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Good news, fellow shoppers! Target's Black Friday is here with sales so impressive, your head will spin (in the best way). Whether you're on the hunt for discounted tech gadgets or gifts for the kiddos , you're in luck! We're talking big deals on ev.er.y.thing. Be warned: This Black Friday sale ends Saturday Nov. 30. Plus! From now until Dec. 2, you can get 50% off your first year of Target's Circle 360 membership . Members get unlimited same-day delivery and more so you can easily order groceries and gifts to your home, or even send someone a last-minute gift with Same Day Delivery during this holiday season. So let's get straight to business and shop from some of the best of the best: 1. A Keurig coffee maker with an iced coffee setting, so you can enjoy your morning cuppa at home rather than spending money at a cafe. Plus, you can also make cider, hot chocolate, tea, and lots of other yummy drinks. Promising review: "Love the single serve, but now with a holding tank for extra water. Love the color white very sleek and modern look for the kitchen. This is my third Keurig and would purchase again if needed." — DeeCan64 Price: $99.99 (originally $129.99) 2. An adorable weighted dinosaur pillow for your little one (or you) to be the ultimate cuddle buddy now that it's starting to get chilly out. I mean, look how cute this gal is! Promising review: "I can not express how much love I have for the target weighted dino. His name is Ricardo and I bring him with me everywhere. He is there for me when I need it most and he is lovely to come home to every single day! Ricardo I love you ♥️♥️♥️" — I love Ricardo Price: $12 (originally $20) 3. And a snuggly hooded dinosaur blanket , perfect for curling up for a bedtime story or snuggling up for a movie night (bonus points if it's a dinosaur movie). Promising review: "My son loves his blanket and has a blast running around in it. It’s great quality, super soft, and a fun twist on a blanket. We like it so much, it has been our go-to birthday gift this year and have purchased it for many friends!" — Lindsey Price: $12 (originally $20) 4. An Apple Airtag , so you never have to wonder again, "Where the heck is my luggage?" Just connect this nifty gadget to your "Find My" app on your iPhone and track where your stuff is. It's also great to attach to your keys or slip in your wallet too, so you never lose the essentials again! Promising review: "A few months back I went to leave for work. My keys were nowhere to be found. Upon checking my phone, I found that my keys had been taken to my aunt's house. Without this airtag I would’ve never known that. I love that I keep track of my things without a hassle. Definitely will buying more." — Bre Price: $24.99 (originally $29.99) 5. A Fujifilm mini instant camera for capturing your favorite memories. And the pictures print automatically, so you can immediately display them rather than having all your photos just stay on your phone. Promising review: "I bought this for my 10 year old granddaughter for Christmas. She absolutely loved it! The green color is her favorite. Perfect size and very easy to use!" — SBroberg Price: $69.99 (originally $79.99, available in six colors) 6. A Logitech Racing Wheel and Pedals for your PlayStation to take all your racing games to the next level. With dual-motor force feedback and helical gearing for quiet, smooth steering, you'll feel like you're really on the track. Promising review: "Feels amazing and makes driving games feel very realistic." — Verified purchaser Price: $199.99 (originally $299.99) 7. A pair of fuzzy slipper socks if you live in a particularly draft house, and your feet are always freezing. These will be great for curling up and watching Elf for the millionth time this holiday season. Promising review: "I love these cozy slipper socks. They are true to size and my "go to" home footwear 9 months out of the year. They provide warmth, traction and hold up amazing. Washable and soft. Great choice for the price. I buy them in multiple colors and for stocking stuffers. Everyone that I buy them for feels the same." — Keista Price: $2.11 (originally $8, available in sizes S—L and in 10 colors) 8. A pair of noise-cancelling Bluetooth headphones from Sony , so you can just watch your show without being bothered by all the chaos going on around you (kids, pets, existential dread, etc.). Promising review: "Excellent product.I recommend it!!" — Verified Buyer Price: $199.99 (originally $349.99) 9. A Barbie vacation house with two stories, six rooms, and an elevator your kiddo is going to love playing with. Honestly, this place makes my Brooklyn studio look like a dump in comparison. Promising review: "Love this , it’s so cute. Easy to put together. Is compact enough to store but large enough to play with." — Jillian J Price: $70.95 (originally $114.99) 10. A Bose TV speaker soundbar if you're in the mood for a movie theatre experience from the comfort of your own home (preferably in your pajamas). Promising review: "This soundbar definitely enhanced my living room and it sounds amazing. I like how you can add a sub if you want to. Excellent sound and