80jili Dollar Tree shopper blasts store for ‘tacky’ $1.25 tags on toys & points out permanent feature when you’re ready to giftA Belfast business owner is opening his doors on Christmas Day to help those most in need of a warm meal and some company. Joe Elshewihi, was a young Egyptian entrepreneur when he first arrived in Belfast 20 years ago and now runs a variety of successful businesses across Belfast in cosmetics, male grooming, self catering accommodation and hospitality. The 39-year-old knows how hard it can be to develop a business to a profitable level and admits it was challenging at the start of his career, but he now employs over 25 staff and is actively involved in the day to day running of all his businesses. Read more: New interactive map reveals Supermarket petrol price postcode lottery Read more: Charity's Christmas miracle for families in need after Belfast Live appeal Joe’s most recent venture is “Falafel Fresh” Restaurant. They opened over a year ago in Belfast city centre in Bridge Street, the former site of well known "Mikey's Deli" restaurant. They specialise in healthy Mediterranean cuisine and have had many great reviews over the past year. This Christmas Joe and his staff will be giving back to the community by offering free food to anyone who needs it between 12 - 3pm on Christmas Day in store while stocks last. A spokesperson for the business said: "Joe knows how lonely it can be for people to be away from their family at Christmas and not everyone can afford to eat a healthy meal at Christmas time. "This is a perfect opportunity for Joe and his staff at Falafel Fresh to show their appreciation and welcome everyone on Christmas day to their shop so it can be used as a hub for anyone who would like some company on Christmas day between 12 - 9pm (for usual business opening hours)." For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.None

Vikings, Eagles win and move nearer to clinching playoff spotsHow can we control the AI that is exploiting us? Gary Marcus has provided a book that lists the problems, flaws, and threats of AI and what, considering these, our demands should be, and how we might meet them. Marcus is an expert on AI and has spoken to the US Senate judiciary subcommittee on AI oversight. He presents a soft-core socialist view: AI should be for everyone, under certain regulations, that are good for all. Considering what is actually happening, this comes across as hard-core radicalism. Leaving aside the threat that AI poses to jobs and creativity, as well as the way it lubricates neoliberalism, Marcus enumerates the problems as these: • The particular form of AI technology is use now, Generative AI, is deeply flawed. • The AI that companies are building is irresponsible. • Generative AI is wildly overhyped because it is easier to raise money if corporations do so. • We are headed toward an AI oligarchy, with way too much power. “Right now, we are building the wrong kind of AI,” says Marcus, “an AI — and an AI industrial complex — that we can’t trust.” Generative AI is a particular approach to AI that uses large amounts of data to make predictions, typically about what things humans will do in some context. Impressive as it might appear, given the cluster of computers and network at its disposal, it’s no better than guesswork plus Google. Large language models, on which Generative AI depends, record the statistics of words, but they don’t understand the concepts they use or the people they describe. Fact and fiction are not distinguished. There is no fact-check. Here we encounter, as we might have already in Philip K Dick, the hallucinations, inconsistent reasoning, and unreliability of AI. He then enumerates the 12 biggest immediate threats of Generative AI including deliberate, automated, mass-produced political disinformation; market and stockmarket manipulation; intellectual property taken without consent and environmental costs. Marcus elaborates carefully on each of these, but overall this points to what has been called the Great Data Heist, a theft of intellectual property that will (unless stopped by government intervention or citizen action) lead to a huge transfer of wealth — from almost all of us — to a tiny number of companies. Which is to say that AI companies steal creative and intellectual work to use for AI under the pretext that AI is good for the future of human. They call it “Techno-salvation.” What happens to the naysayers? Blacklisted. Marc Andreessen, a fabulously wealthy California-tech ideologue, wrote a “Techno-Optimist Manifesto,” with a McCarthy-like list of enemies: “Our enemy is stagnation. Our enemy is anti-merit, anti-ambition, anti-striving, anti-achievement, anti-greatness, etc.” He included a call against communism, complaining of the “continuous howling from communists and Luddites.” It’s the old complaint, in a new dress, against regulation, taxation, and workers’ rights. Also, to generate a single image takes roughly as much energy as charging a phone. Generative AI is likely to be used billions of times a day. An International Energy Agency forecast predicts that “Global electricity demand from data centres, cryptocurrencies and AI could more than double over the next three years, adding the equivalent of Germany’s entire power needs.” No-one votes for the Tech companies that are, by now, bigger than nation states, and beyond the reach of regulation, let alone democracy. As OpenAI have trained their models on all the data it can scrape — which is to say, massive amounts of content and miscontent, a lot of it