade and travel. Scott comes to the job firmly from the Border Patrol side of the house. He became an agent in 1992 and spent much of his career in San Diego. When he was appointed head of the border agency in January 2020, he enthusiastically embraced Trump's policies. After being forced out under the Biden administration, Scott has been a vocal supporter of Trump's hard-line immigration agenda. He appeared frequently on Fox News and testified in Congress. He's also a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Former Rep. Billy Long represented Missouri in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2023. Since leaving Congress, Trump said, Long “has worked as a Business and Tax advisor, helping Small Businesses navigate the complexities of complying with the IRS Rules and Regulations.” Former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler was appointed in January 2020 by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and then lost a runoff election a year later. She started a conservative voter registration organization and dived into GOP fundraising, becoming one of the top individual donors and bundlers to Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign. Even before nominating her for agriculture secretary, the president-elect already had tapped Loeffler as co-chair of his inaugural committee. Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office. Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate. Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Russell Vought held the position during Trump’s first presidency. After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Trump says he’s picking Kari Lake as director of Voice of America, installing a staunch loyalist who ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor and a Senate seat to head the congressionally funded broadcaster that provides independent news reporting around the world. Lake endeared herself to Trump through her dogmatic commitment to the falsehood that both she and Trump were the victims of election fraud. She has never acknowledged losing the gubernatorial race and called herself the “lawful governor” in her 2023 book, “Unafraid: Just Getting Started.” 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. Jay Bhattacharya, National Institutes of Health Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya is a physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, and is a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He promoted the idea of herd immunity during the pandemic, arguing that people at low risk should live normally while building up immunity to COVID-19 through infection. The National Institutes of Health funds medical research through competitive grants to researchers at institutions throughout the nation. NIH also conducts its own research with thousands of scientists working at its labs in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Marty Makary, Food and Drug Administration Makary is a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against pandemic lockdowns. He routinely appeared on Fox News during the COVID-19 pandemic and wrote opinion articles questioning masks for children. He cast doubt on vaccine mandates but supported vaccines generally. Makary also cast doubt on whether booster shots worked, which was against federal recommendations on the vaccine. Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Surgeon General Nesheiwat is a general practitioner who serves as medical director for CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. She has been a contributor to Fox News. Dr. Dave Weldon, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Weldon is a former Florida congressman who recently ran for a Florida state legislative seat and lost; Trump backed Weldon’s opponent. In Congress, Weldon weighed in on one of the nation’s most heated debates of the 1990s over quality of life and a right-to-die and whether Terri Schiavo, who was in a persistent vegetative state after cardiac arrest, should have been allowed to have her feeding tube removed. He sided with the parents who did not want it removed. Jamieson Greer, U.S. trade representative Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council Trump is turning to two officials with experience navigating not only Washington but the key issues of income taxes and tariffs as he fills out his economic team. He announced he has chosen international trade attorney Jamieson Greer to be his U.S. trade representative and Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council. While Trump has in several cases nominated outsiders to key posts, these picks reflect a recognition that his reputation will likely hinge on restoring the public’s confidence in the economy. Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.” Hassett, 62, served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017. Ron Johnson, Ambassador to Mexico Johnson — not the Republican senator — served as ambassador to El Salvador during Trump's first administration. His nomination comes as the president-elect has been threatening tariffs on Mexican imports and the mass deportation of migrants who have arrived to the U.S.-Mexico border. Johnson is also a former U.S. Army veteran and was in the Central Intelligence Agency. Tom Barrack, Ambassador to Turkey Barrack, a wealthy financier, met Trump in the 1980s while helping negotiate Trump’s purchase of the renowned Plaza Hotel. He was charged with using his personal access to the former president to secretly promote the interests of the United Arab Emirates, but was acquitted of all counts at a federal trial in 2022. Trump called him a “well-respected and experienced voice of reason.” Andrew Ferguson, Federal Trade Commission Ferguson, who is already one of the FTC's five commissioners, will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while alleging anticompetitive behavior. “Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History.” Jacob Helberg, undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment Dan Bishop, deputy director for budget at the Office of Budget and Management Leandro Rizzuto, Ambassador to the Washington-based Organization of American States Dan Newlin, Ambassador to Colombia Peter Lamelas, Ambassador to Argentina Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. 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U.S. District Court Awards 10x Genomics Permanent Injunction in Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Bruker Corporation's GeoMx Products

