ABC agrees to settle Trump ‘rape’ defamation case for $15m as president-elect attends Army-Navy game: Live

Donald Trump attended the Army-Navy football game on Saturday alongside a collection of allies, cabinet picks, and controversial figures.

The president-elect was joined by JD Vance, Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Trump’s defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, and Daniel Penny, who was recently acquitted of homicide after placing a homeless man in a chokehold on a New York City subway for nearly six minutes. Penny has become a cause célèbre on the right since.

Their appearance at the game came as ABC agreed to a $15 million settlement stemming from Trump’s defamation suit involving a broadcast about E. Jean Carroll, who herself had successfully sued the president-elect for defamatory statements.

Trump also named several more picks for his administration on Saturday, including Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes to run an intelligence board, and staunch loyalist foreign policy adviser Richard Grenell as a presidential envoy for special missions.

Meanwhile, officials across the East Coast are expressing frustration over continued mysterious drone spottings in the airspace above New Jersey and nearby states, which have fueled conspiracy theories and concerns among residents.

Key Points

• Daniel Penny meets with Trump and Vance at Army-Navy game

• ABC agrees to pay $15 million to Trump in defamation lawsuit settlement

• Trump names Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes to Intelligence Advisory Board

• Trump wants to privatize U.S. Postal Service

Elon Musk shares photo of himself with Trump and Vance at Army-Navy game

04:38 , Graig Graziosi

Tesla, SpaceX, and X CEO Elon Musk was at Saturday’s Army-Navy game alongside President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance. The image shows the three men on a stadium Jumbotron and is yet another example of Musk — the world’s richest man and presumably a very busy person leading three massive companies — spending a significant amount of time hanging around with Trump.

Vivek Ramaswamy poses with Daniel Penny, recalls donation to his legal defense

04:20 , Graig Graziosi

Failed Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy posted a photo of himself posing with Daniel Penny, who was recently acquitted for the death of Jordan Neely, a Black street performer who struggled with homelessness and schizophrenia, and recalled that he donated to Penny’s legal defense fund. Neely died after Penny held him in a chokehold for more than six minuted on a New York City subway train.

Neely was allegedly yelling threatening things at the other passengers, but witnesses said he never touched anyone.

“Our family contributed to this man’s legal defense fund last year because he was wronged. We don’t regret it. Hope Daniel Penny has a bright future & good life ahead,” Ramaswamy wrote. According to reports at the time, Ramaswamy donated $10,000 to Penny’s defense.

CNN contributor Bakari Sellers calls Daniel Penny praise ‘identity politics of the right’

04:10 , Graig Graziosi

CNN contributor and former South Carolina Representative Bakari Sellers lamented that Daniel Penny, who was recently acquitted for the death of Jordan Neely, a Black street performer who struggled with homelessness and schizophrenia, was invited to the Army-Navy football game to hobnob with President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.

“The prism through which this country views race is fascinating. Look at conservative avatars….Daniel Penny kills a black man has no accountability, chills with the POTUS. Caitlin Clark acknowledges black women’s professional contributions and gets crucified,” he wrote on X. “Watching the identity politics of the right…”

ABC News staff allegedly furious at $15m Trump settlement

03:56 , Graig Graziosi

ABC News staff are allegedly upset that the broadcaster agreed to pay $15 million to Donald Trump to settle a defamation suit he brought against veteran anchor George Stephanopoulos.Trump claimed the anchor defamed him when he said the president-elect had been found liable for rape by a jury in the E Jean Carroll defamation trial.According to reporter Yashar Ali, staff ABC News have expressed their frustration that the company found money to pay off Trump, but not for salary increases or staving off layoffs. “Their anger primarily stems from the fact that they have faced repeated budget and compensation cuts in recent years, experienced layoffs, and yet the network — even if insurance paid it — has paid this huge sum of money to settle this matter,” Ali wrote.

Democratic Party attorney says ABC News bent the knee to Trump in defamation settlement

03:41 , Graig Graziosi

Democratic Party attorney and Democracy Docket founded Marc Elias said ABC News “kissed the ring” by agreeing to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Donald Trump.

On Saturday ABC News agreed to pay Trump $15 million after he sued the broadcaster for defamation in respose to a comment George Stephanopoulos made claiming the president-elect had been found liable for rape by a jury in the E Jean Carroll defamation trial. Elias criticized the broadcaster for the move. “Knee bent. Ring kissed. Another legacy news outlet chooses obedience,” he wrote on Saturday.

ABC agrees to pay $15 million to Trump in defamation lawsuit settlement

03:33 , Graig Graziosi

ABC has agreed to pay $15 million as part of a settlement with Donald Trump after the president-elect sued the network and host George Stephanopoulos for defamation.

In March, Stephanopoulos pressed congresswoman Nancy Mace about her support for the former president despite a judge finding him “liable for rape by a jury,” he said.

“Donald Trump has been found liable for defaming the victim of that rape by a jury,” Stephonopoulos said on ABC’s This Week at the time. “It’s been affirmed by a judge.”

READ MORE:

ABC agrees to pay $15 million to Trump in defamation lawsuit settlement

Video surfaces of George Santos being hit with coffee in Times Square

03:20 , Graig Graziosi

Former New York congressman George Santos was hit with a cup of coffee as he walked through Times Square, according to a video making the rounds on social media.

The clip begins with an unnamed man wearing sunglasses speaking into camera, saying, “This guy has got [the] audacity to show his face,” as he follows Santos.

After getting the former congressman’s attention, the man throws a drink on Santos, and asks, “How do you like that?”

READ MORE:

Video surfaces of George Santos being hit with coffee in Times Square

Daniel Penny meets Donald Trump days after his acquittal in Jordan Neely’s subway death

03:01 , Graig Graziosi

Daniel Penny, the former US Marine who was recently acquitted of the killing of New York City subway rider Jordan Neely, spent Saturday rubbing elbows with President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance at the annual Army-Navy football game in Maryland.

The death of the homeless Black street performer sparked outrage and demands for justice for homeless New Yorkers, while Penny — and some witnesses aboard the train — argued he was a danger to others onboard. The former Marine held Neely in a lethal chokehold for more than six minutes.

“He was just threatening to kill people,” Penny told Fox News host Jeanine Pirro. “He was threatening to go to jail forever, to go to jail for the rest of his life.”

READ MORE:

Daniel Penny meets Donald Trump days after his acquittal in Jordan Neely subway death

Elon Musk wants to turn SpaceX site in Texas into his own city

02:36 , Graig Graziosi

In the decade since SpaceX arrived on the Texas coast, billionaire Elon Musk‘s company has created thousands of jobs near the Mexico border, launched rockets and sprung up new homes — all around an area dubbed Starbase.

Now SpaceX wants to make Starbase a recognized city.

Nearby residents are asking for an election to incorporate the area, which sits on the southern tip of Texas at Boca Chica Beach. Musk posted on his social platform X on Thursday that “SpaceX HQ will now officially be in the city of Starbase, Texas!”

READ MORE:

Elon Musk wants to turn SpaceX site in Texas into his own city

Devin Nunes and Ric Grenell — who are Trump’s latest administration picks?

01:50 , Graig Graziosi

Donald Trump announced on Saturday that Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes and the president-elect’s Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell have been selected to serve in his upcoming administration.

Nunes, as former California House Representative, was tapped for to serve as Chairman of Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board, while Grenell was picked to serve as his Presiential Envoy for Special Missions.

