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OnePlus looks like it’s hit another one out of the park with this year’s OnePlus 13 . The enthusiast brand’s latest flagship launched in China in late October, and this week, the company officially announced it will be landing in North America on January 7, 2025 . As one of the first mainstream phones to be powered by Qualcomm’s bleeding-edge Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, it should bring significant improvements in the OnePlus 13’s performance, battery life, and photographic prowess compared to its predecessor. This also puts the OnePlus 13 first in line to challenge Apple’s 2024 flagship. This year, the iPhone 16 Pro has raised the bar with Apple’s A18 Pro chip that powers new Apple Intelligence features and turns the smartphone into a gaming powerhouse. There’s also a clever new Camera Control and studio-quality cinematography features. Does Qualcomm’s latest silicon give the OnePlus 13 enough of an edge, and has the smartphone maker put it to good use? Let’s dig in and find out how these two measure up to each other. OnePlus 13 vs. iPhone 16 Pro: specs OnePlus 13 vs. iPhone 16 Pro: design Although the OnePlus 13 preserves the iconic design language of its predecessors, this year’s entry modernizes things to match an aesthetic that’s now become the norm among flagship smartphone makers: flat sides. That’s a departure from the rounded curves of the OnePlus 12 and prior models , but this new phone is still unmistakably a OnePlus device. It preserves the elegant circular camera bump that’s become a hallmark of the lineup since its introduction on the OnePlus 11 , but also refines it in some interesting ways. For one, the camera ring now stands alone. Gone are the horizontal tangents connecting it to the phone’s side, and the outer ring is considerably more subtle than before. The LED flash has been moved inside the camera bump, and the Hasselblad logo, which went from a full wordmark to a stylized “H” on last year’s model, has been moved out to the edge, above a horizontal line that bisects the camera array. The OnePlus 12 was already a slick-looking smartphone, but the changes in the OnePlus 13 add a new level of class to the design. OnePlus is also making two big changes to its colors this year, departing from last year’s Flowy Emerald and years of green shades in favor of a new blue finish. That was released in China as “Blue Moments,” but it will be dubbed “Midnight Ocean” for the North American release. That’s joined by “Black Eclipse” as the more typical neutral shade (known as “Obsidian Secret Realm” in China). However, we’re getting the company’s third color here this year, with the ordinarily China-exclusive “White Dew Morning Dawn” coming to the U.S. as “Arctic Dawn.” However, there’s more to these than merely colors. Only Black Eclipse will sport the traditional OnePlus finish. Midnight Ocean will be coated in a micro-fiber vegan leather finish — a first for OnePlus — while the Arctic Dawn will use a special coating on the glass to give it a silky smooth finish. We’ll have to wait and see what that last one means for grip and smudge resistance, but it sure sounds nice. Compared to what OnePlus has done this year, the iPhone 16 Pro seems considerably more pedestrian. That’s not to say it doesn’t have a great design, but little has changed on the iPhone front in the past four years. Apple led the way in the move to flat edges with the iPhone 12, and this seems to be the year where everyone else is catching up to that design. Apple switched from stainless steel to titanium for the iPhone 15 Pro lineup in 2023, which reduced the weight and smoothed the sides a bit, but it hasn’t made the same kind of bold design choices that OnePlus has. Even the phone’s colors have been relatively muted over the past two years, with the iPhone 16 Pro available in Natural Titanium, White Titanium, Black Titanium, and Desert Titanium. The first three are exactly what they sound like, while Desert Titanium leans more toward champagne than brown. The OnePlus 13 retains the alert slider in its left-side position after moving it there on last year’s model, while the iPhone 16 Pro similarly sticks with the Action button introduced on the iPhone 15 Pro and adds a new Camera Control button for quickly pulling up the camera and snapping pictures. Apple retains its standard IP68 dust and water resistance rating for immersion in up to 6 meters of water for up to 30 minutes, while OnePlus seriously upped its game this year by giving the OnePlus 13 both IP68 and IP69 ratings — a significant improvement over the relatively weak IP65 of its predecessor. For OnePlus, this IP68 rating means it can hold up in up to 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes, so it’s not rated to go as deep as the iPhone 16 Pro. However, the additional IP69 rating gives it more protection in another area, certifying the OnePlus 13 to handle high-pressure and high-temperature water jets. This means you could power-wash your phone if you wanted to — though please don’t. With a classy look, unique finishes, and an IP69 rating, the OnePlus 13 is the clear winner for this round. Winner: OnePlus 13 OnePlus 13 vs. iPhone 16 Pro: display The OnePlus 13 display remains essentially the same as that of its predecessor. It’s still a 6.8-inch LTPO OLED panel with a 3168 x 1440-pixel resolution and an adaptive refresh rate ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz. That works out to a pixel density of 510 pixels per inch. The main change in this year’s OnePlus 13 display is a slight increase in brightness — 800 nits of typical brightness compared to 600 nits for the OnePlus 12. The peak brightness is still 4,500 nits, but that’s more than enough for anyone. Even though the specs remain the same, the switch to flat edges on the OnePlus 13 means the screen is also almost entirely flat, so you’ll end up with slightly more of it