the White House 'Transition of Power

the White House 

'Transition of Power

Stier and Eagles head up the Center for Presidential Transition, and have kept in touch since an April meeting in New York with senior staff to the Trump, Clinton and Sanders campaigns who they say are at different stages in building their transition teams, each with “different levels of maturity” in their operations.

The Center for Presidential Transition was launched by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service in January of this year to ensure the smooth, safe and efficient transfer of power between one administration to the next.

Both said presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump already has a head start, after announcing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as his transition chairman on May 9.

“I think it’s great that Trump has announced his transition coordinator and they all ought to, starting now you’re still starting late,” Stier said. “It’s better than starting post convention ... but the size of task is so large that there’s no way you can do it too early.”

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In recent years, Stier and Eagles have even seen a shift in how campaigns approach their transition teams, some using them as a test run to show voters their effectiveness in governing.

“The non-traditional candidates are thinking of this as something that will be a political asset for them. Like smart planning and being able to execute early on day one. Good management, finding good people,” Eagles said. “I think longer term it will be viewed as a political asset, it won't be viewed as a liability historically

source  = http://abcnews.go.com/

About Donald Trump's White House Transition

Arguably the most essential task of a president-elect is the selection of a cabinet and White House staff intended to carry out his or her agenda.

Trump's administration will be responsible for filling roughly 4,000 political appointments, about 1,000 of which require confirmation by the Senate.

The nonprofit, nonpartisan Center for Presidential Transition (CPT), which has worked with both the Clinton and Trump transition teams, recommends that the president-elect select his or her top 50 cabinet appointees and key White House personnel, such as the chief of staff, before Thanksgiving. Ideally, Trump's transition team would send his "intent to nominate" appointments to the Senate before the end of December.   

Much of that will rely on Trump's relationship with House and Senate leadership, and Speaker Paul Ryan already made a point of calling Trump on election night to congratulate him on his "big night."

Trump's running mate Mike Pence has also maintained his close relationships with Republican lawmakers even through the most tumultuous days of Trump's campaign. It's a partnership that could prove valuable in the long term for Trump's agenda.

Democratic lawmakers, on the other hand, could still wield significant power in filibustering Trump's agenda and positioning themselves similarly to how GOP lawmakers have sought to counter what they have called an overreach of power by President Barack Obama. Conversations with congressional leadership in the coming months will offer insight into the tone the American public can expect from their interactions over the next four years, as well as a realistic picture of the agenda that Trump's administration can put into place.

Despite the president and first lady's widely expressed deep distaste for Trump and what his presidency would mean for the future of the country, President Obama has said that he would have no problem extending traditional courtesies between the outgoing president and president-elect. 

This would include an invitation to Trump and his family for a White House visit ahead of the inauguration. It would also mean first lady Michelle Obama taking Melania Trump on a tour of her future home while Obama meets privately with Trump.

The Obamas would also be expected to attend Trump's Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol, and observe him taking the oath of office

 

Source =  http://abcnews.go.com/

welcome president-elect Donald Trump to the White House

President Obama today said he is ready to welcome president-elect Donald Trump to the White House Thursday to ensure a "successful transition between our presidencies."

"We are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country," the president said in a statement in the Rose Garden. "The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy and over the next few months we are going to show that to the world."

The president extended an invitation to Trump to meet with him at the White House on Thursday during a phone call around 3:30 a.m.

With Vice President Joe Biden at his side, Obama acknowledged the disappointment many are experiencing across the country in the wake of Trump's victory, but said it's time for people to come together.

"Everybody is sad when their side loses an election, but the day after we have to remember that we're actually all on one team. This is an intramural scrimmage. We're not Democrats first. We're not Republicans first. We are Americans first," he said.

He continued: "This was a long and hard fought campaign. A lot of our fellow Americans are exultant today. A lot of Americans are less so but that's the nature of campaigns. That's the nature of democracy. It is hard and sometimes contentious and noisy. It's not always inspiring."

Obama said he told his team to "keep their heads up" and encouraged people to stay involved even if they are discouraged by the outcome of the election.

"Sometimes you lose an argument. Sometimes you lose an election," he said. "We try really hard to persuade people that we're right, and then people vote and then we lose. We learn from our mistakes, we do some reflection. We lick our wounds. We brush ourselves off. We get back in the arena. We go at it. We try even harder the next time."

Source =  http://abcnews.go.com/

Samsung recalls millions of washers more than a month after government warning

The washers can become dangerous when washing bulky items, such as comforters, which can cause the machines to vibrate violently or even burst apart. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission listed the recall Friday, saying that Samsung has received 733 reports of faulty machines. Nine resulted in injuries, including a "broken jaw, injured shoulder, and other impact or fall-related injuries," the agency said.

[Samsung’s ‘exploding’ washers raise serious questions about its quality control]

Customer complaints submitted to the government described washers that exploded and lodged debris in the walls, levitated or ripped sockets from their screws. The recall includes an estimated 2.8 million washers sold between March 2011 and November 2016. A full list of the affected models is online. Front-load washers are not included in the recall.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning about the washers in late September, while Samsung was dealing with the massive recall of its Galaxy Note 7, which was also prone to exploding, because of faulty batteries. After recalling its initial batch of smartphones and issuing replacements, the company had to issue a second stage of the recall when the replacement phones also began catching fire.

The close timing of the two faulty product issues raised some questions about whether consumers would start to doubt the general safety of Samsung products.

Users may also opt for a rebate toward the purchase of a new washer, which can be a Samsung product or another brand. The value of those rebates will be determined by the age of the washer and its model. Those who choose to get another Samsung washer will get up to an additional $150.

Until users make their decision, they are advised to wash bulky items only on the delicate or waterproof cycles. Samsung is also sending affected customers a "Home Label Kit" describing these safety measures, which can be attached to the washers.

Samsung is still cleaning up the last stages of its smartphone recall — which it estimated will cost as much as $5.3 billion. In an attempt to catch remaining holdouts who still have the faulty phone, the firm recently started discontinuing network service for the phones in some parts of the world, such as New Zealand. It has not announced similar plans in the United States.

What to expect from 'Overwatch' at the event

Friday afternoon is when BlizzCon's biggest event, the opening ceremony, kicks off. It will be livestreamed on Blizzard's site starting at 2 p.m. Eastern, and if any big Overwatch news is going to hit — including the highly anticipated reveal of a new character called Sombra — that's where it will be.

Will Sombra be revealed at BlizzCon?

The biggest question on the minds of Overwatch players is whether Blizzard will finally unveil Sombra, the character that fans have been hunting for through an alternate reality game that has them solving riddles and searching for clues in various corners of the internet.

In recent weeks, the Sombra ARG has ramped up considerably in a new phase of the ARG that involved Sombra disrupting the debut of LumériCo's new nuclear power plant in Dorado. 

That particular chapter seems to have come to a close, so it seems like a good time for Blizzard to finally release her on the public test region before she enters the live version of the game.