While Nunes was in office he served on the House Intelligence Committee and consistently backed any move then-President Trump made. He also led the two-year investigation into US’s responde to the 2012 Benghazi attack, which ultimate found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the US State Department under Hillary Clinton.

Nunes also refused to back an investigation into Trump former national security adviser and Q-Anon conspiracy theorist Michael Flynn after it was revealed he had unreported discussions with Russian officials while serving under Trump.

“From everything that I can see, his conversations with the Russian ambassador—he was doing this country a favor, and he should be thanked for it,” Nunes said at the time.

Grenell formerly served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and his Director of National Intelligence.

Prior to his involvement in Trump’s administration, Grenell was a consultant for an eastern European oligarch, Vladimir Plahotniuc. He faced criticism after he wrote articles defending the oligarch without making clear he was being paid to manage the man’s image.

Grenell is a former Fox News contributor and was named as a VP at the far-right media outlet Newsmax in 2021. He earned the ire of the media in 2020 when, during a Trump press conference, he refused to identify himself to reporters and publicly accused the state of covering up incidents of voter fraud in order to help the election prospects of then-Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

These claims were made without evidence, and Mr Grenell refused to answer questions from journalists who demanded he prove his assertions.

Daniel Penny meets Donald Trump days after his acquittal in Jordan Neely’s subway death

00:53 , Graig Graziosi

Daniel Penny, the former US Marine who was recently acquitted of the killing of New York City subway rider Jordan Neely, spent Saturday rubbing elbows with President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance at the annual Army-Navy football game in Maryland.

The death of the homeless Black street performer sparked outrage and demands for justice for homeless New Yorkers, while Penny — and some witnesses aboard the train — argued he was a danger to others onboard. The former Marine held Neely in a lethal chokehold for more than six minutes.

“He was just threatening to kill people,” Penny told Fox News host Jeanine Pirro. “He was threatening to go to jail forever, to go to jail for the rest of his life.”READ MORE:

Daniel Penny meets Donald Trump days after his acquittal in Jordan Neely subway death

Trump names Ric Grenell as Presidential Envoy for Special Missions

00:30 , Graig Graziosi

Donald Trump has named Ric Grenell, his former acting Director for National Intelligence, to Presidential Envoy for Special Missions in his upcoming term. “In my First Term, Ric was the United States Ambassador to Germany, Acting Director of National Intelligence, and Presidential Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia Negotiations. Previously, he spent eight years inside the United Nations Security Council, working with North Korea, and developments in numerous other Countries,” Trump’s account wrote on Truth Social.

D.C. restaurant server fired for saying she would refuse to serve some Trump officials

00:15 , Graig Graziosi

A server in Washington, D.C. has been fired after she said she would refuse to serve certain officials in Donald Trump‘s incoming administration who have been accused of sexual misconduct.

The server was working at Beuchert’s Saloon on Capitol Hill when she made the comments to Washingtonian magazine for a story about D.C. preparing for the influx of Trump officials to the city’s dining spots.

After the story ran, Fox News ran its own story following up on her comments and learned she had been fired for what her employer called her “base prejudice.”

READ MORE:

D.C. server fired for saying she would refuse to serve some Trump officials

Chicago mayor vows to protect residents after Trump’s border czar singles out Windy City for mass deportations

Saturday 14 December 2024 23:50 , Graig Graziosi

Donald Trump’s incoming “border czar” has suggested the president-elect’s plans for mass deportations will begin in Chicago, part of a plan that would deploy law enforcement officers into communities across the country for broad sweeps targeting people living in the country without legal permission.

The Windy City’s mayor is vowing to protect his city’s residents from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents who could push into schools and workplaces, butting against so-called “sanctuary” policies barring federal forces from using local police for deportation enforcement.

“What the Trump administration has called for is for local police departments around the country to behave as ICE agents. In sanctuary cities, that is not permissible,” Chicago’s Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson told CNN.

READ MORE:

Chicago mayor vows to protect residents after Trump’s border czar singles out city

Defense Secretary conducts coin toss at Army-Navy game

Saturday 14 December 2024 23:20 , Josh Marcus

Why the right loves Daniel Penny

Saturday 14 December 2024 23:00 , Josh Marcus

Daniel Penny was a guest of Donald Trump and company on Saturday at the Army-Navy football game in Maryland.

The invite, on its face, would seem a strange one: Penny was facing a homicide charge in a New York court last week, for which he was ultimately acquitted.

Last year, we had this look at how Penny became a celebrity on the right for choking a homeless man on the subway, in what the 26-year-old said was an act to defend his fellow passengers.

How Republicans and right-wing media turned Jordan Neely’s killer into a hero

ICYMI: Trump set to scrap car-crash regulation Musk hates

Saturday 14 December 2024 22:40 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump’s transition team is reportedly considering scrapping a car-crash reporting requirement that Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk stongly opposes, according to a new report.

According to Reuters, which viewed a document reportedly proposing the change, the removal of the requirement could hamstring the government’s ability to effectively investigate crashes and regulate the safety of vehicles with self-driving systems, like Musk’s Teslas and Cybertrucks.

Musk, who is the world’s richest man, used his vast wealth to pour a quarter of a billion dollars into Trump’s 2024 campaign. If Trump’s team does remove the accident reporting requirements, it would likely directly benefit Musk’s Tesla, which has reported the majority of crashes — more than 1,500 — to federal safety regulators under the program.

Tesla’s crashes have sparked three major National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigations, according to federal data. According to the agency’s data, Teslas have accounted for 40 out of 45 fatal crashes reported to the agency through October 15.

Graig Graziosi has the details.

Trump set to scrap car-crash regulation Musk hates: Report

Acquitted Daniel Penny meets with Trump and Vance at Army-Navy game

Saturday 14 December 2024 22:30 , Graig Graziosi

Daniel Penny, who was recently acquitted for the killing of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway train, met with Donald Trump and JD Vance during the Army-Navy football game on Saturday.

Big Tech goes Big Trump

Saturday 14 December 2024 22:20 , Josh Marcus

This week, the leaders of the tech industry made a concerted push too woo Donald Trump, who has long been a critic, accusing platforms of unfairly silencing him and going after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for his ownership of the Washington Post.

Here’s how it all went down.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta donates $1m to Trump’s inaugural fund

First Zuckerberg, now Bezos: Amazon to donate $1m to Trump’s inaugural fund

Trump hosts Apple CEO at Mar-a-Lago as big tech leaders continue outreach to president-elect

More Trump nominees announced

Saturday 14 December 2024 22:00 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump has announced two new additions to his administration, naming Bill White as ambassador to Belgium and nominating Troy Edgar to be deputy Homeland Security secretary.

Washington restaurant server fired for comments on refusing to serve Trump officials

Saturday 14 December 2024 21:40 , Josh Marcus

A Washington, D.C.-area restaurant worker has reportedly been fired for saying she might refuse to serve Trump administration officials, according to Fox News.

The decision comes after the server spoke out about the influx of new Trump admininistration officials soon to be dining out around the Capitol.

“I personally would refuse to serve any person in office who I know of as being a sex trafficker or trying to deport millions of people,” Suzannah Van Rooy, a server at Beuchert’s Saloon on Capitol Hill, told the Washingtonian. “It’s not, ‘Oh, we hate Republicans.’ It’s that this person has moral convictions that are strongly opposed to mine, and I don’t feel comfortable serving them.”

BREAKING: ABC agrees to pay $15 million to Trump in defamation lawsuit settlement

Saturday 14 December 2024 21:09 , Josh Marcus

ABC has agreed to pay $15 million as part of a settlement with Donald Trump after the president-electsued the network and host George Stephanopoulos for defamation.

