wow mali tirahin First Period_None. Second Period_1, Florida, Ekblad 1, 6:42. 2, Florida, Samoskevich 5 (Barkov, Tkachuk), 19:59 (pp). Third Period_3, Florida, Bennett 12 (Luostarinen, Lundell), 8:19. 4, Florida, Barkov 6 (Reinhart, Tkachuk), 11:37 (pp). 5, Florida, A.Boqvist 1 (Greer), 11:48. 6, Florida, Rodrigues 6 (Verhaeghe, Schmidt), 13:01 (pp). Shots on Goal_Carolina 11-7-2_20. Florida 9-10-16_35. Power-play opportunities_Carolina 0 of 2; Florida 3 of 6. Goalies_Carolina, Perets 0-0-0 (7 shots-6 saves), Carolina, Martin 3-4-1 (28-23). Florida, Knight 4-4-0 (20-20). A_18,648 (19,250). T_2:39. Referees_Jean Hebert, Dan O'Rourke. Linesmen_Jonathan Deschamps, Libor Suchanek.

allanswart/iStock via Getty Images It's a tough time to be a dividend investor. With every new all-time high hit by the Big Tech-driven indices, the FOMO gets a little worse. But at the same time, with each new high, the valuation of the market's If you want access to our entire Portfolio and all our current Top Picks, feel free to join us for a 2-week free trial at High Yield Landlord. We are the largest real estate investment community on Seeking Alpha with over 2,000 members on board and a perfect 5/5 rating from 400+ reviews: For a Limited Time - You can join us at a deeply reduced rate! Start Your 2-Week Free Trial Today! Austin Rogers is a REIT specialist with a professional background in commercial real estate. He writes about high-quality dividend growth stocks with the goal of generating the safest growing passive income stream possible. Since his ideal holding period is "lifelong," his focus is on portfolio income growth rather than total returns. High Yield Landlord Learn more Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of AMH, ARE, ARTNA, CTRE, EGP, HASI, JEPI, REXR, TRIN either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.D’Angelo Russell interested in playing for surprising country’s national team

World News | Iceland Votes for a New Parliament After Political Disagreements Force an Early ElectionWith the ongoing and increasing threats to cybersecurity, you need a good antivirus solution that doesn’t break the bank. I reviewed F-Secure Total, an affordable antivirus solution that let me build a plan that covers all my devices with just the features I need. While we all like to keep an eye on the budget, computer security isn’t the right place to cut corners. The best antivirus software provides excellent protection against online and offline malware at an affordable price. F-Secure has flexible pricing that you can customize to precisely match your needs. The most affordable plan starts at $50 annually, covering one device with real-time antivirus, scam, and ransomware protection in the browser and offline. You probably use a computer, phone, and possibly several other devices. If one gets hacked, all of your social and financial accounts are at risk, as is the personal data stored on that device. It makes sense to protect them all and F-Secure plans can cover 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, or more devices. A three-device plan starts at $65, five devices cost $70, and 10 computers, phones, and tablets is $85. The options don’t stop there. You can add a VPN with unlimited data for $10 more per year. A password manager and identity monitoring also adds $10 annually. With F-Secure, you pay only for what you need. Still, you can find better deals on antivirus software , at least for the first year of service. I do like that F-Secure doesn’t have shocking price increases when it’s time to renew. If you’re looking for a free solution, F-Secure has a free malware scan and removal tool. The website describes it as an online scanner, but it’s actually a Windows app that installs on your PC before running. The free scanner detects and clears malicious apps that are already active on your computer, but doesn’t protect you from future threats. The best free antivirus software offers good browser protection without requiring a subscription. Tiers and pricing Design I tested F-Secure Total, the version that includes antivirus, a VPN, identity monitoring, and more. After installing the app, the dashboard showed that real-time protection was active, but there were several other features to set up to maximize my cybersecurity. I installed the browser extension for online protection, the password manager extension to help secure account logins, and a VPN to prevent activity tracking, then added my email address for monitoring. With setup complete, I explored the user interface. The dashboard shows all the active features at a glance and lets me