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U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday condemned China's dangerous actions against the Philippines and renewed a warning that the United States would defend its treaty ally if Filipino forces come under an armed attack in the increasingly volatile waters. During a visit to the Philippine province of Palawan next to the disputed South China Sea, Austin was asked if the strong U.S. military support to the Philippines would continue under incoming President Donald Trump, including $500 million in new military funding. Austin expressed belief that the strong alliance “will transcend" changes of administration. “We stand with the Philippines and we condemn dangerous actions by the PRC against lawful Philippine operations in the South China Sea,” he said, using the acronym of China’s official name. He added: “The behavior of PRC has been concerning. They’ve used dangerous and escalatory measures to enforce their expansive South China Sea maritime claims." China has also had recent territorial spats with smaller coastal states, including Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia, over the key global trade and security route. Brunei and Taiwan are also involved in long-unresolved disputes. The outgoing Biden administration has taken steps to strengthen an arc of military alliances across the Indo-Pacific region to better counter China, including in any future confrontation over Taiwan or in the South China Sea, which Beijing has claimed almost in its entirety. That has dovetailed with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s thrust to strengthen his country’s external defenses, given an alarming escalation of territorial confrontations between Chinese and Filipinos forces in the South China Sea. There has been intense speculation over how Trump would steer U.S. military engagements in Asia. Marcos told reporters Tuesday that he congratulated Trump on his presidential election victory in a telephone call and renewed Philippine commitment to continue strengthening its alliance with the U.S. "I expressed to him our continuing desire to strengthen that relationship between our two countries, which is a relationship that is as deep as can possibly be because it has been for a very long time,” Marcos said. Austin was speaking during a joint news conference with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, in the military headquarters in Palawan. They were given a demonstration of an unmanned vessel the U.S. has funded for use by the Philippine Navy for intelligence-gathering and defense surveillance. Austin “reaffirmed the ironclad U.S. commitment to the Philippines” and reiterated that the allies’ Mutual Defense Treaty covers both countries’ armed forces, public vessels and aircraft…“anywhere in the South China Sea." He also reaffirmed his department’s “commitment to bolstering the Philippines’ defense capabilities and capacity to resist coercion,” according to a joint statement. Austin and Teodoro signed an agreement on Monday to secure from possible leakages the exchange of highly confidential military intelligence and technology in key weapons the U.S. would provide to Manila. The Department of National Defense in Manila said the agreement aims to ensure the security of classified military information exchanges and would “allow the Philippines access to higher capabilities and big-ticket items from the United States." Neither side provided more details or released a copy of the agreement. Two Philippine security officials, however, have told The Associated Press that such an agreement, similar to those Washington has signed with other allied countries, would allow the U.S. to provide the Philippines with higher-level intelligence and more sophisticated weapons, including missile systems. It would also provide the Philippine military access to U.S. satellite and drone surveillance systems with an assurance that such intelligence and details about sophisticated weapons would be kept secure to prevent leaks, the two officials said on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive issue publicly. China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in Beijing on Monday that no military agreement “should target any third party…nor should it undermine regional peace or exacerbate regional tensions."

A United States envoy returned to Beirut on Tuesday, where Lebanese officials have tentatively welcomed a proposal for an Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire. There was no such optimism in the Gaza Strip, where the mass looting of aid trucks by armed men worsened an already severe food crisis. Amos Hochstein, the Biden administration's pointman on Israel and Lebanon, arrived as Hezbollah's allies in the Lebanese government said it had responded positively to the proposal, which would entail both the militants and Israeli ground forces withdrawing from a U.N. buffer zone in southern Lebanon. Israeli strikes kill 46 people in the Gaza Strip and 33 in Lebanon, medics say It's unclear how close they are to clinching an agreement. The buffer zone would be policed by thousands of additional U.N. peacekeepers and Lebanese troops. Israel has called for a stronger enforcement mechanism, potentially including the ability to operate against any Hezbollah threats, something Lebanon is likely to oppose. In Gaza, meanwhile, the theft of nearly 100 trucks loaded with food and other humanitarian aid over the weekend sent prices soaring and caused shortages in central Gaza, where most of the population of 2.3 million people have fled and where hundreds of thousands are crammed into squalid tent camps. An even more severe hunger crisis is underway in the north, where Israel has been waging a weekslong offensive that has killed hundreds of people and driven tens of thousands from their homes. Experts say a famine might already have set in there.