copyrighted with no compensation to the artists or writers who created it — and because regulation and appropriate governance is resisted tooth and nail, Marcus proposes a list of “things to insist on” to achieve “governance of AI” including no use of copyrighted work without compensation, no training without consent, no coercive appropriation of data, and standards of transparency, among others. He concludes with his most provocative suggestions taking the form of suggestions how we, as citizens, can make a difference beginning with the demand that members of civil society be at every table. He advocates action, such as a “digital strike,” and civil organisation that allow citizens — and not just well-endowed political parties — to have a stronger voice. How can we promote such ideas when intellectual arguments have given way to 140 characters, soundbites and TikTok videos, and a culture of “engagement farming,” with Generative AI–written articles that are starting to pollute science, education, politics, culture and arts, as well as personal relationships? The answer, as usual, is with hard work, solidarity, and community. Jon Baldwin is Senior Lecturer, School of Computing and Digital Media, London Metropolitan University

The Salvation Army Okanagan Central has launched its Gifts of Hope program to help struggling families make the best of Christmas. At the Kelowna and West Kelowna locations, the Salvation Army has set up a toy shop where parents can shop free of charge for stocking stuffers and presents for their kids to open on Christmas morning. Captain Jennifer Henson said families who request assistance will have an appointment with a Christmas case worker to help understand what the family best needs. Toys come from community donations, and the local branch is expecting to see about 1,000 families come shop for gifts. Although the Gifts of Hope program and the Kettle campaign are highlighted during the Christmas season, Henson said the Salvation Army is helping families year round. May Popham knows first hand the support of the Salvation Army after she and her husband both lost their well-paying jobs in just two weeks of each other. Having recently moved from South Africa, Popham said the couple didn't have much in savings and found themselves struggling to pay bills. "We were flying high one minute and down to rags the next," Popham said, noting that she was embarrassed to ask for help worried about being judged. "They listened to our story, we had a shoulder to cry on, and they assisted us in every respect." Learn more about their programs and volunteer opportunities, or apply for assistance by visiting or .None

Mystery, volatility, Trump: The Bitcoin phenomenonA FURIOUS shopper has received an apology from Target after they questioned the value of store membership following poor service. Taking to social media , the customer ranted about the chain's delivery service asking the chain, "What's going on?" "I pay for @Target SAME DAY DELIVERY SUBSCRIPTION," she wrote on X. "I placed a SAME DAY DELIVERY on Wednesday. 2 days later I still haven’t received my items. "I’ve tried to reach someone all day. Finally get someone, and the representative was rude and refused to help me. What’s going on?" The shopper gave no further details about how the staff member was rude but Target swiftly responded to her complaint. read more on target "We're sorry to hear you still haven't received your same-day delivery order," the chain said, adding it would look into the issue for her. Target urged the shopper to privately message them the order details so they could follow up on the issue. No further update has been given publicly by either Target or the X user on the delivery or if she still pays for the subscription. Target offers shoppers same-day delivery under the Target Circle 360 membership. Most read in Money Members get unlimited same-day delivery on orders over $35 if they pay a monthly fee of $10.99 or a yearly fee of $99. Or, shoppers can pay $9.99 at checkout to get same-day delivery on individual orders. But, the shopper on X was not alone in feeling cheated with the membership as others complained about not getting the service they are paying for. "I have to say I'm VERY disappointed in the way @Target has managed my order," another member said . "The order was placed Saturday afternoon, I have Target Circle 360, & the order was over $350! "Yet the package wasn’t even seen by UPS until Tuesday evening!? Now won’t be to me until Friday afternoon!" Target's customer support page replied to apologize and offer more information. In April, Target launched its first-ever paid membership program, Target Circle 360. For $99 a year, members get access to the following perks: Unlimited, free same-day delivery on orders over $35 An extra 30 days to return your items Free two-day shipping on 100,000s of items 5% off in-store and online Automatic deals and exclusive partner perks Others vowed never to use the service again after being confronted by rude staff. "I’m never doing same-day delivery from @Target EVER again," another shopper said . "Worst and rude customer service that hangs up on customers." Meanwhile, Walmart shoppers have also been left disappointed and threatening to change stores due to delivery issues. Read More on The US Sun One shopper said "No more Walmart" after the retailer "forgot" to deliver 22 items and it was not the first time such an issue took place. Other Walmart shoppers complained about issues with one of the chain's delivery policies regarding substitutions.

