New Delhi : The Indian electronics sector is poised for significant growth, with projections indicating the creation of 12 million jobs by 2027 , according to a recent report by TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship . This includes 3 million direct jobs and 9 million indirect roles , showcasing the sector’s potential to drive economic development and employment opportunities. Also Read: Tata Group to create 5 lakh manufacturing jobs over next half decade The report outlines the distribution of direct employment opportunities: Additionally, 9 million indirect jobs will stem from non-technical roles, underlining the broad impact of the electronics industry on India’s job market. India’s electronics industry aims to achieve $500 billion in manufacturing output by 2030 , requiring a five-fold growth over the next five years. Currently, domestic production is valued at $101 billion , with contributions from key segments: Emerging areas like automotive electronics (8%) , LED lighting (3%) , wearables and hearables (1%) , and PCBAs (1%) offer immense potential for growth. “India’s electronics sector, currently contributing 3.3% to global manufacturing and 5.3% to India’s total merchandise exports in FY23, is swiftly transforming into a global electronics hub,” said Sumit Kumar , Chief Strategy Officer at TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship. Despite its modest 4% participation in global value chains , the sector has substantial room for growth by advancing from assembly to design and component manufacturing. As employment opportunities surge, a multi-pronged strategy focusing on apprenticeships, reskilling, and upskilling is essential. With Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) currently operating at only 51% enrollment , enhancing capacity through employer-led initiatives, Work-Integrated Learning Programs (WILP) , and degree apprenticeships is crucial. “Employers can bridge the skills gap by establishing in-house training centers and partnering with academia,” the report noted. India’s electronics sector has experienced rapid expansion thanks to initiatives like: “These policies have catalyzed the sector’s growth, laying the foundation for a future-ready workforce,” added AR Ramesh , CEO of TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship.UConn, football coach Jim Mora agree to contract extension through 2028Trump gave Interior nominee one directive for a half-billion acres of US land: ‘Drill.’
Trending News Today Live Updates: In today's fast-paced world, staying informed about the latest developments is more important than ever. Trending News Today brings you the most current and impactful stories from across the globe, covering a wide range of topics including politics, technology, entertainment, sports, and social issues. Whether it's a significant political event, a groundbreaking technological innovation, or the latest in pop culture, we provide you with up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis. Our goal is to ensure that you're always in the loop, aware of the trends that are shaping the world around us. Stay tuned for the latest news that matters. Trends News Today Live: Walmart's $100 Birkin bag lookalike is selling out—Here’s why everyone wants oneDr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the flagbearer for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has declared himself the best candidate to make Ghana’s aspirations for greatness a reality. In a recent social media post, Bawumia shared the culmination of his nationwide constituency-focused campaign tour, which included stops in Juaben and Asante Akyem North, as well as a visit to the Philadelphia Church in Kenyasi, where he expressed gratitude for the Almighty’s blessings. Bawumia revealed that over the past 17 months, he has visited every constituency across the country, engaging with citizens from all walks of life. He has interacted with traditional authorities, religious leaders, youth groups, and ordinary Ghanaians in various settings, including markets, homes, lorry stations, and places of worship. Throughout these engagements, Bawumia emphasized his vision for a bold and prosperous future for Ghana, while listening to the concerns and aspirations of the people. He confidently stated that his experiences have reinforced his belief that he is the right leader to guide Ghana towards a brighter future. “I am the best option to make Ghana’s desire for greatness a reality,” he said. Bawumia is urging all eligible voters to come out in full force on December 7, advocating for a leader with a proven track record of clear, solutions-based thinking and achievements. He encouraged citizens to vote for him, stating, “Vote #1, and together, we will build a holistically developed Ghana for the present and the unborn generations.” He concluded his message with optimism, declaring, “It is possible!”
Progressing through Palworld and coming into contact with higher-level Pals and enemies means only one thing – you need weapons. Whether you’re a fan of Melee combat or want to cause high damage from afar, here’s how you unlock every weapon currently in Palworld. With each update to Palworld , more weapons are added, allowing you to expand your armory and do huge amounts of damage to new high-level Pals. Each new weapon recipe is unlocked via the Technology Ladder , with the levels for each noted below. It goes without saying that the higher level you need to be to unlock a weapon, the more damage it will do, but the harder it will be to make. Melee Weapons If you want to get up close and personal in order to see the life drain from the eyes of your enemies, Melee weapons are the way to go. As you progress further through the game and your level increases, they might be the only chance you have of inflicting just enough damage to a Pal in order to catch it without outright killing them with one shot. Ranged Weapons All the way from a Bow and Arrow to the massively powerful Rocket Launcher, these weapons do a large amount of damage and are perfect for defeating the Tower bosses or higher-level Pals. Here’s how to get them and what Ammunition you need in order to use them. Grenades It’s always a good idea to stock up on grenades, which now come in a range of different varieties as of the Feybreak update of December 2024. They do a high amount of damage of the same type as their name, making them really strong if a certain Pal has a weakness to any of the Grenades you’re carrying, and can be very useful if you’re low on ammo for your chosen main weapons.