A man fatally stabbed three people across a swath of Manhattan on Monday morning, carrying out a series of random attacks without uttering a word to his victims, officials said. The 51-year-old suspect was in police custody after being found with blood on his clothes and the two kitchen knives he was carrying, authorities said. The suspect’s and victims’ names weren’t immediately released. “Three New Yorkers. Unprovoked attacks that left us searching for answers on how something like this could happen,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference. Investigators were working to understand what propelled the rampage, which happened within 2 1/2 hours. “No words exchanged. No property taken. Just attacked, viciously,” said Joseph Kenny, the New York Police Department’s chief of detectives. “He just walked up to them and began to attack them with the knives.” The first stabbing, on West 19th Street, killed a 36-year-old construction worker who was standing by his work site near the Hudson River a little before 8:30 a.m. About two hours later and across the island of Manhattan, a 68-year-old man was attacked while fishing in the East River near East 30th Street. Both men died shortly after the stabbings, Kenny said. The suspect then apparently traveled north near the riverfront. Around 10:55 a.m., a 36-year-old woman was stabbed multiple times near the United Nations headquarters on East 42nd Street, Kenny said. She died later Monday at a hospital, police said. A passing cabdriver saw the third attack and alerted police on nearby First Avenue and East 46th Street, officials said. An officer soon apprehended the suspect. The bloodshed happened in a major city where, like in others, crime has taken a prominent place in political discourse and everyday concerns in the years since pandemic lockdowns emptied streets and spurred disorder. Killings in New York City so far in 2024 have declined 14% in two years, but serious assaults are up about 12%, according to police statistics. Some recent stabbings in public places have drawn attention, including a fatal attack at the Coney Island subway station just weeks ago. Adams, a Democrat, called Monday’s violence “a clear, clear example” of failures in the criminal justice system and elsewhere. The suspect in Monday’s rampage, who apparently is homeless, had been sentenced in a criminal case a few months ago and was arrested in a grand larceny case last month, officials said. The rampage came three years after a string of stabbings at various points along a subway line killed two people and wounded two others within a few hours. In 2019, four people who were sleeping in doorways and sidewalks in Chinatown were beaten to death, and a fifth was seriously injured, early one Saturday morning.

The U.S. will allow Ukraine to use American-supplied longer-range weapons to conduct strikes deeper inside Russian territory, a long-sought request by Kyiv. It isn’t yet clear if there are limits on Ukraine’s use of the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, as there have been on other U.S. missile systems. Their deployment could — at least initially — be limited to Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops seized territory earlier this year. Since the first year of the war, Ukrainian leaders have lobbied Western allies to allow them to use advanced weapons to strike key targets inside Russia — which they hope would erode Moscow’s capabilities before its troops reach the front line and could make it more difficult for the Russian forces to strike Ukrainian territory. It could also serve as a deterrent force in the event of future cease-fire negotiations. The U.S. has long opposed the move, with President Joe Biden determined to avoid any escalation that he felt could draw the U.S. and other NATO members into direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia. The Kremlin warned on Monday that the decision adds “fuel to the fire.” The decision comes in the waning days of Biden’s presidency, before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office. Trump has said he would bring about a swift end to the war, which many fear could force unpalatable concessions from Kyiv. What are ATACMS? The ballistic missiles, developed by U.S. aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin, have nearly double the striking distance — up to 300 kilometers (190 miles) — of most of the weapons in Ukraine’s possession. They carry a larger payload and have more precise targeting for pinpoint attacks on air fields, ammunition stores and strategic infrastructure. The United States has supplied Ukraine with dozens of ATACMS (pronounced attack-ems) and they have been used to destroy military targets in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine such as Crimea — but not on Russian soil. Biden will become the first sitting US president to visit the Amazon rainforest What is Biden allowing Ukraine to do? Biden authorized Ukraine to use the ATACMS to strike deeper inside Russia, according to a U.S. official and three other people familiar with the matter. The longer-range missiles are likely to be used in response to North Korea’s decision to send troops to support Kremlin forces, according to one of the people familiar with the development. Pyongyang’s troops are apparently being deployed to help the Russian army drive Ukrainian forces out of Russia’s Kursk border region, where they launched an incursion in August. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the U.S. decision publicly. It was the second time that Washington has expanded Ukraine’s authority to use its U.S.-provided weapons systems inside Russian territory. In May, after Russia’s offensive into the Kharkiv region threatened to stretch Ukrainian forces thin, Biden permitted the use of HIMARS systems — with a range of 80 kilometers (50 miles) — to quell that advance. That decision helped Ukrainian soldiers stabilize the fight for a time by forcing Russian forces to pull back military assets. Why does Ukraine need longer-range weapons? Ukraine has been asking its Western allies for longer-range weapons in order to alter the balance of power in a war where Russia is better resourced, and strike with precision air bases, supply depots and communication centers hundreds of kilometers (miles) over the border. It hopes the weapons would help blunt Russia’s air power and weaken the supply lines it needs to launch daily strikes against Ukraine and to sustain its military ground offensive into Ukraine. If used in Kursk, the weapons would likely require Russian forces preparing for counterattacks to push back valuable equipment and manpower and complicate battle plans. In lieu of Western weapons, Ukraine has been regularly striking Russia with domestically produced weapons, with some capable of traveling up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), but still lacks sufficient quantities to do serious long-term harm. Trump meets with Argentina's president, the first foreign leader he's met with since election Will the decision change the course of the war? Ukrainian leaders are being cautious about the announcement — and senior U.S. defense and military leaders have persistently argued that it won’t be a gamechanger. They also have noted that Russia has moved many key assets out of range. “I don’t believe one capability is going to be decisive and I stand by that comment,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said, noting that the Ukrainians have other means to strike long-range targets. Analysts have also suggested the effect could be limited. “Today, many in the media are talking about the fact that we have received permission to take appropriate actions. But blows are not inflicted with words. Such things are not announced. The rockets will speak for themselves,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the announcement. The effect of the decision depends on the rules set for the weapons’ use. If strikes are allowed across all of Russia, they could significantly complicate Moscow’s ability to respond to battlefield demands. If strikes are limited to the Kursk region, Russia could relocate its command centers and air units to nearby regions, blunting the effect of those logistical challenges. That would also mean many of the valuable targets Ukrainian officials have expressed desire to hit may still be beyond reach. Either way, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Charlie Dietz has noted the ATACMS wouldn’t be the answer to the main threat Ukraine faces from Russian-fired glide bombs, which are being fired from more than 300 kilometers (180 miles) away, beyond the ATACMS’ reach. In addition, the overall supply of ATACMS is limited, so U.S. officials in the past have questioned whether they could give Ukraine enough to make a difference — though some proponents say that even a few strikes deeper inside Russia would force its military to change deployments and expend more of its resources. Jennifer Kavanagh, director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, said the U.S. decision would not alter the course of the war. “To really impose costs on Russia, Ukraine would need large stockpiles of ATACMS, which it doesn’t have and won’t receive because the United States’ own supplies are limited,” she said. “Moreover, the biggest obstacle Ukraine faces is a lack of trained and ready personnel, a challenge that neither the United States nor its European allies can solve and that all the weapons in the world won’t overcome.” What are the key remaining questions? In addition to it being unclear what, if any, restrictions the U.S. will impose on the weapons’ use, it’s also not known how many the U.S. will give to Ukraine. While the U.S. has provided ATACMS to Ukraine in various military aid packages, the Defense Department will not disclose how many have been sent or exactly how many of those missiles the Pentagon has. Estimates suggest the U.S. has a number that is in the low thousands. The recent American election raises questions over how long this policy will be in place. Trump has repeatedly criticized the Biden administration’s spending to support Ukraine — and could reverse moves like this one. On the other hand, it’s also not clear whether other allies might step up: The decision may encourage Britain and France to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles, also known as SCALP missiles, with a range of 250 kilometers (155 miles).