select one to make adjustments. A button at the top left opens a menu with more options, including account details, settings, support, and quick access to all the features. I opened settings and found there are plenty of options to fine-tune each security feature, such as choosing which folders are locked to protect against ransomware. Overall, F-Secure Total was easy to get started with and the design is clear and simple, with advanced features accessible via settings. Features The number one job of an antivirus is to protect my computer from malware. It should offer real-time detection and blocking to prevent infection. As a second line of defense, it should regularly scan for malicious apps and quarantine them so no harm is done. To test how well F-Secure Total performed, I checked its score at full-time cybersecurity labs that continuously monitor the threat landscape and rate the effectiveness of leading antivirus software. F-Secure shows excellent AV-Test scores, falling below perfect only once with a minor miss in June 2023. F-Secure didn’t fare well in AV-Comparatives scoring system, but a deeper dive into the real-time report reveals it blocked as many threats as antivirus leaders Norton , Avira , and McAfee , which have good protection track records. F-Secure’s score dropped because it had a high false-positive rate, which includes incorrect app and website blocking. An overprotective antivirus can be annoying, but it isn’t dangerous. In my tests, I didn’t get any false alerts. I always do spot-checks by visiting Wicar’s malware test website. F-Secure Total’s browser extension successfully identified and blocked all 13 malware downloads and browser exploits. I tested the password manager and it autofilled logins as expected. It’s not as sophisticated as the best password managers that allow organization and password sharing, but it handles the basics well and syncs across devices. F-Secure Total’s VPN defaults to OpenVPN protocol, which isn’t the fastest. I tried the only other option, IKEv2, which helped. Still, the best speed I measured was 20% as fast as my usual 900 Mbps. With the best dedicated VPN services, I enjoy over 700 Mbps downloads. Support F-Secure claims it offers 24/7 support via live chat, so I tested that out by asking about login sharing. A live agent answered immediately and continued to respond quickly as I clarified my question. I’ve reviewed several antivirus services and found that live chat support varies. Solutions like ESET have good support, but during limited hours . Others use chat services that start off quickly, then slow dramatically after the first response. I also verified that live chat with a human is available for F-Secure customers all day, every day. As I mentioned above, there’s no password sharing option in F-Secure, but the agent suggested I could copy and send the password via a message, email, or written on paper. I liked the inclusion of an offline solution from tech support. Privacy and security F-Secure’s privacy policy is very clear and states that it won’t sell or share your personal data to third-party advertisers. It will comply with legal requests, but it doesn’t allow backdoors in its software. The company is based in Finland, which isn’t part of any intelligence alliances for information sharing. I couldn’t find any record of customer data breaches or cybersecurity incidents, so your personal and financial information should be secure when using F-Secure Total antivirus protection. Is F-Secure right for you? The least inexpensive option, F-Secure Internet Security, offers good protection, but doesn’t beat the best antivirus software . While the VPN and password manager are nice additions to F-Secure Total, dedicated services offer more advanced features. The best password managers aren’t that expensive, and you can even find excellent free password managers . The same is true of VPNs. Proton offers a great free VPN] , and you can often find VPN deals that minimize your cost without sacrificing speed. While F-Secure Total’s high false positive score is a drawback, I didn’t have any problems with apps or websites being blocked. Also, a false positive is better than allowing malware to run wild on your computer. That said, antivirus software like Bitdefender and Norton provide solid protection without the annoyance of overzealous blocking. However, I liked F-Secure Total’s customizable subscription plans and consistent pricing on renewal and still recommend it as a good solution if you want to fine-tune your subscription to exactly what you need.NoneDogecoin is a joke − so what’s behind its rally?