Singh won't support Conservative non-confidence motion that uses his own wordsPrincipal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Otter Tail Co. ( NASDAQ:OTTR – Free Report ) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 216,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,784 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.52% of Otter Tail worth $16,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in Otter Tail during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Otter Tail during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Otter Tail by 132.8% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Otter Tail by 1,811.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Otter Tail by 28,725.0% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the period. 61.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In OTTR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of Otter Tail from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Otter Tail Stock Down 1.4 % Shares of OTTR opened at $74.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Otter Tail Co. has a 12 month low of $73.26 and a 12 month high of $100.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.95. Otter Tail ( NASDAQ:OTTR – Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $338.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.20 million. Otter Tail had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Otter Tail Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year. Otter Tail Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.468 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Otter Tail’s payout ratio is 25.83%. About Otter Tail ( Free Report ) Otter Tail Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in electric utility, manufacturing, and plastic pipe businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Electric, Manufacturing, and Plastics. The Electric segment produces, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota; and operates as a participant in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator markets. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding OTTR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Otter Tail Co. ( NASDAQ:OTTR – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Otter Tail Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Otter Tail and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
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The Giants probably won’t land the No. 1 pick anymore. According to ESPN’s live tracker , the Giants’ chances of drafting first overall in 2025 plunged to a measly 5% after their 45-33 over the Colts on Sunday. Naturally, fans across social media were upset. They wanted the ticket to draft Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders or Miami’s Cam Ward — which the Giants would have gotten if they had lost out. The players, meanwhile, couldn’t care less about where they stand in the draft order. BUY GIANTS TICKETS: STUBHUB , VIVID SEATS , TICKETMASTER “We don’t care,” said cornerback Dru Phillips. “We’re trying to win a football game, man. It don’t matter. At the end of the day, you don’t go out there to lose. You’re trying to win, so forget about it. You live with what you live with. The Giants won today, so I’m in a good mood.” They sure played like they weren’t a tanking team. The Giants totaled 309 passing yards on 389 yards from scrimmage in large part thanks to a dominant performance from rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers (171 yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions). Nabers, who was spotted throwing a football with Sanders in the streets of Manhattan earlier this month, was mum when asked about the draft implications of the win. “I ain’t really got nothing to say about that,” said Nabers. The draft’s going to be the draft.” Veterans Jermaine Eluemunor and Darius Slayton offered a bit more wisdom. Sure, the better draft position is nice, but losing 13 straight games (which is what it would have required) might have been detrimental to the “culture” the Giants are trying to build. “You’d rather your team go out there and fight for every inch than lay down and just take an a**-whooping,” Eluemunor said. “Yeah, you get your pick that you wanted, but what is that player coming into? You’ve got to establish some sort of culture. “We’re trying to establish a culture that can lead into next year...I’m sure everything will still work out how this franchise needs it to work out.” “This isn’t basketball, it’s not golf, it’s not tennis,” said Slayton. “Football, you get hit. I’m not finna go out there and just let people tee off on me to tank. I’m not about to let people dive at my knees for free. At the end of the day, we’re trying to win and today showed that fight.” According to TankAThon, the Giants have the best strength of schedule among three-win teams (they face the Eagles in their final game next week), so it’s highly unlikely they’ll leapfrog teams like the Browns, Titans or Patriots, who now own the No. 1 pick, next week. Sunday’s win opens up countless questions about what the Giants now might do in the offseason. Will they trade up to No. 1? Or perhaps pivot to a bridge quarterback instead of reaching in a weaker class? Either way, the players are focused on one thing: Beating the Eagles in Week 18 — even if it means taking another nosedive down the draft board. “That’s more of an upstairs thing,” Brian Burns said. “They’ll figure out however they want to play those cards.” Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription. Ryan Novozinsky may be reached at rnovozinsky@njadvancemedia.com . You can follow him on X @ryannovo62.