facing you. There’s technically a very subtle curve at the edges — by definition, it’s a 2.5D quad-curved screen — but don’t expect it to be anywhere near as curvy as the OnePlus 12. Apple’s iPhones never embraced curved screens, and the iPhone 16 Pro is no exception. This year’s model has grown over its predecessor, but the new 6.3-inch display is still smaller than that of the OnePlus 13 (you’ll have to go with the pricier iPhone 16 Pro Max to get something comparable in size) and offers a lower 2622 x 1206-pixel resolution at 460 ppi. That makes it slightly less crisp than OnePlus’ larger screen, but it does get brighter during everyday use, with 1,000 nits of typical brightness. It can also drop to a single nit on the low end, making it ideal when you want to use it in a darker room without overpowering your eyeballs. The iPhone 16 Pro maxes out at 2,000 nits of peak outdoor brightness, which is less than half of what the OnePlus 13 can do on paper, but it’s hard to see this as much more than a spec sheet difference, as we’ve never had any problem seeing the iPhone 16 Pro even in direct sunlight. The bottom line is that both phones offer bright and vivid displays, Full HDR and Dolby Vision support, fast 120Hz refresh rates for buttery smooth scrolling, gorgeous colors, and deep blacks. The primary differences come down to specs like peak brightness and pixel density, which most people won’t notice, and while the OnePlus 13 is larger, size isn’t everything; some folks prefer a more pocketable phone, so we’re calling this one even. Winner: Tie OnePlus 13 vs. iPhone 16 Pro: performance Over the past few years, top-of-the-line flagships have proven how much we’ve reached the point of diminishing returns in performance, and the OnePlus 13 and iPhone 16 Pro prove that even more this year. Both phones are powered by silicon with power far beyond what most folks will need, so the simple answer to which of the two performs better is that it won’t matter as you’re unlikely to push either to its limits. The OnePlus 13 is one of the first mainstream phones on the market to be powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile platform. Apple develops its own chips; this year, it’s the latest A18 Pro inside the iPhone 16 Pro. We’ve done a more detailed comparison of the Snapdragon 8 Elite versus the Apple A18 Pro for those who want to delve into the details, but the differences have more to do with the platform than the performance. For instance, Apple has worked hard to court AAA game developers for the App Store. Last year’s iPhone 15 Pro lineup, powered by the A17 Pro chip, ushered in an era of console-quality games in your pocket, from Resident Evil Village to Assassin’s Creed Mirage . These played well on the A17 Pro chip thanks to Apple’s new GPU technology with hardware-accelerated ray tracing and Metal effect upscaling, and they run even better on the A18 Pro. However, Apple’s coup here wasn’t only in producing groundbreaking silicon, but in convincing game studios to embrace the iPhone . The Adreno GPUs in Qualcomm’s high-end Snapdragon chips can easily compete head-to-head with Apple’s A-series silicon, but you can’t find the same quality of games in the Play Store to prove it. That matters if you’re a hardcore mobile gamer, the iPhone 16 Pro wins, not because it has more capable specs, but because it has better developer support. That’s been Apple’s advantage for years, so it’s not too surprising. Winner: iPhone 16 Pro OnePlus 13 vs. iPhone 16 Pro: battery For non-gamers, the more significant advantage to this year’s chips comes not from raw performance, but from power efficiency. The new 3-nanometer (3nm) manufacturing process used by both Qualcomm and Apple should translate to longer run times between charges. We’ll have to wait and see what this means for the OnePlus 13, but the iPhone 16 Pro disappointed us by barely getting through a day of use. We expect the OnePlus 13 to do much better thanks to its 6,000mAh cell, and it’s probably more fair to compare it to the larger iPhone 16 Pro Max, which we found has fantastic battery life , in this one area. Battery life is still the biggest price one pays for having a smaller phone. Unsurprisingly, OnePlus continues to run circles around Apple — and nearly everyone else — when it comes to charging speeds. The OnePlus 13 supports wired charging speeds up to 100 watts and wireless charging up to 50W. You’ll need to buy OnePlus’ proprietary chargers to take advantage of these speeds, and if past trends continue, we’ll probably “only” get 80W charging in the North American models, but that’s several times faster than what the iPhone 16 Pro officially offers. Apple’s specs say you can recharge an iPhone 16 Pro to 50% in about 30 minutes using a 20W charger. Tests have revealed that a 30W charger shaves about five minutes off that. However, if last year’s OnePlus 12 is anything to go by, 80W charging speeds should get you to 50% in 12 minutes and leave you fully charged in half an hour. Again, you need to use the SuperVOOC charger, but OnePlus includes one in the box. For wireless charging, OnePlus supports standard 15W Qi charging or 50W charging if you opt for its AirVOOC charger. Those speeds are twice as fast as the iPhone 16 Pro, which can reach only 25W with Apple’s proprietary MagSafe charger. You’re stuck at 7.5W with a standard Qi charger, although the iPhone 16 Pro also supports Qi2 for magnetic attachment and 15W charging speeds — something that most Android devices have sadly failed to embrace. While it would have been nice to see Qi2 in the OnePlus 13, even for nothing more than the magnetic attachment features, that’s a minor omission for a phone we can charge up in the time it takes to make a good coffee. Winner: OnePlus 13 OnePlus 13 vs. iPhone 16 Pro: cameras Thanks to its partnership with Hasselblad, OnePlus has delivered impressive cameras on its flagship phones over the past few years. The