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump said he can't guarantee his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won't raise prices for American consumers and suggested once more that some political rivals and federal officials who pursued legal cases against him should be imprisoned. The president-elect, in a wide-ranging interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" that aired Sunday, also touched on monetary policy, immigration, abortion and health care, and U.S. involvement in Ukraine, Israel and elsewhere. Trump often mixed declarative statements with caveats, at one point cautioning "things do change." Here's a look at some of the issues covered: President-elect Donald Trump takes the stage before he speaks at the FOX Nation Patriot Awards, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Greenvale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) Trump hems on whether trade penalties could raise prices Trump threatened broad trade penalties, but said he didn't believe economists' predictions that added costs on those imported goods for American companies would lead to higher domestic prices for consumers. He stopped short of a pledge that U.S. an households won't be paying more as they shop. "I can't guarantee anything. I can't guarantee tomorrow," Trump said, seeming to open the door to accepting the reality of how import levies typically work as goods reach the retail market. That's a different approach from Trump's typical speeches throughout the 2024 campaign, when he framed his election as a sure way to curb inflation. In the interview, Trump defended tariffs generally, saying that tariffs are "going to make us rich." He has pledged that, on his first day in office in January, he would impose 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada unless those countries satisfactorily stop illegal immigration and the flow of illegal drugs such as fentanyl into the United States. He also has threatened tariffs on China to help force that country to crack down on fentanyl production. "All I want to do is I want to have a level, fast, but fair playing field," Trump said. Trump suggests retribution for his opponents while claiming no interest in vengeance He offered conflicting statements on how he would approach the justice system after winning election despite being convicted of 34 felonies in a New York state court and being indicted in other cases for his handling of national security secrets and efforts to overturn his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. "Honestly, they should go to jail," Trump said of members of Congress who investigated the Capitol riot by his supporters who wanted him to remain in power. The president-elect underscored his contention that he can use the justice system against others, including special prosecutor Jack Smith, who led the case on Trump's role in the siege on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump confirmed his plan to pardon supporters who were convicted for their roles in the riot, saying he would take that action on his first day in office. As for the idea of revenge driving potential prosecutions, Trump said: "I have the absolute right. I'm the chief law enforcement officer, you do know that. I'm the president. But I'm not interested in that." At the same time, Trump singled out lawmakers on a special House committee who investigated the insurrection, citing Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. "Cheney was behind it ... so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee," Trump said. Asked specifically whether he would direct his administration to pursue cases, he said, "No," and suggested he did not expect the FBI to quickly undertake investigations into his political enemies. At another point, Trump said he would leave the matter up to Pam Bondi, his pick as attorney general. "I want her to do what she wants to do," he said. Such threats, regardless of Trump's inconsistencies, have been taken seriously enough by many top Democrats that Biden is considering issuing blanket, preemptive pardons to protect key members of his outgoing administration. Trump did seemingly back off his campaign rhetoric calling for Biden to be investigated, saying, "I'm not looking to go back into the past." Immigration advocates hold a rally in Sacramento, Calif. on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, to protest President-Elect Donald Trump's plans to conduct mass deportation of immigrants without legal status. (AP Photo/Haven Daley) Swift action on immigration is coming Trump repeatedly mentioned his promises to seal the U.S.-Mexico border and deport millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally through a mass deportation program. "I think you have to do it," he said. He suggested he would try to use executive action to end "birthright" citizenship under which people born in the U.S. are considered citizens — though such protections are spelled out in the Constitution. Asked specifically about the future for people who were brought into the country illegally as children and were shielded from deportation in recent years, Trump said, "I want to work something out," indicating he might seek a solution with Congress. But Trump also said he does not "want to be breaking up families" of mixed legal status, "so the only way you don't break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back." President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Notre Dame Cathedral as France's iconic cathedral is formally reopening its doors