arely a day passes without colleges scolded in the headlines over or and or and . Schools have become scapegoats for both good and bad reasons. Prominent commentators and populist political leaders from both the far left and far right now target higher education as a common enemy. In fact the current fight over the vs charges of elitism which would not characterize other fields such as sports or entertainment have torn open a seam on the right between Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk in favor of selectivity and merit on one side and Laura Loomer and Matt Goetz on the other. Ramaswamy declared that American culture has “venerated mediocrity over excellence" launching what is termed a within the MAGA movement. Both extremes have arrived on shared areas of concern that include admissions criteria; tolerance of thought on campus; institutional voice; faculty bias in research and education; personal safety; academic integrity; donor influence; curriculum focus; government funding; financial viability, and administrative efficiency. Increasingly, universities, especially selective universities, have been labelled as elitist, self-interested, out-of-touch with societal needs, and lacking accountability. What is new is the convergence of a of elements of the MAGA movement on the right and todays’ self-styled progressives on the left. Together, they find common cause in the skepticism of societal pillars from Wall Street financiers to college educators and politicians. These critiques have corroded public opinion on the value of U.S. higher education, just as the rest of the world treasures the real contributions to the economy, quality of life, scientific knowledge, and cultural enrichment provided by American colleges. The shows a steady decline of confidence in all pillars of society from public officials and the media to clergy and colleges. At the , fully 97% of the college presidents expressed concern over the loss to public confidence in higher education. This summer, the Pew Foundation researchers found roughly half the American public surveyed believe it’s to have a four-year college degree today to obtain a well-paying job than it was 20 years ago even as facts show the opposite is true: a significant wage gap still favors those with . Similarly, a Gallup survey this summer showed a large drop in overall US confidence in higher education from almost 60% in 2015 to almost half that. Now Americans are roughly among those who have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence (36%), some confidence (32%), or little or no confidence (32%) in higher education. In taking a closer look at the Gallup survey, three issues have risen to the top in the public mind: the political climate on our campuses, questions about whether a traditional liberal arts education best prepares our graduates for success in this tech-fueled world and the cost of higher education as represented by a sticker price that is rapidly approaching $100K per year. Increasingly, people across the political spectrum question whether a traditional liberal arts education, as delivered to most undergraduates by the Ivy and other leading institutions, is the best training for leadership in today’s workplace. Indeed, the elite schools do not have a stranglehold on certain sectors. In a study of 628 U.S.-born tech founders from 287 different universities, did not come from Ivy-plus schools. What mattered most in explaining the success of founders was that they graduated from a college. The success of dropouts like Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Apple’s Steve Jobs, and Facebook/Alphabet’s Marc Zuckerberg were exceptions to such findings. Paradoxically, the drop in American public confidence in the liberal arts comes just as the prestige of US universities around the world is at an all-time high and the number of international students studying in the US has climbed to a a year. And innovation for the public good is alive and well at America’s at the leading institutions. Over a third of US research universities have spinning out anywhere from 30 to 80 new business a year employing millions of US workers and serving as a source of economic development to communities around the nation. Higher education is the most globally competitive of all US sectors. The US is home to the by far (36). Research by the National Bureau of Economic Research has shown from Ivy League schools in particular. While less than half of one percent of Americans attend the eight Ivy League colleges, Chicago, Duke, MIT, and Stanford (known as Ivy Plus schools), these universities contributed more than 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs, a quarter of U.S. Senators, half of all Rhodes scholars, and three-fourths of Supreme Court justices appointed in the last half century. Roughly 22% of all , selected by judges from around the world, were affiliated with Ivy Leagues schools. This scholarship has contributed mightily to the advance of science and industry. The renowned corporate research labs of General Electric (Menlo Park), AT&T (Bell Labs), Xerox (Palo Alto Research Center) have largely disappeared with diminished research even at major chemical and pharmaceutical companies. Most of the great advances in material sciences, agricultural science, drug development, public health, environmental safety, and computer science and the internet originate in the university world. It must be noted, however, that the value of higher education should be appreciated for more than winning awards and creating wealth but also for quality of life. A decade ago, former Duke President Richard Brodhead co-chaired the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences for the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. In summarizing their findings, stated, that value of higher education is not to be measured merely by income earned by colleges graduates. “Its value is that it supplies enrichment to personal lives, equips students to be thoughtful and constructive social contributors, and prepares them to participate fully and creatively in the dynamic, ever-changing world that awaits them after college. It's easy to see why people might get anxious about something so difficult to calculate, and might want a straighter line to the payoff. But the fruits of such education can only be reckoned over long time-horizons, as they enable people to rise to challenges and seize opportunities they could not