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The securities of Altech Batteries Limited (‘ATC’) will be placed in trading halt at the request of ATC, pending it releasing an announcement. Unless ASX decides otherwise, the securities will remain in trading halt until the earlier of the commencement of normal trading on Friday, 15 November 2024 or when the announcement is released to the market.

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ASX Compliance

Click here for the full ASX Release

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President-elect Trump announced on Tuesday that he will appoint South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

‘Kristi has been very strong on Border Security,’ a statement released by the Trump transition team read. ‘She was the first Governor to send National Guard Soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden Border Crisis, and they were sent a total of eight times.’

‘She will work closely with ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan to secure the Border, and will guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries,’ the statement added.

This is a breaking news story. Check back with us for updates.


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President-elect Trump announced that billionaire Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency.

Trump said that the pair will work together to ‘dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.’

‘It will become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time,’ the announcement on Tuesday evening said. ‘Republican politicians have dreamed about the objectives of ‘DOGE’ for a very long time.’

The president-elect said that Musk and Ramaswamy will provide ‘advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.’

Trump said that the agency will be focused on creating a more efficient U.S. government that looks to make ‘life better for all Americans.’

‘Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion Dollars of Government Spending. They will work together to liberate our Economy, and make the U.S. Government accountable to ‘WE THE PEOPLE.” Trump said. 

‘Their work will conclude no later than July 4, 2026 – A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence. I am confident they will succeed!’

In a X post, Ramaswamy reacted to his appointment.

‘We will not go gently, Elon Musk,’ he wrote in the post.

Ramaswamy has been a vocal supporter of Trump after he suspended his presidential campaign in Jan. 24.

Similarly, Musk has been a key component to Trump’s campaign – with the tech entrepreneur crisscrossing key battleground states leading up to the 2024 election.

In response to his position in Trump’s White House, Musk wrote: ‘Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!’

The world’s richest man, who said he voted for former Democratic presidential candidates including President Biden in the past, endorsed Trump this summer following the first assassination attempt on the 45th president on July 13. 

The slew of Trump Cabinet positions came quickly after the president-elect’s landslide victory against Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump has selected top Republicans, with the president-elect expected to select Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to serve as his Secretary of State and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as secretary of Homeland Security. 

In addition, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., has been tapped for United Nations ambassador and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel.


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C29 Metals Limited (“C29” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has received Category four (4) exploration approval enabling the immediate commencement of tenement wide, geophysical, field mapping and soil sampling programs at its newly granted southern and northern tenements.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • C29 has received Category four (4) exploration works approval for its newly granted southern & northern tenements.
  • Immediate commencement of airborne geophysical & ground engaging geological programs excluding drilling.
  • The Company anticipates that the drilling contractor will commence mobilisation to site for the initial diamond drilling program at the Ulytau tenement by the end of this week.

The Company’s geology team is already established on site with the impending initial diamond drilling program commencing shortly at its Ulytau tenement (#1860-EL) and will simultaneously commence airborne geophysics programs on Ulytau and the southern tenement (#2786-EL). Refer Figure 1 for Ulytau Uranium Project Tenement locations and geophysical survey flight lines.

The Category 4 approval has been granted in rapid time and once again demonstrates the efficiency of the Kazakhstan regulators and the respected relationship that C29 Metals has established at all levels of government and regulators.

The Company anticipates that the drilling contractor will commence mobilisation to site for the initial diamond drilling program at the Ulytau tenement by the end of this week.

Exploration activities on the Company’s northern tenement (#2826-EL) are scheduled for Q1 of CY2025.

C29 Metals Managing Director, Mr Shannon Green, commented:

“It is very exciting to have the Category four (4) exploration approval granted enabling our geology team to immediately commence both boots on ground and airborne field works. This once again demonstrates the positive operating environment in Kazakhstan and the support the company is enjoying”.

Airborne Geophysical survey

The airborne geophysical survey is a helicopter borne electromagnetic survey over EL1860 and EL2786. Refer Figure 1 for Ulytau Uranium Project Tenement locations and geophysical survey flight lines.

