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Both Texans and Cowboys need skid-stopping win in their matchup

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The NFL’s two Texas teams have just one victory between them over the past month.

That’s not to say they’re in similar situations heading into the seventh meeting of a series that started with Houston celebrating its inaugural game with a victory over Dallas 22 years ago. Not even close.

C.J. Stroud and the Texans are in much better shape than the Cowboys despite perhaps the roughest four-game stretch the reigning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year has seen as a pro.

Houston (6-4) still leads the AFC South despite its current 1-3 skid, while the Cowboys (3-6) are on a four-game losing streak and in serious danger of a three-year playoff run ending. They already have one more loss than in each of the past three 12-5 seasons.

Plus, Dallas is coming off a woeful offensive showing in the first game without Dak Prescott, the franchise QB who just had season-ending surgery on a torn hamstring.

It’s not much consolation that the Cowboys are at home Monday night. The defending NFC East champions are 0-4 at AT&T Stadium. They had won 16 consecutive games there before a blowout loss to Green Bay in a wild-card playoff last January.

Three of the home losses this season have been blowouts, including division rival Philadelphia’s 34-6 victory last week. The other defeat wasn’t nearly as close as the three-point margin.

“I think this is an incredible opportunity for this football team, what’s in front of us, to be into this valley of adversity,” said Mike McCarthy, whose future as Dallas coach is in doubt in the final year of his contract. “And I think to come out of this would be a great story. There’s a ton of work. And the only work we’re really focused on is beating the Houston Texans.”

The Texans are coming off consecutive losses for just the second time in Stroud’s two seasons. The other was the 0-2 start to his rookie year. Houston lost to Detroit 26-23 last week despite intercepting Jared Goff five times.

“We’re going through a tough patch right now,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “But, as I told our team, we need that. We need to toughen up. We need to be mentally tougher. We need to figure out ways to finish games and the only way to learn sometimes is through failure.”

Stroud has gone four consecutive games with a passer rating below 100, with just two touchdowns with two interceptions in that stretch. The longest sub-100 passer rating streak of his rookie season was three.

“I am not only a game-manager, but I can also be a game-changer,” Stroud said. “Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t. For me, I am going to keep the swag and kind of like what I told you all last year, Steph Curry can go 0 for whatever, but he is going to keep shooting. That’s me. I am going to keep shooting.”
Rush reprise

Cooper Rush played poorly from the start after entering the game against the Eagles with a 5-1 record filling in for Prescott. He dropped a snap to give Philadelphia the ball inside the Dallas 20-yard line, leading to a 7-0 deficit.

Rush had 45 yards passing, the fewest for a Dallas starter since 37 late in 2015, another lost season for the Cowboys. The four-game losing streak is the longest since 2020, when Prescott was out after Week 5 with a broken ankle.

“You’re going to get your (rear end) smacked sometimes,” Rush said. “The beauty is that it’s right back to it the next week. It’s right here right in front of you and it doesn’t really allow you to really dwell on the last game as much.”
Second-half struggles

Houston has led at halftime each of the past four games, only to lose three. The problems start with an offense that has scored just 15 points with no touchdowns in that stretch. The Texans were shut out in the second half against Detroit after leading by 16 at halftime.

“With the inefficiencies, not only offensively, but defensively, it’s just a matter of us focusing in and being on the details of our job,” Ryans said.
Pressuring Stroud

The Cowboys had trouble pressuring quarterbacks when star pass rusher Micah Parsons was out four games with a high ankle sprain. He sacked Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts twice in his return, as did DeMarvion Overshown. The second-year linebacker leads Dallas with four sacks.

“When Micah is on the field, he’s going to create more one-on-ones for others,” McCarthy said. “That was definitely the case.”
Collins’ comeback

Houston should get a boost with the expected return of star receiver Nico Collins, who has missed the past five games with a hamstring injury. Collins was activated from injured reserve last week and should play if he practices all week, as Ryans indicated he would.

Despite the lengthy absence, Collins leads the team with 567 yards receiving. His return will help improve a passing game that has struggled without him and Stefon Diggs, out for the season with a knee injury.

“Any time you get him back, it’s going to help everybody,” Ryans said.

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AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken contributed from Houston.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Diamond Sports Group can emerge out of bankruptcy after having reorganization plan approved

Diamond Sports Group, the largest owner of regional sports networks, can emerge out of bankruptcy after having its reorganization plan approved Thursday.

Judge Christopher Lopez gave the go ahead during a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston that lasted 90 minutes.

“This case was no layup, not for anyone. A lot of hard work went into this,” Lopez said during the hearing.

Diamond Sports had been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the Southern District of Texas since it filed for protection in March 2023. The company said in a financial filing last year that it had debt of $8.67 billion.

Diamond will emerge out of bankruptcy with significantly less debt — around $200 million — but also with fewer teams and networks.

When Diamond entered bankruptcy, it owned 19 networks under the Bally Sports banner and had the rights to 42 professional teams (14 baseball, 16 NBA and 12 NHL).

The reorganized company now operates under the FanDuel Sports Network banner after agreeing to a naming rights deal last month. It has 16 networks and carries games for 27 franchises (six baseball, 13 NBA and eight NHL).

The 16 networks cover fans in 31 states. The company expects to complete the restructuring process in the coming weeks.

“Today is a landmark day for Diamond, as we embark on a new path for our business. Diamond is now unencumbered by legacy debt, financially stable and enthusiastically supported by new ownership,” Diamond CEO David Preschlack said in a statement. “Looking ahead, Diamond is well-positioned to further enhance its product offering and remains committed to delivering the highest quality live sports content in-market to fans through both linear and direct-to-consumer frameworks.”

Last month as part of the reorganization plan, Diamond voided the contracts of the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays while attempting to rework the deals of the five franchises that had partial ownership of their regional sports networks.

Diamond has revised deals with the Tigers and Rays, as well as reaching agreements with the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels and Miami Marlins, which include streaming rights. Talks are continuing with the Kansas City Royals.

The Cincinnati Reds and Diamond have ended their joint venture, but a lawyer for Diamond said during Thursday’s hearing that they would be open to resuming discussions. Shortly after the hearing, Major League Baseball announced it will produce and distribute Reds games next season.

Cincinnati had a 20% stake in their RSN affiliate. Diamond bought back the Reds’ stake for $1.

Atlanta was the only franchise whose contract would have been unchanged, but the Braves have agreed to an amended deal, which include streaming rights.

Steaming is an important avenue for Diamond as it seeks to find new audiences. The company announced on Wednesday it reached a multiyear agreement with Prime Video to make its channels available as an add-on subscription.

Prime Video announced earlier this year that it would buy a minority stake in Diamond Sports.

