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Trump administration tries to bring back fired nuclear weapons workers
The Trump administration has halted the firings of hundreds of federal employees who were tasked with working on the nation’s nuclear weapons programs, in an about-face that has left workers confused and experts cautioning that DOGE’s blind cost cutting will put communities at risk.
Three U.S. officials who spoke to The Associated Press said up to 350 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration were abruptly laid off late Thursday, with some losing access to email before they’d learned they were fired, only to try to enter their offices on Friday morning to find they were locked out. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
Elon Musk’s DOGE asks for access to IRS taxpayer data, sources say
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has requested access to an Internal Revenue Service system that retains the personal tax information of millions of Americans, two sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The system, known as the Integrated Data Retrieval System, is used by IRS employees to review tax information, issue notices and update taxpayer records.
Access to the files, which is tightly controlled within the agency, had not been granted as of this weekend, several sources told ABC News.
The Rude Pundit: The Simplest Explanation… They Are Evil
“Evil” is a hard concept to get your head around. We can get close to it when we say things like “The cruelty is the point,” but that was truly about the first Donald Trump administration, with its scattershot acts of savagery, many of them mitigated by courts and by stronger Democrats and even a few Republicans who still had souls and spines. The cruelty had no real ideology behind it, just the sheer deranged pleasure of hurting people. Systematic, planned cruelty with a goal of hurting everyone who ever opposed you and your ideology? That’s evil. We don’t want to think that we are confronting evil now because it seems melodramatic and frankly unfathomable. If we have leaders who keep acting in ways that are evil, as in directly contrary to any concept of “good,” then we need to acknowledge that we are in an evil country living through an evil age.
Trump says he could withhold aid from Jordan and Egypt if they reject his Gaza development plan
The Trump administration is gearing up for potentially contentious meetings with Arab power players this week as President Donald Trump continues to press his plan for what he calls U.S. “ownership” of Gaza, going so far as to threaten cutting off U.S. aid to Jordan and Egypt if they don’t go along.
On Tuesday, Jordan’s King Abdullah is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House, becoming the first Arab leader to do since he returned to power last month.
Jordan has served as a humanitarian lifeline for civilians in Gaza throughout the Israel-Hamas conflict and already hosts millions of registered Palestinian refugees.
White House officials bristle as the courts throttle parts of Trump’s agenda
The nation may be edging closer to a constitutional crisis as senior White House officials bristle over a string of court orders stymieing President Donald Trump’s agenda, sparking fears that they may ignore judicial decisions.
A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled Monday that the Trump administration failed to comply with his previous directive temporarily halting a sweeping funding freeze, reminding Trump and his top officials in stark terms that “those who make private determinations of the law and refuse to obey an order generally risk criminal contempt.”
Judge to decide fate of Trump’s federal buyout offer
A federal judge in Boston Monday will consider whether to block President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk from carrying out their unprecedented plan to buy out tens of thousands of federal employees.
Three federal employee unions — with the support of 20 Democratic attorneys general — have argued that the Office of Personnel Management’s deferred resignation offer is an “unlawful ultimatum” to force the resignation of government workers under the “threat of mass termination.”
Philadelphia Eagles demolish the Kansas City Chiefs to win their second Super Bowl
Fueled by a harassing defense, Philadelphia denied a Kansas City coronation in Super Bowl 59, dethroning the Chiefs in a rout that delivered the Eagles their second championship in seven seasons by a score of 40-22.
Kansas City had won three Super Bowl titles in the last five years, including the last two, and it was trying to become the first team in the NFL’s Super Bowl era to win back-to-back-to-back titles. Led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whose résumé sparked debates about whether he or Tom Brady was the best quarterback in NFL history, the Chiefs had won 17 consecutive one-score games and appeared infallible in the clutch.
Legal experts warn of ‘constitutional crisis’ as JD Vance and Elon Musk question judges’ authority over Trump
Legal and constitutional experts warned Sunday that the United States could be headed toward a “constitutional crisis” or a “breakdown of the system” after Vice President JD Vance suggested judges don’t have jurisdiction over President Donald Trump’s “legitimate power.”
“If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal,” Vance wrote on X, adding, “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
Read the rest of the story at NBC News
Trump announces blanket tariffs on steel and aluminum, reciprocal tariffs on other countries
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will announce reciprocal tariffs this week, as well as a 25% blanket tariff on steel and aluminum imports.
“Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25% tariff,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One, adding that the same tariff would be applied to aluminum.
“Aluminum, too,” Trump added, when a reporter asked him whether it would also be subject to tariffs.
The Rude Pundit: Democrats Need to Stop Being Afraid of Being Democrats
In Kamala Harris’s speech accepting the Democratic nomination for president in Chicago in August, one key word and its variations were conspicuously absent, and it’s a shame because she was speaking to a huge audience that needed to hear the words “Democrat” and “Democrats” and “Democratic Party.” The only reference was a worthless nod to dead bipartisanship: “Last year, Joe and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades.” Awesome. Now how about all the shit that was done by Democrats?
In other speeches, she didn’t mention the party at all, and sometimes that was just odd. At a rally in Atlanta, Harris said, “We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity to build a business, to own a home, to build intergenerational wealth; a future with affordable health care, affordable childcare, paid leave.” While this was in a comparison to Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric, she never expanded “we” beyond her and her voters. That “we” should have been “Democrats.”
USAID to be reduced to about 290 foreign service officers and civil servants
The U.S. Agency of International Development is expected to be reduced to about 290 workers from the more than 5,000 foreign service officers, civil servants and personal service contractors it currently employs, according to two sources familiar with the plans.
Most of the approximately 3,000 institutional support contractors have already been fired or furloughed. The status of the approximately 5,000 foreign service nationals serving around the world is not yet clear.
The bureaus of Humanitarian Assistance, Global Health and Management are expected to retain the most staff members, but under the expected plan, only 12 people would be dedicated to the entire continent of Africa and eight people for all of Asia.
Republicans block Musk from congressional subpoena as DOGE continues to access government data
As Elon Musk continues to dismantle government agencies, threaten workers with layoffs and gain access to government data, congressional Republicans on Wednesday blocked Democratic efforts to compel him to answer for his actions under oath.
At the same time, protests demanding accountability continued.
Musk, who has not made any public appearances since the inauguration, has publicly called for slashing federal government spending and, through his non-government organization Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has frozen funding for several agencies including USAID the international aid agency.
WORLD Trump’s plan for U.S. to “take over” Gaza amid Israel-Hamas ceasefire rejected by allies and adversaries
Allies and adversaries of the United States reacted with shock and disapproval Wednesday to President Trump’s announcement of plans for the United States to “take over” the Gaza Strip.
Mr. Trump’s suggestion that the Palestinian territory — part of the land that many people hope will eventually become an independent Palestinian state — be redeveloped into a “Riviera of the Middle East,” owned by the U.S., sent diplomatic shockwaves around the world.
Mr. Trump’s announcement worried some Israeli hostage family members, and it drew immediate condemnation from Palestinian civilians and from Hamas, which warned it could threaten the fragile Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Former Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell Falls Again At The Capitol
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) fell twice on Wednesday ― once leaving the Senate chamber and again inside a closed-door Republican conference lunch just minutes later.
The 82-year-old former Senate GOP leader, a childhood polio survivor, is using a wheelchair as a precautionary measure after the pair of spills at the U.S. Capitol.
“Senator McConnell is fine. The lingering effects of polio in his left leg will not disrupt his regular schedule of work,” a McConnell spokesperson said in a statement to HuffPost.
Robin Abcarian: No one polices men’s bodies the way we police women’s bodies
While we’ve been distracted by wildfire tragedies, and the dizzying stream of Project 2025-inspired directives flowing from the Oval Office, we cannot forget that the Republican-led war on women’s reproductive rights shows no signs of waning.
In fact, it’s heating up again.
Last week, a Democratic Mississippi state senator with a wry sense of humor introduced a law meant to call attention to the absurdity of America’s enduring efforts to control women’s bodies.
Read the rest of Robin Abcarian’s piece at The Los Angeles Times
Charlie Pierce: Senator Brian Schatz Is Actually Doing Something (When Very Little Can Be Done)
This is how you do it when there really isn’t much you can do. From Reuters:
U.S. Senator Brian Schatz said on Monday he would block Senate votes on President Donald Trump’s nominees for diplomatic positions in protest over moves to close the U.S. Agency for International Development and fold it into the State Department. Under the chamber’s rules, one senator can hold up nominations even if the other 99 all want them to move quickly, forcing the Senate to consume many hours of floor time to move nominations or promotions ahead…. Slowing nominations or promotions that must be approved by the Senate is one of the few avenues available to members of the minority party to try to influence policy. Last year, when Democrats held a slim majority in the chamber, Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville blocked hundreds of military promotions over the Defense Department’s abortion
Frank Figliuzzi: Trump’s revenge campaign is eroding the FBI’s ability to protect America
A purge of experienced leaders is now underway at the FBI. Thousands of field agents are being threatened with dismissal. Here’s what we know so far, and why America is already less safe.
At least eight of the most senior officials in the FBI, and multiple field office chiefs, have been forced out, despite the fact that neitherattorney general pick Pam Bondi, nor FBI director nominee Kash Patel have been confirmed. In fact, perhaps this action is already in full swing precisely to allow both nominees to feign ignorance during their Senate hearings. Bondi testified, “There will never be an enemies list within the Department of Justice.” Patel claimed, “All FBI employees will be protected against political retribution.” The past few days suggest otherwise.
Gabbard gains support from 2 key GOP senators ahead of confirmation vote
The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to vote on former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination for Director of National Intelligence in a closed-door session Tuesday afternoon. The vote follows Gabbard’s at-times contentious confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill on Thursday, where she was grilled over her views on government secrets leaker Edward Snowden and her refusal to label him a traitor.
Gabbard, a former Democratic Hawaii Congresswoman turned Republican, picked up two key Republican votes on Monday from Sens. Susan Collins and James Lankford. Both had previously been critical of her past statements on Snowden and her opposition to government surveillance programs. Gabbard can only afford to lose one Republican vote on the committee.
Rubio Blames ‘Insubordination’ for Changes at USAID
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that he had taken over as acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, assuming control of an agency that had functioned largely independently for over 60 years and stoking fears about U.S. assistance around the world.
Mr. Rubio’s announcement came after a week of drastic changes at U.S.A.I.D., the government’s lead agency for humanitarian aid and development assistance. Senior officials have been suspended, and hundreds of civil servants and contractors have been iced out of U.S.A.I.D. systems without warning.
Pause on Canada and Mexico Tariffs, China Swiftly Counters Trump’s Tariffs With a Flurry of Trade Curbs
Beijing responded swiftly on Tuesday to the tariffs President Trump had promised, announcing a fusillade of countermeasures targeting American companies and imports of critical products.
Mr. Trump’s 10 percent tariff on all Chinese products went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, the result of an executive order issued over the weekend aimed at pressuring Beijing to crack down on fentanyl shipments into the United States.
The Chinese government came back with a series of retaliatory steps, including additional tariffs on liquefied natural gas, coal, farm machinery and other products from the United States. It also said it had implemented restrictions on the export of certain critical minerals, many of which are used in the production of high-tech products.
Elon Musk’s DOGE commission gains access to sensitive Treasury payment systems
The Department of Government Efficiency, run by President Donald Trump’s billionaire adviser and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has gained access to sensitive Treasury data including Social Security and Medicare customer payment systems, according to two people familiar with the situation.
The move by DOGE, a Trump administration task force assigned to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and slash federal regulations, means it could have wide leeway to access important taxpayer data, among other things.
The New York Times first reported the news of the group’s access of the massive federal payment system. The two people who spoke to The Associated Press spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Grammy Awards: A Night For Women and Kendrick Lamar
Beyoncé won album of the year for “Cowboy Carter” at the 2025 Grammys, delivering her — at last — the show’s elusive top award.
The superstar, who is both the most awarded and nominated artist in Grammys history, had been nominated in the category four times before and many felt she had been snubbed by its top honors.
- Other big winners: Kendrick Lamar won both song and record of the year for his diss track “Not Like Us,” Chappell Roan nudged aside Sabrina Carpenter to win the Grammy for best new artist, and Taylor Swift presented the award for best country album to Beyoncé.
Elon Musk says he and Trump are shutting down USAID
Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Monday that he and President Donald Trump were in the process of shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development, escalating their war on the federal bureaucracy and defying the constitutional power of Congress to determine how money is spent.
Musk, the head of Trump’s government efficiency initiative, announced the shutdown in the middle of the night in an audio-only appearance on his social media site X.
“We’re shutting it down,” he said. At another point, he said “we’re in the process” of “shutting down USAID.”
Dow futures drop more than 650 points after Trump hits U.S. trading partners with tariffs
Stock futures tumbled early Monday to kick off a new trading month, as investors weighed new U.S. tariffs on goods from key trade partners and their potential impact on the economy and corporate profits.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 546 points, or 1.22%. S&P 500 futures dropped 1.4%, while Nasdaq-100 futures lost 1.7%.
President Donald Trump on Saturday slapped a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada. He also placed a 10% levy on imports from China. The U.S. does about $1.6 trillion in business with the three countries.
The Rude Pundit: Note to Democrats… We’re Freaking the Fuck Out and You’re Not Helping Us Enough
I know so many people who are scared to death or freaking the fuck out about all of the ways that the administration of Donald Trump (aka “Elon’s Meat Puppet”) is fucking with their lives like a deranged child pulling the wings off moths. In just the last week:
– A dear friend with a trans teen is making plans to leave the country for at least the next four years. Gender-affirming care saved my friend’s kid’s life, and the fact that hospitals are pulling back on that care since Trump issued his savage, ignorant executive order has made them decide to get the fuck out of here. They’re not the only family with a trans kid I know who are leaving. Of course they’re leaving. That’s what you do for your child. You make sure they aren’t harmed. (And, yes, I recognize that there is a great deal of privilege in having the financial ability to leave.)
Trump baselessly blames diversity program for fatal air collision
Within five minutes of asking for a moment of silence for the victims, Trump pivoted to his political agenda, notably his promises to shrink the federal workforce and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs from all agencies. The president told reporters he had seen no evidence to attribute the crash to changes in hiring standards for air traffic controllers.
“It just could have been,” he said. “Because I have common sense.”
Control tower at National Airport understaffed before deadly collision
The air traffic control tower at Reagan National Airport was understaffed on Wednesday evening when a passenger plane and a military helicopter collided in midair, according to a government report about the circumstances surrounding the disaster that killed 67 people and sparked renewed debate around the airport’s crowded airspace.