The survey will acquire electromagnetics, magnetics and radiometrics. Modern advancements in processing of electromagnetic surveys allow a much more sophisticated interpretation. To this end, Intrepid geophysics based in Melbourne, Victoria have been engaged to oversee survey design and processing. The processing will be completed using the proprietary “Moksha” 2.5D inversion technique detailed In Paterson, 2021 “2.5D Airborne Electromagnetic inversion: A review of the benefits of moving to a higher dimension”.

Click here for the full ASX Release

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GTI Energy Ltd (GTI or Company) is pleased to provide the following activity update. The anticipated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) and Exploration Target (ET) updates for GTI’s Lo Herma ISR uranium project (Lo Herma) in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin remains on track to be delivered by year end. A decision will then be made on commencing an Interim Scoping Study for the project.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Mineral Resource Estimate & Exploration Target updates on track for late 2024
  • New staking to extend Lo Herma project along trend
  • Lo Herma drill core samples have been prepared for chemical assay and metallurgical testing with samples for assay submitted to the lab
  • Completion of hydrogeological holes expected in December

NEW STAKING EXTENDS LO HERMA PROJECT FOOTPRINT ALONG TREND

The Company has recently completed the first phase of a staking program to secure additional ground along trend at Lo Herma. Phase 1 has increased Lo Herma’s footprint by 300 acres to the north of Section 4 and phase 2, to be completed in December, is expected to add 143 acres to the south of Section 4. Staking is estimated to extend the mineralised trends at Lo Herma by circa 1 mile (~1.6kms).

LO HERMA METALLURGICAL TESTING

Lo Herma drill core samples have been logged and split for chemical assay and metallurgical testing. Samples for assay have now been submitted to the lab. Upon receipt of the assays, composites will be prepared for metallurgical testing under alkaline leach conditions. Analysis will also include a comparison of chemical assays to gamma probe field assays. Results are expected in early 2025.

DRILLING

The Company estimates that the final phase of its 2024 drilling campaign will be completed during December with construction of 3 hydrogeologic and water monitoring wells. GTI has decided to defer drilling at its Green Mountain project and will consider further investment in the project during 2025.

EMMISIONS REPORTING

GTI has tracked, independently verified, mitigated and offset its organisational Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions for the last 3 calendar years under the Australian Government’s Climate Active Program. The Company remains committed to its focus on sustainability, including tracking and managing its GHG emissions going forward, however GTI has decided to withdraw from the Climate Active program effective 4th October 2024. The annual emissions report for the year ending 31st December 2023 is due to be published imminently and will be the Company’s final Climate Active disclosure.

Click here for the full ASX Release

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Brightstar Resources Limited (ASX: BTR) (Brightstar) is pleased to announce the commencement of its inaugural drilling program at the recently acquired1 Montague East Gold Project (Montague), located 70km north of Sandstone in Western Australia’s Murchison region.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Brightstar has commenced a ~6,000m Reverse Circulation drilling program at the Montague East Gold Project, targeting depth extensions and infill resource drilling at the Montague-Boulder and Whistler deposits
  • Montague-Boulder and Whistler are the largest two deposits at Montague, with a combined gold resource of 4.7Mt at 1.8g/t Au for 283koz Au
  • The program will take approximately four weeks to complete, before mobilising the drill rig to complete a planned drilling program at Alto’s Sandstone Project upon anticipated merger completion in December
  • Brightstar has also executed a Heritage Protection Agreement between Watarra Aboriginal Corporation and Brightstar Resources over the Menzies Gold Project

With past production in the 1990’s at several deposits across Montague, modern exploration has defined a global resource of 526koz Au which includes a considerable component of shallow oxide material2 which is being targeted for resource growth and preliminary drilling ahead of feasibility study workstreams which are planned to occur during 2025.

Brightstar’s Managing Director, Alex Rovira, commented“With the recent completion of our significant drilling programs across our Goldfields assets in Menzies and Laverton, our exploration efforts are now focused on the Murchison assets located in the Sandstone region. With a +500koz gold endowment across the Montague East Gold Project, we look forward to targeting the largest two deposits which include the 163koz Au Montague-Boulder deposit, and the 120koz Au Whistler deposit.

