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MANCHESTER, England, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Although Kevin De Bruyne's return to Manchester City's starting lineup was key to a 3-0 Premier League victory over Nottingham Forest on Wednesday that ended their winless run, manager Pep Guardiola warned that he needs to look after his midfielder. The oft-injured Belgian was brilliant in scoring one goal, helping set up another, and taking or creating most of City's shots in his first start in more than two months, guiding City to their first victory since late October. "We'll see how he recovers after a long time injured," Guardiola told reporters. "The reality is he played few games last season and this season." The gruelling December schedule compounds the concern, with City heading to Crystal Palace on Saturday. "Three days, three days - we'll see how does (De Bruyne) feel through this," Guardiola said. City's win lifted the champions to fourth in the league table, still nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool. It also ended the worst string of results in Guardiola's glittering managerial career -- seven consecutive games without a win, including six defeats. "We needed it," said Guardiola. "The club and the players, everyone needed to win. After what happened in the past we were not relaxed until the referee's whistle at the end." The victory might have come at a cost, however, as defender Nathan Ake was forced off late in the game holding his hamstring, an injury that saw him sidelined for five weeks earlier this season. "Nathan doesn't look good. We will see tomorrow," Guardiola said. "He could not continue and we will see in three days what will happen. I am sad for Nathan." An injury also kept Manuel Akanji out for the second half, although the manager said his is not as serious. "We'd love to have Manu and Nathan and two defensive midfielders. They are fantastic human beings and fantastic players," Guardiola said. Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo said City were definitely more dangerous with De Bruyne on the pitch. "It's very difficult (to stop De Bruyne), very difficult because of the quality," he said, "And it's not only Kevin de Bruyne, their quality all over the pitch, in the wide areas, it's very difficult to individually control these kind of players. "No one ever doubts the quality of City players and their manager, so we know that we had a hard task ahead of us. But honestly, we went for it. We lose, okay, that can happen in football, but we challenged ourselves and that can reflect on the next games I hope." Sign up here. Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Ed Osmond Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tabThe New York Giants have blasted ESPN’s Elle Duncan after she mocked player Daniel Jone for his statement upon leaving the team. On Thursday, Duncan read a statement to the press as the team’s press conference opened, saying that it was his dream to have played with the Giants. “The opportunity to play for the New York Giants was truly a dream come true. I’m extremely grateful to the Mara and Tisch families for the chance to play here. The Giants are truly a first-class organization, and I have nothing but genuine respect and appreciation for the people who have built it and the people who carry on that tradition,” he said. Duncan, though, found the statement mockworthy during her “Taking the Elle” segment on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” “We normally reserve ‘Taking the Elle’ for Fridays, but Giants quarterback Daniel Jones just did something so inexplicable that we made an exception,” Duncan said during the segment. “After being benched this week, Jones took to the podium to say goodbye to the franchise and fans but with, like, seven games left in the season.” Then she quipped, “I’m sorry, you have to write this down? Didn’t you go to Duke?” “Do you guys think he had this saved in his notes since, like, 2020? In all seriousness, DJ, I could have saved you like 90 seconds. A re-write: ‘Sorry you paid me $108 million for one playoff win. And I look forward to reviving my career as Brock Purdy’s backup.’ The end,” Duncan exclaimed. But after Duncan’s ribbing, Giants Senior Vice President of Communications Pat Hanlon took to social media to express his shock at the attack. “That an #ESPN personality would mock Daniel Jones’ statement today is mind boggling. Given what has happened at that company over past few years, tone deaf,” Hanlon wrote on X. According to Stephen A. Smith, the Giants organization also contacted ESPN to take a potshot at Duncan. In the hours after her rant, Duncan became the object of much social media mocking as fans joined the backlash against her. The attacks apparently stung Duncan enough that she tried to respond and, on Friday, struck back at those claiming she was being disrespectful to Daniel Jones. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston , or Truth Social @WarnerToddHustonNEW YORK (AP) — Technology stocks pulled Wall Street to another record amid mixed trading. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% Monday after closing November at an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. Super Micro Computer, a stock that’s been on an AI-driven roller coaster, soared after saying an investigation found no evidence of misconduct by its management or the company’s board. Retailers were mixed coming off Black Friday and heading into what’s expected to be the best Cyber Monday on record. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. NEW YORK (AP) — Technology stocks are pulling Wall Street toward another record amid mixed trading on Monday. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% in afternoon trading after closing its best month of the year at an all-time high . The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 86 points, or 0.2%, with a little more than an hour remaining in trading, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% higher. Super Micro Computer, a stock that’s been on an AI-driven roller coaster, soared 31.1% to lead the market. Following accusations of misconduct and the resignation of its public auditor , the maker of servers used in artificial-intelligence technology said an investigation found no evidence of misconduct by its management or by the company's board. It also said it doesn’t expect to restate its past financials and that it will find a new chief financial officer, appoint a general counsel and make other moves to strengthen its governance. Big Tech stocks also helped prop up the market. Gains of 1.8% for Microsoft and 2.9% for Meta Platforms were the two strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500. Intel was another propellant during the morning, but it lost an early gain to fall 1.1% after the chip company said CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired and stepped down from the board. Intel is looking for Gelsinger’s replacement, and its chair said it’s “committed to restoring investor confidence.” Intel recently lost its spot in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to Nvidia, which has skyrocketed in Wall Street's frenzy around AI. Stellantis, meanwhile, skidded following the announcement of its CEO’s departure . Carlos Tavares steps down after nearly four years in the top spot of the automaker, which owns car brands like Jeep, Citroën and Ram, amid