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Lamar defeats Ragin' Cajuns 74-45

With nearly all of the votes counted, left-leaning Mr Milanovic won 49% while his main challenger Dragan Primorac, a candidate of the ruling conservative HDZ party, trailed far behind with 19%. Pre-election polls had predicted that the two would face off in the second round on January 12, as none of the eight presidential election contenders were projected to get more than 50% of the vote. Mr Milanovic thanked his supporters but warned that “this was just a first run”. “Let’s not be triumphant, let’s be realistic, firmly on the ground,” he said. “We must fight all over again. It’s not over till it’s over.” Mr Milanovic, the most popular politician in Croatia, has served as prime minister in the past. Populist in style, the 58-year-old has been a fierce critic of current Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and continuous sparring between the two has been a recent hallmark of Croatia’s political scene. Mr Plenkovic has sought to portray the vote as one about Croatia’s future in the EU and Nato. He has labelled Mr Milanovic “pro-Russian” and a threat to Croatia’s international standing. “The difference between him (Mr Primorac) and Milanovic is quite simple: Milanovic is leading us East, Primorac is leading us West,” he said. Though the presidency is largely ceremonial in Croatia, an elected president holds political authority and acts as the supreme commander of the military. Mr Milanovic has criticised the Nato and European Union support for Ukraine and has often insisted that Croatia should not take sides. He has said Croatia should stay away from global disputes, thought it is a member of both Nato and the EU. Mr Milanovic has also blocked Croatia’s participation in a Nato-led training mission for Ukraine, declaring that “no Croatian soldier will take part in somebody else’s war”. His main rival in the election, Mr Primorac, has stated that “Croatia’s place is in the West, not the East”. However, his bid for the presidency has been marred by a high-level corruption case that landed Croatia’s health minister in jail last month and which featured prominently in pre-election debates. Trailing a distant third in the pre-election polls is Marija Selak Raspudic, a conservative independent candidate. She has focused her election campaign on the economic troubles of ordinary citizens, corruption and issues such as population decline in the country of some 3.8 million. Sunday’s presidential election is Croatia’s third vote this year, following a snap parliamentary election in April and the European Parliament balloting in June.Peering Into American Airlines Gr's Recent Short Interest

WASHINGTON — There's a common trait that President-elect Donald Trump is clearly prizing as he selects those to serve in his new administration: experience on television. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., speaks during a hearing July 18, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Duffy to be Transportation Secretary. Trump loves that "central casting" look, as he likes to call it. Some, like his choices for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, were until recently TV hosts on Trump's favorite network, Fox News. Mike Huckabee, his pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel, hosted the Fox show “Huckabee” from 2008 to 2015 after his time as Arkansas governor. Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former syndicated talk show host and heart surgeon, was tapped to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that oversees health insurance programs for millions of older, poor and disabled Americans. He would report to Trump's choice for health and human services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., himself a regular on the cable news circuit. Mehmet Oz visits the AW Driving School & License Testing Center on Sept. 23, 2022, in Allentown, Pa. Trump, a former reality television star himself, has made no secret of his intention to stack his administration with loyalists after his decisive 2024 election win — including some whose lack of relevant experience has raised concerns among lawmakers. But he's also working to set up a more forceful administration in this term, and in his eyes, many of those people happen to intersect with celebrity. The trend was not lost on Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, who posted on social media after the Oz nomination: “We are becoming the world’s first nuclear-armed reality television show.” For good measure, Himes added: “Just spitballing here, but what if the Attorney General and the Secretary of HHS fight each other in an octagonal cage?” That was a reference to Trump's affinity for the UFC fighters who do battle in the octagon. Choosing TV personalities isn't that unusual for the once-and-future president: A number of his first-term choices — John Bolton, Larry Kudlow, Heather Nauert and Mercedes Schlapp, were all on TV — mostly also on Fox. Omarosa Manigault Newman, a confrontational first-season member of Trump's NBC show “The Apprentice," was briefly at the White House before she was fired. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who ran Trump’s 2016 transition team until he was fired, said that eight years ago, Trump held “Apprentice-like interviews at Bedminster,” summoning potential hires to his club in New Jersey. On a call on Tuesday organized by the Council on Foreign Relations, Christie said this year’s Cabinet choices are different than 2016’s but it’s still “Donald Trump casting a TV show.” “He’s casting,” Christie said. Trump has readily highlighted the media experience of his choices as he's announced them. He said Duffy, a former lawmaker and onetime cast member of MTV’s “The Real World," was “a STAR on Fox News.” Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower on Dec. 15, 2016, in New York. Hegseth, a military veteran, “has been a host at FOX News for eight years, where he used that platform to fight for our Military and Veterans,” Trump said. He also noted that Hegseth's book “The War on Warriors” spent nine weeks on The New York Times “best-sellers list, including two weeks at NUMBER ONE.” As for Oz, Trump said: “He won nine Daytime Emmy Awards hosting ‘The Dr. Oz Show,’ where he taught millions of Americans how to make healthier lifestyle choices." It's also true that those seeking positions in Trump's orbit often take to the airwaves to audition for an audience of one. Tom Homan, Trump's choice for “border czar,” is a frequent Fox contributor. Ohio Sen. JD Vance was chosen as Trump's running mate in part because of how well he comes across on air. Trump's choice to lead the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, upped his profile when he took to Fox News to argue that a pre-election appearance on NBC's “Saturday Night Live” by Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was a violation of the “equal time” rule governing candidate appearances on television. The White House-to-cable news pundit pipeline tends to cut across administrations of both parties, to some extent. President Joe Biden had three MSNBC contributors on his transition team and his former press secretary went to the network after she left the White House. Biden, though, looked to career diplomats, longtime government workers and military leaders for key posts like the Defense Department. Trump's affinity for Fox News is well-documented, though the romance cooled for a time after Fox made an early call of Arizona for Biden in 2020, a move that infuriated Trump and many of the network’s viewers. Trump suggested viewers should migrate to other conservative news outlets. While the Arizona call ultimately proved correct, it set in motion internal second-guessing and led some Fox personalities to embrace conspiracy theories, which ultimately cost the network $787 million to settle a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems. But Trump is still an avid watcher — the network provides Trump a window into conservative thinking, with commentary from Republican lawmakers and thinkers who are, often, speaking directly to the president-elect. 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. 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. 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. 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.” Rep. Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment. Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah. President-elect Donald Trump says he's chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO. Trump has expressed skepticism about the Western military alliance for years. Trump said in a statement Wednesday that Whitaker is “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.” The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is as a lawyer and not in foreign policy. A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. “In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. “He did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.” Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday. The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security. Thomas Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office. Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate. Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Russell Vought held the position during Trump’s first presidency. After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. McGinley was White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first administration, and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee's election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign. In a statement, Trump called McGinley “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.” Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.This photo provided by Brian Glenn shows what appears to be multiple drones flying over Bernardsville, New Jersey, on Dec. 5. | Brian Glenn/TMX/AP via CNN Newsource New York (CNN) — Federal agencies are facing intense pressure to give the public more details on unexplained drone sightings in the New York City metropolitan area and beyond that have been going on for weeks over residential neighborhoods as well as restricted sites and critical infrastructure. On Saturday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey posted on X about the “growing number of drone sightings” there, making her state the latest to report such sightings, joining New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Federal officials have sought to calm the concerns about the sightings, but without giving further details about what they might be. They say there’s no evidence of a public safety threat, and many of the reported sightings are cases of mistaken identity. “The bottom line is this: They’re not providing enough information to the public, and the public is concerned,” US Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat and member of the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN’s Kate Bolduan Friday. “Believe me, I’m hearing from my constituents about this all the time, and I think it’s time for them to immediately get out there and brief.” A drone sighting prompted the temporary closure of runways at New York’s Stewart International Airport on Friday night, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the Orange County airport about 70 miles north of New York City. There were no impacts to the airport’s flight operations during the closure, which lasted about an hour, according to the Port Authority, which was alerted to the sighting by the