New Hampshire

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named Karoline Leavitt, his campaign press secretary, as his White House press secretary.

The 27-year-old Leavitt, currently Trump's transition spokesman, could be the youngest White House press secretary in history. Previously, this award went to Ronald Ziegler, who was 29 years old when he took the position in Richard Nixon's administration in 1969.

“Karoline Leavitt did a phenomenal job as national press secretary on my historic campaign, and I am pleased to announce that she will serve as White House press secretary,” Trump said in an announcement. “Karoline is smart, tough and has proven to be an extremely effective communicator. I have every confidence that she will excel at the podium and help convey our message to the American people as we make America great again.”

The White House press secretary typically serves as the general public face of the administration and has historically held every day briefings for the press corps.

Trump broke these norms in his first term, preferring to function his own chief spokesman. During his term as president from 2017 to 2021, Trump had 4 press secretaries but often preferred to interact directly with the general public, through his rallies, social media posts and his own briefings.

At a press conference last August, Trump was asked whether he would hold regular press conferences in his recent administration. He told reporters: “I'm going to give you full access and you're going to get a lot of press conferences and you're going to, uh, from me.”

When it got here to a press secretary, he said: “They will probably do something. If it's not daily, it will be a lot. You’ll have more than you want.”

Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, is seen as a staunch and camera-ready Trump advocate who’s quick on her feet and aggressively defends the Republican in television interviews.

She worked as a spokeswoman for MAGA Inc., a brilliant PAC that supports Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a ten-member Republican primary before losing to Democratic incumbent Rep. Chris Pappas.

During Trump's first term, Leavitt worked within the White House press office. She then became communications director for Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, whom Trump tapped to be his U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Trump's first press secretaries, Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, were known for arguing with reporters. Another, Stephanie Grisham, never held a briefing. Her successor, Kayleigh McEnany, incessantly addressed the news media during her appearances within the White House press conference room.

Today is Saturday, September 14, the 258th day of the 12 months 2024. There are 108 days left within the 12 months.

Today in history:

On September 14, 1901, President William McKinley died in Buffalo, New York, from a gunshot wound inflicted by an assassin eight days earlier. He was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, who, on the age of 42, became the youngest US president of all time.

Also on this date:

In 1847, through the Mexican-American War, U.S. forces under General Winfield Scott took control of Mexico City.

In 1927, modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan died in Nice, France, when her scarf became caught within the wheel of the sports automotive she was riding in.

In 1982, Princess Grace of Monaco, former film star Grace Kelly, died on the age of 52 in consequence of a automotive accident she had suffered the day prior to this.

In 1991, the South African government, the African National Congress and the Inkatha (in-KAH'-tah) Freedom Party signed a national peace pact.

In 1994, on the thirty fourth day of a players' strike, acting baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced that the 1994 season was over.

In 2001, Americans filled churches and public squares on a day of remembrance for the victims of the September 11 attacks. President George W. Bush prayed along with his cabinet and attended services at Washington National Cathedral. He then flew to New York, where he immersed himself within the rubble of the World Trade Center and, in a show of resolve, delivered a speech to rescue employees.

In 2012, violent clashes broke out across the Muslim world when an anti-Islamic film ridiculed the Prophet Muhammad.

Today's birthdays:

• Actor Walter Koenig (KAY'-nihg) (“Star Trek”) is 88.
• Architect Renzo Piano is 87.
• Basketball Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown is 84.
• Actor Sam Neill is 77.
• Country singer John Berry is 65.
• Actress Melissa Leo is 64.
• Actress Faith Ford is 60.
• Film director Bong Joon-Ho is 55.
• Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is 54.
• Actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley is 53.
• Actor Andrew Lincoln is 51.
• Rapper Nas is 51.
• Olympic middle-distance gold medalist Hicham El Guerrouj is 50.
• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is 46.
• Chef and tv personality Katie Lee is 43.
• Actress Jessica Brown Findlay is 37.
• NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler is 35.
• Golfer Tony Finau is 35.
• Actress Emma Kenney is 25.

Mason Miller is the most recent in a protracted history of Oakland Athletics relief pitchers to be invited to the All-Star Game.

Oakland's lineage of All-Star relief pitchers is famous, including Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersley, in addition to fan favorites akin to Grant Balfour, Sean Doolittle and Liam Hendriks.

Overall, Miller is the 14th reliever signed within the franchise's 57-year run in Oakland. The hard-throwing rookie right-hander won’t only be the last, but can also be unique amongst Oakland's all-time bullpen stars. His elite four-seam fastball is probably the greatest in MLB — by some measures, the best.

You can bet that Miller, 25, will take the mound at Globe Life Field sometime Tuesday night and wow his biggest crowd yet.

Miller has thrown the fourth-fastest pitch in the key leagues this season at 103.7 mph, trailing only legendary Pittsburgh Pirates fireball pitcher Aroldis Chapman (104, 103.8) and Los Angeles Angels rookie Ben Joyce (103.9), who broke the NCAA record with a 105.5 mph heater as a pitcher for the University of Tennessee in 2022.

But Miller's sheer volume of triple-digit fastballs is unparalleled. Through the weekend, Miller has thrown 299 pitches over 100 mph, 98 greater than the second-place player, Justin Martinez of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But Miller is rather more than a tough pitcher. Excluding his three intentional walks, he has issued just 11 walks and 70 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings through the weekend. Opposing teams' hitters have a batting average of just .149 against Miller, the seventh-lowest of any MLB relief pitcher.

“I feel like Mason is different than a lot of closers,” said A's starter Paul Blackburn, who represented Oakland within the 2022 All-Star Game. “A lot of guys just throw hard and sometimes have trouble with control. Mason has control over a starter's closer stuff. That's scary to see. And it's fun to watch.”

Among qualified pitchers, Miller also has the very best average fastball velocity at 100.9, nearly a mile per hour ahead of Martinez. Joyce (101.6) leads all major league pitchers with at the least 100 pitches thrown, but has not thrown enough to qualify for the league's all-time list.

“He's throwing over 100, and those are the guys you can't try too hard with, you just have to keep it simple,” Boston's Jarren Duran, who faced Miller on Wednesday, told reporters at Fenway Park. “Those are the guys you try to pull yourself together and hit a home run, they'll just tear you to shreds.”

In addition, Miller's splitter also leads the MLB with a mean velocity of 97.6. Jhoan Duran of the Minnesota Twins is in second place with 96.8.

Miller's high-speed performances will not be without risk, in fact. He suffered a sprained ulnar collateral ligament after 4 appearances in 2023 and returned to the A's in early September after missing nearly 4 months.

In 2024, Miller became a full-time reliever, and the outcomes have been outstanding. In his first 32 appearances, Miller has a 2.27 ERA, 15 saves (the A's win Friday night was just their thirty sixth of the season) and a WHIP – the common of hits and walks per nine innings – of 0.857.

“You just can't feel that kind of adrenaline,” Miller said of his role as closer. “You feel the atmosphere, the fans, the moment in the game, the situation – all of that definitely counts.”

“Being able to put everything into one at-bat — I'm not saving anything, I'm not hiding anything. I'm going to do my best from the moment I step in the box. … In that moment, it just feels like all that competitive spirit is compressed into that one at-bat, that one inning.”

When Miller was chosen for the American League All-Star team on July 7, none aside from Fingers himself had high praise for Miller's achievements that 12 months.

“He's a big kid, he throws hard, he's got pretty good feel and he's got pretty good control. I think he'll be around for a while if he stays healthy,” Fingers said on NBC Sports Bay Area. “He throws really hard. He's got nasty stuff. I don't think I want to go against him. He'll be around for a while as a closer.”

Miller got here in as Oakland's starting pitcher and went seven hitless innings in his third profession start, however it looks like he'll stick around as a reliever. Miller was named the American League's Reliever of the Month for April and is also in contention for Rookie of the Year.

He has found his role and is playing it well: the A's next great closer.

“I'm proud of the work I've done. Seeing that on the field is almost my expectation of myself,” Miller said in May. “But when I do it myself on the big stage or watch a video, there are definitely moments where I think, 'I really did that.'”