an ongoing struggle with slumping sales and an inventory backlog at dealerships. The world’s fourth-largest automaker’s stock fell 6.3% in Milan. The majority of stocks in the S&P 500 likewise fell, including California utility PG&E. It dropped 3.7% after saying it would sell $2.4 billion of stock and preferred shares to raise cash. Retailers were mixed amid what’s expected to be the best Cyber Monday on record and coming off Black Friday . Target, which recently gave a forecast for the holiday season that left investors discouraged , fell 1.6%. Walmart , which gave a more optimistic forecast, rose 0.3%. Amazon, which looks to benefit from online sales from Cyber Monday, climbed 1.3%. The stock market largely took Donald Trump’s latest threat on tariffs in stride. The president-elect on Saturday threatened 100% tariffs against a group of developing economies if they act to undermine the U.S. dollar. Trump said he wants the group, headlined by Brazil, Russia, India and China, to promise it won’t create a new currency or otherwise try to undercut the U.S. dollar. The dollar has long been the currency of choice for global trade. Speculation has also been around a long time that other currencies could knock it off its mantle, but no contender has come close. The U.S. dollar’s value rose Monday against several other currencies, but one of its strongest moves likely had less to do with the tariff threats. The euro fell amid a political battle in Paris over the French government’s budget . The euro sank 0.7% against the U.S. dollar and broke below $1.05. In the bond market, Treasury yields gave up early gains to hold relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed above 4.23% during the morning before falling back to 4.19%. That was just above its level of 4.18% late Friday. A report in the morning showed the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted again last month, but not by as much as economists expected. This upcoming week will bring several big updates on the job market, including the October job openings report, weekly unemployment benefits data and the all-important November jobs report. They could steer the next moves for Federal Reserve, which recently began pulling interest rates lower to give support to the economy. Economists expect Friday's headliner report to show U.S. employers accelerated their hiring in November, coming off October's lackluster growth that was hampered by damaging hurricanes and strikes. “We now find ourselves in the middle of this Goldilocks zone, where economic health supports earnings growth while remaining weak enough to justify potential Fed rate cuts,” according to Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide. In financial markets abroad, Chinese stocks led gains worldwide as monthly surveys showed improving conditions for manufacturing, partly driven by a surge in orders ahead of Trump’s inauguration next month. Both official and private sector surveys of factory managers showed strong new orders and export orders, possibly partly linked to efforts by importers in the U.S. to beat potential tariff hikes by Trump once he takes office. Indexes rose 0.7% in Hong Kong and 1.1% in Shanghai. AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
NFL ends investigation into sexual assault allegations against Browns QB Deshaun Watson
Police in South Korea formally began an investigation into President Yoon Suk-yeol after receiving two complaints accusing him of treason. Yoon imposed a brief state of martial law on Tuesday night that shocked an alarmed the country, stating in a nationally televised address that military rule was necessary to combat the nefarious influence of North Korean communist sympathizers. At press time, Yoon has not named any of those alleged sympathizers or offered the public specifics on the threats that he claimed required the imposition of martial law. The state of martial law only briefly stood, as members of the National Assembly flooded the legislative floor and voted unanimously to overturn it, exercising their constitutional power. To get to the voting floor, however, they had to barrel through a wave of soldiers deployed to enforce the ban on political activity that martial law requires, meeting minimal resistance from the heavily armed fighters. No reports of major injuries or death were reported during the martial law phase. By the early morning hours of Wednesday, Yoon had announced that the martial law order was rescinded. He has since held a meeting with senior members of his People Power Party (PPP), who loudly protested the martial law order along with the rest of the nation’s major minority parties, but has not addressed the South Korean people. The Democratic Party, the largest opposition party, began an impeachment process against Yoon on Wednesday. Yoon is also facing criminal proceedings however on the grounds that he may have committed insurrection or treason against his own government. The National Assembly is expected to vote on Yoon’s impeachment on Saturday. The South Korean newswire agency Yonhap reported that the opposition Rebuilding Korea Party and a coalition of dozens of activists filed two separate complaints against Yoon for the martial law declaration, which opens a formal criminal process. “The complaints accused not only Yoon but also former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min of treason,” Yonhap reported, “and other related charges for their roles in the declaration and subsequent lifting of martial law on Tuesday.” The head of the Rebuilding Korea Party, Hwang Un-ha, was among the first to publicly accuse Yoon of treason. “The president committed an act tantamount to treason by mobilizing the military,” Hwang said on Wednesday. “It is clear that he cannot remain in office even for a moment longer. Therefore, we must urgently pass an impeachment motion.” Multiple reports in South Korean outlets have identified Kim, the defense minister prior to Wednesday, as the only cabinet member who knew and supported the martial law decree. The Korea JoongAng Daily , citing anonymous sources, described Yoon as telling only Kim about the plan before about 8 p.m. on Tuesday, hours before he went on television and imposed martial law. Kim and Yoon went to the same high school. “Most ministers who attended the meeting reportedly learned about the agenda only upon arriving at the venue. The process was carried out in secrecy,” JoongAng detailed. “Prime Minister Han Duck-soo arrived at the presidential office and expressed objections to the declaration, arguing that it could negatively impact the economy.” “In addition to Han, Deputy Prime Minister Choi and Foreign Minister Cho reportedly strongly opposed the declaration, citing its potential impact on the economy and foreign relations,” the report continued. The chief of staff of the army, Gen. Park An-su, told the Korean National Assembly on Thursday that he found out about the martial law decree from Yoon’s televised address – and only found out he would be the commander of the operation after Yoon published the decree itself following the national announcement. Yoon appeared on television and painted a dire portrait of the country as vulnerable to falling into the hands of North Korean influence. “I declare martial law to protect the Republic of Korea from the threats of North Korean communist forces, to immediately eradicate the unscrupulous pro-Pyongyang anti-state forces