BOPA to remain Baltimore’s art council, despite fracas over $1M deficitBy Jeff Mason and Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Former U.S. President Barack Obama, who has mostly stayed quiet in the weeks since Vice President Kamala Harris' election loss, on Thursday urged a new generation of American leaders to talk with people they disagree with. In a speech at a "Democracy Forum" sponsored by his foundation, the former president said he was convinced that a renewed commitment to pluralist principles was essential to ensure the survival of democracy. "The alternative is what we've seen here in the United States and in many democracies around the globe - not just more gridlock, not just public cynicism, but an increased willingness on the part of politicians and their followers to violate democratic norms, to do anything they can to get their way." Obama discussed the "power of pluralism" with thousands of live and online attendees at a deeply divided time in U.S. history and an unsettling one for Democrats as Republican Donald Trump returns to the White House. Building lasting majorities that supported justice required "framing our issues, our causes, what we believe in, in terms of 'we' and not just 'us and them,'" he said. But that did not mean rolling over when opponents abused power, he said. "That's a problem. And when that happens, we fight for what we believe in." While Obama, 63, remains in high demand to campaign for his fellow Democrats, some in the party are calling for a crop of younger leaders to take the baton after Harris lost every battleground state and the popular vote and Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. "I think he'd be the first to agree," David Axelrod, former senior adviser to Obama, told Reuters. "I think he would say he's run his race and we need others to step up." "Time marches on, and I think that he would say ... we need a whole array of leaders, and there are young leaders in the Democratic Party who are dynamic and very much in touch with the times who can step up and play a big role." November's disappointing results for Democrats, including support eroding among working-class and Latino voters, sparked an angry blame game inside the party and an effort by some to push for fresh talent. "I've always been an advocate for a new generation of leadership in the party and I think that people are yearning for that," Representative Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts, told Reuters. "It doesn't mean that the Obama magic is totally gone, but Obama's not going to be a future president. Obama's not running for Senate. We need to hear from newer voices that can better represent the fears and struggles that Americans face today." Obama and his wife Michelle campaigned around the country and remain enormously popular within the party base, wielding influence behind the scenes through fundraising and a deep network of allies and former staff. But despite fundraising success and resonant speeches, Obama was unable to help propel Harris to victory this year. Democratic nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also failed to win the presidency in 2016 despite his backing. Advisers from his one-time inner circle who joined Harris' campaign after President Joe Biden stepped aside are drawing fire for failing to admit any mistakes in how they handled the 2024 cycle. A day after the Nov. 5 election, the Obamas issued a statement congratulating Trump and saying "progress requires us to extend good faith and grace - even to people with whom we deeply disagree." Obama made history as the first Black president of the United States and racked up comfortable margins of victory over his Republican opponents when he ran: more than seven percentage points in 2008 and nearly four in 2012. But American politics has changed since then, some strategists say. "His two wins do seem that much more remarkable in retrospect, given how much of the coalition that Republicans have built around Trump has been around racial politics," said Jeff Timmer, chief operating officer of the Lincoln Project, a political consulting group of former Republicans opposed to Trump who worked to elect Harris and Biden before her. Obama campaigned heavily for Biden, who won in 2020, but his words on the campaign trail this year backfired at least once. At a stop in Pennsylvania, he seemed to lecture Black men over their reluctance to vote for a woman, drawing criticism from some Black activists. Down-ballot demand for the former president this year was high, though. Democratic congressional candidates such as Senator-elect Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Senator-elect Ruben Gallego of Arizona sought Obama's help, got it, and won. "Is this the ultimate turning the page on the Obama years? Maybe," said Michael Feldman, a communications consultant and former adviser to Al Gore, reflecting on the 2024 election. "Will he still be and will she (Mrs. Obama) still be the two most popular figures within the party for the foreseeable future? The answer is absolutely." (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Andrea Shalal; additional reporting by Heather Timmons; Editing by Heather Timmons, Deepa Babington and Diane Craft)