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BERLIN (AP) — Former German chancellor Angela Merkel recalls Vladimir Putin's “power games” over the years, remembers contrasting meetings with Barack Obama and Donald Trump and says she asked herself whether she could have done more to prevent Brexit, in her memoirs published Tuesday. Merkel, 70, appears to have no significant doubts about the major decisions of her 16 years as German leader, whose major challenges included the global financial crisis, Europe’s debt crisis, the 2015-16 influx of refugees and the COVID-19 pandemic. True to form, her book — titled “Freedom” — offers a matter-of-fact account of her early life in communist East Germany and her later career in politics, laced with moments of dry wit. Merkel served alongside four U.S. presidents , four French presidents and five British prime ministers. But it is perhaps her dealings with the Russian president that have drawn the most scrutiny since she left office in late 2021. Putin's power games Merkel recalls being kept waiting by Putin at the Group of Eight summit she hosted in 2007 — “if there's one thing I can't stand, it's unpunctuality.” And she recounts a visit to the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi that year in which Putin's labrador appeared during a photo opportunity, although Putin knew she was afraid of dogs. Putin appeared to enjoy the situation, she writes, and she didn't bring it up — keeping as she often did to the motto “never explain, never complain.” The previous year, she recounts Putin pointing to wooden houses in Siberia and telling her poor people lived there who “could be easily seduced,” and that similar groups had been encouraged by money from the U.S. government to take part in Ukraine's “Orange Revolution” of 2004 against attempted election fraud. Putin, she says, added: “I will never allow something like that in Russia.” Merkel says she was irritated by Putin's “self-righteousness” in a 2007 speech in Munich in which he turned away from earlier attempts to develop closer ties with the U.S. She said that appearance showed Putin as she knew him, “as someone who was always on guard against being treated badly and ready to give out at any time, including power games with a dog and making other people wait for him.” “One could find this all childish and reprehensible, one could shake one's head over it — but that didn't make Russia disappear from the map,” she writes. As she has before, Merkel defends a much-criticized 2015 peace deal for eastern Ukraine that she helped broker and her government's decisions to buy large quantities of natural gas from Russia. And she argues it was right to keep up diplomatic and trade ties with Moscow until she left power, Obama and Trump Merkel concluded after first meeting then-Sen. Obama in 2008 that they could work well together. More than eight years later, during his last visit as president in Nov. 2016, she was one of the people with whom she discussed whether to seek a fourth term. Obama, she says, asked questions but held back with an opinion, and that in itself was helpful. He “said that Europe could still use me very well, but I should ultimately follow my feelings,” she writes. There was no such warmth with Trump, who had criticized Merkel and Germany in his 2016 campaign. Merkel says she had to seek an “adequate relationship ... without reacting to all the provocations.” In March 2017, there was an awkward moment when Merkel first visited the Trump White House. Photographers shouted “handshake!” and Merkel quietly asked Trump: “Do you want to have a handshake?” There was no response from Trump, who looked ahead with his hands clasped. Merkel faults her own reaction. “He wanted to create a topic of discussion with his behavior, while I had acted as if I were dealing with an interlocutor behaving normally,” she writes. She adds that Putin apparently “fascinated” Trump and, in the following years, she had the impression that “politicians with autocratic and dictatorial traits” beguiled him. Could Brexit have been avoided? Merkel says she tried to help then-Prime Minister David Cameron in the European Union as he faced pressure from British Euroskeptics, but there were limits to what she could do. And, pointing to Cameron's efforts over the years to assuage opponents of the EU, she says the road to Brexit is a textbook example of what can arise from a miscalculation. After Britons voted to leave the EU in 2016, an outcome she calls a “humiliation” for its other members, she says the question of whether she should have made more concessions to the U.K. “tortured me.” “I came to the conclusion that, in view of the political developments inside the country at the time, there would have been no acceptable possibility for me to prevent Britain's way out of the European Union from outside,” Merkel says. Giving up power Merkel was the first German chancellor to leave power at a time of her choosing. She announced in 2018 that she wouldn't seek a fifth term, and says she “let go at the right point.” She points to three 2019 incidents in which her body shook during public engagements as proof. Merkel says she had herself checked thoroughly and there were no neurological or other findings. An osteopath told her that her body was letting off the tension it had accumulated over years, she adds. “Freedom” runs to more than 700 pages in its original German edition, published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch. The English edition is being released simultaneously by St. Martin's Press. Geir Moulson, The Associated PressLil Uzi Vert is causing a stir on social media through their