that pillage the freedom and happiness of our people and to protect free constitutional order,” Yoon alleged . He did not specify the nature of the threat and did not appear to convince much of the country that martial law was necessary. The National Assembly voted against martial law shortly after 1 a.m. on Wednesday after a dramatic scene in which lawmakers had to fight soldiers to get to their chambers. Yoon rapidly withdrew and has yet to offer any public defense of his decision. The PPP, Yoon’s party, publicly opposed the martial law declaration immediately after Yoon delivered his speech. Party chief Han Dong-hoon issued remarks stating that the decree was “wrong” and his party would fight Yoon “alongside the people.” “As the ruling party, we feel deeply apologetic to the public for today’s disastrous situation,” Han said at a press conference on Wednesday. “President Yoon should directly explain the disastrous situation and hold those responsible strictly accountable, including the immediate dismissal of the defense minister who proposed the martial law.” Han said on Thursday that he had demanded in talks with Yoon that he resign from party membership and the PPP was “not trying to defend the president’s unconstitutional martial law.” The PPP, the nation’s largest conservative party, rose from the ashes of the Liberty Korea Party, which dramatically reconfigured after its last president, Park Geun-hye, was convicted and sentenced to 24 years in prison for corruption and abuse of power related to her inappropriate relationship with members of the leadership of a cult. Leftist President Moon Jae-in pardoned Park in 2021 and she attended Yoon’s inauguration. Yoon was part of the prosecution team that processed her case. Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter.
Cruise into this holiday season with a non-traditional vacationCHANDLER, Ariz., Dec. 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Microchip Technology Incorporated, a leading provider of smart, connected, and secure embedded control solutions, provided lower updated revenue guidance for the December 2024 quarter and announced manufacturing restructuring plans. "In the first two weeks of my newly appointed role as Interim CEO and President, I have done a deep dive into the operations of the Company and determined that certain actions are necessary. I want to clarify for investors that I plan to stay in this role, even though the title is interim, for as long as it is necessary, so there is no definitive timeline for my successor," said Steve Sanghi, Microchip's CEO, President and Chair of the Board. Mr. Sanghi continued, "We indicated in our November 2, 2024 earnings call that significant turns orders were required to achieve the midpoint of our December 2024 quarter revenue guidance. Those turns orders have been slower than anticipated and we now expect our December 2024 revenue to be close to the low end of our original guidance which is $1.025 billion." Mr. Sanghi added, "With inventory levels high and having ample capacity in place, we have decided to shut down our Tempe wafer fabrication facility that we refer to as Fab 2. Many of the process technologies that run in Fab 2 also run in our Oregon and Colorado factories, which both have ample clean room space for expansion. We expect to be able to shut down Fab 2 in the September 2025 quarter at which time we expect that it will generate annual cash savings of approximately $90 million. Due to the high inventory of the products which are manufactured in Fab 2, we do not expect to see P&L savings from the shutdown until the start of the June 2026 quarter based on a First-In First-Out basis. We expect that the Fab 2 closure will begin to help us moderate our inventory levels beginning in the March 2025 quarter. We anticipate near-term restructuring costs to be between $3 million and $8 million from these actions, and it is possible that we could incur other restructuring and shut-down costs in the future of up to an additional $15 million. The estimates of the restructuring costs will be refined over time as more information becomes available." Mr. Sanghi concluded, "I want to ensure investors of my confidence in the long-term growth and profitability of Microchip. Our design-in momentum continues to remain strong, driven by our Total System Solutions strategy and key market megatrends. The fab restructuring is a big step in right-sizing our manufacturing footprint, and we will continue to evaluate any further actions that are required to position Microchip for outsized growth and financial performance." Microchip will be participating in and presenting at the UBS Global Technology and AI Conference on December 3 and 4, 2024. Cautionary Statement: The statements in this release relating to Mr. Sanghi planning to stay in the CEO and President role for as long as it is necessary, no definitive timeline for his successor, that turns orders have been slower than anticipated and that we now expect our December 2024 revenue to be close to the low end of our original guidance which is $1.025 billion, that we have ample capacity in place, that our Oregon and Colorado factories both have ample clean room space for expansion, that we expect to be able to shut down Fab 2 in the September 2025 quarter at which time it is expected to generate annual cash savings of approximately $90 million, that we do not expect to see P&L savings from the shutdown until the start of the June 2026 quarter, that we expect that the Fab 2 closure will begin to help us moderate our inventory levels beginning in the March 2025 quarter, that we anticipate near-term restructuring costs to be between $3 million and $8 million, that is is possible that we could incur other restructuring and shut-down costs of up to an additional $15 million, ensuring investors of my confidence in the long-term growth and profitability of Microchip, that our design-in momentum continues to remain strong driven by our Total System Solutions strategy and key market megatrends, that the fab restructuring is a big step in right sizing our manufacturing footprint, that we will continue to evaluate any further actions that are required to position Microchip for outsized growth and financial performance are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to: any continued uncertainty, fluctuations or weakness in the U.S. and world economies (including China and Europe) due to changes in interest rates, high inflation, actions taken or which may be taken by the Biden administration or the U.S. Congress or by the incoming Trump administration and the incoming U.S. Congress, monetary policy, political, geopolitical, trade or other issues in the U.S. or internationally (including the military conflicts in Ukraine-Russia and the Middle East), further changes in demand or market acceptance of our products and the products of our customers and our ability to respond to any increases or decreases in market demand or customer requests to reschedule or cancel orders; the mix of inventory we hold, our ability to satisfy any short-term orders from our inventory and our ability to effectively manage our inventory levels; the impact that the CHIPS Act will have on increasing manufacturing capacity in our industry by providing incentives for us, our competitors and foundries to build new wafer manufacturing facilities or expand existing facilities; the amount and timing of any incentives we may