7 sphere

NonePam Bondi, Donald Trump's pick to be attorney general, is a staunch ally of the former president, defending him against impeachment during his first term and pushing his false claims of election fraud as he sought to cling on to the White House. The 59-year-old former Florida attorney general, if confirmed by the Senate, will now serve as the top law enforcement official in a second Trump administration. "For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans -- Not anymore," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network. "Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again." Bondi's nomination means the top ranks of the Justice Department will be filled by Trump loyalists, as the president-elect has named three of the lawyers who defended him in his multiple criminal cases to its other high-ranking roles. Trump tapped Bondi to be attorney general on Thursday after his first pick, firebrand ex-Florida lawmaker Matt Gaetz, dropped out amid sexual misconduct allegations and doubts that he could obtain Senate confirmation. A graduate of the University of Florida with a law degree from Stetson University, Bondi served as a prosecutor for 18 years before being elected attorney general of the "Sunshine State" in 2010, the first woman to hold the post. Bondi, a native of Trump's adopted home state of Florida, was reelected to a second term in 2014. As attorney general, Bondi notably fought opioid addiction and human trafficking while taking a tough stance on crime and supporting the death penalty. She sued BP for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and obtained more than $2 billion in economic relief for Florida, according to her biography page at Ballard Partners, a powerful lobbying firm where she has worked after leaving office. While serving as attorney general, Bondi was drawn into a controversy involving Trump when she declined in 2013 to join a multi-state prosecution accusing Trump University of fraud. It emerged later that Bondi's reelection committee had received a $25,000 donation from the charitable Trump Foundation. Both Trump and Bondi denied any wrongdoing. Bondi joined Trump's legal team during his first impeachment trial, in which he was alleged to have pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to find political dirt on his 2020 election opponent, Democrat Joe Biden. Trump was impeached by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives but acquitted by the Republican-majority Senate. After the 2020 election, Bondi made television appearances on behalf of Trump and pushed to de-legitimize vote counting in battleground states as part of the push by the former president to overturn the results of the vote. Bondi has also criticized the criminal cases brought against Trump, appearing in solidarity at his New York trial, where he was convicted of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star. At Ballard Partners, Bondi has done work for Amazon, General Motors and Uber and as a registered lobbyist for the oil-rich Gulf nation of Qatar, according to press reports. She is also a member of the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-aligned right-wing think tank. cl/dw7 sphere 。

