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Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu says Sunday’s Autumn Nations Series match against Australia is “massively special”, but does not feel he has anything to prove. Born and raised in Australia, Tuipulotu represented the Wallabies at under-20 level but left his homeland in 2018 for Japan after becoming frustrated at a lack of opportunities with Melbourne Rebels. Since arriving in Scotland in 2021, Tuipulotu has become a star for Glasgow Warriors and the national team, and he says he has no regrets about the way his rugby journey has panned out. “If you asked me that question three years ago or four years ago when I first left Australia, I had so much, I suppose, animosity or professional anger inside me because I felt my talent really wasn't looked after in Australia,” Tuipulotu said. “But to be honest, now I feel like I am where I'm supposed to be, here in Scotland. And I feel like all those things that happened early in my career were meant to happen because now I'm sitting here in the position that I am. “It's funny, you always want to play a lot harder against your mates, and I have a lot of mates in that Wallabies team, but I'm sure it's the same for them. “I'm trying to make it not bigger than it is really. It's just another test match for Scotland, so that's big in its own right.”B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Standex International Co. ( NYSE:SXI – Free Report ) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 8,150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,000. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Standex International by 292.6% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Standex International during the 1st quarter valued at about $691,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Standex International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $743,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Standex International by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 98,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,901,000 after purchasing an additional 4,768 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Standex International during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,299,000. 90.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts recently commented on SXI shares. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Standex International from $203.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Standex International from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Standex International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Standex International in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Standex International Stock Performance Shares of Standex International stock opened at $204.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 3.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Standex International Co. has a 52 week low of $131.96 and a 52 week high of $211.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $185.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.77. Standex International ( NYSE:SXI – Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.05. Standex International had a return on equity of 13.18% and a net margin of 10.26%. The business had revenue of $170.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Standex International Co. will post 7.84 EPS for the current year. Standex International Increases Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Standex International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Standex International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.98%. Insider Buying and Selling In other news, CFO Ademir Sarcevic sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.81, for a total transaction of $319,696.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,613,763.66. This represents a 8.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link . Also, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 1,661 shares of Standex International stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.41, for a total value of $349,491.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,405,196.71. This represents a 12.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold a total of 7,061 shares of company stock valued at $1,359,419 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock. About Standex International ( Free Report ) Standex International Corporation, together with subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of various products and services for commercial and industrial markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through five segments: Electronics, Engraving, Scientific, Engineering Technologies, and Specialty Solutions. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SXI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Standex International Co. ( NYSE:SXI – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Standex International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Standex International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

WASHINGTON — On a chaotic day at the Capitol, Maryland Democrats scrambled to ensure Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement funding remained in a catch-all spending bill that — in a two-day period — was endorsed and rejected by House Republicans who announced a new deal Thursday afternoon. The new agreement contained the federal commitment sought by Maryland lawmakers to pay the full cost of replacing the Francis Scott Key Bridge following its March collapse, according to a Senate aide who requested anonymity because no announcement had been made yet. But another Maryland priority — making it easier for the NFL’s Washington Commanders to potentially move back to the District of Columbia — is not included in the new package, according to the aide. That provision was part of an agreement under which the team was to pay to redevelop the area surrounding the team’s current Prince George’s County stadium if the club left. Congress faces a Friday night deadline to pass the stopgap measure preventing a government shutdown that would disproportionately affect the state because of its thousands of federal workers. The 1,547-page measure was unveiled by House Republicans Tuesday night and promptly rejected by the GOP Wednesday after a string of critical social media posts by billionaire Elon Musk, an adviser and ally of Republican President-elect Donald Trump. Musk, citing a pay increase for Congress among other objections, called the bill “dead,” and some House Republicans appeared ready to try to unseat Speaker Mike Johnson. “The House Republicans need to get their house in order,” Democratic Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen told The Baltimore Sun on Thursday. “We had