receive under the CHIPS Act, the impact of current and future changes in U.S. corporate tax laws (including the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017), foreign currency effects on our business; changes in utilization of our manufacturing capacity and our ability to effectively manage our production levels to meet any increases or decreases in market demand or any customer requests to reschedule or cancel orders; the impact of inflation on our business; competitive developments including pricing pressures; the level of orders that are received and can be shipped in a quarter; our ability to realize the expected benefits of our long-term supply assurance program; changes or fluctuations in customer order patterns and seasonality; our ability to effectively manage our supply of wafers from third party wafer foundries to meet any decreases or increases in our needs and the cost of such wafers, our ability to obtain additional capacity from our suppliers to increase production to meet any future increases in market demand; our ability to successfully integrate the operations and employees, retain key employees and customers and otherwise realize the expected synergies and benefits of our acquisitions; the impact of any future significant acquisitions or strategic transactions we may make; the costs and outcome of any current or future litigation or other matters involving our acquisitions (including the acquired business, intellectual property, customers, or other issues); the costs and outcome of any current or future tax audit or investigation regarding our business or our acquired businesses; fluctuations in our stock price and trading volume which could impact the number of shares we acquire under our share repurchase program and the timing of such repurchases; disruptions in our business or the businesses of our customers or suppliers due to natural disasters (including any floods in Thailand), terrorist activity, armed conflict, war, worldwide oil prices and supply, public health concerns or disruptions in the transportation system; and general economic, industry or political conditions in the United States or internationally. For a detailed discussion of these and other risk factors, please refer to Microchip's filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. You can obtain copies of Forms 10-K and 10-Q and other relevant documents for free at Microchip's website ( www.microchip.com ) or the SEC's website ( www.sec.gov ) or from commercial document retrieval services. Stockholders of Microchip are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date such statements are made. Microchip does not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or new information after this December 2, 2024 press release, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. About Microchip: Microchip Technology Incorporated is a leading provider of smart, connected and secure embedded control solutions. Its easy-to-use development tools and comprehensive product portfolio enable customers to create optimal designs, which reduce risk while lowering total system cost and time to market. Our solutions serve approximately 116,000 customers across the industrial, automotive, consumer, aerospace and defense, communications and computing markets. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at www.microchip.com . Note: The Microchip name and logo are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies. INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT: J. Eric Bjornholt, Senior Vice President and CFO (480) 792-7804 © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s federal police on Thursday formally accused former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 other people of attempting a coup to keep him in office after his defeat in the 2022 elections. Police said their sealed findings were being delivered Thursday to Brazil’s Supreme Court, which will refer them to Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet, who decides either to formally charge Bolsonaro and put him on trial, or toss the investigation. Bolsonaro told the website Metropoles that he was waiting for his lawyer to review the accusation, reportedly about 700 pages long. But he said he would fight the case and dismissed the investigation as being the result of “creativity.” The former right-wing president has denied all claims he tried to stay in office after his narrow electoral defeat in 2022 to his rival, leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro has faced a series of legal threats since then. Police said in a brief statement that the Supreme Court had agreed to reveal the names of all 37 people who were accused “to avoid the dissemination of incorrect news.” Dozens of former and current Bolsonaro aides also were accused, including Gen. Walter Braga Netto, who was his running mate in the 2022 campaign; former Army commander Gen. Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira; Valdemar Costa Neto, the chairman of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party; and his veteran former adviser, Gen. Augusto Heleno. Other investigations produced formal accusations of Bolsonaro’s roles in smuggling diamond jewelry into Brazil without properly declaring them and in directing a subordinate to falsify his and others’ COVID-19 vaccination statuses. Bolsonaro has denied any involvement in either. Another probe found that he had abused his authority to cast doubt on the country’s voting system, and judges barred him from running again until 2030. Still, he has insisted that he will run in 2026, and many in his orbit were heartened by the recent U.S. election win of Donald Trump, despite his own swirling legal threats. But the far-reaching investigations already have weakened Bolsonaro’s status as a leader of Brazil’s right wing, said Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo. “Bolsonaro is already barred from running in the 2026 elections,” Melo told the The Associated Press. “And if he is convicted he could also be jailed by then. To avoid being behind bars, he will have to convince Supreme Court justices that he has nothing to do with a plot that involves dozens of his aides. That’s a very tall order,” Melo said. A formal accusation of an attempted coup means the investigation has gathered indications of “a crime and its author,” said Eloísa Machado de Almeida, a law professor at Getulio Vargas Foundation, a university in Sao Paulo. She said she believed there was enough legal grounds for the prosecutor-general to file charges. Bolsonaro’s allies in Congress have been negotiating a bill to pardon individuals who stormed the Brazilian capital and rioted on Jan. 8, 2023 in a failed attempt to keep the former president in power. Analysts have speculated that lawmakers want to extend the legislation to cover the former president himself. However, efforts to push a broad amnesty bill may be “politically challenging” given recent attacks on the judiciary and details emerging in investigations, Machado said. On Tuesday, Federal Police arrested four military and a Federal Police officer, accused of plotting to assassinate Lula and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes as a means to overthrow the government following the 2022 elections. And last week, a man carried out a bomb attack in the capital Brasilia . He attempted to enter the Supreme Court and threw explosives outside, killing himself.
Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter can be criticized on many levels. The president lied repeatedly to the American people, saying he would never even consider such an action. And he demonstrated that same streak of stubbornness and selfishness that led him to ignore his obvious decline and declare — disastrously for the Democrats — that he would seek a second term. But those mistakes will be debated by historians. The practical and immediate result of Biden’s decision will be to undermine the forces, from both parties, who are now arming to oppose Donald Trump’s coming war against the nation’s system of law and justice. “Mr. Biden’s pardon,” writes Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent of The New York Times, “will make it harder for Democrats to defend the integrity of the Justice Department and stand against Mr. Trump’s unapologetic plans to use it for political purposes even as he seeks to install Kash Patel, an adviser who has vowed to ‘come after’ the president-elect’s enemies, as the next director of the FBI.” The president’s decision, editorialized the Washington Post, “maligned the Justice Department and invited Mr. Trump to draw equivalence between the Hunter Biden pardon and any future moves Mr. Trump might take against the impartial administration of justice.” Discount the Republicans, who are soaked in hypocrisy on this subject. There is real anguish among Biden’s fellow Democrats, such as Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, who headed the party’s Senate campaign effort. “A president’s family and allies shouldn’t get special treatment,” Peters said in a statement. “This was an improper use of power, it erodes trust in our government, and it emboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests.” Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland added on CNN: “A pardon at this point will be used against, I think, Democrats who were pushing to defend the Department of Justice against politicizing it, which is certainly what President Trump plans to do.” As Baker noted, one of Trump’s major efforts to bend justice is nominating Patel, a flag-waving, sword-brandishing warrior in his MAGA army, as the next FBI director. Patel has vowed to employ government power to punish Trump’s political enemies and wrote in his recent book: The FBI has “become so thoroughly compromised that it will remain a threat to the people unless drastic measures are taken.” He’s also aiming at journalists who dare to oppose Trump, telling Steve Bannon’s radio show, “We’re going to come after you, whether it’s criminally or civilly. We’ll figure that out.” Tradition dictates that a president gets to pick his own advisers. But tradition, at least in the half-century since Watergate, also mandates that the Justice Department and the FBI are different from other federal agencies and have a second set of loyalties — not just to the president, but to the rule of law and a fair judicial system. That’s precisely why lawmakers from both parties were so appalled at Trump’s first choice for Attorney General — the ethically indigent Matt Gaetz — that he was forced to withdraw within a week. If anything, the Patel nomination is even more indefensible, according to Republicans who served with him during Trump One. When Patel’s name was raised as a possible deputy director of the FBI, Attorney General Bill Barr recalls telling then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows it would only happen “over my dead body.” In his memoir, Barr wrote that Patel “had virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world’s preeminent law enforcement agency. The very idea of moving Patel into a role like this showed a shocking detachment from reality.” Trump also floated Patel’s name as a possible deputy director of the CIA, but as Axios reported, spy chief Gina Haspel “said she wouldn’t stand for it, and that she would resign before allowing Patel to assume a position as her deputy.” “No part of the FBI’s mission is safe with Kash Patel in any position of leadership in the FBI,” Andrew McCabe, deputy director of the bureau during Trump’s first term, told CNN. “If you enter into that position with nothing more than a desire to disrupt and destroy the organization, there is a lot of damage someone like Kash Patel could do.” Senators who believe in a system of laws and their impartial and independent enforcement have already defied Trump once by blocking Gaetz. Defeating Patel is just as vital. But Biden’s decision to pardon his son has made their task much more difficult. — Steven Roberts teaches politics and journalism at George Washington University. He can be contacted by email at stevecokie@gmail.com.How to Break Up Better
Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk , an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. In today’s edition, national political reporter Bridget Bowman and senior congressional reporter Scott Wong examine the House GOP's math problem after the final race call of the 2024 elections. Plus, we dive into the latest with Pete Hegseth's embattled bid to lead the Defense Department. Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here. Democrats flip final House seat of the 2024 elections, narrowing Republicans’ majority By Bridget Bowman and Scott Wong The final race Washington was waiting on from last month’s election has officially been called: NBC News projected Wednesday morning that Democrat Adam Gray defeated GOP Rep. John Duarte in California’s 13th District after weeks of ballot counting. The result means Republicans will control 220 seats to Democrats’ 215 next year. That will leave Republicans with even less margin for error as they try to advance President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda, as they can lose only two votes on legislation if Democrats are united in opposition. Further complicating the math for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is the fact that Trump has chosen two sitting GOP members for his Cabinet: Elise Stefanik of New York to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Mike Waltz of Florida to be national security adviser. And Republicans are already going to be down a lawmaker in the new Congress. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned from the House last month after Trump selected him to be the next attorney general. But Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration amid allegations of sexual misconduct. He has said he does not plan to join the next Congress even though he won re-election in November. If the Stefanik and Waltz resignations happen simultaneously, Johnson could be operating with just a one-seat majority: 217 to 215. The special general elections in Florida to replace Gaetz and Waltz won’t take place until April 1. Once Stefanik resigns from Congress, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has 10 days to declare a special election in New York, which must occur 70 to 80 days after the proclamation, according to state law . Read more → Pete Hegseth, Trump’s embattled defense pick, vows to fight on By Scott Wong, Frank Thorp V and Rebecca Shabad Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled pick for defense secretary, brushed aside suggestions Wednesday that he would drop out and said he had spoken to Trump, who he said urged him to “keep going, keep fighting.” “I spoke to the president-elect this morning. He said: ‘Keep going, keep fighting. I’m behind you all the way.’” Hegseth told CBS News in the Capitol. “Why would I back down? I’ve always been a fighter. I’m here for the fighters. This is personal and passionate for me.” But his nomination appeared to be in serious jeopardy Tuesday and Wednesday after a series of news reports raised more questions about his treatment of women and his history with alcohol. On Wednesday, Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, defended her son on “Fox and Friends” and addressed a 2018 email she wrote amid his divorce that accused him of mistreating women for years. The New York Times published details of the email last week. Hegseth showed no signs of calling it quits, holding a flurry of meetings with lawmakers on both sides of the Capitol and engaging in a media blitz to salvage his nomination, including writing an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal titled: “I’ve Faced Fire Before. I Won’t Back Down.” In response to the allegations, Hegseth referred reporters to an interview he recorded on former Fox News host Megyn Kelly’s SiriusXM show earlier in the day, in which he said he does not have a drinking problem and denied that he raped a woman in Monterey, California, in 2017. “Absolutely not. Absolutely not,” he said when he was asked whether he raped the woman. “I’ve been honest about that encounter, starting with law enforcement. ... I may have been drinking, but I was cognizant of enough to remember every single detail. “I’m not here to say that my conduct was good,” he continued. “Being in a hotel room with someone that’s, you know, not the person you’re with is not OK. I own up to that.” Hegseth also said he is “not going to have a drink at all” if he is confirmed as defense secretary, saying he wants Trump, senators and U.S. troops to know that he can be called 24/7 and will be “fully dialed in.” NBC News reported Wednesday morning that Trump is considering replacing Hegseth amid the opposition to his nomination. Others Trump could tap to lead the Pentagon, sources familiar with the decision-making said, are Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.; and Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., his current pick for national security adviser. Read more → The Trumpification of Joe Biden By Chuck Todd President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter has earned plenty of criticism — and most of it, even the harsh partisan-tinged kind of criticism, has real merit. There’s no defense of the pardon beyond this one: He’s a father, and what parents wouldn’t use whatever power they had to help their children in crisis? I’m not going to pretend that, facing a similar circumstance, I wouldn’t have made the same decision — do whatever it takes to protect my child even if it means destroying my own legacy. That is what makes criticism of Biden’s decision complicated. There’s a human element to this that’s tragic on so many levels. It truly does meet the definition of “Shakespearean,” an overused description in today’s world that nevertheless is a perfect fit for this event. Now, the question is: How much damage has Biden done under the auspices of protecting his son? Presidential acts are permission slips. Once a president has done something unprecedented, it means there’s a precedent. And once one president tries something and gets away with it, I promise you, a future one will try something similar. Well, welcome to a new precedent. The president has now overturned a jury of fellow American citizens, not some kangaroo court, who convicted his son. And he cleared him of not just the charges he has faced, but also of any future charges he could face from anything he may have done over a 10-year period from 2014 (when Hunter first tried to do business in Ukraine) to now. Who knows whether Donald Trump grants pardons before he leaves office that read almost identical to the Hunter Biden pardon — but that he makes the dates to June 15, 2015 (the day he rode down the escalator), to Jan. 20, 2029, his last day in office? Whatever the chances are, they have surely gone up. More importantly, Biden has now borrowed Trump’s rhetoric to describe what he views as Hunter’s experience with the justice system. What kind of precedent will we have set if both parties accept the premise that whoever’s elected is going to politically prosecute his or her opponents? It’s part of Biden’s rationale for the pardon. And it will surely be Trump’s rationale for future pardons. What’s the general public supposed to think of the justice system now? The leading Republican in the country (Trump) and the leading Democrat in the country (Biden) have both claimed the system is unjust because of politics. Read more from Chuck → ⚖️ Related read: The judge who presided over the California tax fraud case against Hunter Biden called out the president for mischaracterizing and minimizing the charges against his son in announcing why he was pardoning him. Read more → That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com And if you’re a fan, please share with everyone and anyone. They can sign up here .Supreme Court seems likely to uphold Tennessee's ban on treatments for transgender minors
At Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport, more than a year of war has taken its toll. Global airlines have canceled flights, gates are empty and pictures of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip guide the few arriving passengers to baggage claim. But one check-in desk remains flush with travelers: the one serving flights to the United Arab Emirates, which have kept up a bridge for Israelis to the outside world throughout the war. The Emirati flights, in addition to bolstering airlines’ bottom lines, have shined a light on the countries’ burgeoning ties — which have survived the wars raging across the Middle East and could be further strengthened as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to office. “It’s a political and economic statement,” said Joshua Teitelbaum, a professor of Middle Eastern studies at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University. “They are the main foreign airlines that continue to fly.” Since the wars began with Hamas’ initial Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, many international airlines have halted, restarted