OnePlus 11 and OnePlus 12 take great photos, and there’s no reason to believe the OnePlus 13 will be any different. If anything, this year’s model should see some improvements in the image pipeline thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite and its AI-powered image signal processor. OnePlus hasn’t leaned into AI and computational photography the way its rivals have, but that doesn’t mean it can’t use what’s already there. We’ll have to wait and see what kind of photos the OnePlus 13 produces, but between the hardware and Hasselblad’s color-tuning algorithms, we’re very optimistic. In terms of raw specs, you’re getting a trio of 50-megapixel (MP) shooters, and while the telephoto lens drops from the 64MP of its predecessor, we think the new sensors OnePlus is using this year will make up for that. The telephoto camera has the same 3x optical zoom, although the ultrawide lens gains an increased 120-degree field of view. We expect the new sensors, combined with Qualcomm’s latest ISP, to deliver better lowlight performance. OnePlus also seems to be taking advantage of the new 480 frames-per-second (fps) slow-motion video capabilities of the Snapdragon 8 Elite. The iPhone 16 Pro is a much more known quantity. It follows Apple’s typical playbook of providing three lenses with year-over-year sensor improvements. However, this time around, the ultrawide camera gets a boost to 48MP, and the iPhone 16 Pro gains the 5x optical zoom that was exclusive to the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max last year. While the ultrawide lens is the one you’ll likely use the least often to take actual photos, Apple’s computational photography engine collects data from that sensor, and more megapixels means more data for it to work with. The ultrawide lens also kicks in for macro shots, and there’s a noticeable improvement there. The iPhone 16 Pro also has a few more tricks up its sleeve. Apple’s new Photographic Styles let you apply a broad collection of advanced filters to your photos, but the best part is that these are entirely nondestructive. In other words, you can switch them up later or remove them entirely if you don’t like them. You can also shoot images in the Apple ProRAW format for advanced editing controls, and the built-in lidar Sensor lets you take depth-mapped night mode portraits. On the video side, the iPhone 16 Pro can also handle 4K Dolby Vision recording at 120 fps, which produces Cinematic Slow Motion playback when pulled down to 24 fps. Lossless ProRes, Log, and the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) formats support professional work, and there’s a four-mic studio array that powers a new AI-powered Audio Mix feature that can separate background and foreground audio (think of it as a portrait mode for sound). Winner: iPhone 16 Pro OnePlus 13 vs. iPhone 16 Pro: software and updates The OnePlus 13 will ship globally with Android 15 and OxygenOS 15 layered on top (the China version uses Oppo’s ColorOS). OxygenOS has been somewhat controversial over the years, but it’s been steadily improving, and we’ve been pleasantly surprised by OxygenOS 15 . It’s turned out to be less of an iOS clone than Oppo’s ColorOS 15, although it still veers closer to Apple’s side of the fence. It still doesn’t feel as smooth as other platforms, but it’s definitely gotten better. The iPhone 16 Pro comes with iOS 18 out of the box, which will be readily familiar to anyone who has used an iPhone in the past few years. As usual, iOS 18 refines the experience rather than rewriting it. This year’s most significant addition is Apple Intelligence — Apple’s suite of AI tools. While these are rolling out gradually over the course of the iOS 18 life cycle, as of the most recent December iOS 18.2 update, there’s built-in support for AI writing tools, image generation, and even direct integration with ChatGPT to help Siri answer questions it can’t handle on its own. As for updates, OnePlus is now committing to four major Android updates and five years of security updates, which should keep the OnePlus 13 current until at least 2028 or when Android 19 ships. Apple doesn’t make such promises, but it’s never really needed to as it has a proven track record; iPhones were getting four or even five years of software updates in the days when it was rare for most Android phones to see one or two. This makes it a safe bet that the iPhone 16 Pro will make it to at least iOS 22, and possibly even one or two releases beyond that. Winner: Tie OnePlus 13 vs. iPhone 16 Pro: special features After holding out longer than most other big players, Apple and OnePlus are delving more into AI features this year. However, Apple is going all-in with Apple Intelligence while OnePlus is still taking a more measured approach focused predominantly on photography. In OxygenOS 15, the OnePlus 13 gains a suite of AI photo-editing tools, including an AI Eraser, AI Detail Boost, AI Reflection Erase, and AI Unblur. These work much like you’d expect, although they have some work to do before they catch up with Google’s Magic Eraser and Magic Editor. However, these aren’t exclusively OnePlus 13 features; they’re also coming to the OnePlus 12 in the OxygenOS 15 update. On the other hand, Google Gemini support and a new Intelligence Search feature will be limited to the OnePlus 13. Apple Intelligence is a much bolder AI initiative overall. While the photo features are limited to a Magic Eraser-like Clean Up tool, the broader AI features include tools to help you compose and refine text, reply to emails, summarize audio recordings and call transcripts, generate images, and even create custom “Genmoji.” Apple has also partnered with ChatGPT to integrate it into iOS. This includes letting you call it up to help you write emails and other blocks of text to making voice requests via Siri. This also ties into the iPhone 16 Pro’s marquee feature: the Camera Control. As the name suggests, this new