an agreement, and a tweet started by Elon Musk shouldn’t cause House Republicans to shake in their boots. We cannot have government by tweet.” Rep. Kweisi Mfume, a Democrat, told The Baltimore Sun the spending package, called a continuing resolution, or CR, “was a good agreement. It still is.” The measure’s rejection, Mfume quipped, “is a good look at what President Musk and Vice President Trump are up to.” But Thursday afternoon, Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole, the House Appropriations Committee chair, told reporters a new agreement had been struck. No details were immediately available, and it was uncertain if Democrats had signed off or if enough rank and file Republicans would endorse the bill to secure passage. All of Maryland’s eight U.S. House members and two senators are Democrats except for GOP Rep. Andy Harris, whose district includes Harford County and the Eastern Shore. He did not respond to messages sent to his office on Thursday. The race to keep the government funded came as the offices of retiring lawmakers — such as longtime Baltimore County Democratic Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger — had already been cleared of furniture and equipment so new members could begin preparations to move in. The exit from his Rayburn House Office Building suite — which commands a view of the Capitol — left Ruppersberger, who has held public office for nearly 40 years, working remotely. “We are working around the clock to assist constituents with open casework but are unable to open any new ones without access to our House-issued technology,” said Ruppersberger spokesperson Jaime Lennon. “I’m still calling and emailing constituents.” Sen. Ben Cardin and Maryland Reps. John Sarbanes and David Trone, all Democrats, are also stepping down although Cardin and other senators were not required to pack up yet. Their terms end when the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3. Cardin, who has two weeks remaining in his 18-year Senate career, joked Thursday: “I’m glad to see it’s going to be a typical end to a legislative session.” He and other Maryland lawmakers have pushed for months to ensure a federal commitment to 100% Key Bridge funding. Federal highways are generally funded with 90% federal money and 10% from the affected state. But Marylanders say a 100% federal cost share is consistent with prior federal responses to such disasters. The new bridge cost is estimated at $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion. “I don’t think this is holding up an agreement,” Cardin told The Sun of the bridge funding. “I think we still have the support network.” A government shutdown would be “a devastating blow” to federal workers and others who depend on government services, the nation’s largest union of federal employees said Thursday. Such a hit could have an outsized effect in Maryland, where roughly 160,000 civilian federal workers would be at risk of furlough or working without pay around the holidays. “The prospect of a lengthy government shutdown is nothing short of a Christmas gift to America’s adversaries and a lump of coal in the stockings of the American people,” Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said in a statement. The union represents about 30,000 workers in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia. It represents thousands more who work elsewhere but are employed by agencies headquartered in Maryland, like the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. A shutdown, Mayor Brandon Scott said Thursday, would affect the Key Bridge “but will also impact the people who live in Baltimore who work for the federal government, and their families’ ability to get food. It will impact people’s ability to get services.” Maryland lawmakers also sought — unsuccessfully, the Senate aide added — to preserve language relating to the Commanders’ potential relocation. The Commanders and Washington elected officials have long expressed interest in the team returning to the RFK Stadium site where it played until moving to Landover in 1997. Because the RFK Stadium site is under federal control, legislation would be needed to allow the land to be developed with a new stadium and other projects. On Wednesday, Musk reposted a message falsely alleging — until it was edited — that the spending package contained billions of dollars for a new Commanders stadium. The measure does not include stadium funding. Maryland lawmakers also hope to preserve language granting its request to receive one of Washington’s two Air National Guard squadrons. The Senate aide that language was not contained in the latest agreement. Maryland has been trying to persuade the Air Force to preserve a flight mission in the state because the military is phasing out its A-10 “Warthog” attack aircraft, and no aircraft was designated to replace them. (Sam Janesch and Carson Swick contributed to this article.) ©2024 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Moody’s two-notch upgrade of Cyprus' credit rating to A3 from Baa2 opens the threshold to quality foreign investment that will generate new jobs, the president said Saturday. President Nikos Christodoulides said in a statement that the rating agency’s action reflects his government’s efforts at cementing Cyprus’ reputation as a credible investment destination through disciplined fiscal policy, banking sector stability and financial reform. Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said the upgrade marks the first time that Moody’s has elevated Cyprus back into the upper medium grade investment category since 2011, when a brewing financial crisis brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy that required a bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund two years later. Moody’s said its rationale for the ratings upgrade and stable outlook was grounded in Cyprus’ “prudent fiscal policy” that combined spending cuts with strong public revenue growth, resulting in fiscal surpluses over the last two years. The agency said smaller fiscal surpluses are expected to continue until 2028, while a drop in public debt “has been one of the most substantial globally,” dropping from 113.6% of gross domestic product in 2020 to 73% in 2023. According to Moody’s, debt is forecast to continue dropping to 50% in 2027, while the economy will grow by an average of 3.2% between 2024 and 2028, thanks to continued growth in sectors including information and communication technology, finance and insurance. Companies are opting to set up their headquarters in Cyprus, particularly from Ukraine, Israel and the Middle East. Foreign investment in energy, education, construction, health care and tourism will also buoy economic growth over the medium term. Moody’s said downside risks include cancellation of large investment project, a burgeoning public sector wage bill and spending pressures in health care.