and halted again their flights into Israel’s main gateway to the rest of the world. The concern is real for the carriers, who remember the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine 10 years ago and Iran shooting down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 after takeoff from Tehran in 2020. But FlyDubai, the sister airline to the long-haul carrier Emirates, has kept up multiple flights daily and kept Israel connected to the wider world even as its other low-cost competitors have stopped flights. Abu Dhabi’s Etihad has continued its flights as well. While maintaining the flight schedule remains politically important for the UAE after its 2020 diplomatic recognition of Israel, it also provided a further shot in the arm for revenues — particularly for FlyDubai. Since the Israeli’s wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon started, international carriers such as Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, Germany’s Lufthansa and other major airlines halted their flights. Some resumed, only to stop again after Iran’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack on Israel and Israel’s Oct. 26 retaliatory strike on the Islamic Republic. Tehran has threatened to strike Israel again. That’s brought major business to Israel’s national carrier El Al, which had struggled in the coronavirus pandemic and prior years. The airline posted its best-ever half-year results this year, recording a $227 million profit as compared to $58 million profit in the same period last year. El Al stock has risen by as much 200% over the past year, as compared to a 29% rise in the wider Tel Aviv 125 stock market index. El Al, however, lacks the routes and connections of major international carriers. Low-cost carriers as well have stopped flying into Israel during periods of the war, sending the price of El Al tickets ever higher. Passenger numbers through Ben Gurion halved compared to the same period the year before, El Al said in its second-quarter financial results. However, FlyDubai has kept flying. The carrier has operated more than 1,800 flights to Israel since October 2023, cancelling only 77 flights overall, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company. In September alone, it flew more than 200 flights. As a line snaked toward the FlyDubai check-in counters at Ben Gurion Airport, UAE-bound Motti Eis said the flights were “a symbol that the Emirates countries decided to keep the peace.” FlyDubai declined to answer questions from The Associated Press about the flights. Etihad, the flag carrier for Abu Dhabi, has kept flying into Tel Aviv, but the number of its flights has been dwarfed by FlyDubai. FlyDubai had 3.6% market share at Ben Gurion, compared to El Al’s 43.2% in the second half of 2024. However, at least two of the foreign low-cost airlines with greater market, Wizz Air and Blue Bird, stopped flying for extended periods this year. Etihad said it maintains a close watch on the situation in the region, but continues its daily flights to and from Tel Aviv. “Ben Gurion International Airport remains open, employing best practices in safety and security practices, enabling Etihad and other airlines to provide essential air connectivity as long as it is secure to do so,” the airline said in a statement. Beyond the financial impact, the decision also takes root in the UAE’s decision to recognize Israel in 2020 under agreements brokered by President Donald Trump known as the Abraham Accords. While Abu Dhabi has repeatedly expressed concern and outrage at Israel’s conduct during the wars, Israel’s consulate in Dubai and embassy remain open in the country. And while Dubai, broadly speaking, remains focused on business in the country, Abu Dhabi’s focus long has been on its geopolitical aims — which since the 2011 Arab Spring have been squarely focused on challenging Islamist movements and those who back them in the wider region. The UAE, a hereditary autocracy, long has viewed those groups as serious challenges to its power. Get local news delivered to your inbox!They're here and they're spectacular. The rosters for the Four Nations Face-Off in February are set. We saw Sweden and Finland's rosters announced earlier on Wednesday, but now that we've got the rosters for Canada and Team USA it's time to dig in on how the American lineup shakes out. After all the leaks and rumors, we know who Team USA coach Mike Sullivan has to work with to try and win gold in the first-ever event. Many of the names are not a surprise. Heck, most of them shouldn't be a surprise given how we've been trying to pin down how it'll look for months now, but there are still plenty of takeaways from the way the United States group looks, and we've got some thoughts. There are winners and losers out of all of this and we're breaking them down for you. As always, let us know what you think of the roster and our thoughts in the comments, we want to hear 'em. One of the classic tropes with team building for a short tournament is how coaches and GMs alike want to have a veteran presence on the team. Veterans, of course, are more mature, more experienced, and (ideally) less rattled in big moments. They've been there before, and they know what it takes to persevere, and coach Mike Sullivan has exactly that kind of team to work with for the Four Nations Face-Off. The US roster has more players born before 1994 (five) than players born after the year 2000 (three). What they get with veterans like Chris Kreider, Brock Nelson, J.T. Miller, Connor Hellebuyck and Vincent Trocheck are guys who have been through it all and have lived the experiences of playing in big games. That's not even taking into account other "older" guys like 30-year-olds forward Jake Guentzel who played for Sullivan and won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 or defenseman Jaccob Slavin playing for a perennial contender in Carolina. When going up against Canada who attacks with wave after wave of the best players in the world, that experience (ideally) helps to battle against them and not get stunned at potentially watching one of the scariest five-man units ever put together coming at them or defending against their own attack. Being a deer in the headlights in this kind of tournament turns you into roadkill fast. Putting a roster together is difficult because there are hard decisions to be made at every position, but the United States brain trust better hope they don't lose because of a lack of goal-scoring. Three of the top five American goal-scorers did not make the roster. Canadiens winger Cole Caufield (16), Sabres center Tage Thompson (13) and Devils winger Stefan Noesen (13) did not make the cut up front. USA GM Bill Guerin opted for a little more defense and snarl with Vincent Trocheck along with size and strength around the net with Chris Kreider and Brock Nelson. Caufield, Thompson and Noesen are