Federal Aviation Administration. “This has gone too far,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement Saturday, adding that last month she “directed the New York State Intelligence Center to actively investigate drone sightings and coordinate with federal law enforcement to address this issue.” Earlier Friday, New York Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis called the response to the sightings “outrageous,” saying there are “drones and unmanned aerial systems flying above us and our government is not telling us who’s operating them and for what purpose?” Malliotakis joined Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella in demanding answers. Fossella said the drones, often seen flying at night, have been spotted hovering over critical infrastructures including Port Liberty New York near the Goethals Bridge, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and Fort Wadsworth, one of the oldest military installations in the country. Representatives of the federal agencies investigating the drones who have briefed local officials behind closed doors said the drones sometimes appear to fly in a coordinated pattern and can sometimes be in flight for up to six hours, according to Montvale, New Jersey, Mayor Mike Ghassali. And though federal officials have said there is no evidence the drone sightings pose a public safety threat, Belleville, New Jersey, Mayor Michael Melham has said he has received guidance police should call the county bomb squad if they encounter a downed drone. In addition, local fire departments should wear hazmat suits when they respond, Melham said, saying the information was shared by his Office of Emergency Management following recent state-level meetings. “We just don’t know what these things are, so we are being cautious,” Melham said. One New Jersey lawmaker is accusing federal officials of lying about the presence and purpose of the mysterious drones. “They’re lying. That’s the long and the short of it,” Republican Assemblyman Erik Peterson said in an interview Saturday with CNN’s Victor Blackwell. Like several other officials and lawmakers, Peterson said he’s personally seen drones hovering near his rural New Jersey home, where he said the absence of street lights and nearby flight paths allows for clear visibility. Peterson referenced the government’s response to the Chinese spy balloon that traversed over parts of the United States in 2023 to illustrate his point that the government is either embarrassed or unwilling to disclose the truth about the mystery drones due to security concerns. “Why would you lie? Either because the reason that this is happening is incredibly embarrassing to the administration or it’s an incredibly high security risk for the country and they don’t want to tell us,” he said. President-elect Donald Trump, meanwhile, has called on the Biden administration to either release any information it has about the mysterious sightings or shoot the drones out of the sky. “Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT,” Trump posted on Truth Social. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Friday his agency knows of “no threat or of any nefarious activity” related to the sightings. Mayorkas pledged to be transparent “if we learn of any cause for concern.” Officials are currently prioritizing the use of sophisticated radio frequency technology that can geolocate the operator of a drone, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN. There are multiple technical capabilities authorities can use to try and “defeat” a drone, including jamming a signal, disconnecting it from the operator or remotely “hijack” a drone but every option can pose numerous risks, the source said. “Blowing it out of the sky is the last resort,” the source said, noting the option is always on the table if an aircraft presents a threat. Federal and state officials said using offensive techniques to bring down the drones poses an unnecessary risk to people on the ground and legal challenges, especially as they have not been deemed threatening, the source said. New Jersey’s Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has formally requested additional resources from the Biden administration to better address the ongoing situation. “While I am sincerely grateful for your administration’s leadership in addressing this concerning issue, it has become apparent that more resources are needed to fully understand what is behind this activity,” Murphy said in a letter dated Thursday. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. Murphy’s concerns come as Naval Weapons Station Earle, a US Navy base south of Middletown, New Jersey, acknowledged Friday it had spotted “several instances of unidentified drones entering the airspace” above the facility despite no direct threats being identified. “The base remains prepared to respond to any potential risks, leveraging robust security measures and advanced detection capabilities,” station spokesperson Bill Addison said in an email to CNN, adding there are airspace restrictions above the station. The energy company PSEG on Saturday said it has “contacted the appropriate authorities” about reports of drones flying over its Salem and Hope Creek nuclear power plants in New Jersey. Democratic Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey posted videos to his X account showing what appeared to be a cluster of drones over the Round Valley Reservoir Thursday night. “This has gone on for weeks,” Kim wrote. “It’s hard to understand how with the technology we have we aren’t able to track these devices to determine origin and this makes me much more concerned about our capabilities more broadly when it comes to drone detection and counter measures.” Morris County, about 30 miles west of New York City, issued a statement calling for “the federal