We believe these assets have a strong possibility of resource growth, and our drill programs are targeting lode extensions at depth and also infilling key areas to provide additional geological information on these deposits to increase mineral resource classification confidence. With a past production of ~150koz, the Montague East Gold Project is a key part of our Sandstone consolidation strategy and our broader aspirations of building a multi-asset and meaningful WA gold mining business.”

Next steps

Brightstar will announce drilling information and assays as this is received, including the outstanding results from the Fish and Lord Byron diamond drilling programs along with RC drilling from the Montague program.

Concurrently with these drilling programs, work continues on the Definitive Feasibility Study and near-term development of mining operations at the Jasper Hills deposit.

Click here for the full ASX Release

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Octava Minerals Limited (ASX:OCT) (“Octava” or the “Company”), a Western Australia focused explorer of the new energy metals antimony, REE’s, Lithium and gold, is pleased to report that it has secured agreement with a drilling contractor to conduct exploration drilling at its 100% owned Yallalong antimony project. Drilling is expected to start in the last week of this month.

Highlights

  • Octava has now completed the selection process for a drilling contractor to conduct exploration at its 100% owned high-grade Yallalong antimony project in the Midwest of Western Australia.
  • A 3000m drilling program is expected to commence by the end of this month and will focus on the Discovery target, where previous high-grade intercepts have been recorded including:
    • YRC16: 7m @ 3.27% Sb from 12m including 1m @ 11.5% from 18m
    • YRC06: 3m @ 6.83% Sb from 21m including 1m @ 13.6% Sb from 22m
  • Maiden drill holes will also be completed on the Central antimony target, where no previous drilling has been done.
  • Detailed geophysical survey over the identified antimony corridor at Yallalong is progressing well, now 40% complete.
  • The geophysical survey will assist in defining additional antimony targets within the corridor, that may be transported cover.

Octava’s Managing Director Bevan Wakelam stated, ‘We are really pleased to have secured our drillers to undertake the exploration drill program to outline further high-grade antimony at Yallalong. We will target lateral extensions of existing, known high grade antimony mineralisation and also the underlying bedrock contacts. We also look forward to completing the geophysical survey that will provide us with better geological understanding of what’s below the surface along the antimony corridor.”

Figure 1. Cross-section through the Discovery antimony target showing mineralisation occurring parallel to the sedimentary and mafic rock contact and in the fault zone. (refer ASX announcement 17 September 2024)

The antimony (Sb) mineralisation identified at Yallalong appears to occur within a 10km north-south striking mineralised corridor that is interpreted to be related to a structural corridor between the Darling and Woodrarung faults. The fault zones act as conduits for mineralising fluids into the sedimentary rocks that are peripheral to mafic intrusive dykes, a well-known geological setting for antimony deposits worldwide.

Octava is planning to drill two of the priority antimony targets at the Yallalong antimony Project, Discovery and Central. Previous exploration identified four principal antimony targets where antimony mineralisation was exposed at surface at all target locations. Only the Discovery Prospect has any drilling and remains open. Antimony ingot prices at that time were ~$8000/tonne compared to over $30,000/tonne now1. Drilling is expected to commence at the end of this month.

The detailed geophysical surveys are progressing well, now at 40% and on track to be completed in the next 7-10 days. The survey will provide clearer understanding on these key structures, such as shears & faults and provide better definition of controlling lithological boundaries.

This announcement has been authorised for release by the Managing Director/CEO.

Click here for the full ASX Release

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Lode Gold Resources Inc. (TSXV: LOD) (OTCQB: SBMIF) (‘Lode Gold ‘ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce its participation and exhibition at the upcoming 121 Mining Investment event in London, UK on November 14 and 15, 2024. This conference serves as a platform for mining company executives to connect with portfolio managers and analysts from institutional funds, private equity groups, and family offices.

As part of its marketing and outreach efforts for Fall 2024, the Company will be having stakeholder meetings in London, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich.

Potential investors should take note of the upcoming catalysts:

  • New Brunswick: Planned Q1 2025 Drilling upon systematic exploration: geophysics, soil sampling, mapping, geochemistry. Completed 1600 soil samples, analysis in progress. Excalibur Mag work in progress.
  • Yukon: Plan to follow-up drilling on newly identified RIRGS targets on Tombstone Belt upon field work and detailed mapping.