From road closures, power outages, weather declarations and nonstop shoveling, Muskoka residents were faced with nearly a metre of persistent snowfall this weekend. According to Environment Canada, storm accumulations reached 140 centimetres of snow in Gravenhurst and 125 centimetres in Bracebridge. Near-whiteout conditions near Orillia Ont., on Sat., Nov. 30, 2024 (CTV News/David Sullivan) The heavy snowfall led to the closure of Highway 11 in both directions between Orillia and Huntsville on Saturday, with the closure persisting through to Monday morning. OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said police expect the northbound lanes along Highway 11 to reopen around noon Monday from West Street in Orillia to Highway 60 in Huntsville. "There will be limited access. Not every exit and entrance will be open in that stretch," he explained. Except for Luigi Road, all ramps are cleared. Schmidt noted southbound lanes are expected to reopen sometime in the afternoon. Additionally, a dozen trucks were trapped on Country Road 6 in Cooper's Falls near Washago Monday morning. Near-whiteout conditions near Orillia Ont., on Sat., Nov. 30, 2024 (CTV News/David Sullivan) Emergency crews and motorists confirmed to CTV News that hundreds of vehicles were stranded without food or water, some for nearly 30 hours. On Saturday, fire crews helped bring motorists to Gravenhurst Town Hall via side-by-side transports for access to generators amid power outages.Lakeland Power and Elexicon Energy – the respective suppliers of electricity for Bracebridge and Gravenhurst – and Hydro One all indicated via their outage maps that tens of thousands of customers were without power on Saturday. The Town of Gravenhurst declared a state of emergency on Sunday after the District Municipality of Muskoka had declared a ‘Significant Weather Event’ on Saturday. Premier Doug Ford posted to social media Monday morning stating the province was working closely with authorities in Gravenhurst and across Muskoka to ensure they have everything they need. “Provincial resources are on hand and more are en route to help where needed. I’m relieved that there are no injuries or fatalities reported.” Ford encouraged residents to stay home until power is restored and roads and highways are safely reopened. Drivers who are low on fuel are advised to find a safe place to park until they can safely access a gas station, or until fuel can be brought to them. OPP add that locals should only dial 911 for life-threatening situations and should contact the non-emergency line at 1-888-310-1122 for all other situations.Sharing The Tech Wealth

Canadian Cabinet ministers meet with Trump's nominee for commerce secretary in bid to avoid tariffs

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he wants real estate developer Charles Kushner , father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France. Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post, calling Charles Kushner “a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker." Kushner is the founder of Kushner Companies, a real estate firm. Jared Kushner is a former White House senior adviser to Trump who is married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka. The elder Kushner was pardoned by Trump in December 2020 after pleading guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations. Charles Kushner arrives July 20, 2022, for the funeral of Ivana Trump in New York. Prosecutors alleged that after Charles Kushner discovered his brother-in-law was cooperating with federal authorities in an investigation, he hatched a scheme for revenge and intimidation. Kushner hired a prostitute to lure his brother-in-law, then arranged to have the encounter in a New Jersey motel room recorded with a hidden camera and the recording sent to Kushner's own sister, the man’s wife, prosecutors said. Kushner eventually pleaded guilty to 18 counts including tax evasion and witness tampering. He was sentenced in 2005 to two years in prison — the most he could receive under a plea deal, but less than what Chris Christie, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey at the time and later governor and Republican presidential candidate, sought. Christie blamed Jared Kushner for his firing from Trump’s transition team in 2016, and called Charles Kushner’s offenses “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted when I was U.S. attorney.” Trump and the elder Kushner knew each other from real estate circles and their children were married in 2009. 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. A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. “In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. “He did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.” Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Trump 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. Get local news delivered to your inbox!COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Department of Conservation is considering removing some restrictions on walleye and sauger, according to a Tuesday press release from the department. Current regulations state: “Throughout the year, except that from February 20 through April 14 walleye and sauger may be taken and possessed only between one-half (1/2) hour before sunrise to one-half (1/2) hour after sunset in the Swan Creek Arm of Bull Shoals Lake above Highway 160 and in the unimpounded portions of all streams except the Mississippi, and Missouri rivers. Walleye and sauger may not be possessed on waters or banks thereof during closed seasons or closed hours.” Anglers can comment on possible changes in an online form . The release says that research indicates “there is no clear biological justification for the nighttime closure portion of this regulation. Allowing the harvest during spring spawning (February-April) may have an impact on overall population numbers, but most walleye in Missouri reservoirs are stocked by MDC.” The release also claims that anglers have asked for the regulation to be removed. Concerns include