In March, Stephanopoulos pressed congresswoman Nancy Mace about her support for the former president despite a judge finding him “liable for rape by a jury,” he said.

“Donald Trump has been found liable for defaming the victim of that rape by a jury,” Stephonopoulos. “It’s been affirmed by a judge.”

Juries in New York found Trump liable for defaming and sexually abusing E Jean Carroll after he repeatedly called her a liar for speaking publicly about allegations that he assaulted her in the 1990s. Trump has appealed the nearly $90 million in judgments against him.

Alex Woodward reports.

ABC agrees to pay $15 million to Trump in defamation lawsuit settlement

WATCH: Trump salutes instead of putting his hand over heart during national anthem

Saturday 14 December 2024 21:03 , Josh Marcus

Pharma ceo says there’s ‘more common ground’ after Mar-a-Lago meeting with RFK

Saturday 14 December 2024 21:00 , Josh Marcus

Big Pharma executives reportedly had a series of surprisingly cordial meeting in recent days with Donald Trump and Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., at Mar-a-Lago, despite Kennedy being an outspoken critic of the industry.

During the December confab, which reportedly included the CEOs of Pfizer, Eli Lilly and the trade group PhRMA, Trump reportedly talked about lowering drug costs and increasing U.S. manufacturing of medicines.

The president-elect also steered things back on course when Kennedy began discussing his opinions on the potential link between vaccines and autism, a theory that’s been widely discreditted. Trump reportedly suggested more study would help reduce vaccine hesitancy, according to The Washington Post.

“Probably shouldn’t say too much about it, but it was all you can imagine, and a little bit more,” Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told the Economic Club of Washington this week of the meeting. “There’s often more common ground than you’d think just reading the newspapers.”

Photos: Crowd cheers Trump and his allies at Army-Navy game

Saturday 14 December 2024 20:45 , Josh Marcus

‘How do you like that?’: Man hurls coffee at George Santos in Time Square

Saturday 14 December 2024 20:29 , Josh Marcus

Former congressman George Santos reportedly had a cup of coffee thrown on him as he walked through Times Square in New York City recently, according to a viral video.

In the clip, the former congressman, who pleaded guilty in August to identity theft and wire fraud charges, reacts with a mix of shock and anger, saying, “What the f*** is wrong with you?”

It’s unclear who threw the coffee at Santos, though the video begins with an unnamed man speaking into camera saying, “This guy has got [the] audacity to show his face?”

Watch live: Trump attends Army-Navy game in Maryland

Saturday 14 December 2024 20:11 , Josh Marcus

JD Vance, Daniel Penny spotted at Army-Navy game

Saturday 14 December 2024 20:10 , Josh Marcus

Vice president-elect JD Vance and Daniel Penny were among the notable figures spotted on Saturday in Donald Trump’s box at the Army-Navy football game.

The president-elect is reportedly en route.

Jets fly over Washington ahead of Army-Navy game

Saturday 14 December 2024 20:05 , Josh Marcus

Trump names Devin Nunes to Intelligence Advisory Board

Saturday 14 December 2024 19:57 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump has named Devin Nunes, CEO of his Truth Social platform, to lead the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, an independent body that advises the executive branch.

In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump said Nunes, a former California congressman, “will draw on his experience as former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and his key role in exposing the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, to provide me with independent assessments of the effectiveness and propriety of the U.S. Intelligence Community’s activities.”

Chicago mayor responds to Trump administration threats of arrest over immigration policies

Saturday 14 December 2024 19:45 , Josh Marcus

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson defended his city’s immigration “sanctuary” policies on Saturday and responded to threats from the Trump administration to prosecute him.

“What the Trump administration has called for is for local police departments around the country to behave as ICE agents. In sanctuary cities, that is not permissible,” the mayor told CNN.

The city’s sanctuary policies bar local police from assisting in deportations and don’t ask people their citizenship status when they use city services.

Johnson added that these provisions still allow immigration authorities to go after migrants accused of criminal offenses.

“Once they are arrested and they are in custody, then the law, of course, is fully prepared to prosecute,” he said, adding, “Look, no one is going to harbor or protect criminals, whether you have come here as an immigrant or undocumented or otherwise.”

The comments came after Trump border czar Tom Homan threatened to prosecute Johnson if he gets in the way of the administration’s plans to carry out an unprecedented national deportation operation upon taking office.

“If your Chicago mayor doesn’t want to help, he can step aside,” Homan said this week during an event in Chicago. “But if he impedes us — if he knowingly harbors or conceals an illegal alien — I will prosecute him.”

Trump’s border czar reveals which city is first for mass deportations

Trump mocks Chris Christie with bizarre drone-themed post

Saturday 14 December 2024 19:30 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump continued his long-running public animosity towards former New Jersey Governor and Republican presidential rival Chris Christie, posting a mocked up photo on Saturday showing Christie eating McDonalds being delivered by drones.

The crude post appeared to be a reference to the spate of drone sightings above New Jersey in recent weeks.

New York officials outraged over drone sightings call for new powers

Saturday 14 December 2024 19:14 , Josh Marcus

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is calling on Washington to do more about the mysterious drones spotted in recent weeks above the Northeast.

The governor said in a statement on Saturday on X that drone activity prompted officials to shut down Stewart Airfield in New Windsor for about an hour last night.

“This has gone too far,” Hochul said in the statement, calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act, a bill that would reform drone policy and hand more authority over to states.

More details in our full story.

New York governor demands action on mystery drones after airfield shut down

Don Jr. offers ‘endorsement’ to Democrats planning to skip Trump’s inauguration

Saturday 14 December 2024 18:56 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump Jr. doesn’t seem too concerned more than a dozen Democrats are reportedly planning to skip Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration in January.

“Apparently a large group of Democrat legislators plan to boycott my father’s inauguration, which is great as it will make room for a lot more actual patriots to attend,” the president-elect’s son wrote on X on Saturday. “They have my complete and total endorsement to stay at home.”

Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after ‘hard fall’

Saturday 14 December 2024 18:05 , Josh Marcus

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has undergone a hip replacement procedure after being hospitalized in Luxembourg on Friday following a fall.

Pelosi, 84, was traveling with the congressional delegation for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge – the last major German offensive during the Second World War – when she fell.

Her spokesperson, Ian Krager, said in a statement:“Earlier this morning, Speaker Emerita Pelosi underwent a successful hip replacement and is well on the mend.

“Speaker Pelosi is 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.

Ariana Baio has the details.

Nancy Pelosi undergoes hip replacement after fall during trip to Europe

Trump wants to privatize U.S. Postal Service

Saturday 14 December 2024 18:01 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is seeking to potentially privatize the U.S. Postal Service once he takes office, according to The Washington Post, with the president-elect reportedly dismayed over the carrier’s financial losses.

“The government is slow, slow, slow — decades slow on adopting new ways of doing things, and there’s a lot of [other] carrier services that became legal in the ’70s that are doing things so much better with increased volumes and reduced costs,” said Casey Mulligan, a former top economist in the first Trump administration, told the paper. “We didn’t finish the job in the first term, but we should finish it now.”

During his previous term, the president publicly feuded with the postal carrier over rates and labor questions and repeatedly raised questions over the sanctity of mail-in ballots.

U.S. in contact with Syrian rebels who overthrew Assad

Saturday 14 December 2024 17:40 , Josh Marcus

The U.S. has been in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group that overthrew the regime of dictator Bashar Assad, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed on Saturday.