Lode Gold and the team invite interested investors and stakeholders to contact us and schedule an in-person meeting to learn about upcoming catalysts, the upcoming shareholder spinoff, and the exploration plans for 2024-2025. For more details, visit our website at www.lode-gold.com.

About Lode Gold

Lode Gold (TSXV: LOD) is an exploration and development company with projects in highly prospective and safe mining jurisdictions in Canada and the United States.

Its Golden Culvert and WIN Projects in Yukon, covering 99.5 km2 across a 27-km strike length, are situated in a district-scale, high-grade-gold-mineralized trend within the southern portion of the Tombstone Gold Belt. Gold deposits and occurrences within the Belt include Fort Knox, Pogo, Brewery Creek and Dublin Gulch, and Snowline Gold. A NI 43-101 technical report entitled ‘Technical Report on the WIN-Golden Culvert Property for Lode Gold’ with an effective date of May 15, 2024, summarizing the work to date on these properties is available on the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) and on the Company’s website (www.lode-gold.com).

In New Brunswick, Lode Gold has created one of the largest land packages with a 42km strike within 420km2. Its McIntyre Brook Project, New Brunswick, covering 111 km2 and a 17-km strike length in the emerging Appalachian/Iapetus Gold Belt, is surrounded by Puma Exploration’s Williams Brook Project (5.55 g/t Au over 50m)1 and is hosted by orogenic rocks of similar age and structure as New Found Gold’s Queensway Project. The Fancamp’s Riley Brook is a 309 km2 package covering a 25 km strike of Wapske formation with its numerous felsic units. Previous exploration efforts have focused on just VMS-style mineralization hosted in the felsic intrusions, and mostly focused on the base metals – the Company is the first to focus on and assay for gold. This transaction will close upon Exchange’s acceptance.

The Company is also advancing its Fremont Gold development project in the historic Mother Lode Gold Belt of California where 50,000,000 oz of gold has been produced. Fremont, located 500km north of Equinox Gold’s Castle Mountain and Mesquite mines, has a Preliminary Economic Assessment (‘PEA’) with an after-tax NPV (5%) of USD $217M, a 21% IRR, 11-year LOM, averaging 118,000 Oz per annum at USD $1,750 gold. A sensitivity to the March 31, 2023 PEA at USD $2,000/oz gold gives an after-tax NPV (5%) of USD $370M and a 31% IRR over an 11-year LOM. The project hosts an NI 43-101 resource of 1.16 MOz at 1.90 g/t Au within 19.0 MT Indicated and 2.02 MOz at 2.22 g/t Au within 28.3 MT Inferred. The MRE evaluates only 1.4 km of the 4 km strike length of the Fremont property which features five gold-mineralized zones. Significantly, three step-out holes at depth hit the mineralized structure, typical of orogenic deposits that often occur at depth. Fremont is located on 3,351 acres of 100% owned private land in Mariposa, the original Gold Rush County, and is 1.5 hours from Fresno, California. The property has year-round road access and is close to airports and rail.

Please refer to the Fremont Gold project NI 43-101 PEA technical report dated March 31, 2023, which is available on the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) and on the Company’s website (www.lode-gold.com). The PEA technical report has been reviewed and approved by independent ‘Qualified Persons’ Eugene Puritch, P.Eng., FEC, CET, and Andrew Bradfield, P.Eng. both of P&E, and Travis Manning, P.E. of KCA.

QUALIFIED PERSON STATEMENT

The scientific and technical information contained in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Jonathan Victor Hill, Director, BSc (Hons) (Economic Geology – UCT), FAusIMM, and who is a ‘qualified person’ as defined by NI-43-101.

ON BEHALF OF THE COMPANY

Wendy T. Chan, CEO & Director

Information Contact

Winfield Ding
CFO
info@lode-gold.com
+1-416-320-4388

Kevin Shum
Investor Relations
kevin@lode-gold.com
+1 (647) 725-3888 ext. 702

Cautionary Note Related to this News Release and Figures

This news release contains information about adjacent properties on which the Company has no right to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company’s properties.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release includes ‘forward-looking statements’ and ‘forward-looking information’ within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements with respect to the completion of the transaction and the timing thereof, the expected benefits of the transaction to shareholders of the Company, the structure, terms and conditions of the transaction and the execution of a definitive agreement, the timing of submission to the CSE and TSXV, Gold Orogen raising an additional $1,500,000 and the anticipated use of proceeds. Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as ‘anticipate’, ‘believe’, ‘plan’, ‘estimate’, ‘expect’, ‘potential’, ‘target’, ‘budget’ and ‘intend’ and statements that an event or result ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘should’, ‘could’ or ‘might’ occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof.

Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which the Company operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic, and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies. These include assumptions regarding, among other things: that the Company and GRM will be able to negotiate the definitive agreement on the terms and within the time frame expected, that the Company and GRM will be able to make submissions to the CSE and TSXV within the time frame expected, that the Company and GRM will be able to obtain shareholder approval for the transaction, that the Company and GRM will be able to obtain necessary third party and regulatory approvals required for the transaction, if completed, that the transaction will provide the expected benefits to the Company and its shareholders.

There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results, and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations include adverse market conditions, general economic, market or business risks, unanticipated costs, the failure of the Company and GRM to negotiate the definitive agreement on the terms and conditions and within the timeframe expected, the failure of the Company and GRM to make submissions to the CSE and TSXV within the timeframe expected, the failure of the Company and GRM to obtain shareholder approval for the transaction, the failure of the Company and GRM to obtain all necessary approvals for the transaction, and r other risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators, including those described under the heading ‘Risks and Uncertainties’ in the Company’s most recently filed MD&A. The Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable law.

1 See Puma Exploration Inc.’s news release dated September 15, 2021.

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Despite his own isolationist musings, the first picks of President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration hail from a decidedly more traditionalist wing of the Republican Party.

On Tuesday, Trump formally announced that Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., would be his national security adviser. Sources have said Trump is set on tapping Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for secretary of state.

Together with New York Rep. Elise Stefanik — set for the role of ambassador to the United Nations — the trio is expected to further a staunchly pro-Israel agenda.

Ukrainian advocates are also somewhat relieved. 

‘Kyiv looks at these appointments with some quiet relief — they clearly know there’s room for engagement,’ one source familiar with Ukrainian operations told Fox News Digital. They added that after a Biden administration that they believe has been overly fearful of escalating U.S. involvement in the war with Russia, ‘a not insignificant number of senior Ukrainian officials are cautiously optimistic about what a change of pace might look like. 

Waltz, who once served as a counterterrorism adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney, is widely regarded as a hawk on China and Iran. He was vociferously opposed to President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

‘What no one can ever do for me, including this administration right now, is articulate a counterterrorism plan that’s realistic without us there,’ Waltz said in an interview days after the withdrawal. 

The former Army Green Beret officer and ex-CEO of a defense contracting company introduced legislation during the first Trump administration that would have prevented a mass troop drawdown in Afghanistan unless the director of national intelligence certified that the Taliban would not associate with al-Qaeda. 

‘I think we’re in for a long haul and I think our nation’s leadership needs to begin telling the American people, ‘I’m sorry. We don’t have a choice. We’re 15 years into what is going to be a multi-generational war because we’re talking about defeating an idea,” Waltz said about Afghanistan at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2017.

Waltz voted for keeping the Iraq War Authorization on the books in 2021 and voted against ending U.S. support for the Saudi war in Yemen. 

In an interview with NPR last week, Waltz said the war between Russia and Ukraine can end if the U.S. applies some leverage. 

Russia’s ‘war machine will dry up very quickly’ with U.S. economic sanctions, Waltz said, as well as ‘taking the handcuffs off of the long-range weapons we provided Ukraine.’ Biden has long refused to allow Ukraine to use U.S. weapons to strike deep inside Russia. 

Last month, when Israel conducted a counterstrike on Iran’s military targets, Waltz bemoaned that it hadn’t gone after Iran’s oil and nuclear facilities. ‘Did Biden/Harris pressure Israel once again to do less than it should?’ he questioned. 

Rubio, meanwhile, is a noted hawk on China, Iran and Venezuela, where he has been working to unseat dictator Nicolas Maduro. 

Rubio, at one time, supported U.S. aid to Ukraine, but when the matter came up again earlier this year, he was one of 15 Republicans to vote against a supplemental funding package, citing insufficient border provisions. 