According to the report, described to The Washington Post, two people were handling the jobs of four among other colleagues inside National’s control tower at the time of the collision. The control tower staffing levels, the report concludes, were “not normal” for the time of day or the amount of air traffic over D.C., where an average of more than 100 helicopters a day zip around and underneath arriving and departing airline flights.
5 takeaways from the confirmation hearings for RFK Jr., Gabbard and Patel
In a crucial day for President Donald Trump’s nominees, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel descended on Capitol Hill for confirmation hearings Thursday.
Kennedy, the nominee for health and human services secretary; Gabbard, chosen for director of national intelligence; and Patel, selected for FBI director, have all generated controversy for a similar reason: Each has launched searing criticisms of the entities they’ve been chosen to lead. Trump is testing the Republican-controlledSenate on where it will draw the line between disruption and institutionalism.
They all sought to clarify or downplay past stances or remarks that have landed them in hot water with senators who will decide whether they’re confirmed.
Trump signs executive orders for military, focusing on transgender service members, COVID, diversity
President Trump signed multiple executive orders Monday night that could reshape the management and composition of the military, with provisions addressing diversity measures, transgender service members, and troops who were discharged for refusing COVID vaccinations.
He also signed an executive order to establish a process to develop what the administration is calling an American Iron Dome — a missile defense shield for the homeland. (Iron Dome is the name often used for Israel’s system for intercepting rockets, which was developed with U.S. support.)
Mr. Trump signed the four orders aboard Air Force One as he flew back to Washington from a stop in Florida.
Read the rest of the story at CBS News
CNN Donald Trump-Baiting Anchor Jim Acosta ‘Expected To Exit’ Network, Says Ex-Colleague
Jim Acosta is reportedly heading for the doors at CNN.
The anchor has “signaled to associates in private conversations over the weekend that he intends to depart the network after its chief executive, Mark Thompson, booted him from the morning programming lineup,” reported Status News’ Oliver Darcy on Monday.
Acosta is “expected to exit CNN,” said Darcy, a former colleague of Acosta at the network.
The journalist was reportedly offered to move from his 10 a.m. Eastern time slot to the midnight to 2 a.m. shift amid a wider shake-up of CNN’s broadcasting schedule and a restructure of its overall operations, which last week saw the announcement of around 200 layoffs as the business pivots to boost its digital offering.
ICE makes close to 1,200 arrests in one day
Immigration authorities made close to 1,200 arrests in just one day, and nearly half of those detained don’t have criminal records, according to a senior Trump administration official.
Data first obtained by NBC News shows that Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a total of 1,179 people on Sunday, which is more than the 956 arrests that the agency posted on X on Sunday night. But just 613 of those total arrests — nearly 52% — were considered “criminal arrests.” The rest appear to be nonviolent offenders or people who have not committed any criminal offense other than crossing the border illegally.
When breaking down those arrests, eight were considered “Worst Criminals Arrested,” including two gang members, according to the official.
Trump administration fires DOJ officials who worked on criminal investigations of the president
The Justice Department said Monday that it fired several career lawyers involved in prosecuting Donald Trump, escalating the president’s campaign of retribution against his perceived enemies.
The employees worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation that led to now-dismissed indictments against Trump over his handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the lead-up to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Today, Acting Attorney General James McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DOJ officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump,” a Justice Department official wrote to NBC News. “In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda. This action is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponization of government.”
Democratic lawmakers slam Trump for not making good on promise to ‘immediately’ lower food prices amid egg shortage
Donald Trump vowed to slash grocery prices as soon as he took office, yet he has barely addressed the cost of food in the whirlwind of executive orders he signed in his first week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic lawmakers wrote in a searing letter.
The letter, addressed to Trump, accuses the president of backtracking on a campaign promise to lower supermarket bills starting on Day 1 of his term.
“During your campaign, you repeatedly promised you would lower food prices ‘immediately’ if elected president,” read the letter, which was sent to Trump on Sunday evening and shared first with NBC News. “But during your first week of office you have instead focused on mass deportations and pardoning January 6 attackers.”
Sen. Adam Schiff says Trump ‘broke the law’ by firing 18 inspectors general
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on Sunday blasted President Donald Trump for his decision to fire 18 inspectors general late Friday night and accused the president of breaking the law.
“To write off this clear violation of law by saying, ‘Well,’ that ‘technically, he broke law.’ Yeah, he broke the law,” Schiff told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
His comment was responding to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who earlier in the program told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker that “technically, yeah,” Trump had violated the Inspector General Act, which Congress amended to strengthen protections from undue termination for inspectors general.
Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles advance to the Super Bowl
The Kansas City Chiefs advanced to their fifth Super Bowl in six years Sunday, defeating the Buffalo Bills 32-39 in the AFC championship game.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs on an eight-play, 51-yard drive late in the fourth quarter to set up the go-ahead field goal. Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen threw incomplete on fourth-and-5 on the Bills’ next drive, and Buffalo never got the ball back.
“I’m excited to get to New Orleans and try to make history,” Mahomes said on the podium after the game.
White House says Colombia agreed to Trump’s deportation terms after tariff standoff
The White House said Sunday that Colombia has agreed to all of President Donald Trump’s terms after Trump threatened to impose sweeping retaliatory measures against it, including tariffs and visa sanctions, after it denied entry to two U.S. military deportation flights.
“The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Trump says he will ‘demand’ lower interest rates
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will call for a lowering of U.S. interest rates, exerting pressure on the Federal Reserve despite a longstanding norm of political independence at the central bank.
During a virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump demanded a drop in interest rates after calling for a reduction of oil prices set by a group of nations known as OPEC, which includes Saudi Arabia.
The prospect of low oil prices will enable the Fed to dial back its fight against inflationand bring down interest rates, Trump said.
Hegseth moves closer to confirmation after clearing key Senate vote
Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s contentious pick for defense secretary, narrowly cleared a key procedural hurdle in the Senate on Thursday, as Republicans demonstrated en masse that they are undeterred by the allegations of misconduct that have clouded his nomination.
The full Senate voted 51 to 49 to advance Hegseth’s nomination toward a final confirmation vote, expected Friday night, with two Republicans, moderate Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine), joining the chamber’s Democrats in opposing the former Fox News personality’s bid to run the Defense Department.
Trump Officials Move to Quickly Expel Migrants Biden Allowed In Temporarily
The Trump administration is giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials the power to quickly deport migrants who were allowed into the country temporarily under Biden-era programs, according to an internal government memo obtained by The New York Times.
The memo, signed Thursday night by the acting head of the Homeland Security Department, offers ICE officials a road map on how to use expansive powers that were long reserved only for encounters at the southern border to quickly remove migrants. It also appears to give the officials the ability to expel migrants in two major Biden-era programs that have allowed more than a million people to enter the country temporarily.
Federal district court judge temporarily blocks Trump’s birthright citizenship order
A federal district court judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship — the first skirmish in what promises to be a protracted legal battle over the new administration’s agenda.
Senior U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour heard 25 minutes of arguments and then issued an order from the bench blocking the policy from taking effect for 14 days. There will be a further briefing on a preliminary injunction to permanently block the executive order while the case proceeds.
“I’ve been on the bench for over four decades,” Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, said. “I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order.”
Bishop Mariann Budde defends plea directed at Trump during inaugural prayer service
Rev. Mariann Budde the Episcopal Bishop of Washington on Wednesday defended a plea for mercy she made to President Donald Trump on behalf of immigrants and others during an inaugural prayer service a day before.
“We’re in a particularly harsh moment now when it comes to conversations around immigrant populations in our midst, and so that was the reason for the tone I took now,” Budde said during an MSNBC interview.
Trump had attended the inaugural prayer service at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday, during which Budde implored the president to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now” and referred specifically to gay, lesbian and transgender children, some of whom she said “fear for their lives.”
House passes Laken Riley Act, sending the first bill to Trump to sign into law
The Republican-led House on Wednesday passed the Laken Riley Act, a strict immigration detention measure named for a 22-year-old Georgia nursing school student who was murdered last year by an undocumented immigrant.
The legislation, aimed at clamping down on people in the U.S. illegally who commit nonviolent crimes like theft, is expected to be the first bill President Donald Trump signs into law after returning to the White House this week.
The House vote was 263-156, with 46 Democrats joining all Republicans in support of the measure. The bill passed the Senateon Monday by a vote of 64-35, winning 12 Democratic votes. Among them were Sens. Gary Peters, of Michigan; Jon Ossoff, of Georgia; Jeanne Shaheen, of New Hampshire; and Mark Warner, of Virginia, all up for face re-election in 2026.
Thousands told to evacuate after two new blazes start in Los Angeles County
Evacuation orders and warnings were issued to more than 31,000 people in the vicinity of two new wildfires north of Los Angeles on Wednesday.
The Hughes fire near Castaic Lake in northern Los Angeles County began Wednesday morning and now covers more than 10,000 acres or 15 square miles. It was only 10% contained at 1 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET), according to Cal Fire.
The Hughes fire was being fed by high winds and dry conditions, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told reporters, but according to an update from the interagency fire information center it had not destroyed any structures.
Federal employees are told to name colleagues who work in DEI roles or risk ‘adverse consequences’
Federal employees received emails Wednesday warning that they could face repercussions if they do not report on co-workers who work in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility positions that might have gone unnoticed by government supervisors.
“We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language,” said emails sent to government employees and obtained by NBC News.
Employees were directed to notify the Office of Personnel Management if they are “aware of a change in any contract description or personnel position description since November 5, 2024 to obscure the connection between the contract and DEIA or similar ideologies.”
Steven Beschloss: The Urgency of Now
I know there are many among us who see today as an endpoint. The demise of democracy. The failure of our electorate to commit to self-governance. The willingness to let the richest among us grab power, with the foolish assumption that they would advance the well-being of working people rather than further enrich themselves.
Let’s not doubt: The inauguration of Donald Trump is a cruel slap in the face of every lover of democracy, equality, justice and the rule of law. This event offers the terrible odor of billionaires and kleptocrats who see an opportunity to exploit government resources at the expense of taxpaying Americans just trying to get by.
Read the rest of Steven Beschloss’ piece at and subscribe to his Substack
Malcolm Nance: America is Now Under a Tyranny!
The tyranny of the Trump dictatorship descended upon America today. Worse is that it made me violate my pledge to IGNORE Trump and his spectacle … However, soon after I made this video Elon Musk spoke at a Trump rally and made the NAZI SALUTE … TWICE! He also praised how MAGA has saved the white race using the near exact words of Adolph Hitler.
It will only get worse. They have pledged to upend all democratic norms America may never be the same.
Read the rest of Malcolm Nance’s piece at and subscribe to his Substack…
Hegseth Ex-Sister-in-Law Tells Senators He Was ‘Abusive’ to Second Wife
An ex-sister-in-law of Pete Hegseth’s submitted a sworn statement to senators on Tuesday that accused Mr. Hegseth, President Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, of being so “abusive” toward his second wife that she once hid in a closet from him and had a safe word to call for help if she needed to get away from him.
In a Capitol Hill office on Tuesday afternoon, senators were reviewing the affidavit, from Danielle Diettrich Hegseth, the former wife of Mr. Hegseth’s brother, which describes “erratic and aggressive” behavior by Mr. Hegseth that caused his second wife to fear for her safety. According to a copy obtained by The New York Times, it also asserts that he frequently drank to excess both in public and private, including on one occasion she witnessed when he was wearing his military uniform.
Snow falls in Houston and New Orleans as rare storm sweeps Gulf Coast
- A “bitterly cold airmass” will grip much of the South and Eastern United States for much of the week, the National Weather Service warned.
- Four deaths are suspected to have been caused by the weather: Two in Austin of suspected hypothermia; one person in Georgia; and one person Sunday in Milwaukee, according to authorities.
- Both of Houston’s major airports, George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Hobby Airport, suspended flight operations but are set to reopen in the morning.
- New Orleans saw a reported 9.5 inches of snow, East Baton Rouge Parish got 9 inches, and Baytown, Texas, east of Houston, got 5 inches of snow.
Trump defends Jan. 6 pardons of violent criminals
President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended the pardons and commutations of roughly 1,500 defendants charged with crimes connected to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, including some convicted of assaulting police officers.
Trump, in one of the first presidential acts of his second term, commuted the sentences of 14 prisoners and pardoned all others convicted of offenses related to the 2021 riot. He also directed the attorney general to dismiss all indictments pending before judges related to what became the largest federal investigation ever.
“They’ve served years in jail,” Trump said in response to questions from reporters at the White House about why he pardoned violent offenders. “They should not have served, and they’ve served years in jail. And murderers don’t even go to jail in this country.”
Trump orders all federal diversity, equity and inclusion employees placed on paid leave starting Wednesday
The Trump administration is ordering all federal employees in diversity, equity and inclusion roles placed on paid leave by Wednesday evening, according to a new memo from the Office of Personnel Management.
The memo, issued Tuesday to heads of departments and agencies, sets a deadline of no later than 5 p.m. ET Wednesday to inform the employees that they will be put on paid administrative leave as the agencies prepare to close all DEI-related offices and programs and to remove all websites and social media accounts for such offices.
It also asks federal agencies to submit a written plan by Jan. 31 for dismissing the employees.
Trump will pull U.S. out of Paris climate agreement
President Donald Trump will pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, according to an executive order he signed Monday as one of his first acts after he took office.
Under the Paris Agreement, signed in 2016, participating nations vowed to work together to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by making yearly pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions. In recent years, participating nations, including the United States, have also pledged billions of dollars to funds that assist developing nations with climate adaptation and mitigation.
Biden issues pre-emptive pardons for members of his family in one of his final acts as president
Just minutes before he left office, Joe Biden announced a set of sweeping pre-emptive pardons for members of his family, including his two brothers and his sister, after some on the right suggested they should face prosecution.
The announcement — a move Biden once said would not be indicative of his administration — came ahead of the inauguration ceremony for Donald Trump, who was sworn in as the 47th president Monday.
“My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics,” Biden said in a statement. “Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.”
Senate votes to confirm Marco Rubio as Trump’s secretary of state
The Republican-led Senate hit the ground running Monday with newly inaugurated President Donald Trump’s nominations, confirming Marco Rubio as secretary of state.
With cooperation from Democrats, GOP leaders moved quickly to bring Rubio, currently a senator from Florida, to the floor for a vote after he was unanimously reported out the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He sailed through by a vote of 99-0.
The vote caps a 14-year career for Rubio in the Senate. He ran for president in 2016, losing the Republican nomination to Trump. The two mended fences in subsequent years, and Rubio has embraced many of Trump’s ideas.
Trump pardons roughly 1,500 criminal defendants charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack
President Donald Trump on Monday issued roughly 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of 14 of his supporters in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when thousands of them stormed the building amid his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him.