latest selfie on Instagram. In the picture, they rocks numerous face piercings with the caption, "Back Bute," with a white heart emoji. When The Shade Room reposted the selfie, fans shared plenty of mixed responses, with many criticizing JT's relationship with the rapper. "Look like those connect the dot menu for the kids at IHOP," one user joked. Another wrote: "He look like he boutta destroy the Hidden Leaf Village with an Almighty Push." Others brought up Uzi's relationship with JT. "There’s no way JT finds this white emo girl attractive. Idk how she do it," one user wrote. One more countered: "Uzi’s actions tell me he just does whatever the hell he wants, unapologetically. With no regards on how ANYONE feels about it. Lol I ain’t mad at it." Read More: Rolling Ray Labels JT "The Man" In Her Relationship With Lil Uzi Vert NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 28: JT (L) and Lil Uzi Vert attend Jay-Z's 40/40 Club 18th Anniversary celebration at 40/40 Club on August 28, 2021, in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage) The viral selfie comes following the release of their latest album Eternal Atake 2 . While the project has been receiving mixed responses from fans, JT showed Uzi love for the release on social media at the time. She captioned a post about the album: “So proud of you always! [three white heart emojis] My top 3 is light year, pears to mars & Mr.chow honorable mention chill bae! Really the whole thing but that’s being bias because you do no wrong in my eyes! Forever your #1 fan! Paint the world white my baby, congratulations on EA2” Despite the release of Eternal Atake 2 , Uzi reportedly has more new music on the way. They told Rolling Stone that they're "on go" with plans for more frequent releases during a recent interview. Check out Lil Uzi Vert's latest post on social media below. Read More: JT Surprises Lil Uzi Vert With An Excursion At Sea: Watch
It’s AEW pay-per-view week, so you know what that means: Uncrowned’s Horsemen are riding again ahead of "Full Gear" this weekend. Kel Dansby, Drake Riggs, Pen Shamrock and Anthony Sulla-Heffinger are tackling some of the burning questions heading into AEW’s penultimate pay-per-view of the season. Since , the landscape of AEW has changed dramatically, with AEW World Champion Jon Moxley’s Death Riders running roughshod over the roster, setting the stage for an eventful Saturday night. This time around, these ponies are adding a new trick — predictions — which we almost certainly won’t hold over each others’ heads as an unofficial ranking of the Uncrowned wrestling scribes. With all the intro mumbo jumbo out of the way, let’s get to what everyone is really here for: The takes. The TBS title was created for Jade Cargill. She walked so Kris Statlander could run, and run she did ... but not for long enough. I want to see the former champ Statlander reclaim her throne and I think she will. It's too perfect of a setting. Statlander is back at "Full Gear," where she lost it a year ago (without getting pinned), and there's Kamille's impending (and justified) turn on Mercedes Moné coming. This all tracks. We have to get to Moné's pursuit of the world title sooner rather than later anyway. A feud with Mariah May would be absolutely brilliant — after a Kamille feud, of course. I don't necessarily love that a Statlander win will come from that Kamille turn — she doesn't need it to be able to beat Moné — but I'll take it. Statlander is awesome and fits significantly better as TBS queen. I’m with Drake on this one — it’s time for a new TBS Champion. Moné’s run hasn’t been bad, and she does need a trilogy match with Willow Nightingale, but that can come down the line. The seeds have been planted for a Kamille turn — hopefully she just walks away from Moné instead of putting her hands on her, which would diminish a Statlander win — so I would like to see that play out Saturday. Moné has enough clout and name recognition that even with a loss she’ll be a credible opponent higher up on the card. Statlander deserves this moment in front of a semi-hometown crowd. It’s tough to pinpoint a title that feels destined to change hands at Full Gear. Honestly, I’d cheat and suggest adding Chris Jericho to the card just so he could drop the ROH Title to Tomohiro Ishii. If you missed you’re missing a gem. Since that’s not on the table, my pick would be Daniel Garcia dethroning Jack Perry for the TNT Championship. The EVP storyline has fizzled out, and Perry’s momentum from his NJPW return earlier this year has all but disappeared. , and this would be the perfect way to launch his next chapter with the company. Moné's TBS Championship run hasn't been particularly compelling, and while she might need a fresh story, she does need the title. She’s established enough to do a campaign that doesn’t involve a belt, though AEW might feel forced to keep her in title contention if her as the rumors said. Maybe this is like when an NFL team throws millions at a quarterback so they’re obligated to play ‘em — either way, main event moves make more sense for Moné than continuing this run with the TBS strap. Plus, Kris Statlander would benefit, as would Kamille, if she’s the one to sabotage her friend and step out of Moné’s shadow. I would remove Hangman vs. Switchblade. The match will surely be entertaining considering the talent involved, but we just saw this at "WrestleDream." Give more time to other matches or just shorten the runtime of the show as a whole. You could really sell a special episode of Dynamite/Rampage/Collision with this as the main event instead. This might be an extreme take, but Orange Cassidy as Jon Moxley's