amazing quality!" —J ewelyea Price: $199.99 (originally $279.99) 11. A Gen3 Oura ring that connects to an app on your phone that tracks the quality of your sleep, workouts, heart rate, and more. This is an awesome, low-profile tool if you're looking to get a deeper insight into your health! Promising review: "The features of this ring are incredible. I love that I can track various health and sleep data passively and that it’s not a device that buzzes or makes noises for notifications like smart watches I’ve previously used. If you like notifications (like to stand/move/etc), you can set those through your smartphone push notifications. It’s much more lightweight than it looks. Long battery life." — BethB Price: $279+ (originally $449+, available in sizes 6—13 and in six finishes) 12. A Lego set of gorgeous red roses , so you don't have to buy a fresh bouquet at the store every week that will inevitably die. You'll feel so smug telling guests you assembled them yourself! Promising review: "The LEGO Icons Bouquet of Roses set offers a unique and creative building experience. Designed for display, it includes an impressive array of colorful bricks to create a striking bouquet of roses. The set is notable for its intricate details, allowing builders to customize the arrangement with different colors and styles. The assembly process is engaging, offering a relaxing and rewarding challenge. Once completed, the bouquet makes a stunning display piece, perfect for adding a touch of elegance to any room. Overall, it's a delightful option for LEGO enthusiasts and those who appreciate floral art." — Verified Purchaser Price: $38.99 (originally $59.99) 13. A Kitchen Aid stand mixer , perfect for all the holiday bakes you plan on whipping out when your family and friends come over for the festivities. Promising review: "Always love a Kitchen Aid. Well worth the cost. This is my third Kitchen Aid purchase and not due to damage or loss. I have a small baking business and needed an additional mixer." — Christy Price: $259.99 (originally $399.99, available in four colors) 14. A Canon EOS camera for capturing professional-grade photos you'll want to hold onto for years to come. This is a great starter camera for anyone who is looking to get serious about photography without blowing thousands of dollars. Promising review: "Profesional photographer here....I picked this up on a whim before a weekend away with friends. I mainly got it because of the following reasons: canon, mirrorless, could share to my phone through wifi / blue tooth. I really like the quality of the images and color (canon duh), and the fact that the body is weather-sealed and super light. Also the menu is very simple and easy, for nice, fun shooting. I plan to have this camera in my pack back everyday for work in case I come across something interesting through out the day, and want a good quality image and the ability to share instantly to my phone. The lens is comes with is not too shabby, I personally ordered the 50mm for daily use, but this kit lens is quite good. All in all, this was great money spent! Highly second it!" — Retired Photographer Price: $349.99 (originally $599.99) 15. A ring floodlight camera so you can keep an eye on your place when nobody is home and see who is knocking at your door at night. If more people in horror movies had one of these, things would probably be a lot less gruesome. Promising review: "Loving this camera. It looks so clear, even at night, and does a good job at notifying us on any movement. Highly recommend." — Mary Price: $199.99 (originally $199.99) 16. A Skylight digital photo frame that connects to an app on your phone where you and the fam can send over your faves to display a little custom slide show of all your best memories. Price: $109.99 (originally $139.99) 17. A Popsocket magnetic phone grip , so you can scroll for hours and hours without your hands getting sore (please don't scroll for hours). Also, you can use it as a little kickstand to prop your phone up for optimal show-watching. Promising review: "Love the product. Very sad the adapter ring was not in the package, which looked like it had been opened, so I could use it with other phone covers. Thank goodness I have a magnetic case and didn’t need it." — Vicki M. Price: $13.12 (originally $29.99, available in eight patterns) 18. A 55-inch Samsung Frame TV , because winter is the time of year for movie marathons and you want to enjoy your favorite flicks how they were intended to be. Promising review: "We absolutely love our frame TV! So pretty and love how quick we were able to get it from Target pickup!!" — Krista Price: $899.99 (originally $1,499.99) 19. And a Roku streaming device with a high-speed HDMI cable, so you can watch all your favorite shows and movies while you're hunkering down during the winter months. Promising review: "This product was great . Works very well. Easy to put together. A great product I recommend it to anyone needing to turn there out of date TV in a smart TV." — Ada Price: $17.99 (originally $29.99) 20. And finally, a stainless steel Ninja sorbet and ice cream maker if you want to be able to whip up your favorite treat with just the fruit you have in your freezer. Promising review: "I’ve been eyeing this machine for months and finally pulled the trigger when it went on sale. So glad I did! Thought I’d be using it for protein bowls, but my kids easily learned to make their own milkshakes. Can find tons of good and healthy recipes online too." — CS Price: $179.99 (originally $229.99) Don't forget to check out the rest of Target's Black Friday sale to get you ready for the holidays! Happy shopping! The reviews for this post have been edited for length and clarity.