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AI: Voice cloning tech emerges in Sudan civil war

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Omar al-Bashir governed Sudan for three decades but hasn't been seen since the war started

A campaign using artificial intelligence to impersonate Omar al-Bashir, the former leader of Sudan, has received hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok, adding online confusion to a country torn apart by civil war.

An anonymous account has been posting what it says are “leaked recordings” of the ex-president since late August. The channel has posted dozens of clips – but the voice is fake.

Bashir, who has been accused of organising war crimes and was toppled by the military in 2019, hasn’t been seen in public for a year and is believed to be seriously ill. He denies the war crimes accusations.

The mystery surrounding his whereabouts adds a layer of uncertainty to a country in crisis after fighting broke out in April between the military, currently in charge, and the rival Rapid Support Forces militia group.

Campaigns like this are significant as they show how new tools can distribute fake content quickly and cheaply through social media, experts say.

“It is the democratisation of access to sophisticated audio and video manipulation technology that has me most worried,” says Hany Farid, who researches digital forensics at the University of California, Berkeley, in the US.

“Sophisticated actors have been able to distort reality for decades, but now the average person with little to no technical expertise can quickly and easily create fake content.”

Source: bbc.com

McCarthy behind move to kick Pelosi out of her office, sources say – so he can move into it

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Kevin McCarthy

Kevin McCarthy was behind interim Speaker Patrick McHenry’s move to kick former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer out of their office spaces, two Republican sources told CNN.

GOP Rep. Garret Graves told reporters on Wednesday that McCarthy is getting the office that McHenry has ordered her to vacate.

“Look the deal is that the office that Pelosi is in right now is the office of the preceding speaker. Speaker Pelosi and other Democrats determined that they wanted a new … speaker, and it’s Kevin McCarthy. So, he’s getting the office,” he said.

Sources close to Pelosi and Hoyer say it was retaliation for Democrats siding against McCarthy in voting to vacate the speaker’s chair Tuesday. The unofficial offices are located near the House floor.

McCarthy and McHenry’s did not respond to requests for comment.

Graves then put the blame on Democrats for voting McCarthy out of office.

“I don’t know what they’re complaining about,” Graves said. “They created this situation.”

Pelosi on Tuesday said McHenry has ordered her to vacate her office in the Capitol building. She does maintain her regular office in the Longworth House office building.

Source: cnn.com

Koforidua Festival 2023 launched

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ISAAC AKWETEY-OKUNOR
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Hon. Charles Adu, CEO of Royal Planners and Event management

As part of activities to attract and promote tourism and make the Eastern Region, most especially Koforidua, the regional capital, a tourist destination, Royal Planners and Event Management, in collaboration with the New Juaben South Municipality, has launched an event dubbed ‘Koforidua Festival’ with the phrase ‘Kofest’.

The maiden 2023 Kofest is among other issues to promote and increase community and artist visibility, boost local economy, bring communities together and foster local pride, help people to socialise, showcase talents, skills, and boost creativity.

Kofest 2023, which is under the slogan ‘Rock and Roll’, is from Thursday November 30 to Sunday December 3, 2023, and expected to be a packed funfair interlace with various programmes, including car wash and cultural activities.

Other activities are exhibition of artworks, health walk, blood donation and health screening exercise, snooker championship, play station championship, and would be climaxed with the biggest pool party with performances from Shatta Wale, Wendy Shay, Amrado, Lasmid, Mr. Drew, Joe B, Kofi Moole, Dope Nation, and many others.

The rich culture and traditions which are very synonymous to the region would be demonstrated through a beauty pageant dubbed Miss Kofest Beauty Pageant and Legends.

Miss Kofest 2023 is an evolution of beauty and the life changing experience which allows the Ghanaian woman the platform to impact on society positively in her own way, with support from the Ministries of Education and Tourism Art and Culture.

The overall winner of the pageant would be appointed ambassador to promote education and tourism on topics such peer pressure and teenage pregnancy to the young ones at the second cycle schools in the region.

Speaking at the launch, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Royal Planners and Event Management, Charles Adu, hinted that Kofest 2023 seeks to build a museum where Ghanaians could showcase artwork and historical items.

The CEO, who doubles as the Assembly Member for Okrase, continued that the celebration would further provide space where the community could come together and learn about different cultures and to experience art.

He further stated that, in demonstrating a sense of community engagement and social responsibility, a public blood donation exercise would be organised during the event to help save the lives of others and inject a sense of social responsibility among the youth.