EU strikes €10.6 billion deal to launch homegrown Starlink competitor by 2030

DALLAS, Texas, Dec. 16, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Skyhawks Sports, a Stack Sports company, is proud to announce the winner and finalists of the 2024 Coach of the Year Award. This annual accolade honors coaches who exemplify exceptional dedication, leadership, and a commitment to fostering positive sports experiences for young athletes. Jason Frazier, General Manager of Skyhawks, expressed his admiration for the coaches: “Our coaches are the heartbeat of Skyhawks, dedicating themselves to nurturing young athletes both on and off the field. Their commitment not only create fun sports experiences but also teach life lessons that resonate beyond the game is what makes them great coaches.” WINNER: FINALISTS: Coach Michael “Mikey” Monary has been an invaluable asset to the Skyhawks Sports Academy in Orange County. His passion and determination to continually improve as a coach have cultivated a significant following among local organizations, often resulting in waitlists exceeding 20 children. Parents frequently request Coach Mikey, with some traveling to different cities to enroll their children in his classes. Coach Mikey’s versatility allows him to coach any sport and age group, and he proactively expands his expertise, even taking private tennis lessons to better serve his students. His commitment to providing positive experiences for children exemplifies the core values of Skyhawks Sports. Jeff Brunsberg, Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer at Stack Sports, added: “Recognizing these outstanding coaches underscores our mission to increase participation and transform the sports experience. Their passion and dedication are pivotal in creating positive, lasting impacts in the communities we serve.” Skyhawks Sports remains dedicated to providing quality youth sports programs that emphasize critical life skills such as teamwork, respect, and sportsmanship. The organization congratulates Michael Monary and all the finalists for their exceptional contributions to youth sports. About Skyhawks Founded in Spokane, Washington in 1979, Skyhawks has established itself as one of the largest youth sport program providers in North America. Skyhawks provides a wide variety of fun, safe and positive programs that emphasize critical lessons by “teaching life skills through sports”. Programs range from week-long summer camps to after-school programs, clinics, and leagues for children aged 18mths to 14 in a variety of sports. About Stack Sports With nearly 50 million users in 35 countries, Stack Sports is a global technology leader in SaaS platform offerings for the sports industry. The company provides world-class software and services to support national governing bodies, youth sports associations, leagues, clubs, parents, coaches, and athletes. Some of the largest and most prominent sports organizations including the U.S. Soccer Federation, Little League Baseball and Softball, and Pop Warner Little Scholars rely on Stack Sports technology to run and manage their organizations. Stack Sports is headquartered in Dallas and is leading the industry one team at a time focusing on four key pillars — Grassroots Engagement, Participation Growth, Recruiting Pathways, and Elite Player Development. To learn more about how Stack Sports is transforming the sports experience, please visit https://stacksports.com/ . NEWS SOURCE: Stack Sports Keywords: Sports and Activities, Skyhawks Sports 2024 Coach of the Year Award, Stack Sports, Supertots, youth sports programs, DALLAS, Texas This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Stack Sports) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire . Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P122869 APDF15TBLLI To view the original version, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/skyhawks-sports-announces-2024-coach-of-the-year-winner-and-finalists/ © 2024 Send2Press® Newswire, a press release distribution service, Calif., USA. Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.6 Pope: Didn’t have much to do other than the goals, where he was let down by those in front. 6 Livramento: Tried to drive forward at every opportunity, especially in the first half. 6 Schar: Solid enough. Didn’t have an awful lot to do. 4 Kelly : Lost Soucek for West Ham’s crucial early opener. Good tackle on Summerville in second half but booked for foul on Bowen. Failed to take big chance in absence of Burn. 7 Hall: Newcastle’s best player again. Lively and full of running and positive intent. Went close on a couple of occasions. 5 Longstaff: Never really settled and got a grip of the game. Replaced on the hour. 5 Willock: Worked hard and went close with one chance but midfield a bit chaotic at times .Was hurt in accidental clash with his own teammate Longstaff and replaced at the break. 6 Bruno : Brilliant first half pass to create chance for Isak. Robbed of possession in build-up to decisive second goal. 5 Gordon: Missed glorious first half chance when he was denied by Fabianski and failed to make the most of several promising openings. 5 Joelinton: Couldn’t get into the game. 6 Isak: Promising start with disallowed goal and a threat in the first half but starved of service after the break. Substitutes: 5 Barnes (for Willock, 46): Failed to make an impact from the bench. 