government to marshal all federal resources at its disposal, including the military, to end the unauthorized flight of drones over our county and other parts of New Jersey.” “Morris County and our communities have deployed considerable resources daily since the first drones were spotted,” the statement continued. The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office similarly said in a Facebook post they had “increased vigilance” at sensitive locations and “are analyzing data and information on a daily basis.” New York State Police said Friday afternoon in a post on X they had received “numerous reports of drone sightings over the past 24 hours” and they were investigating the reports. “We have no evidence at this time that any of the reported sightings pose a public safety threat,” reads the post. Connecticut State Police announced Friday they have deployed a drone detection system to assist in investigative efforts into unauthorized drone sightings reported over Fairfield County. “It’s very unsettling to public safety and security, both here in Fairfield and elsewhere,” Republican state Sen. Tony Hwang said in a statement Friday. “What we have is a lack of information at all levels of government. It’s really a breakdown of communication. Without that vital communication, you lose the public’s confidence, you get speculation and you get fear,” he said. And in Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro said his administration is “aware of” the reported drone sightings and is taking them seriously. The Democratic governor said Friday evening he directed the Pennsylvania State Police to look further into the sightings, and police will be flying helicopters to try to “determine where these drones are originating from and what the purpose of these drones are.” White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby, in a press briefing Thursday, said there was “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus.” Kirby added many of “the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.” Mayorkas echoed Kirby’s explanation Friday, telling CNN some reported drone sightings were cases of “mistaken identity.” Addressing calls to shoot down unidentified drones, he said, “It’s not as though anyone can just take down a drone in the sky. That in and of itself would be dangerous.” Mayorkas added he has been in communication with New Jersey’s governor daily. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI briefed top committees in the House and Senate as well as a delegation of New Jersey lawmakers on the reported drone sightings, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN. The source said while there have been eyewitness reports of what appear to be drones over New Jersey, agency officials stressed in meetings Thursday many videos on social media appear to be civilian airplanes or helicopters. “I don’t believe with all of these sightings, none of them are drones,” Gottheimer said, adding, “You can’t have the Wild West of drones out there,” with unmanned aircraft threatening infrastructure. The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness said there was “an active federal investigation” into the drone sightings, but elected officials want to hear more. “We should be doing smart intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases,” US Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who sits on the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said Thursday. “They should be shot down, if necessary, because they’re flying over sensitive areas.” Residents in New York’s Rockland County reported drone sightings starting as early as November. County Executive Ed Day sent a letter to President Joe Biden Friday seeking answers and urging his administration, along with the FAA and FBI, to investigate and provide clarity on the matter. “The fact that this issue has persisted for weeks without clear answers is completely unacceptable — not just to the people of Rockland County, but to communities across the nation,” Day said in the letter. “It’s time for the Federal government to step up, take responsibility, and provide the answers we all deserve.” Malliotakis said the situation “is creating havoc, people are confused, they’re concerned, they have anxiety, they don’t know what’s going on.” The US intelligence community and federal law enforcement do not suspect foreign involvement in the drone sightings across New Jersey, security officials told members of Congress Thursday at one private briefing. Key lawmakers assigned to congressional national security committees were told investigators do not currently believe the sightings involved an overseas connection, the use of foreign drones, nor an operator on the ground connected to a foreign government, according to a source familiar with the briefing conducted by representatives from the FBI, FAA and the Department of Homeland Security. Officials said sighted drones have been observed with FAA-required anticollision lights and are not believed to have entered any restricted airspaces, according to the source. While authorities have not yet identified the origin of the mysterious drone flights, the source said an active FBI investigation remains underway to identify the person or persons operating them, and to determine whether any criminal violations of law have occurred. Some of the more recent drone operations may be from copycats trying to play on people’s worries as the sightings get more news coverage, former FBI supervisory special agent Tom Adams told CNN. He said there are often innocent explanations, as well. “I can tell you from my firsthand experience conducting operations for the FBI, as well as investigations into the suspected sighting of drones at critical infrastructure, it was fairly common for planets, crewed aircraft and even low