The Al Nazha factory of Malabar Gold & Diamonds (MGD) in Qatar has been honoured with the QHSE (Quality, Health, Safety & Environment) Excellence Award 2023 by Manateq, the main developer and operator for the industrial zones, logistics, and warehousing parks in the country. The award was presented to Santhosh T V, regional head of Malabar Gold & Diamonds in Qatar, by Engineer Mohammed al-Emadi, CEO of Manateq Economic Zone, at a ceremony held at the Century Marina Hotel in Lusail. Also present at the event were Niyas A M, production manager at Al Nazha Factory, and other officials from Manateq. Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the world’s sixth-largest jewellery retailer with over 370 showrooms across 13 countries, has gained international acclaim for its exceptional craftsmanship, quality, and commitment to excellence. The brand operates 16 state-of-the-art manufacturing units in Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, India, and Bangladesh, equipped with advanced technology for jewellery production, design studios, development centres, and a dedicated R&D facility. Speaking on the occasion, Santhosh T V said: “Winning the QHSE Excellence Award by Manateq is a testament to our unwavering commitment to quality, innovation, and sustainability. At Malabar Gold & Diamonds, we have always prioritised maintaining world-class standards in our products and fostering a safe, healthy, and sustainable work environment for our artisans. This recognition reinforces our dedication to excellence and inspires us to continually raise the bar in the global jewellery industry.” As a socially responsible jewellery brand, Malabar Gold & Diamonds ensures that all its manufacturing facilities operate with 100% compliance with environmental regulations and uphold rigorous sustainability practices. The brand is committed to sourcing raw materials ethically, adhering to international standards set by organisations, such as the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the World Gold Council. Malabar Gold & Diamonds was established in 1993 and is the flagship company of Malabar Group, a leading diversified Indian business conglomerate. With an annual turnover of $6.2bn, the company currently ranks as the sixth largest jewellery retailer globally and has a strong retail network of over 370 showrooms spread across 13 countries in addition to multiple offices, design centres, wholesale units, and factories spread across India, the Middle East, Far East, the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia. The group, owned by more than 4,000 shareholders, has more than 22,000 professionals from over 26 countries working towards its continued success. Malabar Gold & Diamonds also features an online store www.malabargoldanddiamonds.com providing customers the opportunity to purchase their favorite jewellery at any time and on any day from the comfort of their homes. ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) has been the primary commitment of the group since its inception. The key ESG focus areas of Malabar Group are health, housing, hunger-free world, education, environment and women empowerment. Integrating the principles of responsibility and sustainability into its core business, Malabar Group periodically strengthens its ESG goals to remain a socially conscious and responsible organisation. The group contributes 5% of its profit to such initiatives in the same country of operation. Related Story MGD ramps up festive season offers Anil Kapoor launches MGD festive offersALLIANCEBERNSTEIN GLOBAL HIGH INCOME FUND, INC. SPECIAL DISTRIBUTION

With the award-winning ‘ Palestine ’, Joe Sacco invented his own genre of deep political reportage through comics. The American journalist and cartoonist, who is visiting India, talks to Amulya Gopalakrishnan about his craft, and the Israel-Palestine conflict he has covered for many decades In ‘Footnotes in Gaza ’, you reconstructed Israeli massacres of 1956, with reported memories, official reports and juxtaposed stories. And yet, it’s not ‘both-sides’ reporting, there is a truth that emerges. How would you describe your method? I’m interested in getting as close to the truth of events as possible, which usually doesn’t mean finding some middle ground between competing narratives. Giving both sides equal weight is being unfair to the narrative that “has more truth” than the other. A journalist must seek the truth itself and not fetishize balance. You have critiqued the pose of journalistic neutrality and objectivity. What, then, does fair journalism mean to you? I think it’s impossible to be truly impartial or objective in certain journalistic contexts. Certainly, a reporter comes into any story with his or her class or caste background fully intact. I’m a westerner, and I cannot automatically jettison my western prejudices when I’m outside my regional and cultural world. To me, fairness means recognising the way your own background can shape a story and trying to report honestly with that awareness in mind. What draws you to your subjects, to Gaza, to Sarajevo, to Iraq, to Appalachian coalfields, to Dalit villagers in UP’s Kushinagar? A lot of subjects interest me, but I always look for those that hit me in the gut, the sorts of issues that will still matter to me over the course of a number of years — the time it takes me to complete a book. How has the Palestinian cause been presented in the West and the rest of the world? How did you break away from that consensus? What has changed or not changed in the last four decades? This is a rather broad question. Palestinians had generally been treated by the eastern media, if they were treated at all, as terrorists with no cause but a hatred of Israel . I had imbibed this rubbish myself, but I began to examine the issue closely after the massacre of Palestinian refugees in Beirut in 1982 by a Lebanese Christian militia with the help of the Israeli