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has reignited a debate that many thought had been long settled: Should women be allowed to serve their country by fighting on the front lines? The former Fox News commentator has made it clear, in his own book and in interviews, that he believes men and women should not serve together in combat units. If Hegseth is confirmed by the Senate, he could try to end the Pentagon’s nearly decade-old practice of making all combat jobs open to women. “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective. Hasn’t made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated,” he said in a podcast hosted by Shawn Ryan on Nov. 7. Women have a place in the military, he said, just not in special operations, artillery, infantry and armor units. Hegseth’s remarks generated a barrage of praise and condemnation. And they raised a question: “Who’s going to replace them? Men? And we’re having trouble recruiting men into the Army right now,” said Lory Manning, a retired Navy captain who works with the Service Women’s Action Network. The military services have struggled for years to meet recruiting goals, facing stiff competition from companies that pay more and offer similar or better benefits. And a growing population of young people aren’t interested in joining or can’t meet the physical, academic and moral requirements.

President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he is naming former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy as his nominee for transportation secretary, as he continues to roll out picks for his Cabinet. Duffy is a former reality TV star who was one of Trump’s most visible defenders on cable news — a prime concern for the media-focused president-elect. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, was a member of the Financial Services Committee and chairman of the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019, and is co-host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. In his announcement, Trump noted that Duffy is married to a Fox News host, calling him “the husband of a wonderful woman, Rachel Campos-Duffy, a STAR on Fox News.” A spokesperson for Fox News Media wished Duffy "the best of luck in his return to Washington" and said he left the company Monday. Duffy is so far the second Fox-affiliated television host that Trump has named to his Cabinet. Trump last week announced his choice of Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary. Trump said Duffy would use his experience and relationships built over the years in Congress “to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!” Duffy in 2022 ruled out a run for Wisconsin governor despite pleas from Trump to make a bid, saying he needed to care for his nine children, including his youngest child who had a heart condition. Trump names fossil fuel executive Chris Wright as energy secretary He is a former lumberjack athlete and frequent Fox News contributor. He was featured on MTV’s “The Real World: Boston” in 1997. He met his wife on the set of MTV’s “Road Rules: All Stars” in 1998. A reality television background before politics is not unusual in Trump's world. The former president launched his political career after his hit reality show, “ The Apprentice,” Duffy, after his time on reality television, worked as a special prosecutor and Ashland County district attorney. He won election to Congress as part of a tea party wave in 2010. When he first ran for office, Duffy was largely considered an underdog but attracted national attention for his campaign ads, in which he donned a red flannel shirt and chopped trees. He told voters he came from a “long line of lumberjacks” and would bring his axe to Washington. He served until resigning in 2019. The Transportation Department oversees the nation’s complex transportation system, including pipelines, railroads, cars, trucks, the airlines and mass transit systems as well as federal funding for highways. If confirmed, Duffy would take over at a time of tremendous change, especially on the nation’s highways. Traffic deaths remain near record highs at a time when new technologies are being introduced that could help make the roads safer. Multiple companies are deploying autonomous robotaxis and even driverless semis with no specific federal regulations. And the nascent move from gasoline to electric vehicles presents safety problems of its own, especially with battery fires that can be difficult to extinguish. The department includes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which regulates automakers, including Elon Musk’s Tesla. The department sets fuel economy standards for cars and trucks and regulates the airline industry through the Federal Aviation Administration, which is grappling with a shortage of air traffic controllers to ensure the safe and orderly flow of air travel. Nicholas Calio, president and CEO of Airlines for America, said the association was “thrilled” by the choice of Duffy. Trump meets with Argentina's president, the first foreign leader he's met with since election “Congressman Duffy has a proven track record for getting things done, and we are eager to collaborate with him on key issues impacting the U.S. airline industry," Calio said. Trump has criticized electric vehicles as expensive and unreliable and called President Joe Biden’s policy to promote them “lunacy. He also has said EV manufacturing will destroy auto industry jobs and has falsely claimed that battery-powered cars don’t work in cold weather and are unable to travel long distances. Trump has softened his rhetoric about electric vehicles in recent months after Musk endorsed him and campaigned heavily for his election. Even so, industry officials expect Trump to try to slow a shift to electric cars, and a tax credit for EV purchases is reportedly among those the Trump administration may seek to eliminate next year. Trump, in his statement, said Duffy would “prioritize Excellence, Competence, Competitiveness and Beauty when rebuilding America’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports.” Trump, as he campaigned for the White House, would sometimes complain about the state of air travel in particular, lamenting that the nation’s “once-revered airports” are a “dirty, crowded mess.” Duffy, Trump said Monday, “will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers.” DEI refers to “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs.