for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark in 2019, Saturday Dec.7, 2024 in Paris ( Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP) Trump commits to NATO, with conditions, and waffles on Putin and Ukraine Long a critic of NATO members for not spending more on their own defense, Trump said he "absolutely" would remain in the alliance "if they pay their bills." Pressed on whether he would withdraw if he were dissatisfied with allies' commitments, Trump said he wants the U.S. treated "fairly" on trade and defense. He waffled on a NATO priority of containing Russia and President Vladimir Putin. Trump suggested Ukraine should prepare for less U.S. aid in its defense against Putin's invasion. "Possibly. Yeah, probably. Sure," Trump said of reducing Ukraine assistance from Washington. Separately, Trump called for an immediate cease-fire. Asked about Putin, Trump said initially that he has not talked to the Russian leader since Election Day last month, but then hedged. "I haven't spoken to him recently," Trump said when pressed, adding that he did not want to "impede the negotiation." Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Trump says Powell is safe at the Fed, but not Wray at the FBI The president-elect said he has no intention, at least for now, of asking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to step down before Powell's term ends in 2028. Trump said during the campaign that presidents should have more say in Fed policy, including interest rates. Trump did not offer any job assurances for FBI Director Christopher Wray, whose term is to end in 2027. Asked about Wray, Trump said: "Well, I mean, it would sort of seem pretty obvious" that if the Senate confirms Kash Patel as Trump's pick for FBI chief, then "he's going to be taking somebody's place, right? Somebody is the man that you're talking about." Trump is absolute about Social Security, not so much on abortion and health insurance Trump promised that the government efficiency effort led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will not threaten Social Security. "We're not touching Social Security, other than we make it more efficient," he said. He added that "we're not raising ages or any of that stuff." He was not so specific about abortion or his long-promised overhaul of the Affordable Care Act. On abortion, Trump continued his inconsistencies and said he would "probably" not move to restrict access to the abortion pills that now account for a majority of pregnancy terminations, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. But pressed on whether he would commit to that position, Trump replied, "Well, I commit. I mean, are — things do — things change. I think they change." Reprising a line from his Sept. 10 debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump again said he had "concepts" of a plan to substitute for the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which he called "lousy health care." He added a promise that any Trump version would maintain insurance protections for Americans with preexisting health conditions. He did not explain how such a design would be different from the status quo or how he could deliver on his desire for "better health care for less money." 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.” Kash Patel spent several years as a Justice Department prosecutor before catching the Trump administration’s attention as a staffer on Capitol Hill who helped investigate the Russia probe. Patel called for dramatically reducing the agency’s footprint, a perspective that sets him apart from earlier directors who sought additional resources for the bureau. Though the Justice Department in 2021 halted the practice of secretly seizing reporters’ phone records during leak investigations, Patel said he intends to aggressively hunt down government officials who leak information to reporters. 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. Trump said Atkins, the CEO of Patomak Partners and a former SEC commissioner, was a “proven leader for common sense regulations.” In the years since leaving the SEC, Atkins has made the case against too much market regulation. “He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The commission oversees U.S. securities markets and investments and is currently led by Gary Gensler, who has been leading the U.S. government’s crackdown on the crypto industry. Gensler, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, announced last month that he would be stepping down from his post on the day that Trump is inaugurated — Jan. 20, 2025. Atkins began his career as a lawyer and has a long history working in the financial markets sector, both in government and private practice. In the 1990s, he worked on the staffs of two former SEC chairmen, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt. Jared Isaacman, 41, is a tech billionaire who bought a series of spaceflights from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and conducted the first private spacewalk . He is the founder and CEO of a card-processing company and has collaborated closely with Musk ever since buying his first chartered SpaceX flight. He took contest winners on that 2021 trip and followed it in September with a mission where he briefly popped out the hatch to test SpaceX’s new spacewalking suits. 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. President-elect Donald Trump tapped former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be ambassador to China, saying in a social media post that the former CEO “brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China.” Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff four years ago and ran unsuccessfully in a primary against Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. Perdue pushed Trump's debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for governor. 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. Customs and Border Protection, with its roughly 60,000 employees, falls under the Department of Homeland Security. It includes the Border Patrol, which Rodney Scott led during Trump's first term, and is essentially responsible for protecting the country's borders while facilitating trade and travel. Scott comes to the job firmly from the Border Patrol side of the house. He became an agent in 1992 and spent much of his career in San Diego. When he was appointed head of the border agency in January 2020, he enthusiastically embraced Trump's policies. After being forced out under the Biden administration, Scott has been a vocal supporter of Trump's hard-line immigration agenda. He appeared frequently on Fox News and testified in Congress. He's also a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Former Rep. Billy Long represented Missouri in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2023. Since leaving Congress, Trump said, Long “has worked as a Business and Tax advisor, helping Small Businesses navigate the complexities of complying with the IRS Rules and Regulations.” Former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler was appointed in January 2020 by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and then lost a runoff election a year later. She started a conservative voter registration organization and dived into GOP fundraising, becoming one of the top individual donors and bundlers to Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign. Even before nominating her for agriculture secretary, the president-elect already had tapped Loeffler as co-chair of his inaugural committee. 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. 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. Dr. Marty Makary, Food and Drug Administration Makary is a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against pandemic lockdowns. He routinely appeared on Fox News during the COVID-19 pandemic and wrote opinion articles questioning masks for children. He cast doubt on vaccine mandates but supported vaccines generally. Makary also cast doubt on whether booster shots worked, which was against federal recommendations on the vaccine. Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Surgeon General Nesheiwat is a general practitioner who serves as medical director for CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. She has been a contributor to Fox News. Dr. Dave Weldon, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Weldon is a former Florida congressman who recently ran for a Florida state legislative seat and lost; Trump backed Weldon’s opponent. In Congress, Weldon weighed in on one of the nation’s most heated debates of the 1990s over quality of life and a right-to-die and whether Terri Schiavo, who was in a persistent vegetative state after cardiac arrest, should have been allowed to have her feeding tube removed. He sided with the parents who did not want it removed. 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 Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.Fowler and Gorry both score in Women's Super League after sitting out Matildas friendliesTexas weighs social media bans for minors as schools and police face challenges

WINTER viruses and bugs are spreading around the country – but there is a way to remain well by simply reaching into your kitchen cupboard. Luckily, fuelling your body from the inside out to fight off nasties does not have to cost a fortune if you know what to buy . 8 Check your kitchen cupboard for household items that can act as remedies against colds Credit: Getty 8 Stock cubes can boost your vitamin A, B, K and E as well as calcium, selenium and zinc Credit: Getty Laura Stott looks at the best budget supermarket foods you can buy that will help you combat common cold-weather worries, all for around a pound. Stock Cubes - Immune System Booster NUTRITIOUS broth is cheap to make or buy, will warm you up and is perfect for winter-proofing health. Experts agree its vitamin, amino acid and mineral density can boost your immune system to prevent cold and flu bugs taking hold, bolstering levels of vitamin A, B, K and E as well as providing helpful calcium, selenium and zinc. Buy ready-made from supermarkets or make your own by simmering chicken, beef or pork bones along with veggies and herbs in a large stock pot over a low heat for 20 minutes. READ MORE ON MEDICINES MUG OFF Lemsip and other cold and flu remedies are 'not effective', experts claim A-CHOO KNEW? Warning as popular over-the-counter cold & flu remedy could 'worsen breathing' You can even dissolve a stock cube in boiling water for benefits . Try: Asda beef stock cubes (12-pack) 80p. Sushi - Vitamin B12 8 Eating sushi can boost your vitamin B12 and help those suffering with anxiety Credit: Getty A TRAY of sushi wrapped in nori seaweed can provide helpful vitamin B12. It is scientifically proven to benefit those who suffer from depression or anxiety brought on by Seasonal Affective Disorder or winter blues. Most read in Health MY AGONY I blamed the weather when Olivia got sick, now we're making precious Xmas memories MY SHOCK I thought I was just overworked but killer cancer was silently spreading inside me BUG SURGE Urgent warning to