By JILL COLVIN and STEPHEN GROVES WASHINGTON (AP) — After several weeks working mostly behind closed doors, Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role: Helping Donald Trump try to get his most contentious Cabinet picks to confirmation in the Senate, where Vance has served for the last two years. Vance arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday with former Rep. Matt Gaetz and spent the morning sitting in on meetings between Trump’s choice for attorney general and key Republicans, including members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The effort was for naught: Gaetz announced a day later that he was withdrawing his name amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations and the reality that he was unlikely to be confirmed. Thursday morning Vance was back, this time accompanying Pete Hegseth, the “Fox & Friends Weekend” host whom Trump has tapped to be the next secretary of defense. Hegseth also has faced allegations of sexual assault that he denies. Vance is expected to accompany other nominees for meetings in coming weeks as he tries to leverage the two years he has spent in the Senate to help push through Trump’s picks. The role of introducing nominees around Capitol Hill is an unusual one for a vice president-elect. Usually the job goes to a former senator who has close relationships on the Hill, or a more junior aide. But this time the role fits Vance, said Marc Short, who served as Trump’s first director of legislative affairs as well as chief of staff to Trump’s first vice president, Mike Pence, who spent more than a decade in Congress and led the former president’s transition ahead of his first term. ”JD probably has a lot of current allies in the Senate and so it makes sense to have him utilized in that capacity,” Short said. Unlike the first Trump transition, which played out before cameras at Trump Tower in New York and at the president-elect’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, this one has largely happened behind closed doors in Palm Beach, Florida. There, a small group of officials and aides meet daily at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to run through possible contenders and interview job candidates. The group includes Elon Musk, the billionaire who has spent so much time at the club that Trump has joked he can’t get rid of him. Vance has been a constant presence, even as he’s kept a lower profile. The Ohio senator has spent much of the last two weeks in Palm Beach, according to people familiar with his plans, playing an active role in the transition, on which he serves as honorary chair. Vance has been staying at a cottage on the property of the gilded club, where rooms are adorned with cherubs, oriental rugs and intricate golden inlays. It’s a world away from the famously hardscrabble upbringing that Vance documented in the memoir that made him famous, “Hillbilly Elegy.” His young children have also joined him at Mar-a-Lago, at times. Vance was photographed in shorts and a polo shirt playing with his kids on the seawall of the property with a large palm frond, a U.S. Secret Service robotic security dog in the distance. On the rare days when he is not in Palm Beach, Vance has been joining the sessions remotely via Zoom. Though he has taken a break from TV interviews after months of constant appearances, Vance has been active in the meetings, which began immediately after the election and include interviews and as well as presentations on candidates’ pluses and minuses. Among those interviewed: Contenders to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray , as Vance wrote in a since-deleted social media post. Defending himself from criticism that he’d missed a Senate vote in which one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees was confirmed, Vance wrote that he was meeting at the time “with President Trump to interview multiple positions for our government, including for FBI Director.” “I tend to think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45,” Vance added on X. “But that’s just me.” While Vance did not come in to the transition with a list of people he wanted to see in specific roles, he and his friend, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is also a member of the transition team, were eager to see former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. find roles in the administration. Trump ended up selecting Gabbard as the next director of national intelligence , a powerful position that sits atop the nation’s spy agencies and acts as the president’s top intelligence adviser. And he chose Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services , a massive agency that oversees everything from drug and food safety to Medicare and Medicaid. Vance was also a big booster of Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who will serve as Trump’s “border czar.” In another sign of Vance’s influence, James Braid, a top aide to the senator, is expected to serve as Trump’s legislative affairs director. Allies say it’s too early to discuss what portfolio Vance might take on in the White House. While he gravitates to issues like trade, immigration and tech policy, Vance sees his role as doing whatever Trump needs. Vance was spotted days after the election giving his son’s Boy Scout troop a tour of the Capitol and was there the day of leadership elections. He returned in earnest this week, first with Gaetz — arguably Trump’s most divisive pick — and then Hegseth, who has was been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017, according to an investigative report made public this week. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing. Vance hosted Hegseth in his Senate office as GOP senators, including those who sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee, filtered in to meet with the nominee for defense secretary. While a president’s nominees usually visit individual senators’ offices, meeting them on their own turf, the freshman senator — who is accompanied everywhere by a large Secret Service detail that makes moving around more unwieldy — instead brought Gaetz to a room in the Capitol on Wednesday and Hegseth to his office on Thursday. Senators came to them. Vance made it to votes Wednesday and Thursday, but missed others on Thursday afternoon. Vance is expected to continue to leverage his relationships in the Senate after Trump takes office. But many Republicans there have longer relationships with Trump himself. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, said that Trump was often the first person to call him back when he was trying to reach high-level White House officials during Trump’s first term. “He has the most active Rolodex of just about anybody I’ve ever known,” Cramer said, adding that Vance would make a good addition. “They’ll divide names up by who has the most persuasion here,” Cramer said, but added, “Whoever his liaison is will not work as hard at it as he will.” Cramer was complimentary of the Ohio senator, saying he was “pleasant” and ” interesting” to be around. ′′He doesn’t have the long relationships,” he said. “But we all like people that have done what we’ve done. I mean, that’s sort of a natural kinship, just probably not as personally tied.” Under the Constitution, Vance will also have a role presiding over the Senate and breaking tie votes. But he’s not likely to be needed for that as often as was Kamala Harris, who broke a record number of ties for Democrats as vice president, since Republicans will have a bigger cushion in the chamber next year. Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
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Children and their parents are being told in an Usborne book that refugees “enrich our country”. Usborne has published a book for ages seven and up called Lift the Flap: Questions and Answers About Refugees, which informs readers that “we all have roots in other countries”. Teaching material has been provided alongside the book which sets out classroom activities including having children write to MPs to express how much refugees “enrich our countries”. Further guidance seeks to educate mothers and fathers on the importance of their children learning about the “array of multicultural foods” and “population numbers” provided by refugees who also drive “growth”. The book, which has been branded “indoctrination” by critics, has been stocked by local council libraries, and free copies have been distributed to schools following its release in 2023. The children’s book was created with help from the Refugee Council, and contains 14 illustrated pages with lifting flaps providing answers to questions about issues . One page covers the “big risks” faced by those in small boats, while another page is titled “Refugees Welcome”, and shows a crowd with placards stating “our home is your home” and “bridges not borders”. The final page urges children to talk about how “we all have roots in other countries”, and how refugees “enrich our countries”. Usborne teaching resources paired with the book outline lesson objectives, including “to know that positive action is possible”, with one activity stating: “People in power can do a lot to help – but they don’t always choose to. “Governments want to be popular with their own people, so one way to encourage them to support refugees is by showing them how important refugees’ safety is to you.” It adds: “You could also write a letter to your local MP or councillor. Try to include some facts about why refugees need our help and how they can enrich our countries.” Usborne has also created “notes for grown-ups to help explain why it’s important to talk to children about refugees”. These notes urge parents to drill home to their children the point that “without migration we would not have access to the vast array of multicultural foods that we are lucky to enjoy”. Parents are assured that there are “so many” positives to the arrival of refugees, who “fill gaps in the labour market”. The material claims it is cheaper to recruit foreign doctors than train British medical staff. Low-skilled arrivals additionally “do dirty, difficult, dangerous or dull jobs that locals do not wish to do”, adding that “ageing societies with a shrinking native working-age population benefit from the arrival of younger refugees” who “support population numbers, and thus investment and growth”. Around via small boats in 2024, most of whom claim asylum. The total cost for maintaining the system of migrant hotels is now estimated at £5.4 billion a year. The notes further claim that “people who have been uprooted from one culture and exposed to another tend to be more creative” and they can “help spark new ideas and technologies”. The Arts Council-backed Books Trust has since supported a promotion which promised to distribute 500 copies to UK schools to mark an occasion called “Empathy Day”. The children’s book and the accompanying material has been criticised by Rupert Lowe, the Reform MP for Great Yarmouth, who has pushed for transparency on the costs of migration. He said: “This is disgraceful indoctrination, which is sadly widespread in schools across the country. “Parents need to be incredibly cautious about what is being shown to their children in schools - I would advise parents to take a far more proactive role in monitoring their school’s curriculum where possible. “We need to remove activist teachers, remove activist material and remove all political activism from British schools. Teach children how to think, not what to think.” Usborne has been contacted for comment.Broncos head into bye on three-game winning streak and chasing first playoff spot since 2015 seasonThe death of former President Jimmy Carter on Sunday led to a swift outpouring of support and condolences from notable figures in both political parties. President Joe Biden and president-elect Donald Trump issued statements Sunday, and both said Carter was a president who worked to better