Diamond will also offer single-game pricing on its direct-to-consumer app for NBA and NHL games beginning Dec. 5.

Viewers will have the option for single games at $6.99, as well as the chance to sign up for monthly or season pass subscriptions.

Diamond Sports Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group bought the regional sports networks from The Walt Disney Co. for nearly $10 billion in 2019. Disney was required by the Department of Justice to sell the networks for its acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s film and television assets to be approved.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

Hurricane-stricken Tampa Bay Rays to play 2025 season at Yankees’ spring training field in Tampa

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays will play their 2025 home games at the New York Yankees’ nearby spring training ballpark amid uncertainty about the future of hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field, Rays executives told The Associated Press.

Stuart Sternberg, the Rays’ principal owner, said in an interview that Steinbrenner Field in Tampa is the best fit for the team and its fanbase. At about 11,000 seats, it’s also the largest of the spring training sites in Florida.

“It is singularly the best opportunity for our fans to experience 81 games of major league Rays baseball,” Sternberg said. “As difficult as it is to get any of these stadiums up to major league standards, it was the least difficult. You’re going to see Major League Baseball in a small environment.”

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said the Rays-Yankees deal is good for the sport and the Tampa Bay region.

“This outcome meets Major League Baseball’s goals that Rays fans will see their team play next season in their home market and that their players can remain home without disruption to their families,” Manfred said in a news release.

The Rays’ home since 1998, the domed Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg was hit hard by Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9, with most of its fabric roof shredded and water damage inside. The city of St. Petersburg, which owns the Trop, released an assessment of the damage and repair needs that estimated the cost at $55.7 million if it is to be ready for the start of the 2026 season.

The work would have to be approved by the city council, which earlier this year voted for a new $1.3 billion, 30,000-seat stadium to replace Tropicana Field beginning in 2028. The new stadium is part of a much larger urban revitalization project known as the Historic Gas Plant District — named for the Black community that once occupied the 86 acres (34 hectares) that includes retail, office and hotel space; a Black history museum; and restaurants and bars.

Amid all the uncertainty, the Rays know one thing: they will play 2025 in a smallish, outdoor ballpark operated by one of their main American League East division rivals. A ballpark with a facade mimicking that of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and festooned with plaques of Yankee players whose numbers have been retired.

Brian Auld, the Rays co-president, said in an interview that Tampa Bay has to be ready for a regular-season MLB game March 27 against the Colorado Rockies, just three days after the Yankees break training camp.

“There will be a ton of work toward putting in our brand,” Auld said. “The term we like to use for that is ”Rayful’ into Steinbrenner Field.”

It will also come with some weather challenges in the hot, rainy Florida summer climate the Rays didn’t worry about in their domed ballpark. The Rays averaged about 16,500 fans per game during the 2024 season.

The Yankees will receive about $15 million in revenue for hosting the Rays, a person familiar with the arrangement told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because that detail was not announced. The money won’t come from Tampa Bay but from other sources, such as insurance.

Once known as Legends Field, Steinbrenner Field opened in 1996 on Tampa’s north side. It is named for longtime Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who ran a shipbuilding company in Tampa and died at his home there in 2010. One of his sons, Yankees executive Hal Steinbrenner, was instrumental in getting the deal done with the Rays, Sternberg said.

“This is a heavy lift for the Yankees. This is a huge ask by us and baseball of the Yankees,” Sternberg said. “(Hal Steinbrenner) did not waver for one second. I couldn’t have been more grateful.”

Hal Steinbrenner said in a news release that the Yankees are “happy to extend our hand to the Rays” and noted that the team and his family have “deep roots” in the Tampa Bay area.

“In times like these, rivalry and competition take a back seat to doing what’s right for our community, which is continuing to help families and businesses rebound from the devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton,” he said.

Pro teams in New Orleans made similar season-long moves after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The NFL’s Saints played home games at multiple locations for one season while the Superdome was repaired, and the NBA’s then-New Orleans Hornets played two seasons in Oklahoma City.

The Tampa Tarpons, one of the Yankees minor league teams, play their home games at Steinbrenner Field during the summer. They will use baseball diamonds elsewhere in the training complex this season.

It’s not the first time a big league team will host regular season games in a spring training stadium. The Toronto Blue Jays played part of the 2021 season at their facility in Dunedin because of Canadian government restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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AP Baseball Writer Ron Blum contributed from New York.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

Here is the latest Big 12 Conference sports news

PHOENIX (AP) — Freshman reserve Joson Sanon hit five 3-pointers and scored a career-high 21 points, Basheer Jihad added 18 points and Arizona State defeated Grand Canyon 87-76. The game was played at the Phoenix Suns’ Footprint Center as part of the Hall of Fame series of high-profile matchups at neutral sites. Sanon had 13 points in the first half, helping the Sun Devils take a 41-40 lead. Jihad had 13 points in the second half with Alston Mason adding 11 of his 16. Tyon Grant-Foster, the reigning WAC Player of the Year, made his season debut for the Antelopes and scored 19 points.

WACO, Texas (AP) — Darianna Littlepage-Buggs had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Aaronette Vonleh had 18 and 11 and No. 17 Baylor rolled to a 104-55 win over East Texas A&M. Bella Fontleroy, who missed most of Sunday’s loss at Oregon with a sprained ankle, scored 15 points for the Bears. Jana Van Gytenbeek, a graduate senior, will miss the rest of the season for Baylor after suffering a knee injury in the season-opening win. Cora Horvath scored 22 points for the Lions. The Bears scored the first eight points and led 12-2 less than 3 1/2 minutes into the game. The Lions closed it to 23-18 after one quarter but Baylor scored the first 10 points of the second quarter. A 12-0 run pushed the lead past 20 and it was 51-28 at the half with Littlepage-Buggs scoring 20 with 10 rebounds.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The state that gave much of America the right to offer legal sports betting may decide that certain bets on college athletes are out of bounds. New Jersey is considering banning bets on the statistical performance of student athletes, such as how many touchdowns a quarterback will throw or how many rebounds a basketball player will rack up. The NCAA says 1 in 3 college athletes in heavily bet-on sports report being harassed or threatened by angry gamblers. Thirteen states already ban such bets. The proposal moved forward Thursday but still needs additional approvals to become law.

PROVO, Utah (AP) — After suffering several close losses earlier this season, Kansas is finally resembling the team that was expected to be a Big 12 contender after last year’s nine-win campaign. But all the Jayhawks can do now is play spoiler against a BYU team that has its sights set on the College Football Playoff. No. 7 BYU can take a step toward wrapping up a spot in the Big 12 championship game with a victory over Kansas on Saturday.

