roulette video call
Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers returned to the state Capitol on Monday to begin a special session to protect the state's progressive policies ahead of another Trump presidency. The Democratic governor, a fierce critic of President-elect Donald Trump, is positioning California to once again be the center of a resistance effort against the conservative agenda. He is asking his Democratic allies in the Legislature, who hold supermajorities in both chambers, to approve additional funding to the attorney general's office to prepare for a robust legal fight against anticipated federal challenges. Democratic Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel on Monday introduced legislation to set aside $25 million for legal fees to respond to potential attacks by the Trump administration on state policies regarding civil rights, climate change, immigration and abortion access. “While we always hope to collaborate with our federal partners, California will be ready to vigorously defend our interests and values from any unlawful action by the incoming Trump Administration,” Gabriel said in a statement. California sued the first Trump administration more than 120 times to various levels of success. “We’re not going to be caught flat-footed,” Newsom said at a recent news conference. Trump often depicts California as representing all he sees wrong in America. Democrats, which hold every statewide office in California and have commanding margins in the Legislature and congressional delegation, outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 2-to-1 statewide. Trump called the Democratic governor “New-scum” during a campaign stop in Southern California and has relentlessly lambasted the Democratic stronghold over its large number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, homeless population and thicket of regulations. Trump also waded into a water rights battle over the endangered delta smelt , a tiny fish that has pitted environmentalists against farmers and threatened to withhold federal aid to a state increasingly under threat from wildfires. He also vowed to follow through with his campaign promise of carrying out the mass deportation of immigrants without legal status and prosecuting his political enemies. Before the special session was set to begin, state lawmakers swore in more than two dozen new members and elect leaders for the 2025 legislative session. Hundreds of people also demonstrated around the Capitol on Monday to urge the Legislature to try to stop Trump's mass deportation plans . They carried banners that said “Not one cent for mass deportation” and “MAGA out of California.” “With the results of the presidential election, we need our state elected officials to use every tool and every resource they have available to them to protect our immigrant Californians,” protester Deborah Lee said. State Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office will protect the state’s immigration population, while Newsom last week unveiled a proposal to revive a rebate program for electric vehicle purchases if the incoming Trump administration eliminates a federal tax credit for people who buy electric cars. Newsom is also considering creating a backup disaster relief fund for the wildfire-prone state after Trump’s threats. Bonta announced legislation Monday aimed at bolstering reproductive rights in the state, including by allowing the attorney general to seek monetary penalties against local governments that infringe on those rights. The proposals are part of the state's efforts to safeguard against threats to abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade . Republican lawmakers blasted Newsom and his Democratic allies over the special session. Rep. Vince Fong, who represents the state’s Central Valley farm belt, said California should work with the incoming Trump administration instead. “Gavin Newsom’s actions are tone-deaf to the concerns of Californians who disapprove of the direction of our state and country,” Fong said in a video on social media. Legislators also are expected to spend the year discussing ways to protect dozens of laws expected to be targeted by the Trump administration, including one that has made the state a sanctuary for people seeking abortions who live in states where such practices have been severely limited. California, the nation’s most populous state, was the first to mandate that by 2035 all new cars , pickup trucks and SUVs sold in California be electric, hydrogen-powered or plug-in hybrids. The state also extends state-funded health care to all low-income residents regardless of their immigration status. Newsom hasn't provided details about what actions the lawmakers will consider but said he wanted funding in place before Trump's inauguration day, Jan. 20. The state spent roughly $42 million in litigation costs during the first Trump administration, officials said. California is projected to face a $2 billion budget deficit next year, with bigger shortfalls ahead. Gabriel, who sued the first Trump administration in 2017 when it tried to end a program to shield young immigrants from being deported, said lining up the funding now is “a wise investment." California successfully clawed back $57 million between 2017 and 2018 after prevailing in a lawsuit to block the Trump administration from putting immigration enforcement conditions on certain federal law enforcement grants. Another legal victory over the citizenship question in the 2020 census forced the federal government to return $850,000 to the state, according to the attorney general's office. “We are positioned, if necessary, to be the tip of the spear of the resistance and to push back against any unlawful or unconstitutional actions by the Trump administration,” said Gabriel, who chairs the budget committee. During Trump’s first presidency, Democratic attorneys general banded together to file lawsuits over immigration, Trump’s travel ban for residents of Muslim countries, the environment, immigration and other topics. But Trump has one possible advantage this time around: He was aggressive in nominating conservative jurists to