foresee at first. The lives of successful people almost never involve continuing to do what they prepared for. As their lives unfold, they find that by drawing on their preparation in unexpected ways, they're able to do things they hadn't intended or imagined.” Probably no issue about American higher education has received as much attention over a sustained period of time than its cost. And while some of the increase in the sticker price of leading universities can be explained by investments in need-based financial aid even the costs net of financial aid have risen between 1 and 2 percent above any reasonable measure of inflation for decades. Studies show levels of student debt rising at alarming rates. And while much of the focus has been on undergraduates, levels of student loan debt among those receiving master’s degrees is a more severe issue. Concerns about student loan debt are exacerbated by the fact that six-year graduation rates for undergraduates across all of higher education are less than 60%. So, too many students find themselves in the worst possible situation – a boatload of debt and no degree to show for it. In speaking about cost, the political right characterizes elite higher ed institutions as inefficient organizations choking on administrative bloat. The political left laments their high cost saying that the sticker price alone turns off prospective students from low socio-economic backgrounds. Both sides note the explosive growth in endowment values and want endowments to be tapped to reduce costs. The Ivy Plus institutions counter by noting their impressive investments in financial aid, the fact that they have six-year graduation rates in excess of 95% and the inherently high cost of the bundle of educational experiences that today’s students and their families expect. At these schools with strong endowments, roughly has their tuition bill covered by financial aid. Indeed, the more selective schools not only offer a challenging curriculum delivered through small classes with abundant academic support, but also house and feed students, offer them primary health care, undergraduate research and entrepreneurial activities, intramural and varsity athletics, artistic and performance opportunities, study abroad and much more. The cost of delivering all this is in excess of $100K per student per year at many institutions. These expenditures not only enrich the student experience but also enhance their local economies. American universities employ over adding $ annually to the GDP and their technology transfers have contributed over to the nation’s GOP in the last twenty years. Still, criticisms of the cost of American higher education have merit. Indeed, too many institutions have lost sight of the fact that their core missions are teaching, learning and discovery and those elements of their core mission should be prioritized in their budget decisions. have been shown to have soared disproportionately, in fact geometrically, compared to faculty staffing costs which only increased arithmetically, alongside only modest student enrollment increases. Academic leaders must also demand that administrative and support functions operate as efficiently as possible with new programs funded through internal reallocation. Many of these critiques are based in legitimate concerns and point to areas where the leading institutions of higher education can do better. However, they often overstate their case and present outlier examples. For example, published a countering the suggestion that liberal bias plays a meaningful role in tenure decisions. Indeed, their study concluded that professors were more likely to be dismissed for liberal thought. And it is incorrect to still label higher education a self-perpetuating caste system. Looking at roughly a century of data, as an example of elite universities, its student profile has shifted from 100% males to roughly 50/50; 27% of Mayflower/Social Register “Colonial” lineage to less than 6%; less than 2% underrepresented minorities to over 10% ; 0.4% Asian to 19%; 24% from elite prep schools to 4%. Plus, the report card on the impact of upward wealth mobility of these prestigious schools is much more encouraging that the critics from the left and the right acknowledge. Researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research studied at each college in the United States using data for over 30 million college students from 1999-2013 and found the students from low-income families and high-income families, had comparable incomes, when matched by the school they attended. Thus, the school had an uplifting impact on the wealth of low-income students. Furthermore, this research found, “The colleges that channel the most children from low- or middle-income families to the top 1% are almost exclusively highly selective institutions, such as UC–Berkeley and the Ivy Plus colleges. No college offers an upper-tail (top 1%) success rate comparable to elite private universities – at which 13% of students from the bottom quintile reach the top 1% – while also offering high levels of access to low-income students.” Interestingly, the critics of elite schools, indirectly but selectively cite from this research cherry picking around the upward mobility case for elite educational institutions. Similarly looking at Yale’s current first year class, benefit from some form of financial aid, thanks to the healthy endowments, 88% with zero debt and the who do have debt, owe less than $15,000, hardly a crushing burden. Thanks to a half billion dollars raised from alumni during their recent capital campaign, leaders were able to declare that "The Class of 2028 is the most socioeconomically diverse class in Dartmouth's history," with roughly 20% students from low income families receiving Pell Grants, over half of the class receiving financial aid, and no parental financial contributions for families earning less than $125,000 a year roughly 22% of the class. Despite such facts, Columnist David Brooks wrote in The Atlantic a piece entitled “How The Ivy League Broke America” where he echoes himself in a series of similar pieces he wrote in the New York Times such as one titled and , both which said elites were leaving others behind. His newest piece in this month’s concluded strangely that “a large mass of voters has shoved a big middle finger in the elites’ faces by voting for Donald Trump.” Of course, Brooks misses the irony that if this anti-Ivy League resentment