Trump commuted the sentences of individuals associated with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, who were convicted of seditious conspiracy. He then issued “a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” a category that included people who assaulted law enforcement officers.
Charlie Pierce: Who’s Laughing at Donald Trump Now?
In 2017, I sat with a few journo pals below the podium on the west front of the Capitol and watched Donald Trump be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. After taking the oath of office, which he took approximately as seriously as he did contracts he’d signed with workmen in Atlantic City, he delivered what is unquestionably the weirdest inaugural address in American history-the now infamous “American Carnage” speech. Former President George W. Bush, seated nearby, reputedly called Trump’s remarks “some weird shit,” which I believe he actually did say because that’s what all of us in my little slice of the audience said, too.
Read the rest of Charlie Pierce’s piece at Esquire Politics.
One day, two men and the many ways people will honor MLK as Trump is sworn in
Some will spend the day in silent reflection, meditating.
Others will pass the hours volunteering, feeding the hungry or cleaning up their small piece of the earth.
Houses of worship are planning to hold day-long prayer vigils.
In these quiet ways — and others — people across the Washington region will honor Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday while thousands of others converge on the nation’s capital to celebrate President-elect Donald Trump being sworn in for a second term.
Polar vortex maps show where arctic blast is set to freeze the U.S. as far as the Deep South
With the Northern Hemisphere well into the winter months, it may seem like temperatures are cold enough already. However, a deep freeze, thanks to the polar vortex dipping down from Siberia, is about to bring even harsher arctic blast to nearly 300 million Americans starting this weekend. Maps show where and when the cold front will arrive.
The polar vortex is a large area of cold air and low pressure that normally spins over the North and South Poles. During the winter months and when the jet stream allows, this cold air can drop farther down into lower latitudes like in the United States. This is forecast to happen as soon as this weekend.
Trump promises to deliver a spate of executive orders, including action on Jan. 6 defendants
President-elect Donald Trump promised a spate of executive orders when he takes office as president Monday, suggesting at a Sunday rally in Washington, D.C., that among them will be action on the Jan. 6 rioters.
“Everybody in this very large arena will be very happy with my decision on the J6 hostages,” he said of the defendants and those convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol. Trump has long expressed sympathy for his supporters accused or found guilty of crimes for their involvement in the riot. He recently claimed there were no guns used that day, though a number of defendants were charged with and pleaded guilty to crimes related to carrying firearms.
“I think you’ll be very, very happy, I would say about 99.9% of this beautiful arena,” Trump said Sunday night at Capitol One Arena.
Gaza ceasefire begins with dramatic release of 3 Israeli hostages
In exchange, Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners, all of them women and children, early Monday to families that had waited in the cold outside the Ofer Prison in the West Bank.
The ceasefire was initially scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, but was delayed after Hamas was late to provide the hostages’ names to mediators, and Israel carried out last-minute strikes against the militant group’s facilities, the Israeli military said.
Dean Obeidallah: Democratic leaders… Either step up and take the fight to Trump or Step Aside
“Dear Democratic leaders: We need you to take the FIGHT to Donald Trump and the oligarchy he is ushering in to power. Stop being silent–or worse–looking for “common ground” with a convicted felon, adjudicated rapist who attempted a coup and incited the Jan. 6 terrorist attack. If you can’t do that, then step aside because we need fighters, not doormats for the MAGA agenda.”
The above is my best effort to sum up the growing anger and frustration I have heard from fellow Democrats since the election—especially now that we are just days from Trump being sworn in. It’s also exactly how I feel.
Read the rest of Dean Obeidallah’s piece at and subscribe to his Substack…
The Rude Pundit: Informing Ourselves to Death… Trump’s Win and American Stupidity (Part 2)
We’ve seen definite signs of the abject stupidity of the American voter in 2024 in so many ways. There are the states where voters put abortion rights in their constitutions but voted for senators who want a national ban. The fact (and it is a fact) that searches for “Did Biden drop out?” spiked on Google on Election Day, as well as searches for “tariffs” and “who pays for tariffs?”, may seem like small data points, but it points to a larger issue with deliberate ignorance. Apathy is one thing, as in “I don’t care about politics,” but that’s not an excuse to be totally disengaged. I don’t give a damn about football, but I know the Giants and the Jets suck because I pay attention to the world around me.
It’s even worse when it comes to the things people believe that simply are untrue. For instance, a Gallup poll released this week showed that a majority of voters don’t know what they’re talking about. They were asked if “you believe the United States has made progress, stood still or lost ground in each during the last four years, since Joe Biden became president” on a variety of issues. A majority said we’ve “lost ground” on immigration (64%), the economy (59%), and crime (51%), among others. And that’s simply objectively untrue. Immigration is under greater control than it’s been in years, so much so that there isn’t much for Trump to do at the southern border. The economy is doing great and crime rates are at historic lows.
Biden Reiterates He’s Worried ‘How Fragile Democracy Is’ In Final Interview
President Joe Biden said Thursday he is worried about the fragility of American democracy in the last interview of his presidency.
The president spoke with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, a day after he addressed the nation from the Oval Office to warn about the concentration of power and wealth in government and the reshaping of an American oligarchy. The host asked Biden if he felt a sense of relief ending his administration.
“No,” Biden replied. “But there was a sense of serious concern. You’ve known me a long time. I really am concerned about how fragile democracy is. That sounds corny, but I really am concerned, because you have heard me say it a hundred times.”
Biden Won’t Enforce TikTok Ban, Leaving Fate Of App To Trump
President Joe Biden won’t enforce a ban on the social media app TikTok that is set to take effect a day before he leaves office on Monday, a U.S. official said Thursday, leaving its fate in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump.
Congress last year, in a law signed by Biden, required that TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance divest the company by Jan. 19, a day before the presidential inauguration. The official said the outgoing administration was leaving the implementation of the law — and the potential enforcement of the ban — to Trump.
Confirmation hearings day 3 highlights: Doug Burgum, Scott Bessent and other Cabinet picks face Senate questions
- Four of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks testified before Senate committees at their confirmation hearings today.
- Senate Finance Committee members pressed Scott Bessent, a hedge fund executive whom Trump selected for treasury secretary, on inflation, tax cuts and wages. Bessent, who was also a top fundraiser for Trump’s campaign, also defended the president-elect’s threats to impose massive tariffs on China and other countries.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee also heard from character witnesses testifying on behalf of Pam Bondi, Trump’s attorney general pick. Bondi herself testified yesterday and did not attend today’s hearing. The committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin, of Illinois, began today’s hearing by saying that he was “disappointed” to hear her echoing some of Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election.
- Read the rest of the story at NBC News
Israel-Hamas ceasefire: Israel Cabinet set to vote on deal after agreement on hostage release is reached
Israel and Hamas have hammered out agreements on the deal to release the hostages, Netanyahu said in a statement early Friday.
The deal will be sent to Israel’s security Cabinet for approval later in the day and then to the full Cabinet for approval, he said in a statement, although it was not clear when the full Cabinet would meet. Netanyahu said his negotiating team informed him of the agreement.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his appreciation for the negotiating team and all those who assisted,” the statement said.
Dr. Irwin Redlener: LA FIRE DISASTER… PROTECTING CHILDREN IN PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HARM’S WAY
The massive fire catastrophe in LA will be remembered as one of the most devastating disasters in modern U.S. history. Having worked on the prevention of, response to, and recovery from megadisasters for many years, I have watched how the devastation of such events impacts communities and people, especially people with important vulnerabilities like chronic illnesses, mobility challenges, and other conditions, including people who are economically fragile.
But, as a pediatrician, I am especially concerned about what children face during and after large-scale disasters.
7 takeaways from a jam-packed day of confirmation hearings for Trump’s nominees
Six of President-elect Donald Trump’s big-office nominees faced Senate confirmation hearings Wednesday, previewing a parade of policy and political fights that will define his second term.
The picks — Pam Bondi for attorney general, Marco Rubio for secretary of state, Sean Duffy for transportation secretary, John Ratcliffe for CIA director, Chris Wright for energy secretary and Russell Vought for director of the White House Office of Management and Budget — largely avoided the kind of fireworks that can sink confirmation chances.
At the same time, they collectively laid out visions for the agencies they hope to lead that comport with Trump’s campaign promises and political grievances.
Electrical tower a focus as Eaton Fire’s potential origin after video clues emerge
When the first flashes of fire and billows of smoke grabbed the attention of people living in the foothills of Eaton Canyon in Los Angeles County, residents recorded videos of the same cluster of transmission towers high on the chaparral-covered hillside, illuminated by flames.
California fire officials pinpointed the start of the Eaton Fire on the evening of Jan. 7 to that area, but more than a week later, the exact source remains under investigation, fueling speculation over whether a high-voltage transmission tower is what set off the deadly wildfire.
“I still see the fire investigators right now, crawling up there around the poles,” said Brendan Thorn, 28, who recalled witnessing flames at the tower’s base and stayed behind at his Pasadena home while his family fled.
Israel and Hamas reach deal on Gaza ceasefire and hostage release
A ceasefire deal was reached Wednesday to end 15 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip, according to President Joe Biden, Qatar’s prime minister and Hamas officials.
The hard-won agreement will also free dozens of hostages held in Gaza, as well as Palestinians in Israeli jails, bringing the first real break in violence since a weeklong truce expired Dec. 1, 2023.
The deal will take effect Sunday, according to Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, whose country hosted weeks of intense negotiations.
In farewell speech, Biden warns an ‘oligarchy’ in America is threatening democracy
President Joe Biden‘s farewell address Wednesday came with a series of warnings for the future of the country, among them that a rising “oligarchy taking shape” threatens American democracy.
“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,” Biden said.
Biden’s comments, delivered from the Oval Office, seemed clearly aimed at billionaire Elon Musk, who has been at the side of President-elect Donald Trump since his election win, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Jack Smith says Trump has used ‘intimidation and harassment’ to get his way
In November, as Donald Trump and his transition team worked to line up support for his cabinet nominees ahead of the confirmation hearings that began Tuesday with defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth, Team Trump had a message for lawmakers: Support us or else.
ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl reported that one senior Trump adviser said the message to lawmakers is, “If you are on the wrong side of the vote, you’re buying yourself a primary. And there’s a guy named Elon Musk who is going to finance it.”
LA fires live updates: At least 25 fire-related deaths, medical examiner says
At least 25 people have died as multiple wildfires, fueled by severe drought conditions and strong winds, rage across the Los Angeles area.
Thousands of firefighters are battling wildfires across 45 square miles of densely populated Los Angeles County. About 88,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 84,000 are under evacuation warnings.
‘If you want to take it outside …’: Rep. Nancy Mace challenges Rep. Jasmine Crockett at House hearing
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, got into a heated exchange at a House hearing Tuesday that culminated with Mace challenging Crockett by asking whether she wanted to “take it outside.”
The war of words came during a discussion of civil rights and transgender rights, with Crockett calling for re-establishing a subcommittee on civil rights and criticizing Mace’s rhetoric about transgender people.
“I can see that somebody’s campaign coffers really are struggling right now. So [Mace] is gonna keep saying ‘trans, trans, trans, trans’ so that people will feel threatened, and child, listen —” Crockett said.
Trump Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth pitches himself as a ‘change agent’ as he faces tense grilling in Senate hearing
Pete Hegseth pitched himself as a “change agent” to lead the Defense Department while Democrats excoriated him as unfit for any military leadership post in the first confirmation hearing for President-elect Donald Trump incoming Cabinet nominees on Tuesday.
The Senate Armed Services Committee has typically been one of the least partisan on Capitol Hill. But its members split cleanly along party lines Tuesday, as Democrats grilled Hegseth about his comments about women in the military and allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking.
Malcolm Nance: JANUARY SIX WARNING… THE LAS VEGAS TERRORIST WANTED CIVIL WAR
The New Year’s Day terrorist attack carried out on the Trump International hotel in Las Vegas, using a rented Tesla cyber truck almost immediately dropped off of the radar of news media in the wake of the deaths of 15 innocent people in New Orleans.
In the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, former US Army Staff Sergeant Shamsud-Din Jabbar carried out an incident in which he used his vehicle as a weapon system. He drove down Bourbon Street running over and shooting people with an ISIS flag on his truck.
Read the rest of Malcolm Nance’s piece at and subscribe to his Substack…
Charlie Pierce: I Didn’t Expect to Find Myself Agreeing with Steve Bannon on Something
Oh, my. MAGAworld may be coming apart at the seams, and I feel like collateral damage, because, somehow, Steve Bannon and I agree on the malevolent influence of Elon Musk, whom we both believe should be sent back to the veldt where he was spawned.
“Why do we have South Africans, the most racist people on earth, white South Africans, we have them making any comments at all on what goes on in the United States?”
Get ’em, Steve. Attack!
Democrats Say F.B.I. Did Not Interview Critical Witnesses About Pete Hegseth
Senate Democrats on Monday said that an F.B.I. background check on Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, omitted key details on major allegations against him, in part because it did not include interviews with critical witnesses.
One missed opportunity came when the bureau did not interview one of Mr. Hegseth’s ex-wives before its findings were presented to senators last week, according to people familiar with the bureau’s investigation.
The clamor comes on the eve of Mr. Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, and just days after officials from Mr. Trump’s transition team briefed Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the panel’s top Republican, and Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, its top Democrat, on the F.B.I.’s background check.
Jack Smith pens biting defense of Jan. 6 probe, says jury would have convicted Trump
President-elect Donald Trump “inspired his supporters to commit acts of physical violence” on Jan. 6 and knowingly spread an objectively false narrative about election fraud in the 2020 election, special counsel Jack Smith said in a report defending his investigation made public early Tuesday.
The 170-page report summarized Smith’s investigation into Trump’s efforts to maintain power after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, which culminated in the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Smith’s office conducted interviews with more than 250 individuals in connection with the investigation and federal grand jurors heard testimony from more than 55 witnesses as part of the probe.
Senate braces for ‘train wreck’ as hearings kick off today for Trump Cabinet picks
The Republican-led Senate is set to hold a dozen hearings this week for President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, with the hope of confirming them quickly after he’s inaugurated next Monday.
The selections coming before the Senate range from those who are expected to have smooth paths to confirmation, like Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for secretary of state, to others who face headwinds and need the hearings to garner support, such as former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, a military veteran, for defense secretary.
“We’re going to have a little bit of a train wreck next week of confirmation hearings,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters last week. “But I’m glad we’re getting those done, and the FBI background check would naturally be a part of that process.”
Displaced Los Angeles-area residents face spiking rents as authorities warn of price gouging
Joe Thompson’s desperate post-wildfire scramble to find a new place for his family to live led him Saturday to a five-bedroom home in Santa Monica, California, that had been put on the market the day before for $28,000 a month — more than double the rent posted a year ago. The agent was asking for three months’ rent up front and already had applications from multiple people.