federal courts at all levels, including the Supreme Court. ___ Associated Press journalists Haven Daley and Sophie Austin contributed to this report. Trân Nguyễn, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Advocates for transgender rights are turning to a conservative-dominated Supreme Court after a presidential election in which Donald Trump and his allies promised to roll back protections for transgender people. The justices on Wednesday are taking up the issue of gender-affirming care for transgender minors, which has been banned by Tennessee and 25 other Republican-led states. The fight over whether transgender adolescents can access puberty blockers and hormonal treatments is part of a broader effort to regulate the lives of transgender people, including which sports competitions they can join and which bathrooms they can use. Trump backed a national ban on such care as part of his 2024 campaign in which he demeaned and mocked transgender people. In its waning days, the Biden administration, along with families of transgender adolescents, will appeal to the justices to strike down the Tennessee ban as unlawful sex discrimination and protect the constitutional rights of vulnerable Americans. "The stakes are high, of course, for transgender adolescents, but also for the parents who are watching their children suffer, who are just trying to do right by their kids," Chase Strangio, who represents the families at the Supreme Court, said in an interview. Strangio, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, will be the first openly transgender person to argue before the high court. A lawyer for Tennessee will argue that the "life-altering gender-transition procedures" are risky and unproven and that it's the state's role to protect children. Trump nominated three justices in his first term who pushed the court in a more conservative direction that included the decision in 2022 overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which had protected abortion rights for nearly 50 years. Yet one of Trump's appointees, Justice Neil Gorsuch, also authored a ruling in 2020 that protected LGBTQ people from discrimination in the workplace under federal civil rights law. The administration and transgender families both rely on that decision to bolster their arguments. After Trump takes office on Jan. 20, 2025, it's possible the new administration could weigh in on the case, which is not expected to be decided until the spring. There are about 300,000 people between age 13 and 17, and 1.3 million adults who identify as transgender in the United States, according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. The Williams Institute is a think tank that researches sexual orientation and gender identity demographics to inform laws and public policy decisions. Most Republican-controlled states have adopted a ban similar to the one in Tennessee, and those laws mostly are in effect, despite legal challenges. The Tennessee case is the first time the nation's top court will consider the constitutionality of the bans. Sivan Kotler-Berkowitz, a 20-year-old college student in Massachusetts who is transgender, said his life would have been very different if he were just a few years younger and living in one of the states. "These bans are denying people the opportunity to live and excel," he said in an interview. "There are thousands of transgender youth across the country that are thriving just like me because we've had the love and understanding of our families and because we've had access to proper care." The bans in Tennessee and elsewhere have put families in the position of deciding whether to travel for ongoing health care, go without or wait until their children turn 18. Erin Friday, a leader of Our Duty, an international group that supports the bans on gender-affirming care for minors, said the case is going to be as important as Roe v. Wade. She said upholding the Tennessee law would bolster the cases for the laws restricting sports participation and bathroom use. Among the arguments advanced by defenders of the state laws is that many children who initially say they are transgender eventually change their mind. Friday said her daughter was 11 when she said she was transgender, which Friday attributed to the child having been "indoctrinated" at school. But after receiving psychiatric treatment, her daughter changed her mind, Friday said. If laws like Tennessee's are struck down, "more children would be irreversibly harmed and live a life of deep regret," Friday said in a Supreme Court filing. Guidelines from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health that were revised in 2022 say evidence of regret about transitioning is scant but also that patients should be told about the possibility during psychological counseling. Some doctors who work with transgender minors said a state should not come between doctors, their patients and parents. "From a medical standpoint, I think it's really frightening and dangerous to think that legislators could pass a law that basically judges or controls what people could do with a medication based on a diagnosis," Dr. Susan Lacy of Memphis, Tennessee, who joined with the families in suing the state, said in an interview. Michelle Quist Ryder, CEO of the American Psychological Foundation, said the laws, if left in place, are damaging for the physical and mental health of transgender people and their supporters. Gender dysphoria — the unease a person may have when their assigned sex and gender identity don't match — has been linked to depression and suicidal thoughts. "The more we lessen the sense of safety in this community, trans youth will look out and say, 'Who else is going to come after me?'" she said. There are prominent names in some of the 83 briefs, an unusually high number, filed on both sides of the case. Actors Elliot Page and Nicole Maines, and Sarah McBride of Delaware, who in November became the first openly transgender person to win election to Congress, have joined more than five dozen people in urging the court to strike down the Tennessee law. Tennis legend Martina Navratilova and Olympic swimming gold medalists Donna de