About one in five Americans – and a virtually identical share of Republicans and Democrats – regularly get their news from digital influencers who are more likely to be found on the social media platform X, according to a report released Monday by the Pew Research Center. The findings, drawn from a survey of more than 10,000 U.S. adults and an analysis of social media posts posted this summer by influencers, provide an indication of how Americans consumed the news during the height of the U.S. presidential campaign that President-elect Donald Trump ultimately won. The study examined accounts run by people who post and talk regularly about current events - including through podcasts and newsletters - and have more than 100,000 followers on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X or TikTok. They include people across the political spectrum, such as the progressive podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen and conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro, as well as non-partisan personalities like Chris Cillizza, a former CNN analyst who now runs his own newsletter. The report found that news influencers posted mostly about politics and the election, followed by social issues like race and abortion and international events, such as the Israel-Hamas war. Most of them – 63% - are men and the majority – 77% - have no affiliation, or background, with a media organization. Pew said about half of the influencers it sampled did not express a clear political orientation. From the ones that did, slightly more of them identified as conservative than as liberal. During the campaign, both parties and presidential campaigns had courted influencers, including creators who weren't very political, to compete for voters who are increasingly getting most of their news from non-traditional sources. The Republican and Democratic national conventions had credentialed influencers to cover their events this past summer. Vice President Kamala Harris sat down with Alex Cooper for her “Call Her Daddy” podcast and talked a little Bay Area basketball with the fellows on “All the Smoke.” Meanwhile, Trump hung out with the bros on the “Bussin’ With the Boys,” “Flagrant” and the popular podcaster Joe Rogan as part of a series of appearances targeting young male voters. “These influencers have really reached new levels of attention and prominence this year amid the presidential election,” Galen Stocking, senior computational social scientist at Pew Research Center, said in a statement. “We thought it was really important to look at who is behind some of the most popular accounts – the ones that aren’t news organizations, but actual people.” Even though 85% of news influencers have a presence on X, many of them also have homes on other social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Racial minorities, young adults and adults with a lower income were more likely to get their news from news influencers, according to the report. Most of the people surveyed by Pew said news influencers have helped them better understand current events, while roughly a quarter say what they hear has not made much of a difference. A small share — 9% — say influencers have confused them more. Media analysts have long been concerned about how influencers - most of whom don't have to abide by editorial standards - could fuel misinformation, or even be used by America's adversaries to churn out content that fits their interests. On social media, though, some influencers have positioned themselves as figures presenting neglected points of view. Pew, which is doing the study as part of an initiative funded by the Knight Foundation, said 70% of the survey respondents believe the news they get from influencers is somewhat different than what they hear elsewhere. Roughly a quarter said it was “extremely or very different.” The report found TikTok is the only one of the major platforms where influencers who identify as right-leaning do not outnumber those who are more liberal. Pew said news influencers on the short-form video app were more likely than those on other sites to show support for LGBTQ+ rights or identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. The platform also had the smallest gender gap for news influencers.  