Mr. Charles Adu has, therefore, called on Koforidua residents to come out in their numbers to join the celebration.

Nazi card proves Dutch Prince Bernhard joined Hitler’s party

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The Dutch royal house has published Prince Bernhard's original NSDAP membership card

The Dutch government has confirmed the authenticity of a Nazi party card held by Prince Bernhard, prince consort for decades after World War Two.

A former head of the palace archives, Flip Maarschalkerweerd, said he found the card while going through the prince’s things after his death.

Bernhard, a German aristocrat, repeatedly denied being a member of Adolf Hitler’s NSDAP political party.

However, historians gave little credence to his denials.

In 1996, a researcher at the Dutch institute for war studies (Niod) said he had found a copy of the card in a US university archive.

Gerard Aalders, who was widely criticised at the time for his revelation, said on social media that “Prince Bernhard lied to the bitter end about his Nazi past”.

Bernhard von Lippe-Biesterfeld had married Dutch Princess Juliana in 1937 and escorted the Dutch royal family in exile when war broke out in 1940.

But he was never trusted by British security services, despite taking part in a Dutch royal broadcast via the BBC in 1943 and being put in charge of the unified Dutch resistance forces in 1944. He was even decorated for his role as a wartime RAF pilot.

When Juliana became queen in 1948, Bernhard became prince consort.

Bernhard went to his grave swearing he had never been a paid-up member of Hitler’s party. “I can declare with my hand on the bible: I was never a Nazi,” he said in an interview published (in Dutch) after his death in 2004.

Source: bbc.com

Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation to distribute 100 laptops to Girls-in-ICT

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ISAAC AKWETEY-OKUNOR
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Mr. Isaac Newton of the ministry of communications making a point during the workshop

The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation has planned to distribute 100 laptops to Girls-in- Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Eastern Region.

The Ministry introduced the Girls-in-ICT initiative in 2012 as part of measures to bridge the gender digital gap existing within the ICT space, as well as to empower young girls and uplift their level of education through ICT.

Speaking to the media after the opening ceremony of a Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop held at the Conference Hall of the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council (ERCC) office, the Programs Officer at the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, Mr. Isaac Newton, said the initiative was introduced to help improve the knowledge of students on the new digitalisation economy.

Cross-section of trainers at the workshop

According to him, the Ministry had targeted to train one thousand students in the Eastern Region in an effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of Equal Access to Education (SDG 4) and Gender Equity (SDG 5).

He stated that the Ministry, through the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC), was constructing modern ICT labs for schools in the country.

Mr. Isaac Newton added that the Ministry was committed to spreading and advancing the knowledge of ICT among young girls at upper primary and Junior High Schools (JHS) in deprived areas of the country.

He disclosed that, even though the initiative was adopted in 2012, the current Minister and his charges had extended the programme in terms of contents and figures.

Mr. Newton explained that the total number of girls trained used to be within a range of 600, but the current Minister had improved it to 1,000 per region within three times in a year, meaning 3,000 girls and 300 teachers were trained in a year.

The trainers’ are teachers with ICT, science, and mathematics backgrounds, who were carefully selected from the various schools across the region, who train and onward train these girls for a period of three weeks.

For the purpose of this training, the region, which is made up of 33 districts, was divided into three manageable districts in batches with approximately 333 girls per each district, who will start their training from November 9 to the end of the month.

The beneficiary young girls, who are from upper primary and Junior High Schools, were selected by their schools through the help of the Ghana Education Service.

The girls will be taking through fundamental computer skills, web development, animation and game development, and introduction to coding, and those who demonstrate strong desire to develop any app or programme would get the support of the Ministry in commercialising these programmes.

The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr. Seth Kwame Acheampong, in his speech, said that the initiative was an opportunity for girls to be exposed to ICT at an early stage and enable them gain experience with the basics of computers.

He said that the initiative would help guide young girls to choose courses and subjects relating to their career development in the future.

Mr. Seth Acheampong extolled the teachers who had accepted the call to be worthy ambassadors of the girls-in-ICT program to acquire the requisite knowledge and skills and extend it to girls at the various schools.

“The girls cannot gain these experiences on their own without the guidance and directions of their own ICT teachers who they are familiar with and can confide in when it comes to the impartation of knowledge, skills and abilities,” said Seth Acheampong.

He continued that this generation is governed by, among other things, the internet and there is a need to give them the necessary skills and opportunities to create wealth and secure their future.

