Treasurers Step Into Spotlight as Strategic Backbone of 21st Century Businesses
By MICHELLE L. PRICE and ROB GILLIES NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s recent dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his visit to Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral were not just exercises in policy and diplomacy. They were also prime trolling opportunities for Trump. Related Articles National Politics | Biden issues veto threat on bill expanding federal judiciary as partisan split emerges National Politics | Trump lawyers and aide hit with 10 additional felony charges in Wisconsin over 2020 fake electors National Politics | After withdrawing as attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz lands a talk show on OANN television National Politics | What will happen to Social Security under Trump’s tax plan? National Politics | Republican-led states are rolling out plans that could aid Trump’s mass deportation effort Throughout his first term in the White House and during his campaign to return, Trump has spun out countless provocative, antagonizing and mocking statements. There were his belittling nicknames for political opponents, his impressions of other political figures and the plentiful memes he shared on social media. Now that’s he’s preparing to return to the Oval Office, Trump is back at it, and his trolling is attracting more attention — and eyerolls. On Sunday, Trump turned a photo of himself seated near a smiling first lady Jill Biden at the Notre Dame ceremony into a social media promo for his new perfume and cologne line, with the tag line, “A fragrance your enemies can’t resist!” The first lady’s office declined to comment. When Trudeau hastily flew to Florida to meet with Trump last month over the president-elect’s threat to impose a 25% tax on all Canadian products entering the U.S., the Republican tossed out the idea that Canada become the 51st U.S. state. The Canadians passed off the comment as a joke, but Trump has continued to play up the dig, including in a post Tuesday morning on his social media network referring to the prime minister as “Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada.” After decades as an entertainer and tabloid fixture, Trump has a flair for the provocative that is aimed at attracting attention and, in his most recent incarnation as a politician, mobilizing fans. He has long relished poking at his opponents, both to demean and minimize them and to delight supporters who share his irreverent comments and posts widely online and cheer for them in person. Trump, to the joy of his fans, first publicly needled Canada on his social media network a week ago when he posted an AI-generated image that showed him standing on a mountain with a Canadian flag next to him and the caption “Oh Canada!” After his latest post, Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday: “It sounds like we’re living in a episode of South Park.” Trudeau said earlier this week that when it comes to Trump, “his approach will often be to challenge people, to destabilize a negotiating partner, to offer uncertainty and even sometimes a bit of chaos into the well established hallways of democracies and institutions and one of the most important things for us to do is not to freak out, not to panic.” Even Thanksgiving dinner isn’t a trolling-free zone for Trump’s adversaries. On Thanksgiving Day, Trump posted a movie clip from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” with President Joe Biden and other Democrats’ faces superimposed on the characters in a spoof of the turkey-carving scene. The video shows Trump appearing to explode out of the turkey in a swirl of purple sparks, with the former president stiffly dancing to one of his favorite songs, Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” In his most recent presidential campaign, Trump mocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, refusing to call his GOP primary opponent by his real name and instead dubbing him “Ron DeSanctimonious.” He added, for good measure, in a post on his Truth Social network: “I will never call Ron DeSanctimonious ‘Meatball’ Ron, as the Fake News is insisting I will.” As he campaigned against Biden, Trump taunted him in online posts and with comments and impressions at his rallies, deriding the president over his intellect, his walk, his golf game and even his beach body. After Vice President Kamala Harris took over Biden’s spot as the Democratic nominee, Trump repeatedly suggested she never worked at McDonalds while in college. Trump, true to form, turned his mocking into a spectacle by appearing at a Pennsylvania McDonalds in October, when he manned the fries station and held an impromptu news conference from the restaurant drive-thru. Trump’s team thinks people should get a sense of humor. “President Trump is a master at messaging and he’s always relatable to the average person, whereas many media members take themselves too seriously and have no concept of anything else other than suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome,” said Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director. “President Trump will Make America Great Again and we are getting back to a sense of optimism after a tumultuous four years.” Though both the Biden and Harris campaigns created and shared memes and launched other stunts to respond to Trump’s taunts, so far America’s neighbors to the north are not taking the bait. “I don’t think we should necessarily look on Truth Social for public policy,” Miller said. Gerald Butts, a former top adviser to Trudeau and a close friend, said Trump brought up the 51st state line to Trudeau repeatedly during Trump’s first term in office. “Oh God,” Butts said Tuesday, “At least a half dozen times.” “This is who he is and what he does. He’s trying to destabilize everybody and make people anxious,” Butts said. “He’s trying to get people on the defensive and anxious and therefore willing to do things they wouldn’t otherwise entertain if they had their wits about them. I don’t know why anybody is surprised by it.” Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Giants organization got exactly what it deserved in getting blown out by Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Giants were embarrassed in Sunday's 30-7 loss , taunted by Mayfield after a touchdown run just before halftime. And then they saw their fans walk out on them again when the Bucs extended their lead to 30-0 and sent New York (2-9) to its sixth straight loss. The losing streak is the longest for the Giants since 2019, when they dropped a franchise-record nine straight games to finish 4-12. That led to the firing of coach Pat Shurmur after two seasons. Third-year coach Brian Daboll is clearly in trouble, with the Giants guaranteed a second straight losing season. They were 6-11 in a 2023 season that featured a lot of injuries. Daboll, who denies he has lost the team, isn't the only one whose job is in jeopardy. General manager Joe Schoen is on the hot seat and so is this entire franchise, which is celebrating its 100th year. It's one thing to lose. It's quite another to give up, and that's what the organization did when it decided to bench Daniel Jones a week ago and then release him on Friday after the 27-year-old asked co-owner John Mara to let him walk away. While he wasn't playing well, Jones was the Giants' best quarterback. He gave them more a of chance to win than either Tommy DeVito or Drew Lock. Removing him from the picture was all but certain to make the Giants worse, even if it was a good business decision. If Jones was hurt and unable the pass his physical before the 2025 season, the team would have been on the hook for a $23 million cap hit. The problem is the players care about now. By getting rid of Jones and elevating DeVito to the starting role, the front office was telling the team it didn't care about winning with seven games left in the season. So the players gave a lackluster effort. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence called the team soft. Rookie receiver Malik Nabers said he was sick of losing. Left tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said he saw a lack of effort by some players. What they all were saying was they were angry at being betrayed. Money is never more important than winning, and the Giants made that mistake. At this point in the season? Nothing. The offense once again. The Giants have scored a league-low 163 points, including only 60 in six games at MetLife Stadium, where they are winless this season. They have scored in double figures at home twice. Daboll's team has been held scoreless in the first half in three of 11 games and it has been held without a first-half touchdown seven times. Daboll said he will continue to call the offensive plays. S Tyler Nubin. The rookie has had a team-high 12 tackles in each of the last two games. His 81 tackles for the season are just two behind team leader Bobby Okereke. RB Tyrone Tracy. The rookie leads Giants running backs with 587 yards on 116 carries — a 5.1-yard average for the fifth-round pick. But holding onto the ball has been a big issue. Tracy's fumble in overtime cost New York a chance to win in Germany against Carolina. He also lost the ball in the third quarter at the Bucs 5-yard line with New York down 23-0. It earned him a seat on the bench. LT Jermaine Eluemunor (quad) and OLB Azeez Ojulari (toe) left Sunday's game in the first quarter. Chris Hubbard filled in at tackle and the Giants luckily got back DL Kayvon Thibodeaux this past week after he missed five games with a broken wrist. DeVito was banged up but Daboll expects him to start against the Cowboys. 10 — The Giants have gone 10 consecutive games without an interception, tying the NFL record held by the 1976-77 San Francisco 49ers and the 2017 Oakland — now Las Vegas — Raiders. The Giants and Raiders now share the single-season mark. A national showcase on Thanksgiving Day for the NFC-worst Giants at Dallas. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdrawsFirst batch of Canadian-made low-carbon jet fuel emerges from B.C. refinery
Words on ammo in CEO shooting echo common phrase on insurer tactics: Delay, deny, defend A message left at the scene of an insurance executive’s fatal shooting echoes a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims. The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were written on the ammunition used to kill UnitedHealthcare's CEO. That's according to two officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday. The words are similar to the phrase “delay, deny, defend.” That's how attorneys describe insurers denying services and payment, and the title of a 2010 book critical of the industry. Police haven’t officially commented on the words. But Thompson’s shooting and the messages on the ammunition have sparked outrage on social media and elsewhere, reflecting frustration Americans have over the cost and complexity of getting care. Bitcoin has surpassed the $100,000 mark as the post-election rally continues. What's next? NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin has topped the $100,000 mark, extending a rally in the world’s most popular cryptocurrency sparked by the election of Donald Trump. The milestone comes just hours after the president-elect signaled a lighter regulatory approach to the crypto industry with his choice of crypto advocate Paul Atkins to be the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bitcoin has soared to unprecedented heights since Trump won the election Nov. 5. The cryptocurrency has climbed dramatically from $69,374 on Election Day and rose to more than $103,000 before falling back below $100,000 by Thursday afternoon. US judge rejects Boeing's plea deal in a conspiracy case stemming from fatal plane crashes DALLAS (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a deal that would have let Boeing to plead guilty to a felony conspiracy charge and pay a fine for misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed and 346 people died. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas said that diversity, inclusion and equity or DEI policies in the government and at Boeing could result in race being a factor in picking an official to oversee Boeing’s compliance with the agreement. His ruling on Thursday creates uncertainty around the criminal prosecution of the aerospace giant. The judge gave Boeing and the Justice Department 30 days to tell him how they plan to proceed. McKinsey subsidiary will pay $122M for scheme to bribe South African officials, US says WASHINGTON (AP) — An African subsidiary of the consulting firm McKinsey & Company Inc. will pay a criminal penalty of more than $122 million to resolve a U.S. Justice Department investigation into a yearslong scheme to bribe South African government officials. The Justice Department says the scheme involved bribes to officials with South Africa’s state-owned and state-controlled custodian of ports, rails, and pipelines, as well as its state-controlled energy company. It netted McKinsey Africa and its parent company $85 million in profits between 2012 and 2016, officials said. McKinsey said in a statement that it “welcomes the resolution of these matters and the closure of this regretful situation.” EPA hails 'revitalized' enforcement efforts as Biden administration heads to exit WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency says it concluded more than 1,850 civil cases this year, a 3.4% increase over 2023, and charged 121 criminal defendants, a 17.6% increase over the previous year. The agency also issued $1.7 billion in financial penalties, more than double last year's total. Thursday's report was the final one account of Biden-era enforcement actions before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. Enforcement efforts included first-ever criminal charges for a California man accused of smuggling climate-damaging air coolants into the United States. Engine maker Cummins Inc. paid more than $2 billion in fines and penalties after it was found to use illegal software to skirt diesel emissions tests. Work-life balance isn't working for women. Why? NEW YORK (AP) — About half of working women reported feeling stressed “a lot of the day,” compared to about 4 in 10 men, according to a Gallup report published Wednesday. The report suggests that competing demands of work and home comprise part of the problem: working women who are parents or guardians are more likely than men who are parents to say they have declined or delayed a promotion at work because of personal or family obligations, and mothers are more likely than fathers to “strongly agree” that they are the default responders for unexpected child care issues. But changing workplace culture and prioritizing well-being can improve the problem, according to Karen Guggenheim, creator of the World Happiness Summit. From outsider to the Oval Office, bitcoin surges as a new administration embraces crypto NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin burst on the scene after trust had withered in the financial system and Washington’s ability to protect people from it. Now, it’s Washington’s embrace of bitcoin that’s sending it to records. Bitcoin briefly surged above $103,000 after President-elect Donald Trump said he will nominate Paul Atkins, who's seen as friendly to crypto, to be the Securities and Exchange Commission's next chair. The crypto industry, meanwhile, did its part to bring politicians friendly to digital currencies into Washington. It's a twist from bitcoin's early days, when it was lauded as a kind of electronic cash that wouldn’t be beholden to any government or financial institution. Stock market today: Wall Street edges back from its records as bitcoin briefly pops above $100,000 NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks edged back from their records as Wall Street counted down to a big jobs report that’s coming on Friday. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.2% from its own all-time high. The crypto market had more action, and bitcoin briefly burst to a record above $103,000 before falling back toward $99,000. It's climbed dramatically since Election Day on hopes President-elect Donald Trump will be more friendly to crypto. Airline stocks were strong, while Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. Key members of OPEC+ alliance are putting off production increases amid slack crude prices FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Eight members of the OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries have decided to put off increasing oil production as they face weaker than expected demand and competing production from non-allied countries — factors that could keep oil prices stagnant into next year. The OPEC+ members decided at an online meeting to postpone by three months production increases that had been scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. The plan had been to start gradually restoring 2.2 million barrels per day over the course of 2025. That process will now be pushed back to April 1, 2025 and production increases will gradually take place over 18 months until October 2026. Eli Lilly invests $3B to expand Wisconsin factory to help meet demand for Mounjaro, Zepbound Eli Lilly is spending another $3 billion to bulk up manufacturing as the drugmaker seeks to stoke production of some blockbuster drugs and future products. Lilly said Thursday it will expand a Kenosha County, Wisconsin, factory it bought early this year. The investment will help meet growing demand for injectable products like its diabetes and obesity drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound. Those drugs brought in a combined $4.4 billion in sales for Lilly in this year’s third quarter. The drugmaker plans to start construction of the expansion next year.None