He’s been a strong proponent of U.S. support for Taiwan. When Trump raised concerns about the U.S.’s support for Taiwan and suggested the island should pay the U.S. for its defense, Rubio predicted Trump would ‘continue to support Taiwan’ if he reclaimed the White House.

Like Trump, both Waltz and Rubio have been critical of NATO allies for not spending enough on defense. Rubio has insisted Europe should ‘take the lead’ on its defense: ‘Germany, France, and the United Kingdom are more than capable of managing their relationship with the nuclear-armed belligerent to their east. But they’ll never take ownership so long as they can rely on America.’

Rubio cosponsored legislation last year that would bar any president from pulling the U.S. from NATO without congressional approval, a measure that was seen as a precaution if Trump were to win the presidency and follow through with his frequent threats to abandon the alliance.

His pick triggered some backlash from some Trump die-hards who view him as too hawkish. 

‘Apparently there hasn’t been a SOS pick yet FYSA [for your situational awareness],’ posted Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) late Monday on X, after news outlets began reporting Trump had settled on Rubio. 

Libertarian-minded comedian Dave Smith said Tuesday that Rubio is ‘a disaster.’

‘Might as well give Liz Cheney the State Department,’ Smith wrote. ‘Awful sign.’

Stephen Wertheim, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that Waltz and Rubio signal ‘above all, a hard line toward China not only on economics but across the board — on political, military, and ideological competition.’ 

‘The picks leave me wondering whether Trump will deliver on his sometimes restrained foreign policy promises, including his stated desire to end the war in Ukraine sooner rather than later and to see Israel wrap up its wars,’ he said. ‘I’m getting flashbacks to the first Trump administration.’

But, he added, ‘Rubio is no longer quite the Rubio many remember from 2016.’ 

‘Rubio seems to understand that the United States faces resource constraints and needs to set strategic priorities in an increasingly competitive world.’

And some restraint-minded thinkers hold out cautious optimism. 

‘If [Rubio] channels Trump’s approach rather than pursuing his own agenda, he could redefine the state department’s role in a way that is both respected and effective abroad. Rubio knows that his future prospects are tied to his ability to execute Trump’s policy, not personal ambitions,’ said Jason Beardsley, senior coalitions adviser for Concerned Veterans for America. 

‘Having worked closely with Waltz, I can vouch for his deep understanding of America’s strategic priorities. He’s passionate about reforming the DoD from within and ensuring national security without overextending our military in costly, unnecessary engagements.’


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Justice Samuel Alito has no plans to retire from the Supreme Court anytime soon, a source close to the justice told the Wall Street Journal, halting a flurry of speculation among some Republican leaders that Alito, 74, could vacate the bench to make room for a younger, more conservative jurist.

Rumors about Alito’s retirement began swirling almost immediately after Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, which also saw Republicans set to take back control of the Senate and retain control of the House in January.

With no filibuster allowed on Supreme Court appointments, the GOP majority would allow Trump to face little if any resistance in confirming his picks for high court justices, should the court’s two oldest conservative justices, Alito and Clarence Thomas, retire.

Alito, for his part, has made clear he has no plans to do so. 

‘Despite what some people may think, this is a man who has never thought about this job from a political perspective,’ a person close to Alito told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news of his intention to remain on the bench. 

‘The idea that he’s going to retire for political considerations is not consistent with who he is,’ this person added.

Alito was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2006 by President George W. Bush. 

At 74, Alito is the second-oldest justice on the bench behind Justice Clarence Thomas, 76, who was appointed to the court by President George H.W. Bush in 1991. Sonia Sotomayor, appointed by President Obama in 2009, is 70.

But pressure for Alito and Thomas to step aside to make way for younger, Trump-picked candidates could prove to be deeply polarizing at a time when public approval of the Supreme Court is in the mid 40s, according to a Gallup survey in September.

Conservatives currently hold a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court. Trump named three justices to the Supreme Court during his first term, preserving its conservative majority. President Biden, for his part, most recently named Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the court in 2022 after the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer.

If Alito and Thomas were to retire from the bench, Trump could become the first president since Eisenhower, also a Republican, to name a majority of the justices of the Supreme Court.


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