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley knew the Eagles season rushing record could be his on Sunday with the type of stellar performance that has become the standard during his first season in Philadelphia. As for the exact moment Barkley hit the milestone, he wasn't sure — until the “MVP!” chants echoed throughout the Linc after a 9-yard run in the fourth quarter . “The records are great, they put a smile on your face,” Barkley said, “but the season is far from over.” Needing 109 yards to break LeSean McCoy's record, Barkley rushed for 124 yards and pushed his season total to 1,623 in a 22-16 victory over Carolina . Barkley needed just 13 games to pass McCoy, who rushed for 1,607 yards in 2013. He also overtook Wilbert Montgomery, who had 1,512 yards in 1978. “I never wrote the goal down to break it,” Barkley said. “You're always aware of it. That's how I train. That's how I operate in the offseason. I want to be great.” Barkley also maintained his pace to break Eric Dickerson’s NFL single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, set in 1984 with the Los Angeles Rams. “That would be extremely cool to do,” Barkley said. “If it happens, it happens, and not with the mindset of, I'm scared to go try to do it. Whatever it takes to win football games.” Barkley is averaging 124.8 yards per game. At that pace and with one more game to play than Dickerson, he would become the top single-season rusher in NFL history. He needs 483 yards yards over the final four games to top Dickerson’s 40-year-old record. He averaged 6.2 yards on 20 carries against the Panthers to help the Eagles win their ninth straight game. McCoy, who was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame this season, remains the franchise’s rushing leader with 6,792 yards. Referencing his old uniform number, McCoy congratulated Barkley on social media with “a lot of love, coming from 2-5." “Being a fan of Shady's growing up, and seeing the spectacular things he was able to do with the ball in his hand, to be able to have my name mentioned with him definitely means a lot,” Barkley said. Barkley left the New York Giants in the offseason and signed a three-year deal worth $26 million guaranteed to join the Eagles, who made him the highest-paid running back in franchise history. The 27-year-old has been worth every dollar. Barkley is among the favorites for league MVP, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was the only player with better MVP odds entering Sunday. Barkley has a franchise-record nine 100-yard rushing games in a season. Although he was held out of the end zone Sunday, he began the day leading the league with four rushing touchdowns of 25-plus yards. Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, topped 1,000 yards three times in his six seasons with the Giants. He finished with 1,312 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in 2022 and rushed for 1,307 yards and 11 scores as a rookie. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, who had been unwilling to spend on elite running backs, pounced on Barkley and the decision was celebrated as a success in Philly from the first game of the season. Barkley rushed for two scores and caught a TD pass in the opener against Green Bay. His three touchdowns were the most by an Eagles player in his debut since Terrell Owens in 2004. Barkley only soared in production and popularity from there, his highlight reel stamped by a reverse leap over the head of a Jacksonville defender last month. He's since vaulted over every running back ahead of him on the Eagles rushing list — and has a chance at NFL history. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL Dan Gelston, The Associated PressBlood Pressure Checks: 10am-11:30am. Every 2nd Wednesday of the month | Hallway by the Office | Bevin Morrell, LPN, Rehab Liaison with Encompass Health. Blood Pressure Checks: 10am-11:30am. Every 3rd Wednesday of the month | Hallway by the Office | Chelsey Herron, Health & Wellness Director with Brookdale Rock Springs. No sign-up required. Stroke Support Group: 11:30am-12:30pm. Every 2nd Wednesday of the month | Lounge | Bevin Morrell, LPN, Rehab. Liaison with Encompass Health: The Rehabilitation Hospital of Kingsport. Providing education, encouragement and support for stroke survivors, families and caregivers. Sign up in Office or by calling 423-392-8400. Grief Share Program: 9:30am-11:30am. Every 3rd Wednesday of the month | Card Room | Gabe Manis, M.Div., Hospice Chaplain with Suncrest Hospice | The Grief Share Program is offered to our members who have experienced the death of a family member, or a friend. The program