Scots as norovirus cases surge across country 'RIPPED APART' My unborn baby nearly died after her big sister caught common bug at school Upping levels of B12 will also help strengthen the immune system to fight off seasonal viruses. Seaweed, used as an ingredient in most packets of supermarket sushi, contains a compound shown to reduce viral loads, with some studies also suggesting it can shorten the lifespan of a cold. Swap your sandwich for sushi once or twice a week, or switch ready salted for seaweed crisps instead. Try: Tesco veggie sushi, 55g, £1.30. I get such cold feet so tried a game-changing device which costs just 2p an hour to run - it got me toasty in 10 minutes (1) 8 Eggs are a cheaper way than oysters to top up with more zinc Credit: Getty Eggs - Zinc and Vitamin D ONE study found the mineral zinc can help shorten the life of a common cold by as much as 30 per cent. Making sure you have a healthy amount in your diet is sensible for combating bugs. Oysters are one of the most well-known dietary sources of zinc. But as well as being an acquired taste, shelling out on them won’t come cheap. Instead, up your levels with eggs. A large one provides around seven per cent of your RDA of zinc. So whether you fry, boil or whisk up a few for an omelette, they are a great way to stay well over winter. Try: Free-range medium eggs (six-pack) £1.60, Sainsbury’s. Cornflakes (or any fortified cereal) - Iron 8 Cornflakes and other cereals are packed with vitamins and minerals Credit: Getty A BOWL of cornflakes for brekkie over the winter could be just as beneficial for your health as shelling out for a winter multivitamin. Most UK cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals, making them a great way to up your intake of natural essentials such as iron, calcium, vitamin B6 and folic acid. Iron aids energy levels by boosting red blood cell proteins, and helps circulation for when the temperature drops. A standard-sized bowl of supermarket flakes provides almost 3mg of iron – the same as a serving of spinach. Try: Morrisons cornflakes, 79p. Sardines - Vitamin D booster 8 Tinned sardines contain around 40 per cent of an adult’s recommended daily Vitamin D allowance in one can Credit: Getty NHS guidelines recommend all adults in the UK should increase their intake of food rich in vitamin D, or consider taking a 10mg supplement daily from October to March. Vitamin D is crucial for bone, teeth and muscle health but our bodies cannot make it naturally without enough sunlight. Food sources include oysters and steak fillets but one rich source is available for less than £1. Tinned sardines contain around 40 per cent of an adult’s recommended daily allowance in one can, making them a great, healthy budget buy. Have them on toast, mixed into a pasta sauce or enjoy on a pizza. Try: Aldi sardines in tomato sauce, 49p. Jacket Potatoes - Potassium 8 Jacket potatoes are tasty and full of vitamin C and potassium Credit: Getty NATURALLY high in potassium and vitamin C, the humble spud is the perfect winter warmer. They cost pennies but help to boost our immune system, fight off infections and provide the comforting starchy carbs many of us will find ourselves craving for energy at this time of year. Around 100g of spuds will give you 20mg of vitamin C and 421mg of potassium. But whether you opt for roast, boiled or chipped tatties, for maximum benefits make sure you leave the skin on. A jacket spud is ideal, and you can add baked beans for protein and fibre. Try: Baking potatoes (four) 59p, Asda. Peanut Butter - Vitamin E IF you suffer with itchy, flaking, dry and chapped skin in the winter, increase your levels of vitamin E, which is a vital component to keep it healthy. It helps skin hold on to water and naturally boosts moisture levels. All nuts are a great source but can be expensive. A jar of supermarket own-brand peanut butter will save you pounds. Around two tablespoons give you almost 20 per cent of an adult RDA of vitamin E and will taste great. Jars with a low sugar content will be even better for you. Try: Tesco crunchy peanut butter, 340g, £1.09. Tinned Tomatoes - Vitamin C 8 Tomato soup will warm you up and help your vitamin C levels Credit: Getty VITAMIN C helps keep our immune systems fortified so we have the best chance of swerving those pesky cold and flu bugs. It will also combat rough and itchy seasonal skin conditions. A medium-sized tomato contains 17 per cent of an adult’s RDA of vitamin C, and tomato sauce is a great way to get a boost. Use fresh tomatoes for maximum benefit by making a sauce for spag bol, scattering into a lasagne or dicing and adding to stews. Read more on the Scottish Sun COMIC'S CASTLE Still Game star takes £150,000 hit to offload luxury £4m Scots castle HITTING THE HIGH NOTES Much-loved pub named best music bar in Scotland Or stock up on tinned tommies for the winter months. Try: Sainsbury’s tinned chopped tomatoes, 400g, 47p.Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Purchased by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

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Israel, Lebanon agree to ceasefire