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Deion Sanders pays no attention to the kudos or accolades his 18th-ranked Colorado Buffaloes are currently receiving. It’s for the same reason the coach didn’t listen to the criticism a season ago. He considers it just a lot of distracting noise. Sanders added his team knows who they are and where they are going. It’s easy to see where they’re going if they keep on this winning path, straight toward the Big 12 title game and possibly a spot in the College Football Playoff. The Buffaloes have won three in a row heading into a clash with former Pac-12 foe Utah. The Utes have lost five in a row.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Audi Crooks had 26 points and eight rebounds, Sydney Harris added 13 and No. 8 Iowa State beat St. Thomas of Minnesota 80-47. Crooks made 12 of 17 shots from the field and left the game two minutes into the fourth quarter after her layup gave the Cyclones a 27-point lead. She has reached double figures in 36 consecutive games. Harris has come off the bench to score in double figures in three straight games for the Cyclones. Emily Ryan had 13 assists, most by a Division I player this season, to go with four points and three rebounds. Amber Scalia led the Tommies with 11 points.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Ayoka Lee scored 28 points in just 16 minutes due to foul trouble, and No. 10 Kansas State rolled to an 86-68 victory over Creighton. Temira Poindexter and Serena Sundell added 12 points apiece, and Kennedy Taylor scored 10 off the bench for the Wildcats, who improved to 3-0 on the season. Kennedy Townsend had a career-high 16 points, and Morgan Maly finished with 15 for the Bluejays. But the nation’s leading scorer, Lauren Jensen, was held to just nine on 4-for-11 shooting. Creighton dropped to 1-2 on the season.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — A key figure in West Virginia University’s wide-ranging reductions to academic programs and faculty positions before stepping down a year ago has quietly returned to the school. Rob Alsop’s rehiring as a senior deputy athletic director wasn’t announced by the university, which posted his new role on its athletic directory earlier this month. Alsop previously served as the university’s vice president for strategic initiatives. He took an up-front role in explaining proposals and initiatives during key university meetings. During one such chaotic meeting in September 2023, the university approved academic and faculty cuts as it grappled with a $45 million budget shortfall. Alsop stepped down a month later.

Here is the latest Big Ten Conference sports news

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Jasmine Brown-Hagger scored a career-high 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting, Kendall Bostic had a double-double and No. 23 Illinois coasted to an 84-37 win over Eastern Illinois. The Illini shot 55% and went 9 of 19 from 3-point range, going 1 of 5 in a ragged fourth quarter. The Panthers were 2 of 25 behind the arc (8%), shot 24% overall and were outrebounded 44-27. Bostic had 11 points and 12 rebounds for her 35th career double-double. Jayda Johnston led Eastern Illinois with eight points and Kiyley Flowers had seven steals. The Illini scored the first six points of the game and led 12-2 midway through the first quarter, which ended at 19-7.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jayden Maiava grew up watching Marcus Mariota win the Heisman Trophy and cheering while Tua Tagovailoa led Alabama to a national championship. Maiava naturally rooted for two fellow Hawaii-born quarterbacks, and he dreamed of following in their footsteps to the biggest stages in football. He’ll take the next step on that journey when he becomes the first Polynesian quarterback to start for Southern California as the Trojans host Nebraska. With four losses in their five games before last week’s bye, the Trojans are desperate to salvage something from their second straight wasted season under coach Lincoln Riley. That’s why Maiava is replacing Miller Moss.

UNDATED (AP) — The Big Ten has four of the top five teams in the AP Top 25 and the College Football Playoff Rankings. What it doesn’t have is any particularly compelling matchups this week. The only Big Ten game in this week’s schedule featuring two teams with winning records has No. 1 Oregon as a two-touchdown favorite at Wisconsin. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel has been responsible for 180 career touchdowns and set the NCAA record in that category last week by throwing three touchdown passes against Maryland.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — No. 1 Oregon and Wisconsin meet Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium for the first time since the Ducks’ thrilling 28-27 Rose Bowl victory over the Badgers on New Year’s Day of 2020. The two programs were on equal footing back then but have gone in different directions since. Oregon seems well on its way to a College Football Playoff berth. Wisconsin merely wants to keep its bowl streak alive after losing its last two games by a combined 47 points. Oregon coach Dan Lanning says “we got more work to do.”

UNDATED (AP) — No. 2 Ohio State probably needs to win its remaining games to stay in the national championship hunt. The Buckeyes can’t afford a letdown against Northwestern at Wrigley Field on Saturday. Ohio State’s margin for error disappeared last month with a 32-31 loss at Oregon. The Ducks were ranked No. 3 at the time and now sit atop the AP poll. The Buckeyes bounced back with a sloppy and narrow win over Nebraska two weeks later. Ohio State followed that up by beating then-No. 3 Penn State 20-13 in Happy Valley and shellacking Purdue 45-0 last week. This is the first of two games at Wrigley Field for Northwestern. The Wildcats’ first five home games were at their temporary lakefront facility while their new stadium scheduled for 2026 is constructed.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — No. 4 Penn State knows it cannot take anything for granted — not even a victory over reeling Purdue — if it hopes to keep its Big Ten title hopes and playoff aspirations alive. The Nittany Lions rebounded from their only loss of the season last weekend with an emphatic victory over Washington and now visit the Boilermakers, who have lost eight straight. But with four teams fighting for the two championship game spots, one more stumble from Penn State could derail everything. And that’s exactly what Purdue would like to do this weekend.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond has had his contract renewed through 2029. The university announced the extension on Thursday and noted it was finalized this past spring. Jarmond was hired in 2020 and signed a six-year contract. He came to Westwood after three years leading Boston College’s athletic program. During Jarmond’s tenure, he has navigated UCLA’s move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, signed a uniform, footwear, apparel and equipment deal with Nike and has started initiatives dealing with name, image and likeness collectives.

Trump gives first post-election speech at gala, celebrates Cabinet picks

Delivering his first public speech since winning the 2024 election, President-elect Donald Trump touted his victory and praised his allies at the America First Policy Institute Gala at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

Calling this year’s the “most consequential election,” Trump recalled how he lost the popular vote in 2016 but won it this time around.

“They would say, ‘he didn’t win the popular vote.’ And we won the popular vote by records now, which so nobody can say that anymore about us,” Trump said.

He also celebrated his newly selected Cabinet members and senior administration officials, many of whom were in attendance.

Newly announced picks who attended the annual gala on Thursday evening, including Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Notably, Trump did not give a shout out to former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who he had announced as his attorney general and who was also in attendance.

As he provided pleasantries to several members in the room, Trump transitioned into complimenting Musk, with whom he’s spent a significant amount of time since his victory.