challenger. I like what they've done with a serious Cassidy and I think he's a great, fun wrestler, and these two work great together. There's just no way in hell I ever see Cassidy becoming a world champion, especially as the character we've primarily known him as. Similar to my feelings on the TBS title, if the belt changes hands, it would probably be from a Wheeler Yuta interference and turn. We know the absolute coward will never do that, though. Just go away, Yuta. OK, so, Mariah May won the Women's Championship on August 25. That will be 90 days ago. The time for a victory lap is long gone. I’d scrap the Champagne Celebration bit and replace it with — stay with me, because this is wild — an actual wrestling match where May defends the title. AEW hasn’t addressed why Darby Allin won the Royal Rampage match on "AEW Rampage" (July 26), earning a world title shot at "Dynamite: Grand Slam" (September 25), but ended up wrestling Moxley instead. Moxley defeated Allin, then challenged Bryan Danielson at WrestleDream, winning the AEW World Championship for the fourth time. There’s no logical reason for Allin to be OK with Moxley’s reign. And why has Orange Cassidy suddenly jumped ahead as Moxley’s next challenger? The main event should be Allin vs. Moxley — both to avenge his September loss and to retaliate for the beatdown on Danielson. It’s a story begging to be told. Swerve Strickland falls to Bobby Lashley and is then ambushed by the Hurt Syndicate. But just when things seem bleak, his former tag team partner, Keith Lee, returns. Lee helps fend off the attack, setting the stage for a dramatic staredown with Lashley. This moment revives the tension between Swerve and Lee from 2022 while giving them a common enemy heading into 2025. Ricochet helps Bobby Lashley beat Swerve Strickland and joins the Hurt Syndicate. Is that even off the wall enough? How about this — Toni Storm returns? Nah, that still doesn’t feel wacky enough. OK, final answer — Samoa Joe comes back and we see him face-to-face with Moxley. MJF and Adam Cole have some big master plan and are still the bestest of friends, screwing over Roddy Strong in the process. The more I think about it, I've talked myself into it. This would be close to perfect, as I've wanted the "real" Cole to re-emerge as has been teased and I've pointed out in recent "AEW Dynamite" episode recaps. A form of that would be going this direction, albeit a different way to get to his goal of taking out MJF. For the record, I do think Drake nailed his “off the wall” prediction, so much so that I believe it’s going to happen. Anyway, my OTW call is that Kenny Omega returns and saves Orange Cassidy from a major beatdown after the main event. Omega recently returned to NJPW after a lengthy absence, and as Moxley tries to mold AEW into his vision, who better to thwart him than someone who actually helped start the company? Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher has all the makings of the night’s best match, so it should open the pay-per-view with a bang. Fletcher’s heel turn has been executed brilliantly, and AEW has a golden opportunity to solidify him as a major player with a hard-fought win over his former stablemate and mentor Ospreay. Jack Perry vs. Daniel Garcia for the TNT Championship. The stakes and action should be high enough to get the crowd going early. This is one of the most unpredictable matches on the card too, which works in its favor. Whichever one is going to end with a clean pinfall or submission. I get the sense this is going to be a night full of interference and hijinks, so before all of the shenanigans, can we just get one straight-up finish? That said, it also has to be entertaining and set a high bar. My best bet for a banger match with high potential to end free of shenanigans is Hangman Adam Page vs. Jay White, so that’s my ideal opener. High pace, big action, bad blood. Give me Ospreay vs. Fletcher, which should be a good time because Ospreay is always a good time. No offense, Kyle. It is what it is. This will be fun. Champagne problems, am I right? The real swerve here would be if went wrong, considering every major event like this in professional wrestling history has devolved into chaos. Toni Storm is playing coy, saying we’ve heard the last from her in professional wrestling. If done right, Storm returning Saturday would be an all-time women’s division moment in AEW — let some gray and black confetti drop, then have a video montage celebrating May’s run turn to black and white and boom, Storm’s music hits. I don't know how expected it might be, but I get some Chris Jericho-Kevin Owens festival of friendship vibes here. Therefore, Mina Shirakawa attacks Mariah, giving her the "celebration she'll never forget." That's a direct quote from this week's "AEW Dynamite," guys. Read into it! That woman wants a title, damnit! Friendships in wrestling are made to be broken. Talk about greed, eh? I also don't see much logic in Mariah turning on Mina, other than to remain a selfish lone wolf type. Will we see Toni Storm return? Possibly, but having her just appear to ruin things is the definition of a stereotypical wrestling history repeat. We've seen that to death. Please be more creative than that, AEW. Toni Storm’s “retirement” announcement last week feels far from permanent — it’s pro wrestling, after all. Expect Storm to crash May’s champagne celebration to thunderous applause, delivering an old-school, vintage beatdown to spoil the festivities. The Vendetta interrupts. As Big AJ , "Full Gear" is going down at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Considering , it’d make a ton of sense for her and Taya Valkyrie