Mr. Seth Acheampong averred that ICT has changed how people live and it has become a tool for economic, interpersonal, societal transactions and interactions.

“It is important that we understand the rudiments of ICT so that it can be used to our advantage now and in the future,” he added.

On her part, the Project Manager at Kofi Anan Center of Excellence in ICT, Madam Priscilla Hope, paid glowing tribute to the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation for the initiative.

According to her, technology had become the order of the day, reducing the world to a global village through the use of ICT, but studies had shown that young girls lacked relative knowledge in ICT, hence, the initiative to bridge that gap and whip up the interest of these young girls.

She argued that “when you get to the field we have about 90 percent of men with just 10 percent making up for women who have interest in ICT hence the essence of the project to inspire the girls at various schools in the country.”

Biden approves new section of border wall as Mexico crossings rise

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Border wall

US President Joe Biden’s administration is to build a section of border wall in southern Texas in an effort to stop rising levels of immigration.

Around 20 miles (32km) will be built in Starr County along its border with Mexico, where officials report high numbers of crossings.

Building a border wall was a signature policy of Donald Trump as president and fiercely opposed by Democrats.

In 2020, Mr Biden promised he would not build another foot of wall if elected.

His administration passed a proclamation soon after taking office that said building a wall across the southern border “is not a serious policy solution”.

In a statement to Associated News on Wednesday night, the US Customs and Border Protection defended the latest move, saying it was using funds already allocated for a border barrier.

“Congress appropriated fiscal year 2019 funds for the construction of border barrier in the Rio Grande Valley, and DHS is required to use those funds for their appropriated purpose,” the statement said.

The rising number of illegal border crossings has made the issue a vulnerable one for the president.

More than 245,000 crossings have been made this year in the Rio Grande Valley area alone, government data shows, and September is expected to be a record month.

Several US cities say they are feeling the strain of the influx.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams predicted the cost of housing the more than 100,000 new arrivals since last year will rise to $12bn over the next three years.

Mr Adams is travelling to Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador this week to discourage migrants from setting out. “We are at capacity,” he said on Tuesday.

Source: bbc.com

The 5 Best Watermelon Seed Benefits

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Melon seeds

Watermelon seeds can provide beneficial nutrients, including magnesium and iron, and eating them roasted can be a healthful snack.

You might be accustomed to spitting them out as you eat — seed spitting contest, anyone? Some people just opt for seedless. But the nutritional value of watermelon seeds may convince you otherwise.

Watermelon seeds are low in calories and are nutrient dense. When roasted, they’re crispy and can easily take the place of other unhealthy snack options.

  1. Low calorie

One ounce of watermelon seed kernels contains approximately 158 calories. That’s not much lower than an ounce of Lay’s Potato Chips (160 calories), but let’s take a look at what constitutes an ounce.

A large handful of watermelon seeds weighs about 4 grams and contains about just 23 calories. Far less than a bag of potato chips!

  1. Magnesium

One of several minerals found in watermelon seeds is magnesium. In a 4-gram serving, you’ll get 21 mg of magnesium, which is 5 percent of the daily value.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends adults get 420 mg of this mineral daily. Magnesium is essential for many of the body’s metabolic functions. It’s also required to maintain nerve and muscle function, as well as immune, heart, and bone health.

  1. Iron

A handful of watermelon seeds contains about 0.29 mg of iron, or about 1.6 percent of the daily value. It might not seem like much, but the NIH only recommends adults get 18 mg in their day.

Iron is an important component of hemoglobin — carrying oxygen through the body. It also helps your body convert calories into energy.

However, watermelon seeds contain phytate, which decreases the absorption of iron and reduces their nutritional value.

  1. “Good” fats

Watermelon seeds also provide a good source of both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids — one large handful (4 grams) provides 0.3 and 1.1 grams, respectively.

According to the American Heart Association, these fats are useful in protecting against heart attack and stroke, and lowering levels of “bad” cholesterol in the blood.

  1. Zinc

Watermelon seeds are also good source of zinc. They provide about 26 percent of the daily value in one ounce, or 4 percent DV in one large handful (4 grams).

Zinc is an important nutrient, essential to the immune system. It’s also necessary for:

the body’s digestive and nervous systems

cell regrowth and division

your senses of taste and smell

However, just like with iron, phytates reduce the absorption of zinc.