is helpful on how to deal with emotions, tips on surviving social events, and how to find hope for the future. Sign up in Office or by calling 423-392-8400. Caregiver Support Group: Will not meet in December due to the holidays. The next meeting will be 10am–11am on Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025 and Every 4th Wednesday of the month in the Multipurpose Room. Wellness Seminar “Memory and Brain Health”: Will not meet in December due to the holidays. The next meeting will be 2pm–3pm Thursday, Jan 23, 2025 and every 4th Thursday of the month in the Multipurpose Room. Wellness Seminar “Adult Day Care”: 11am. Tuesday, Dec 3 | Card Room | Michelle Bolling will discuss all the service that will be provided at Kingsport Adult Day Care. Snacks and Coffee will be provided to the members who attend. Sign up in Office or by calling 423-392-8400. Wellness Seminar “The Ear Tour”: 10am-12noon. Wednesday, Dec 4 | Multipurpose Room | Aubri Stogsdill, Hearing Instrument Tech with Acuity Hearing Center | Do you hear, but not understand? It may be wax! Join Acuity Hearing Center for a painless and fascinating experience. Aubri will use a tiny video Otoscope Camera to look inside your ear. This allows the specialist to determine if wax is blocking the ear canal, causing sound to be muffled and you will see all the way to your eardrum on a video monitor! Sign up in Office or by calling 423-392-8400. Parks & Recreation Youth Basketball: 6pm. | Tue, Wed, and Thu | Gym | Parks & Recreation Youth Basketball play will continue from Dec 3–Dec 19. All Senior Center activities on these days will stop at 5:30pm so any gear can be put away and the youth basketball goals can be attached on basketball goals. Sorry for any inconvenience. Mary Kay Pampering Session: 10am. Wednesday, Dec 11 | Multipurpose Room | Jessica Cain with Mary Kay | Reset and de-stress while enjoying a Sugar Lip Scrub and Lip Balm treatment “Satin Lips” as well as a Hydrating Hand Treatment “Satin Hands”. Sign up in the Office or by calling 423-392-8400, there is a limit of 15 seats available. Neuro Yoga: 1pm-2pm. Friday, Dec 6 & 20 | Room 302 | Kristie Nies, PhD. Neuropsychologist & Registered Yoga Teacher | Neuro Yoga is chair based yoga for brain health, which will build resilience, improve mood, reduce pain, and reduce stress. Cost is free to our members, no yoga experience is required. Sign up in the Office or by calling 423-392-8400. Cornhole Tournament, 1pm. Friday, December 13 | Gym | The tournament will be doubles playing the best three games, with double elimination. Cost is Free. Prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place only, sponsored by Theresa Redmond, Assistant Director of Sales with The Blake at Kingsport. We will need at least 12 to sign up for tournament to be played. Sign up in the Office or by calling 423-392-8400, with a deadline to sign-up by close of business Wed, Dec 11. Billiards Tournament: 9:30am. Wednesday, Jan 29 | Billiards Room | This will be an 8-ball tournament singles play best of three games with double elimination. Cost is free. Prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place only, sponsored by Kim Howell, Marketing Liaison with Visiting Angels. NOTE: We will play on all four tables in billiards room. Sign-ups start on Thu, Dec 19 in the Office or by calling 423-392-8400, with a deadline to sign up by close of business on Mon, Jan 27, 2025. Woodshop Safety Orientation: 9am. Monday, Dec 2 | Woodshop | Every 1st Monday of the Month. If you are interested in working in the Woodshop you must be a member of the Senior Center, and complete the Safety Orientation. Stop by the Woodshop or call 423-392-8407 to sign-up. NOTE: Wood Shop Hours are Mon, Tue, & Wed from 8am-3pm. Basic Woodworking Class: 9am–2pm. Thursday & Friday, Jan 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, & 31, 2025 | Wood Shop | Larry Eidson, and Ron Grooms will be teaching a 6 - Session Basic Woodworking Class. Cost is $175.00, which covers all your materials; with $87.50 due on first day of class paid to the instructors and the final payment is due on the last day. This class will cover all the Safety Requirements to work in the Woodshop and teach you how to use the equipment the correct way. You will make a Two Cutting Boards (1-End Grain & 1-Face Grain, and a Cheese Slicer. Sign-ups start Thu, Dec 5 in the Office or by calling 423-392-8400. Class is limited to 10 people with a minimum of 8 to sign up for class to be held. Women’s Health Strength & Nutrition Class: 1pm-2pm. Tuesdays, Jan 7-Feb 25, 2025 | Atrium | Monica Case-Harman, Nationally Certified (NYA) in Yoga Therapy for Musicians, Dancers, Athletes Women’s Health Coach | This class will focus on how to build strength after 50, specifically when bones and muscles become more difficult to maintain. It will offer strength training in a circuit class format for 45-50 minutes with warm-up/injury prevention at the forefront. The final 10 minutes will be a cool-down stretch with evidence-based nutrition guidelines suggested at that time. Cost is 35.00 per person. Sign-ups start on Wed. Dec 11 in the Office. TN Lady Vols Basketball: We will depart at 