possible overharvesting during spring spawning, “which could lead to decreased populations in rivers and reservoirs. MDC adds that walleye numbers in reservoirs are supported through regular stockings,” the release says.December magic ... the brain’s wonder ... and how to defeat emotional investing December has settled in, and it seems like the world has transformed. Everyday sights are now lined with twinkling lights. The scent of pine trees fills homes, shopping malls and even office buildings. Kitchens are stocked with cookies – maybe one of your favorites that you look forward to every year. It’s amazing how the sights, sounds and smells of a season can transport you backwards in time. You probably remember just what your house looked like when you were young, the excitement of putting up the decorations, and the comforting aroma of your favorite treats baking in the kitchen. The brain stores all this information and the related emotions and calls it up again easily. Suddenly, you’re thrown back into a different (hopefully happy) mood. The brilliance of the human brain can’t be overstated. With it, we turn ordinary homes and shops into places of wonder. Human beings write symphonies, create mechanical marvels, and now we have even created real artificial intelligence. An adult brain only weighs about three pounds and is 75% water, but it contains about 100 billion neurons – roughly the same number of stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Despite its compact size, its capacity to create music, art and inventions seems limitless. Yet for all its marvelous gifts, the human brain is not always the best tool for stock picking and managing your portfolio. As we all know, we’re too often ruled by our biases and emotions. All our analytical capabilities are worthless if we let those things sway our decision-making. But there are ways to mitigate those impulses and make the most of your investing dollars. Overcoming irrational investing You don’t have to be a psychologist, sociologist or economist to understand that humans are emotional creatures. The field of behavioral finance examines the irrational behaviors that hurt our money management. If you look back over your investing history, you can probably see, in retrospect, how your biases affected your decision-making. Some of the more familiar biases include: Overconfidence: In investing circles this is often referred to as “confusing a bull market with brains.” Overconfident investors refuse to believe their thinking is wrong, even when the market changes direction. Loss Aversion: People fear losses more than anything else. This causes them to sell winners too soon or hold on to losers for too long, hoping they will rebound. Crowd-seeking: The fear of missing out leads folks to pile into popular trades, creating bubbles and eventual crashes. Everyone who lived through the dot-com bubble and crash can relate. And as trading stocks has become easier – you can trade stocks in seconds on your phone – the potential for an emotional decision to wreak havoc on portfolios has only increased. Senior tech investing analyst Luke Lango knows this challenge well. Luke is well-known for his ability to see the technology trends that are going to drive societal progress. His specialty is investing early in the companies that will thrive from that change. Whether the technological advancement is self-driving cars, AI, quantum computing or the rise of cryptocurrencies, Luke has helped his subscribers grow their wealth as the tide of progress continues to surge forward. And though technology is unemotional, technology investors are still just human beings with all the same emotional tendencies. Here’s Luke explaining how that reality affects the markets. This observation resonates with buy-and-hold investors. One day everything seems to be going well in the market, and the next day chaos reigns. You likely remember 2018, when on Christmas Eve, the S&P hit its low point on a 20% correction that had begun just months prior. 2018 S&P Market Plunge Luke believes fear- and greed-driven “flash crashes” are only going to become more common. That’s why he decided to develop a solution to help keep himself, and his subscribers, from having to endure these stomach-churning rides. Luke’s new stock screening system Luke hasn’t abandoned buy-and-hold investing. He specializes in finding the innovative companies that are developing the technology of tomorrow. Those are often smaller companies that need time to grow and mature. And in his various investment services, he still provides related buy-and-hold recommendations. Over the shorter term, however, Luke wants to help his readers thrive in volatile market environments. But that requires overcoming those investment biases we highlighted a moment ago. This is why Luke created a new, exclusive stock screener called Auspex that identifies the best fundamentally strong stocks with the technical indicators and positive sentiment needed to drive short-term gains. It’s a systems-based market approach that removes emotion, allowing impartial data to inform buy and sell decisions. At its core, Auspex identifies the strongest stocks in the market. Each month, Luke runs it again, thereby continually making sure that investors are aligning their wealth with the current “best of the best,” not yesterday’s leaders who are now slipping (which too many investors would hold onto thanks to our biases). After a year of development and rigorous back testing, Luke is ready to make the results widely available. Luke has shared the system’s picks with his Inner Circle subscribers for the last five months, and it has beaten the market every month – even in November, as you can see in the chart below. Given these results, you owe it to yourself to sign up for Luke’s free Auspex Anomaly Event, next Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 1 p.m. ET. Luke will explain why the markets are going to be more volatile than ever next year, how he developed his new Auspex screener, and how his subscribers can achieve market-beating gains while only spending about 10 minutes a month on their portfolios, and only trading five to 20 stocks at a time. The event is free, and the results are impressive. You can sign up for the event by clicking right here. The holidays can be a time of great joy and happy memories. With Luke’s powerful Auspex tool, you can create some financial joy and happy memories year-round! Enjoy your weekend, Luis Hernandez Editor in Chief, InvestorPlace: We’re into December now. Normally I’d say this is silly season but I think it’s been silly season for months. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I’ve been saying some version of this for a while, but let me just say it bluntly: it’s in everyone’s best interests for there to be an election. Soon. As soon as we can arrange one after Christmas. Issue the writ just after New Years’s, vote in early February? I think the country needs this, because all the federal parties are clearly giving up. I think we’ll be better able to handle Donald Trump with a government with a clear mandate. And, finally, I think the Liberals will be better off to just get this over with. Not only is there no Trump bump, but the Tories seem to be furthering their lead. The GST holiday and rebates are backfiring. This is humiliating enough and for the Liberals, worse is always possible. Enough. Throw it back to the people. It’s time. : I am keen to hear you game this out, but I do have to ask, are you trying to be the lump of coal in our Christmas stockings? : I’m honestly not. I think the status quo we’re stuck with until we have an election is the coal. : So my obvious question is this one, and you know what I’m going to say. Picture this: it’s Jan. 21 and Trump makes good on his threat to impose sweeping 25 per cent tariffs. Canada has a caretaker government. Do we just appoint Ontario Premier Doug Ford to speak for the federation while we are sorting out who’s prime minister? : No. We eat the pain for a few weeks, get a government that isn’t a desiccated husk of its former self, and then that government can have a steady hand for years, instead of the constant high-wire act we’re stuck with now. Because the scenario you just laid out isn’t something that can only happen if we call an election deliberately. It can happen if a handful of Liberal MPs get a tummy ache. : Those aren’t going to be quiet weeks before or after the inauguration on Jan. 20. As we’ve already seen, Trump is acting like he’s president already. Justin Trudeau and his government, I believe correctly, are mindful of this — hence the trip to Mar-a-Lago. At the very time that events in the U.S. are going into overdrive, an election would throw us into slow motion. It would also mean Canada-U.S. relations would dominate an election in ways we haven’t seen since the great free-trade election of 1988. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing in itself. But I do believe Canada has to look united in the face of the Trump threat and an election creates divisions, not unity. : Nothing about our current politics is channelling unity. We are, at best, aspiring to unity. And I’m not even sure that’s consistently true. And that’s not going to change without an election. Let me flip the question around here: consider the last six months of Canadian politics, or 12, or 18. Consider where we are right now, today. What’s the case for this continuing? : I will agree with you that nothing in the past year and a half is a good argument for more of the same. That’s not just because we’re dealing with a nine-year-old government. We’re dealing with an opposition that appears to have zero interest in making Parliament or government work. Pierre Poilievre, if he does become prime minister, may turn out to be a competent one. But that won’t happen in the first few weeks. I’m giving you a version here of what I’ve already said: to have Canada led by a caretaker government, then a rookie one precisely when Trump is dangling existential threats to our economy is in no one’s interest. : That’s inevitable. It’s going to happen, unless we’re going to somehow not have an election again until Trump leaves office. It’s just a matter of timing. And on that question, my answer is: as soon as possible. : I’d have a bit more confidence in our ability to handle a transition if Poilievre was talking as a prime minister in waiting these days. Maybe he is behind the scenes. Maybe he has people making contact with the incoming Trump team. Let’s hope so. But that’s not what he’s doing in public. He is standing behind placards saying essentially, “we agree with you, Trump, this country is a mess.” He’ll do more of that in an election. That’s not a negotiating position and some of that will come back to haunt him, if and/or when he gets the chance at the big job. : In the final analysis, the most honest answer someone can give me against having an election now is probably something like, “I don’t like who’d win.” And that’s fair. I really mean that. That’s a completely legitimate answer. What I’m saying is this: unless you (a royal you, meaning anyone) really think there’s a chance Poilievre loses the next election, the only thing that should matter to you is timing. And I think sooner is much, much better than later. : Maybe I’ve worked in Ottawa too long and absorbed some of the risk-averse culture around here. The danger to me here isn’t the outcome of an election, but the risks to the country of plunging it into a campaign — a nasty one, we can safely predict — when our most important relationship is on the verge of a shock to the system. We know two things about Trump: personal relationships matter to him and he has a ruthless instinct when dealing with weakness. An election would be handing him all the ammunition he needs to make us weaker. : There is no risk-free option here. I wish there was. We have to pick our poison. Trump has ammunition enough already. That can’t guide us. : You make some good points, but I’m still going to resist the prospect of a campaign in the first weeks of 2025. And I bet the government will, too.