Earth orbit satellites to be misidentified as drones at night,” Adams said. Drones – unmanned aerial vehicles – are widely owned across the US. A total of 791,597 drones are registered with the FAA, split almost evenly between commercial drones and recreational drones. Although the drones often display flashing lights, they frequently turn off the lights and evade police helicopters when approached, Mayor Michael Melham of Belleville Township said in a Facebook video update on Wednesday. The FAA issued temporary flight restrictions over the Picatinny Arsenal, a US military research facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster after drones were spotted in those areas, one week after the FAA received its first report of an unauthorized drone operation in the New York metro area on November 18. “Until you know the origin and what these drones’ intent is, how can you tell me there’s no imminent threat?” Mayor Tony Perry of Middletown, New Jersey, told CNN Thursday. The sense that local officials are being left in the dark is partially a result of outdated laws keeping regulation of the skies entirely in federal hands, according to the chief executive of a company tracking unauthorized drone flights. “The laws that regulate aircraft are not built to empower police to deal with the drones,” Axon CEO Rick Smith told CNN News Central Friday, “so if your local state fair has a drone coming towards it that police believe might be dangerous, right now there’s nothing they can do about it.” Hochul, the Democratic New York governor, called on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act, which she said would give state and local authorities more power in dealing with unmanned aircraft systems and strengthen the FAA’s oversight of drones. The governor said that until these “powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden Administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our people.” FAA regulations allow operators of recreational drones to fly up to 400 feet above the ground in airspace not controlled by FAA air traffic controllers. The FAA does grant waivers on a case-by-case basis to those wanting to operate drones in more congested airspace or at higher altitudes. Giving local law enforcement more authority over drones is under consideration, Smith said, because traditional aircraft tracking technology is ineffective for vehicles hovering only a few hundred feet off the ground. “The same radar and tracking system you use for a 747 just doesn’t work,” said Smith. CNN’s Gloria Pazmino, Zoe Sottile, Taylor Romine, Kate Sullivan, Alayna Treene, Brynn Gingras, Samantha Waldenberg, Ted Barrett, Holmes Lybrand, Maria Aguilar Prieto, Polo Sandoval, Lauren Mascarenhas, Elizabeth Wolfe, Haley Britzky, Hanna Park, Omar Jimenez and Dakin Andone contributed to this report. The-CNN-Wire TM & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. To remove this article -

TUCSON, Ariz. — As first light broke on the day before Thanksgiving, the aroma of fresh-baked bread wafted through Tucson’s Broadmoor-Broadway neighborhood. Outside of Barrio Bread , a line stretched down the block as locals and tourists alike waited patiently, eager to take home a piece of the city’s celebrated bakery for their holiday tables. For owner Don Guerra, the sight of the crowd represented more than just the success of his business. Barrio Bread (@ barriobread ) • Instagram photos and videos “Everyone’s trying to get their loaves of bread to put on their tables,” Guerra said. “It’s a proud moment for Barrio Bread, a community-supported bakery that’s all about local grains, agriculture, and gastronomy.” Guerra’s passion for community is palpable. He started Barrio Bread in his garage in 2011, coining the term “Community Supported Baker” (CSB) to describe the bakery’s mission. “This is about a community investment project,” he explained. “It’s a circular economy model where everyone participates to keep the bakery running and flourishing.” For loyal customer Joy Vargo, Barrio Bread is a Thanksgiving essential. Barrio Bread (@ barriobread ) • Instagram photos and videos “I’ve been coming here since Don was baking out of his garage,” Vargo said. “It’s amazing to watch someone so passionate bring an entire city together.” She planned to bring one of Guerra’s signature loaves to a Friendsgiving celebration for 15 she's hosting. “It’s a wonderful way to share bread with everybody,” she said. Robert Knodle, another customer, emphasized the bakery’s welcoming atmosphere. “Maybe the nicest owner I’ve ever met and the best bread I’ve ever eaten,” Knodle said. “We always buy the apricot bread — it’s perfect for Thanksgiving.” The bakery’s popularity stems not only from its quality but from Guerra’s dedication to using local ingredients. “I contract directly with farmers,” Guerra said. “We use local grains, heritage varieties, and long fermentation to create low-glycemic, low-gluten bread.” His signature Heritage loaf, featuring a saguaro cactus design, symbolizes the bakery’s roots. “I wanted the bread to speak for itself,” Guerra said. “This is who we are as Tucsonans.” Barrio Bread also gives back to the community, partnering with local organizations like the University of Arizona’s Garden Kitchen to provide bread through SNAP benefits. “Giving back is foundational,” Guerra said. “You have to give with open hands because if you don’t, you can’t receive.” Despite the long holiday lines, Guerra’s bread is accessible year-round, with options at the Food Conspiracy Co-op and other locations. “If the line is intimidating, you can always come another day — it’s worth it,” Vargo said. As Thanksgiving approaches, Guerra remains grateful. “Seeing those smiling faces, knowing they’ll share this bread with their families, it’s a reminder of what Thanksgiving is really about.”