Varona and Summer Sanders are among 135 athletes, coaches, officials and parents who want the justices to uphold the ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. _______ Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson in Seattle and Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this article. Rebecca: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/a2/d9/fb69982545c59e9836fbe80fe431/rebecca-recommends.png Carrie: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/2e/72/be0f23854c54a228c9d6138c9847/carrie-recommends-header.png Ben: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/df/c4/19fa7c504480938f39a431e3b276/ben-recommends-header.png Amy: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/b9/b6/1408516a4a91b97639b178fc1ba9/amy-recommends-header.png Rhori: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/5b/25/a224d13d47739165c92b94e643db/rhori-recommends-header.png Lelan: https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/af/54/833bf879454097a398bd44f723de/lelan-recommends.png Journalism is at its best when we can shine a light on an issue that needs more attention. Once again, Hannah McDonald does this beautifully by highlighting the hardships of teens aging out of the foster care system. I learned something new in her reporting and am inspired by the work I AM NEXT is doing to make a difference. I think you will be too! -Carrie SharpConservative filmmaker and commentator, Dinesh D’Souza, is under fire for his criticism of Joe Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter . “No one is above the law—except my son Hunter!” D’Souza captioned a photo of the president and his son on X. As commenters were quick to point out, D’Souza was pardoned by Donald Trump in 2018 for illegally contributing to a New York Republican’s Senate campaign. Many replied with screenshots of headlines from D’Souza’s pardon. Long an incendiary figure, D’Souza has produced several right-wing documentaries that have even alienated some conservatives. His 2022 election denialism documentary, 2000 Mules , was too outlandish for Fox News and Newsmax to cover . He recently admitted that the evidence for the film, which argues that a ring of “mules” illegally gathered ballots and put them in drop boxes, is false. D’Souza also apologized to a Georgia voter depicted in the film who sued him for defamation. He said “the underlying premise of the film holds true,” though the stolen election claim has been debunked many times. “No one is above the law—except my son Hunter!” pic.twitter.com/cyHY5twYKy A woman has been caught on camera as she “harassed” an Indian American family after their flight landed in Los Angeles . Photographer Pervez Taufiq said he, his wife, and three sons had flown into California from Cancun where they were confronted by a flyer who had been on the same United Airlines flight. “Your family is from India, you have no respect, you have no rules, you think you can push everyone, push, push, push,” the woman yelled as Taufiq recorded on Nov. 24. “That’s what you think you are. You guys are f–--ing crazy.” At the start of the video , she also held up both middle fingers at him. Taufiq, who grew up in Boston, said he first interacted with the “clearly” drunk woman during the flight when he went to check on his child sitting next to her. He claimed he learned that the woman asked his son if he was Indian and threatened to talk to his parents. On the shuttle bus between the plane and the terminal, Taufiq accused the woman of telling his children to shut up which prompted the verbal altercation. After Taufiq told her she should tell him again to have “more curry, right?,” she replied she was going “to record your f---ing tandoori ass.” Eventually, after a bystander informed United workers that the woman was the instigator, she was removed from the transport bus. United Airlines has not yet commented on the incident. A post shared by Pervez Taufiq (@ptaufiqphotography) Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission. It’s finally here: Lululemon’s Black Friday event 2024 is officially here, and we think it’s one of the biggest post-Thanksgiving sales the brand has ever had. Aside from its ‘We Made Too Much Section,’ Lululemon doesn’t really offer sales or discounts, so if you’re a fan of the brand, this is your best chance to score up to 40 percent off women’s and men’s apparel and accessories. The Lululemon Cyber Monday event includes hundreds of items marked down between 20 to 50 percent off, including steeply discounted Wunder Under and Align leggings (two of the brand’s bestsellers), men’s running shorts , chic bomber jackets and so much more. Of course, because Lululemon rarely goes on sale, stock tends to run out quickly, so we suggest acting fast. Take advantage of Lululemon’s Cyber Monday markdowns now. Let Scouted guide you to the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Shop Here > Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin’s daughter, Apple, is facing a backlash for an awkward moment at her debutante ball. Martin attended Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris on Saturday—known for debuting celebrity children and European royalty into society. In a now viral clip, Martin swoops in while another debutante is taking photos and strikes a pose. The debutante, French Countess Alienor Loppin de Montmont, appears to smile and walk away. Commenters were quick to slam Martin for “mean girl” behavior. “That looks like a scene in a teenage movie where the mean girl steals the show,” one commenter said. “She just came and stole that other girl’s thunder,” another wrote. Paltrow previously praised her daughter’s “beautiful” sense of entitlement, saying it would help pave the way for gender equality in the workforce. “They have, and I mean this word in the best possible way, a sense of ‘entitlement’ that’s beautiful. It’s not spoiled, [they] are here for what the boys are going to get too,” Paltrow explained to People . Paltrow attended the ball to support her daughter, along with her ex-husband, their son, Moses, and her mother. #applemartin #baldesdebutantes #chrismartin #gwynethpaltrow #valentinocouture Judi