“We have a man who has a seriously high IQ. You know, I’m a person that believes in high IQs, and his is about as high as they get,” Trump said, thanking him for campaigning in Pennsylvania on his behalf.

Trump then touted his pairing of Ramasamy and Musk to lead the Department of Government Efficiency.

“They’re going to be saving a lot of money and making our country stronger and better. And they’ll be coming out with individual reports. But a big one toward the end. And you put those two together, it’s going to be really great. So we look forward to seeing and working with Elon and that’ll be a great experience,” Trump said.

Trump briefly mentioned his choice of RFK Jr. for the secretary of Health and Human Services.

“He wants to make people healthy. It’s driven him pretty wild over the last number of years,” Trump said, describing the position in a roundabout way: “And today I nominated him for, I guess — if you like health, and if you like people that live a long time, it’s the most important position.”

However, he added a word of caution: “I just looked at the news reports. People like you, Bobby. Don’t get too popular, Bobby.”

At the end of his remarks, Trump blurted out that Burgum would be appointed Secretary of Interior. The formal announcement is due on Friday, and Trump teased that he would announce his pick for Secretary of Energy then, too.

“Hi, Doug. He’s going to be announced tomorrow. And we have somebody else that’s probably coming up with him to be announced, who’s a big one. And we’re going to do things with energy and with land interior. That is going to be incredible. And so, I look forward to doing the formal announcement,” Trump teased.

Trump also joked that his term’s official start date should be marked as Nov. 6, claiming that the economy is already doing better since his victory.

“You have to start my term from November 5th, okay? Or November 6th if you want … November 5th, because the market’s gone through the roof. Enthusiasms doubled. It’s doubled in the last short while,” Trump said.

It’s notable that the president-elect chose to deliver his first public speech since his victory at an event for America First Policy Institute, signaling the organization’s role in Trump’s forthcoming agenda.

“I really want to congratulate Linda, you and Brooke, for the job you’ve done. And it’s an honor to be here,” Trump closed, complimenting the AFPI executives.

Trump was introduced by “Rocky” actor Sylvester Stallone, who delivered brief remarks that compared the president-elect to his own legacy film character and then to George Washington. Notably, Vice President Kamala Harris held her final campaign rally on the iconic “Rocky steps” in Philadelphia on the eve of the election.

Before Trump took the stage, speakers included AFPI President Brook Rollins, AFPI board chair and Trump transition co-chair Linda McMahon, Argentine President Javier Millei, Ramaswamy and Larry Kudlow.

After Trump spoke, Musk delivered a short speech as well, doubling down on his promise to gut the federal government.

Trump’s decision to deliver his first full speech on camera at the America First Policy Institute gala symbolized a move away from his campaign to his transition efforts – and a celebration of the AFPI’s work for four years to quietly prepare for such a moment, building out Trump-aligned policy agenda for his second term and housing hundreds of former Trump administration officials who are now ready to go into his second administration.

The ballroom was full of Trump allies of big and small names.

Musk sat at a table at the front of the ballroom with Burgum, Ramawamy, Howard Lutnick and others named as Trump’s senior White House officials, like Dan Scavino, Stephen Miller and James Blair. Gaetz was seen chatting with Kennedy.

Reps. Ronny Jackson of Texas and Byron Donalds of Florida, whom Trump called a “star” in his speech, were seen seated together at a table farther back, while former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was spotted mingling in the crowd ahead of the program.

Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle, Kellyanne Conway, Tulsi Gabbard and House Speaker Mike Johnson also attended the event.

The world’s most polluting cities are revealed at COP29 as frustration grows at fossil fuel presence

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Cities in Asia and the United States emit the most heat-trapping gas that feeds climate change, with Shanghai the most polluting, according to new data that combines observations and artificial intelligence.

Nations at U.N. climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan are trying to set new targets to cut such emissions and figure out how much rich nations will pay to help the world with that task. The data comes as climate officials and activists alike are growing increasingly frustrated with what they see as the talks’ — and the world’s — inability to clamp down on planet-warming fossil fuels and the countries and companies that promote them.

Seven states or provinces spew more than 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases, all of them in China, except Texas, which ranks sixth, according to new data from an organization co-founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and released Friday at COP29.

Using satellite and ground observations, supplemented by artificial intelligence to fill in gaps, Climate Trace sought to quantify heat-trapping carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, as well as other traditional air pollutants worldwide, including for the first time in more than 9,000 urban areas.

Earth’s total carbon dioxide and methane pollution grew 0.7% to 61.2 billion metric tons with the short-lived but extra potent methane rising 0.2%. The figures are higher than other datasets “because we have such comprehensive coverage and we have observed more emissions in more sectors than are typically available,” said Gavin McCormick, Climate Trace’s co-founder.
Plenty of big cities emit far more than some nations

Shanghai’s 256 million metric tons of greenhouse gases led all cities and exceeded those from the nations of Colombia or Norway. Tokyo’s 250 million metric tons would rank in the top 40 of nations if it were a country, while New York City’s 160 million metric tons and Houston’s 150 million metric tons would be in the top 50 of countrywide emissions. Seoul, South Korea, ranks fifth among cities at 142 million metric tons.

“One of the sites in the Permian Basin in Texas is by far the No. 1 worst polluting site in the entire world,” Gore said. “And maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised by that, but I think of how dirty some of these sites are in Russia and China and so forth. But Permian Basin is putting them all in the shade.”

China, India, Iran, Indonesia and Russia had the biggest increases in emissions from 2022 to 2023, while Venezuela, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States had the biggest decreases in pollution.

The dataset — maintained by scientists and analysts from various groups — also looked at traditional pollutants such as carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and other chemicals associated with dirty air. Burning fossil fuels releases both types of pollution, Gore said.

This “represents the single biggest health threat facing humanity,” Gore said.
Climate talks wrestle with fossil fuel interests

Gore criticized the hosting of climate talks, called COPs, by Azerbaijan, an oil nation and site of the world’s first oil wells, and by the United Arab Emirates last year.

“It’s unfortunate that the fossil fuel industry and the petrostates have seized control of the COP process to an unhealthy degree,” Gore said. “Next year in Brazil, we’ll see a change in that pattern. But, you know, it’s not good for the world community to give the No. 1 polluting industry in the world that much control over the whole process.”

Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has called for more to be done on climate change and has sought to slow deforestation since returning for a third term as president. But Brazil last year produced more oil than both Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

On Friday, former U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, former U.N. climate chief Christina Figueres and leading climate scientists released a letter calling for “an urgent overhaul” on climate talks.

The letter said the “global climate process has been captured and is no longer fit for purpose” in response to Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev saying that oil and gas are a “gift of the gods.”

