Conservative lawyer Mike Davis is warning Senate Republicans that they will feel his "political wrath" if they dare to block the confirmation of Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump 's nominee for FBI director. Patel, a staunch Trump loyalist who served in multiple roles during the president-elect's first administration, was controversially nominated over the weekend to replace current Trump-appointed FBI Director Christopher Wray. While Republicans will have a 53-to-47 seat Senate majority in January, Patel's confirmation is anything but certain. Criticism of Patel ranges from a lack of qualifications to past comments that suggest he would use federal law enforcement to target Trump's enemies, including supposed "deep state" and media " conspirators " involved in a plot to "rig" the 2020 election, which was legitimately won by President Joe Biden . In a recent interview with MAGA media figure Benny Johnson, Davis argued that Patel is "clearly qualified" to serve as FBI director and demanded that GOP senators back his selection. Davis then threatened to use the Article III Project, his right-wing judicial advocacy group, to punish any senators who defy the president-elect. "You need to vote to confirm all qualified executive branch top officials, including Kash, unless you can point to clear and convincing evidence that they're disqualified because of their personal misconduct," Davis said in the interview, which was shared on Monday to X, formerly Twitter . "You're not going to be able to do that with Kash." "I hope these 53 Senate Republicans understand that this is a red line," he added. "If they don't vote to confirm this highly qualified FBI director nominee, they're gonna face the political wrath of the Article III Project." Davis went on to suggest that voting against Patel would be "a political death wish" for Senate Republicans, warning that those who oppose the nominee will "get primaried" or provoke MAGA world to "make [their] political lives living hell." Newsweek reached out for comment to the offices of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator John Thune, the incoming GOP majority leader, via email on Monday evening. While it is not yet clear which Republican senators might oppose Patel's confirmation, if any, at least one of Trump's controversial Cabinet picks has already failed following apparent GOP opposition. Former Congressman Matt Gaetz , formerly the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation and a federal criminal probe into sex abuse allegations, withdrew himself from attorney consideration on November 21 following a week of intense scrutiny and criticism. A group of at least four Republicans including McConnell, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins and Senator-elect John Curtis reportedly made it clear that they would not vote to confirm Gaetz, effectively blocking his path, shortly before he dropped out.
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Former Florida Rep. to become President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general on Thursday. The announcement has raised questions: What does Gaetz' career look like moving forward, what happens now? Gaetz announced his withdrawal from the role in an X on Thursday morning, "While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I'll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General." Trump nominated Gaetz to become his attorney general on Nov. 13, one week after winning his re-election campaign, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris. , Truth Social, to respond, sharing his respect for Gaetz' decision: "Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!" Yes, Gaetz issued his resignation from Congress the same day Trump nominated him to serve as his attorney general. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson during a news conference on Nov. 13, adding that the move was effective immediately. Yes, in theory, Gaetz could get his seat back in Congress, though his political future was uncertain as of Thursday. On Nov. 5, Gaetz , which begins on Jan. 3, 2025. He resigned during the 118th Congress, which began in January 2023 and will cease in January 2025. Gaetz wrote in his House resignation letter that he did "not intend to" take the oath of office in the new Congress. By federal law, Gaetz could get his seat back in Congress if he were re-elected during a special election. According to the Congressional Research Service, a special election to fill a House vacancy must be issued by the corresponding state's governor. In this case, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis must issue the special election. The scheduling procedures for these special elections differ from state to state, but does not provide a mandatory timeline. The day after Gaetz issued his resignation from Congress, DeSantis on X that he had instructed Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd to formulate and announce a schedule for an upcoming special election. A date had yet to be announced for this election, as of Thursday afternoon. a picture of the couple on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, saying, "The end of an era." Gaetz did not cite a specific reason for his withdrawal, but over the past week, controversy of his bid swelled due to allegations of sex trafficking minors. The Justice Department, which Gaetz would have led if he were attorney general, investigated allegations that Gaetz committed statutory rape by paying for sex with a 17-year-old and for her to travel with him across state lines. The investigation was dropped without charges. But recently, the House Ethics Committee, a bipartisan panel made up of Democrats and Republicans, began investigating the allegations. The committee had planned to vote on whether to release a report of its findings two days after Gaetz resigned from his seat on Congress last week. It is unclear who Trump will nominate for attorney general in Gaetz' place. The president-elect has not made an announcement.
It didn't take Syracuse first-year coach Fran Brown long to figure out the key matchup for Saturday afternoon's Atlantic Coast Conference game visiting Miami. "Syracuse has a really good quarterback," Brown said of Kyle McCord, "and Miami has a really good quarterback (Cam Ward)." Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. The Markup presents a guide to keeping someone's plans private through every step of an abortion in any state, including Florida and South Dakota. Click for more. How do I protect my privacy if I'm seeking an abortion?