Dench’s pet parrot has an unexpected moniker for the legendary actress. “We had a long chat just now,” Dench told the Sunday Times of her rescue African grey parrot, who is named Sweetie. The name is ironic, given the way she talks to Dench. “You shouldn’t ask what she says. She says: ‘You’re a sl-t,’ ‘you’re a slag,’” she said. The parrot also has taken an interest in politics. “She has said ‘Boris Johnson’ but she didn’t get that from me,” she added. “She listens to the radio. My God, she’s funny though. She’s very, very funny. Everybody should have a parrot or a myna bird. Their voices are absolutely incredible.” Dench gave the interview to the Sunday Times to mark her 90th birthday on Dec. 9. “It’s just that you get a bit nervous when everybody says 90,” she said. “I don’t want to think of 90 much, I’m going to think about [turning] 29.” Dench added that she felt lucky to be turning 90 after the recent deaths of her friends and fellow actresses Barbara Leigh-Hunt and Maggie Smith. “I’m able to at least get from A to B and walk about and, golly, I’ve got a great deal to be grateful for.” Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Martin Scorsese. Bill and Hillary. Martha Steward. These are just some of the people we are unlikely to meet in person, but at least we can get up close and personal with them by taking their MasterClass online courses —and at a major discount for a limited time. The expert-led platform has a robust library of educational classes on far-ranging topics: science , music, arts , personal empowerment, and more. The classes are taught by industry experts and household names, including Gordon Ramsey, Mariah Carey, David Lynch, Jeff Koons, and many more. Right now, you can score up to 50 percent off on MasterClass subscriptions just in time for last-minute holiday gifting. Honestly, whether you waited until the last minute or not, you’ll be gifting the dad in your life with intelligent, cultured content and giving them the opportunity to learn something new from someone famous. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) has launched his bid against Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) for the Democrats' top seat on the House Judiciary Committee. “After a week consulting most of our Colleagues and engaging in serious introspection about where we are, I am running today to be your Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee in the 119th Congress,” Raskin wrote in a letter to fellow House Dems on Monday. “This is where we will wage our front-line defense of the freedoms and rights of the people, the integrity of the Department of Justice and the FBI, and the security of our most precious birthright possessions: the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the rule of law, and democracy itself.” A constitutional scholar, the Maryland rep led Donald Trump ’s second impeachment trial and was a member of the Jan. 6 select committee. He has served as the top Democrat on the Oversight committee during the current Congress . Raskin’s decision to run for Nadler’s committee seat comes amid several generational shifts and leadership clashes in the House and within the party. The fate of the high-profile committee leadership race is reportedly expected to be decided as soon as this week. The JonBenét Ramsey murder case is moving again, sources close to the investigation have said. The six-year-old’s body was found in the family basement with a ransom note on the morning of Dec. 26, 1996. She had been strangled and her skull was broken. There was evidence that she had also been sexually assaulted and unknown DNA was found under her fingernails and in her underwear. Now, sources have told ABC News that progress is being made. They told the publication that ultra-modern techniques are being applied to the case, in a move that offers fresh hope for the Ramsey family. A team of investigators has applied cold case techniques and taken in the opinions and guidance from top experts in their field, they added. However, there was no word on whether existing evidence is meaningful enough to inform charges. Her dad John Ramsey hopes new DNA technology could aid a renewed police investigation. Instagram , TikTok , YouTube , and the increasingly nightmarish hellscape that is MAGA billionaire Elon Musk ’s X are all behind the Oxford Word of the Year for 2024: “Brain rot.” The term—meaning “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging”—was announced Sunday as the victor of a public poll on six words chosen by a group of language experts at Oxford University Press, which publishes the Oxford English Dictionary. Usage of “brain rot” increased by 230 percent between 2023 and 2024, Oxford University Press said, as more and more people have observed the impact of being deluged with content online, from news to social media posts to streaming videos. While “brain rot” has taken on a new power, the term first appeared in Walden , Henry David Thoreau’s 1854 transcendentalist treatise on living in nature, away from the perils of the overwhelming then-modern world, when instead of poorly written MAGA tweets people’s brains were haunted by deftly-penned Edgar Allan Poe short stories. The family of a Colorado woman who has been missing since before Thanksgiving said they have received “not good news” about their loved one. Jayna Lang, 46, disappeared after texting her brother on Nov. 24 to say she was heading for the Outlets at Silverthorne. She was last seen in Littleton, about 10 miles outside downtown Denver . “Sending this with broken hearts 💔 & tears!!! We were notified tonight with the not good news regarding my sister-in-law Jayna 😔,” wrote Lang’s sister-in-law Stacy Laigo-Horvat. “We want to send all the thanks & appreciation to everyone nationwide for the love & prayers during this horrible time! For all the efforts in finding her & the time this past week! Please keep my husband in your thoughts & prayers! Thank you & God Bless!! 