One analysis from the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition said Friday that the official attendance list of the talks featured at least 1,770 fossil fuel lobbyists.

At a press conference with small island nations chair Cedric Schuster said the negotiating bloc feels the need to remind everyone else why the talks matter.

“We’re here to defend the Paris agreement,” Schuster said, referring to the climate deal in 2015 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). “We’re concerned that countries are forgetting that protecting the world’s most vulnerable is at the core of this framework.” ___

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Texas man accused of supporting ISIS charged in federal court

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas man charged with trying to provide material support to the Islamic State group and planning violent attacks in Houston appeared in federal court Thursday.

Anas Said is accused of offering his home as a safe sanctuary for members of ISIS and saying he wants to take part in a terrorist attack like 9/11, according to court records. Federal prosecutors allege Said had spent time planning and discussing committing attacks in Houston, where he lived, and had used the internet to research how to make explosives and use cellphones as remote detonators.

“He has created videos extolling the ‘virtue’ of ISIS, the violence and death brought by ISIS, and the need for the terror perpetrated by ISIS to continue,” according to court documents. “He is dedicated to his mission to provide material support to ISIS in whatever form that may take.”

Said, 28, was arrested last week and on Thursday pleaded not guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Said, who authorities said was born in Houston but spent part of his childhood in Lebanon, will remain in federal custody.

Said has been on the FBI’s radar since 2017, said Douglas Williams Jr., special agent in charge of the FBI’s Houston office.

“To those wannabe terrorists who believe they can hide behind encrypted apps or anonymous social media profiles, please understand that we will find you and we will hold you to account,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani.

Baldemar Zuniga, Said’s attorney, said in a statement that the allegations against his client revolve around providing support to ISIS only through videos and propaganda.

“Despite allegations that my client made statements to government agents regarding proposed terrorist acts, the indictment does not currently allege any planning, or acts of terrorism. This appears to be a lengthy investigation and it will take some time to sift through all of the evidence,” Zuniga said.

If convicted, Said faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Stock market today: Asian stocks climb after Wall Street’s post-election boom slows

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks were mostly higher on Friday after U.S. stocks slipped as the market’s big rally following Trump’s election victory cooled further.

U.S. futures and oil prices were lower.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index was up 0.8% at 38,842.13 as the yen continued dropping against the U.S. dollar, fueling exporters’ sales. Nissan Motor Co.’s shares jumped 4.7% during morning trading.

Japan’s economy grew at a 0.9% annual pace in the July-September quarter, higher than the 0.5% increase in the previous quarter, even as the Bank of Japan raised its key interest rate to 0.25% from 0.1% in July. The BOJ said during its October meeting that it plans to continue increasing rates, with a potential target of 1% in the second half of the next fiscal year, which begins in April, if economic activity and prices develop as expected.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.3% to 19,486.97 and the Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.4% to 3,367.94 after a report from the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday showed the nation’s retail sales rose 4.8% year-on-year in October, beating forecasts. But industrial output slowed from the previous month and improvements in the property industry were marginal.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7% to 8,279.20, while South Korea’s Kospi edged 0.2% higher, to 2,407.27.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 5,949.17, though it’s still near its all-time high set on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.5% to 43,750.86, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.6% to 19,107.65.

Some of the stocks that got the biggest bump from Trump’s election lost momentum. Tesla fell 5.8% for just its second loss since Election Day. It’s run by Elon Musk, who has become a close Trump ally.

Smaller stocks also fell harder than the rest of the market, and the Russell 2000 index of small stocks lost 1.4%. It’s a turnaround from the election’s immediate aftermath, when the thought was that an “America First” president would benefit domestically focused companies more than big multinationals that could be hurt by tariffs and trade wars.

Stocks also felt the effects of swinging yields in the bond market following the latest hotter-than-expected economic reports and comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The Fed just cut its main interest rate earlier this month for the second time this year to ease the pressure on the economy, and investors are eager for more.

But short-term yields climbed after Powell said, “The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates. The strength we are currently seeing in the economy gives us the ability to approach our decisions carefully.”

The two-year Treasury yield, which closely tracks expectations for Fed action, rose to 4.35% from 4.28% late Wednesday.

Earlier Thursday, it had wavered after a report showed prices paid at the U.S. wholesale level were 2.4% higher in October from a year earlier. That was an acceleration from September’s 1.9% wholesale inflation rate and a worse jump than economists expected.

A separate report, meanwhile, suggested the U.S. job market remains solid. Fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week in the latest signal that layoffs aren’t taking off.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury also swiveled up and down before settling at 4.45%.

In other dealings, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 62 cents to $68.08 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 66 cents to $71.90 per barrel.

The dollar rose to 156.32 Japanese yen from 156.23 yen. The euro edged up to $1.0543 from $1.0534.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.

As Trump picks Florida men for top jobs, new political possibilities open up in the Sunshine State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — As President-elect Donald Trump names picks for his new administration from his private club in Palm Beach and prepares to return to the White House, he’s bringing the Sunshine State with him.

With Sen. Marco Rubio tapped to be the next secretary of state, Rep. Matt Gaetz nominated to be attorney general, and Rep. Mike Waltz in line to be national security adviser, Trump’s reliance on Floridians is setting off a chain reaction that’s opening up new possibilities in the state in 2026 and beyond — and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s onetime challenger for the party’s presidential nomination, will have a key role to play.

Gaetz’s nomination to lead the Department of Justice, which once investigated him for allegations of sex trafficking, sent a shock wave through Washington, and his confirmation to be the country’s top law enforcement officer is not a done deal. But the vacancy for his seat in northwest Florida’s 1st Congressional District is, after Gaetz resigned Wednesday night. That decision effectively ended a House Ethics Committee investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, though the allegations could resurface in Senate confirmation hearings. Gaetz has categorically denied them all.

Waltz, a three-term congressman who represents Florida’s 6th Congressional District south of Jacksonville, has not yet resigned his seat and neither has Rubio — though Florida Republicans hoping to leverage the upcoming openings are running the if-then calculations.

Under federal and state law, the processes for filling vacancies in the U.S. House and Senate are different. To fill an open House seat, Florida must hold a special election where voters will be able to directly choose their next representative. On the Senate side, DeSantis will get to appoint someone to take over Rubio’s seat, assuming his colleagues confirm him as secretary of state. Rubio’s replacement would hold the seat until the next regularly scheduled election in 2026.

Among the names being floated for Rubio’s seat: DeSantis himself.

“I’m not familiar with anything that prevents him from naming himself,” said Tallahassee-based elections lawyer Ron Meyer, “other than hubris, I suppose.”