certainly more likely to be classified as shooters with Caufield and Thompson being especially dangerous on the power play and with the puck on their stick. At 23 years old, Caufield will certainly be a candidate for the Olympics in a couple years and Thompson at 27 years old should be as well. At 31, Noesen will need to keep being an advanced stat machine while also continuing to score goals to get more attention. We knew that no matter what, Team USA's goaltending was going to be unmatched for this tournament and the selections of Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman hammer that home. With Thatcher Demko still battling back from injury, these three goalies were destined to get the call for the 4 Nations Face-Off and it's hard to go wrong in picking any of them to start any game at all. Sure, Sweden and Finland have excellent depth, and Canada is going to find a way to make it work for themselves by having an incredible team in front of their netminders, but this trio for the U.S. is a dream team type setup. You'd have to expect Hellebuyck to be the No. 1 with Oettinger backing up while Swayman holds it down to pinch hit, but honestly, if anyone struggles at all, there is no reason to worry about switching things up because there's very little drop in quality. The only downside, of course, is only one goalie can play at a time. It's a wealth of riches in goal for the Americans and they've got a Scrooge McDuck money bin to swim around in. Arguably one of the best parts of best-on-best international tournaments is how naturally heated the games get, particularly when it's a rivalry matchup. Emotions are already running high with guys representing their country and attempting to prove they're the best hockey nation in the world. It's that emotional side that makes the Team USA roster so much more dangerous and deeply frustrating. Mike Sullivan will be able to potentially run a line out there with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk together with Vincent Trocheck at a given moment means opponents have to do their best to turn the other cheek and skate away. If opponents give into the poking, prodding, chirping and cheap-shotting they'll get to experience at the Tkachuk's hands, they'll wind up in the penalty box and allowing a team as stacked as the United States with Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Jack Hughes, Kyle Connor and Adam Fox among everyone else to get on the power play is a recipe for disaster and an easy loss. Make no mistake, the Tkachuk brothers are there because they're tremendous all-around players who can fill up the net and set up linemates for scoring opportunities. But they're also there to make sure whoever they're up against has a miserable experience for 60 minutes each game. Sometimes picking a team isn't always about picking the absolute best players no matter what. Like it or not, politics plays a role in how a roster is assembled and when there are so many hard choices to make, there are tiebreakers involved, and managers are going to go with the players they know best. For Team USA GM Bill Guerin that meant keeping the peace at home in Minnesota. If there was a toss-up on defense between, say, Capitals veteran John Carlson, Shayne Gostisbehere of Carolina and Wild youngster Brock Faber, the question you have to ask is who does Guerin know best? Faber is an outstanding defenseman already in the NHL, but he's also the youngest member of Team USA at 22 years old. He's worthy of selection, but he's also currently ninth among American defensemen in scoring. You can have the same discussion about Matt Boldy getting the call up front over the likes of Cole Caufield, Tage Thompson, Clayton Keller, Alex Tuch, or Stefan Noesen. Some of those guys are older and some are stronger in specialist roles than Boldy and others have more international experience, but while Boldy is among the top American scorers this season, the ultimate tiebreaker is that Guerin makes the final call and he wants his guy there because he trusts him. If there's some kind of awkward comfort here it's that even in picking an international all-star roster, sometimes it's more about who you know than what you do even if what you do is freakin' good anyway.
NoneF or Nigel Farage, could this be third time lucky? The right-wing populist party-hopper entered the fray with Ukip, which played a key role in bringing about the referendum on European Union membership. Then came the Brexit Party, which helped end Theresa May’s premiership. His third vehicle, Reform UK, split the Conservative vote and helped Sir Keir Starmer gain a thumping majority at the last general election, as well as returning five of its own MPs. As Sir Keir struggles to define his government and Kemi Badenoch contends with the Tories’ baleful legacy after 14 years in government, Mr Farage is seizing on the electorate’s growing disillusionment with the mainstream . The Reform UK leader hopes that his political career to date is merely the preludeOTTAWA — Cowessess First Nation Chief Erica Beaudin says she is "disappointed' that Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer used clean drinking water legislation as a political "tactic." Bill C-61 recognizes First Nations have an inherent right to clean drinking water and commits the government to providing "adequate and sustainable" funding for water services in First Nations. It remains stalled at third reading in the House of Commons because of an ongoing privilege debate that has prevented the consideration of bills since late September. Today Liberal MP Jaime Battiste asked for unanimous consent to forward the First Nations Clean Drinking Water Act to the Senate but several MPs said no. Scheer, who's riding includes Cowessess, rose immediately afterward for a similar motion that also condemned the Liberal government for inaction but it was also defeated. While Cowessess doesn't currently have a boil water advisory, Beaudin says people in her community rely on bottled water because they don't trust what comes from their taps. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024. David Baxter, The Canadian Press
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A freelance photographer and local government official from Illinois has been arrested on charges alleging he joined a mob's attack on the U.S. Capitol and pushed against a police officer’s riot shield, according to court records unsealed on Friday. Patrick Gorski, 27, was arrested in Chicago on Thursday on charges including obstructing law enforcement officers during a civil disorder, a felony. A federal judge ordered him released on bond after his initial court appearance. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get any of our free email newsletters — news headlines, obituaries, sports, and more.Quebec condemns Nazi reference at pro-Palestinian protest in Montreal