🙏🏽❤️” No further details of the development were released. Lang’s family became alarmed after colleagues at A Clip Above Pet Styling in Centennial got in touch to say she hadn’t shown up for work. “Never, never did we ever think that she would be gone, and we don’t know where, where she’s at,” said Lang’s brother, Eric Horvat. “She was supposed to be going to Silverthorne to look at the factory shops on Sunday, and her job called us and said she didn’t show up,” he added. Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission. Ever since I first tried my infrared sauna blanket in 2022, I’ve been addicted to its mood-boosting (it yields a post-run-like high!) and toxin-releasing benefits. While I believe the loftier sticker tag of these sauna blankets is entirely worth it, most of them will set you back around $600 or more, which is far from affordable. Fortunately, you can score 20 percent off the bestselling HigherDOSE Infrared Sauna Blanket and the brand’s other wellness tech during its Cyber sale. Free Returns | Free Shipping Aside from helping the body detox seven times faster than regular heat exposure by expelling toxins and heavy metals (not just sweat), one 30-minute session in the sauna blanket may even burn up to 600 calories without moving. That’s right; you can literally burn the same amount of calories you would from a HIIT fitness class while lying in bed. My sauna blanke t has been the best wellness investment ever made, and it’s worth every penny—especially when it’s on sale! While you can opt for the infrared sauna blanket alone, I highly recommend paying a little extra for the sauna blanket bundle , which includes everything you need to keep your device clean. Read my full review of the HigherDOSE Infrared Sauna Blanket. Click Here > Tim Teeman , Daily Beast senior editor and writer, won the Los Angeles Press Club ’s National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award (online) for Diversity in the Music/Performing Arts Industry. His profile, Kara Young on ‘Purlie Victorious,’ Tony Awards, and Diversity on Broadway , was celebrated by the judges as “excellent.” Teeman had been nominated in 10 of the award categories including Online Journalist of the Year and Columnist of the Year. He received third place for the Online Journalist of the Year honor and second place for his reporting on celebrity news ( Real Housewives Creator: How to Make the Supreme Court Spouses Reality TV Stars ). Teeman also placed third in Personality Profile-TV, Performing & Other Arts, Theater Feature, Music Feature, and Entertainment Feature categories. A two-time winner of Journalist of the Year at the event, Teeman has won many awards for his writing there and at the New York Press Club and NLGJA (The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists). Celebrity honorees at this year’s National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards included Kathy Bates, Tiffany Haddish, Melissa Etheridge, and Kevin Frazier. Donald Trump reacted to President Joe Biden’s sweeping pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, in a Sunday night statement—addressing the news only by claiming that the rioters convicted for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection also deserved to be offered the same privilege. “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” Just hours earlier, the Trump campaign vowed to overhaul what it said was a “Democrat-controlled” Department of Justice that prosecuted Hunter Biden in the first place. “The failed witch hunts against President Trump have proven that the Democrat-controlled DOJ and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote in a statement. “That system of justice must be fixed and due process must be restored for all Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do as he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the American people.” The Daily Beast Podcast episodes are released every Thursday. Like and download on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , YouTube , or your favorite podcast app. And click here for email updates as each new episode drops.
Democrat Bob Casey concedes to Republican David McCormick in Pennsylvania Senate contestUCF, LSU face off with improved focus in mind
Democrat Bob Casey concedes to Republican David McCormick in Pennsylvania Senate contestAdani Group Chairman Gautam Adani on Saturday, November 30, responded to the alleged bribery and fraud allegations against the conglomerate, saying that the legal matter involving the US Department of Justice is a challenge which the Group has faced "not for the first time". “As most of you would have read, less than two weeks back, we faced a set of allegations from the US about compliance practices at Adani Green Energy. This is not the first time we have faced such challenges. What I can tell you is that every attack makes us stronger and every obstacle becomes a stepping stone for a more resilient Adani Group,” said Adani said at the 51st Gem and Jewellery Awards in Rajasthan's Jaipur. On November 20, US prosecutors alleged that $250 million in bribes were paid to unnamed Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms on solar power contracts awarded to Adani Green Energy Ltd and Azure Power Global Ltd, another New Delhi-headquartered firm. "In January last year, just as we were getting ready to launch our Follow-on Public Offering. We faced a short-selling attack initiated from abroad. This was not a typical financial strike; it was a double hit-targeting our financial stability and pulling us into a political controversy. All of this was further amplified by certain media with vested interests. But even in the face of such adversity, our commitment to our principles remained strong. After successfully raising ₹ 20,000 crore from India’s largest-ever FPO, we made the extraordinary decision to return the proceeds. We then further demonstrated our resilience by raising capital from several international sources and proactively reducing our Debt to EBITDA ratio to below 2.5 times, an unmatched metric in the global infrastructure space. Moreover, our all-time record financial results in the same year showcased our commitment to operational excellence. Not a single Indian or foreign credit rating agency downgraded us. Finally, the Supreme Court of India’s affirmation of our actions validated our approach."