Several Polish lawmakers want to criminalize the propaganda of the ideology that drove Ukrainian nationalists, citing the genocidal massacres of ethnic Poles by Stepan Bandera’s followers during WWII. Between 1943 and 1945, Bandera’s Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) murdered at least 60,000 ethnic Poles in the regions of Volynia and Eastern Galicia. Some estimates put the death toll as high as 120,000, and the Polish government considers the massacre a genocide. On Tuesday, two members of the Polish parliament proposed adding UPA and Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) ideology to the list of proscribed beliefs, which currently includes fascism, national-socialism and communism. “Polish politicians want to condemn the ideology of the struggle for Ukraine’s independence,” Ukrainian lawmaker Vladimir Vyatrovich posted on Facebook on Wednesday. He added that the same struggle is “going on right now,” and “its result will decide the fate of not just Ukraine but Poland as well,” referring to Kiev’s conflict with Moscow. According to the document quoted by Vyatrovich, two members of the Law and Justice Party (PiS) want to amend the Law on the Institute of National Memory. To the existing ban on public propaganda of Nazism and other “totalitarian regimes,” the amendment would add “the ideology of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, the Bandera faction (OUN-B) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which led to the genocide in Volyn and neighboring areas in 1943-1945.” Vyatrovich used to run Ukraine’s Institute for National Memory and was banned from entering Poland in 2017 over his defense of OUN and UPA. He was later elected to the parliament on the ticket of European Solidarity, the party of former president Pyotr Poroshenko. Last week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga and his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski signed a joint statement in Warsaw clearing the way to exhume some of the mass graves of the Volyn massacre victims. Poland has made Ukraine’s recognition of the Volyn “genocide” a condition of supporting Kiev’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko declared Bandera and the UPA national heroes in 2010. This was reaffirmed by the government installed by the US-backed coup in 2014. Since then, Ukrainian nationalists have held torchlight parades every January to mark Bandera’s birthday, calling him the “father of the nation.”WITH just weeks to go before Christmas one free phone app has announced a jolly upgrade allowing users to speak directly to AI Santa. The clever tech savvy app is available for curious iPhone and Android users who are interested in chatting directly with Father Christmas this festive period. ChatGPT have managed to create an AI voice that is described as "merry and bright" and closely follows the speech patterns used by Hollywood depictions of old Saint Nick. The upgrade is a part of Open AI's spectacular 12 days of OpenAI campaign where they release a new feature every two days until Christmas. Dubbed Santa Mode, it is available to everyone using ChatGPT on their mobile, web app or desktop apps on MacOS and Windows. In order to access the Santa Claus speech users need to open up ChatGPT and find the snowflake icon next to the prompt bar. The virtual voice should then be a drop down option which when clicked transforms AI across to the North Pole. Santa Mode is set to remain available to users across the globe until early January. ChatGPT will work the exact same way as normal when the voice is on with only the tone changing. This also means that the chats with Santa won't be remembered and saved in the chat history . It is being mainly aimed at young families with children as it gives them a chance to speak directly to Father Christmas through the clever technology. It comes just months after OpenAI allowed anyone to use ChatGPT for free without even needing an account. "We're rolling this out gradually, with the aim to make AI accessible to anyone curious about its capabilities," OpenAI explained. Currently more than 100 million people are using ChatGPT weekly across 185 countries, according to OpenAI. ChatGPT is a powerful chatbot created by OpenAI. It's based on a large language model that means it can process your sentences and respond almost as if it was another human. The app launched on November 30, 2022 and saw a rapid rise in popularity. Part of the app's appeal is how natural it feels to speak to ChatGPT. "These models were trained on vast amounts of data from the internet written by humans, including conversations, so the responses it provides may sound human-like," OpenAI explained. "It is important to keep in mind that this is a direct result of the system's design (i.e. maximising the similarity between outputs and the dataset the models were trained on). And the content you provide to the chatbot can also be used to train OpenAI's models. However, you can opt out of this by going into ChatGPT settings if you have an account. It was even revealed that the groundbreaking artificially intelligent chatbot will soon be smarter than any human on Earth "in a few thousand days", according to its creator. In a personal blog post titled " The Intelligence Age ", OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote: "It is possible that we will have superintelligence in a few thousand days (!); it may take longer, but I’m confident we’ll get there. "How did we get to the doorstep of the next leap in prosperity? In three words: deep learning worked." AI is still a highly contentious piece of tech for millions across the globe. Many fear it will soon become too powerful with humans potentially being over reliant on the system. Others have concerns over how it may affect various industries and workplaces if robots or chatbots could replace humans. Ethics, privacy and misinformation worries are also some of the most common objections to the rise of artificial intelligence. Everything you need to know about the latest developments in Artificial Intelligence