The group, former al-Qaida affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has been designated a foreign terror group by the U.S. since 2018.

“Yes, we have been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” Blinken said in Jordan on Saturday, adding, “our message to the Syrian people is this: We want them to succeed and we’re prepared to help them do so.”

New York governor hammers Biden on drones: ‘This has gone too far’

Saturday 14 December 2024 17:21 , Josh Marcus

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is calling on Washington to do more about the mysterious drones and aircraft spotted in recent weeks above the Northeast.

The governor said in a statement on Saturday on X drone activity prompted officials to shut down Stewart Airfield in New Windsor for about an hour.

“This has gone too far,” Hochul said in the statement, calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act, a bill that would reform drone policy and hand more authority over to states.

“Until those powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden Administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our criitcal infrastructure and our people,” Hochul added.

Trump immigration plans could cut 3.3m workers from temporary authorization

Saturday 14 December 2024 17:05 , Josh Marcus

Employers are worried Donald Trump’s immigration agenda could cut the workforce by millions of people if he follows through on slashing programs offering temporary work approval to immigrants in the country illegally or whose visas have expired.

The programs cover as many as 3.3 million people, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

“Though the numbers are small, these individuals play a key role in the success of a company like ours,” Nate Koetje, chief executive of an electrical contractor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday.

Elon Musk to join Trump at Army-Navy game

Saturday 14 December 2024 16:45 , Josh Marcus

Elon Musk and Trump have been nearly inseparable since the election, and that looks set to continue at today’s Army-Navy football game.

Musk said on X he would be joining the president-elect in Maryland to take in the matchup.

Here’s more on the Trump-Musk friendship:

Nearly three dozen Trump donors picked to serve in administration

Saturday 14 December 2024 16:30 , Josh Marcus

In Washington, a well-placed donation goes a long way.

The incoming Trump administration is set to be staffed with nearly three dozen individuals who donated to the Trump campaign or groups working to re-elect the Republican, according to a new CNN analysis.

Those donors include more well-known ones like Elon Musk, who spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the Trump effort, to others like Congress members Elise Stefanik and Mike Waltz, who transferred money from their campaigns to support Trump.

Elon Musk spent over $250 million to help Trump get elected, new filings show

Trump’s Time person of the year comes with a unique fact-check

Saturday 14 December 2024 16:10 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump’s recent designation as Time magazine’s Person of the Year came with a unique addition: a lengthy post-interview fact-check.

The magazine said Friday no other Person of the Year has prompted a similar fact-check over the nearly 100 year history of the annual honor.

The fact-check probes 15 different statements made by the president-elect about immigration, vaccines, and crime.

Why Trump may not want DeSantis as Defense Secretary

Saturday 14 December 2024 15:50 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is reportedly cooling on the idea of replacing his pick to lead the Pentagon, former Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis’s name entered the picture as Hegseth faced a number of serious misconduct allegations, including rape and alcohol abuse, both of which he denies.

But Trump’s potential embrace of DeSantis for the position appears to have stalled, according to political reporter Maggie Haberman.

“What changed was a couple of things. One was… Trump could not find a single person in his orbit, or even really outside of it, who liked this idea of making Ron DeSantis — the governor of Florida — the Defense secretary choice,” she told CNN’s “AC360.”

Here’s more on the potential DeSantis nod:

Trump considers ally-turned-rival DeSantis to replace Hegseth as Pentagon chief

Pressure builds to address mystery lights over Northeast

Saturday 14 December 2024 15:32 , Josh Marcus

Officials are ratcheting up the pressure to respond to a series of mysterious lights spotted over New Jersey.

“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. “Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT”

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said Friday he had “personally witnessed” the lights.

Officials have said they are investigating the phenomenon, but have been unable to corroborate reports of unauthorized drones over New Jersey.

“Upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully,” National Security Council John Kirby said earlier this week.

The Pentagon has said it doesn’t believe the lights are “coming from a foreign entity or adversary.”

More than a dozen Democrats to skip Trump inauguration

Saturday 14 December 2024 15:08 , Josh Marcus

More than a dozen Democrats are reportedly planning to skip Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration.

Lawmakers told Axios their reasons ranged from anger over the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol to feeling unsafe around a mass of Trump supporters.

“For somebody who he said he’s going to lock me up, I don’t see the excitement in going to see his inauguration,” former Jan. 6 committee chair Bennie Thompson of Mississippi said.

Trump made a controversial promise about the Middle East. But it might not be so far-fetched

Saturday 14 December 2024 14:00 , John Bowden

What does the Middle East look like under Trump 2.0?

The president-elect is due to take office in just a few weeks, having frequently attacked Joe Biden — and later Kamala Harris — for supposedly having failed to stop the two bloody conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza from breaking out under their watch. On top of that, he also made two lofty promises while campaigning: that he would end the conflict in Ukraine quickly upon taking office; and that he would bring a “lasting peace” to the Middle East.

The latter promise was made during an interview with a Saudi news channel, Al-Arabiya, in October.

Read more:

Trump made a promise about the Middle East. It might not be so far-fetched

Nevada ‘fake electors’ hit with fresh charges months after case was dismissed

Saturday 14 December 2024 13:00 , Katie Hawkinson

The Nevada attorney general has charged six Republicans with submitting falsified documents to Congress declaring President-elect Donald Trump the winner of the key swing state in 2020.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford argues the defendants signed off on false Electoral College votes for Trump in 2020 even though he lost Nevada by more than 30,000 votes. There was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Nevada during the 2020 election, Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske said at the time.

Read more:

Nevada ‘fake electors’ hit with fresh charges months after case was dismissed

Trump vows to scrap daylight savings time and looks to axe car crash regulation that highlights Tesla

Saturday 14 December 2024 12:02 , Tara Cobham

US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to scrap Daylight Saving Time (DST) and is reportedly considering scrapping a car crash reporting requirement that Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk stongly opposes.

Calling DST “inconvenient” and “costly” in a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump said: “The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate DST, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t!”

Meanwhile, axing the car crash regulation could hamstring the government’s ability to effectively investigate collisions and regulate the safety of vehicles with self-driving systems, such as Musk’s Teslas and Cybertrucks, according to Reuters, which viewed a new document reportedly proposing the removal. It would likely directly benefit Tesla, which has reported the majority of crashes – more than 1,500 – to federal safety regulators under the program.

Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup

Saturday 14 December 2024 12:00 , Melissa Goldin

Social media users are misrepresenting a report released Thursday by the Justice Department inspector general’s office, falsely claiming that it’s proof the FBI orchestrated the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

The watchdog report examined a number of areas, including whether major intelligence failures preceded the riot and whether the FBI in some way provoked the violence. Claims spreading online focus on the report’s finding that 26 FBI informants were in Washington for election-related protests on Jan. 6, including three who had been tasked with traveling to the city to report on others who were potentially planning to attend the events.

Although 17 of those informants either entered the Capitol or a restricted area around the building during the riot, none of the 26 total informants were authorized to do so by the bureau, according to the report. Nor were they authorized to otherwise break the law or encourage others to do so.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup

LA Times billionaire owner killed op-ed that was critical of Trump’s cabinet picks, report says

Saturday 14 December 2024 11:00 , Justin Baragona

Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong killed an opinion column that was critical of President-elect Donald Trump’s recent Cabinet picks, telling his paper’s editorial board that it could only publish the piece if it also ran an editorial with an opposing view, according to The New York Times.