DeSantis’ term as governor runs out in 2026, putting the state’s top executive office back on the ballot and offering its own political possibilities. With DeSantis expected to consider another presidential run in 2028, Florida politicos say it may not be to his advantage to appoint himself to the Senate. Another name being floated is first lady Casey DeSantis, whose own political ambition has long been a topic of speculation.

Speaking to students at Notre Dame the week before the Rubio pick was announced, DeSantis demurred when asked whether he would consider joining the new Trump administration.

“I’m not seeking anything,” DeSantis said. “I’ve got a great job in the state of Florida. … How can I best make a difference? I think, you know, given where we are, I think me quarterbacking the Sunshine State is probably how I make the biggest difference.”

Other possible nominees include DeSantis’ lieutenant governor Jeanette Nuñez — though she’d be in line to become the state’s first female governor if DeSantis nominated himself — or state Attorney General Ashley Moody. A name being floated in Trump’s orbit is Lara Trump, the president-elect’s daughter-in-law, who was his pick to co-chair the Republican National Committee and who lives in Palm Beach County with her husband Eric.

As far as filling the House seats, state officials haven’t yet announced the dates for a special election, apart from saying they want to move quickly.

“I’ve instructed Secretary of State Cord Byrd to formulate and announce a schedule for the upcoming special elections immediately,” DeSantis posted on social media on Thursday.

Byrd said on social media that his team is working on it and will have a schedule posted soon.

In announcing Gaetz’s resignation on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson framed the move as a way to fill the vacancy quickly as Republicans work to leverage their hard-fought but thin majority next year.

Florida elections experts told The Associated Press the process will still likely take months, due to statutory requirements to publicize the elections, mail ballots to military and overseas voters and certify primary results — as well as the logistical challenges of carrying out another election right after a busy presidential cycle. That could make the Republicans’ thin House majority even thinner, at least for the first part of 2025.

“There is a bit of flexibility for a few of these things, but it seems like there’s no practical way of having a replacement House member in less than half a year,” said Michael Morley, an elections law expert and professor at Florida State University’s College of Law.

The state’s most recent special election to fill a U.S. House seat vacancy took 10 weeks between the primary election and the general alone, according to state records.

___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Australia’s plan to ban children from social media proves popular and problematic

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — How do you remove children from the harms of social media? Politically the answer appears simple in Australia, but practically the solution could be far more difficult.

The Australian government’s plan to ban children from social media platforms including X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram until their 16th birthdays is politically popular. The opposition party says it would have done the same after winning elections due within months if the government hadn’t moved first.

The leaders of all eight Australian states and mainland territories have unanimously backed the plan, although Tasmania, the smallest state, would have preferred the threshold was set at 14.

But a vocal assortment of experts in the fields of technology and child welfare have responded with alarm. More than 140 such experts signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemning the 16-year age limit as “too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively.”

Details of what is proposed and how it will be implemented are scant. More will be known when legislation is introduced into the Parliament next week.
The concerned teen

Leo Puglisi, a 17-year-old Melbourne student who founded online streaming service 6 News Australia at the age of 11, laments that lawmakers imposing the ban lack the perspective on social media that young people have gained by growing up in the digital age.

“With respect to the government and prime minister, they didn’t grow up in the social media age, they’re not growing up in the social media age, and what a lot of people are failing to understand here is that, like it or not, social media is a part of people’s daily lives,” Leo said.

“It’s part of their communities, it’s part of work, it’s part of entertainment, it’s where they watch content – young people aren’t listening to the radio or reading newspapers or watching free-to-air TV – and so it can’t be ignored. The reality is this ban, if implemented, is just kicking the can down the road for when a young person goes on social media,” Leo added.

Leo has been applauded for his work online. He was a finalist in his home state Victoria’s nomination for the Young Australian of the Year award, which will be announced in January. His nomination bid credits his platform with “fostering a new generation of informed, critical thinkers.”
The grieving mom-turned-activist

One of the proposal’s supporters, cyber safety campaigner Sonya Ryan, knows from personal tragedy how dangerous social media can be for children.

Her 15-year-old daughter Carly Ryan was murdered in 2007 in South Australia state by a 50-year-old pedophile who pretended to be a teenager online. In a grim milestone of the digital age, Carly was the first person in Australia to be killed by an online predator.

“Kids are being exposed to harmful pornography, they’re being fed misinformation, there are body image issues, there’s sextortion, online predators, bullying. There are so many different harms for them to try and manage and kids just don’t have the skills or the life experience to be able to manage those well,” Sonya Ryan said.

“The result of that is we’re losing our kids. Not only what happened to Carly, predatory behavior, but also we’re seeing an alarming rise in suicide of young people,” she added.

Sonya Ryan is part of a group advising the government on a national strategy to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse in Australia.

She wholeheartedly supports Australia setting the social media age limit at 16.

“We’re not going to get this perfect,” she said. “We have to make sure that there are mechanisms in place to deal with what we already have which is an anxious generation and an addicted generation of children to social media.”

A major concern for social media users of all ages is the legislation’s potential privacy implications.

Age estimation technology has proved inaccurate, so digital identification appears to be the most likely option for assuring a user is at least 16.

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, an office that describes itself as the world’s first government agency dedicated to keeping people safer online, has suggested in planning documents adopting the role of authenticator. The government would hold the identity data and the platforms would discover through the commissioner whether a potential account holder was 16.
The skeptical internet expert

Tama Leaver, professor of internet studies at Curtin University, fears that the government will make the platforms hold the users’ identification data instead.

The government has already said the onus will be on the platforms, rather than on children or their parents, to ensure everyone meets the age limit.

“The worst possible outcome seems to be the one that the government may be inadvertently pushing towards, which would be that the social media platforms themselves would end up being the identity arbiter,” Leaver said.

“They would be the holder of identity documents which would be absolutely terrible because they have a fairly poor track record so far of holding on to personal data well,” he added.

The platforms will have a year once the legislation has become law to work out how the ban can be implemented.

Ryan, who divides her time between Adelaide in South Australia and Fort Worth, Texas, said privacy concerns should not stand in the way of removing children from social media.

“What is the cost if we don’t? If we don’t put the safety of our children ahead of profit and privacy?” she asked.

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This story corrects that Leo Puglisi was a finalist but not the state nominee for Young Australian of the Year.

Clean energy could create millions of tons of waste in India. Some are working to avoid that

KENCHANAHALLI, India (AP) — On the edges of a dense forest in southern India, six women in a small garage are busy stitching cloth bags, pants, hospital gowns and office uniforms with automated sewing machines.

