Woodrow Wilson high school in Beckley, rural West Virginia, is far removed from the halls of congress and the gathering of global leaders in Glasgow next week.
Crowded around tables in the cafeteria, local people discuss how they might rehabilitate communities devastated by the decline of the coal industry.
This is a “listening session” where those affected by the closure of the mines can be heard by politicians.
West Virginia is built on black gold, many here have worked in the coal industry for decades, as have generations before them.
But most aren’t aware of COP26 happening next week, let alone how its outcomes might impact them.
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These are the people President Joe Biden has to win over if he is to make combating climate change a central part of his legacy and specifically if he is to wean the world’s largest economy off coal and gas and onto renewable energy.
The scale of the challenge is very evident. “I do not believe we will ever see green energy take over the world,” says Heather Tully, a Republican and member of the West Virginia House of Delegates.
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She takes a dim view of Mr Biden’s climate agenda and his pledge to spend $500bn (£362bn) on incentives to switch to renewable power and electric vehicles.
“West Virginia is probably not the most enamoured with President Biden,” she says.
“We’re a long way from Washington and the rhetoric on climate, they’re trying to shove it down people’s throat but it’s not going to fly here.”
Her opinion is echoed around the room. Joe Carter worked in the mines and now represents the mineworkers union.
I ask if he believes in climate change? “I’m a 41-year coal miner and that’s directly in conflict with my job and the future jobs of the coal industry,” he says.
“I realise that there’s problems, there seem to be a lot of violent storms and things of that nature taking place, I recognise it and I want a safe environment. But I also want to protect my livelihood.”
Most people here recognise the climate is changing – it’s hard to dispute in a state afflicted by record flooding in recent years – but many contest the idea of climate change.
“I think that it’s a cyclic natural event caused by the rotation of the sun,” an engineer for safety shelters in mines, tells me, “it’s a combination of things.”
Mr Biden arrived in Rome on Friday morning, alongside wife Jill. He wanted to arrive in Glasgow with a show-stopping half a trillion-dollar pot to tackle climate change but so far he has been unable to unite even his own party behind his wider spending plan.
His departure was delayed as he made a desperate last-ditch attempt to bring hold-out Democrats on board, ultimately unsuccessfully.
But environmentalists in West Virginia were encouraged by the scale and scope of his proposals.
Angie Rosser, executive director of the West Virginia Rivers Association, believes it is a historic moment for the country. “It is a marker to say the United States is ready to make a big commitment on climate,” she says.
“I’m hopeful that West Virginia and the rest of the world will take note of that and follow that. I hope they will make sure the people of West Virginia are taken care of.”
Mr Biden has privately said the next week could define his entire term in the White House. He knows America’s climate credibility is on the line and his credibility as a diplomatic force is, too.
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Within hours of taking office, president-elect Donald Trump plans to begin rolling out policies including large-scale deportations, according to his transition team.
Sky News partner network NBC News has spoken with more than half a dozen people familiar with the executive orders that his team plans to enact.
One campaign official said changes are expected at a pace that is “like nothing you’ve seen in history”, to signal a dramatic break from President Joe Biden’s administration.
Mr Trump is preparing on day one to overturn specific policies put in place by Mr Biden. Among the measures, reported by sources close to the transition team, are:
• The speedy and large-scale deportations of illegal immigrants
• Ending travel reimbursement for military members seeking abortion care
• Restricting transgender service members’ access to gender-affirming care
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But much of the first day is likely to focus on stopping illegal immigration – the centrepiece of Trump’s candidacy. He is expected to sign up to five executive orders aimed at dealing with that issue alone after he is sworn in on 20 January.
“There will without question be a lot of movement quickly, likely day one, on the immigration front,” a top Trump ally said.
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“There will be a push to make a huge early show and assert himself to show his campaign promises were not hollow.”
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2:23
Donald Trump ally Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration to be the next US attorney general.
