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bike sports Jo Malone London, renowned for its signature fragrances, is set to capitalize on the post-pandemic retail revival by opening a dozen new stores outside of London. Amid this business optimism, a political skirmish unfolds as Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch accuse each other's parties of inflating membership figures to assert superiority. The controversy centers around Reform UK's claim of surpassing Conservative membership for the first time. In other news, the financial world mourns the loss of Richard D. Parsons, the former Citigroup chair who played a pivotal role during the financial crisis and led Time Warner through challenging times, has died at 76. (With inputs from agencies.)Pandas An An and Ke Ke celebrate their 1st Christmas in Hong Kong HONG KONG (AP) — A pair of five-year-old pandas, named An An and Ke Ke, celebrated their first Christmas early in a Hong Kong park, munching on special treats and looking cute for the cameras. An An, the male panda, was presented with an ice slab that had “Merry Christmas” written on it with sweet potato and carrots while Ke Ke, his female companion, got a snowman garnished with slices of carrot and apple in a special press event Monday before visitors streamed to the park. China sent the pair to Hong Kong in late September in a bid to boost tourism in the city. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Wemby: Spurs-Knicks Christmas game is also an animated one at Disney World NEW YORK (AP) — There’s a Christmas Day basketball game at Walt Disney World, featuring Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Wemby. While Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs are facing the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, an alternate animated telecast will have the teams playing in the Magic Kingdom, with some Disney characters participating. The special alt-cast, the first animated presentation of an NBA game, will be shown on ESPN2 and also stream on Disney+ and ESPN+. 'Squid Game' returns looking for win with season 2 The first season of “Squid Game” was Netflix's most-watched series and went on to win a variety of accolades including the Emmy Award for lead actor in a drama series for Lee Jung-jae and a directing award for Hwang Dong-hyuk. The show returns for its second season on Dec. 26 and is already nominated for a Golden Globe for best drama. It's rare for TV shows made in Korea to have more than one season but Lee describes Hwang as “a genius.” A third and final season has already filmed. Netflix is also invested in expanding its “Squid Game” universe with a reality competition series and an English-language version in development. In the ruins of a bombed-out church in Lebanon, there's now a tiny Christmas tree DARDGHAYA, Lebanon (AP) — A Christmas tree stands among the fallen stones in the ruins of a Catholic church in southern Lebanon that was hit by an Israeli airstrike during the war with Hezbollah. It's a small and modest tree. There are no lights because the war destroyed power lines. The ground is too uneven to set up the Nativity scene. The priest says his blood pressure went up and he lost his balance when he saw the church's destruction. Now he leads Mass in an underground room that serves as a temporary worship space. He tells the community it “is more like the cave where Jesus was born.” Burt, the huge Australian crocodile who had a cameo in ‘Crocodile Dundee,’ dies at 90 The Crocosaurus Cove reptile aquarium in Darwin, Australia, says the huge crocodile that rose to fame with a cameo in the movie “Crocodile Dundee” has died. The aquarium says Burt died over the weekend and was at least 90 years old. A saltwater crocodile, Burt was estimated to be more than 5 meters long. The 1986 movie stars Paul Hogan as the rugged crocodile hunter Mick Dundee. In the movie, American Sue Charlton, played by actress Linda Kozlowski, goes to fill her canteen in a watering hole when she is attacked by a crocodile, before being saved by Dundee. Elaborate holiday light displays are making spirits bright in a big way CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow might be enough to brighten some homes this holiday season. But others are adorned with thousands of blinking lights synched to blasting music. In Mesa, Arizona, 14 homeowners have been going all-out on holiday lights for 30 years, and those buying homes in the neighborhood often find the attics full of décor left behind by previous owners. In Santa Clarita, California, residents began coordinating their holiday lights to bring some joy to their community after an earthquake. And in Edmond, Oklahoma, those looking to the western sky will easily spot the Miranda