drove voters, then is drove them to vote for the GOP ticket of two Ivy Leaguer grads, Donald Trump from Penn and J.D. Vance from Yale, and not the Democratic ticket of state school grads. Brooks joins a chorus of others who say that the meritocracy overrated. He cites Yale Law professor Daniel Markovits, the author of charging that applicants whose families come from the top 1 percent of wage earners were 77 times more likely to attend an Ivy League-level school than students from families making below $30,000 a year. Brooks adds that elite schools generally admit more students from the top 1 percent than the bottom 60. Then he joins Markovits in pronouncing the academic gap between the rich and the poor larger than the academic gap between white and Black students in the final days of Jim Crow. Brooks’s remedies include circumvention of new court barriers to affirmative action diversity goals, reducing the reliance upon standardized testing, emphasizing more humanistic qualities, substituting AI for analytic rigor, improving the colleges’ marketing of their own value, and that “we should aim to shrink the cultural significance of school in American society.” Missing from this list is any concern for the spreading caution of overexercising voice under the cloak of “institutional neutrality.” These practices the actual selective practices of the University of Chicago and similar schools which purported to limit presidents from showing the same periodic moral responsibility, patriotic duties, and institutional voice of other pillars of American society. Should Ivy Plus leaders even care about public support? After all, they are highly successful, highly selective institutions that are the envy of the world. Our answer is that these leaders should care about the erosion of public trust – a lot. To ignore this growing public distrust is to not only invite more public shaming by government officials as we saw in the House hearings this past year but potentially court more governmental actions such as endowment taxes, bans on DEI programs at public universities and similar interventions. Although the Ivy Plus institutions seem secure at the moment, one already sees the impacts of the loss of public trust across much of American higher education, significant reductions over the last 25 years in per-capita, inflation-adjusted state appropriations, the expansion of students wanting three-year, no-frills, degrees, employers seeking micro-credentialling rather than a bachelor’s degree, on-line course sharing among institutions to lower costs and ultimately lower enrollments. Certainly, higher education must address the ideological orthodoxy of political correctness which has diverted tolerance for original thought. Towards that end, we see newly emerging efforts to promote dialogue around difficult societal issues on a number of campuses. Similarly, universities do not do a great job with administrative efficiency with mushrooming overhead along with programs and departments that live on in perpetuity. Higher education has long been the target of satire from the Marx Brothers to Rodney Dangerfield’s “Back to School.” All institutions need constructive feedback to respond to changing societal needs, but the ideologically driven attacks on schools have lost their grounding, not to mention their humor, and risk promoting an age of ignorance. at .
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump's transition team on Tuesday signed an agreement to allow the Justice Department to conduct background checks on his nominees and appointees after a weekslong delay. The step lets Trump transition aides and future administration staffers obtain security clearances before Inauguration Day to access classified information about ongoing government programs, an essential step for a smooth transition of power. It also allows those nominees who are up for Senate confirmation to face the background checks lawmakers want before voting on them. Teams of investigators have been standing by to process clearances for Trump aides and advisers. FILE - Susie Wiles watches as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a caucus night party in Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) "This agreement with the Department of Justice will ensure President Trump and his team are ready on Day 1 to begin enacting the America First Agenda that an overwhelming majority of our nation supported on Election Day," said Susie Wiles, Trump's designate to be White House chief of staff. The announcement came a week after the Trump transition team signed an agreement with the Biden White House to allow transition staff to coordinate with the existing federal workforce before taking office Jan. 20. The White House agreement was supposed to have been signed by Oct. 1, according to the Presidential Transition Act, and the Biden White House issued both public and private appeals for Trump's team to sign on. Security clearances are required to access classified information, including on ongoing operations and threats to the nation, and the Biden White House and outside experts emphasized to Trump's team the importance of having cleared personnel before Inauguration Day so they could be fully briefed and ready to run the government. 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) Republican Senators also insisted on FBI background checks for Trump's nominees before they face confirmation votes, as has been standard practice for decades. Lawmakers were particularly interested in seeing the findings of reviews into Trump's designated nominee for defense secretary, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, and for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence. "That's why it's so important that we have an FBI background check, a committee review of extensive questions and questionnaires, and a public hearing," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Monday. John Thune, incoming Senate Republican leader, said the Trump team "understands there's going to have to be a thorough vetting of all these nominees." Among President-elect Donald Trump's picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, former Democratic House member Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. 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.” Trump has named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband. Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission. Carr made past appearances on “Fox News Channel," including when he decried Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' pre-Election Day appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” He wrote an op-ed last month defending a satellite company owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk. 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. 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 said Wednesday that he will nominate Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as National Security Advisor to Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence. For the America First Policy Institute, one of several groups formed after Trump left office to help lay the groundwork for the next Republican administration, Kellogg in April wrote that “bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) 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. Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff 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. James Blair, deputy chief of staff 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. Taylor Budowich, deputy chief of staff 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. William McGinley, White House counsel 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.” Jay Bhattacharya, National Institutes of Health Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya is a physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, and is a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He promoted the idea of herd immunity during the pandemic, arguing that people at low risk should live normally while building up immunity to COVID-19 through infection. The National Institutes of Health funds medical research through competitive grants to researchers at institutions throughout the nation. NIH also conducts its own research with thousands of scientists working at its labs in Bethesda, Maryland. Jamieson Greer, U.S. trade representative Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council Trump is turning to two officials with experience navigating not only Washington but the key issues of income taxes and tariffs as he fills out his economic team. He announced he has chosen international trade attorney Jamieson Greer to be his U.S. trade representative and Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council. While Trump has in several cases nominated outsiders to key posts, these picks reflect a recognition that his reputation will likely hinge on restoring the public’s confidence in the economy. Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.” Hassett, 62, served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.As science continues its evolution, discoveries and technologies can act like a master key that opens doors that lead to novel advancements. Artificial intelligence is one such key, making innovations possible by solving complex problems, automating tasks and enabling research that would have been impossible, or very time-consuming, without it. But do we want to do research on all topics, and shall we try the AI master key on every door? To explore this question, let’s consider the use of AI by genomics experts as an example. In recent years, genomics experts have added unbelievable depth to what we know about the world and ourselves. For example, genetics researchers have revealed facts about when certain animals and plants were domesticated. In another example, DNA found in 30,000-year-old permafrost was used to create fertile samples of a plant called narrow-leafed campion. Importantly, genetic engineering techniques such as CRISPR facilitate extraordinary advances in the treatment of complicated conditions, such as sickle-cell anemia. Thanks to AI developments, we are witnessing a dramatic increase in the pace and scalability of genomic techniques, which will allow researchers to embark on exploratory journeys — and at the same time, add urgency to already-existing ethical issues. AI companies are also most interested in the scientific implications of this technology. We see this demonstrated in a recent interview between Harvard Business School officials and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. In response to the question, “What are the pieces of AI that you are most excited about?” Altman said: “Greatly increasing the rate of scientific discovery is what I’m most excited about.” However, given the risks and possible consequences of AI use in science, should we rush headlong into using AI in all kinds of projects? One relevant example is research on Neanderthals, our closest relatives, who lived until about 40,000 years ago. Neanderthals have been studied for several years now through genetic investigation of their fossils and their DNA. Genetic engineering can potentially use ancient DNA and genome editing methods to re-create a Neanderthal or aspects of a Neanderthal’s genetics and physiology. To do this, scientists could start by figuring out the DNA sequence of a Neanderthal by comparing it with the DNA of modern humans, since they are closely related. Then, scientists could use CRISPR to swap out parts of human DNA with Neanderthal DNA. This process would require a lot of trial and error and might not succeed soon, but based on what we know about genetics, if something is possible, AI can help make it happen faster, cheaper and with less effort. Scientists are excited about these developments because they could facilitate new discoveries and open up many new research opportunities in genetic research. With or without AI, research on Neanderthals will proceed, but the extraordinary power of AI could give the final push to these discoveries and facilitate this kind of resurrection. At that point, the scientific community must develop norms and guidelines about how to treat these resurrected beings with dispositions very similar to humans. We would need to carefully consider their rights and well-being almost in the same way as when humans are involved and not as research subjects or artifacts of scientific curiosity. These ethical issues are discussed in more detail in a new paper published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence. A more holistic question to consider is: Should we prioritize the use of resource-intensive AI, researchers’ time and public funds to resurrect extinct beings? Or should we invest these resources into conserving species that are critically endangered today to prevent biodiversity from more degradation?