to pop up when the bottle popping pops off. It's been countless years since I sat down and ate a meal in Costco. The pizza might legitimately be the only food court item I've tried. I remember it being pretty good, but I'm not going to lie to you guys and say it was a groundbreaking, must-try delicacy. Let the stupid trends die, thank you. The year is 2055, Big Justice is supreme ruler and the Costco police are hunting for the leader of The Rizz-istance. I’m in a warehouse club prison because I slandered the Chicken Bake and Double Chunk Chocolate Cookie in an Uncrowned article in 2024. This is the Costco-verse future we face if Big Boom A.J. wins on Saturday. Anyway, it’s the pepperoni pizza. My go-to is a tie: The plain cheese slice — it smacks wayyyy more than the pepperoni — and the strawberry-purée sundae with vanilla soft serve. Together, it’s a five-star combo ... six if served in the Tokyo Dome! For the record, I'm actually looking forward to seeing how Big A.J. performs. My hope is that he has a botch-free showing and, even if he’s initially greeted with boos, he wins the audience over. Some folks are upset he's getting a shot, which I find silly. Like, I'm not saying A.J. is Dean Malenko, but I'm certain he has more moves in his arsenal than someone like a Bill G*ldberg who people are enamored with, so why not give the man a shot? Wait, what was the question? Oh yeah, the pizza. (That Costco glizzy is a close second, though.) Jon Moxley (Dansby, Riggs, Shamrock, Sulla-Heffinger) vs. Orange Cassidy Mercedes Mone (Dansby, Shamrock) vs. Kris Statlander (Riggs, Sulla-Heffinger) Private Party (Dansby, Riggs, Shamrock) vs. The Outrunners (Sulla-Heffinger) vs. The Acclaimed vs. Kings of the Black Throne Jack Perry (Shamrock) vs. Daniel Garcia (Dansby, Riggs, Sulla-Heffinger) Konosuke Takeshita (Dansby, Sulla-Heffinger) vs. Ricochet (Riggs, Shamrock) MJF (Dansby, Riggs, Shamrock, Sulla-Heffinger) vs. Roderick Strong Will Ospreay (Riggs, Shamrock, Sulla-Heffinger) vs. Kyle Fletcher (Dansby) Swerve Strickland vs. Bobby Lashley (Dansby, Riggs, Shamrock, Sulla-Heffinger) Jay White (Dansby, Riggs, Shamrock) vs. "Hangman" Adam Page (Sulla-Heffinger) "Big Boom" A.J. with Big Justice (Dansby, Riggs, Shamrock, Sulla-Heffinger) vs. Q.T. Marshall
Burnaby currency exchange sues ex-employee for alleged $4.4M fraudCHARLOTTE, N.C. — Front Row Motorsports, one of two teams suing NASCAR in federal court, accused the stock car series Thursday of rejecting the planned purchase of a valuable charter unless the lawsuit was dropped. Front Row made the claim in a court filing and said it involved its proposed purchase of the charter from Stewart-Haas Racing. Front Row said the series would only approve it if Front Row and 23XI Racing dropped their court case. "Specifically, NASCAR informed us that it would not approve the (charter) transfer unless we agreed to drop our current antitrust lawsuit against them," Jerry Freeze, general manager of Front Row, said in an affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court of Western North Carolina. The two teams in September refused to sign NASCAR's "take-it-or-leave-it" final offer on a new revenue sharing agreement. All other 13 teams signed the deal. Front Row and 23XI balked and are now in court. 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan has said he took the fight to court on behalf of all teams competing in the top motorsports series in the United States. NASCAR has argued that the two teams simply do not like the terms of the final charter agreement and asked for the lawsuit be dismissed. Earlier this week, the suit was transferred to a different judge than the one who heard the first round of arguments and ruled against the two teams in their request for a temporary injunction to be recognized in 2025 as chartered teams as the case proceeds. The latest filing is heavily redacted as it lays out alleged retaliatory actions by NASCAR the teams say have caused irreparable harm. Both Front Row and 23XI want to expand from two full-time cars to three, and have agreements with SHR to purchase one charter each as SHR goes from four cars to one for 2025. The teams can still compete next season but would have to do so as "open" teams that don't have the same protections or financial gains that come from holding a charter. Freeze claimed in the affidavit that Front Row signed a purchase agreement with SHR in April and NASCAR President Steve Phelps told Freeze in September the deal had been approved. But when Front Row submitted the paperwork last month, NASCAR began asking for additional information. A Dec. 4 request from NASCAR was "primarily related to our ongoing lawsuit with NASCAR," Freeze said. "NASCAR informed us on December 5, 2024, that it objected to the transfer and would not approve it, in contrast to the previous oral approval for the transfer confirmed by Phelps before we filed the lawsuit," Freeze said. "NASCAR made it clear that the reason it was now changing course and objecting to the transfer is because NASCAR is insisting that we drop the lawsuit and antitrust claims against it as a condition of being approved." A second affidavit from Steve Lauletta, the president of 23XI Racing, claims NASCAR accused 23XI and Front Row of manufacturing "new circumstances" in a renewed motion for an injunction and of a "coordinated effort behind the scenes." "This is completely false," Lauletta said. Front Row is owned by businessman Bob Jenkins, while 23XI is owned by retired NBA Hall of Famer Jordan, three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin and longtime Jordan adviser Curtis Polk. NASCAR had been operating with 36 