For all their moral superiority, it turns out Democrats are every bit as willing to sacrifice democracy to their personal interests as are Republicans. President Joe Biden stood on high ground for the past year as his son, Hunter, moved his way through the courts on felony gun and tax-evasion charges. Asked repeatedly whether he’d pardon his son to spare him from prison, the president was adamant. He wouldn’t do it, he pledged. His allegiance was to the rule of law, he said, and the idea that no one is above it. He respected the legal process and would let the courts do their jobs, he vowed. But as the hour approached for Hunter to be sentenced and packed off to a prison cell, Biden changed his tune. Hunter is a victim of politics, he declared, prosecuted at the behest of the president’s political enemies. Hunter is a good guy, he claimed, who did bad things because of his past addiction to drugs. And so, Biden did what he promised not to do and signed a sweeping pardon sparing Hunter the legal consequences of his crimes. In putting his name on his son’s pardon, Biden laid waste to the foundational principle of our democracy that all Americans are equal under the law. Try to get the mother of a son rotting in prison because his love of crack led him astray to believe the justice her boy received was equal to that meted out to Hunter. The president’s son is now free to resume partying without paying off any of his debt to society. The pardon is the final smackdown to Democrats’ puffed-up claim to be all that stands between democracy and tyranny. That’s never been true, and certainly wasn’t in 2024, a year in which the Democratic Party abandoned democracy wholesale in its quest to hold onto power. Ironically, Biden was one of the main victims. Having won the primary votes necessary to claim the party’s nomination, the president was ousted from his reelection race in an intra-party coup orchestrated by the Democratic elite. The party politburo then abandoned the democratic nominating process and bestowed its nomination on Vice President Kamala Harris, who didn’t win a single primary vote. When it comes to assaults on democracy, however, that usurping of the electoral process pales in comparison with what Democrats did to the centrist No Labels movement. In a year in which a majority of Americans were unhappy with the major-party ballot choices, No Labels sought to offer a third choice selected from the political middle. Democrats declared war. Documents recently unsealed in a No Labels lawsuit against Democratic operatives reveal the length to which the party went to deny voters that option. Allegations raised in the lawsuit accuse party strategists of deploying an all-fronts offensive to intimidate both donors and potential candidates. They launched a false website that presented itself as the official No Labels site, espousing all sorts of extreme positions. Democrats also attempted to use the courts to block ballot access for No Labels and other third-party campaigns, including those of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Black activist Cornel West. Democrats will fight hard for your right to vote, as long as you vote for them. So spare us the smug Democratic claim to being the defenders of democracy. It’s a lie. But this is true: There are no righteous political parties. Finley writes for The Detroit News: detroitnews.com . Get local news delivered to your inbox!K-State commencements to recognize summer, fall 2024 degree candidates

The Beatles' Sir Paul McCartney 'emotional' as he lifts lid on 'surprise' that proves people wrongAnkara (Turkey), Dec 14 (AP) Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says that Turkey's Embassy in Syria's capital of Damascus will reopen on Saturday, for the first time since 2012. In an interview with Turkey's NTV television Fidan said a newly appointed interim charge d'affaires had left for Damascus on Friday together with his delegation. "It will be operational as of tomorrow," he said. The Embassy in Damascus had suspended operations in 2012 due to the escalating security conditions during the Syrian civil war. All embassy staff and their families were recalled to Turkey. Earlier on Friday, thousands of Syrians gathered in Damascus' historic main mosque for the first Muslim Friday prayers since the ouster of President Bashar Assad, while giant crowds celebrated in the capital's largest square and across the country. The gatherings were a major symbolic moment for the dramatic change of power in Syria, nearly a week after insurgents swept into Damascus, ousting the Assad-led state that had ruled the country for a half century with an iron grip. It came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with allies around the region looking to shape the transition, calling for an “inclusive and non-sectarian” interim government. Blinken arrived in Iraq on a previously unannounced stop after talks in Jordan and Turkey — which backs some of the Syrian insurgent factions. So far, US officials have not talked of direct meetings with Syria's new rulers. The main insurgent force, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has been working to establish security and start a political transition after seizing Damascus early Sunday. The group has tried to reassure a public both stunned by Assad's fall and concerned over extremist jihadis among the rebels. The insurgents' leadership says it has broken with its extremist past, though HTS is still labeled a terrorist group by the United States and