family’s elaborate display featuring images and music from the movie “Wicked.” Santa braves the sticky heat of the Amazon jungle to bring gifts to children in Brazilian village CATALAO, Brazil (AP) — Santa Claus has braved the sticky heat of the Amazon rainforest this weekend, taking two boats to bring gifts to the children of a small village near the Brazilian city of Manaus. The visit was arranged by Amigos do Papai Noel, a Brazilian charity that has been taking gifts to children in the Amazon rainforest for the past 26 years. More than 600 children from different villages gathered in Catalao to receive presents from Santa, who dressed in his traditional nightcap, white gloves and red suit, while enduring the stifling jungle heat. NASA's Parker Solar Probe aims to fly closer to the sun like never before NEW YORK (AP) — A NASA spacecraft is about to make the closest approach to the sun. The Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 to get a close-up look at the sun. On Tuesday, Parker will pass within a record-breaking 3.8 million miles of the sun’s surface. That's nearly seven times closer to the sun than previous spacecraft. Scientists won’t hear from Parker until a few days after the flyby. It’ll continue circling the sun at this distance until at least September. Scientists hope to better understand what drives the solar wind and why the corona is so much hotter than the sun's surface. 174 Colorado skiers and snowboarders rescued after a lift cracks WINTER PARK, Colo. (AP) — Officials are investigating what caused a crack in a Colorado ski lift that forced the evacuation of over 170 stranded skiers and snowboarders. The evacuation happened Saturday on a gondola lift at Winter Park Resort. A spokesperson says the lift stopped automatically when a crack was detected in a structural piece of the lift. Passengers were lowered down by ropes over the course of about five hours. No injuries were reported during the rescues, which came at the start of the busy holiday season. 'Sonic 3' bests 'Mufasa: The Lion King' at the box office NEW YORK (AP) — In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” sped past the Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” to take the top spot at the box office. The results came just ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters. According to studio estimates, “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” debuted with $62 million in ticket sales over the weekend. “Mufasa,” however, was humbled in its opening weekend, coming in notably shy of expectations. It returned just $35 million in domestic ticket sales.Indian stock market shows resilience, growth potential amid cautiously optimistic outlook — expert advice - Mint

Nebraska Public Media is making legislative floor debate and committee hearings held at the Nebraska State Capitol accessible to more Nebraskans. Beginning this session, Nebraska Public Media will offer closed captioning in Spanish, as well as in English. The addition is a result of Legislative Bill 254, which passed during the Nebraska Legislature’s 2023 session. Powered by artificial intelligence, new technology integrates closed captioning and real-time translation, providing nearly 100% accuracy according to a press release from Nebraska Public Media. It transforms a resource-intensive process into an efficient, automated solution to document local government. Mark Weakly, Nebraska Public Media’s chief engineer for government services, spearheaded the project, completing it well ahead of the legislative deadline. “The system does a phenomenal job of interpreting speech patterns, including things like accents, hesitations, pacing and variations in how people speak. We’ve trained it to be specific to legislative proceedings with a goal of reaching a wider audience,” Weakly said. As part of LB 254, Nebraska Public Media will also provide the legislature with video files of floor debate and committee hearings for a state-run, searchable digital archive. When the Nebraska Legislature convenes on Jan. 8, gavel-to-gavel broadcasts on Nebraska Public Media’s WORLD television channel, local radio reporting from Fred Knapp during NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered,” and online streaming at nebraskapublicmedia.org/capitol and on the Nebraska Public Media app will connect constituents with state government action from the debate floor and more than a dozen other venues. Nebraska Public Media’s coverage of legislative issues began in the mid-1950s with the interview series "Your Unicameral," followed by occasional live and videotaped coverage of specific legislative activities beginning in 1967. Gavel-to-gavel coverage began in 1980. Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly!