chartered teams and four open spots since the charter agreement began in 2016. NASCAR now says it will move forward in 2025 with 32 chartered teams and eight open spots, with offers on charters for Front Row and 23XI rescinded and the SHR charters in limbo. The teams contend they must be chartered under some of their contractual agreements with current sponsors and drivers, and competing next year as open teams will cause significant losses. "23XI exists to compete at the highest level of stock car racing, striving to become the best team it can be. But that ambition can only be pursued within NASCAR, which has monopolized the market as the sole top-tier circuit for stock car racing," Lauletta said. "Our efforts to expand – purchasing more cars and increasing our presence on the track – are integral to achieving this goal. "It is not hypocritical to operate within the only system available while striving for excellence and contending for championships," he continued. "It is a necessity because NASCAR's monopoly leaves 23XI no alternative circuit, no different terms, and no other viable avenue to compete at this level." Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Front Row Motorsports, one of two teams suing NASCAR in federal court, accused the stock car series Thursday of rejecting the planned purchase of a valuable charter unless the lawsuit was dropped. Front Row made the claim in a court filing and said it involved its proposed purchase of the charter from Stewart-Haas Racing. Front Row said the series would only approve it if Front Row and 23XI Racing dropped their court case. "Specifically, NASCAR informed us that it would not approve the (charter) transfer unless we agreed to drop our current antitrust lawsuit against them," Jerry Freeze, general manager of Front Row, said in an affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court of Western North Carolina. The two teams in September refused to sign NASCAR's "take-it-or-leave-it" final offer on a new revenue sharing agreement. All other 13 teams signed the deal. Front Row and 23XI balked and are now in court. 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan has said he took the fight to court on behalf of all teams competing in the top motorsports series in the United States. NASCAR has argued that the two teams simply do not like the terms of the final charter agreement and asked for the lawsuit be dismissed. Earlier this week, the suit was transferred to a different judge than the one who heard the first round of arguments and ruled against the two teams in their request for a temporary injunction to be recognized in 2025 as chartered teams as the case proceeds. The latest filing is heavily redacted as it lays out alleged retaliatory actions by NASCAR the teams say have caused irreparable harm. Both Front Row and 23XI want to expand from two full-time cars to three, and have agreements with SHR to purchase one charter each as SHR goes from four cars to one for 2025. The teams can still compete next season but would have to do so as "open" teams that don't have the same protections or financial gains that come from holding a charter. Freeze claimed in the affidavit that Front Row signed a purchase agreement with SHR in April and NASCAR President Steve Phelps told Freeze in September the deal had been approved. But when Front Row submitted the paperwork last month, NASCAR began asking for additional information. A Dec. 4 request from NASCAR was "primarily related to our ongoing lawsuit with NASCAR," Freeze said. "NASCAR informed us on December 5, 2024, that it objected to the transfer and would not approve it, in contrast to the previous oral approval for the transfer confirmed by Phelps before we filed the lawsuit," Freeze said. "NASCAR made it clear that the reason it was now changing course and objecting to the transfer is because NASCAR is insisting that we drop the lawsuit and antitrust claims against it as a condition of being approved." A second affidavit from Steve Lauletta, the president of 23XI Racing, claims NASCAR accused 23XI and Front Row of manufacturing "new circumstances" in a renewed motion for an injunction and of a "coordinated effort behind the scenes." "This is completely false," Lauletta said. Front Row is owned by businessman Bob Jenkins, while 23XI is owned by retired NBA Hall of Famer Jordan, three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin and longtime Jordan adviser Curtis Polk. NASCAR had been operating with 36 chartered teams and four open spots since the charter agreement began in 2016. NASCAR now says it will move forward in 2025 with 32 chartered teams and eight open spots, with offers on charters for Front Row and 23XI rescinded and the SHR charters in limbo. The teams contend they must be chartered under some of their contractual agreements with current sponsors and drivers, and competing next year as open teams will cause significant losses. "23XI exists to compete at the highest level of stock car racing, striving to become the best team it can be. But that ambition can only be pursued within NASCAR, which has monopolized the market as the sole top-tier circuit for stock car racing," Lauletta said. "Our efforts to expand – purchasing more cars and increasing our presence on the track – are integral to achieving this goal. "It is not hypocritical to operate within the only system available while striving for excellence and contending for championships," he continued. "It is a necessity because NASCAR's monopoly leaves 23XI no alternative circuit, no different terms, and no other viable avenue to compete at this level." Get local news delivered to your inbox!