army. Educating myself was not easy at a time when there was little to read in English from a Palestinian’s perspective. Over the decades, the narrative that attributes righteousness to the Israelis and terrorism to the Palestinians remains dominant in the mainstream media, but independent media have begun to present a much more nuanced narrative that challenges the propaganda. And now everyone who wants to can watch the real-time genocide of the Palestinians on social media. There is no more hiding from the truth, which doesn’t mean the propagandists won’t double down on their lies and govts won’t suppress those who present reality as it is. Even though the atrocities are being live streamed and reported in real time, there’s a sense of helplessness, as both the Democrats and Republicans largely agree on Israel policy. What can people do when their political leadership is locked into these positions? What has given me some hope — not for the near term, because the near term provides nothing but horror —is the attitude of younger people in the US. They see the enormous suffering of the Palestinians and they are shocked and disgusted. From a human point of view —even without knowing the context — they know something is seriously wrong with arming and funding and covering for a genocide. Many of these students have gone on to actually learn about the issue. So, there’s a new generation now that doesn’t look at Palestine and Israel in the same way. Whether they will have an effect on policy over time remains to be seen. The literary and artistic world has been divided over speaking out about Gaza, even as institutions that provide grants and prizes and day-jobs discourage this. What do you feel about this bind? What is your concept of responsibility and risk-taking? It’s easier for some people, like me, to take risks. People already know my position by the subject matter I choose. I’m already established, and I don’t have a boss. Not everyone is in a comparable position. Depending on where they live, many journalists face job loss, harassment, jail time, and physical injury for reporting honestly. There is clearly an effort by the dominant powers to intimidate journalists. It’s shameful, especially in societies that lay claim to democracy . What are your thoughts on the future of this conflict? Do you see it as a continuation of the logic of the 1948 Nakba, or a whole new unprecedented threshold? The logic of what is going on now can be seen in the 1948 Nakba and all the compounding catastrophes that have been inflicted on the Palestinians ever since. Annihilation was always a possible outcome, and it has been horrifying to see it being played out before our eyes.

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge on Thursday refused to throw out criminal charges accusing the former Uvalde schools police chief of putting children at risk during the slow response to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting, while a lawyer for his co-defendant said they want to move the upcoming trial out of the small town where the massacre occurred. At a court hearing in Uvalde, Judge Sid Harle rejected Pete Arredondo's claim that was he improperly charged and that only the shooter was responsible for putting the victims in danger. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the shooting on May 24, 2022. Harle also set an Oct. 20, 2025, trial date. An attorney for Arredondo's co-defendant, former Uvalde schools police officer Adrian Gonzales, said he will ask for the trial to be moved out of Uvalde because his client cannot get a fair trial there. Uvalde County is mostly rural with fewer than 25,000 residents about 85 miles (140 kilometers) west of San Antonio. “Everybody knows everybody,” in Uvalde, Gonzales attorney Nico LaHood said. Both former officers attended the hearing. Nearly 400 law enforcement agents rushed to the school but waited more than 70 minutes to confront and kill the gunman in a fourth-grade classroom. Arredondo and Gonzales are the only two officers facing charges — a fact that has raised complaints from some victims' families. Both men have pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of abandoning or endangering a child, each of which carry punishment of up to two years in jail. Gonzales has not asked the judge to dismiss his charges. A federal investigation of the shooting identified Arredondo as the incident commander in charge, although he has argued that state police should have set up a command post outside the school and taken control. Gonzales was among the first officers to arrive on the scene. He was accused of abandoning his training and not confronting the shooter, even after hearing gunshots as he stood in a hallway. Arredondo has said he was scapegoated for the halting police response. The indictment alleges he did not follow his active shooter training and made critical decisions that slowed the police response while the gunman was “hunting” his victims. It alleges that instead of confronting the gunman immediately, Arredondo caused delays by telling officers to evacuate a hallway to wait for a SWAT team, evacuating students from other areas of the building first, and trying to negotiate with the shooter while victims inside the classroom were wounded and dying. Arredondo’s attorneys say the danger that day was not caused by him, but by the shooter. They argued Arredondo was blamed for trying to save the lives of the other children in the building, and have warned that prosecuting him would open many future law enforcement actions to similar charges. “Arredondo did nothing to put those children in the path of a gunman,” said Arredondo attorney Matthew Hefti. Uvalde County prosecutors told the judge Arredondo acted recklessly. “The state has alleged he is absolutely aware of the danger of the children,” said assistant district attorney Bill Turner. Jesse Rizo, the uncle of 9-year-old Jacklyn Cazares who