Thompson and his partner turned away, appalled.
“We’re not going to do that,” Thompson, 44, a trader and investor, said later. “We’ll just keep looking.”
Special counsel Jack Smith resigns
Special counsel Jack Smith has resigned from the Justice Department, officials said in a court filing Saturday.
The move was expected ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Smith’s report on Trump’s alleged involvement in 2020 election interference is expected to be released soon. Trump has denied the allegations.
“The Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the Department on January 10,” a government court filing said in a footnote.
JD Vance says violent Jan. 6 rioters shouldn’t receive pardons
Vice President-elect JD Vance said Sunday who he thinks should and shouldn’t receive presidential pardons for their actions during the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“If you protested peacefully on Jan. 6 and you’ve had [Attorney General] Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice treat you like a gang member, you should be pardoned,” Vance told “Fox News Sunday.”
He added, “If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.”
Vance’s comments broke slightly from what President-elect Donald Trump has laid out in his pardon plans.
Newsom says California wildfires will be one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history
California Gov. Gavin Newsom told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Saturday that the Los Angeles-area wildfires will be one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history and called for an independent investigation into the local water supply.
“I think it will be in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope,” Newsom said when asked whether the disaster would be among the nation’s worst ever.
His remarks came after firefighters said some fire hydrants ran dry in the first several hours as they were battling flames across greater Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Firefighters Rush to Contain L.A. Blazes as Death Toll Rises to 24
The blazes tearing through Los Angeles have killed at least 24 people, officials said on Sunday, as forecasters issued a rare red flag warning for strong winds expected to hit the area from late Monday through Wednesday.
Over the weekend, firefighters tried to take advantage of calmer winds, which allowed them to make progress against the two biggest blazes, the Palisades and Eaton fires.
The Eaton fire has killed at least 16 people, making it one of the deadliest in California history. Another 16 people were reported missing in the areas of the two largest fires, according to Sheriff Robert Luna of Los Angeles County. Officials expect those numbers to rise.
The Rude Pundit: Informing Ourselves to Death… Another Explanation of Why Harris Lost (Part 1)
We keep getting “deep dives” into why Kamala Harris lost and Donald Trump won. They can be big reasons, like racism and sexism, or the ability of Trump’s campaign to exploit the anti-incumbent zeitgeist through bro podcasts and transphobia, or Harris and the Democrats courting anti-Trump Republicans while taking other Democratic voters for granted.
But I will always blame voters more than I will blame campaigns because, ultimately, each individual American had to decide whether to vote and who to vote for. I’m a fan of simple explanations, and the simplest explanation, by far, is that the majority of Americans of voting age are stupid. I mean that in a few ways. If you stayed home and didn’t vote because you don’t care about any of this, you’re stupid. If you didn’t vote because you hated both candidates, you’re stupid. People on the left who didn’t vote or voted third-party because of specific issues? Stupid. If that includes you, then I mean you. Letting Donald Trump back into office is the stupidest thing this country has done since at least the Vietnam War. (Yes, it is stupider than electing him the first time.)
LAPD Says Arson Suspect Is In Custody
The Los Angeles Police Department said it apprehended a suspect attempting to set a fire in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday. Police say the man was taken into custody around 4:30 after locals held him down until authorities arrived.
Officials have yet to confirm whether the man was responsible for the nearby Kenneth Fire, which began a little more than an hour after the man was apprehended.
That fire began on Thursday at around 3:16 p.m. in West Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles before it spread to nearby Ventura County. According to Cal Fire, the conflagration has burned at least 960 acres so far.
President Jimmy Carter honored with a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral
In a rare show of unity in these tumultuous times, every living American president filed into pews together Thursday to honor one of their own at the funeral for President Jimmy Carter at Washington National Cathedral on Thursday.
Carter, who died late last month at 100 years old, is being remembered as a compassionate Christian and ahead-of-his-time progressive, despite having served a single term in the White House that was seen as a disappointment at the time.
Under the stained glass and stone filigree of the soaring neo-Gothic nave, family members and dignitaries recalled private kindnesses and public sacrifices, noting that Carter taught Sunday school at his church in Plains, Georgia, “every Sunday from World War II to Covid.”
Supreme Court allows Trump’s sentencing in New York hush money case
The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s request to block criminal proceedings in his hush money case in New York, meaning a sentencing hearing scheduled for Friday can go ahead.
The decision on a 5-4 vote with four conservatives dissenting meant the conservative-majority court changed course after having previously handed Trump two big wins last year. Trump is set to return to the presidency on Jan. 20.
The brief unsigned order said the issues Trump wants to raise “can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal.” The burden sentencing imposes on Trump is “relatively insubstantial,” the court added, because he is not going to receive any prison time.
10 dead, more than 9,000 homes, structures damaged or destroyed in L.A. County fires
Ten people have died, more than 9,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed, and at least 130,000 residents are under evacuation orders. Experts say L.A. is not out of danger yet and that these fires have the potential to be the costliest wildfire disaster in American history.
Elon Musk says DOGE probably won’t find $2 trillion in federal budget cuts
Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Wednesday that his budget-cutting effort on behalf of President-elect Donald Trump would most likely not find $2 trillion in savings, backtracking on a goal he set earlier as co-head of a new advisory body, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Musk told political strategist Mark Penn in an interview broadcast on X that the $2 trillion figure was a “best-case outcome” and that he thought there was only a “good shot” at cutting half that.
Musk’s lowered estimate is a significant downgrade from his earlier view. At a rally for Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 27, Musk said he’d be able to cut the federal budget by “at least $2 trillion.”
Biden cancels Rome visit with Pope Francis to focus on federal response to California wildfires
President Joe Biden has canceled a trip to Rome to meet with Pope Francis so he can instead focus on federal response to the rapidly moving wildfires that are tearing through the Los Angeles area, the White House said Wednesday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Wednesday that Biden made the decision after he returned to Washington from a trip to Los Angeles to meet with law enforcement, fire and emergency personnel who are battling the fires.
The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.
‘Can’t Even Respond’: Gavin Newsom Reacts To Trump’s Los Angeles Wildfires Attack
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) swiftly dismissed Donald Trump’s efforts to “play politics” on Wednesday after the president-elect blamed him for the devastating Los Angeles wildfires that have killed at least five people.
“One can’t even respond to it,” said Newsom in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooperas the two stood in front of a burning property.
“People are literally fleeing, people have lost their lives, kids lost their schools, families completely torn asunder, churches burned down. This guy wanted to politicize it. I have a lot of thoughts and I know what I want to say. I won’t.”
Staggering losses from L.A. firestorm: 5 dead, 2,000 structures destroyed or damaged
More than 2,000 homes, businesses and other buildings have been damaged or destroyed and at least five people are dead in wildfires scorching communities across Los Angeles County, making this one of the most destructive firestorms to hit the region in memory.
The five bodies were found in three structures in Altadena, where the Eaton fire exploded Tuesday night, giving residents little time to flee. It is estimated that more than 1,000 structures have been destroyed in the Palisades fire and another 1,000 either damaged or destroyed in the Eaton fire, according to the L.A. County Fire Department.
Firefighting resources were strained further when the Sunset fire erupted in the Hollywood Hills area around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, prompting evacuations in the Runyon Canyon area.
Trump suggests he could use military force to acquire Panama Canal and Greenland and ‘economic force’ to annex Canada
President-elect Donald Trump suggested Tuesday he would consider using military force to gain control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, and “economic force” to acquire Canada.
During a free-wheeling news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump was asked by a reporter if he could assure the public that he would not use military coercion against Panama or Greenland, a goal he has floated in recent weeks. “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two, but I can say this, we need them for economic security,” Trump said. He said later that he would not use military force against Canada, only “economic force.”
Read the rest of the story at NBC News
Facebook/Instagram/Threads is ending its fact-checking program in favor of a ‘community notes’ system similar to X’s
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a series of major changes to the company’s moderation policies and practices Tuesday, citing a shifting political and social landscape and a desire to embrace free speech.
Zuckerberg said Meta will end its fact-checking program with trusted partners and replace it with a community-driven system similar to X’s Community Notes.
The company is also changing its content moderation policies around political topics and undoing changes that reduced the amount of political content in user feeds, Zuckerberg said.
Jimmy Carter lies in state at U.S. Capitol after eulogies by Kamala Harris and Republican leaders
Former President Jimmy Carter arrived at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to lie in state after a memorial service attended by his family, Vice President Kamala Harris, members of Congress and other officials.
Congressional leaders eulogized Carter, the 39th president, praising his work in office, faith and volunteerism.
“Jimmy Carter was that all too rare example of a gifted man who also walks with humility, modesty and grace,” said Harris, who recalled that she was in middle school when Carter was elected president.
Fires grow around Los Angeles in ‘unprecedented’ disaster with winds worsening
- High winds up to 60 mph have helped fan at least three wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area, prompting evacuations and a huge firefighter response.
- Palisades Fire has burned through almost 3,000 acres, while millions of people across Southern California are under a red flag warning. The others are the Eaton Fire, at 1,000 acres, and the Hurst Fire, which is at 500 acres. All three are 0% contained.
- No injuries or deaths have been reported from the fires so far, but Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in light of what he called “unprecedented” blazes. At least 49,000 people have been ordered to evacuate and thousands more told to prepare to leave.
Joe Biden Meets With Victims’ Families In New Orleans After Deadly Attack
President Joe Biden met with grieving families, attended a prayer service and stopped at a makeshift memorial in New Orleans on Monday in honor of the victims of last week’s deadly New Year’s attack in the city’s historic French Quarter.
Biden and first lady Jill Biden made their first stop in the city at a memorial that sprung up on Bourbon Street, where an Army veteran drove a truck into revelers, killing 14 and injuring 30 more.
Flowers and messages had been left at the base of more than 14 crosses erected on the sidewalk. After Jill Biden placed white flowers at the memorial, she and the president stood in silence and bowed their heads.
Judge finds Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court in defamation case
A federal judge in New York has found former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court for not complying with orders to turn over information about his assets to a pair of former Georgia election workers he defamed.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman made the contempt finding Monday afternoon after Giuliani testified over two days to answer questions about why he’d failed to hand over assets and court-ordered discovery information to help satisfy Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss’ $146 million defamation judgment against him.
Giuliani, the former New York mayor and U.S. attorney, “willfully violated an unambiguous order of the court” by failing to provide information when he was supposed to, Liman said.
With an intent stare, a wide smile and a simple declaration, Harris certifies her loss to Trump
Upon entering the Senate chamber on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris issued a simple declaration when NBC News asked her about presiding over the certification of the 2024 election: “Democracy prevails.”
Minutes later, Harris carried through, steering Congress’ collective endorsement of the electoral vote that she lost and affirming Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Hands clasped before her, Harris looked ahead plainly and intently as four senators took turns reading off the electoral totals from each state.
Canada’s embattled PM Justin Trudeau announces he will step down
Justin Trudeau said Monday that he will resign as the leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party, an announcement that will fire the starting gun on a contest to replace him as prime minister.
Trudeau said it was clear that he could not “be the leader during the next elections due to internal battles,” later citing polarization inside and outside the country.
“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide competitive process,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa. “Last night, I asked the president of the Liberal Party to begin that process.”
Charlie Pierce: Speaker Moses, These Are Not the Words of a Christ-Infused Political Leader…
The universe’s Department of Metaphor never sleeps. This week the Congress certifies the election of someone who, later this week, will be sentenced—albeit gently—on 34 felony counts. While we mark the week of the anniversary of an armed insurrection, the president continues to float pardons for the insurrectionists. The Department of Metaphor marked these surreal events by arranging a perfect one in Zambia.
Rep. Mike Johnson tells House Republicans Trump wants them to pass a single reconciliation bill
At a closed-door House Republican retreat Saturday morning, newly re-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said President-elect Donald Trump was in favor of passing a single reconciliation bill that would address his priorities, including border security, energy and an extension of his signature 2017 tax law, two sources with direct knowledge told NBC News.
Since the November election, when Republicans took back control of the White House and the Senate and retained control of the House, GOP lawmakers have publicly debated whether to attempt to pass one or two reconciliation bills to advance their agenda.
New Orleans attacker recorded visits to city weeks earlier, wore Meta smart glasses during attack
The New Orleans terrorist attacker visited the city twice in the weeks before the attack and recorded video of the area using Meta smart glasses, the FBI revealed Sunday.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, stayed at a rental home in New Orleans at the end of October and again in November, just weeks before his attack on Bourbon Street, which killed 14 people. He wore the smart glasses to record video as he rode a bicycle through the French Quarter, Lyonel Myrthil, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said Sunday.
“Meta glasses appear to look like regular glasses, but they allow a user to record videos and photos hand-free,” Myrthil said. “They also allow the user to potentially livestream through their video.”
The Heaviest Snowfall In A Decade Is Possible As A Wintery Blast Roils Parts Of The U.S.
A blast of snow, ice, wind and plunging temperatures stirred up dangerous travel conditions in parts of the central U.S. on Sunday, as a disruptive winter storm brought the possibility of the “heaviest snowfall in a decade” to some areas.
Snow and ice blanketed major roadways in nearly all of Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the state’s National Guard was activated to help any motorists who were stuck. At least 8 inches of snow were expected, particularly north of Interstate 70, as the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions were reported. The warning extended to New Jersey for Monday and into early Tuesday.
Biden Rips Efforts To ‘Erase’ History Of Jan. 6 Riot, Says There Won’t Be A Repeat This Time
President Joe Biden is decrying what he calls an “unrelenting effort” to downplay a mob of Donald Trump supporters overrunning the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to block certification of the 2020 election — seeking to contrast that day’s chaos with what he promises will be an orderly transition returning Trump to power for a second term.
In an opinion piece published Sunday in The Washington Post, Biden recalled Jan. 6, 2021, writing that “violent insurrectionists attacked the Capitol.”
“We should be proud that our democracy withstood this assault,” Biden wrote. “And we should be glad we will not see such a shameful attack again this year.”
The Rude Pundit: To Make It Through the Next Four Years, Stop Hoping Someone Saves Us
Even though I’ve bailed on Uncle Elroy’s Phantasmagorical Hellscape of Incel Nazis and Rapey Transphobes, I keep my ear to the social media wall over on BlueSky and Threads. And one thing that’s bubbled up lately amid the shitting-oneself despair about the incoming Trump administration is a vague sense of hope because of the not really well-named “MAGA Civil War” over visas for foreign workers. It’s a battle between the racist capitalists and racist isolationists over who is the better racist, the fight America deserves. Some are wondering if this will hinder Trump’s agenda, which is really just “cause as much chaos to take as much money as possible until we die or are chased out of office.”