Naveen Babu's death: Court seeks case diaryNot since Alexander the Great has a Greek teenager made such a startling impact on the world. Not since David Hookes in the Centenary Test in 1977 has a debutant appeared on cricket’s biggest stage and given it a shake-up as audacious as this. Bazball is a reinvention of Test cricket, but on Boxing Day, Sam Konstas, the 19-year-old Sydneysider of Greek heritage, inverted the game altogether. One orthodox backfoot defence in mid-morning was greeted with a round of applause because it was the novelty. More than a first impression, it was meteorite’s crater. The precocious Konstas is a player of his time , but nothing in his short career quite foreshadowed this. From the moment he literally ran onto the ground, leading Usman Khawaja by 50 or more metres, everything he did was amped up. Khawaja smiled as he might at his dog on a walk. Read more from Greg Baum Sam Konstas plays a ramp shot against Jasprit Bumrah. Credit: Chris Hopkins Virat Kohli is free to play in the Sydney Test after avoiding a suspension for his physical altercation with Australia’s boy wonder Sam Konstas during a dramatic start to the Boxing Day Test. In a statement on Thursday night, the International Cricket Council announced that Kohli would be fined 20 per cent of his match fee and penalised one demerit point for breaching the code of conduct. “No formal hearing was needed as Kohli accepted the sanctions proposed by match referee Andy Pycroft,” the statement read. The penalty is the same as that handed to India paceman Mohammed Siraj for his send-off to Travis Head during the second Test in Adelaide. Read more from Andrew Wu Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas clash. Credit: Seven It’s hard to predict how long India’s bowlers will have to toll on day two, given Australia’s innings could still go large. The tourists used six bowlers on day one. Jasprit Burmah got through 20 overs while Washington Sundar put down 12 overs after he was brought into the XI to complement Ravindra Jadeja. India’s bowling card on day one. Credit: The Age Australia’s players appear very relaxed at the MCG nets ahead of day two. Batting coach Michael Di Venuto gets the group together in a circle and says a few words. Australia will want over 400. The tail need to find a way to hang with Steve Smith if he continues like he did yesterday. Sam Konstas is kicking a soccer ball with opening partner Usman Khawaja. Goes alright. Probably thought he was playing soccer yesterday after that bump from Virat Kohli. Yellow card worthy. The scene at the nets on Friday morning. Credit: Tom Decent Not since Alexander the Great has a Greek teenager made such a startling impact on the world. Not since David Hookes in the Centenary Test in 1977 has a debutant appeared on cricket’s biggest stage and given it a shake-up as audacious as this. Bazball is a reinvention of Test cricket, but on Boxing Day, Sam Konstas, the 19-year-old Sydneysider of Greek heritage, inverted the game altogether. One orthodox backfoot defence in mid-morning was greeted with a round of applause because it was the novelty. More than a first impression, it was meteorite’s crater. The precocious Konstas is a player of his time , but nothing in his short career quite foreshadowed this. From the moment he literally ran onto the ground, leading Usman Khawaja by 50 or more metres, everything he did was amped up. Khawaja smiled as he might at his dog on a walk. Read more from Greg Baum Sam Konstas plays a ramp shot against Jasprit Bumrah. Credit: Chris Hopkins Hello and welcome to our day two coverage of the Boxing Day Test. It’s difficult to remember a better opening day to one of these iconic matches in Melbourne. Sure, the middle session was slow-going for a bit, but that’s Test cricket. Everything that happened either side of it was captivating. Debutant opener Sam Konstas made people sit up and take notice by taking the game to India , and Jasprit Bumrah in particular, like few could have expected. With Australia reaching 6-311 at stumps, and Steve Smith well beyond 50 runs, anything is possible from here.