9:15am. Sunday, February 16, 2025 for the Lady Vols vs. Ole Miss Game. This game we will be seating in Section 116. Cost is $57 which includes your game ticket and transportation. Game time is 12noon and we will be able to get in at 11am. Sign-ups will start on Thu, Jan 9, 2025 in the Office. We have 46 tickets available and a (2) ticket limit per-person. Lunch is on your own at Aubrey’s Restaurant after the game. National Influenza Vaccination Week is observed between December 6 and 12 as a gentle reminder for you to stay protected in the upcoming winter months. If you haven’t already taken your vaccination shot, it’s not too late. We encourage you to get your dose as early as possible. The season for flu is quite unpredictable; it can begin as early as fall and last up to spring. Conventionally, flu activity is at its peak during winter, and so public healthcare professionals, advocates, and communities join hands to promote flu vaccination. Many people tend to show a cavalier attitude toward flu, dismissing it as a bad cold. But it’s more than that. It can cause serious health complications, such as bacterial infections or pneumonia, and can get you admitted to a hospital. If not treated at the right time, the flu can even lead to death.
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. Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., center, and Vice President-elect JD Vance, left, walk out of a meeting with Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, departs the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, March 15, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, center speaks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, right, speaks with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, before testifying at a hearing, March 9, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a classified briefing on China, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a vote on Capitol Hill, Sept. 12, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance R-Ohio speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) 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.President-elect Donald Trump plans to raise tariffs by an additional 10% on all Chinese goods coming into the U.S., according to a post on his social media platform Truth Social. The post immediately followed one in which Trump said his first of “many” executive orders on Jan. 20 would impose tariffs of 25% on all products from Mexico and Canada. Such a move would end a regional free trade agreement. Trump is set to be inaugurated as the next U.S. president on Jan. 20. He cited illegal immigration and illicit drug trade as reasons for the tariffs. “I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail,” Trump said. He claimed that contrary to promises, Beijing did not impose the death penalty on such drug dealers. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is an addictive drug that’s led to tens of thousands of overdose deaths each year in the U.S. Reducing illicit supplies of the drug, precursors of which are mostly produced in China and Mexico, has been an area in which Washington and Beijing have agreed to cooperate. “No one will win a trade war or a tariff war,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for China’s embassy in the U.S., said on X. He described bilateral economic and trade cooperation as “mutually beneficial in nature.” Liu pushed back on Trump’s claim that China has done little to stem the flow of fentanyl to the U.S. He said that both countries’ counternarcotics teams have regularly communicated since Chinese President Xi Jinping met with U.S. President Joe Biden in November 2023. “Drugs are pouring into our Country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before,” Trump said. “Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America.” Trump had threatened tariffs of 60% on Chinese goods while campaigning for president. A 10% tariff on China is lower than the 20% to 30% that markets expected, Kinger Lau, chief China equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.” He expects China will cut rates, increase fiscal stimulus and moderately depreciate its currency in order to counter the economic impact of increased duties. Mexico is the largest trading partner of the U.S., followed by Canada and China, according to U.S. data as of September. On Tuesday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo signaled that her country was prepared to respond to any new tariffs from a Trump administration with retaliatory tariffs of its own. “It is not with threats or tariffs that we will address the migration phenomenon, or drug use in the United States,” she wrote. “One tariff will be followed by another in response, and so on, until we put our communal companies at risk.” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that he spoke to Trump by phone that morning. “It was a good call,” Trudeau told reporters, without specifically mentioning the tariff threats. “This is a relationship that, we know, takes a certain amount of working on, and that’s what we’ll do.” The U.S. is China’s largest trading partner on a single country basis, according to China customs data. The Asian country’s largest regional trading partners are the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union. China and the U.S. still have a “really important commercial and economic relationship,” Andy Rothman, investment strategist at Matthews Asia, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Tuesday. He said that China is unlikely to take reciprocal action for now, and noted that Beijing has not typically responded aggressively. The U.S. dollar traded about 1% stronger versus the Mexican peso, and 1.4% higher against the Canadian dollar as of Tuesday morning. The greenback climbed around 0.2% against the Hong Kong-traded Chinese yuan. Source: CNBC