Trump Hotel In Las Vegas Evacuated After Cybertruck Ignites Outside Lobby
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is investigating after a vehicle caught fire Wednesday morning at the entryway to the Trump International Hotel.
Video shared by spectators on social media appeared to show a Tesla Cybertruck engulfed in flames just outside the hotel lobby.
A spokesperson for the Clark County Fire Department told HuffPost the agency received a call at 8:40 a.m. Wednesday about a vehicle fire in the valet area outside of the Trump Hotel at 2000 Fashion Show Drive but was unable to elaborate further.
At Least 10 Killed as Man Drives Truck Into New Orleans Crowd
At least 30 more people were injured when a man intentionally drove a pickup truck into crowds on Bourbon Street early Wednesday, officials said. The man died after a shootout with the police, two law enforcement officials said.
Read the rest of the story and see the live updates at The New York Times
Jimmy Carter’s journey home: Mapping the funeral plans for the coming days
State funeral activities will begin at 10:15 a.m. Jan. 4 at a hospital in nearby Americus, Georgia, when current and former Secret Service agents will carry Carter’s remains to a hearse and will walk alongside as the motorcade departs for Atlanta.
Dean Obeidallah: Finally, someone has the courage to stand up to Trump!
Over the past month, we have witnessed a pathetic parade of cowards who have bent a knee to Donald Trump from corporate media figures to CEOs of companies to even some Democratic officeholders who are now looking for “common ground” with the fascist. And the last few days have featured a pitiful level of surrendering to Trump by the CEOs’ of Meta and Amazon plus ABC News paying Trump $15 million to settle a defamation case—that as a lawyer I can assure you ABC would’ve won. These actions were motivated not just by selfish concerns about the bottom line but actual fear given Trump had in the past threatened these CEOs or companies by name—and with his return to power imminent–they appear truly fearful.
Read the rest of Dean Obeidallah’s piece at and subscribe to his Substack
F.A.A. Bans Drone Flights Near Key Sites in New York
The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday temporarily banned drone flights over parts of New York State, including sections of Brooklyn, Queens and two communities on Long Island.
The regions include “some of New York’s critical infrastructure sites,” Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said in a statement.
“This action is purely precautionary,” she said. “There are no threat to these sites.”
The no-fly zones include Far Rockaway in Queens, Brooklyn and two communities on Long Island, Ridge and Garden City, according to the F.A.A. The ban will last through Jan. 18.
Luigi Mangione Extradited To New York In UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting
Luigi Mangione was extradited to New York on Thursday where he faces state and now also federal charges in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The 26-year-old was taken to Manhattan after waving his right to an extradition hearing during a morning court appearance in Pennsylvania, the state where he was arrested on Dec. 9 after a five-day search. In exchange for also waiving a preliminary hearing on Pennsylvania charges filed against him, prosecutors gave him a 20-page investigative report from the Altoona Police Department, according to The Associated Press.
He flew to Long Island and was then taken by helicopter to lower Manhattan, where he was escorted into the city by numerous law enforcement officers, as well as New York Mayor Eric Adams.
Hakeem Jeffries Slams GOP For Bending To The Will Of Billionaire ‘Puppeteers’
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) criticized Republicans for tanking a bipartisan government funding agreement, saying the party was bending to the will of wealthy backers and “puppeteers.”
The lawmaker’s remarks were a direct attack on billionaire Elon Musk, whose displeasure with the spending bill — aired on X, the social media site he owns — precipitated holiday season chaos in Washington. President-elect Donald Trump demanded Republicans put forward last-minute changes, including raising or eliminating the debt ceiling.
But the effort bombed Thursday night after many Republicans and almost every Democrat refused to go along with it, raising the stakes of a government shutdown just days before Christmas.
House votes down Republican bill to avert shutdown on eve of the deadline
The House rejected a bill Thursday to keep the government funded temporarily after Republican leaders reneged on an earlier bipartisan deal and made modifications to appease President-elect Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk and an internal GOP revolt.
The vote was 174-235, with one Democrat voting present, falling far short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass it under a fast-track process. Two Democrats voted for the bill, and Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, was the lone present vote, while the rest of the party opposed it. Thirty-eight Republicans voted against the bill, as well, with conservatives saying it did not substantially reduce federal spending.
The rejected measure leaves Congress without a clear plan to avoid alooming government shutdown with less than 30 hours left before the deadline, driving up the odds of a funding lapse just ahead of the holidays. A shutdown is scheduled to begin at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday.
House Ethics Committee to release report on its Matt Gaetz investigation
The House Ethics Committee has voted to publicly release a report detailing the findings of an investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News — a reversal from last month when the panel deadlockedon whether to publish the report.
The report is expected to be made public as soon as this week, after the House finishes its final business of the year: voting to keep the government open.
The committee’s yearslong investigation included looking into allegations that Gaetz had engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, gave special favors to people with whom he had personal relationships and obstructed the House probe.
Federal prosecutors considering charges against Luigi Mangione in insurance CEO’s death
Federal prosecutors are looking into whether to charge Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of United Healthcare’s CEO, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News on Wednesday.
If federal charges are filed, the New York state murder case against Mangione would have priority, the sources said.
Mangione, 26, was indicted Tuesday on first-degree murder and other charges in the targeted killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who authorities said was shot from behind as he walked on a Manhattan sidewalk on Dec. 4.
Stocks plunge following Fed inflation projections
Major stock indices plunged Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled a slower pace of interest rate cuts for 2025 than previously forecast, renewing concerns about how fast inflation would fall.
The S&P 500 lost 2.4% and the Nasdaq Composite shed nearly 3%, with losses intensifying as markets closed for the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 1,100 points for its biggest loss since August. The Dow’s 10th-consecutive day of decline is now closer to becoming the worst losing streak in 50 years. Though eye-popping, the streak largely reflects a rotation by investors out of more established companies into tech stocks, to which the Dow tends to apply less weight.
Government Shutdown Grows Closer as Trump Tells G.O.P. to Kill Spending Deal
A bipartisan spending deal to avert a shutdown was on life support on Wednesday after President-elect Donald J. Trump condemned it, leaving lawmakers without a strategy to fund the government past a Friday night deadline.
Mr. Trump issued a scathing statement ordering Republicans not to support the sprawling bill, piling on to a barrage of criticism from Elon Musk, who spent Wednesday trashing the measure on social media and threatening any Republican who supported it with political ruin.
Malcolm Nance: FREEDOM! The Syrian Dictator Falls and Takes Iran & Tulsi Gabbard with Him
“Freedom! We are free of the Dictator!” said a released prisoner from Bashar al-Assad’s Saydnya Prison, a house of horrors that was the last stop for tens of thousands including many of the corpses discovered on the site.
What happened in Syria is nothing less than the final leg of a revolution that started in 2011 and lasted thirteen years. Just three weeks ago, the dictatorship of Vladimir Putin’s Arab protégé seemed stable and under the firm control of all but two small parts of the Syrian hinterlands. Assad did not have the north central rebel city of Idlib and the northeastern Kurdish regions in his grasp. The Northeastern areas were taken by force from the Islamic State terrorist group by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and, by extension, the US Special Forces who advised and guided them.
Read the rest of Malcolm Nance’s piece at and subscribe to his Substack
Abundant Life Christian School shooting latest: Local schools report ‘false threats’
Police are investigating the online footprint of 15-year-old Abundant Life Christian School shooting suspect Natalie Rupnow — who went by Samantha — as they piece together the course of events that left three people dead, Rupnow among them.
Meanwhile, numerous schools in the Madison Metropolitan School District “were targeted by false threats often known as swatting” Tuesday, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told reporters at a news conference.
Police are investigating, Barnes said, and he noted authorities do not believe there are any current threats. “Making false threats is a crime, and we are working with the district attorney,” he said.
Donald Trump Sues Iowa Newspaper, Veteran Pollster Over ‘Deceptive’ Poll
President-elect Donald Trump filed suit Monday night against the Des Moines Register newspaper and veteran Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer over a pre-election poll that showed Vice President Kamala Harris beating Trump in a state he easily carried just days later.
Trump is alleging the Nov. 2 poll that had Harris 3 percentage points ahead of him amounted to “brazen election interference” and contained “leaked” and “manipulated” data. Filed in Polk County, Iowa, under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, the lawsuit seeks an order preventing Selzer from releasing “any further deceptive polls” as well as unspecified damages.
Trump’s lawyers, in a filing first reported by Fox News Digital, accused the “defendants and their cohorts in the Democrat Party” of hoping “the Harris Poll would create a false narrative of inevitability for Harris in the final week of the 2024 Presidential Election.”
Luigi Mangione indicted on first-degree murder charge in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing
Luigi Mangione was indicted on first-degree murder and other charges in the ambush killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson this month, the Manhattan district attorney’s office announced Tuesday.
The indictment on first-murder degree in furtherance of terrorism elevates the case against Mangione, 26, in Thompson’s killing outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4.
The New York state Supreme Court indictment also charges Mangione with two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as a killing in the act of terrorism; two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon; four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon; one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon; and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
Congress releases short-term funding bill as deadline nears to avert a holiday shutdown
Congressional leaders on Tuesday evening released the text of a short-term bill to keep the federal government open until March 14, rolling it out just days ahead of a key deadline to prevent a shutdown and after numerous delays.
Funding expires at the end of Friday, when the House and the Senate hope to adjourn for the Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s holidays.
The 1,547-page bill includes $100.4 billion for disaster relief funding to address damage caused by hurricanes Helene and Milton in places like western North Carolina and Florida. That was roughly what President Joe Biden had requested of Congress.
In his first postelection news conference, Trump boasts of his popularity with CEOs
President-elect Donald Trump was upbeat at his first postelection news conference Monday, saying there was a big difference from when he took office in 2016: Some of his former adversaries are now being nice to him.
“Everybody wants to be my friend,” he said about how he’s being treated by CEOs of major technology companies, whom he has portrayed as adversaries in the past. “I don’t know, in personality changed or something.”
Trump said During the wide-ranging news conference at his Mar-a-Lago property that one of the biggest differences over the last four years is that “everybody was fighting me.”
Judge in Trump’s hush money case denies bid to toss out guilty verdict
The New York judge who presided over Donald Trump’s hush money trial denied the president-elect’s bid to vacate his guilty verdict on presidential immunity grounds.
“Defendant’s motion to dismiss the indictment and verdict is denied,” Judge Juan Merchan wrote in a ruling Monday.
Merchan handed down the decision after he also denied Trump’s argument that he’s already protected by presidential immunity because of his election win. “This court does not agree,” he wrote.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung bashed the ruling, calling it “a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s decision on immunity.”
‘Something strange is going on’: Trump calls for more information about N.J. drone sightings
President-elect Donald Trump said Monday that the government should disclose more information about the recent drone sightings in New Jersey.
At his first press conference since winning the presidency, Trump criticized the Biden administration for not sharing more information on the drones, which were first spotted in New Jersey in November and have since become a national topic of concern and conspiracy theories.
“Something strange is going on,” he added. “For some reason, they don’t want to tell the people.”
What we know so far about the Abundant Life Christian School shooting in Wisconsin
A teacher and a student were killed at a private school in Wisconsin on Monday after a person authorities identified as a teenage student at Abundant Life Christian School opened fire.
Six people were injured, and the suspected shooter, a 15-year-old female student, was killed, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told reporters.
Here’s what we know about the shooting:
When did the shooting happen?
Authorities were dispatched to a report of an active shooter at Abundant Life Christian School, east of downtown Madison, at 10:57 a.m., Barnes said.
Charlie Pierce: The Curious Case of Trump And ABC News
That stirring in the earth that you felt over the weekend was the result of a man named Robert Goodloe Harper spinning at a velocity that may have rendered him invisible. Harper volunteered in a cavalry unit of the Continental Army when he was 15, and he also served in the War of 1812. In 1798, he was serving in the House of Representatives when the so-called XYZ Affair exploded. It began when France started seizing American merchant ships and demanding loans and bribes to stop doing so. President John Adams sent three envoys to France to negotiate on this country’s behalf. The French demands were so blatantly corrupt that the Americans were outraged. One of them, future chief justice John Marshall, was particularly scathing. Back in Washington, at a dinner party, Harper rose to compliment Marshall’s stand against what Harper considered extortionate demands.
“Millions for defense,” Harper famously said, “but not one cent for tribute.”
Chuck Schumer requests drone detection system for New York, New Jersey as mysterious devices litter the skies
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has requested that a drone detection system be sent to New York and New Jersey after a series of mysterious drones disrupted the skies in recent weeks, even prompting a temporary shutdown at an airport over the weekend.
Schumer made the request to the Department of Homeland Security on Sunday, two days after New York Stewart International Airport closed because of multiple drone sightings near it. He pushed for the Robin Radar Systems for their “360-degree technology,” which he said has a better chance of detecting the drones compared with linear systems.
The unidentified drones have been spotted across the Northeast, significant number of them above New Jersey.
ABC News agrees to contribute $15 million to Trump presidential foundation to settle defamation suit
ABC News agreed to contribute $15 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s presidential foundation and museum to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump against the network, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court on Saturday.
Trump had accused ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos of acting “with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth,” after Stephanopoulos said that Trump had been “found liable for rape” in a March 10 interview with Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina.
Trump claimed in the filing Stephanopoulos “knows that these statements are patently and demonstrably false.”
RFK Jr. heading to Capitol Hill today for meetings ahead of confirmation hearings
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, is set to head to Capitol Hill next week for meetings with multiple senators, Kennedy’s spokesperson says.
Kennedy transition spokesperson Katie Miller told ABC News that Kennedy will be on the Hill for four consecutive days for marathon meetings as Kennedy works to shore up support ahead of Senate confirmation hearings.
The meetings, which are typical before confirmation hearings, are planned for Dec. 16, 17, 18, and 19.
Nancy Pelosi ‘On The Mend’ After Hip Replacement
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had a hip replacement after sustaining an injury while travelingearlier this week, according to a statement from her office.
“Earlier this morning, Speaker Emerita Pelosi underwent a successful hip replacement and is well on the mend,” spokesperson Ian Krager said in a statement sent to HuffPost on Saturday.
The statement added that the former House Speaker was “grateful to U.S. military staff at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center at Landstuhl Army Base and medical staff at Hospital Kirchberg in Luxembourg for their excellent care and kindness.”
The Rude Pundit: Sorry, CNN and MSNBC, But It’s Not Us. It’s You
I haven’t watched CNN or MSNBC for a single second in the month since the 2024 presidential election. I’ve been a loyal viewer of CNN pretty much since it started, through the bullshit times of enforced patriotism, like the first Gulf War or after 9/11, and through the transition from being a news channel to being, in its current state, an extended talk show, one long episode of The View or the Sunday political chat fests, with occasional breaks for a news story.