BBC Casualty fans predict shock exit twist as new character causes troubleWith the end of 2024 soon approaching, there’s a lot to look back and reflect on. As part of our Year In Review series, we wanted to share a look at the Sun-Times’ most-read stories of the last year. Readers were interested in a wide variety of stories in 2024, ranging from the woman who bought the first Mustang six decades ago to Donald Trump’s appearance at the National Black Journalist Association convention to the White Sox’ ongoing efforts to build a new stadium. Neil Steinberg told the story of a TikTok star who ComEd lured out of a safe union job, only to fire him . Rummana Hussain spoke to the founders of a local clothing company using its products and profits to raise awareness for Gaza . Frank Main reported on state police accused of PPP fraud . Readers gravitated to those and many other stories about what’s going on with Chicago and its residents. Below, check out the Sun-Times’ most-read stories of 2024 for a variety of categories. Most-read stories overall 1. Gail Wise bought the first Ford Mustang sold in the United States; 60 years later, she still owns it (Apr. 12) 2. Obama gave him clemency, now 74-year-old man sentenced for selling fentanyl-laced oxycodone (Feb. 27) 3. Jerry Seinfeld’s ‘Unfrosted’ is one of the decade’s worst movies (May 2) 4. Trump Tower ruled ‘public nuisance’ over fish kills (Sept. 11) 5. Mom says ‘no amount of money’ can bring back ‘healthy, active’ teen injured in unauthorized police chase (March 18) 6. White Sox in ‘serious’ talks to build stadium in South Loop’s ‘The 78’ (Jan. 17) 7. Anthony Rizzo finds out that he can go home again (June 8) 8. Eileen Sheahan, granddaughter of former Cook County sheriff, dies in skiing accident: ‘We will miss her amazing smile’ (Feb. 1) 9. Trump cancels stay at his Chicago hotel during Milwaukee Republican convention after word leaks out (June 18) 10 . Judge wants Chicago gang kingpin Larry Hoover in court for Gangster Disciples co-founder’s mercy bid (July 24) Most-read stories in Illinois 1. White Sox in ‘serious’ talks to build stadium in South Loop’s ‘The 78’ (Jan. 17) 2. Leila Rahimi weighs in on departure from NBC 5 Chicago (Oct. 22) 3. Hinsdale South basketball coach Michael Belcaster could be facing administrative leave ( Jan. 23) 4. Cook County official arrested, charged with driving while drunk in Chicago (Nov. 12) 5. Johnson cancels 2 months of police academy classes , orders layoff lists to cut $75M (Oct. 8) 6. Italian flight team flies over Chicago after bowing out of Air and Water Show (July 27) 7. Sparse crowds see the big acts at NASCAR Chicago Street Race (July 7) 8. Lawyer was handcuffed to chair after Cook County judge ordered him removed from courtroom, sparking state inquiry (June 11) 9 . Judge wants Chicago gang kingpin Larry Hoover in court for Gangster Disciples co-founder’s mercy bid (July 24) 10. CPS assistant principal stole $273K from after-school program , prosecutors say (Jan. 9) Most-read politics stories 1. Trump cancels stay at his Chicago hotel during Milwaukee Republican convention after word leaks out (June 18) 2. Johnson cancels 2 months of police academy classes , orders layoff lists to cut $75M (Oct. 8) 3. Trump lies about Kamala Harris’ race, bashes moderator at Black journalists convention in Chicago (July 31) 4. Cook County official arrested, charged with driving while drunk in Chicago (Nov. 12) 5. Entire CPS Board to resign , adding to school district chaos (Oct. 4) 6. Mayor’s pricey hair and makeup: In one year, Brandon Johnson’s campaign has spent $30K on grooming (June 7) 7. Cook County judge kicks Trump off Illinois ballot — but puts her own order on hold (Feb. 28) 8. Donald Trump’s VP pick, Sen. J.D. Vance, is the reason Chicago has no top federal prosecutor (July 15) 9. Pritzker urges Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to stop migrant drop-offs in winter storm : ‘I plead with you for mercy’ (Jan. 12) 10. A smiling Ed Burke greets 2-year sentence on corruption charges as judge rejects prosecution request for much tougher term (June 24) Most-read Watchdogs investigations 1. Obama gave him clemency, now 74-year-old man sentenced for selling fentanyl-laced oxycodone (Feb. 27) 2. In DEA case that led to jet seizure in Gary, former Indiana beauty queen and two bank employees now charged (May 22) 3. Illinois State Police officers accused of PPP loan fraud (May 10) 4. Lawyer was handcuffed