A collection of progressive pressure groups have called on the UK Labour government to ‘think differently’ when it comes to childcare. This is based on new analysis that reveals the English local authorities with lowest numbers of childcare places. The survey shows Walsall ranked worst. The associated report extrapolates the data and predicts that at current rate of decline, there will be no childminders left by 2033. The report comes from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) – an independent charity working towards a fairer, greener, and more prosperous society and Save the Children, which is active in one hundred countries. Concluding the report The childcare challenge: How can the new government deliver a real early education and childcare guarantee? , the campaign organisations state that the UK government must ensure deprived and rural areas are not left behind in forthcoming childcare expansion. In other words, public policy needs to focused on equalising the disparity throughout the UK. The report indicates that the expansion of free childcare currently underway is at risk of not delivering for poorer families. Amongst the poorest fifth of parents with young children, only a third (36 per cent) use formal childcare, compared to double that (73 percent) of the highest earning households. The analysis indicates how the use of formal childcare is highly defined by social class . Over two-thirds of parents of young children who work in professional jobs such as lawyers, doctors and architects use it, compared to less than half of parents in elementary occupations such as cleaners, care workers and hairdressers. Further analysis by the think tank of local access to private and voluntary nurseries as well as childminders – who deliver nearly all provision for children under three years of age – finds significant variation in access to childcare within a reasonable travel time by local authority, with deprived and rural areas the worst off. The more deprived or more rural a local area is, the fewer and lower-quality childcare options families tend to have. The most deprived areas have 32 percent fewer places per child and 25 per cent fewer good places compared to the most affluent areas. Rural areas have 31 percent fewer places and 29 per cent fewer good places compared to inner cities and town centres. For example, three in four children in Walsall live in areas that have some of the worst access to childcare in England. There are significant regional and local variations. For example, parts of the North-East have five times the average ratio of childcare places to children. However, other parts of the same Combined Authority are amongst the least well served in the country. Part of this problem is driven by the falling numbers of childminders. At the current rate – a drop of around 3,000 childminders per year. Another issue is the lack of places in school-based nurseries. Whilst the number of schools offering nursery provision has grown since 2018, the headcount of children in primary school nurseries has reduced by 14 percent (the equivalent of 42,000 children) between 2015/16 and 2023/24. To remediate the situation, the report urgest the Starmer government to adopt progressive and leftwing policies, such as: • Establishing new not-for-profit nursery trusts to rival private equity backed for-profit chains, with the aim of helping smaller childcare providers with business support, best practice and achieve the same economies of scale as larger groups. • Reinvigorating the role of local authorities including by pooling funding to secure new childcare in the areas of greatest need and more actively brokering the new schools-based nursery expansion. • Growing and supporting the supply of childminders by developing a new long-term national strategy which sees them paid monthly to deliver funded entitlements and explores a new childminder friendly national digital platform. • Increasing funding for deprived areas and children through raising the Early Years Pupil Premium and increasing weighting for Additional Need in the national formula. • Reforming the funding system , giving greater recognition to emerging needs in early years within mainstream funding. These proposals attempt to deal with childcare deserts, a lack of funding and the patchwork of commissioning services. Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news.Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.Washington : Kamala Harris has spoken out about her election defeat in a widely pilloried video in which she talked up her losing campaign’s record fundraising haul and urged demoralised Democrats to continue to mobilise against Donald Trump. After weeks of silence and a brief holiday in Hawaii, the vice president appeared in a 10-minute video to thank supporters and encouraged them to remain resilient after Trump’s election victory. “Ability to engage and inspire”: Vice President Kamala Harris. Credit: X/TheDemocrats “The outcome of this election, obviously, is not what we wanted,” she said. “It is not what we worked so hard for, but I am proud of the race we ran, and your role in this was critical. What we did in 107 days was unprecedented ... Don’t let anyone take your power.” The video went viral on social media, but was widely mocked by critics noting the vice president’s tired and somewhat rattled appearance, with some going so far as to question whether she was under the influence of alcohol. In a sentiment shared by many, TV personality Meghan McCain, the daughter of former Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, also called for Democrats to remove the short clip posted to the party’s X account. Emotional supporters as US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks following her election defeat. Credit: Bloomberg “Take this down,” McCain wrote. “She’s still the sitting Vice President for God’s sake – this is awful. Like really, really awful.” Harris’ comment about the “historic $1.4 billion” raised from grassroots supporters angered some donors, who questioned how so much money could be spent, only to lose all seven battleground states, the popular vote and both houses of Congress. Speaking on News Nation, mega-donor John Morgan, who refused to back Harris’ presidential bid, said the expenditure would “follow Harris for the rest