With MSNBC, I’ve had a more tortured relationship, vacillating between appreciating the early weirdness of the channel as it featured shows hosted by liberals like Phil Donahue and crazed conservatives like Pat Buchanan, to being a semi-regular viewer of Keith Olbermann and an occasional guest on Ed Schultz’s show. But as it descended into a kind of smug insider party with smirky outrage expressed in the most pin-headed way possible, it lost me. And not just because of Morning Joe. I’ve never been able to handle the most recent primetime lineup, probably since the failure of Mueller Report to do anything that it was hyped to do by the hosts on that lineup.
Biden Commutes 1,500 Sentences, Pardons 39 People In Biggest Single-Day Act Of Clemency
President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.
The commutations announced Thursday are for people who have served out home confinement sentences for at least one year after they were released. Prisons were uniquely bad for spreading the virus and some inmates were released in part to stop the spread. At one point, 1 in 5 prisoners had COVID-19, according to a tally kept by The Associated Press.
Suspect in CEO’s killing wasn’t insured by UnitedHealthcare, company says
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the ambush killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, was not insured by the company, the overarching business that owns it said.
There is no record that Mangione, 26, was ever insured by the company, UnitedHealth Group said.
Mangione is the suspect in the fatal shooting of CEO Brian Thompson on a New York City street on the morning of Dec. 4, as Thompson was walking to a hotel where an investor conference was being held.
The killing remains under investigation.
Meta donates $1M to Trump’s inaugural fund after Zuckerberg Mar-a-Lago meeting
Meta, the parent company of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, said Thursday it had donated $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund.
A spokesperson for the company confirmed the donation, which The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday.
The donation is the latest swing in the up-and-down relationship between Trump and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s company. Trump this year publicly threatened Zuckerberg with “life in prison” if he did anything Trump viewed as illegal during this year’s presidential election campaign.
Trump says it will be ‘hard’ to bring down grocery prices, pins hopes on lower energy costs and better supply chains
President-elect Donald Trump is acknowledging it may be difficult to bring down grocery prices, despite making it a key tenet of his presidential campaign.
In an interview with Time magazine, which named him person of the year for 2024, Trump said he nevertheless believes it’ll happen through lower energy costs and supply chain improvements.
Asked whether his presidency would be a “failure” if grocery prices don’t come down, Trump responded it would not, while blaming the Biden administration for the way it handled the inflation that led to higher food prices in the first place.
Mitch McConnell Says Trump Win Puts Americans In A ‘Very Dangerous World’
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reportedly said that President-elect Donald Trump’s victory puts Americans in “a very, very dangerous world,” stressing that he plans to spend his final two years in the Senate pushing back against the growing Trump-fueled isolationism within the GOP.
The 82-year-old Kentucky Republican, who last month stepped down from his role as the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, has a complicated record with the incoming president. While McConnell has worked to significantly move the country to the right — much of it under the first Trump administration — he is no fan of Trump and his isolationist worldview that’s spreading throughout the Republican Party.
On Reddit account linked to Luigi Mangione, posts describe back pain and spinal surgery
The man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson posted online in recent years about undergoing spinal surgery and struggling with chronic back pain, numbness and restless sleep, according to what appears to be an archived version of his deleted Reddit account.
Luigi Mangione, 26, was charged Monday in New York with one count of murder, three counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of possession of a forged instrument. Thompson’s murder, which occurred last week outside a hotel in New York City, has captured national attention, spurring conversations about gun violence, corporate America and the health care industry.
Mangione’s attorney has said that he intends to plead not guilty to all charges.
Iranian ‘mothership’ isn’t behind drone sightings over New Jersey, Pentagon says
Federal officials Wednesday rejected claims the mysterious drones spotted in New Jersey are coming from an Iranian “mothership.”
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., said Wednesday on Fox News that the unidentified flying objects in his state’s skies are coming from an Iranian vessel off the East Coast — a claim the Defense Department flatly denied.
Drew, who is on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said he has heard from “high sources” that Iran is controlling the mysterious objects.
FBI Director Christopher Wray says he’ll resign as Donald Trump takes office
FBI Director Christopher Wray plans to resign at the end of the Biden administration, as President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Wray told bureau employees on Wednesday.
“After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current Administration in January and then step down,” Wray said, according to prepared remarks. “My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.”
Trump has already said he will nominate Kash Patel for the position of FBI director, which typically is for a 10-year term, part of a post-Watergate reform intended to make FBI directors less beholden to the whims of presidents.
Bob Cesca: No Political Capital For Donald
As I write this, Pete Hegseth’s Mom is calling aroundtrying to convince U.S. senators to let him run the Pentagon. You know, like all alpha males. By the time you read this, it’s quite possible Hegseth will have withdrawn his nomination.
Set aside his alleged sexual abuse, serial cheating…
Read the rest of Bob Cesca’s piece at and subscribe to The Banter
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s embattled Pentagon pick, appears to be gaining GOP support
President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks were back on Capitol Hill on Tuesday looking to shore up support among Republican senators, including Pete Hegseth, his embattled choice for defense secretary.
Hegseth last week faced significant headwinds after new allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety and other disqualifying behavior were reported by the New Yorker. ABC News has not independently confirmed the magazine’s report, and Hegseth’s denied many of the accusations.
But he might be gaining back some ground. On Monday, a key Republican senator appeared to soften her view toward Hegseth.
Sen. Mitch McConnell says he’s ‘feeling good’ after falling and spraining his wrist
Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 82, is recovering from minor injuries after he fell following Senate Republicans’ weekly lunch Tuesday, his office said.
“Leader McConnell tripped following lunch. He sustained a minor cut to the face and sprained his wrist. He has been cleared to resume his schedule,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
On his way to the Senate floor later Tuesday, McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters he is “feeling good.” He had bandages under his left eye and on his left wrist.
Bankruptcy judge rejects The Onion’s bid to buy Alex Jones’ Infowars
A bankruptcy judge on Tuesday rejected a bid by The Onion’s parent company to buy Alex Jones’ far-right media empire, including the website Infowars, ruling that the auction process was unfair.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said after a two-day hearing that The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron, had not submitted the best bid and was wrongly named the winner of an auction last month by a court-appointed trustee.
“I don’t think it’s enough money,” Lopez said in a late-night ruling from the bench in a Houston court. “I’m going to not approve the sale.”
UnitedHealthcare Shooting Suspect Has Outburst Before Hearing On Move To New York
The suspect charged with killing a health insurance executive had a brief on-camera outburst ahead of a hearing Tuesday.
Luigi Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday in connection with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan. The 26-year-old appeared at the Blair County courthouse for a hearing on his extradition to New York, where he faces charges of murder and other gun crimes.
Footage from local ABC affiliate WNEP and Reuters shows Mangione stepping out of a police car in front of the courthouse, handcuffed and wearing the orange inmate uniform also seen in his new mug shot. The car is surrounded by officers and press.
What We Know About The Suspect In The UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting
The man arrested as a person of interest in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson appears to have left a digital footprint that showed scattered political beliefs and an embrace of extreme measures — including a comment about Ted Kaczynski, the domestic terrorist known as the “Unabomber.”
Authorities have identified the arrested man as Luigi Mangione, 26. Mangione was arrested by law enforcement in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday.
Mangione is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, having majored in computer science and earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree. He was a member of the class of 2020, a spokesperson for the university confirmed to The New York Times and CBS News. A commencement program identified Mangione as being a member of Eta Kappa Nu, an academic honor society for computer scientists and electrical engineers. And a since-removed Penn Today article credited him with establishing a video game development club at the school. Several reports, including from The Baltimore Sun, have also identified him as the valedictorian of the Gilman School in Baltimore.
Sen. Joni Ernst, Under MAGA Pressure, Signals Backing for Hegseth’s Pentagon Bid
Senator Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa, signaled on Monday that she would not oppose Pete Hegseth’s bid for defense secretary, hinting at a turnabout after days of hectoring and threats by President-elect Donald J. Trump’s hard-right supporters who threatened political retribution if she failed to fall into line.
Only days after emerging from a private meeting with Mr. Hegseth sounding unconvinced about his fitness to lead the Pentagon, Ms. Ernst, the first female combat veteran to serve in the Senate and a survivor of sexual assault, indicated that a second sit-down had allayed her concerns.
Trump picks for FBI director, defense secretary and more face pointed questions on Capitol Hill
President-elect Donald Trump‘s picks for top jobs in his administration were making the rounds on Capitol Hill on Monday ahead of potential confirmation hearings next month.
Some of the choices come with controversy and face pointed questions from Republican senators.
Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth has had to deal with multiple allegations of misconduct and sexual impropriety, which he’s denied. Tulsi Gabbard, tapped to be the director of national intelligence, has been scrutinized over her views on Russia and a 2017 meeting with Syria’s Bashar Assad. Kash Patel, a longtime Trump ally chosen for FBI director, has vowed to take on the alleged “deep state” and Trump’s enemies.
Luigi Mangione has been charged with murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO
Luigi Mangione faces a second-degree murder charge in New York in connection with the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, according to an online court docket filed Monday.
The 26-year-old was also charged with possession of a loaded firearm, possession of a forged instrument and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the docket.
The forged instrument is the fake NJ driver’s license that he allegedly used to check into the hostel on the Upper West Side.
Charlie Pierce: RFK Jr.’s Nomination is Growing More Worrisome
I continue to be fascinated by speculation of what Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. may do when he’s in charge of the country’s public health systems-if, by “fascinated”, you mean running down the middle of the street, screaming like Kevin McCarthy in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. And this story, from Forbes, prompted several city blocks of high-speed, high-volume “speculation.”
The disease, currently referred to as Disease X by the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, appears to be limited to the Kwango Province, a remote area in the southwest of the DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo]. But broader spread certainly is possible. The exact magnitude of the outbreak is unclear. Some reports indicate that 79 people have died. Reuters has reported that 143 people have died. The first case apparently occurred in late October. The timeline of the other cases has not been clearly reported.
Lara Trump Steps Down As RNC Co-Chair, Considers Bid For Florida Senate Seat
Lara Trump will step down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee as she considers a number of potential options with her father-in-law, President-elect Donald Trump, set to return to the White House.
Among those possibilities is replacing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whom Trump tapped to be the next secretary of state. If Rubio is confirmed, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will choose who takes the seat through the remainder of Rubio’s term, which expires in 2026.
“It is something I would seriously consider,” she told The Associated Press in an interview. “If I’m being completely transparent, I don’t know exactly what that would look like. And I certainly want to get all of the information possible if that is something that’s real for me. But yeah, I would 100% consider it.”
Tulsi Gabbard Trolled by Critics After Assad’s Regime Collapses in Syria
Former U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump‘s pick for the director of national intelligence (DNI), was trolled by critics online after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad‘s regime collapsed Sunday.
Gabbard, a Democratic 2020 presidential candidate turned Republican Trump ally, advocates for anti-interventionist foreign policy and has been criticized for her seemingly warm view of dictators.
In a letter published on Thursday by the group Foreign Policy for America, almost 100 former intelligence and national security officials told Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator John Thune, the incoming Republican majority leader, that Gabbard “aligned herself with Russian and Syrian officials” and would be “the least experienced” person to ever lead national intelligence.
Syrian rebels capture Damascus as President Assad flees the country
The Assad family’s decadeslong reign in Syria came to an abrupt end Sunday when rebel forces captured Damascus after a stunning lightning-strike rout across the country.
Hassan Abdul-Ghani, senior commander of the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), claimed victory for the rebel forces that stormed across Syria in a matter of days and entered Damascus overnight.
“We declare the city of Damascus free from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad,” he said in a post on WhatsApp. “To the displaced people around the world, Free Syria awaits you.”
Trump will ‘most likely’ pardon Capitol rioters on day one and says Jan. 6 committee members should be jailed
President-elect Donald Trump said he is looking to pardon his supporters involved in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as soon as his first day in office, saying those incarcerated are “living in hell.”
Trump made the comments, his most sweeping since he won the election, in an exclusive interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker. He also said he won’t seek to turn the Justice Department on his political foes and warned that some members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack “should go to jail.”
On his first day in office, Trump said, he will bring legal relief to the Jan. 6 rioters who he said have been put through a “very nasty system.”
The Rude Pundit: Note to Democrats… We Have to See You Fight, Even If It’s a Losing Cause
Since the (re)election of Donald Trump, it’s natural that Democrats would engage in some self-reflection. Of course, it’s not like Republicans did that after Trump lost in 2020 and then tried to overthrow the election. But, you know, if you’re a rational group of humans, you reassess after you lost and think about what you could do better. Perhaps you come up with some new ways to inspire voters. Perhaps you think about the running of campaigns and methods. Maybe you even figure out how to present your party’s beliefs in a way that makes more sense.
You know what you don’t do? You don’t cry, “Uncle” for an extended period of time while punching yourself in the face repeatedly. You don’t decide that the real solution to your failure to move the needle the two percent it might have taken to win is to abandon your values and to turn your back on the rhetoric you used throughout the campaign about Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. You don’t throw people and movements under the bus. And you don’t, you absolutely don’t offer a helping hand and any words of encouragement or praise for a man who you declared a “fascist” and a “Nazi” and a criminal and a rapist whose return to power would mark the end of American democracy and would plunge the world into chaos.
Secret Service chief and GOP lawmaker get into screaming match at hearing
The final hearing of the House task force that investigated the assassination attempts against Donald Trump devolved into an explosive moment Thursday as the acting U.S. Secret Service director engaged in a screaming match with a GOP congressman.
During the hearing on Capitol Hill, Rep. Pat Fallon, of Texas, began his line of questioning by pressing acting Director Ronald Rowe about the agency’s failures to provide adequate protection for Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July.
‘Deny,’ ‘defend,’ ‘depose’ written on shell casings where UnitedHealthcare CEO was killed, official says
Shell casings found at the scene where the UnitedHealthcare CEO was shot dead by a masked gunman in front of a busy New York City hotel had “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them, a senior New York City law enforcement official briefed on the investigation confirmed to NBC News on Thursday.
Brian Thompson, 50, was killed in a “premeditated, preplanned targeted attack” outside the New York Hilton Midtown in the heart of Manhattan, police said.
Police say they don’t yet know the motive of the gunman, who remains still at large.
Biden considering blanket preemptive pardons for perceived enemies of Trump
President Biden is considering blanket preemptive pardons for prominent critics of President-elect Donald Trump in both parties to shield them from possible “retribution” or legal prosecution by the incoming administration.