button on the lower-right side of the iPhone can be used to call up the camera app, but it also doubles as a sophisticated control system thanks to a two-stage capacitive sensor. A light press will lock autofocus and autoexposure, similar to a DSLR; you then press all the way down to take the picture. You can also slide your finger along the control to adjust parameters such as zoom, exposure, shooting mode, and more. Apple Intelligence comes into the picture through a new Visual Intelligence feature that lets you quickly perform Google Lens-like searches on real-world objects. Hold down the Camera Control and point your iPhone 16 Pro at something like an animal, a plant, a movie poster, a landmark, or even a product, and you can send it off to Google or ChatGPT to get more information about it. The concept isn’t exactly novel, as there have been apps doing this for this for years, but having it built in and only a button press away makes it much more useful. Winner: iPhone 16 Pro OnePlus 13 vs. iPhone 16 Pro: price and availability Following a typical first launch in China on October 31, the OnePlus 13 will be released globally on January 7, 2025 . OnePlus has confirmed that we’ll get the same three colors as the China version with different names: Midnight Ocean, Black Eclipse, and Arctic Dawn. There’s no official word on pricing or storage capacities, but there’s a good chance they’ll be close to last year’s OnePlus 12, which started at $800. The OnePlus 13 sells in three capacities in China: 256GB storage with 12GB of RAM, 512GB with 16GB, and 1TB with 24GB, but a November leak suggests we may not see the largest 1TB/24GB version stateside. That would be in line with the OnePlus 12, which was sold in the same three capacities in China, with only the lower two available internationally. However, OnePlus could surprise us this year as it did with the color options. OnePlus’ white finishes, such as the Glacial White OnePlus 12 , have been primarily exclusive to China. Seeing a global launch of Arctic Dawn is a pretty big deal, which means the 1TB/24GB model may not be far behind. The iPhone 16 Pro launched globally in September. Apple’s smaller Pro model didn’t get the storage bump many were hoping for; it still starts at $999 for 128GB, with 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB versions available for $1,099, $1,299, and $1,499, respectively. RAM is standard at 8GB across all capacities, and it’s available in Desert Titanium, Natural Titanium, White Titanium, and Black Titanium. OnePlus 13 vs. iPhone 16 Pro: verdict Like many smartphone comparisons involving Apple, measuring the OnePlus 13 directly against the iPhone 16 Pro is tough. The two phones live in fundamentally different worlds, so it’s an apples-to-oranges comparison (no pun intended). For many folks, the decision between the OnePlus 13 and iPhone 16 Pro was made long ago based on the platform they’ve already invested in. However, if you’re on the fence or looking for a change, these phones each offer something that might tempt you to see how the other side lives. The iPhone 16 Pro is ahead of the pack with a more mature platform and an app ecosystem that takes full advantage of its gaming capabilities. The cameras take excellent pictures, the 5x zoom lets you get up close and personal, and the videography features are unrivaled. Apple’s AI features aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they’re well ahead of what OnePlus offers. Apple Intelligence is also complemented by the general fit and finish and smooth performance of iOS. Nevertheless, the OnePlus 13 offers a gorgeous and elegant design that’s even more refined than before, plus fun colors with unique finishes. If previous models are anything to go on, the Hasselblad-tuned camera system is sure to be excellent. The Snapdragon 8 Elite chip offers performance to spare with new photographic capabilities, and few smartphones can charge up as quickly as anything that OnePlus makes. OxygenOS 15 may not be quite as refined as we’d like yet, but there’s a lot to like here and it’s more ready for prime time than ever before.VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / December 2, 2024 / Regency Silver Corp. ("Regency Silver" or the "Company"), (TSXV:RSMX)(OTCQB:RSMXF) is pleased to welcome Patrick Elliott to the Board of Directors of the Company. Mr. Elliott has over 20 years experience in mineral exploration, project evaluation, resource sector finance and managing public and private exploration companies. He is an accomplished economic geologist with a BSc. in Geology from the University of Western Ontario, a MSc. in Mineral Economics and an MBA in Mining Finance from Curtin University of Technology and the Western Australian School of Mines.WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors moved Monday to dismiss the criminal charges against President-elect Donald Trump that accused him of plotting to overturn the 2020 election and to abandon the classified documents case against him, citing longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. The decision by special counsel Jack Smith, who had fiercely sought to hold Trump criminally accountable for his efforts to subvert the 2020 election, represented the end of the federal effort against the former president following his election victory this month despite the election-related cases and multiple other unrelated criminal charges against him and is headed back to the White House. FILE - Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to the media about an indictment of former President Donald Trump, Aug. 1, 2023, at an office of the Department of Justice in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) The decision, revealed in court filings, also amounts to a predictable but nonetheless stunning conclusion to criminal cases that had been seen as the most perilous of the multiple legal threats Trump has faced. It reflects the practical