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Two days after President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose sweeping new tariffs on Canada and Mexico as part of his effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs, he said he spoke with the Mexican president and she “agreed to stop Migration through Mexico." In a post on his Truth Social account Wednesday evening, Trump said this was “effectively closing our Southern Border.” He called it a “very productive conversation!” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that she spoke with Trump, calling it an “excellent conversation.” “We discussed Mexico’s strategy on migration issues, and I told him the caravans are not reaching the northern (U.S.) border, because Mexico is taking care of them,” Sheinbaum wrote on social media. “We also talked about reinforcing cooperation on security issues, within the framework of our sovereignty, and the campaign we are carrying out to prevent fentanyl consumption." It was unclear what impact the conversation will have on Trump's plan to impose tariffs. Stay in the know on jobs, retail and all things business across Long Island. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy . Trump on Monday said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders upon taking office on Jan. 20. In announcing his plans on his Truth Social site, he railed against an influx of migrants crossing into the U.S. illegally, even though southern border apprehensions have been hovering near four-year lows. Illegal migration across the Mexico border is down in part because the Biden administration secured some stepped up cooperation on stemming migration from Mexico — the sort Trump seems to be celebrating. Arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped 40% from an all-time high in December. U.S. officials mostly credit Mexican vigilance around rail yards and highway checkpoints.TikTok Exec Sues MTA After NYC Subway SlashingEven with access to blockbuster obesity drugs, some people don't lose weight

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WASHINGTON — A top White House official said Wednesday at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations were impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger offered new details about the breadth of the sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. FILE - The American and Chinese flags wave at Genting Snow Park ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics, in Zhangjiakou, China, on Feb. 2, 2022. A top White House official on Wednesday said at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations have been impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File) Neuberger divulged the scope of the hack a day after the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued guidance intended to help root out the hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. White House officials cautioned that the number of telecommunication firms and countries impacted could grow. The U.S. believes the hackers were able to gain access to communications of senior U.S. government officials and prominent political figures through the hack, Neuberger said. “We don’t believe any classified communications has been compromised,” Neuberger added during a call with reporters. She added that Biden was briefed on the findings and the White House “made it a priority for the federal government to do everything it can to get to the bottom this.” US officials recommend encrypted messaging apps amid "Salt Typhoon" cyberattack, attributed to China, targeting AT&T, Verizon, and others. The Chinese embassy in Washington rejected the accusations that it was responsible for the hack Tuesday after the U.S. federal authorities issued new guidance. “The U.S. needs to stop its own cyberattacks against other countries and refrain from using cyber security to smear and slander China,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said. The embassy did not immediately respond to messages Wednesday. White House officials believe the hacking was regionally targeted and the focus was on very senior government officials. Federal authorities confirmed in October that hackers linked to China targeted the phones of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, along with people associated with Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. The number of countries impacted by the hack is currently believed to be in the “low, couple dozen,” according to a senior administration official. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House, said they believed the hacks started at least a year or two ago. The suggestions for telecom companies released Tuesday are largely technical in nature, urging encryption, centralization and consistent monitoring to deter cyber intrusions. If implemented, the security precautions could help disrupt the operation, dubbed Salt Typhoon, and make it harder for China or any other nation to mount a similar attack in the future, experts say. Trump's pick to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation Kash Patel was allegedly the target of cyberattack attempt by Iranian-backed hackers. Neuberger pointed to efforts made to beef up cybersecurity in the rail, aviation, energy and other sectors following the May 2021 ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline . “So, to prevent ongoing Salt Typhoon type intrusions by China, we believe we need to apply a similar minimum cybersecurity practice,” Neuberger said. The cyberattack by a gang of criminal hackers on the critical U.S. pipeline, which delivers about 45% of the fuel used along the Eastern Seaboard, sent ripple effects across the economy, highlighting cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the nation’s aging energy infrastructure. Colonial confirmed it paid $4.4 million to the gang of hackers who broke into its computer systems as it scrambled to get the nation's fuel pipeline back online. Picture this: You're on vacation in a city abroad, exploring museums, tasting the local cuisine, and people-watching at cafés. Everything is going perfectly until you get a series of alerts on your phone. Someone is making fraudulent charges using your credit card, sending you into a panic. How could this have happened? Cyberattacks targeting travelers are nothing new. But as travel has increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, so has the volume of hackers and cybercriminals preying upon tourists. Financial fraud is the most common form of cybercrime experienced by travelers, but surveillance via public Wi-Fi networks, social media hacking, and phishing scams are also common, according to a survey by ExpressVPN . Spokeo consulted cybersecurity sources and travel guides to determine some of the best ways to protect your phone while traveling, from using a VPN to managing secure passwords. Online attacks are not the only type of crime impacting travelers—physical theft of phones is also a threat. Phones have become such invaluable travel aids, housing our navigation