to chair after Cook County judge ordered him removed from courtroom, sparking state inquiry (June 11) 5. Blunders lead feds to suspects in theft of millions in Chicago-area armored truck robberies (Nov. 18) 6. Mayor’s pricey hair and makeup: In one year, Brandon Johnson’s campaign has spent $30K on grooming (June 7) 7. Why is Jerry Reinsdorf spending millions buying up parking lots around the United Center ? (Feb. 23) 8. The billionaire behind the scenes in White Sox’ stadium plan (April 12) 9. Outlaws biker gang ‘enforcer’ admits grisly killings in failed bid to get out of prison (July 3) 10. Morton Grove man claimed to ship COVID-19 test kits to Medicare participants, but FBI says they were dead (June 7) Most-read sports stories 1. Anthony Rizzo finds out that he can go home again (June 8) 2. How did something as beautiful as six NBA titles become so unpleasant? Blame Michael Jordan. (Jan. 14) 3. Leila Rahimi weighs in on departure from NBC 5 Chicago (Oct. 22) 4. As Bears celebrate Steve McMichael’s Hall of Fame enshrinement, Mike Ditka not expected to attend (Aug. 1) 5. In wake of Barstool blowup, Laurence Holmes’ move creates firestorm at The Score (Sept. 23) 6. Former Bears star Steve McMichael diagnosed with MRSA , family asks for prayers (Feb. 17) 7. Sky fire coach Teresa Weatherspoon after one season (Sept. 27) 8. Marina Mabrey, whose trade demand was granted, is latest in long line of players who wanted out of Chicago (July 18) 9. Former Bears kicker Robbie Gould new head football coach at Rolling Meadows (Feb. 23) 10. Hinsdale South basketball coach Michael Belcaster could be facing administrative leave ( Jan. 23) Most-read pop culture stories 1. Jerry Seinfeld’s ‘Unfrosted’ is one of the decade’s worst movies (May 2) 2. Sparse crowds see the big acts at NASCAR Chicago Street Race (July 7) 3. Iconic voice of ‘Soul Train’ opening scream sues to get show royalties (Jan. 27) 4. Eamonn Walker exiting ‘Chicago Fire’ as series regular (May 7) 5. Jeremy Allen White lookalike contest in Chicago draws more than 50 participants, won by Glenview therapist (Nov. 16) 6. The Rolling Stones are timeless — and ageless — as Soldier Field show proves (June 28) 7. Common tells Jennifer Hudson about his romance , apparently with Jennifer Hudson (Jan. 21) 8. Humboldt Park ‘basement’ comedy club shut down after Instagram video goes viral (Sept. 4) 9. ‘The Program,’ riveting Netflix doc, goes inside troubled-teen academy that treated students like prisoners (March 5) 10. John Mulaney returns to St. Ignatius for playful, sometimes poignant David Letterman chat (April 29) Most-read opinion and columns 1. Michigan Avenue, once a picture-perfect postcard, is now a depressing mess (May 31) 2. The long decline of Macy’s in Chicago , now a shell of a once-great department store (Feb. 1) 3. Stop mandatory driving tests for Illinois’ seniors (May 6) 4. Watermelon surprise: How the daughter of Hollywood stars helped a Chicago clothing company raise money, awareness for Gaza (Jan. 19) 5. Donald Trump is losing his marbles (Aug. 16) 6. New York boldly goes where Chicago went ... in 1984 (Aug. 27) 7. Why does Illinois’ Department of Natural Resources claim the public has no right to 98% of waterways? (May 2) 8. Ken Griffin gives the Museum of Science and Industry a bad name (May 15) 9. The hard truth about Rainbow PUSH and why the Rev. Frederick Haynes III quit after 3 months (April 22) 10. Let the Bears have Guaranteed Rate Field (Feb. 6) Most time spent 1. Gail Wise bought the first Ford Mustang sold in the United States; 60 years later, she still owns it (Apr. 12) 2. White Sox in ‘serious’ talks to build stadium in South Loop’s ‘The 78’ (Jan. 17) 3. How did something as beautiful as six NBA titles become so unpleasant? Blame Michael Jordan. (Jan. 14) 4 . Judge wants Chicago gang kingpin Larry Hoover in court for Gangster Disciples co-founder’s mercy bid (July 24) 5. Jerry Seinfeld’s ‘Unfrosted’ is one of the decade’s worst movies (May 2) 6. Trump lies about Kamala Harris’ race, bashes moderator at Black journalists convention in Chicago (July 31) 7. ComEd lured TikTok historian out of safe union job, then fired him (Nov. 14) 8. Mom says ‘no amount of money’ can bring back ‘healthy, active’ teen injured in unauthorized police chase (March 18) 9. Young Chicago police officer who ‘courageously protected this city’ shot to death in Chatham (Nov. 5) 10. Trump Tower ruled ‘public nuisance’ over fish kills (Sept. 11)