European countries. HTS's leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, appeared in a video message Friday congratulating “the great Syrian people for the victory of the blessed revolution”. “I invite them to head to the squares to show their happiness without shooting bullets and scaring people,” he said. “And then after we will work to build this country and as I said in the beginning, we will be victorious by the help of God.” Huge crowds, including some insurgents, packed Damascus' historic Umayyad Mosque in the capital's old city, many waving the rebel opposition flag — with its three red stars — which has swiftly replaced the Assad-era flag with with its two green stars. According to Arab TV stations, the Friday sermon was delivered by Mohammed al-Bashir, the interim prime minister installed by HTS this week. The scene resonated on multiple levels. The mosque, one of the world's oldest dating back some 1,200 years, is a beloved symbol of Syria, and sermons there like all mosque sermons across Syria had been tightly controlled under Assad's rule. Also, in the early days of the anti-government uprising in 2011, protesters would leave Friday prayers to march in rallies against Assad — before he launched a brutal crackdown that turned the uprising into a long and bloody civil war. The interim prime minister, al-Bashir, had been the head of a de facto administration created by HTS in Idlib, the opposition's enclave in northwest Syria. The rebels had been bottled up in Idlib for years before fighters broke out in a shock offensive and marched across Syria in 10 days. Al-Sharaa, HTS' leader, has promised to bring a pluralistic government to Syria, seeking to dispel fears among many Syrians — especially its many minority communities — that the insurgents will bring a hard-line, extremist rule. Another key factor will be winning international recognition for a new government in Syria, a country where multiple foreign powers have their hands in the mix. The Sunni Arab insurgents who overthrew Assad did so with vital help from Turkey, a longtime foe of the US-backed Kurds. Turkey controls a strip of Syrian territory along the shared border and backs an insurgent faction uneasily allied to HTS — and is deeply opposed to any gains by Syria's Kurds. The US has troops in eastern Syria to combat remnants of the Islamic State group and supports Kurdish-led fighters who rule most of the east. Since Assad's fall, Israel has bombed sites all over Syria, saying it is trying to prevent weapons from falling into extremist hands, and has seized a swath of southern Syria along the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, calling it a buffer zone. After talks with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Blinken said there was “broad agreement” between Turkey and the US on what they would like to see in Syria. That starts with an "interim government in Syria, one that is inclusive and non-sectarian and one that protects the rights of minorities and women” and does not “pose any kind of threat to any of Syria's neighbors,” Blinken said. Fidan said the priority was “establishing stability in Syria as soon as possible, preventing terrorism from gaining ground, and ensuring that IS and the PKK aren't dominant” — referring to the Islamic State group and the Kurdistan Workers Party. Ankara considers the PKK within Turkey's borders a terrorist group — as it does the Kurdish-backed forces in Syria backed by the US. (AP) IJT IJT (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)

SALTZMAN: New headset for the blind replicates a ‘guide dog’None

Trump wants pardoned real estate developer Charles Kushner to be ambassador to FranceWASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Department of Labor in his second administration, elevating a Republican congresswoman who has strong support from unions in her district but lost reelection in November. Chavez-DeRemer will have to be confirmed by the Senate, which will be under Republican control when Trump takes office on Jan. 20, 2025, and can formally send nominations to Capitol Hill. Here are things to know about the labor secretary-designate, the agency she would lead if she wins Senate approval and how she could matter to Trump's encore presidency. Chavez-DeRemer has a pro-labor record that unions like Chavez-DeRemer is a one-term congresswoman, having lost reelection in her competitive Oregon district earlier this month. But in her short stint on Capitol Hill she has established a clear record on workers' rights and organized labor issues that belie the Republican Party's usual alliances with business interests. She was an enthusiastic back of the PRO Act, legislation that would make it easier to unionize on a federal level. The bill, one of Democratic President Joe Biden's top legislative priorities, passed the House during Biden's first two years in office, when Democrats controlled the chamber. But it never had a chance of attracting enough Republican senators to reach the 60 votes required to avoid a filibuster in the Senate. Get the latest breaking news as it happens. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy . Chavez-DeRemer also co-sponsored another piece of legislation that would protect public-sector workers from having their Social Security benefits docked because of government pension benefits. That proposal also has lingered for a lack of GOP support. Some labor leaders remain skeptical of Trump's agenda Chavez-DeRemer may give labor plenty to like, but union leaders are not necessarily cheering yet. Many of them still do not trust Trump. The president-elect certainly has styled himself as a friend of the working class. His bond with blue-collar, non-college educated Americans is a core part of his political identity and helped him chip away at Democrats' historical electoral advantage in households with unionized workers. But he was also the president who chose business-friendly appointees to the National Labor Relations Board during his 2017-21 term and generally has backed policies that would make it harder for workers to unionize. He criticized union bosses on the campaign trail, and at one point suggested members of the United Auto Workers should not pay their dues. His administration did expand overtime eligibility rules, but not nearly as much as Democrats wanted, and a Trump-appointed judge has since struck down the Biden administration's more generous overtime rules. And though Trump distanced himself from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 during the campaign, he has since his victory warmed to some of the people involved in that conservative blueprint that, broadly speaking, would tilt power in the workplace even more toward employers and corporations. Among other ideas, the plan also would curb enforcement of workplace safety regulations. After Trump's announcement Friday, National Education Association President Becky Pringle lauded Chavez-DeRemer's House record but sounded a note of caution. “Educators and working families across the nation will be watching ... as she moves through the confirmation process,” Pringle said in a statement, “and hope to hear a pledge from her to continue to stand up for workers and students as her record suggests, not blind loyalty to the Project 2025 agenda.” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler praised Chavez-DeRemer’s “pro-labor record in Congress,” but said “it remains to be seen what she will be permitted to do as Secretary of Labor in an administration with a dramatically anti-worker agenda.” Labor Department could be in the spotlight in a billionaire-heavy Cabinet Labor is another executive department that often operates away from the spotlight. But Trump's emphasis on the working class could intensify attention on the department, especially in an administration replete with tremendously wealthy leaders, including the president-elect. Trump took implicit aim at the department's historically uncontroversial role of maintaining labor statistics, arguing that Biden's administration manipulated calculations of unemployment and the workforce. If she is confirmed, Chavez-DeRemer could find herself standing between the nonpartisan bureaucrats at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and a president with strong opinions about government stats and what they say about the state of the economy — and the White House's stewardship. Her handling of overtime rules also would be scrutinized, and she could find herself pulled into whatever becomes of Trump's promise to launch the largest deportation force in U.S. history, potentially pitting Trump's administration against economic sectors and companies that depend heavily on immigrant labor. Chavez-DeRemer would add diversity to the Cabinet room Chavez-DeRemer was the first Republican woman elected to Congress from Oregon. She joins Secretary of State-designate Marco Rubio, the Florida senator, as the second Latino pick for Trump's second Cabinet. Trump's first labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, also was Latino.SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Spencer Knight made 20 saves, Mackie Samoskevich scored with less than a second left in the second period, and the Florida Panthers got four goals in the third to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-0 on Saturday and complete a two-day sweep. Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, Evan Rodrigues and Adam Boqvist also scored for Florida, which won 6-3 at Carolina on Friday. The Panthers have won three straight — that streak following a stretch of six losses in seven games for the Stanley Cup champions. It was Knight's fourth career shutout, his first since Nov. 9, 2022 — also at home against Carolina. Spencer Martin made 23 saves on 28 shots for the Hurricanes, who have dropped four of their last six games (2-3-1). It was Martin's fourth consecutive start for Carolina. Hurricanes: This was the first time all season that the Hurricanes failed to get a point in the game immediately following a loss. Carolina was 4-0-1 after a defeat entering Saturday. Panthers: A big day for Samoskevich — his alma mater Michigan beat Ohio State in football on Saturday, that game ending just before the Florida-Carolina game started. The Panthers are 5-0-0 when he scores this season. Sam Reinhart had each of the four most recent Florida goals at 19:59, before Samoskevich got his Saturday. The Panthers scored two goals 11 seconds apart in the third to make it 5-0, and Yaniv Perets replaced Martin in the Hurricanes' net with 8:12 remaining. It was the second NHL appearance for Perets, who came on once in relief for Carolina last season. Ekblad's goal was his first in a span of 1,045 regular-season shifts since Feb. 20. Carolina starts a two-game homestand Tuesday against Seattle. Florida goes to Pittsburgh to start a two-game trip on Tuesday. AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Knight stops 20 shots, Florida rolls past Carolina 6-0 for 2nd win over 'Canes in as many days