Trump Says Haley, Pompeo Will Not Join Second Administration

 Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump watches a video screen at a campaign rally at the Salem Civic Center, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Salem, Va. (AP)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump watches a video screen at a campaign rally at the Salem Civic Center, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Salem, Va. (AP)
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Trump Says Haley, Pompeo Will Not Join Second Administration

 Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump watches a video screen at a campaign rally at the Salem Civic Center, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Salem, Va. (AP)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump watches a video screen at a campaign rally at the Salem Civic Center, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Salem, Va. (AP)

President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday that former Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will not be asked to join his administration.

"I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation," Trump posted on social media. "I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our country."

Trump is meeting with potential candidates to serve in his administration before his Jan. 20 inauguration as president. Reuters reported Friday that Trump met with prominent investor Scott Bessent, who is a potential US Treasury Secretary nominee.

Haley, a former South Carolina governor who served as US ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, endorsed Trump for president despite having criticized him harshly when she ran against him in the party primaries.

"I was proud to work with President Trump defending America at the United Nations," Haley said on social media. "I wish him, and all who serve, great success in moving us forward to a stronger, safer America over the next four years."

Pompeo, who also served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency under Trump, has been mentioned in some media reports as a possible defense secretary and had been also seen a potential Republican presidential candidate, before he announced in April 2023 he would not run.

Pompeo could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday.

During his first term as president, Trump made some key personnel announcements via social media posts.

Separately, Trump said the 2025 presidential inauguration will be co-chaired by real estate investor and campaign donor Steve Witkoff and former Senator Kelly Loeffler.



Public Mourns 35 Killed in Attack at Sports Complex in Southern Chinese City

 A man offers flowers outside the "Zhuhai People's Fitness Plaza" where a man rammed his car into people exercising at the sports center, in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP)
A man offers flowers outside the "Zhuhai People's Fitness Plaza" where a man rammed his car into people exercising at the sports center, in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP)
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Public Mourns 35 Killed in Attack at Sports Complex in Southern Chinese City

 A man offers flowers outside the "Zhuhai People's Fitness Plaza" where a man rammed his car into people exercising at the sports center, in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP)
A man offers flowers outside the "Zhuhai People's Fitness Plaza" where a man rammed his car into people exercising at the sports center, in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP)

Members of the public paid their respects Wednesday to people killed by a driver who rammed into people exercising a sports complex in southern China, as the country mourned, but little information was available about the suspect or the victims in the attack.

The crash Monday night in Zhuhai killed 35 people and severely injured 43 others, and the driver was detained as he was trying to escape. Authorities said the 62-year-old man with the surname Fan was upset over his divorce settlement.

Members of the public had started bringing flowers in honor of the victims Tuesday night and continued into Wednesday.

There was a light police presence in the morning at the Zhuhai sports complex, which was closed until further notice, but the number of officers increased as the morning passed.

While police allowed people to leave bouquets of flowers in memory of the dead just outside the entrance of the sports complex, volunteers then quickly moved the flowers inside to the sports center.

“May there be no thugs in heaven,” said the message on one bouquet. “Good deeds will be rewarded and evil deeds will be punished.”

The attack occurred on the eve of the Zhuhai Airshow, an aviation exhibition sponsored by the People's Liberation Army that is held every two years.

China authorities often make extra efforts to tightly control information around major or sensitive events like the airshow. Censors also take extra care around major catastrophes or violence, often censoring eyewitness accounts. Clear information on the death and injury toll was not available for almost 24 hours after the attack.

Videos were quickly censored inside China, though they circulated outside the Great Firewall. They were posted by Teacher Li, an artist turned dissident who runs a X account with 1.7 million followers that posts crowdsourced videos about news in China.

Articles from Chinese media featuring interviews with survivors were quickly taken down Monday and Tuesday. The news that trended about the attack was largely based on official statements from authorities.

Police said their preliminary investigation found Fan was dissatisfied with the split of financial assets in his divorce. Beyond that description, further information was not available on his divorce or alleged motive.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the “strict” punishment of the perpetrator according to law, in a statement Tuesday evening.

He also called on all local governments “to strengthen prevention and control of risks at the source, strictly prevent extreme cases from occurring, and to resolve conflicts and disputes in a timely manner,” according to the official Xinhua news agency.