Multiple people familiar with the ongoing discussions tell CBS News the president has debated with senior White House aides the possibility of issuing the preemptive pardons, but no specific names have been formally recommended to him. The concept of preemptive pardons, and names of people who could benefit from them, have been more rigorously discussed among administration officials expected to help Mr. Biden make final determinations, a group that includes White House Chief of Staff Jeffrey Zients and White House Counsel Ed Siskel.
Key GOP Sen. Joni Ernst says she’s not ready to support Hegseth for defense secretary
Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said Thursday she isn’t ready to support Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary.
“Well, I did have a very long, lengthy discussion with Pete yesterday, and I do appreciate his service to the nation. I also am a combat veteran. So, we talked about a number of those issues, and we will continue with the vetting process. I think that is incredibly important,” Ernst told Fox News. “So, again, all I’m saying is we had a very frank and productive discussion, and I know that we will continue to have conversations for months.”
Pressed by host Bill Hemmer that it “doesn’t sound in your answer that you got to a yes,” Ernst replied, “I think you are right.”
French government collapsed after no-confidence vote. What happens now?
The trouble is, there’s no obvious cast of characters who could form a stable government. New legislative elections that might alter the political dynamics can’t happen before summer. And without a government in place, France couldn’t address the gaping hole in its public finances or resolve uncertainty that has the potential to spook markets and weigh on other euro-zone economies.
Hegseth’s history with alcohol shadows Pentagon selection
“I’d look around at 10 o’clock and be like, ‘What am I going to do today? How about I drink some beers? How about I go have some lunch and have some beers? How about I meet my one or two buddies and have some beers?’” Hegseth recounted in an August 2021 appearance on “The Will Cain Show” podcast. “And one beers leads to many, leads to self-medication, leads to ‘I’ve earned this.’ Like, ‘Don’t tell me I can’t.’”
Supreme Court skeptical of challenge to Tennessee ban on transgender youth treatments
The conservative-majority Supreme Court on Wednesday leaned toward upholding a Tennessee law that restricts gender transition treatments for minors in a significant case about transgender rights.
It did not appear based on a lengthy oral argument that conservative justices believed the law constitutes a form of sex discrimination that would mean courts have to give it close scrutiny. The court’s three liberal justices all appeared to view the law as classifying people by sex.
The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, is considering a challenge to the recently enacted law brought by the Biden administration and transgender teens and their families.
UnitedHealthcare CEO fatally shot outside NYC hotel in ‘premeditated, preplanned targeted attack’
The CEO of UnitedHealthcare was fatally shot in what police said appears to be a “premeditated, preplanned targeted attack” outside the New York Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning.
Brian Thompson, 50, was on his way to speak at UnitedHealth Group’s investor conference when the gunman approached from behind and “fired several rounds,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference.
He was struck at least once in the back and at least once in the right calf, Tisch said, adding that the gunman was “lying in wait for several minutes.”
South Korean lawmakers seek president’s impeachment after 6-hour martial law declaration
Opposition lawmakers in South Korea moved to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday after he shocked the East Asian democracy by declaring martial law only to lift the order hours later under intense pressure.
Six opposition parties, led by the Democratic Party that controls the parliament, submitted articles of impeachment against Yoon on Wednesday afternoon local time, swiftly responding to what the Democratic Party called the Yoon administration’s “unconstitutional and illegal declaration of martial law.”
Voting on the Yoon impeachment motion, which requires a two-thirds majority vote by members of the unicameral legislature to pass, could take place as early as Friday or Saturday. The Constitutional Court would then hold a trial to determine whether to confirm the impeachment motion.
Trump urges judge to toss hush money case, citing Hunter Biden pardon
Lawyers for President-elect Donald Trump urged the judge who presided over his conviction for falsifying business records to dismiss the indictment against him, citing the language President Joe Biden used when he announced he had pardoned his son.
“Yesterday, in issuing a 10-year pardon to Hunter Biden that covers any and all crimes whether charged or uncharged, President Biden asserted that his son was ‘selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,’ and ‘treated differently,'” reads the filing, which was made public Tuesday.
“President Biden argued that ‘raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.’ These comments amounted to an extraordinary condemnation of President Biden’s own DOJ,” the filing continued, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “has engaged in ‘precisely the type of political theater’ that President Biden has condemned.”
Trump’s pick to lead the DEA withdraws from consideration
Chad Chronister, President-elect Donald Trump’s selection to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Tuesday that he would withdraw from consideration.
Chronister, who is the sheriff in Hillsborough County, Florida, said he would turn down Trump’s planned nomination to be the next DEA administrator just three days after Trump announced it.
He is the second of Trump’s administration picks to take his name out of the running, after former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., dropped his bid to become attorney general last month.
Trump considers replacing Hegseth with DeSantis to run Pentagon, WSJ reports
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is considering dropping his nominee to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, and nominating Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in his place, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the discussions.
Hegseth’s nomination has run into trouble on Capitol Hill over allegations about his personal and professional life and Trump allies increasingly think Hegseth may not survive further scrutiny, the Journal reported. A combat veteran and former Fox News host, Hegseth would need the support of Senate Republicans to win confirmation to the post.
The Trump transition office and DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Malcolm Nance: Five Steps To Resist The Coming Tyranny
As you know, I have been a practitioner of intelligence collection and secret activities for over thirty years. But I have also been an ardent student of the World War Two French resistance in Nazi-occupied France. The American people can learn lessons from how French society stood firm in the face of tyranny.
Why France Resisted Tyranny
On May 10, 1940, the armies of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany invaded France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Belgium. Three countries were subjugated within days. France finally capitulated after a month’s combat. A new French government was quickly formed to collaborate with the Nazis under a former decorated WWI General, Marshal Henri Philippe Petain, and Pierre Laval, the day-to-day administrator.
Read the rest of Malcolm Nance’s piece at and subscribe to his Substack
Michael Tomasky: Why Does No One Understand the Real Reason Trump Won?
I’ve had a lot of conversations since Tuesday revolving around the question of why Donald Trump won. The economy and inflation. Kamala Harris didn’t do this or that. Sexism and racism. The border. That trans-inmate ad that ran a jillion times. And so on.
These conversations have usually proceeded along lines where people ask incredulously how a majority of voters could have believed this or that. Weren’t they bothered that Trump is a convicted felon? An adjudicated rapist? Didn’t his invocation of violence against Liz Cheney, or 50 other examples of his disgusting imprecations, obviously disqualify him? And couldn’t they see that Harris, whatever her shortcomings, was a fundamentally smart, honest, well-meaning person who would show basic respect for the Constitution and wouldn’t do anything weird as president?
Read the rest of Michael Tomasky’s piece at The New Republic
Biden surges arms to Ukraine, fearing Trump will halt U.S. aid
Yet some in the administration have taken the view that no matter what Washington does, Kyiv’s military will remain outmatched without far more soldiers to sustain its fight. And even as they accelerate arms shipments, there is growing frustration with Ukraine’s leaders, who have resisted U.S. calls to lower the country’s draft age from 25 to 18.
How Biden Changed His Mind on Pardoning Hunter: ‘Time to End All of This’
A dark sky had fallen over Nantucket, Mass., on Saturday evening when President Biden left church alongside his family after his final Thanksgiving as president.
Inside a borrowed vacation compound earlier in the week, with its views of the Nantucket Harbor, Mr. Biden had met with his wife, Jill Biden, and his son Hunter Biden to discuss a decision that had tormented him for months. The issue: a pardon that would clear Hunter of years of legal trouble, something the president had repeatedly insisted he would not do.
Support for pardoning Hunter Biden had been building for months within the family, but external forces had more recently weighed on Mr. Biden, who watched warily as President-elect Donald J. Trump picked loyalists for his administration who promised to bring political and legal retribution to Mr. Trump’s enemies.
Kash Patel Has Plan to Remake the F.B.I. Into a Tool of Trump
“Fire the top ranks of the F.B.I.” Encourage Congress to demand testimony exposing “every single bit of filth and corruption” at the agency, and withhold its funding “until the documents come in.” Prosecute leakers and journalists. Replace the national security work force with “people who won’t undermine the president’s agenda.”
These are among a long list of changes Kash Patel recommended in his 2023 book, “Government Gangsters.” President-elect Donald J. Trump has now said he intends to make Mr. Patel the next F.B.I. director.
Hegseth Faces Allegations Of Boozing, Partying And Mismanagement Helming Veterans Groups
Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host who’s President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to oversee the Pentagon, was forced out of top roles at two veterans groups, according to a new bombshell report from The New Yorker.
Hegseth was forced to resign his roles at both Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America due to “serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct,” the outlet reported Sunday night. The former Army National Guard officer also faces allegations he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017, though Hegseth maintains the encounter was consensual.
The magazine cited a damning whistleblower account of Hegseth’s behavior at CVA, which he ran from 2013 to 2016. According to The New Yorker, “[Hegseth] and other members of his management team sexually pursued the organization’s female staffers” and promoted a culture of sexism that culminated in the attempted assault of a female employee by a male colleague during a 2014 team outing to a Louisiana strip club. The report also alleges that Hegseth got so drunk that night he had to be restrained from joining the dancers onstage.
Charlie Pierce: Pete Hegseth’s Mom Ratting Him Out Was Not Yet (!) Rock Bottom for the TV Host
National treasure Jane Mayer has the grotesque skinny on Pete Hegseth, to whom the incoming administration is planning to hand the most powerful military in the history of the world. You might have figured we touched bottom on this guy’s nomination when his mom gave him up. But you would be wrong. From TheNew Yorker:
A previously undisclosed whistle-blower report on Hegseth’s tenure as the president of Concerned Veterans for America, from 2013 until 2016, describes him as being repeatedly intoxicated while acting in his official capacity—to the point of needing to be carried out of the organization’s events. The detailed seven-page report—which was compiled by multiple former C.V.A. employees and sent to the organization’s senior management in February, 2015—states that, at one point, Hegseth had to be restrained while drunk from joining the dancers on the stage of a Louisiana strip club, where he had brought his team.
Trump calls Biden pardoning son Hunter a ‘miscarriage of justice’
President-elect Donald Trump has reacted to President Joe Biden issuing a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, from a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions.
Trump called the president’s decision a “miscarriage of justice” while pointing to those imprisoned for the Jan. 6 riots on the Capitol in his post to Truth Social on Sunday.
“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” Trump wrote.
Arctic blast continues to hammer Northern U.S., disrupting post-Thanksgiving travel
An Arctic blast brought snow, frost and dangerously cold winds to the northern Plains, the Midwest and the Great Lakes, creating “very difficult to impossible” travel conditions on one of the busiest days of the year, as millions of people head home from their Thanksgiving destinations.
About 9 million people are under winter alerts across the nation, with nearly 3 million in parts of New York state, Pennsylvania and Ohio under warnings for lake effect snow showers, triggered by a clash of the south-moving arctic blast and comparatively warm lake water.
More than 2.3 million in parts of New York state, Michigan, Minnesota and West Virginia are covered by winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories, with the warnings stating heavy snow, ice and blizzard conditions are almost certain. The advisories state rapidly accumulating snow, freezing rain and blowing snow are likely.
Trump taps loyalist Kash Patel as choice for FBI director
President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday he would pick Kashyap “Kash” Patel, a 44-year-old loyalist with little management experience in federal law enforcement, to serve as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People,” Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social. “He played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution.”
Patel, who will have to win Senate confirmation to become FBI director, has earned a reputation as an extreme Trump loyalist who has spread baseless “deep state” conspiracy theories and called for a purge of perceived Trump enemies from the FBI.
President Biden pardons his son Hunter Biden
Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Sunday night, a reversal for the president, who repeatedly said he would not use his executive authority to pardon his son or commute his sentence.
“I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice — and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” Biden said in his statement.
Hunter Biden was scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 12 for his conviction on federal gun charges. He also was set to be sentenced on Dec. 16 in a separate criminal case in which he pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges in September.
The Rude Pundit: A Thanksgiving Poem from Indigenous America
I.
we inherit:
every gathering pool a blessing
formed by careful hands each monsoon
a heartbeat turquoise vein
the sound of underwater
brimmed with mosses
here laps the quiet tide of love
we inherit:
every gathering pool a blessing
formed by careful hands each monsoon
a heartbeat turquoise vein
the sound of underwater
brimmed with mosses
here laps the quiet tide of love
Trump names COVID lockdown critic Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as pick for NIH director
President-elect Donald Trump is nominating a critic of COVID-19 lockdown policies to serve as the head of the National Institutes of Health.
In a statement, Trump said he has picked Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to serve as NIH director to work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — whom Trump named as his pick for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services — to direct the nation’s medical research.
“Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they examine the underlying causes of, and solutions to, America’s biggest Health challenges, including our Crisis of Chronic Illness and Disease,” Trump said in the statement. “Together, they will work hard to Make America Healthy Again!
Trump transition signs White House agreement after delay
After a lengthy delay, President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has signed a memorandum of understanding with the White House, allowing the next administration to coordinate with federal agencies.
Trump’s incoming White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said in a statement the memo’s signing allows for “critical preparations” to begin.
“After completing the selection process of his incoming Cabinet, President-elect Trump is entering the next phase of his administration’s transition by executing a Memorandum of Understanding with President Joe Biden’s White House,” Wiles said in a statement.
Biden announced Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire begins, halting war in Lebanon
A U.S.-backed cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday, halting the deadliest war in Lebanon in decades. Fighting continued up to the 11th hour, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning that Israel would strike again if the Lebanese militant group violated the deal. Both sides warned displaced residents not to return to southern areas under Israeli evacuation orders, but many did not take heed. A senior Biden administration official told The Washington Post that Israeli troops would hold their positions and not immediately withdraw. The deal is due to stop fighting for an initial two-month window, and is intended as “a permanent cessation of hostilities,” President Joe Biden said in an address.
‘I Can’t Pay My Bills’: Rudy Giuliani Rants At Judge Over $148 Million Defamation Judgment
Rudy Giuliani interrupted a routine court hearing Tuesday with a bizarre rant about his dire financial straits as the former New York City mayor faces the ramifications of defaming two Georgia election workers.
Giuliani blurted out “I don’t have a credit card” and “I can’t pay my bills” when questioned about why he had not yet turned over the title to his 1980 Mercedes-Benz convertible to help satisfy the $148 million judgment against him for defamation.
U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman scolded the onetime presidential candidate for his explosion and warned him against further eruptions during a touchy hearing in Manhattan federal court.
Biden pardons the last turkeys of his presidency
President Joe Biden might be a lame-duck president, but he spent Monday sparing the lives of two birds.
Carrying out an annual White House tradition for his last time, Biden pardoned two lucky turkeys: Peach and Blossom, who hail from Minnesota and are roughly 17 weeks old, according to a National Turkey Federation press conference Sunday.