About four years ago, power cuts constantly interrupted their work. Heavy rain disrupted transmission lines and air conditioners pumping in extreme heat exhausted the grid. But now a small black box in a corner of the garage, not much larger than an office printer, keeps their operations running. The battery pack, made from used electric vehicle batteries, keeps their sewing machines and lights on even when the main power is off.

“This battery is a godsend for us,” said H. Gauri, one of the women. “Before the battery came, we’d have to stitch manually when there was no electricity which is exhausting. That is not a concern anymore and we’re able to finish all our orders on time.”

While the group is successful, initiatives like it in India are still few and far between. As the country gets more electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines, all aimed at reducing the country’s dependency on planet-warming fossil fuels, energy experts say that India will need to find ways to repurpose the batteries, panels and blades at the end of their lifespans or risk creating millions of tons of waste. If the country comes up with a comprehensive strategy to recycle components, it would both reduce waste and lead to fewer imports of the critical minerals needed for clean power in the future.

Currently, many panels, batteries and other clean energy parts end up in landfills. But others are processed by unlicensed waste recyclers, and some newer businesses and organizations are coming up with ways to recycle the valuable components.
Old EV car batteries can power rural livelihoods

The six tailors in Kenchanahalli say their lives have completely changed since the battery smoothed over power cuts.

Gauri, 32, said the steady income from the tailoring work has helped build a new home for her and her three children. She said it has also brought her more independence.

“Earlier, my husband was not happy about me working long hours or going to nearby towns to get tailoring orders,” she said. “However, after seeing how much I was earning, he has taken a step back. It’s not only me, this job has changed everything for all the women in this room.”

The lithium-ion batteries can provide backup power for up to six hours. They were provided by battery refurbishing and energy storage company Nunam and set up at the campus of the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, a nongovernmental organization that works to help poor and Indigenous communities in remote regions of Karnataka.

These relatively small electricity needs are perfect ways to reuse electric vehicle batteries, said Prithvi Raj Narendra, an engineer at Nunam. “The way EVs use these batteries is like asking it to run. Using it to power small machines and streetlights is like asking it to walk,” he said.

In the four years since the tailoring operation was set up, Nunam’s orders have exponentially increased. Their two dozen employees in Bengaluru’s electronic city neighborhood are busier than ever designing and packaging battery packs from used EV batteries from cars and three-wheelers.

Narendra said the company aims to produce one gigawatt-hour of power — enough to power one million homes for a year — by the end of this decade for homes and small businesses across India, especially those without consistent sources of electricity.
With a surge in solar, planning can minimize waste

India is the world’s most populous nation and among the biggest emitters of planet-warming gases. Like the rest of the world, a major part of transitioning away from dirty fossil fuels for electricity comes in the form of solar panels.

Solar panels typically last between 20 and 30 years. Some estimates say that 100 kilotons of solar power-related waste is already produced every year in India and this number could grow to 340 kilotons by 2030.

“The issue is not very large right now, but it will become so as the installed base of solar panels becomes larger,” said Adarsh Das, who’s worked in India’s solar power sector for the past 30 years.

The country has set an ambitious target of producing 500 gigawatts of clean power by the end of this decade and is also aiming to become a global hub for manufacturing clean power components like solar cells, panels and wind turbines.

The Indian government has included solar, wind and EV components in its electronic waste regulations, and has called for producers to recycle components, but there’s little clarity about how they should do that.

U.S.-based renewable energy company First Solar owns a solar manufacturing site in Chennai, India, and has already included solar panel recycling in their business model. In the future, new panels will be made from old recycled components.

Sujoy Ghosh, their managing director for India, said the government’s waste regulations show it’s thinking in the right direction, but the “devil is in the details.” Rules around how solar panels should be recycled, and how companies can profit from setting up recycling facilities, are needed, he said.

Anjali Taneja, a senior policy specialist at the Indian think-tank Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy, thinks recycling can definitely be profitable for Indian solar producers. But without a clear recycling plan, Taneja worries that the country “could become one of the largest waste generators.”
Creating a national effort to recycle raw materials

India currently imports over 95% of lithium-ion batteries as well as large amounts of nickel, cobalt and other rare earth minerals that are needed for clean power and EV batteries, government reports say. Experts estimate that nearly 90% of those materials can be recovered to make new solar power panels, batteries and wind turbines within India.

The ability to recycle critical minerals is “a huge opportunity for India,” said Akansha Tyagi of the New Delhi-based Council on Energy, Environment and Water. “Many strategies can be put in place to design products better, use them better over their lifetime, repair them before you recycle and eventually responsibly recycle.”

The next step, Tyagi said, is to create a comprehensive policy for creating a circular economy — an economic model that aims to maximize the use of anything that is manufactured and create as little waste as possible.

Industry stakeholders agree.

Deepali Sinha Khetriwal, who runs a coworking space for electronic waste recyclers just outside New Delhi, said there is tremendous potential for creating jobs in the clean energy sector if recycling is taken up more seriously.

“You need skilled and semi-skilled people,” she said. “The resource recovery industry is such a great job creator.”

Khetriwal added that her hope is to see more recyclers like her across the country, creating national momentum for clean energy recycling.

“While our setup is still small, what we’re trying to do can be replicated,” she said. “We’re excited about what the future holds if as a country we plan ahead.”

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Follow Sibi Arasu on X at @sibi123

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Trump wants to end ‘wokeness’ in education. He has vowed to use federal money as leverage

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s vision for education revolves around a single goal: to rid America’s schools of perceived “ wokeness ” and “left-wing indoctrination.”

The president-elect wants to keep transgender athletes out of girls’ sports. He wants to forbid classroom lessons on gender identity and structural racism. He wants to abolish diversity and inclusion offices.

Throughout his campaign, the Republican depicted schools as a political battleground to be won back from the left. Now that he’s won the White House, he plans to use federal money as leverage to advance his vision of education across the nation.

Trump’s education plan pledges to cut funding for schools that defy him on a multitude of issues.

On his first day in office, Trump has repeatedly said he will cut money to “any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content on our children.” On the campaign trail, Trump said he would “not give one penny” to schools with vaccine or mask requirements.

He said it would be done through executive action, though even some of his supporters say he lacks the authority to make such swift and sweeping changes.

Trump’s opponents say his vision of America’s schools is warped by politics — that the type of liberal indoctrination he rails against is a fiction. They say his proposals will undermine public education and hurt the students who need schools’ services the most.

“It’s fear-based, non-factual information, and I would call it propaganda,” said Wil Del Pilar, senior vice president for Education Trust, a research and advocacy organization. “There is no evidence that students are being taught to question their sexuality in schools. There is no evidence that our American education system is full of maniacs.”

Trump’s platform calls for “massive funding preferences” for states and schools that end teacher tenure, enact universal school choice programs and allow parents to elect school principals.