was killed in the shooting, was one of several family members of victims at the hearing. “To me, it’s hurtful and painful to hear Arredondo’s attorneys try to persuade the judge to get the charges dismissed,” Rizo said. He called the wait for a trial exhausting and questioned whether moving the trial would help the defense. “The longer it takes, the longer the agony,” Rizo said. “I think what’s happened in Uvalde ... you’ll probably get a better chance at conviction if it’s moved. To hold their own accountable is going to be very difficult.” The massacre at Robb Elementary was one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, and the law enforcement response has been widely condemned as a massive failure. Nearly 150 U.S. Border Patrol agents, 91 state police officers, as well and school and city police rushed to the campus. While terrified students and teachers called 911 from inside classrooms, dozens of officers stood in the hallway trying to figure out what to do. More than an hour later, a team of officers breached the classroom and killed the gunman. Within days of the shooting, the focus of the slow response turned on Arredondo, who was described by other responding agencies as the incident commander in charge. Multiple federal and state investigations have laid bare cascading problems in law enforcement training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned whether officers prioritized their own lives over those of children and teachers. Several victims or their families have filed multiple state and federal lawsuits. Associated Press reporter Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, contributed. Lathan 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.TRYNGOLZATM (olezarsen) approved in U.S. as first-ever treatment for adults living with familial chylomicronemia syndrome as an adjunct to diet

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be defense secretary, is joined by his wife Jennifer Rauchet as he speaks with reporters after meeting with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, speaks with reporters after meeting with Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be defense secretary, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be defense secretary, arrives for a meeting with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be defense secretary, is joined by his wife Jennifer Rauchet as he speaks with reporters after meeting with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) By MARY CLARE JALONICK and MATT BROWN WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Defense Department, said he had a “wonderful conversation” with Maine Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday as he pushed to win enough votes for confirmation. He said he will not back down after allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct. Related Articles National Politics | Donald Trump will ring the New York Stock Exchange bell. It’ll be a first for him. National Politics | FBI Director Christopher Wray says he intends to resign at the end of Biden’s term next month National Politics | The Trump and Biden teams insist they’re working hand in glove on foreign crises National Politics | ‘You don’t know what’s next.’ International students scramble ahead of Trump inauguration National Politics | Trump is threatening to raise tariffs again. Here’s how China plans to fight back Collins said after the hourlong meeting that she questioned Hegseth about the allegations amid reports of drinking and the revelation that he made a settlement payment after being accused of a sexual assault that he denies. She said she had a “good, substantive” discussion with Hegseth and “covered a wide range of topics,” including sexual assault in the military, Ukraine and NATO. But she said she would wait until a hearing, and notably a background check, to make a decision. “I asked virtually every question under the sun,” Collins told reporters as she left her office after the meeting. “I pressed him both on his position on military issues as well as the allegations against him, so I don’t think there was anything that we did not cover.” The meeting with Collins was closely watched as she is seen as more likely than most of her Republican Senate colleagues to vote against some of Trump’s Cabinet picks. She and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a fellow moderate Republican, did not shy from opposing Trump in his first term when they wanted to do so and sometimes supported President Joe Biden’s nominees for the judicial and executive branches. And Hegseth, an infantry combat veteran and former “Fox & Friends” weekend host, is working to gain as many votes as he can as some senators have expressed concerns about his personal history and lack of management experience. “I’m certainly not going to assume anything about where the senator stands,” Hegseth said as he left Collins’ office. “This is a process that we respect and appreciate. And we hope, in time, overall, when we get through that committee and to the floor that we can earn her support.” Hegseth met with Murkowski on Tuesday. He has also been meeting repeatedly with Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a military veteran who has said she is a survivor of sexual assault and has spent time in the Senate working on improving how attacks are reported and prosecuted within the ranks. On Monday, Ernst said after a meeting with him that he had committed to selecting a senior official to prioritize those goals. Republicans will have a 53-49 majority next year, meaning Trump cannot lose more than three votes on any of his nominees. It is so far unclear whether Hegseth will have enough support, but Trump has stepped up his pressure on senators in the last week. “Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!” Trump posted on his social media platform last week. 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