6 Tonali (for Longstaff, 57): Change didn’t have the desired effect. Tidy enough but Newcastle ran out of steam and ideas. Wilson (for Gordon, 68): N/A Murphy (for Joelinton, 69): N/A Trippier (for Bruno, 84): N/A Subs not used : Dubravka, Almiron, Targett, Osula WEST HAM: Fabiański 7, Wan-Bissaka 7, Todibo 5 (Mavropanos, 56), Kilman 6, Emerson 7 (Coufal, 75), Soler 8 (Rodríguez, 84), Souček 8, Paquetá 8, Summerville 7 (Irving, 84), Bowen 8, Antonio 7 (Ings, 75) SUBS NOT USED: Areola (GK), Cresswell, Scarles, Luis Guilherme Man of the Match : Bowen. West Ham’s captain was a threat and used the ball superbly throughout. He made the decisive second goal for Wan-Bissaka.BUCHAREST (Reuters) -A hard-right critic of NATO who has praised Russia is set to face a centre-right opposition leader in a presidential election run-off in Romania that could undermine its pro-Western stance after a shock outcome in the first-round vote. Independent hard-right politician Calin Georgescu, 62, won 22.94% of votes in Sunday's voting, the electoral authority said. Centre-right contender Elena Lasconi, leader of the opposition Save Romania Union, lay second with 19.18%. The outcome was a shock as pre-election opinion polls had made leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu the frontrunner. Ciolacu said he would resign as party leader following the result but would remain in the role of prime minister until a parliamentary election scheduled on Dec. 1. The candidate of the centre-right Liberals, Ciolacu's coalition partners, also failed to secure a place in the election run-off, which will be held on Dec. 8. Campaigning focused largely on the soaring cost of living in Romania, which is a member of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and has the EU's biggest share of people at risk of poverty. "I have voted for the wronged, the humiliated, those who feel they do not matter in this world," Georgescu said on Sunday. "Today, the vote is a prayer for the nation." Lasconi attempted to highlight her pro-Western stance in comments made late on Monday: "Yes, Europe. Yes, NATO." Georgescu had been polling in low-single digits before the vote and ran a Tik Tok-driven campaign. "Just imagine, we are in a position where we could have a far-right president," political scientist Cristian Pirvulescu said. "This is where the establishment parties have led us, first by vehemently denying the existence of a hybrid war and then by falling into it. His chances of winning are high." Romania's sovereign euro bonds fell nearly 2 cents on Monday following the first round of voting. Asked about the election outcome, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "I would not make any predictions yet. We probably cannot say that we are that familiar with the world view of this candidate as far as relations with our country are concerned." "For now, we understand very clearly the current leadership of Romania, which is not a friendly country to us. We will of course watch how the electoral processes develop and who wins." PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION LOOMS A few hundred people gather in central Bucharest on Monday evening to protest against Georgescu, some carrying banners "No, thank you, CG". But hard-right groupings are likely to receive an electoral boost from his success when the southeast European country of 19 million votes in the Dec. 1 parliamentary election. Mainstream parties have not officially endorsed either candidate in the presidential run-off on Dec. 8. Georgescu is a former member of a hard-right opposition party who has praised Ion Antonescu, Romania's de facto World War Two leader who was sentenced to death for his part in Romania's Holocaust, and Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, leader of a pre-war violent anti-Semitic movement. Georgescu has called a NATO ballistic missile defence shield in Romania a "shame of diplomacy" and questioned whether the Western military alliance would protect any of its members if they were attacked by Russia. He said Romania's best chance lay with "Russian wisdom," but has refused to say explicitly whether he supports Russia. On Monday, he spoke about the need for Romania to maintain "neutrality", in an echo of rhetoric often used by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. "There is no East or West. There is only Romania and the peace of our people. Our economic and social stability comes from an absolutely necessary neutrality." Romania, which was under Communist rule for four decades until 1989, shares a 650-km (400-mile) border with Ukraine. Since Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, Romania has enabled the export of millions of tons of grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta and provided military aid, including the donation of a Patriot air defence battery. In Izvorani, a village near capital Bucharest from which Georgescu ran his campaign, Alexandru Stelu Ghita wondered if the country could be repaired. "Everything was sold off, what can be repaired, agriculture is working badly, industry is working badly," he said. Pirvulescu said retaining control of parliament would be important for pro-Western forces to serve as a counterbalance to Georgescu if he becomes president. The president, who is limited to two five-year terms, has a semi-executive role which includes heading Romania's armed forces and chairing the council that decides on military aid. The president represents Romania at EU and NATO summits and appoints the prime minister, chief judges, prosecutors and secret service heads. The current head of state, Klaus Iohannis, won power in 2014 on a promise to bolster the fight against endemic corruption. (Reporting by Luiza Ilie, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Alistair Bell)