Source: www.healthline.com

 

Suncity Radio morning show team assists three visually impaired siblings

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FRANCIS OWUSU-ANSAH
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Madam Pomaa(r) receiving the donation for the siblings

The host of Suncity Morning Drive on Sunyani based Suncity Radio, Mark Abisah, has appealed to the public to desist from any form of stigmatisation against people living with disability.

He said disability is part of humans, adding that anyone may temporarily or permanently experience some form of disability at some point in life.

“Let’s all be honest, as humans we may at a point in time of our lives suffer some form of temporal or permanent disability, so we need to shun stigmatising people living with disability”, he said.

The radio host made the appeal when the radio station presented GH¢2,600 to three visually impaired siblings in Sunyani for their upkeep and medical bills.

The morning show crew of Suncity Radio mobilized the amount from listeners.

This followed an interview with the mother of the siblings, Naomi Pomaa, who said her children – Sandra Aniniwaa, 24; Gloria Pomaa Yeboah, 17 and Lamford Acheampong Yeboah, 8 – lost their sight mysteriously after birth.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cliffmelvyn Company Limited, Mr. Prince Osei Kwadwo, and the CEO of Sikapa Farms, Mr. Fred Osei Asante, on behalf of the Morning Show team, presented the amount to Mrs. Pomaa during the morning show.

Mr. Abisah called on individuals, groups, NGOs and faith-based organisations to constantly assist the needy to survive.

“I appeal to individuals, groups, NGOs and faith-based organisations to put in place measures to constantly assist the needy in the society”, he said. He also called on members of the public willing to support the children to contact Suncity Radio in Sunyani.

Mother of the siblings, Naomi Pomaa, said “None of them was born blind but as they grew up, they lost their sight under strange circumstances and it’s a serious nightmare to us as their parents and it’s really devastating and traumatizing,” she told the radio station.

According to her, “The saddest development is that they have been diagnosed with diabetes, and this has made their conditions worse. Now when you talk to them, they can’t even hear properly.”

Meanwhile, the Bono Regional Director of the Department of Children, Mr. George Yaw Ankamah, promised to support the three siblings with free diabetes medication.

THANK YOU

Madam Pomaa thanked the management of Suncity Radio, the Suncity morning show team and all donors for their kind gesture, saying: “I have followed Suncity Radio for a long time and I’m not surprised that the station has been able to raise money to support me, I know of the good things they are doing to help people in need. I thank God and the station and all those who contributed. I ask that you remember us in your prayers.”

THE HABIT OF ENJOYING ADVERSITY

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Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee, Executive Director, Salt and Light Ministries

“……so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” – 2 Corinthians 4:10

 

INTRODUCTION

We have to develop godly habits to express what God’s grace has done in us.  It is not just a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved so that “the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”  And it is adversity that makes us exhibit His life in our mortal flesh.  The only thing that will enable us to enjoy adversity is the acute sense of eagerness of allowing the life of the life of the Son of God to evidence itself in us.  No matter how difficult something maybe, we must say, “Lord, I am delighted to obey You in this.”

From our first day on earth until our last, we face different levels of adversity.  Adversity may be sickness, a property loss, or the loss of a family member.  It may be a lost career promotion or a business setback.  How we handle these adversities defines how we achieve greatness in our lives.

If God puts us into adversity, He is adequately sufficient to “supply all our needs” (Philippians 4:19).

Each of us will face trials and tests, and as in this simplistic example, it is how we react to those difficulties that will determine our success and happiness.

  1. The Apostle Paul taught an interesting lesson when the Saints in Rome were to face some of the most violent persecutions of any Christian era. Paul reminded the Saints that “……… in all things God works for the good of those who love Him” – Romans 8:28. Our Heavenly Father, who loves us completely and perfectly, permits us to have experiences that will allow us to develop the traits and attributes we need to become more and more Christlike. As we understand this doctrine, we gain greater assurance of our Father’s love. We may never know in this life why we face what we do, but we can feel confident that we can grow from the experience.

 

  1. Now, I realize that it is much easier to look back when a trial is over and see what we have learned from our experience, but the challenge is to gain that eternal perspective while we are going through our tests. To some, our trials may not seem great, but to each of us who are passing through these experiences, the trials are real and require us to humble ourselves before God and learn from Him.