WASHINGTON — When Elon Musk first suggested a new effort to cut the size of government, Donald Trump didn’t seem to take it seriously. His eventual name for the idea sounded like a joke, too. It would be called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a reference to an online meme featuring a surprised-looking dog from Japan. But now that Trump has won the election, Musk’s fantasy is becoming reality, with the potential to spark a constitutional clash over the balance of power in Washington. Trump put Musk, the world’s richest man, and Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, in charge of the new department, which is really an outside advisory committee that will work with people inside the government to reduce spending and regulations. Last week, Musk and Ramaswamy said they would encourage Trump to make cuts by refusing to spend money allocated by Congress, a process known as impounding. The proposal goes against a 1974 law intended to prevent future presidents from following in the footsteps of Richard Nixon, who held back funding that he didn’t like. “We are prepared for the onslaught from entrenched interests in Washington,” Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal. “We expect to prevail. Now is the moment for decisive action.” Trump has already suggested taking such a big step, saying last year that he would “use the president’s long-recognized impoundment power to squeeze the bloated federal bureaucracy for massive savings.” It would be a dramatic attempt to expand his powers, when he already will have the benefit of a sympathetic Republican-controlled Congress and a conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court, and it could swiftly become one of the most closely watched legal fights of his second administration. “He might get away with it,” said William Galston, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank. “Congress’ power of the purse will turn into an advisory opinion.” Right now, plans for the Department of Government Efficiency are still coming into focus. The nascent organization has put out a call for “super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.” Applicants are encouraged to submit their resumes through X, the social media company that Musk owns. In the Wall Street Journal, Musk and Ramaswamy provided the most detailed look yet at how they would operate and where they could cut. Some are longtime Republican targets, such as $535 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Other plans are more ambitious and could reshape the federal government. The two wrote that they would “identify the minimum number of employees required at an agency for it to perform its constitutionally permissible and statutorily mandated functions,” leading to “mass head-count reductions across the federal bureaucracy.” Civil service protections wouldn’t apply, they argue, because they wouldn’t be targeting specific people for political purposes. Some employees could choose “voluntary severance payments to facilitate a graceful exit.” But others would be encouraged to quit by mandating that they show up at the office five days a week, ending pandemic-era flexibility about remote work. The requirement “would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome.” Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said such cutbacks would harm services for Americans who rely on the federal government, and he suggested that Musk and Ramaswamy were in over their heads. “I don’t think they’re even remotely qualified to perform those duties,” he said. “That’s my main concern.” Kelley said his union, which represents 750,000 employees for the federal government and the city of Washington, D.C., was ready to fight attempts to slash the workforce. “We’ve been here, we’ve heard this kind of rhetoric before,” he said. “And we are prepared.” There was no mention in the Wall Street Journal of Musk’s previously stated goal of cutting $2 trillion from the budget, which is nearly a third of total annual spending. Nor did they write about “Schedule F,” a potential plan to reclassify federal employees to make them easier to fire. Ramaswamy once described the idea as the “mass deportation of federal bureaucrats out of Washington, D.C.” However, Musk and Ramaswamy said they would reduce regulations that they describe as excessive. They wrote that their department “will work with legal experts embedded in government agencies, aided by advanced technology,” to review regulations that run counter to two recent Supreme Court decisions that were intended to limit federal rulemaking authority. Musk and Ramaswamy said Trump could “immediately pause the enforcement of those regulations and initiate the process for review and rescission.” Chris Edwards, an expert on budget issues at the Cato Institute, said many Republicans have promised to reduce the size and role of government over the years, often to little effect. Sometimes it feels like every budget item and tax provision, no matter how obscure, has people dedicated to its preservation, turning attempts at cuts into political battles of attrition. “Presidents always seem to have higher priorities,” he said. “A lot of it falls to the wayside.” Although DOGE is scheduled to finish its work by July 4, 2026, Edwards said Musk and Ramaswamy should move faster to capitalize on momentum from Trump’s election victory. “Will it just collect dust on a shelf, or will it be put into effect?” Edwards said. “That all depends on Trump and where he is at that point in time.” Ramaswamy said in an online video that they’re planning regular “Dogecasts” to keep the public updated on their work, which he described as “a once-in-a-generation project” to eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse.” “However bad you think it is, it’s probably worse,” he said. House Republicans are expected to put Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Trump ally from Georgia, in charge of a subcommittee to work with DOGE, according to two people with knowledge of the plans who were not authorized to discuss them publicly. Greene and Rep. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee, have already met with Ramaswamy, the two people said. Musk brought up the idea for DOGE while broadcasting a conversation with Trump on X during the campaign. “I think we need a government efficiency commission to say like, ‘Hey, where are we spending money that’s sensible. Where is it not sensible?’” Musk said. Musk returned to the topic twice, volunteering his services by saying “I’d be happy to help out on such a commission.” “I’d love it,” Trump replied, describing Musk as “the greatest cutter.” Musk has his own incentives to push this initiative forward. His companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, have billions of dollars in government contracts and face oversight from government regulators. After spending an estimated $200 million to support Trump’s candidacy, he’s poised to have expansive influence over the next administration. Trump even went to Texas last week to watch SpaceX test its largest rocket. DOGE will have an ally in Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican who has railed against federal spending for years. He recently told Fox News that he sent “2,000 pages of waste that can be cut” to Musk and Ramaswamy. “I’m all in and will do anything I can to help them,” Paul said. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