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian leader pardoned 20 more people that rights activists describe as political prisoners, a statement on the president's website said Saturday. The announcement came amid persistent in the run-up to presidential elections next month that are likely to extend Lukashenko's decades-long rule. Belarusian officials did not provide the names of those released, but the statement posted on the website of the president said that all of them had been convicted of “crimes of an extremist nature." The statement said the group included 11 women and 14 of those pardoned suffered from chronic illnesses. “All of those released repented for their actions and appealed to the head of state to be pardoned,” the presidential administration said in a statement, using wording familiar from a series of previous group pardons in the past six months. Saturday’s announcement marks the eighth such pardon by Lukashenko since the summer of 2024. In all, 207 political prisoners have been freed, according to Belarus’ oldest and most established human rights group, Viasna. Most were jailed following mass anti-government protests in 2020, when Lukashenko secured his sixth term in a vote widely condemned as fraudulent. According to Viasna, over 1,250 political prisoners remain behind bars. No prominent opposition figures, many of whom have not been heard from for months on end, have been released. They include Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Viasna founder ; Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who planned to challenge Lukashenko at the ballot box in 2020 but was jailed before the vote; and Viktar Babaryka, who was also imprisoned after gaining popularity before the election. The mass pardons come amid a new wave of repression, said Viasna activist Pavel Sapelka, as Minsk prepares to hold new presidential elections in January 2025 that are likely to hand Lukashenko a seventh term in office. “Lukashenko is sending contradictory signals (to the West), pardoning some but jailing twice as many political prisoners in their place,” Sapelka said. “Repression is intensifying and authorities are trying to root out any signs of dissent before the January elections.” Belarusian authorities engineer for political prisoners, denying them meetings with lawyers and relatives, and depriving them of medical care. At least seven political prisoners have died behind bars since 2020, according to Viasna. , who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for more than 30 years, is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, allowing Russia to use his country’s territory to send troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and to deploy some of its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Yuras Karmanau, The Associated PressThe Squid Game season 2 ended with a huge cliffhanger, leaving fans high and dry. The sequel of the 2021 series premiered on December 26, 2024. However, the season has just seven episodes and when it ended it left viewers with too many questions than answers. ET Year-end Special Reads Take That: The gamechanger weapon's India acquired in 2024 10 big-bang policy moves Modi government made in 2024 How governments tried to rein in the social media beast The second season of the beloved Korean drama series, however, has left some breadcrumbs for the viewers to solve the season 3 puzzle. What happened in Squid Game Season 2 The season kicks off with protagonist Seong Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae), now sporting his signature pink-dyed hair, determined to stop the deadly games rather than escape with his prize money. However, he falls victim to the manipulative mastermind Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun). Despite Gi-hun’s efforts, the rebellion against the games is crushed by the ever-vigilant pink-suited guards, leaving Gi-hun’s mission in jeopardy. As the season unfolds, Gi-hun subtly helps other players survive, but the finale leaves fans with more questions than answers. What to expect from Squid Game season 3 Season 3 promises to address lingering questions: Can Gi-hun finally stop the games? Who will take over as the new Frontman? And, most intriguingly, just how dark and twisted will the next chapter be? Fans are bracing themselves for answers—and for another round of nail-biting suspense. 