DONALD TRUMP is the president-elect (Shutterstock).

President-elect Donald Trump is continuing to fire off nominations for Cabinet-level positions and some of them continue to spark controversy.

On Tuesday, Trump announced that his choice for Secretary of Education was Linda McMahon, a “billionaire wrestling mogul,” according to the Associated Press.

Shortly before that, Trump announced his nomination of Dr. Mehmet Oz, a heart surgeon who is also a former TV talk show host to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs programs that provide care for more than 150 million Americans, including those enrolled in Obamacare.

Additionally, Howard Lutnik, a Wall Street executive, has been selected to be the Secretary of Commerce.

McMahon is said to have sparse experience in education policy and – if confirmed – may end up helping dissolve the agency that Trump has said he wants to abolish.

Oz was defeated by Democrat John Fetterman in 2022 in a bid for a U.S. Senate seat representing Pennsylvania.

Putin – again – rattles nuclear sword

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin (Shutterstock).

Ukrainian forces – acting on President Joe Biden’s permission to fire American-supplied long range missiles into Russia – have gone ahead and used the high-tech weapon against the nation that has invaded theirs.

At the same time, Russia announced that it would use nuclear weapons in response to any attack that represented a “critical threat” to its sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to The New York Times.

Also, Russia would be willing to use nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear state such as Ukraine, if it was backed by a nuclear-armed state such as the U.S., Great Britain and France.

However, reports The Times, Russia has threatened the use of atomic weapons before in this conflict and taken no action. He’s been warned by the U.S. that such uses could result in “severe consequences” for Vladimir Putin’s government.

Hush money trial sentencing can wait

FORMER President Donald Trump sits in the court room with his lawyers at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, Thursday, April 25 2024. (Mark Peterson/Pool Photo via AP)

The sentencing of President-elect Donald Trump in the hush money case against him will likely be delayed – perhaps until after the end of his second term in The White House.

The Manhattan District attorney prosecuting Trump – who’s been convicted on 34 felony charges – filed a motion to oppose Trump’s attempt to have the charges dismissed, according to United Press International. However, he indicated he would not object to “a stay of further proceedings.”

The complications of imposing a criminal penalty that could involve prison time on a sitting president have figured in discussion about sentencing.

Weather: Cooler, rain on the way

After some days of mid-70s temps, the West Orange County area is headed for some weekend rain. According to forecasts, Wednesday should have a daytime high of 73 with an overnight low of 44 under sunny skies. Partly cloudy skies should move in on Thursday with a temperatures of 74 (45). But things will cool off on Friday with a high of 69 (48) with more clouds. Rainfall is predicted on Saturday with a high of 64 (54).

Great Thoughts

“Courage is not the absence of fear; it’s acting in the face of fear.”
– Cady Coleman, astronaut and author.