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Patriots coach Jerod Mayo believes narrow loss to Bills shows potential of his young team
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Front Row Motorsports, one of two teams suing NASCAR in federal court, accused the stock car series Thursday of rejecting the planned purchase of a valuable charter unless the lawsuit was dropped. Front Row made the claim in a court filing and said it involved its proposed purchase of the charter from Stewart-Haas Racing. Front Row said the series would only approve it if Front Row and 23XI Racing dropped their court case. "Specifically, NASCAR informed us that it would not approve the (charter) transfer unless we agreed to drop our current antitrust lawsuit against them," Jerry Freeze, general manager of Front Row, said in an affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court of Western North Carolina. The two teams in September refused to sign NASCAR's "take-it-or-leave-it" final offer on a new revenue sharing agreement. All other 13 teams signed the deal. Front Row and 23XI balked and are now in court. 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan has said he took the fight to court on behalf of all teams competing in the top motorsports series in the United States. NASCAR has argued that the two teams simply do not like the terms of the final charter agreement and asked for the lawsuit be dismissed. Earlier this week, the suit was transferred to a different judge than the one who heard the first round of arguments and ruled against the two teams in their request for a temporary injunction to be recognized in 2025 as chartered teams as the case proceeds. The latest filing is heavily redacted as it lays out alleged retaliatory actions by NASCAR the teams say have caused irreparable harm. Both Front Row and 23XI want to expand from two full-time cars to three, and have agreements with SHR to purchase one charter each as SHR goes from four cars to one for 2025. The teams can still compete next season but would have to do so as "open" teams that don't have the same protections or financial gains that come from holding a charter. Freeze claimed in the affidavit that Front Row signed a purchase agreement with SHR in April and NASCAR President Steve Phelps told Freeze in September the deal had been approved. But when Front Row submitted the paperwork last month, NASCAR began asking for additional information. A Dec. 4 request from NASCAR was "primarily related to our ongoing lawsuit with NASCAR," Freeze said. "NASCAR informed us on December 5, 2024, that it objected to the transfer and would not approve it, in contrast to the previous oral approval for the transfer confirmed by Phelps before we filed the lawsuit," Freeze said. "NASCAR made it clear that the reason it was now changing course and objecting to the transfer is because NASCAR is insisting that we drop the lawsuit and antitrust claims against it as a condition of being approved." A second affidavit from Steve Lauletta, the president of 23XI Racing, claims NASCAR accused 23XI and Front Row of manufacturing "new circumstances" in a renewed motion for an injunction and of a "coordinated effort behind the scenes." "This is completely false," Lauletta said. Front Row is owned by businessman Bob Jenkins, while 23XI is owned by retired NBA Hall of Famer Jordan, three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin and longtime Jordan adviser Curtis Polk. NASCAR had been operating with 36 chartered teams and four open spots since the charter agreement began in 2016. NASCAR now says it will move forward in 2025 with 32 chartered teams and eight open spots, with offers on charters for Front Row and 23XI rescinded and the SHR charters in limbo. The teams contend they must be chartered under some of their contractual agreements with current sponsors and drivers, and competing next year as open teams will cause significant losses. "23XI exists to compete at the highest level of stock car racing, striving to become the best team it can be. But that ambition can only be pursued within NASCAR, which has monopolized the market as the sole top-tier circuit for stock car racing," Lauletta said. "Our efforts to expand – purchasing more cars and increasing our presence on the track – are integral to achieving this goal. "It is not hypocritical to operate within the only system available while striving for excellence and contending for championships," he continued. "It is a necessity because NASCAR's monopoly leaves 23XI no alternative circuit, no different terms, and no other viable avenue to compete at this level." Get local news delivered to your inbox!None
These days, Matthieu Bonin is enjoying life and laughs easily. It was not always so as he points out in his book on pain and suffering. Light from Darkness was published in 2023. He brought lessons from his experiences - and the importance of joy - to his talk on Wednesday at Laurentian University in Sudbury. “This is a reboot of a lecture series after COVID,” said Bonin, who lives in Lively. “The series is focused on building healthy communities. My specific topic is one that should resonate with the audience.” Bonin was the first to speak at the reboot of the Dr. Dan Andrea Lectures on Living in Healthy Communities. The topic - The Importance of Trust and Belonging - is central to a healthy community, said Bonin, an author and inspirational speaker. “I value your well-being and hope that you value mine; it has to go both ways,” he said. “I was invited partly because of my book and also that I spoke at (Laurentian University’s) convocation. Bonin, 38, said he did as he always does: speak from the heart. “I have my general ideas and themes laid out for sharing and have worked it all out. I have been doing a lot of mental health advocacy lately. To talk about depression and anxiety is important, but there is the preventative piece, like joy and belonging. “Having a good group of friends and family is essential in this. We are social beings. One of the biggest triggers for the decline in mental health is isolation. I am not a mental health expert, but I am a guy who cares.” Bonin said his next book will move into new but related territory. “The next book I am writing is about joy,” he said. “This lecture is very much linked with that. It is the first time I am speaking specifically on joy, but I am planning something additional for January. “I have some philosophy and spirituality in my background. You know, for life and living, you have to have a plan and direction, but part of the plan is to forget the plan. Be open to opportunities.” The audience for his event may fall into one of two camps, or maybe both. “Those who are looking for connections and feeling lonely, and those who are part of a healthy community. November is kind of a grey month. Come out to meet some people.” Bonin is described as a public speaker, mental health advocate, author, and adventurer. In 2022, he stage-swam 154 km around Manitoulin Island to raise funds for MS research. His book, Light From Darkness, describes his struggles with mental health and how he overcame these challenges. Today, he is a sought-after speaker. The Local Journalism Initiative is made possible through funding from the federal government. sud.editorial@sunmedia.ca Bluesky: @sudburystar.bsky.social X: @SudburyStar