tools, digital wallets, itineraries, and contacts, that having your phone stolen, lost, or compromised while abroad can be devastating. Meanwhile, traveling can make people uniquely vulnerable to both cyber and physical attacks due to common pitfalls like oversharing on social media and letting your guard down when it comes to taking risks online. Luckily, there are numerous precautions travelers can take to safeguard against cyberattacks and phone theft. Hackers can—and do—target public Wi-Fi networks at cafés and hotels to gain access to your personal information or install malware onto your device, particularly on unsecured networks. Travelers are especially vulnerable to these types of cybersecurity breaches because they are often more reliant on public Wi-Fi than they would be in their home countries where they have more robust phone plans. This reliance on public, unsecured networks means travelers are more likely to use those networks to perform sensitive tasks like financial transfers, meaning hackers can easily gain access to banking information or other passwords. One easy way to safeguard yourself against these breaches is to use a virtual private network, or VPN, while traveling. VPNs are apps that encrypt your data and hide your location, preventing hackers from accessing personal information. An added bonus is that VPNs allow you to access websites that may be blocked or unavailable in the country you are visiting. To use a VPN, simply download a VPN app on your phone or computer, create an account, choose a server, and connect. Pickpockets, scammers, and flagrant, snatch-your-phone-right-out-of-your-hand thieves can be found pretty much everywhere. In London, for instance, a staggering 91,000 phones were reported stolen to police in 2022 , breaking down to an average of 248 per day, according to the BBC. Whether you're visiting a crowded tourist attraction or just want peace of mind, travel experts advise taking precautions to make sure your phone isn't physically stolen or compromised while traveling. There are several antitheft options to choose from. If you want a bag that will protect your phone from theft, experts recommend looking for features like slash-resistant fabric, reinforced shoulder straps, hidden zippers that can be locked, and secure attachment points, like a cross-body strap or a sturdy clip. For tethers, look for those made of tear-resistant material with a reinforced clip or ring. If your phone falls into the wrong hands, there's a good chance you won't be getting it back. Out of those 91,000 phones stolen in London in 2022, only 1,915 (or about 2%) were recovered. The good news is that you can take precautions to make the loss of your phone less devastating by backing up your data before you travel. With backed-up data, you can acquire a new device and still access your photos, contacts, messages, and passwords. Moreover, if you have "Find My Device" or "Find My Phone" enabled, you can remotely wipe your stolen phone's data so the thief cannot access it. It's safest to back up your data to a hard drive and not just the cloud. That way, if you have to wipe your device, you don't accidentally erase the backup, too. Strong passwords for important accounts help protect your information while you travel, but it's just a first step. The National Cybersecurity Alliance recommends creating long, unique, and complex passwords for every account and combining them with multifactor authentication to create maximum barriers to entry. If you're worried about remembering these passwords, password managers can be a vital tool for both creating and storing strong passwords. Password managers are apps that act as secure vaults for all your passwords. Some even come with a feature that allows you to temporarily delete sensitive passwords before you travel and then easily restore them once you return. Story editing by Mia Nakaji Monnier. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Tim Bruns. Photo selection by Lacy Kerrick. This story originally appeared on Spokeo and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.Look, we all know that Uber have to deal with some gnarly shit on the reg (yes, I’m talking about that time you had a lil’ vom in the backseat after your work Christmas ‘do), so it’s only fair that we try and make their lives a when we can. In the spirit of Christmas, Uber has just released its Annual Rider Ratings Rankings, so we can see which metro areas have been naughty or nice. The national Aussie rider rating for 2024 is a golden 4.82 out of 5 stars, which isn’t bad! But when you look region to region, the results are kind of surprising! While you’d expect Sydney to be pretty far down the list, the most densely populated city actually sits in the top half. So, who’s going home with a pressie from Santa, and who’s finding coal in their stocking? Yikes, it’s not great for Canberra, Melbourne and Perth — you folks need to get your act together! If you want to check your own rider rating to see if you’re the culprit bringing the average down, you can take a squiz at the privacy centre in your settings. One of the biggest reasons Uber drivers deduct points from their riders comes down to the door slam. So let’s make it our New Year’s resolution to close the doors a lil’ bit softer and politely, okay?! If you’re curious about which state took out the gold star for Most Polite Uber Riders, I’ve got you! It’ll be interesting to see if these results force some of the stragglers to get their act together. Guess we’ll find out next year!Report: Kentucky QB Brock Vandagriff retires from football

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — Malek Abdelgowad scored 26 points as UMass beat UMass-Boston 86-52 on Saturday. Abdelgowad also contributed 14 rebounds for the Minutemen (4-7). Daniel Rivera added 11 points while going 4 of 6 and 3 of 7 from the free-throw line while they also had 10 rebounds. Jaylen Curry had 10 points and finished 4 of 7 from the field. The Beacons were led in scoring by Cameron Perkins, who finished with 13 points, six rebounds and two steals. Xavier McKenzie added 13 points, two steals and two blocks for UMass-Boston. Raphel Laurent also recorded eight points. UMass took the lead with 15:49 remaining in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 47-24 at halftime, with Abdelgowad racking up 18 points. UMass extended its lead to 66-36 during the second half, fueled by a 14-2 scoring run. Abdelgowad scored a team-high eight points in the second half as their team closed out the win. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .