Indian Americans Vivek Murthy, Arun Majumdar among likely in Joe Biden Cabinet

Agencies
November 18, 2020

Washington, Nov 18: Two eminent India-Americans, including former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, are among the potential Cabinet picks in the next Biden-Harris Administration, according to media reports.

Murthy, who currently is the top Indian-American advisor to President-elect Joe Biden on Covid-19, is a potential pick for the post of Secretary of Health and Human Services and Stanford University Professor Arun Majumdar for the post of Secretary of Energy, The Washington Post and Politico said in their reports on Tuesday that mentions a list of potential picks for various Cabinet-level positions in the Biden administration.

Murthy, 43, is currently one of the co-chairs of the Covid-19 advisory board of the transition. He has been a close associate of Biden on coronavirus issues.

Similarly, Majumdar, a professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford who served as the first director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, has been a top advisor to Biden on energy related issues, the reports said.

“The office, which is an incubator for nascent energy technologies, has enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress, which may bode well for his chances of being confirmed by the Senate,” reported The Washington Post.

Among other potential names for energy secretary are Ernest Moniz, former secretary of energy; Dan Reicher, Stanford University scholar and Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, former deputy secretary of energy.

For replacing Alex Azar as Secretary of Health and Human Services, two other potential names are Mandy Cohen, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico governor.

Murthy was one of the public health experts who briefed Biden frequently about the pandemic during the campaign, the reports said.

Murthy became the 19th US Surgeon General at the end of 2014, slightly more than a year after his nomination by President Barack Obama.

His nomination had been held up in the Senate for just over a year, largely because of his view that gun violence poses a public health threat.

During his tenure, he issued a landmark report on drug and alcohol addiction, calling it “a moral test for America” and placing it among reports his predecessors had produced to draw attention to other major public health threats, such as tobacco use, AIDS, the need for physical activity.

Since leaving the government, he has written and spoken out about loneliness.

He was a vice admiral in the US Public Health Service’s commissioned corps and is trained in internal medicine.

Majumdar is the Jay Precourt Provostial Chair Professor at Stanford University, a faculty member of the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering (by courtesy) and co-Director of the Precourt Institute for Energy, which integrates and coordinates research and education activities across all seven Schools and the Hoover Institution at Stanford.

He is also a faculty in Department of Photon Science at SLAC.

In October 2009, Majumdar was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate to become the Founding Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E), where he served till June 2012 and helped ARPA-E become a model of excellence and innovation for the government with bipartisan support from Congress and other stakeholders.

After leaving Washington, DC and before joining Stanford, Majumdar was the Vice President for Energy at Google, where he created several energy technology initiatives, especially at the intersection of data, computing and electricity grid.

President-elect Joe Biden has said that his Cabinet would be the most diverse ever.  

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News Network
November 6,2024

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On the verge of a landslide win in the U.S. election, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivered a powerful victory speech, calling it a "magnificent victory for the American people." Reflecting on the July 13 assassination attempt, Trump said, "God spared my life for a reason," underscoring his belief that his leadership has a higher purpose.

The 78-year-old is currently projected to secure 267 electoral votes, just three shy of the pivotal 270. His opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, trails with 224 votes. Trump hailed his campaign as the "greatest political movement of all time," vowing, "We are going to help our country heal, fix our borders, and made history for a reason tonight. I will fight for you and your family with every breath in my body."

The Democrats face a formidable Republican lead, with Trump’s team predicting an ultimate tally of 315 electoral votes. A pivotal element in Trump's success was a sweeping takeover in key battleground states. From a Democratic lead of 6-1 in these areas during the 2020 elections, the scales shifted to a 7-0 advantage for Trump, with decisive wins in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina and leads in Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Nevada.

The significance of this Republican victory deepens as the party also takes control of the Senate and holds a commanding lead in the House of Representatives race.

Trump expressed deep gratitude to his supporters, his running mate JD Vance, wife Melanie, and his children for standing by him throughout the challenging campaign. He also extended a special thanks to Tesla CEO and tech mogul Elon Musk, a prominent Trump supporter.

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News Network
November 1,2024

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Bengaluru, Nov 1: Hardline BJP leader and Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "Nationalise Waqf Assets", alleging Waqf board of "blatant violation" in claiming of the lands of Farmers, temples and mutts.

Taking to his social media, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal posted on X, saying "I have written a letter to the hon'ble PM Shri Narendra Modi ji to Nationalize the Waqf Assets in view of the arbitrary, blatant violation in claiming of the lands of Farmers, Landowners, Temples, Trusts and Mutts across the country by the Waqf board. All the citizens of the country have equal rights on the land. If the motive of Waqf is welfare and social service, this has to be done without bias and religious discrimination as India is a secular nation."

Additionally, Vijayapura MLA also attached the letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his post.

Earlier, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya had accused the Waqf Board of encroaching on thousands of acres of farmers' lands with the support of the Karnataka government.

Surya stated, "There have been multiple press conferences and videos in the public domain where the Minister himself has admitted that these Waqf adalats are being conducted under the Chief Minister's instructions. This is a grave matter, where thousands of acres of farmers' lands are being encroached upon by the Waqf Board with the active support and collusion of the State Government."

He mentioned that, in recent days, farmers from various districts across Karnataka have reported that, without prior notice, ownership of their lands has been abruptly transferred to the Waqf Board.

Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge criticised BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, claiming he has done nothing for Bengaluru. Kharge's remarks came in response to the BJP MP's accusations regarding Waqf Board land encroachment.

The Congress leader assured that the Karnataka government is committed to protecting farmers' properties.

Kharge further questioned the BJP's record on protecting temples during its previous government, stating that the Karnataka government is committed to safeguarding temples and common people's properties.

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News Network
November 7,2024

Udupi, Nov 7: In a tragic turn of events, a young woman, Prasanna, aged 29, allegedly died by suicide on Wednesday, struggling to cope with the demands of work and motherhood after the birth of her daughter, according to police reports.

Prasanna had married on December 2, 2022, and was the mother of a 10-month-old baby girl. Her husband works in Bengaluru, while she lived with her in-laws, who, according to her family, treated her kindly.

In a complaint, Prasanna's mother revealed that her daughter often called her, expressing deep concerns over her readiness for motherhood. Despite receiving supportive care from her family, Prasanna felt unprepared and overwhelmed by the balance of work and home life that early motherhood required.

Her family shared that she had been undergoing treatment, but between 10 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, she allegedly took her own life at her husband’s residence. The Karkala Rural Police Station has registered a case and is conducting further investigations.

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