Perhaps his most ambitious promise is to shut down the U.S. Education Department entirely, a goal of conservative politicians for decades, saying it has been infiltrated by “radicals.”

America’s public K-12 schools get about 14% of their revenue from the federal government, mainly from programs targeting low-income students and special education. The vast majority of schools’ money comes from local taxes and state governments.

Colleges rely more heavily on federal money, especially the grants and loans the government gives students to pay for tuition.

Trump’s strongest tool to put schools’ money on the line is his authority to enforce civil rights — the Education Department has the power to cut federal funding to schools and colleges that fail to follow civil rights laws.

The president can’t immediately revoke money from large numbers of districts, but if he targets a few through civil rights inquiries, others are likely to fall in line, said Bob Eitel, president of the conservative Defense of Freedom Institute and an education official during Trump’s first term. That authority could be used to go after schools and colleges that have diversity and inclusion offices or those accused of antisemitism, Eitel said.

“This is not a Day One loss of funding,” Eitel said, referencing Trump’s campaign promise. “But at the end of the day, the president will get his way on this issue, because I do think that there are some real legal issues.”

Trump also has hinted at potential legislation to deliver some of his promises, including fining universities over diversity initiatives.

To get colleges to shutter diversity programs — which Trump says amount to discrimination — he said he “will advance a measure to have them fined up to the entire amount of their endowment.”

His platform also calls for a new, free online university called the American Academy, to be paid for by “taxing, fining and suing excessively large private university endowments.”

During his first term, Trump occasionally threatened to cut money from schools that defied him, including those slow to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic and colleges he accused of curbing free speech.

Most of the threats came to nothing, though he succeeded in getting Congress to add a tax on wealthy university endowments, and his Education Department made sweeping changes to rules around campus sexual assault.

Universities hope their relationship with the administration won’t be as antagonistic as Trump’s rhetoric suggests.

“Education has been an easy target during the campaign season,” said Peter McDonough, general counsel for the American Council on Education, an association of university presidents. “But a partnership between higher education and the administration is going to be better for the country than an attack on education.”

Trump’s threats of severe penalties seem to contradict another of his education pillars — the extraction of the federal government from schools. In closing the Education Department, Trump said he would return “all education work and needs back to the states.”

“We’re going to end education coming out of Washington, D.C.,” Trump said on his website last year. In his platform, he pledged to ensure schools are “free from political meddling.”

Rather than letting states and schools decide their stance on polarizing issues, Trump is proposing blanket bans that align with his vision.

Taking a neutral stance and letting states decide wouldn’t deliver Trump’s campaign promises, said Max Eden, a senior fellow at AEI, a conservative think tank. For example, Trump plans to rescind guidance from President Joe Biden’s administration that extended Title IX protections to LGBTQ+ students. And Trump would go further, promising a nationwide ban on transgender women in women’s sports.

“Trump ran on getting boys out of girls’ sports. He didn’t run on letting boys play in girls’ sports in blue states if they want to,” Eden said.

Trump also wants a say in school curriculum, vowing to fight for “patriotic” education. He promised to reinstate his 1776 Commission, which he created in 2021 to promote patriotic education. The panel created a report that called progressivism a “challenge to American principles” alongside fascism.

Adding to that effort, Trump is proposing a new credentialing body to certify teachers “who embrace patriotic values.”

Few of his biggest education goals can be accomplished quickly, and many would require new action from Congress or federal processes that usually take months.

More immediately, he plans to nullify executive orders issued by Biden, including one promoting racial equity across the federal government. He’s also expected to work quickly to revoke or rewrite Biden’s Title IX rules, though finalizing those changes would require a lengthier rulemaking process.

Trump hasn’t detailed his plans for student loans, though he has called Biden’s cancellation proposals illegal and unfair.

Most of Biden’s signature education initiatives have been paused by courts amid legal challenges, including a proposal for widespread loan cancellation and a more generous loan repayment plan. Those plans could be revoked or rewritten once Trump takes office.

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The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Rep. Moran looks ahead to Republican trifecta

WASHINGTON — A little over a week after the elections, East Texas Rep. Nathaniel Moran said people are anticipating the conservative trifecta in Washington, including Trump’s return to the White House. According to our news partner KETK, Moran hopes that by the time January rolls around, and the House, Senate and White House become Republican dominated, legislation can move through, after it failed to pass in the last four years when it got stuck in the Senate and was not supported by the White House.

With Trump wasting no time in filling his cabinet, Moran said people are getting a glimpse of what’s to come. In recent days, Trump has nominated politicians like Matt Gaetz for Attorney General and Marco Rubio for Secretary of State but also Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as Secretary of Defense.

“A lot of great qualifying individuals that are being named to the positions. I think folks with a different perspective on how government should be run or frankly, not run, and that’s going to be good for the American people moving forward,” Moran said. Continue reading Rep. Moran looks ahead to Republican trifecta

House Republicans applaud Trump’s picking Kennedy to lead HHS — with a few concerns

(WASHINGTON) -- House Republicans had mixed reactions to President-elect Donald Trump's announcement that he would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be secretary of Health and Human Services in his administration.

Kennedy has been an anti-vaccine activist and founded the Children's Health Defense, a prominent anti-vaccine nonprofit that has campaigned against immunizations and other public health measures like water fluoridation. Medical experts expressed concerns about a rise in medical misinformation through Kennedy's candidacy.

HHS oversees major health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, among others.

Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., raised concerns about the pick, saying, “Well, all my kids are vaccinated and I hope he’s not going to move against one of the most life-saving technologies in the history of the world.”

Asked if Kennedy was the right choice, Duarte responded, "I don’t know.”

“I’d like to see more of his opinions and more of his thoughts in different matters, but the anti-vaccine mantra scares me a lot,” he said.

There was no immediate reaction from senators, who would vote on Kennedy's nomination.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, laughed when asked for an opinion, saying “It’s the president’s prerogative. I am not a senator.”

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, called the news "fantastic."

"Robert’s a friend now for a few years, we've been talking a lot,” Roy said.

Roy said there's a need to be “disrupting the corruption” in federal health agencies, which he expects Kennedy to accomplish.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., called Kennedy's selection a “great pick.”

“Good pick on the president’s part, as all of them have been, and he’ll do a good job,” Norman said. “People say, 'Well, he’s a Democrat.' Look, he’s got an interest, he’s got an interest, a passion for the medical field. He’ll do a good job in it.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said Trump is building a "diverse" Cabinet.

"He’s bringing in Republicans, Democrats. He is bringing in people’s different walks of life. You saw Tulsi Gabbard yesterday, Scalise said.