Americans’ lives. “He was a man of great character and courage, hope and optimism,” Biden and First Lady Jill Biden said in a statement. “We will always cherish seeing him and Rosalynn together. The love shared between Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter is the definition of partnership and their humble leadership is the definition of patriotism.” Trump said Carter dealt with “enormous responsibility” that only other presidents could relate to. “The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans,” Trump said in a post to Truth Social. “For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.” ‘One of my heroes’ Fellow Georgia politicians, including Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, issued passionate statements following the news Sunday. Warnock referred to the Plains native as “one of my heroes.” “His leadership was driven by love, his life’s project grounded in compassion and a commitment to human dignity,” Warnock said. “For those of us who have the privilege of representing our communities in elected office, Jimmy Carter is a shining example of what it means to make your faith come alive through the noble work of public service.” Ossoff said Carter’s work “changed the lives of many across our state, our country, and around the world.” “The State of Georgia and the United States are better places because of President Jimmy Carter,” Ossoff said. Former Sen. Sam Nunn, from Georgia, lauded Carter for his “spine of steel and intrepid focus and determination.” “Colin Powell and I had front row seats to these unique Carter traits in Haiti in 1994,” he said in a statement. “I will never forget nervously watching President Carter negotiate every word of the Haitian military’s peaceful turnover of authority, while the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne prepared to land on the roof of the military headquarters, where we were finishing the agreement.” Brad Raffensperger, Georgia secretary of state, said Carter devoted his life to serving the U.S. “As a true servant-leader, he devoted his post-presidency to spreading the very best of American ideals across the globe,” Raffensperger said in a statement Sunday. “His commitment to peace, democracy, and human rights has left an indelible mark on the world.” The Democratic Party of Georgia’s Chair, Rep. Nikema Williams, said Carter “leaves one of the greatest legacies of humanitarianism in history.” “My husband Leslie and I named our son Carter after our 39th president because he showed us that ordinary Georgians can do extraordinary things,” Williams said. “He was one of the greatest public servants of our time – and he was also a peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia. From a southwest Georgia town of a few hundred people to the Oval Office, President Carter went from sowing crops to sowing the seeds of peace around the world.” Georgia Lt. Gov. Ines Owens said Carter “represented small towns like Plains, Georgia and never forgot where he and his family came from.” Georgia’s Carter had ‘calm spirit and deep faith’ Major national lawmakers outside the Peach State offered their thoughts too, including GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell. McConnell said Carter’s “calm spirit and deep faith seemed “unshakable” during difficulties in his presidency. “President Carter lived a truly American dream,” McConnell said. “A devoutly religious peanut farmer from small-town Georgia volunteered to serve his country in uniform. He found himself manning cutting-edge submarines hundreds of feet beneath the ocean. He returned home and saved the family farm before feeling drawn to a different sort of public service. And less than 15 years after his first campaign for the state Senate, his fellow Americans elected him leader of the free world.” Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, called Carter “one of our most humble and devoted public servants.” “President Carter’s faith in the American people and his belief in the power of kindness and humility leave a strong legacy,” Schumer said. “He taught us that the strength of a leader lies not in rhetoric but in action, not in personal gain but in service to others.” ©2024 The Charlotte Observer. Visit at charlotteobserver.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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ATLANTA (AP) — Deliberations are underway in Atlanta after a year of testimony in the gang and racketeering trial that originally included the rapper Young Thug. Jurors are considering whether to convict Shannon Stillwell and Deamonte Kendrick, who raps as Yak Gotti, on gang, murder, drug and gun charges. The original indictment charged 28 people with conspiring to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Opening statements in the trial for six of those defendants happened a year ago . Four of them, including Young Thug, pleaded guilty last month. The rapper was freed on probation. Stillwell and Kendrick rejected plea deals after more than a week of negotiations, and their lawyers chose not to present evidence or witnesses. Both seemed to be in good spirits Tuesday morning after closings wrapped the previous night. Kendrick was chatting and laughing with Stillwell and his lawyers before the jury arrived for instructions. Kendrick and Stillwell were charged in the 2015 killing of Donovan Thomas Jr., also known as “Big Nut,” in an Atlanta barbershop. Prosecutors painted Stillwell and Kendrick as members of a violent street gang called Young Slime Life, or YSL, co-founded in 2012 by Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams. During closings on Monday, they pointed to tattoos, song lyrics and social media posts they said proved members, including Stillwell, admitted to killing people in rival gangs. Prosecutors say Thomas was in a rival gang. Stillwell was also charged in the 2022 killing of Shymel Drinks, which prosecutors said was in retaliation for the killing of two YSL associates days