Central Division opponents meet when Predators host the JetsEarl Holliman Dies: ‘Police Woman’ & ‘Forbidden Planet’ Actor With Dozens Of Film & TV Credits Was 96Wheel of Fortune contestants whiffing their bonus puzzles is nothing new, but on December 4’s episode, a player came up short on a $40,000 puzzle that left fans joking that she may never want to visit a Disney theme park again. The game show’s latest big miss involved Vandana Patel, an Indian fusion food expert from Chicago. She won the episode and proceeded to the coveted bonus round with $20,600, a trip to Florida, and the selection of “What Are You Wearing?” as her category. Joined by host Ryan Seacrest and the off-side support of her waving mom, daughter, and husband, she faced the two-word puzzle. Choosing a “DMH” and “A,” Vanna White added a mere “H” to the first word. “We want more!” Seacrest chanted. With that tough break, the 10-second timer began. The puzzle read as, “‘_ H _ T E’ ‘_ L _ _ E S.'” A stern Patel did her very best to concentrate on cracking it, successfully saying “White” was the first word. But she couldn’t figure out the second word, and the timer ran out. The full puzzle was unveiled, “WHITE GLOVES.” Seacrest revealed the gold envelope contained the $40,000 amount and put a consoling arm around Patel’s shoulder. “This was on your bucket list!” he told her. “It was,” she replied. The game show shared the big miss on Youtube, where fans reacted to the loss with the top comment being about how the contestant will likely never want to see Mickey Mouse, or Mario of the Nintendo games, again given their white gloves. “Now she never wants to see mickey or mario again,” the fan wrote scoring 20 likes. “Or the keeper of the Stanley Cup,” replied another. A third fan wrote, “I knew it said WHITE GLOVES and I even solved it before the timer was displayed.” A fourth penned, “Don’t worry, Vandana, I was stumped too. I got the first word, but not the second. That’s alright, you’re a winner regardless. $20K is nothing to sneeze at. Great job! A fifth said, “I knew gloves from the initial and her h got me white. Tough puzzle “Wow. At least it wasn’t the hundred thousand dollar wedge,” wrote one more. Meanwhile , Seacrest, of course, had huge shoes to fill replacing the legendary Pat Sajak after four decades for Season 42. His debut month was the strongest ratings month for WoF in the past three years, and viewers were already treated to a viral moment (via a round of sausage) . That said, there have been some questionable hosting moments. Ryan Seacrest's Real Height Revealed as 'Wheel of Fortune' Host Gets 'Short Shamed' In September, Seacrest suffered what fans dubbed his “first blooper” , involving a prolonged reaction to rewarding a bonus round. Fans also called out the host for ruling against another player before the timer was up. Most controversially, last month, fans called out the host for not reminding a player to pick a letter , leading to him losing the game in a misunderstanding and by a mere $147. This past two weeks, a more puzzling issue has come to light, which is that there has been a mere one bonus puzzle win out of the last eight episodes , many fans blaming the players and not the host. Wheel of Fortune , Weeknights, Check your local listings More Headlines: ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Player Misses $40,000 Win After Disney Disaster ‘Harry Potter’ TV Show Sets Filming Start: All the Details Danny Trejo on How ‘Mysteries Unearthed’ Brings His Career ‘Full Circle’ ‘Scrubs’ Revival in the Works at ABC ‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Say Colin Jost Is ‘Funnier’ Than Ken Jennings & Suggest He Hosts Big Special

Windward Capital Management Co. CA raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. ( NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report ) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 302,745 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,121 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 3.8% of Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $50,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock. Alphabet Trading Down 1.7 % Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $164.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $167.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.36. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.90 and a 52-week high of $191.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a market cap of $2.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.61%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alphabet from $206.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Alphabet from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.90. Get Our Latest Research Report on GOOGL Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total transaction of $109,420.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,136,807.48. This represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website . Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at $59,741,643.48. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 206,795 shares of company stock worth $34,673,866. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock. Alphabet Profile ( Free Report ) Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube. Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Alphabet How to Calculate Return on Investment (ROI) Tesla Investors Continue to Profit From the Trump Trade Overbought Stocks Explained: Should You Trade Them? MicroStrategy’s Stock Dip vs. Coinbase’s Potential Rally What Does a Stock Split Mean? Netflix Ventures Into Live Sports, Driving Stock Momentum Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GOOGL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alphabet Inc. ( NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Alphabet Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Alphabet and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .None

Pitt QB Eli Holstein carted off with leg injury