Flagg's growth, Broome's consistency show in matchup of AP All-Americans
UCF, LSU face off with improved focus in mind
The Washington Commanders are desperate to break their season-high losing streak. But they'll have to do it with a banged-up, short-handed roster. ... and amid a pair of notable Saturday roster moves. Out of the building as the Commanders host the Tennessee Titans Sunday at Northwest Stadium is cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, the franchise’s first-round pick in 2023. Additionally, with a move on Austin Ekeler - he is moving to IR - they'll be without key contributors in all three phases. Since a fine 7-2 start fueled by the improbably Hail Mary victory over the Chicago Bear, head coach Dan Quinn's team has lost three in a row to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. Now at 7-5, they are in danger of losing what once looked like a slam-dunk playoff berth. To make matters worse, now comes word that injuries will diminish the Commanders in all three phases. Kicker Austin Seibert, who missed the game-losing extra point against the Cowboys, has been placed on injured reserve.. Newcomer cornerback Marshon Lattimore is doubtful with a nagging hamstring injury despite practicing this week. And in the running game, right tackle Andrew Wylie and running back Austin Ekeler are both out - again, with Ekeler being moved off the roster. Related: Commanders Dan Quinn Scouts Marshon Lattimore
WASHINGTON (AP) — As a former and potentially future president, Donald Trump hailed what would become Project 2025 as a road map for “exactly what our movement will do” with another crack at the White House. As the blueprint for a hard-right turn in America became a liability during the 2024 campaign, Trump pulled an about-face . He denied knowing anything about the “ridiculous and abysmal” plans written in part by his first-term aides and allies. Now, after being elected the 47th president on Nov. 5, Trump is stocking his second administration with key players in the detailed effort he temporarily shunned. Most notably, Trump has tapped Russell Vought for an encore as director of the Office of Management and Budget; Tom Homan, his former immigration chief, as “border czar;” and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of policy . Those moves have accelerated criticisms from Democrats who warn that Trump's election hands government reins to movement conservatives who spent years envisioning how to concentrate power in the West Wing and impose a starkly rightward shift across the U.S. government and society. Trump and his aides maintain that he won a mandate to overhaul Washington. But they maintain the specifics are his alone. “President Trump never had anything to do with Project 2025,” said Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in a statement. “All of President Trumps' Cabinet nominees and appointments are whole-heartedly committed to President Trump's agenda, not the agenda of outside groups.” Here is a look at what some of Trump's choices portend for his second presidency. The Office of Management and Budget director, a role Vought held under Trump previously and requires Senate confirmation, prepares a president's proposed budget and is generally responsible for implementing the administration's agenda across agencies. The job is influential but Vought made clear as author of a Project 2025 chapter on presidential authority that he wants the post to wield more direct power. “The Director must view his job as the best, most comprehensive approximation of the President’s mind,” Vought wrote. The OMB, he wrote, “is a President’s air-traffic control system” and should be “involved in all aspects of the White House policy process,” becoming “powerful enough to override implementing agencies’ bureaucracies.” Trump did not go into such details when naming Vought but implicitly endorsed aggressive action. Vought, the president-elect said, “knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State” — Trump’s catch-all for federal bureaucracy — and would help “restore fiscal sanity.” In June, speaking on former Trump aide Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, Vought relished the potential tension: “We’re not going to save our country without a little confrontation.” The strategy of further concentrating federal authority in the presidency permeates Project 2025's and Trump's campaign proposals. Vought's vision is especially striking when paired with Trump's proposals to dramatically expand the president's control over federal workers and government purse strings — ideas intertwined with the president-elect tapping mega-billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalist Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a “Department of Government Efficiency.” Trump in his first term sought to remake the federal civil service by reclassifying tens of thousands of federal civil service workers — who have job protection through changes in administration — as political appointees, making them easier to fire and replace with loyalists. Currently, only about 4,000 of the federal government's roughly 2 million workers are political appointees. President Joe Biden rescinded Trump's changes. Trump can now reinstate them. Meanwhile, Musk's and Ramaswamy's sweeping “efficiency” mandates from Trump could turn on an old, defunct constitutional theory that the president — not Congress — is the real gatekeeper of federal spending. In his “Agenda 47,” Trump endorsed so-called “impoundment,” which holds that when lawmakers pass appropriations bills, they simply set a spending ceiling, but not a floor. The president, the theory holds, can simply decide not to spend money on anything he deems unnecessary. Vought did not venture into impoundment in his Project 2025 chapter. But, he wrote, “The President should use every possible tool to propose and impose fiscal discipline on the federal government. Anything short of that would constitute abject failure.” Trump's choice immediately sparked backlash. “Russ Vought is a far-right ideologue who has tried to break the law to give President Trump unilateral authority he does not possess to override the spending decisions of Congress (and) who has and will again fight to give Trump the ability to summarily fire tens of thousands of civil servants,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a Democrat and outgoing Senate Appropriations chairwoman. Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, leading Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said Vought wants to “dismantle the expert federal workforce” to the detriment of Americans who depend on everything from veterans' health care to Social Security benefits. “Pain itself is the agenda,” they said. Trump’s protests about Project 2025 always glossed over overlaps in the two agendas . Both want to reimpose Trump-era immigration limits. Project 2025 includes a litany of detailed proposals for various U.S. immigration statutes, executive branch rules and agreements with other countries — reducing the number of refugees, work visa recipients and asylum seekers, for example. Miller is one of Trump's longest-serving advisers and architect of his immigration ideas, including his promise of the largest deportation force in U.S. history. As deputy policy chief, which is not subject to Senate confirmation, Miller would remain in Trump's West Wing inner circle. “America is for Americans and Americans only,” Miller said at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Oct. 27. “America First Legal,” Miller’s organization founded as an ideological counter to the American Civil Liberties Union, was listed as an advisory group to Project 2025 until Miller asked that the name be removed because of negative attention. Homan, a Project 2025 named contributor, was an acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director during Trump’s first presidency, playing a key role in what became known as Trump's “family separation policy.” Previewing Trump 2.0 earlier this year, Homan said: “No one’s off the table. If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.” John Ratcliffe, Trump's pick to lead the CIA , was previously one of Trump's directors of national intelligence. He is a Project 2025 contributor. The document's chapter on U.S. intelligence was written by Dustin Carmack, Ratcliffe's chief of staff in the first Trump administration. Reflecting Ratcliffe's and Trump's approach, Carmack declared the intelligence establishment too cautious. Ratcliffe, like the chapter attributed to Carmack, is hawkish toward China. Throughout the Project 2025 document, Beijing is framed as a U.S. adversary that cannot be trusted. Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, wrote Project 2025's FCC chapter and is now Trump's pick to chair the panel. Carr wrote that the FCC chairman “is empowered with significant authority that is not shared” with other FCC members. He called for the FCC to address “threats to individual liberty posed by corporations that are abusing dominant positions in the market,” specifically “Big Tech and its attempts to drive diverse political viewpoints from the digital town square.” He called for more stringent transparency rules for social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube and “empower consumers to choose their own content filters and fact checkers, if any.” Carr and Ratcliffe would require Senate confirmation for their posts.For their last holiday season in the White House, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden decked the halls with a theme of "A Season of Peace and Light." When guests first enter the White House for holiday tours, they're greeted by a massive, rotating starlight above the East Wing. The first tree on the tour is dedicated to Gold Star Families. It's made of six oversized and stacked stars representing the branches of the military. Names of fallen service members are written on gold star ornaments on the four accompanying Christmas trees around the room, according to the White House website . Brass-colored bells suspended from archways down the East Colonnade surround guests with the "peaceful sounds of the holiday season." The White House Library is a forest of vintage ceramic Christmas trees. RELATED STORY | Capitol Christmas tree arrives in Washington after 4,000-mile journey from Alaska The ceiling of the East Room is wrapped in a canopy of reflective medallions that mimic the feeling of a peaceful snowfall. This is where guests will find the Nativity scene that has been displayed during every White House holiday season since 1967. In the Blue Room, guests will find the official White House Christmas Tree, a Fraser fir from North Carolina, on display in the center of a whimsical carousel. Every year the room's chandelier is removed to accommodate the tall Christmas trees. Military families from the USS Delaware and the USS Gabrielle Giffords, Navy vessels that First Lady Biden sponsors, made dazzling paper garlands that wrap around the State Dining Room. One of the most anticipated features every year is the Gingerbread White House. The sugary replica features a large starburst and a cheerful scene of ice skaters this year. The White House said the gingerbread masterpiece took 25 sheets of gingerbread dough, 10 sheets of sugar cookie dough, five pounds