 

  1. Sometimes we pass through pain and sorrow that we might grow and be prepared for potential trials in the future. This question goes to us mothers: “Would we ever do something that would cause pain and bring tears to our children when they have done nothing wrong?”Of course we would! When mothers take young children to the doctor to receive immunizations, almost every child leaves the doctor’s office in tears. Why do you do that? Because you know that a small amount of pain now will protect them from possible pain and suffering in the future. Our Father in Heaven knows the end from the beginning. We need to follow the example of the Saviour and trust in Him.

 

  1. When we are faced with trials, we must learn to not complain or murmur. We must always attempt to correct the problem and overcome the trial, but instead of asking “Why me?” or “What did I do to deserve this?” maybe the question should be “What am I to do? What can I learn from this experience? What am I to change?”

 

 

  1. When we face challenges, we must seek greater help from God. Even the Saviour of us all found a need to pray “more earnestly” as He was in the Garden of Gethsemane. We can learn to gain great faith if we do this. We must remember that often the answers from our Heavenly Father do not remove the trial from us, but instead He helps strengthen us as we pass through the experience. In our trials, let us not become bitter or uncommitted, but let us follow the Saviour’s example of becoming more earnest, more sincere, and more faithful.

 

  1. We must also learn to serve and think of others even in our times of trial. Christwas the epitome of service. His life was filled with examples of helping and serving others, and His greatest gift of all was what He did for us. We must repent and then follow His example of service. When we serve others, we forget our own problems, and by working to relieve the pain or discomfort of others, we strengthen ourselves.

 

  1. There is a tendency for the natural man to pass blame to someone else so as not to be accountable for his or her own actions. Sometimes we like to say, “If they had not done this, then I would not have reacted the way I did.” The Saviour looked at those who had nailed Him to the cross and pled with His Father in Heaven to “forgive them; for they know not what they do” – Luke 23:34.Can we not be more forgiving?

As we pass through the trials of life, let us keep an eternal perspective, let us not complain, let us become even more prayerful, let us serve others, and let us forgive one another. As we do this, “all things [will] work together for good to [us] that love God – Romans 8:28”. I bear a solemn and certain witness that our Father loves us and He sent His Son to show and pave the way for us. He suffered, He died, and He resurrected that we might live, and He desires that we “might have joy,” even in our trials of life.

Here are a few things to ponder over as we journey through adversity to greatness:

Many times we face adversities and say, “if only I can make it through this.”  It may be a sickness, loss of a loved one, job loss, etc.  By remaining focused, determined, and concentrating on the positive, many times we can become stronger.

Adversity develops unknown talents.  In this way, once the door of adversity closes one opportunity to us, the door of greatness often opens another.  When experiencing adversity, let’s ask ourselves, “what positive thing can come out of this?”  When adversitycomes, don’t avoid it; but attack it with all our resources.  The way we manage adversity will define who we are and make us ready for future opportunities because adversity can be our seed of greatness.

Finally, let’s keep our soul properly conditioned to manifest the life of the Son of God.  Never live on our memories of past experiences, but let the Word of God always be living and active in us.

Please remember to join us on Sunny 88.7 Fm – Tuesdays 5:30am; Asempa 94.7 FM – Sundays 5:30am and Unique 95.7 Fm – Saturdays 7:30pm for our Radio Bible.  We also invite you to join us every Sunday at 3:30pm on Sunny 88.7 Fm for a programme on Hymns and their Stories.  You will enjoy it!

 

Feature: A Deputy, an Insider or Trump? The race for US House Speaker

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Donald Trump, Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise

Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise have become the first two Republicans to join the race to replace Kevin McCarthy, who was voted out as Speaker in an unprecedented move on Tuesday.

Other Republicans are also rumoured to be mounting a bid, and some have even floated Donald Trump as an option.

The Speaker can technically be anyone in the US.

Republicans plan to hold a speaker candidate forum next Tuesday, followed by a possible vote the next day.

Jim Jordan

Once a thorn in his party’s side, Mr Jordan is now one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress.

The firebrand from Ohio, currently serving his ninth term, is chairman of the influential House Judiciary Committee and a key member of the House Oversight Committee.

He has used that perch to lead the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden as well as other aggressive investigations of the administration.

But Mr Jordan, 59, was not always inside the inner sanctum in Washington.

The staunch conservative has angered Republicans in the past with his inclination for bomb-throwing rhetoric and divisive tactics.

He was founding chairman in 2015 of the House Freedom Caucus, a disruptive hard-line group one former Republican Speaker labelled “legislative terrorists”.

In the Trump years, however, Mr Jordan gained visibility within the Republican voter base as one of the then-president’s most avid defenders.