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The infamous "Red Light, Green Light" doll returns, accompanied by a new, boy-like counterpart—hinting at even more perilous games ahead. Known for its haunting ability to detect movement once its song stops, the addition of a second doll suggests higher stakes and double the danger. In a recent interview, Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of Squid Game, discussed the Season 2 finale and plans for Season 3. The season ended with the death of Gi-hun’s friend, Jung-bae, at the hands of The Front Man. This loss emphasizes Gi-hun’s repeated failures to stop the games, a key point in his character arc. “This moment of heartbreak and loss was a pivotal point for Gi-hun’s journey, showing how his repeated efforts to end the games had all failed,” Hwang explained. Originally, the story for Seasons 2 and 3 was a single arc, but its length required a split. The season ends with Gi-hun witnessing Jung-bae’s death, setting the stage for his transformation in Season 3. Hwang said Season 3 will feature a changed Gi-hun, grappling with guilt and deciding whether to continue fighting the games. The new season will explore Gi-hun’s development and the impact of the rebellion on the games. The good news? Fans won’t have to wait another three years. Netflix has confirmed that Squid Game Season 3 will debut in 2025, though the exact episode count remains under wraps. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
Deion Sanders, Colorado land in Alamo Bowl against fellow Big 12 team BYUWarren Buffett is marking the holiday season by donating $1.1 billion in stock to charities on Monday while he also made updates to his will. Buffett's Donations Buffett, the 94-year-old investing titan and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, announced on Monday he will renew his Thanksgiving tradition of giving by donating $1.1 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway stock to four of his family's foundations. This is not the first time Buffett has given sizable donations as he and his family began donating with the distribution of his late wife's $3 billion estate after her death in 2004. Donations grew after Buffett announced plans in 2006 to make annual gifts to the foundations run by his kids along with the one he and his wife started, as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. If Buffett and his first wife had never given away any of their Berkshire shares, the family's fortune would be worth nearly $364 billion, making him the world's richest man, but Buffett said he had no regrets about his giving over the years. To date, the Gates Foundation has received the lion's share—$55 billion—though Buffett's contributions will cease after his passing with his children taking the reins of his philanthropic mission. Updates to Buffett's Will New details have also been shared about the future of Buffett's $147 billion fortune, which will be distributed over a decade by his three kids following his death. In addition, while Buffett has long entrusted his three children—Howard, Peter and Susie—with the responsibility of successors he has now named undisclosed successors in case they are unable to fulfill the task due to the possibility his children could die before giving it all away. While he didn't identify the successors, he said his kids all know them and agree they would be good choices. "Father time always wins. But he can be fickle—indeed unfair and even cruel—sometimes ending life at birth or soon thereafter while, at other times, waiting a century or so before paying a visit," the 94-year-old Buffett said in a letter to his fellow shareholders. "To date, I've been very lucky, but, before long, he will get around to me. There is, however, a downside to my good fortune in avoiding his notice. The expected life span of my children has materially diminished since the 2006 pledge. They are now 71, 69 and 66." Buffett has said he still has no interest in creating dynastic wealth in his family and believes "hugely wealthy parents should leave their children enough so they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing." This principle has shaped his family's legacy, as well as the massive fortune amassed through Berkshire Hathaway's savvy investments and compounding returns. Despite his extraordinary wealth, Buffett has famously led a modest lifestyle, residing in the same Omaha home for decades and avoiding extravagant displays of riches. "As a family, we have had everything we needed or simply liked, but we have not sought enjoyment from the fact that others craved what we had," he said. Meanwhile, Buffett also reiterated on Monday a key piece of advice to every parent to share their wills with family while still alive. This practice, he said, will help to make sure they have a chance to explain their decisions about how to distribute their belongings, as well as prevent any confusion and discord. Though Buffett remains at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway, he has delegated much of the company's operational duties. His chosen successor, Greg Abel, is poised to lead the conglomerate after Buffett's death, ensuring the continuity of the empire he built. This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