of pastillage, 45 pounds of chocolate, 50 pounds of royal icing and 10 pounds of gum paste to come to life. In total, there are 83 Christmas trees throughout the White House adorned with approximately 9,810 feet of ribbon and over 28,125 ornaments. Over 165,075 lights decorate the trees, garlands, wreaths and displays. RELATED STORY | Experts share tips on how to have a bugfree Christmas "It has been the honor of our lives to serve as your President and First Lady. Our hope is for the Nation to be blessed with the peace and light of the holiday season. We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays," the president and first lady wrote in the welcome letter for the commemorative White House Holiday Guide. It took over 300 dedicated volunteers from across the country a full week to decorate the inside and outside of the White House, who the first lady thanked during a special event to mark the holiday season. The first lady invited National Guard families to be the first to experience this year's magical decorations and had their children on stage at the special event.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $1.54 Million Stock Holdings in Extreme Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXTR)
Woman, 95, lies on freezing pavement with broken hip for five hours as ambulance chiefs say she 'is not a priority' By TOM MIDLANE Published: 18:10, 30 November 2024 | Updated: 18:10, 30 November 2024 e-mail 4 View comments A 95-year-old woman told onlookers 'I'm going to die here tonight' after being left on the freezing pavement with a broken hip for five hours because ambulance chiefs told her she 'was not a priority'. Winifred Soanes was unable to move due to the pain she was in, after falling over in Christchurch High Street, Dorset, at 2.30pm while out her 92-year-old husband Andrew. Despite multiple concerned members of the public making repeated 999 calls for an ambulance, explaining Winifred was elderly and vulnerable, they were told she 'was not a priority'. Passing Good Samaritans managed to prop her head up with shoe boxes from market stallholders and a pillow from a nearby pub. Staff at Mountain Warehouse provided her with sleeping bags and charity shops gave blankets and hot water bottles to keep Winifred warm while she waited. Others provided coffee and food to help Andrew, who is an army veteran and diabetic and who refused to leave his wife's side. An ambulance eventually arrived at 7.45pm on Monday and took Winifred to hospital where she remains under supervision. To add insult to injury, Andrew developed a chest infection as a result of being out in the cold so long and cannot visit his wife in hospital. Winifred Soanes was forced to wait for five hours for an ambulance in freezing conditions after falling over in Christchurch High Street, Dorset The 95-year-old was watched over by husband Andrew, 92, an army veteran and diabetic (pictured left) with the local community donating supplies to keep her warm A number of concerned onlookers called 999 but were told that Mrs Soanes was 'not a priority' People who helped the couple have slammed the 'broken system'. Jennifer Baylis, who was working in a charity shop, said: 'I can't tell you how upsetting it was, she actually said "I'm going to die here tonight". 'She was in a phenomenal amount of pain and in such a vulnerable position, on a cold floor, totally reliant on complete strangers. She fell at 2.30pm and the ambulance finally showed up at 7.45pm. 'We were all distressed that there was no first responder available, no police officer, literally no one available to help for over five hours. 'You feel so helpless, I was so angry that they were in this position. It shouldn't be happening in this day and age. 'The NHS are fantastic once help is there. We know how hard they work. But something went very very wrong to leave a 95-year-old lady on the pavement of a high street at night.' David Lovell, who saw her fall and was the first to call for an ambulance, said: 'I can't describe how cold it was, and as it got dark, the temperature dropped really quickly. 'She was lying on the cold pavement and we couldn't move her because she was in huge amounts of pain.' The South Western Ambulance Service said handover delays at emergency departments remain one of the force's biggest challenges When others called again to chase up the ambulance, they were given no time frame for how long the wait would be. Winifred was eventually taken to Poole Hospital and is waiting for a specialist operation for her injuries. Andrew said: 'The situation was dire, but it's great to know that when they need to, the community all pull together to help.' A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service, said: 'We are sorry that we were not able to provide a timely response to this patient. 'Any occasion where the care we provide falls below the high standards our patients deserve and rightly expect is unacceptable. 'Handover delays at emergency departments remain one of our biggest challenges. To ensure our ambulances are available to attend the next emergency call within the community, we need to be able to hand patients over within the 15 minute national target. 'We continue to work hard with our partners in the NHS and social care, to do all we can to improve the service that patients receive.' NHS Share or comment on this article: Woman, 95, lies on freezing pavement with broken hip for five hours as ambulance chiefs say she 'is not a priority' e-mail Add commentTens of thousands of Spaniards protest housing crunch and high rents in Barcelona
Cutting in line? American Airlines' new boarding tech might stop you at now over 100 airports