Biden’s pardon of son risks tarnishing legacy, empowering TrumpGus Malzahn is resigning as Central Florida's head coach to become Florida State 's offensive coordinator, a person familiar with the hire told The Associated Press on Saturday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Seminoles have not confirmed Malzahn's move, which is pending a state background check. ESPN first reported the decision. The Knights made official that Malzahn is leaving in a statement released a day after UCF (4-8) concluded its season with a 28-14 loss to Utah. Recommended Videos “We would like to thank Coach Malzahn for his contributions to our football program over the past four seasons, including our transition into the Big 12 Conference," the school said. "We appreciate his professionalism and dedication to our student-athletes throughout his tenure at UCF and wish he and his wife, Kristi, the very best in their future endeavors.” Malzahn finished with a 28-24 mark in four years at UCF, the last two ending with losing records after joining the Big 12. He coached at Auburn for eight seasons before being fired in 2020. Malzahn replaces offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Alex Atkins, who was fired Nov. 10 following a 52-3 loss at Notre Dame. The Seminoles rank 131st out of 134 in total offense and scoring offense, averaging 15.8 points a game heading into Saturday night's rivalry game against Florida. The Seminoles (2-9) have dropped significantly since going 13-1 last season and winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. The Knights, meanwhile, struggled mightily in Malzahn's fourth season — most of it because of quarterback issues. Four players took snaps from center as the Knights finished 2-7 in conference play. It was the program's worst record since going 0-12 in former coach George O’Leary’s final season in 2015. Florida State coach Mike Norvell fired Atkins, defensive coordinator Adam Fuller and receivers coach Ron Dugans amid the Seminoles' season-long skid. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballOver 100 players for Lakowe Lakes golf championship
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Stock indexes drifted to a mixed finish on Wall Street Thursday, as some heavyweight technology and communications sector stocks offset gains elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% after spending the day wavering between small gains and losses. The tiny loss ended the benchmark index's three-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%. Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened following the Christmas holiday. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, slipped 0.2%. Meta Platforms fell 0.7%, and Amazon and Netflix each fell 0.9%. Tesla was among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500, finishing 1.8% lower. Some tech companies fared better. Chip company Broadcom rose 2.4%, Micron Technology added 0.6% and Adobe gained 0.5%. Health care stocks were a bright spot. CVS Health rose 1.5% and Walgreens Boots Alliance added 5.3% for the biggest gain among S&P 500 stocks. Several retailers also gained ground. Target rose 3%, Ross Stores added 2.3%, Best Buy rose 2.9% and Dollar Tree gained 3.8%. Traders are watching to see whether retailers have a strong holiday season. The day after Christmas traditionally ranks among the top 10 biggest shopping days of the year, as consumers go online or rush to stores to cash in gift cards and raid bargain bins. U.S.-listed shares in Honda and Nissan rose 4.1% and 16.4%, respectively. The Japanese automakers announced earlier this week that the two companies are in talks to combine. All told, the S&P 500 fell 2.45 points to 6,037.59. The Dow added 28.77 points to 43,325.80. The Nasdaq fell 10.77 points to close at 20,020.36. Wall Street got a labor market update. U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week , though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years, the Labor Department reported. Treasury yields mostly fell in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.58% from 4.59% late Tuesday. Major European markets were closed, as well as Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Trading was expected to be subdued this week with a thin slate of economic data on the calendar. Still, U.S. markets have historically gotten a boost at year’s end despite lower trading volumes. The last five trading days of each year, plus the first two in the new year, have brought an average gain of 1.3% since 1950. So far this month, the U.S. stock market has lost some of its gains since President-elect Donald Trump’s win on Election Day, which raised hopes for faster economic growth and more lax regulations that would boost corporate profits. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade. Even so, the U.S. market remains on pace to deliver strong returns for 2024. The benchmark S&P 500 is up 26.6% so far this year and remains near its most recent all-time high it set earlier this month — its latest of 57 record highs this year. Wall Street has several economic reports to look forward to next week, including updates on pending home sales and home prices, a report on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity. AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed.
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Freightos CRGO is set to give its latest quarterly earnings report on Monday, 2024-11-25. Here's what investors need to know before the announcement. Analysts estimate that Freightos will report an earnings per share (EPS) of $-0.16. The announcement from Freightos is eagerly anticipated, with investors seeking news of surpassing estimates and favorable guidance for the next quarter. It's worth noting for new investors that guidance can be a key determinant of stock price movements. Freightos Share Price Analysis Shares of Freightos were trading at $2.4 as of November 21. Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 17.17%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are likely upset going into this earnings release. To track all earnings releases for Freightos visit their earnings calendar on our site. This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.