The FBI and Homeland Security say they want more authority to deal with drones amid strange East Coast sightingsControl Bionics inks strategic deals

Should parents of school bullies face consequences? Some NH politicians think so.

A healthful and shelf-staple plant food — they last for years when dried — beans have been among a home cook’s most reliable pantry items for a very long time.The Japanese tech titan SoftBank will invest $100 billion in the United States, creating at least 100,000 jobs, US President-elect Donald Trump said Monday, in a boost to his incoming administration. “This historic investment is a monumental demonstration of confidence in America’s future,” Trump said during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. “It will help ensure that artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and other industries of tomorrow are built, created and grown right here in the USA,” added Trump, who takes office from US President Joe Biden next month. Speaking alongside Trump, SoftBank’s chief executive Masayoshi Son confirmed the investment company’s financial commitment and pledged to create 100,000 jobs, adding that Trump’s victory had “tremendously increased” his confidence in the American economy. “I am truly excited to make this happen,” added Son, 67. – Second commitment – The announcement from Son is around double the amount he committed SoftBank to in December 2016, shortly before Trump began his first term as president. The Japanese firm ultimately parted with close to $100 billion through its Vision Fund, with much of the money supplied by sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. “President Trump is a double-down president,” Son said on Monday, adding: “I’m going to have to double down.” Stephen Moore, an economic advisor to Donald Trump, said the announcement marked a “great day.” “The importation of capital into the US is a huge leading indicator for jobs and prosperity to come,” Moore, an economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, told AFP in a message. – Cutting red tape – Related News Syria: Blinken arrives in Turkey for talks US imposes trade restrictions on China, Russia firms US offers $10m reward for wanted Chinese hacker Son made his name with successful early investments in Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba and internet pioneer Yahoo, but has also bet on catastrophic failures such as WeWork. He has repeatedly said that “artificial superintelligence” will arrive in a decade, bringing new inventions, new medicine, new knowledge and new ways to invest. Last month, CNBC reported that ChatGPT creator OpenAI will enable its employees to sell shares worth roughly $1.5 billion to SoftBank. The SoftBank Group posted a bumper second-quarter net profit last month, returning to the black after net losses in the first quarter and the previous financial year. Son’s announcement is a boost to the incoming Trump administration, which takes office on January 20, 2025. On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to boost the US economy by cutting red tape and fast-tracking investments, including into the oil and gas sector. Some analysts have voiced concerns that several Trump proposals, such as slapping new tariffs on US imports and deporting millions of undocumented workers, could hurt growth and cause a spike in inflation. “The increased likelihood of substantial new tariffs on US imports would have the most consequential effect on economic growth,” economists at Wells Fargo wrote in a recent note to clients, adding they had “bumped up” their inflation outlook and slightly cut their GDP forecast. Other analysts say the level of economic pain caused by Trump’s tariff plans will largely depend on how widespread they are. “The impact on inflation need not be particularly significant for monetary policy,” economists at Goldman Sachs wrote in a recent investor note. But, they added “this could change if the White House imposes a 10% universal tariff,” referring to one of Trump’s proposals on the campaign trail. AFPElection battlelines are being drawn – and not by AlbaneseLAHORE: On the 6th day of her 08-day long China visit, Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif announced the establishment of a working group, the appointment of a focal person and the establishment of a help desk while chairing a roundtable investment conference in Guangzhou, which was attended by officials of more than 60 prominent companies from China and Hong Kong. Representatives of leading Chinese companies in the fields of health, Artificial Intelligence, agriculture, information technology, waste management, solar energy and other sectors gave detailed presentations on their institutions. She also reviewed various suggestions and recommendations for the promotion of Pak-China free trade. The Chief Minister invited the Chinese technology companies to start operations in Punjab. Responding to her invitation, Chinese technology companies expressed keen interest in investing in Punjab. She vowed to facilitate them through one-window operation. She declared Punjab a “Land of Opportunity” for the Chinese companies. She thanked them for participating in the investment conference, and gave them a detailed briefing on the economic, geographical and business importance of Punjab. Representatives of the Chinese companies appreciated the vision of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, and appreciated her launch of no-plastic campaign in Punjab. The Chief Minister said, “We have launched ‘No to Plastic’ campaign in Punjab to protect the environment. We have imposed a ban on the sale, purchase and production of plastic that affects the environment.” She said, “The arrival of officials from Chinese companies even on holiday is very encouraging for us.” She added, “The zero-waste mission has started under ‘Suthra Punjab’, and we will welcome the support and cooperation of Chinese companies in this regard. Punjab is also starting a project to convert waste into renewable energy.” She said, “Mechanization is being carried out to take the agriculture on the path of innovation. Focus is being given to windmills, solar energy and renewable energy sources to obtain cheap electricity. Reforms are being introduced in the industry to improve the ecosystem. Demand for solar energy is continuously increasing in Punjab. A mega project for solarization has been launched in Punjab. We will welcome the collaboration of Chinese companies in the solarization project.” She added, “The agriculture sub-sectors of automation manufacturing, food processing and hybrid seed development will be made possible through collaboration with the Chinese companies. We want to utilize valuable asset of young industrial human resources in Punjab. We intend to start using bio and hydrogen technology.” The Chief Minister said, “Innovation in the IT sector is need of the hour. Punjab will welcome investment in e-commerce, incubator centres, and e-learning. Nawaz Sharif wants to make IT City state-of-the-art, Chinese companies can invest here.” She noted, “Response of the Chinese investors to promote Pak-China relations is encouraging. Pakistan is a gateway to Central Asia, the Middle East and other countries. Pakistan is a valuable part of the global trade route.” She said, “Telemedicine technique will benefit from China’s health system.” She added, “Agriculture can be revolutionized through nanotechnology. We want to introduce water-efficient irrigation system in Punjab. This is the best time for the Chinese companies to take advantage of business opportunities in Punjab.” Copyright Business Recorder, 2024

NoneHildebrandt scores 9 as High Point knocks off Appalachian State 65-59