Joe Biden will become the first sitting U.S. president to set foot in the Amazon rainforest during a brief stop Sunday in the Brazilian city of Manaus, coming as the U.S. is expected to scale back its commitment to combating climate change under the incoming administration of Donald Trump. The massive Amazon — it’s about the size of Australia — stores huge amounts of the world’s carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas driving climate change, even as it's rapidly deforested. Biden is expected to take an aerial tour over part of the world's largest tropical rainforest, meet local and indigenous leaders and visit an Amazonian museum as he looks to highlight his commitment to the preservation of the region. The Biden administration announced plans last year for a $500 million contribution to the Amazon Fund, the most significant international cooperation effort to preserve the rainforest, primarily financed by Norway. So far, the U.S. government said it has provided $50 million, according to a July statement from its embassy in Brazil, adding it would “continue to work with Congress to secure the remaining funding for the Amazon Fund and related activities through 2028.” “It’s significant for a sitting president to visit the Amazon. ... This shows a personal commitment from the president,” said Suely Araújo, former head of the Brazilian environmental protection agency and public policy coordinator with the nonprofit Climate Observatory. “That said, we can’t expect concrete results from this visit." Trump names fossil fuel executive Chris Wright as energy secretary She doubts that a “single penny” will go to the Amazon Fund come January. The Trump administration is highly unlikely to prioritize the Amazon — or anything related to climate change. The Republican president-elect already said he'd again pull out of the Paris agreement, a global pact forged to avert the threat of catastrophic climate change, after Biden recommitted to the agreement. Trump has cast climate change as a “hoax” and said he will eliminate energy efficiency regulations by the Biden administration. The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest, home to Indigenous communities and 10% of Earth’s biodiversity. It also regulates moisture across South America. About two-thirds of the Amazon lies within Brazil, and scientists say its devastation poses a catastrophic threat to the planet. The forest has been suffering two years of historic drought that have dried up waterways, isolated thousands of riverine communities and hindered riverine dwellers’ ability to fish. It's also made way for wildfires that have burned an area larger than Switzerland and choked cities near and far with smoke. When Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office last year, he signaled a shift in environmental policy from his predecessor — far-right Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro prioritized agribusiness expansion over forest protection and weakened environmental agencies, prompting deforestation to surge to a 15-year-high. Lula has pledged “zero deforestation” by 2030, though his term runs through the end of 2026. Forest loss in Brazil’s Amazon dropped by 30.6% in the 12 months through July from a year earlier, bringing deforestation to its lowest level in nine years, according to official data released last week. Trump could target temporary protections for 1 million US migrants In that 12-month span, the Amazon lost 6,288 square kilometers (2,428 square miles), roughly the size of the U.S. state of Delaware. However, that data fails to capture the surge of destruction this year, which will only be included in next year’s reading. Despite the success in curbing Amazon deforestation, Lula’s government has been criticized by environmentalists for backing projects that could harm the region, such as paving a highway that cuts from an old-growth area and could encourage logging, oil drilling near the mouth of the Amazon River and building a railway to transport soy to Amazonian ports. Biden is making the Amazon visit as part of a six-day trip to South America, the first to the continent of his presidency. On Sunday morning, he's wrapping a visit to Lima, Peru, where he took part in the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. After his brief stop in Manaus, he's headed to Rio de Janeiro for this year's Group of 20 leaders summit.

 President-elect Donald Trump has selected Chris Wright, a campaign donor and fossil fuel executive, to serve as energy secretary in his upcoming, second administration. CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Wright 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 has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change, and could give fossil fuels a boost, including quick action to end a year-long pause on natural gas export approvals by the Biden administration. Frequently criticizing what he calls a “top-down” approach to climate by liberal and left-wing groups, Wright has argued that the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” He has never served in government, but has written that more fossil fuel production is needed around the globe to lift people out of poverty. Consideration of Wright to head the administration's energy department 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. Hamm helped organize an event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in April where Trump reportedly asked industry leaders and lobbyists to donate $1 billion to Trump’s campaign, with the expectation that Trump would curtail environmental regulations if reelected. Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry's top lobbying group, said Wright’s experience in the energy sector “gives him an important perspective that will inform his leadership" of the Energy Department. “We look forward to working with him once confirmed to bolster American geopolitical strength by lifting DOE’s pause on LNG export permits and ensuring the open access of American energy for our allies around the world," Sommers said. Jackie Wong, senior vice president for climate and energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, called Wright “a champion of dirty fossil fuels" and said his nomination to lead the Energy Department was “a disastrous mistake.” “The Energy Department should be doing all it can to develop and expand the energy sources of the 21st century, not trying to promote the dirty fuels of the last century," Wong said. “Given the devastating impacts of climate-fueled disasters, DOE’s core mission of researching and promoting cleaner energy solutions is more important now than ever." The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States. The agency is in charge of maintaining the country’s nuclear weapons, oversees 17 national research laboratories and approves natural gas exports, as well as ensuring environmental cleanup of the nation’s nuclear weapons complex. It also promotes scientific and technological research. Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, who is expected to become chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Trump promised bold choices for his Cabinet, and Wright’s nomination delivers. “He’s s an energy innovator who laid the foundation for America’s fracking boom. After four years of America last energy policy, our country is desperate for a secretary who understands how important American energy is to our economy and our national security,″ Barrasso said. If confirmed, Wright will join North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump's choice to be interior secretary, as a key player on energy policy in a second Trump term. Wright will be a member of a new National Energy Council that Burgum will chair. The new panel will seek to establish U.S. “energy dominance” around the world, Trump said. Thomas Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, a conservative group that supports fossil fuels, said Wright would be “an excellent choice” for energy secretary. Pyle led Trump’s Energy Department’s transition team in 2016. Liberty is a major energy industry service provider, with a focus on technology. Wright, who grew up in Colorado, earned undergraduate degree at MIT and did graduate work in electrical engineering at the University of California-Berkeley and MIT. In 1992, he founded Pinnacle Technologies, which helped launch commercial shale gas production through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. He later served as chairman of Stroud Energy, an early shale gas producer, before founding Liberty Resources in 2010. The announcement of Wright's selection came hours after a key Trump ally, billionaire Elon Musk, called for more direct public input into the decision-making process for another top post that the president-elect is still mulling, the head of his new administration's Treasury Department. “Would be interesting to hear more people weigh in on this for @realDonaldTrump to consider feedback,” Musk, who Trump has already tapped to co-lead a commission tasked with increasing government spending efficiency, posted Saturday on the X social media platform he owns. Musk used the rest of his post to become the first participant in the public poll he was proposing, endorsing Howard Lutnick, the CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald and co-chair of Trump’s transition team, over hedge fund manager Scott Bessent. Musk said in his post that “Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change.” “Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change,” he said. Both Lutnick and Bessent have been mentioned as possible picks to lead the Treasury Department. Bessent is considered the more conventional, business-friendly choice. He is skeptical about cryptocurrency, while Lutnick has suggested it could be used for people to pay their taxes. Trump’s pick to lead his Health and Human Services Department, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also endorsed Lutnick, posting on his own X account, “Bitcoin is the currency of freedom, a hedge against inflation for middle class Americans.”

Shah Rukh Khan, the celebrated star of the 1993 cult classic Baazigar, is reportedly in discussions to headline the much-anticipated sequel to the romantic thriller. The news has sparked excitement among fans of the original film, which remains a significant milestone in Bollywood history. Producer Ratan Jain recently hinted at the possibility of Baazigar 2 in an interview with ETimes. While discussions with Shah Rukh Khan are ongoing, Jain emphasised that the project will only move forward if the superstar agrees to reprise his iconic role. Jain revealed that an intriguing concept for the sequel has already been developed. However, he stressed the importance of a compelling script and fresh direction to ensure the sequel lives up to the legacy of the original. “We keep talking to Shah Rukh about Baazigar 2, but not much has happened yet. It will definitely be made,” he said. The King is Back: Upcoming Movies of Shahrukh Khan in 2022, 2023 The script, still in its nascent stages, is yet to be finalised. Jain underlined his commitment to maintaining the high standards set by the original, which was lauded for its gripping storyline, stellar performances, and memorable soundtrack. Released on November 12, 1993, Baazigar catapulted Shah Rukh Khan to stardom, showcasing his versatility in a morally ambiguous role. Directed by Abbas-Mustan, the film also starred Kajol, Shilpa Shetty, Rakhee, Siddharth Ray, Dalip Tahil, and Johny Lever. The movie’s suspenseful narrative and electrifying performances made it an instant classic. As Baazigar recently celebrated its 31st anniversary, the possibility of a sequel has only added to the nostalgia. Fans eagerly await further updates on the project, hoping to see Shah Rukh Khan return to a role that defined an era in Bollywood cinema. Source: With inputs from news wires