earlier. Defense attorneys Doug Weinstein and Max Schardt said the state presented unreliable witnesses, weak evidence and cherry-picked lyrics and social media posts to push a false narrative about Stillwell, Kendrick and the members of YSL. Schardt, Stillwell's attorney, reminded the jury that alleged YSL affiliates said during the trial that they had lied to police. Law enforcement played a “sick game” by promising they would escape long prison sentences if they said what police wanted them to say, Schardt said. He theorized that one of those witnesses could have killed Thomas. The truth is that their clients were just trying to escape poverty through music, Schardt said. “As a whole, we know the struggles that these communities have had,” Schardt said. “A sad, tacit acceptance that it’s either rap, prison or death.” Young Thug’s record label is also known as YSL, an acronym of Young Stoner Life. Kendrick was featured on two popular songs from the label’s compilation album Slime Language 2, “Take It to Trial" and “Slatty," which prosecutors presented as evidence in the trial. Weinstein, Kendrick’s defense attorney, said during closings it was wrong for prosecutors to target the defendants for their music and lyrics. Prosecutor Simone Hylton disagreed, and said surveillance footage and phone evidence supported her case. “They have the audacity to think they can just brag about killing somebody and nobody’s gonna hold them accountable,” Hylton said. The trial had more than its fair share of delays. Jury selection took nearly 10 months , and Stillwell was stabbed last year at the Fulton County jail, which paused trial proceedings. Judge Paige Reese Whitaker took over after Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville was removed from the case in July because he had a meeting with prosecutors and a state witness without defense attorneys present. Whitaker often lost patience with prosecutors over moves such as not sharing evidence with defense attorneys, once accusing them of “poor lawyering.” But the trial sped up under her watch. In October, four defendants, including Young Thug , pleaded guilty, with the rapper entering a non-negotiated or “blind” plea, meaning he didn't have a deal worked out with prosecutors. Nine people charged in the indictment, including rapper Gunna , accepted plea deals before the trial began. Charges against 12 others are pending. Prosecutors dropped charges against one defendant after he was convicted of murder in an unrelated case. Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Kramon on X: @charlottekramon
HOUSTON (AP) — An elaborate parody appears to be behind an effort to resurrect Enron, the Houston-based energy company that exemplified the worst in American corporate fraud and greed after it went bankrupt in 2001. If its return is comedic, some who lost everything in Enron’s collapse aren’t laughing. “It’s a pretty sick joke and it disparages the people that did work there. And why would you want to even bring it back up again?” said former Enron employee Diana Peters, who represented workers in the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Here’s what to know about the history of Enron and the purported effort to bring it back. Once the nation’s seventh-largest company, Enron filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 2, 2001, after years of accounting tricks could no longer hide billions of dollars in debt or make failing ventures appear profitable. The energy company’s collapse put more than 5,000 people out of work, wiped out more than $2 billion in employee pensions and rendered $60 billion in Enron stock worthless. Its aftershocks were felt throughout the energy sector. Twenty-four , including , were eventually convicted for their roles in the fraud. Enron founder Ken Lay’s convictions were vacated after he died of heart disease following his 2006 trial. On Monday — the 23rd anniversary of the bankruptcy filing — a company representing itself as Enron announced in a news release that it was relaunching as a “company dedicated to solving the global energy crisis.” It also posted a video on social media, advertised on at least one Houston billboard and a took out a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle In the minute-long video that was full of generic corporate jargon, the company talks about “growth” and “rebirth.” It ends with the words, “We’re back. Can we talk?” Enron’s new website features a company store, where various items featuring the brand’s tilted “E” logo are for sale, including a $118 hoodie. In an email, company spokesperson Will Chabot said the new Enron was not doing any interviews yet, but that “We’ll have more to share soon.” Signs point to the comeback being a joke. In the “terms of use and conditions of sale” on the company’s website, it says “the information on the website about Enron is First Amendment protected parody, represents performance art, and is for entertainment purposes only.” Documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show that College Company, an Arkansas-based LLC, owns the Enron trademark. The co-founder of College Company is Connor Gaydos, who helped create a joke conspiracy theory that claims all birds are actually surveillance drones for the government. Peters said that since learning about the “relaunch” of Enron, she has spoken with several other former employees and they are also upset by it. She said the apparent stunt was “in poor taste.” “If it’s a joke, it’s rude, extremely rude. And I hope that they realize it and apologize to all of the Enron employees,” Peters said. Peters, who is 74 years old, said she is still working in information technology because “I lost everything in Enron, and so my Social Security doesn’t always take care of things I need done.” “Enron’s downfall taught us critical lessons about corporate ethics, accountability, and the consequences of unchecked ambition. Enron’s legacy was the employees in the trenches. Leave Enron buried,” she said.