consequences of Trump’s victory, ensuring he enters office free from scrutiny over his hoarding of top secret documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Smith’s team emphasized that the move to abandon the prosecutions, in federal courts in Washington and Florida, was not a reflection of their view on the merits of the cases but rather a reflection of their commitment to longstanding department policy. “That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” the prosecutors wrote in Monday’s court filing in the election interference case. The decision was expected after Smith's team began assessing how to wind down both the 2020 election interference case and the separate classified documents case in the wake of Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. The Justice Department believes Trump can no longer be tried in accordance with longstanding policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted. Trump has cast both cases as politically motivated, and had vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January. President-elect Donald Trump arrives before the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024 in Boca Chica, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP) The 2020 election case brought last year was once seen as one of the most serious legal threats facing the Republican as he vied to reclaim the White House. But it quickly stalled amid legal fighting over Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution for acts he took while in the White House. The U.S. Supreme Court in July ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which allegations in the indictment, if any, could proceed to trial. The case was just beginning to pick up steam again in the trial court in the weeks leading up to this year’s election. Smith’s team in October filed a lengthy brief laying out new evidence they planned to use against him at trial, accusing him of using “resorting to crimes” in an increasingly desperate effort to overturn the will of voters after he lost to Biden. ___ Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration's top diplomat. Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement. The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations. Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year. Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration. She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him. Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog, to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda. Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic. She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race. Burgum was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day. In comments to reporters before Trump took the stage, Burgum said that, in recent years, the power grid is deteriorating in many parts of the country, which he said could raise national security concerns but also drive up prices enough to increase inflation. “There's just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, and then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign. The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction. He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending. “This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then. Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment. Scott Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.” Sean Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children. A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Write is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States. Wright also won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term. President-elect Donald Trump tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump promised to dismantle. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Brooke Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency. The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Trump chose Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary, a position in which he'd have a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs. Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social. Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration. The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial. Doug Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was acquitted by the Senate. Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. "We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need," Trump said in a statement about nominating Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Karoline Leavitt, 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps. Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, was a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term before she became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump to be director of national intelligence, keeping with the trend to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities rather than veteran professionals in their requisite fields. Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party's 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump said in a statement. Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions. Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency . Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X , “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added. During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration. In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” Rep. Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment. Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah. President-elect Donald Trump says he's chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO. Trump has expressed skepticism about the Western military alliance for years. Trump said in a statement Wednesday that Whitaker is “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.” The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is as a lawyer and not in foreign policy. A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. “In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. “He did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.” Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday. The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security. Thomas Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office. Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate. Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Russell Vought held the position during Trump’s first presidency. After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. McGinley was White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first administration, and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee's election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign. In a statement, Trump called McGinley “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.” Associated Press writer Colleen Long contributed to this story. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox!CLEVELAND (AP) — Only the Cleveland Browns. Only a team beset by perpetual problems at quarterback for the better part of two decades can get a record-setting 497-yard, four-touchdown, jaw-dropping, where-did-that-come-from performance on Monday night from Jameis Winston — and still lose. History wrapped in misery. Only the Browns. Winston spoiled a high-level performance in Denver's thin air by throwing a pair of pick-sixes — the second with 1:48 remaining — as the Broncos rode big plays to a 41-32 win over the Browns (3-9), who have to wonder what their disappointing season might look like if Deshaun Watson had been benched before getting hurt. The loss ended any illusions the Browns had of making a late playoff push like they did a year ago. It also clinched the team's 22nd losing season since its expansion rebirth in 1999. In his fifth start this season, Winston provided further evidence that the Browns made a major mistake by not switching QBs long before Watson ruptured his Achilles tendon on Oct. 20 against Cincinnati. Cleveland's offense has come alive behind Winston, who has thrown for over 300 yards three times, something Watson didn't do in 19 starts over his three suspension-shortened, injury-riddled seasons with the Browns. While there were some positives, Winston's turnovers were too costly. "You’re not going to play perfect at the quarterback position. He knows that," coach Kevin Stefanski said Tuesday on a Zoom call. “I know that ultimately he wants to do anything in his power to help this team win and that’s going to be taking care of the ball. But he also had moments there where he was moving that offense and did a nice job.” Winston may not be the long-term answer for the Browns, but he's showing he can at least give them a viable option for 2025 while the club sorts through the tangled Watson situation, which continues to have a stranglehold on the franchise. In all likelihood, and assuming he's fully recovered, Watson will be back next season in some capacity with the Browns, who are still on the hook to pay him $92 million — of his fully guaranteed $230 million contract — over the next two seasons. Releasing Watson would have damaging salary-cap implications, and while that would be a bitter financial pill for owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam to swallow, it could the Browns' safest and easiest exit strategy. And if they needed any proof that such a strategy can work, the Browns only had to look across the field at the Broncos, who got out from under QB Russell Wilson's monster contract by cutting him, taking the financial hit and drafting Bo Nix. After some common early growing pains, Nix has settled in and the rookie has the Broncos in the mix for a postseason berth. It wasn't long ago that the Browns thought their quarterback concerns were behind them. Instead, they lie ahead. Stefanski's decision to hand over the play-calling duties to first-year coordinator Ken Dorsey has been a positive. While the move hasn't led directly to many wins, the Browns have moved the ball much more effectively and scored at least 20 points in three of five games since the switch after not scoring 20 in their first eight. An issue all season, Cleveland's defense was again gashed for long plays and TDs, including a 93-yard scoring pass in the third quarter. The Browns have allowed 48 plays of 20-plus yards and 12 of at least 40 yards. WR Jerry Jeudy. His return to Denver was a personal and professional triumph — except on the scoreboard. Vowing revenge on the Broncos, who traded him to the Browns in March, Jeudy had the best game of his career, catching nine passes for 235 yards and a TD. Since Winston took over as Cleveland's starter, Jeudy leads the league with 614 yards receiving. Jeudy just might be the No. 1 receiver the Browns have needed following Amari Cooper's trade. Jordan Hicks gets an honorable mention after recording 12 tackles. K Dustin Hopkins. He missed a 47-yard field goal to end Cleveland's first drive, setting the tone for a night of missed opportunities. After making 33 of 36 field goal tries in his first season with the Browns, Hopkins is just 16 of 23, with his inaccuracy raising questions why the team signed him to a three-year, $15.9 million contract in July. Stefanski had no updates from the game. ... LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah remains sidelined with a neck injury suffered on Nov. 2. Stefanski ruled him out again for Sunday's game at Pittsburgh. 552 — Yards of total offense for the Browns, just 10 shy of the single-game franchise record set in 1989. A short turnaround before visiting the Steelers (9-3), who will be looking to avenge their 24-19 loss in Cleveland on Nov. 21. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Creighton point guard Steven Ashworth likely won't play Tuesday in the No. 21 Bluejays' game against San Diego State in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Ashworth sprained his right ankle late in a loss to Nebraska on Friday, and coach Greg McDermott said he didn't know how long he would be out. “He stepped on a guy's foot on a 3-point shot and you're defenseless in that situation," McDermott said after the game. "He torqued it pretty good.” An athletic department spokesman said Monday that Ashworth's status was doubtful for the game against the Aztecs. Ashworth is Creighton's second-leading scorer with 16 points per game and leads the team with 6.4 assists per game. He also is 23 of 23 on free throws. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP collegebasketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketballAmazon is doubling its investment in Anthropic to $8 billion in a deepened collaboration on artificial intelligence, the companies said Friday. The e-commerce and technology behemoth will remain a minority investor in Anthropic, having pumped an initial $4 billion into the artificial intelligence developer late last year and becoming its primary cloud computing provider. "The response from AWS customers who are developing generative AI applications powered by Anthropic in Amazon Bedrock has been remarkable," said Matt Garman, chief of AWS cloud computing division. "We'll keep pushing the boundaries of what customers can achieve with generative AI technologies." Amazon is investing the additional $4 billion in Anthropic as part of an expanded alliance that includes working together on "Trainium" hardware to optimize machine learning, according to the companies. "We're looking forward to working with Amazon to train and power our most advanced AI models using AWS Trainium, and helping to unlock the full potential of their technology," said Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei. The announcement came just days after Britain's competition regulator cleared Google-parent Alphabet's investment in Anthropic, following a probe. The Competition and Markets Authority concluded that the big tech giant had not acquired "material influence" over Anthropic as a result of the deal, which was reported to have cost $2 billion. The British regulator is one of several global regulators concerned with reining in big tech companies and their partnerships with AI firms. In September, the CMA cleared Amazon's initial investment in Anthropic, saying it did not believe that "a relevant merger situation has been created." gc/mlm
Fianna Fail and Fine Gael eye independent TDs as option to secure Dail majority
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Amar'e Marshall scored 17 points as Albany beat Puerto Rico-Mayaguez 93-50 on Friday. Marshall also contributed five assists for the Great Danes (4-1). Byron Joshua added 13 points while going 4 of 4 (3 for 3 from 3-point range) while he also had five assists and five steals. Aaron Reddish shot 4 of 7 from the field, including 2 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 2 for 3 from the line to finish with 12 points. Puerto Rico-Mayaguez was led by David Maldonado, who posted 16 points. Jose Alicea scored 10 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Governor Uba Sani has said that he is taking development to all parts of Kaduna State, in fulfilment of his pledge to run an inclusive government, anchored on equity, fairness and justice. The hovernor expressed gratitude that ‘’the people of Zone 3 have reciprocated by ensuring that peace prevails, so that there will be unhindered development.’’ Governor Sani made this remark at the 2nd edition of Southern Kaduna Festival which held at Kafanchan on Saturday, where he was the Chief Host of the event. According to him, culture plays a role in shaping identities and values, and inspiring creativity, adding that ‘’our cultural heritage is the foundation upon which we build our progress, and it is our responsibility to preserve it for future generations.’’ The governor emphasized that ‘’our administration is committed to massive transformation of rural communities, recognizing the immense potential that lies within them. ‘’We believe that by empowering rural communities, we can unlock the secrets to sustainable development, economic growth, and social prosperity,’’ he further said. Governor Sani pointed out that his administration has recorded a lot of transformative projects in the 18 months of being in office ‘’that are reshaping our communities and enhancing the quality of life for our citizens.’’ He recalled that the Kafanchan Township Roads ‘’were abandoned for many years, bringing untold hardship on the people of this area. Contractors have been fully mobilized and work is ongoing.’’ The overnor further said that his administration is constructing a 22.5km Road from Gwantu through Kibam to Godogodo, a 21.95km Road from Madauchi to Kafanchan through Madakiya, including a branch to Matsirga Waterfalls, linking Jema’a to Zangon Kataf LGAs. Governor Uba Sani said the Kaduna state government is also re-constructing a 21.85km Pambeguwa to Kauru road through Kahuta, linking Kubau to Kauru LGAs. ‘’We have installed 200 units of All-in-One Solar Street Lights across various local governments in Zone 3, illuminating our streets and enhancing safety for all.’ ‘’Alongside these infrastructural advancements, we are prioritizing agriculture, as evidenced by our distribution of fertilisers, farm inputs and agricultural implements. ‘’Additionally, we have been constructing new schools and upgrading existing ones.. We have also been carrying out massive distribution of educational materials to schools, ensuring that our children have the resources they need to thrive,’’ he added. According to the governor, ‘’the construction of the Kaduna State Vocational and Technology Skills Acquisition City at Samaru Kataf is a testament to our commitment to empowering our youths with relevant skills for the modern economy.’’ He said that the Skills City at Samaru Kataf is about 90% completed, adding that when completed, it will graduate about 12,000 trainees annually with international certification. The governor disclosed that Sir Patrick Yakowa General Hospital, Kafanchan, will be converted to a Federal Medical Center, to serve the diverse population spanning several LGAs and the neighboring states of Plateau, Nassarawa, Niger and the FCT. ‘’Upgrading it to a Federal Medical Centre will greatly improve healthcare accessibility, strengthen tertiary healthcare delivery, and provide opportunities for advanced medical training and research in the area,’’ he said. Governor Sani thanked the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa for initiating this process, adding that ‘’he brought it to my attention and we wasted no time in forwarding a formal request to the Honourable Minister for the conversion.’’ The governor said that the entire healthcare sector in Southern Kaduna, like other senatorial zones, is being remolded, upgraded and equipped to standard, adding that the projects of General Hospitals in Kafanchan, Kaura, Kachia and Sanga are almost completed. He also said that contracts have been awarded for the revitalization and upgrading of 53 Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) from Level 1 to Level 2 across Zone 3. ‘’We flagged off the distribution of essential medicines worth over N1 Billion last week, at Kachia LG. These essential drugs will be distributed free of charge to children, women and the elderly,’’ he recalled. The event witnessed cultural dances from the different tribes of Southern Kaduna. Governors Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang and Senator Douye Diri of Plateau and Bayelsa states respectively graced the occasion
STONY BROOK, N.Y. (AP) — Joseph Octave scored 24 points as Stony Brook beat Maine 74-72 on Saturday. Octave also added five rebounds for the Seawolves (4-8). Ben Wight shot 4 of 7 from the field and 3 for 3 from the line to add 11 points. CJ Luster II shot 3 for 8 (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line to finish with 11 points. Kellen Tynes led the way for the Black Bears (8-6) with 15 points, four assists, four steals and two blocks. Jaden Clayton added 15 points, four assists and three steals for Maine. AJ Lopez finished with 13 points and four assists. Stony Brook went into halftime leading Maine 34-30. Octave put up 10 points in the half. Octave led Stony Brook with 14 points in the second half as his team was outscored by two points over the final half but held on for the victory. Both teams next play Sunday. Stony Brook visits Albany (NY) and Maine plays Boston University at home. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
ISTANBUL Opposition groups took control of Aleppo and other areas of Syria to halt attacks by the Bashar al-Assad regime on civilians, the head of Syria's main opposition group abroad said Monday. Speaking at a press conference in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul, Hadi Al Bahra, president of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces (SMDK), discussed the control gained by opposition groups in Aleppo and other areas of northern Syria. The opposition forces' operation in Syria became inevitable after years of attacks and oppression by regime forces and Iranian militias, he said. He noted that regime airstrikes on civilians reached 52 in a single day in November. As regime attacks on the Syrian people escalate, al-Bahra highlighted a decrease in humanitarian aid. He said shifting policies in countries like Lebanon toward Syrian refugees are leading to rights violations and increased returns to liberated areas. Al-Bahra pointed out that the population in liberated areas is growing rapidly, outpacing the available infrastructure. "These developments forced Syrians into military confrontation,” he said. "From the outset, these operations had clear objectives: to stop attacks on liberated areas and to establish a deterrent stance against the enemy. "And the only way to do that was to liberate the areas that were the source of the attacks," he added. Al-Bahra also outlined the goals of Syrian opposition forces. "The aim is to liberate cities, towns and villages for civilians who have lost access to essential services in the liberated areas, ensure military security, and pave the way for people to return to their homes." "Additionally, we seek to revive the political process that implements UN Security Council Resolutions 2118 and 2254," he added. He criticized international negligence for leaving Syrians to endure their suffering instead of working toward a sustainable solution. Al-Bahra also noted that the regime's efforts to obstruct the political process have made stable living conditions in Syria impossible. Highlighting coordination with the Syrian National Army (SNA) regarding developments in Aleppo, he said: "I assure you that the SNA prioritizes the safety of civilians. The Syrian people are united, and no one can be marginalized." "Public and private properties in Aleppo are protected, and public employees will return to work. The Syrian revolution was born on moral principles and will achieve victory through morality." Al-Bahra emphasized that the SMDK is committed to safeguarding the rights of all ethnicities and groups in Syria. Stressing that as Syrians, they do not wish to cause new migration or asylum crises, he said: "Our main goal is to find stability within our homeland." Clashes broke out last Wednesday between Assad regime forces and armed opposition groups in rural areas of Aleppo, marking a re-escalation of the fighting after a period of relative calm in the Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011. *Writing by Muhammed Enes Calli
Tiger Woods reveals he won’t compete in star-studded Hero World Challenge PGA eventWarning on labor shortage