He previously ran for Speaker in 2018 and was also nominated earlier this year, but he vigorously defended Mr McCarthy both in January and on Tuesday.

In a letter formally requesting the support of colleagues on Wednesday, Mr Jordan wrote: “We are at a critical crossroad in our nation’s history.”

“We can focus on the changes that improve the country and unite us in offering real solutions. But no matter what we do, we must do it together as a conference.”

His bid has already received the backing of several prominent conservatives, with Matt Gaetz – the rebel who led the coup against Mr McCarthy – writing: “My mentor Jim Jordan would be great!”

But Mr Jordan’s past antics could see him struggle for the support of centrist Republicans.

And if he needs Democratic support, he will likely receive none. The party deplores his pro-Trump and anti-Biden stances, and he has already indicated he is “against” more US aid to Ukraine.

Steve Scalise

Mr Scalise, 57, has served as Mr McCarthy’s No. 2 since 2019 and his aspirations for the top job have long been an open secret in Washington.

Representing a suburban Louisiana district in the House since 2008, he is best known for surviving an assassination attempt in June 2017.

He was critically wounded by a bullet to the hip from an anti-Trump extremist who opened fire on Republican lawmakers practising for the annual congressional baseball charity match.

Mr Scalise returned to a standing ovation in Congress after more than three months of rehabilitation. He remains a strong proponent of gun rights.

In August, Mr Scalise said he had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare but treatable form of blood cancer.

“The task before us is not without its challenges, but I believe in this Conference and our ability to come together and achieve great things,” he said in a letter announcing his bid on Wednesday.

As a member of leadership, Mr Scalise has a more sophisticated political operation than Mr Jordan but faces similar struggles in winning support.

Kevin Hern

Kevin Hern, 61, is not as well-known as Mr Jordan or Mr Scalise but is said to be weighing a run for Speaker.

Mr Hern is a relative newcomer, first elected to the House in 2018 from Oklahoma.

He chairs the Republican Study Committee, a group with significant sway in promoting a conservative law-making agenda.

Born on an Air Force Base in Missouri, Mr Hern is a former aerospace engineer and McDonald’s franchisee, who owned 24 of the fast food chain’s restaurants in Oklahoma, according to his website.

Hard-liners in the House Freedom Caucus have reportedly pushed him to run for a leadership post, but his path to the 218 votes he needs to become Speaker remains unclear.

Donald Trump?

Holding the Speaker’s gavel instantly makes that person one of the most powerful people in Washington and second in the presidential line of succession.

But the US Constitution says little about who can fill the post, other than that the House “shall chuse [sic] their Speaker”.

Historians and legal experts broadly argue America’s founders likely assumed the person for the job would be drawn from among elected members.

But that hasn’t stopped several other names from coming up in races for Speaker.

In 2015, President Barack Obama joked with an audience that “Kanye [West] is thinking about running for Speaker of the House. It couldn’t get any stranger”.

Mr Trump’s name has come up in this Republican race for Speaker, with the backing of far-right Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and others.

Speaking on Wednesday morning outside the New York court where he is facing a $250m civil fraud trial, the ex-president said “a lot of people” had been calling him about it.

But he appeared to turn down the offer, saying he was focused on winning the presidency next year.

Fantasy booking aside, Mr Trump has too many enemies in the Capitol and almost certainly could not win the votes to become Speaker.

Other potential successors

Following the vote to oust Mr McCarthy on Tuesday, Patrick McHenry was appointed to hold the gavel in the interim.

Mr McHenry, 47, has represented North Carolina in Congress since 2005 and currently chairs the House Financial Services Committee.

The bowtie-wearing lawmaker is a top loyalist to Mr McCarthy and a deal-maker who played a key negotiating role during House Republicans’ debt ceiling showdown with the White House.

Two members of Republican leadership – Tom Emmer and Elise Stefanik – have said they are not running for Speaker.

But as the third and fourth-highest ranking House members in their party, either could emerge as a contender if the contest is prolonged.

However, there is very real discontent among the House Republican conference at present, with many lawmakers demanding reforms.

Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez has said he and other moderates will not vote for any Speaker who does not commit to a higher threshold for ousting them from power.

Under Mr McCarthy, Mr Gaetz alone was able to challenge and – with Democrats’ help – oust him as Speaker.

“We cannot continue to be governed this way,” Mr Gimenez told CNN on Tuesday.

By Sam Cabral

Source: bbc.com

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