But Mr Trump’s campaign pledges also could be difficult to implement.
Deporting people on the scale he wants will be a logistical challenge that could take years. Questions also remain about promised tax cuts.
Meanwhile, his pledge to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in just 24 hours would be near impossible.
Even so, advisers based at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort or at nearby offices in West Palm Beach, Florida, are reportedly strategising about ending the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Following his decisive victory on 5 November, the president-elect has moved swiftly to build a cabinet and senior White House team.
As of Thursday, he had selected more than 30 people for senior positions in his administration, compared with just three at a similar point in his 2016 transition.
Stephen Moore, a senior economic adviser in Mr Trump’s campaign, told NBC News: “The thing to realise is Trump is no dummy.
“He knows he’s got two to three years at most to get anything done. And then he becomes a lame duck and we start talking about [the presidential election in] 2028.”
Donald Trump ally Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration to be the next US attorney general.
Mr Gaetz, a controversial pick to be the country’s top legal official, said his selection was “unfairly becoming a distraction” to the transition of Mr Trump’s administration into the White House.
The Florida Republican had faced significant scrutiny over a federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving a 17-year-old girl.
He said in a post on the X social media platform: “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as attorney general. Trump’s DOJ (Department of Justice) must be in place and ready on Day 1.
“I remain fully committed to seeing that Donald Trump is the most successful president in history. I will forever be honoured that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”
Mr Trump said in a post on his own social media site, Truth Social, that Mr Gaetz had a “wonderful future”.
“I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General,” he wrote.
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“He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect.”
Mr Gaetz previously faced a nearly three-year Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving a 17-year-old girl, which ended in February 2023 without him facing any criminal charges.
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He has always denied the allegations.
He has also been under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee over wider allegations including sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and accepting improper gifts.
The inquiry was dropped on Wednesday 13 November when Mr Gaetz left Congress – the only forum where the committee has jurisdiction.
The Senate ethics committee is deadlocked on whether their report can be released.
Mr Gaetz’s withdrawal is a blow to Mr Trump’s push to install steadfast loyalists in his incoming administration and the first sign that he could face resistance from members of his own party.
A 43-year-old man was shot dead by police after calling 911 to report intruders had entered his home in Las Vegas.
Brandon Durham was at home with his 15-year-old daughter when he called the emergency line to report armed intruders were trying to break into his property on 12 November.
Bodycam footage shows Mr Durham struggling with a person over a knife in the moments before he was shot and killed at the scene.
“The loss of life in any type of incident like this is always tragic, and it’s something we take very seriously,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said on Thursday.
The force is investigating the incident.
Mr Durham called 911 to report multiple people were outside shooting at his residence in Las Vegas’ Sunset Park neighbourhood, where he had been staying with his 15-year-old daughter, Sky News’ US partner network NBC reports.
It was one of multiple emergency calls reporting a shooting in the area.
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Mr Durham then said someone had managed to get into his home through the front and back doors of the property and he was locking himself in the bathroom, according to a police statement from 14 November, two days after the incident.
Officers reported to the scene at approximately 12:40am and could hear screaming from inside the residence.
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One of the officers, Alexander Bookman, kicked open the front door and once inside, saw Mr Durham and another individual, later identified as 31-year-old Alejandra Boudreaux, struggling over a knife in a doorway.
Mr Bookman ordered them to drop the knife and about two seconds later, the officer fired the gun and Mr Durham appeared to be struck, the bodycam footage shows.
Both Mr Durham and Mr Boudreaux fell to the ground and the officer fired another five shots. Roughly three seconds are believed to have gone by between the first and last shot, NBC reports.
Attempts were made to save the 43-year-old but he died at the scene.
Ms Boudreaux was taken into custody and is facing charges of home invasion with a deadly weapon; assault with a deadly weapon domestic violence; willful or wanton disregard of safety of persons resulting in death; and child abuse, neglect or endangerment.