Neuer gets sent off for 1st time and Bayern Munich exits German Cup early again
Toys Market in Europe to Grow by USD 9.27 Billion (2024-2028), Driven by Premiumization and AI-Influenced Market Trends - TechnavioDad, stepmum did unimaginable to girl, 10Transition Troubles: Trump's Unconventional Approach Raises ConcernsReeves must unlock the magic of AI if she wants to meet her growth targets, says ALEX BRUMMER By ALEX BRUMMER FOR THE DAILY MAIL Updated: 22:01, 3 December 2024 e-mail 1 View comments Here is an idea for Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves if they are to have any realistic chance of achieving their growth mission. In the disparaged October 30 Budget, among the scraps of encouragement for business, amid the torrent of £40billion of tax increases, was a commitment to make permanent the Tory policy of ‘full expensing’ for companies investing in new plant and equipment. This is all very fine and dandy, but it shows a 20th Century rather than 21st Century mindset at the Treasury. Reeves must recognise by now, given surveys from the CBI, Institute of Directors and the S&P purchasing managers, that instead of boosting confidence, her Budget has had a baleful effect on investment and new orders. This despite the fact that the UK is an island of political stability compared to Continental rivals Germany and France. If Britain is to have any prospect of outperforming or keeping up with the best in class of the G7, it needs to embrace more strongly what the country does well and technologies which will turn on the boosters. Growth boost: One of the few positive parts of the budget was a commitment to make permanent the Tory policy of ‘full expensing’ for companies investing in new plant and equipment That means extending full expensing to innovations which will speed manufacturing processes, advertising and all manner of professional services. The UK is a pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI). Indeed, Reeves is known to refer to DeepMind, now part of Google parent Alphabet, as a British success story. The way then to boost productivity would be to bring AI investment, software, cybersecurity, connectivity and design costs (yes, even the new pink Jaguar) under the full expensing umbrella. It is not an accident that two of the most admired FTSE 100 companies are Relx and software group Sage, which have both pioneered AI in the UK. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Elon Musk vows to fight as his record-breaking £80bn Tesla... Natwest set to return to full private ownership in first... Share this article Share HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to choose the best (and cheapest) stocks and shares Isa and the right DIY investing account Among the reasons why the Elizabeth Line provides a tangible lift to output is that it is fully wired. Driving output through construction and house building is a slow burn, whereas tech, as the US and Israel show, brings much quicker payback. Britain’s second-class broadband, despite the efforts of Openreach, is not good enough. The sooner that Reeves and other members of a misfiring government recognise this, the more able Britain will be to escape Labour’s despond. NatWest redux As a pre-financial crisis shareholder in NatWest, who foolishly bought into disgraced banker Fred Goodwin’s last-ditch fund raising in 2008, one can only breathe a sigh of relief that the extraordinary lengthy period of part-government ownership is ending. Speaking to the FT’s banking conference, the current chief executive Paul Thwaite (they don’t usually last very long) predicted that, barring an economic shock, it will be back in private hands in 2025. It has been a long haul, and one cannot but think that if successive governments had not been scared of taking a loss, NatWest would have been on the road to recovery much earlier. It would not have suffered the slings and arrows which have held it back over a range of issues. It has been sad to watch promising enterprises such as fintech champion Worldpay ditched, at a low valuation, when it could have been a profit centre for the bank. NatWest has huge reach into Britain’s smaller- and medium-sized businesses and farms, but has long looked like a bank looking for a role. Services such as stock broking and document keeping have been slashed along with a vast branch network which could have been a great asset as it seeks to build-on wealth management. Some comfort can be drawn from a recovery in a sub-octane share price which is up 88 per cent this year. Along the way, NatWest has weathered the storm over debanking Nigel Farage at Coutts. The obsession with do-gooding is still rampant. Each time clients log on to online banking, they are greeted with the appearance of an ad for the DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal. That is a turn-off for many customers and needs a re-think. Bottoms-up Is the hospitality sector in danger of crying wolf? After the Budget, it seemed as if every pub in the country might be heading for the knacker’s yard. If that is the case, Marston’s, which operates 1,339 outlets, against all odds managed to record a 64.5 per cent jump in annual profits. It also revealed that the National Insurance increase was ‘manageable’. How curious. DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS AJ Bell AJ Bell Easy investing and ready-made portfolios Learn More Learn More Hargreaves Lansdown Hargreaves Lansdown Free fund dealing and investment ideas Learn More Learn More interactive investor interactive investor Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month Learn More Learn More Saxo Saxo Get £200 back in trading fees Learn More Learn More Trading 212 Trading 212 Free dealing and no account fee Learn More Learn More Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence. 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Team claims NASCAR rescinded approval to buy charter
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