The two names are meant as an homage to Biden’s home state of Delaware and its state flower, the peach blossom.
Trump Plans Tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China That Could Cripple Trade
President-elect Donald J. Trump said on Monday that he would impose tariffs on all products coming into the United States from Canada, Mexico and China on his first day in office, a move that would scramble global supply chains and impose heavy costs on companies that rely on doing business with some of the world’s largest economies.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump mentioned a caravan of migrants making its way to the United States from Mexico, and said he would use an executive order to levy a 25 percent tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico until drugs and migrants stopped coming over the border.
Top Trump Aide Boris Epshteyn Accused of Asking for Money to ‘Promote’ Potential Appointees
President-elect Donald J. Trump’s legal team found evidence that a top adviser asked for retainer fees from potential appointees in order to promote them for jobs in the new administration, five people briefed on the matter said on Monday.
Mr. Trump directed his team to carry out the review of the adviser, Boris Epshteyn, who coordinated the legal defenses in Mr. Trump’s criminal cases and is a powerful figure in the transition. Several people whom Mr. Trump trusts had alerted him that Mr. Epshteyn was seeking money from people looking for appointments, three of the people briefed on the matter said.
Jack Smith Seeks Dismissal of Two Federal Cases Against Trump
The special counsel Jack Smith asked two courts on Monday to effectively shut down the federal criminal cases he brought against President-elect Donald J. Trump last year, bowing to a Justice Department policy that says it is unconstitutional to pursue prosecutions against sitting presidents.
The twin requests by Mr. Smith — made to judges in Washington and Atlanta — were an acknowledgment that Mr. Trump will re-enter the White House in January unburdened by federal efforts to hold him accountable through charges of plotting to subvert the last presidential election and holding on to a trove of highly classified material following his first term in office.
Charlie Pierce: Now the Extreme Right Is Coming After the New Deal
In case you were wondering, they’re coming after the New Deal next. Last Friday, Robert Taft, leaving a trail of sod from his political grave, walked grimly toward Capitol Hill again. From The Washington Post:
“The Supreme Court announced Friday it will hear a pair of cases that will examine how far Congress can go in delegating powers to federal agencies, decisions that could chip away at the authority of the executive branch. The cases explore whether Congress violated the Constitution when it allowed the Federal Communications Commission to gather fees to help pay for critical telecommunications service in communities that might not otherwise have it.”
Sounds like something an advanced democracy might want to do. Of course, if you’re playing by the rules of an advanced democracy of 1789, there might be … problems.
Sen. Duckworth says Trump defense secretary pick is “flat-out wrong” about women in combat roles
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth said Sunday that Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary is “flat-out wrong” in his view that women should not serve in the military in combat roles.
“Our military could not go to war without the women who wear this uniform,” Duckworth said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” “And frankly, America’s daughters are just as capable of defending liberty and freedom as her sons.”
Trump tapped Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as his pick to head the Defense Department earlier this month. The 44-year-old has drawn criticism for his stance on women in combat roles, along with his level of experience.
Since the election, some disappointed in the results are tuning out the news
Donald Trump won reelection with 312 electoral votes, but the popular vote shows a closer outcome between him and Vice President Kamala Harris. Among the 74.5 million people who did vote for her (with current tabulations coming within about 1.5 percentage points of all votes), some now treat the news like the plague. For the sake of sanity and self-preservation, they’re turning it off and tuning out.
Adam Schiff Stays Steadfast In Face Of Trump’s Tyranny Talk
Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) isn’t going to let President-elect Donald Trump discourage him from doing his job in Congress.
During a Sunday appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Schiff appeared unwavering when asked if he was worried about being targeted by Trump and his vows to retaliate against his political opponents.
After host Kristen Welker shared a clip of Trump comparing Schiff and other Democrats to “the enemy from within,” the newly elected senator dismissed Trump’s “dictator talk” while warning Americans of the dangers of having an aspiring strongman in office.
Trump Is Running His Transition Team on Secret Money
President-elect Donald J. Trump is keeping secret the names of the donors who are funding his transition effort, a break from tradition that could make it impossible to see what interest groups, businesses or wealthy people are helping launch his second term.
Mr. Trump has so far declined to sign an agreement with the Biden administration that imposes strict limits on that fund-raising in exchange for up to $7.2 million in federal funds earmarked for the transition. By dodging the agreement, Mr. Trump can raise unlimited amounts of money from unknown donors to pay for the staff, travel and office space involved in preparing to take over the government.
The Rude Pundit: Democrats Must Stand Up for the Rights of Transgender People, Including Trans Youths
It wasn’t that long ago, less than ten years, in fact, where, in a confirmation hearing for Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch, Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was a prick even before his mouth became Donald Trump’s penis koozie, wailed and gnashed about the growing passage of laws in the states allowing same-sex couples to marry, “What’s the legal difference between a ban on same-sex marriage being unconstitutional but a ban on polygamy being constitutional? Could you try to articulate how one could be banned under the constitution and the other not?” While this whole issue would be put to rest a few months later by the then-relatively sane Supreme Court in the Obergefell decision, Graham’s screaming mimi routine had been echoing throughout the nutsosphere for years: same-sex marriage would lead to legalizing marriage with animals or marriage with babies. It was crazy shit. One ultra-evangelical group of fucknuts said that if New York legalized same-sex marriage in 2011, it “could prove to be decisive in the culture war for America’s soul.”
Pete Hegseth Falsely Claims He Was ‘Completely Cleared’ On Sex Assault Allegation
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to oversee the entire U.S. military, former Fox Newspersonality Pete Hegseth, was confronted Thursday by a reporter who asked point-blank whether he raped a woman in 2017, as described in a police report.
“As far as the media is concerned, it’s very simple,” said Hegseth, who was on Capitol Hill to meet with senators tasked with weighing whether to approve him as the next U.S. defense secretary.
“The matter was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared, and that’s where I’m going to leave it,” he said.
Trump’s Team Threatening GOP Senators With Elon Musk-Funded Primaries If They Vote Against Cabinet Picks, Reports ABC
ABC News’s Senior White House Correspondent Selina Wang reported on Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump’s team has been threatening Republican Senators with Elon Musk-funded primaries if they vote against his cabinet nominees.
“Well, Trump has been working the phones. He’s been upping the pressure on Senate Republicans, even calling some of them directly. This is as JD Vance is also making the pitch. It was up on Capitol Hill with Matt Gaetz yesterday meeting with some of those Senate Republicans,” Wang began.
Could Matt Gaetz decide to keep his House seat? It’s complicated.
Ever since Matt Gaetz resigned from the House — and subsequently withdrew his name from consideration to be President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general — questions have swirled about his political fate.
While Gaetz resigned last week from the current Congress, he was re-elected this month to represent his Florida district when the next session begins in January. That raises the question: Could he return?
Here’s what to know.
Trump names longtime ally Pam Bondi as his new attorney general pick after Matt Gaetz withdraws
President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named longtime ally Pam Bondi as his new choice for attorney general, capping a tumultuous week for previous pick Matt Gaetz.
Bondi’s elevation came just hours after Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration following increased scrutiny over allegations of sexual misconduct.
If confirmed, Bondi would lead the Justice Department and set the agenda for federal investigations and prosecutions. Trump’s pick for the nation’s top law enforcement official comes as some of his critics fear he will use his administration to seek retribution against them.
4 Trump administration picks have sexual misconduct allegations in their past
Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Elon Musk are all in line to serve as top government leaders.
All have faced varying degrees of sexual misconduct allegations.
The president’s picks to carry out his agenda reflect an incoming administration hostile to the norms of the “Me Too” movement. Behavior that might have gotten a person fired or canceled (or not nominated to a cabinet position) over the last several years, appears to be less problematic in the Trump 2.0 era.
Leaders at Walmart And Lowe’s Warn That Trump’s Tariffs May Cause Price Hikes
The vast tariffs President-elect Donald Trump has promised to implement will likely lead to price increases at major American retailers like Walmart and Lowe’s, the companies’ chief financial officers said this week.
Walmart CFO John David Rainey told CNBC it is not yet clear which items would be affected.
“We never want to raise prices,” Rainey told the outlet Tuesday. “Our model is everyday low prices. But there probably will be cases where prices will go up for consumers.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson says he supports banning transgender women from using women’s bathrooms
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he supports restricting “single-sex facilities” in the Capitol, including restrooms, to “individuals of that biological sex”— which would effectively ban the first transgender congresswoman from using women’s bathrooms in the next Congress.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a resolution this week that would ban transgender women from using women’s bathrooms and other facilities at the Capitol. She said Tuesday that the bill “absolutely” targets Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., the first openly transgender person elected to Congress.
Democrats try to force a full House vote to release Matt Gaetz report as House Ethics panel has ‘no agreement’
Members of the House Ethics Committee met behind closed doors Wednesday but did not reach an agreement on whether to publicly release a report detailing their sweeping investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general.
Several Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have said they want to review the House report on the yearslong investigation into Gaetz, R-Fla., before a Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for him next year. The Ethics Committee had examined allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, gave special favors to people with whom he had personal relationships and obstructed the House probe.
Dean Obeidallah: Donald Trump, Matt Gaetz are Pete Hegseth are the worst versions of men
Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth are the worst version of men. But then again so is adjudicated rapist Donald Trump—which explains why he picked these two despicable, unqualified white men to be his Attorney General and Secretary of Defense.
The red flags about Gaetz and Hegseth ranging from sexual misconduct to bigotry would deem them unfit to serve in any presidential administration–any administration except Trump’s that is. The reason being all Trump cares about is abject loyalty and both clearly have sworn allegiance to Trump–much in the same way Hitler required the members of the military swear allegiance to him above Germany.
Read the rest of Dean Obeidallah’s piece at and subscribe to his Substack
Republicans Are Mad That Democrats Are Confirming Lots Of Biden’s Judges
Senate Republicans are acting pretty mad that Democrats are using the lame duck to confirm lots of President Joe Biden’s judges.
“I’m a bit frustrated,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) told reporters Tuesday. “After last night’s voting extravaganza, I wonder what we are doing.”
Capito was referring to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) scheduling votes on some of Biden’s court picks on Monday night. Republicans don’t have the votes to stop Biden’s nominees from advancing, so they dragged out the process by hours, forcing time-consuming votes on otherwise routine procedural steps.
It kept everyone in the Senate later than they wanted to be.
What to know about Dr. Oz as Trump picks him to lead Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that heart surgeon-turned-TV-host Dr. Mehmet Oz would lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
“America is facing a Healthcare Crisis, and there may be no Physician more qualified and capable than Dr. Oz to Make America Healthy Again,” Trump said in a statement. “He is an eminent Physician, Heart Surgeon, Inventor and World-Class Communicator, who has been at the forefront of healthy living for decades.”
The position of CMS administrator requires Senate confirmation.
Tracking Trump’s picks to serve in his Cabinet, administration
President-elect Donald Trump, ahead of his return to power in January, is announcing who he wants to fill Cabinet positions and other key roles inside his administration, including names like Marco Rubio, Tulsi Gabbard and Matt Gaetz.
Trump began to roll out his nominees and appointees just days after his election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. Among them are some of his staunchest allies on Capitol Hill and key advisers to his 2024 campaign.
Trump will have a Republican-controlled Senate and possibly a Republican-controlled House to help usher his picks through. But he’s also urging the incoming Senate leader to embrace recess appointments, which has led to speculation some of his choices may be more controversial.
Gaetz sent over $10K in Venmo payments to 2 women who testified in House probe, records suggest
The House Ethics Committee obtained records, including a check and records of Venmo payments, that appear to show that then-Rep. Matt Gaetz paid more than $10,000 to two women who were later witnesses in sexual misconduct probes conducted by both the House and the Justice Department, according to documents obtained by ABC News.
The Venmo records show that between July 2017 and late January 2019, Gaetz — who was first elected in 2016 — allegedly made 27 Venmo payments totaling $10,224.02 to the two witnesses, who were over the age of 18 at the time.
Trump Praises ‘Extremely Cordial’ Meeting With MSNBC’s Joe and Mika: Congratulated Me On a ‘Great and Flawless Campaign’
President-elect Donald Trump spoke to Fox News Digital on Monday about his recent meeting with MSNBC morning show hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, praising the discussion as ‘“very cordial” and something that should have happened “long ago.”
“I received a call from Joe Scarborough requesting a meeting for him and Mika, and I agreed that it would be a good thing if such meeting took place,” Trump told Fox’s Brooke Singman. “We met at Mar-a-Lago on Friday morning at 8:00.”
“Many things were discussed, and I very much appreciated the fact that they wanted to have open communication. In many ways, it’s too bad that it wasn’t done long ago,” added Trump.
House Ethics Committee to meet Wednesday amid growing pressure to release Gaetz report
The House Ethics Committee is set to meet Wednesday as it faces increasing pressure to release a potentially damaging report detailing its investigation into allegations former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, two sources told CBS News.
The movements of the Ethics panel have been under heightened scrutiny since President-elect Donald Trump announced last week that he had selected Gaetz to serve as attorney general. The Florida Republican resigned his seat in the House in the wake of the announcement, which ended the Ethics Committee’s jurisdiction over Gaetz since he is now a former member.
Trump picks a second Fox host to join his Cabinet, with Sean Duffy for Transportation
President-elect Donald Trump on Monday named former congressman and Fox Business host Sean Duffy as his pick for transportation secretary in the next administration.
Duffy is the second Fox host Trump has tapped for a Cabinet post after he said last week that he would nominate Fox News personality Pete Hegseth to lead the Defense Department. Hegseth left Fox News after Trump’s announcement.
In a statement announcing him, Trump described Duffy, R-Wis., as “a tremendous and well-liked public servant.”
Gaetz allegedly flew 2 women to New York, paid them for sex: Attorney
Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, allegedly paid for two women in 2019 to travel to New York to have sex, watch his appearance on Fox News, and attend the Broadway show “Pretty Woman,” an attorney for the women told ABC News.
In an interview with ABC News’ Juju Chang, Florida attorney Joel Leppard revealed new details regarding his clients’ closed-door testimony before the private bipartisan committee — including that his clients told congressional investigators that Gaetz paid for them to travel across state lines to have sex on at least two occasions.
Read the rest of the story at NBC News
Charlie Pierce: The Democrats Need to Stop Giving Such a Damn
It is a very, very bad day when I have to wonder about Sherrod Brown, whose loss two weeks ago is incalculable. But he gave an interview to Tiger Beat on the Potomac and, well, his analysis was acute and —thank you, Jesus—he avoided TBOTP’s Eugene Daniels’s attempts to blame the Democratic party’s commitment to universal human rights for the fact that the country has turned once again to a vulgar talking yam.