of her career”. “I think this disqualifies her forever,” said the founder of Washington-based law firm Morgan & Morgan. “If you can’t run a campaign, you can’t run America.” Elise Stefanik, Donald Trump’s pick for UN ambassador, said she had been threatened. Credit: Bloomberg Harris’ video was the first time she had spoken publicly about the election since her concession speech at Howard University on November 6. It came as Trump’s campaign revealed that several of his cabinet and staffing picks had been targeted by bomb threats and swatting – a process that has become quite common in America, whereby police are called to someone’s home to check what often turns out to be a hoax. The campaign has not disclosed who was targeted, however, the office of New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, Trump’s pick for UN ambassador, posted that she was among them. “Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” said Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. “In response, law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action.” President Joe Biden’s decision to stand down on July 21 and elevate Harris as the Democratic candidate changed the trajectory of the 2024 presidential race and broke fundraising records in the three months up to election day. However, after her crushing defeat, the campaign’s spending and political strategy have come under growing scrutiny amid recriminations about what went wrong. As the soul-searching continued, Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, senior adviser David Plouffe, deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks and senior adviser Stephanie Cutter, appeared on the left-leaning Pod Save America podcast to provide their insights, blaming Biden, the media, and the truncated campaign time frame. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden at a rally together for her campaign in Maryland in August. Credit: Eric Lee/The New York Times Plouffe, a former Obama adviser, rejected as “nonsense” the idea that Harris should have done more to educate voters about who she was as a candidate, rather than focus on Trump. “To win a race like this given the political atmospherics, which were quite challenging, we had to raise the risk of a Trump second term,” he said. Dillon, meanwhile, said perceptions that the vice president spent too many weeks avoiding interviews were “completely bullshit” and said that when Harris did do interviews, the questions were “small and processy” and they did not help to inform voters wanting to know about her. Cutter added that many of the questions were just “dumb”. Harris also received a lot of criticism during the campaign over comments she made on the TV show The View in which she said there wasn’t anything she would have done differently than Biden. This became an instant attack ad for the Trump campaign, and one of the most damaging errors for Harris as she tried to present herself to voters as the candidate of change. Asked about this on the podcast, Cutter said the campaign tried to differentiate Harris from Biden by talking about her as a new generational leader who spent most of her career outside the Washington beltway. “We were trying to tell a story and give the impression that she was different without pointing to a specific issue,” she explained. Elsewhere, veteran Democratic Party strategist James Carville hit out at young progressives in the Harris campaign, suggesting their role in thwarting a potential interview with Joe Rogan may have contributed to her crushing defeat. “The vice president was thinking about going on Joe Rogan’s show and a lot of the younger, progressive staffers pitched a hissy fit,” he said. “What I would tell them: ‘Not only am I not interested in your f---ing opinion, I’m not even gonna call you by your name. You’re 23 years old, I don’t really give a shit what you think’.” Harris, meanwhile, used her video to urge supporters to stay positive. “You have the same ability to engage and inspire,” she said. “So don’t ever let anybody or any circumstance take your power from you.” Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here .AP Business SummaryBrief at 4:35 p.m. EST

ED Attaches Luxury Car And Investments Worth ₹4.62 Crore In Fairplay Betting Case

Baten Gay to Jeeten Gay: Divided We Win, United You LoseBy LOLITA BALDOR and FATIMA HUSSEIN WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has chosen Keith Kellogg, a highly decorated retired three-star general, to serve as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, who is one of the architects of a staunchly conservative policy book that lays out an “America First” national security agenda for the incoming administration, will come into the role as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its third year in February. Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social account, and said “He was with me right from the beginning! Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!” Kellogg, an 80 year-old retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence , was chief of staff of the National Security Council and then stepped in as an acting security adviser for Trump after Michael Flynn resigned. As special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Kellogg will have to navigate an increasingly untenable war between the two nations. The Biden administration has begun urging Ukraine to quickly increase the size of its military by drafting more troops and revamping its mobilization laws to allow for the conscription of troops as young as 18. The White House has pushed more than $56 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s February 2022 invasion and expects to send billions more to Kyiv before Biden leaves office in less than months. Trump has criticized the billions that the Biden administration has poured into Ukraine. Washington has recently stepped up weapons shipments and has forgiven billions in loans provided to Kyiv. The incoming Republican president has said he could end the war in 24 hours, comments that appear to suggest he would press Ukraine to surrender territory that Russia now occupies. As a co-chairman of the American First Policy Institute’s Center for American Security, Kellogg wrote several of the chapters in the group’s policy book. The book, like the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025,” is a move to lay out a Trump national security agenda and avoid the mistakes of 2016 when he entered the White House largely unprepared. 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.” Related Articles Trump’s proposed national security advisor U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) tweeted Wednesday that “Keith has dedicated his life to defending our great country and is committed to bringing the war in Ukraine to a peaceful resolution.” Kellogg was a character in multiple Trump investigations dating to his first term. He was among the administration officials who listened in on the July 2019 call between Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which Trump prodded his Ukrainian counterpart to pursue investigations into the Bidens. The call, which Kellogg would later say did not raise any concerns on his end, was at the center of the first of two House impeachment cases against Trump, who was acquitted by the Senate both times. On Jan. 6, 2021, hours before pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Kellogg, who was then Pence’s national security adviser, listened in on a heated call in which Trump told his vice president to object or delay the certification in Congress of President Joe Biden ’s victory. He later told House investigators that he recalled Trump saying to Pence words to the effect of: “You’re not tough enough to make the call.” Baldor reported from Washington. AP writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.‘Not helpful’: Queenslander’s bin act divides

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Austin Ekeler was concussed in the final minute of the Washington Commanders’ loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday and taken to a hospital for further evaluation. Coach Dan Quinn said he and general manager Adam Peters got to visit with Ekeler before he went to the hospital. A team spokesperson said the decision to transport Ekeler was made out of an abundance of caution. Ekeler, 29, was injured when he was tackled by Damone Clark and Nick Vigil on a kickoff return with 9 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Ekeler remained down on the field for some time being attended to by medical personnel, and players from each team knelt around him with their helmets off. Lineman Andrew Wylie was also concussed and fellow running back Brian Robinson Jr. sprained an ankle in Washington’s third consecutive defeat. Ekeler is in his first season with the Commanders after spending his first nine years in the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflIndiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke earns Jon Cornish Trophy as top Canadian in NCAA football

Donald Trump Jr’s friends worried about ‘social climbing’ new girlfriend: report

Audi Crooks' winning shot leads No. 8 Iowa State to 80-78 win over DrakeWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has chosen Keith Kellogg, a highly decorated retired three-star general, to serve as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, who is one of the architects of a staunchly conservative policy book that lays out an “America First” national security agenda for the incoming administration, will come into the role as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its third year in February. Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social account, and said “He was with me right from the beginning! Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!” Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence , was chief of staff of the National Security Council and then stepped in as an acting security adviser for Trump after Michael Flynn resigned. As special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Kellogg will have to navigate an increasingly untenable war between the two nations. The Biden administration has begun urging Ukraine to quickly increase the size of its military by drafting more troops and revamping its mobilization laws to allow for the conscription of troops as young as 18. The White House has pushed more than $56 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s February 2022 invasion and expects to send billions more to Kyiv before Biden leaves office in less than months. Trump has criticized the billions that the Biden administration has poured into Ukraine. Washington has recently stepped up weapons shipments and has forgiven billions in loans provided to Kyiv. The incoming Republican president has said he could end the war in 24 hours, comments that appear to suggest he would press Ukraine to surrender territory that Russia now occupies. As a co-chairman of the American First Policy Institute’s Center for American Security, Kellogg wrote several of the chapters in the group’s policy book. The book, like the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025,” is a move to lay out a Trump national security agenda and avoid the mistakes of 2016 when he entered the White House largely unprepared. 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.” Kellogg was a character in multiple Trump investigations dating to his first term. He was among the administration officials who listened in on the July 2019 call between Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which Trump prodded his Ukrainian counterpart to pursue investigations into the Bidens. The call, which Kellogg would later say did not raise any concerns on his end, was at the center of the first of two House impeachment cases against Trump, who was acquitted by the Senate both times. On Jan. 6, 2021, hours before pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Kellogg, who was then Pence’s national security adviser, listened in on a heated call in which Trump told his vice president to object or delay the certification in Congress of President Joe Biden ’s victory. He later told House investigators that he recalled Trump saying to Pence words to the effect of: “You’re not tough enough to make the call.” Baldor reported from Washington. AP writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Invests $680,000 in Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ)Japanese researchers test novel radiation detection technology at WVDP

FDA approves cancer drug developed by B.C.'s Zymeworks