The spiked column was set to be published in the outlet’s Sunday newspaper and website on November 24. Soon-Shiong intervened just hours before the op-ed was scheduled to be sent to the printer, prompting the editors to pull the piece as the deadline approached.

Read more:

LA Times owner reportedly killed op-ed that was critical of Trump’s cabinet picks

WATCH: Larry Kudlow awkwardly does the Trump dance

Saturday 14 December 2024 10:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Only 17 percent of Americans approve of Hegseth as defense secretary, poll reveals

Saturday 14 December 2024 09:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Less than 20 percent of American adults approve of President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, former Army National Guard soldier and Fox & Friends weekend host Pete Hegseth, according to a new poll.

The results of the AP-NORC poll come as Republican senators appear to be warming up to his nomination in the face of allegations of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking, and financial mismanagement.

Only 17 percent in the poll conducted between 5 and 9 December said they strongly or somewhat approve of Hegseth, while 36 percent said they strongly or somewhat disapprove.

Thirty-seven percent said they didn’t know enough to share a view and 11 percent said they neither approved nor disapproved.

The results were the lowest of the four Trump nominees the poll asked about.

First Zuckerberg, now Bezos: Amazon to donate $1m to Trump’s inaugural fund

Saturday 14 December 2024 08:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Amazon’s executive chair Jeff Bezos is reportedly set to donate $1m to Donald Trump’s inaugural fund – following in the footsteps of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who did the same earlier this week.

Bezos’s gesture was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and dwarfs the $57,746 the company donated to Trump’s first inauguration in 2017.

Amazon will also make a second in-kind donation worth $1m by streaming the inauguration on its Prime Video platform, a source told the paper.

Read more:

First Zuckerberg, now Bezos: Amazon to donate $1m to Trump’s inaugural fund

Trump border czar threatens mayors with prosecution if they don’t cooperate with mass deportations

Saturday 14 December 2024 07:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Fox News host sends Trump inauguration challenge to Taylor Swift for ‘moment of unity’

Saturday 14 December 2024 06:00 , Greg Evans

Fox News host Laura Ingraham has made a plea for Taylor Swift to play at Donald Trump’s inauguration in January for a “great moment of unity”.

Swift was one of the biggest celebrities to lend her support to Kamala Harris for this year’s presidential election, driving more than 300,000 people to sign up to vote.

In the wake of Swift’s endorsement, Trump declared that he “hated” the “Cruel Summer” singer and shared fake AI images of the star appearing to support him.

Read more:

Fox News host sends Trump inauguration challenge to Taylor Swift

Don Trump Jr didn’t like Kimberly Guilfoyle’s fashion sense and thought new beau would be more of a win with dad

Saturday 14 December 2024 05:00 , Kelly Rissman

Donald Trump Jr is dating a new woman who he thinks will “impress” his father, but has not publicly announced a split from Kimberly Guilfoyle, whose style he has criticized, according to a report.

Photos captured Trump Jr., 46 holding hands with socialite Bettina Anderson, 38, as they went for an evening stroll through Palm Beach, Florida this week.

While neither president-elect Donald Trump’s eldest son nor Guilfoyle, 55, have spoken publicly about their relationship status, insiders told People that after months of criticizing Guilfoyle’s style, he thinks he’s found someone who fits into the Trump family — someone comparable to his father’s wife, Melania. Trump met Melania at a party in 1998, when he was on a date with another woman, the former first lady said in a 2016 interview with Harper’s Bazaar.

Read more:

Don Trump Jr didn’t like Guilfoyle’s style and thought new beau would impress his dad

Americans don’t have high confidence in Trump’s cabinet choices or managing gov spending, new poll finds

Saturday 14 December 2024 04:00 , Ariana Baio

More than half of Americans are not confident in Donald Trump’s abilities to appoint well-qualified people to his cabinet or manage government spending effectively, despite recently electing him to lead the United States, according to a new poll.

Just 44 percent of U.S. adults reported feeling “very” or even “moderately” confident that Trump will appoint well-qualified individuals for cabinet or high-level government positions.

The new results from the Associated Press and NORC arrive as the president-elect has selected a group of controversial individuals to serve in his cabinet and other high-level positions including former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and more.

Read more:

Americans don’t have high confidence in Trump’s cabinet choices new poll finds

‘This country is ready for a big debate about vaccines,’ senator-elect says

Saturday 14 December 2024 03:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump ‘frustrated’ by Boeing delays that mean he likely won’t get to fly on new Air Force One

Saturday 14 December 2024 02:00 , Rhian Lubin

President-elect Donald Trump is reported to be frustrated by delays to the new Air Force One, which means he likely won’t be able to fly on a new jet during his second term.

Boeing has reportedly told the Air Force that the new planes won’t be ready until after Trump leaves the White House, the Wall Street Journal reports.

It was previously reported that the two new planes were due to be delivered in 2026 and 2027. But the jets won’t be ready until 2029 or possibly even later, according to the Journal, which quoted sources familiar with the plans.

Read more:

Trump ‘frustrated’ he may not fly on new Air Force One due to delays

Canadian official issues warning country may cut off energy to U.S.

Saturday 14 December 2024 01:00 , Gustaf Kilander

New Jersey governor wants more federal resources for probe into drone sightings

Saturday 14 December 2024 00:15 , Bruce Shipkowski

Gov. Phil Murphy has asked the Biden administration to put more resources into an investigation of mysterious drone sightings that have been reported in New Jersey and nearby states.

Murphy, a Democrat, made the request in a letter Thursday, noting that state and local law enforcement remain “hamstrung” by existing laws and policies in their efforts to successfully counteract any nefarious activity of unmanned aircraft. He posted a copy of the letter on the social media platform X.

Read more:

New Jersey governor wants more federal resources for probe into drone sightings

Nevada ‘fake electors’ hit with fresh charges months after case was dismissed

Friday 13 December 2024 23:30 , Katie Hawkinson

The Nevada attorney general has charged six Republicans with submitting falsified documents to Congress declaring President-elect Donald Trump the winner of the key swing state in 2020.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford argues the defendants signed off on false Electoral College votes for Trump in 2020 even though he lost Nevada by more than 30,000 votes. There was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Nevada during the 2020 election, Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske said at the time.

Ford filed the charges of “uttering a forged instrument” for a second time in Carson City this week after a judge dismissed an initial indictment in Clark County earlier this year, ruling the prosecutor filed it in the wrong venue, the Associated Press reports.

Read more:

Nevada ‘fake electors’ hit with fresh charges months after case was dismissed

Why Bezos and Zuckerberg are suddenly getting so friendly with Trump

Friday 13 December 2024 22:45 , Andrew Feinberg

With just five weeks to go until President-elect Donald Trump and his allies take full control of America’s executive branch, many of his former antagonists are suddenly attempting to curry favor. How best to do so? By funding the massive inaugural celebration that will mark his return to office, of course.

On Thursday, CNN reported that Amazon, the world’s largest retailer, would be gifting $1 million in cash to the Trump inaugural committee, in addition to an equal in-kind contribution it would make by broadcasting the January 20 festivities on the company’s eponymous streaming video platform.

The donations are just the latest in what has become a concerted effort by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to lessen tensions.

Read more:

Why Bezos and Zuckerberg are suddenly getting so friendly with Trump

There was a poison pill for trans Americans in the defense bill. It’ll happen again

Friday 13 December 2024 22:00 , Eric Garcia

During their 2024 election campaigning and in the weeks afterward, Republicans focused heavily on anti-transgender messaging. President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign ran an ad criticizing Kamala Harris for allowing undocumented immigrants access to transgender healthcare in prison, with the tagline “Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you.”

Shortly after the election, Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina introduced legislation to ban transgender women from using women’s restrooms on Capitol Hill. It’s hard to not see that legislation as targeted, considering Sarah McBride had only just become the first openly transgender woman elected to Congress.

Read more:

Why there was a poison pill for trans Americans in the defense bill

Judge rejects an attempt by Trump campaign lawyer to invalidate guilty plea in Georgia election case

Friday 13 December 2024 21:30 , Kate Brumback

The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others on Friday rejected an attempt by former Trump campaign lawyer Kenneth Chesebro to invalidate his guilty plea.

Chesebro, Trump and 17 others were charged in August 2023 in a sprawling indictment that accused them of participating in a sweeping scheme to try to illegally overturn Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Chesebro pleaded guilty to a single conspiracy count a few months later after reaching a deal with prosecutors just before he was to go to trial.

Read more:

Judge rejects an attempt by Trump campaign lawyer to invalidate guilty plea in Georgia election case

Only 17 percent of Americans approve of Hegseth as defense secretary, poll reveals

Friday 13 December 2024 21:10 , Gustaf Kilander

Less than 20 percent of American adults approve of President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, former Army National Guard soldier and Fox & Friends weekend host Pete Hegseth, according to a new poll.

The results of the AP-NORC poll come as Republican senators appear to be warming up to his nomination in the face of allegations of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking, and financial mismanagement.

Only 17 percent in the poll conducted between 5 and 9 December said they strongly or somewhat approve of Hegseth, while 36 percent said they strongly or somewhat disapprove.

Thirty-seven percent said they didn’t know enough to share a view and 11 percent said they neither approved nor disapproved.

The results were the lowest of the four Trump nominees the poll asked about.

China signals it’s prepared to double down on support for the economy as Trump tariffs loom

Friday 13 December 2024 21:00 , Elaine Kurtenbach

Chinese leaders met this week to plot economic policy for the coming year, sketching out plans to raise government spending and relax Beijing’s monetary policy to encourage more investment and consumer spending.

Leaders of the ruling Communist Party wrapped up their two-day Central Economic Work Conference on Thursday with praise for President Xi Jinping’s guidance and a pledge to “enrich and refine the policy toolbox” and defuse risks facing the world’s second-largest economy. One of the biggest: threats by President-elect Donald Trump to sharply raise tariffs on imports from China once he takes office.

Here’s a look at the priorities outlined in this week’s meetings in Beijing and their potential implications.

China signals it’s prepared to double down on support for the economy as Trump tariffs loom

Veteran Daniel Penny, acquitted in NYC subway chokehold, will join Trump’s suite at football game

Friday 13 December 2024 20:30 , Adriana Gomez Licon

Daniel Penny, a military veteran who choked an agitated New York subway rider and was acquitted of homicide this week, has been invited by Vice President-elect JD Vance to join Donald Trump‘s suite at the Army-Navy football game on Saturday.

The Marine veteran was cleared of criminally negligent homicide in Jordan Neely ’s 2023 death. A more serious manslaughter charge was dismissed last week.

Vance said Penny, 26, accepted his invitation.

Read more:

Veteran Daniel Penny, acquitted in NYC subway chokehold, will join Trump’s suite at football game

Nancy Pelosi is now trying to tank AOC’s committee ambitions after helping orchestrate Biden’s fall, report says

Friday 13 December 2024 20:00 , Gustaf Kilander

After helping to push President Joe Biden out of the 2024 presidential race, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi is now reportedly trying to tank Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s bid to become the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.

Top Democrats say that while the 35-year-old is seen as the favorite in the race to take on the role, Rep. Gerry Connolly, 74, still has a chance.

A number of ranking members on various panels who are in their seventies are facing challenges from younger colleagues.

Read more:

Nancy Pelosi trying to tank AOC’s committee ambitions, report says

Rupert Murdoch: The king came for his children and missed

Friday 13 December 2024 19:30 , Justin Baragona

What happens when you preemptively try to stop a coup, only to discover that you’ve incited one?

That is the very real scenario that Rupert Murdoch finds himself in, after a Nevada court ruled that he couldn’t change the family trust and give control to his son Lachlan.

In trying to solidify his eldest son’s position as head of his powerful media empire to preserve Fox News’ right-wing slant, the 93-year-old Rupert seems to have drawn his other three eldest children – James, Elisabeth and Prudence – closer together.

Read more:

Rupert Murdoch: The king came for his children and missed

Trump made a controversial promise about the Middle East. But it might not be so far-fetched

Friday 13 December 2024 19:00 , John Bowden

What does the Middle East look like under Trump 2.0?

The president-elect is due to take office in just a few weeks, having frequently attacked Joe Biden — and later Kamala Harris — for supposedly having failed to stop the two bloody conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza from breaking out under their watch. On top of that, he also made two lofty promises while campaigning: that he would end the conflict in Ukraine quickly upon taking office; and that he would bring a “lasting peace” to the Middle East.

The latter promise was made during an interview with a Saudi news channel, Al-Arabiya, in October.

Read more:

Trump made a promise about the Middle East. It might not be so far-fetched

Pete Hegseth complained about ‘Marxist’ agenda of letting out gay troops serve in the military

Friday 13 December 2024 18:30 , Gustaf Kilander

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, previously argued that out gay people serving in the military is part of a larger “Marxist” agenda.

Hegseth made the argument that the policy is putting social justice over combat readiness in his book The War on Warriors which was published this year.

He also slammed the previous policy — Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — which allowed gay people in the armed services as long as they didn’t reveal their sexual orientation. The nominee also criticized the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Read more:

Pete Hegseth slammed ‘Marxist’ agenda of letting out gay troops serve in the military

Fox News host sends Trump inauguration challenge to Taylor Swift for ‘moment of unity’

Friday 13 December 2024 18:00 , Joe Sommerlad

This is highly optimistic from Laura Ingraham.

Greg Evans has the story.

Fox News host sends Trump inauguration challenge to Taylor Swift

Don Trump Jr ‘didn’t like Kimberly Guilfoyle’s fashion sense’ and thought new beau would be more of a win with dad

Friday 13 December 2024 17:40 , Joe Sommerlad

The president-elect’s eldest son appears to have ditched his fiancee for Florida socialite Bettina Anderson, if the rumors are to be believed, and People magazine now says Guilfoyle’s fashion sense is to blame.

Don Jr has reportedly been “telling people for months that Kim is so uptight and always dresses so professionally in these kinds of dresses and high heels, and never looks relaxed or casual,” according to an insider.

Here’s Kelly Rissman with the latest gossip from Palm Beach.

Don Trump Jr didn’t like Guilfoyle’s style and thought new beau would impress his dad

LA Times billionaire owner killed op-ed that was critical of Trump’s cabinet picks, report says

Friday 13 December 2024 17:20 , Joe Sommerlad

Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of The Los Angeles Times, killed off an opinion column that was critical of the president-elect’s recent cabinet picks, telling his newspaper’s editorial board that it could only publish the piece if it also ran an editorial with an opposing view, according to The New York Times.

The spiked column was set to be published in the outlet’s Sunday newspaper and website on November 24.

Soon-Shiong intervened just hours before the op-ed was scheduled to be sent to the printer, prompting the editors to pull the piece as the deadline approached.

According to The NYT, the column was headlined: “Donald Trump’s cabinet choices are not normal. The Senate’s confirmation process should be.”

The editorial board decided that after the incoming president had announced a slew of controversial picks, many of which the board members were concerned about, it would have one of its writers pen a piece calling on the Senate to take its job of confirming nominees seriously.

Justin Baragona has more.

LA Times owner reportedly killed op-ed that was critical of Trump’s cabinet picks

Trump ‘frustrated’ by Boeing delays that mean he likely won’t get to fly on new Air Force One

Friday 13 December 2024 17:00 , Joe Sommerlad

The president-elect is reported to be annoyed by delays to the new Air Force One, which means he likely won’t be able to fly on a new jet during his second term.

Boeing has reportedly said told the US Air Force that the new planes won’t be ready until after Trump leaves the White House, The Wall Street Journal reports.

It was previously reported that the two new planes were due to be delivered in 2026 and 2027.

But the jets won’t be ready until 2029 or possibly even later, according to the Journal.

Rhian Lubin reports.

Trump ‘frustrated’ he may not fly on new Air Force One due to delays

Ex-House speaker Nancy Pelosi hospitalized on trip to Luxembourg

Friday 13 December 2024 16:45 , Joe Sommerlad

The former speaker of the House of Representatives suffered an injury on a trip to Luxembourg and has been admitted to a hospital for evaluation, her office said in a statement on Friday.

Pelosi, 84, is the first woman to serve as speaker of the House and had also been a longtime leader of the House Democratic Caucus.

The veteran San Francisco congresswoman stepped down from her role as speaker in 2023 but has continued to serve in the House.

She was re-elected in November to another two-year term beginning on January 3.

Pelosi played a key role in passing President Joe Biden’s sweeping $1 trillion infrastructure bill in 2022 and famously feuded with Republican Donald Trump during his first four years in office, culminating with the moment when she tore up his State of the Union speech on national television in 2020.

Americans don’t have high confidence in Trump’s cabinet choices or managing government spending, new poll finds

Friday 13 December 2024 16:30 , Joe Sommerlad

More than half of Americans are not confident in Trump’s abilities to appoint well-qualified people to his cabinet or manage government spending effectively, despite recently electing him to lead the United States, according to a new poll.

Just 44 percent of US adults reported feeling “very” or even “moderately” confident that Trump will appoint well-qualified individuals for cabinet or high-level government positions.

The new results from the Associated Press and NORC arrive as the president-elect has selected a group of controversial individuals to serve in his cabinet and other high-level positions including former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, ex-congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and erstwhile presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr, among others.

Those three nominations are particularly expected to face an uphill battle during Senate confirmations.

And the American electorate aren’t fans either.

Hegseth, Gabbard and Kennedy all face low approval ratings from those surveyed.

Ariana Baio has more on the survey’s findings.

Americans don’t have high confidence in Trump’s cabinet choices new poll finds

Trump border czar threatens to jail Chicago mayor

Friday 13 December 2024 16:15 , Joe Sommerlad

What a charming Christmas setting for this brutal threat against an elected official.

Democrats warn Trump dragging America back to the bad old days

Friday 13 December 2024 15:55 , Joe Sommerlad

Hillary Clinton says the president-elect’s interest in abolishing financial regulators will bring back bank runs of the sort seen in Frank Capra’s film It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) while Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren says RFK Jr’s confirmation as health secretary would mean saying “hello to polio”.

Trump himself is certainly nostalgic for an older America, relishing comparisons between himself and Al Capone and threatening a new Wall Street Crash whenever things aren’t going his way.

Maybe we’ll at least get a Charleston revival out of all of this.

JD Vance taking Daniel Penny to Army-Navy game tomorrow

Friday 13 December 2024 15:35 , Joe Sommerlad

The Vice President-elect will be accompanied by the Marine Corps veteran acquitted earlier this week over the chokehold death of homeless man Jordan Neely on the New York City subway in May 2023.

Penny’s case became something of a conservative cause celebre last year and his invitation to join Trump and Vance in their suite for the traditonal college football encounter in Maryland might well be interpreted as a provocation by liberals.

Xi Jinping reportedly snubs Trump’s inauguration invite

Friday 13 December 2024 15:15 , Joe Sommerlad

China’s president has snubbed the president-elect’s invitate to his inauguration, according to reports.

Xi was invited to Trump’s second inauguration on January 20 but sources confirmed the leader would not be attending, CNN reports.

The offer was an unorthodox move from Trump, who said he had been “thinking about inviting certain people to the inauguration” during his appearance at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.

“And some people said, ‘Wow, that’s a little risky, isn’t it?’” the Republican said.

“And I said, ‘Maybe it is. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens.’ But we like to take little chances.”

Here’s more from Rhian Lubin.

Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly snubs Trump’s inauguration invite

Matt Gaetz may take second job after failed AG bid

Friday 13 December 2024 14:55 , Joe Sommerlad

Having dropped out of the running for attorney general and taken a job with the right-wing cable channel One America News, the controverisal Republican has reportedly been talking with John Morgan, the founder of law firm Morgan & Morgan about a potential second new job.

“Matt has some big ideas that he believes he could work in collaboration with our firm,” Morgan told The Daily Business Review on Thursday.

He added that Gaetz’s connections in Washington could be helpful for cases involving the “insurance industry, pharmaceutical companies and the processed food and sugar crowd”.

Ariana Baio has the details.

Matt Gaetz reportedly may take on a second job after failed AG bid

Analysis: Washington begins to make way for Trumpworld

Friday 13 December 2024 14:35 , Joe Sommerlad

If Joe Biden is going to do anything to define the last weeks of his presidency and to cement his overall legacy, it will now have to take place through Executive Branch action as the capital locks into preparing the ground for his successor, writes John Bowden.

Washington has begun to make way for Trumpworld

Jack Schlossberg accuses cousin, RFK Jr, of being a ‘Russian spy’

Friday 13 December 2024 14:15 , Joe Sommerlad

The grandson of John F Kennedy has claimed his cousin, Robert F Kennedy Jr, who recently became intertwined with Trump, is a “Russian spy”.

Schlossberg, a 31-year-old Democrat, has for months mocked Kennedy, a 70-year-old Democrat-turned-independent, for his political involvement with Trump and insinuated he has ties to Moscow.

But on Wednesday, Schlossberg claimed Kennedy is “so obviously a Russian spy” in response to an Axios article that alleged Kennedy wants his daughter-in-law to be part of the CIA to uncover the truth behind JFK’s assassination.

“You all think I’m joking,” Schlossberg wrote in his post before adding four “ha”s.

Here’s more from Ariana Baio.

JFK’s grandson Jack Schlossberg accuses cousin, RFK Jr, of being a ‘Russian spy’

Who is Don Jr’s rumored new girlfriend Bettina Anderson?

Friday 13 December 2024 13:55 , Joe Sommerlad

Donald Trump Jr, the eldest son of the president-elect, has been spotted holding hands with Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, though he has not publicly called off his engagement to former political commentator and future US ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle.

Trump Jr, 46, attended Anderson’s 38th birthday party in Palm Beach, Florida, earlier this week and photos published by The Daily Mail captured them in an unguarded moment.

Here’s Ariana Baio with everything we know about Anderson amid the rumors.

Who is Don Jr’s rumored new girlfriend Bettina Anderson?

Trump discusses Melania’s plans for his next term

Friday 13 December 2024 13:35 , Joe Sommerlad

While she appeared with her husband as he rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, the former first lady was notably absent from the campaign trail this year, so much so that at one point missing persons posters and banners asking “Where’s Melania?” cropped up.

Her absence has sparked speculation over whether she wants to return to the White House this time around.

The president-elect addressed that question on Thursday.

Kelly Rissman has this on what he had to say.

Trump provides update on Melania’s plans during his next term in Time interview

Trump’s team has reportedly asked about closing a bank regulator

Friday 13 December 2024 13:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Donald Trump’s transition team has reportedly looked at ways to shrink or eliminate banking oversight – a move that could have dramatic impacts on everyday Americans and protecting their money.

In interviews with candidates to oversee the banking sector, Trump’s advisers and officials from his new advisory Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have asked if the president-elect can abolish the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC), according to The Wall Street Journal.

Trump’s team has also asked if the FDIC could be absorbed into the Treasury Department.

Any move to eliminate the the body would require congressional approval.

But, if it were to happen, it would be a massive shake-up in the industry.

Here’s more from Alex Lang.

Trump’s team has reportedly asked about closing a bank regulator

‘No evidence’ undercover FBI agents joined Jan 6, watchdog finds

Friday 13 December 2024 12:55 , Joe Sommerlad

None of the thousands of people who joined protests in Washington, DC, and stormed the halls of Congress on January 6 2021 were undercover FBI agents, according to the results of a lengthy probe from a Department of Justice watchdog.

The findings deal a blow to persistent right-wing conspiracy theories that federal law enforcement agents provoked a riot or a “false flag” attack to entrap Trump’s supporters to break into the Capitol.

But the report’s discovery that roughly two dozen confidential sources were on the ground at the time is likely to continue fueling a false narrative that federal agents had something to do with instigating the assault.

Here’s a full report from Alex Woodward.

‘No evidence’ undercover FBI agents joined Capitol riots, watchdog finds

Democratic senator warns Trump ‘compromised’ in Middle East

Friday 13 December 2024 12:35 , Joe Sommerlad

Connecticut’s Chris Murphy issued this warning on MSNBC after Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law, Massad Boulos, was named the president-elect’s pick as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs and in the same week Eric Trump unveiled a coming Trump Tower project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Here’s Josh Marcus on Boulos’s apparently overstated CV.

Trump’s Middle East adviser is ‘small-time truck salesman,’ not a billionaire: Report

Adam Kinzinger says Trump is threatening Jan 6 committee members because they ‘embarrassed’ him

Friday 13 December 2024 12:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Speaking to Kaitlan Collins on CNN’s The Source last night, the former Republican congressman said the president-elect has started threatening the likes of Liz Cheney and himself because he is “embarrassed” by their House panel’s findings about the events surrounding the Capitol riot.

“We were investigating, as per the request from Congress to do that, we obviously came up with answers that embarrassed Trump. He was embarrassed by it,” Kinzinger said.

“You know, sorry to embarrass you, Donald, but that’s, that’s, that’s what we’re tasked with, was the truth, and history books will record this as the truth. You want to threaten to throw us in jail for that?”

He also insisted he was not remotely frightened by Trump’s threats.

The same man, clearly enjoying his MAGA notoriety, has meanwhile been taunting Elon Musk’s DOGE accomplice Vivek Ramaswamy on Musk’s own platform.

Trump to meet with Pete Hegseth at Army-Navy game on Saturday

Friday 13 December 2024 11:55 , Joe Sommerlad

The president-elect is due to attend the traditional college football throwdown in Landover, Maryland, tomorrow and will sit down at the game with his embattled nominee for defense secretary Pete Hegseth, according to one of the latter’s advisers quoted by The Washington Post.

Hegseth has spent the week courting dubious Republican senators, unnerved about the string of unsavoury allegations that have been raised against him, all of which the former Fox News weekend man and military man has denied and downplayed.

FAA boss who clashed with Elon Musk over SpaceX will resign before Trump takes office

Friday 13 December 2024 11:35 , Joe Sommerlad

Mike Whitaker, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), who has led a tougher enforcement policy against Boeing since a panel blew off a company jet in January, said on Thursday that he will step down next month, clearing the way for Trump name his choice to lead the agency.

Whitaker announced his pending resignation in a message to employees of the FAA, which regulates airlines and aircraft manufacturers and manages the nation’s airspace.

He has dealt with challenges including a surge in close calls between planes, a shortage of air traffic controllers and antiquated equipment at a time when air travel and a need for tougher oversight of Boeing.

Whitaker also clashed with Trump ally Elon Musk by proposing that his company SpaceX be fined over safey issues.

FAA boss who clashed with Elon Musk over SpaceX will resign before Trump takes office

First Zuckerberg, now Bezos: Amazon to donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund

Friday 13 December 2024 11:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Amazon’s executive chairman Jeff Bezos is reportedly set to donate $1m to Trump’s inaugural fund, following in the footsteps of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who did the same earlier this week,

Bezos’s gesture was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and dwarfs the $57,746 the company donated to Trump’s first inauguration in 2017.

The online retail giant’s founder is meanwhile set to meet the president-elect at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, next week, according to Trump himself, who revealed the sitdown in an interview with CNBC, given after he rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is also reportedly set to follow Bezos to the Sunshine State while Zuckerberg himself already visited Trump at home last month, reportedly giving him a personal demonstration of Meta’s new Ray-Ban smart glasses, gifting him a pair and also meeting with the president-elect’s pick for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, plus advisers Stephen Miller, Vince Haley and James Blair.

First Zuckerberg, now Bezos: Amazon to donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund

Even liberals like popular Barron Trump at New York University

Friday 13 December 2024 10:55 , Joe Sommerlad

Barron Trump has been described as a “ladies’ man” around the New York University (NYU) campus, where he is so popular that even his liberal classmates like him.

An insider at NYU’s Stern School of Business, where Barron enrolled this fall, told People magazine that Donald Trump’s only son with third wife Melania Trump has proven to be “popular with the ladies.”

“He’s tall and handsome,” the source said of the 18-year-old, who stands an astonishing six feet nine inches tall.

“A lot of people seem to think he’s pretty attractive – yes, even liberal people like him.”

People’s article about Barron is so complimentary it has prompted some speculation about the source of the quotes, given that his father was known to enjoy calling in gossip to the tabloids during his Big Apple real estate days under the false name “John Barron.”

Even liberals like popular Barron Trump at New York University

Trump calls North Korean troops in Russia a ‘complicating factor’ and boasts of relationship with Kim Jong-un

Friday 13 December 2024 10:35 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s more from the president-elect’s Time interview, in which he also addressed the presence of North Korean troops on Russia’s frontline with Ukraine but stopped short of denouncing Pyongyang, preferring instead to tout his friendship with the country’s “Rocket Man” dictator.

Shweta Sharma has this report.

Trump calls North Korean troops in Russia a ‘complicating factor’

Trump backs dockworkers’ union over strike threat to protect jobs from automation

Friday 13 December 2024 10:15 , Joe Sommerlad

The president-elect was on Truth Social last night speaking up for the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) after meeting with its bosses Harold and Dennis Daggett.

“There has been a lot of discussion having to do with ‘automation’ on United States docks,” Trump wrote.

“I’ve studied automation, and know just about everything there is to know about it. The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen.”

The ILA, which represents more than 40,000 dockworkers, went on strike for three days in October over the prospect of robots replacing its members’ jobs.

The Biden administration helped reach a deal to avert that action, which reportedly cost the US economy $1bn a day, put further unrest could rear its head in the New Year.

Watch: Emmanuel Macron and Donald Tusk mock Trump’s macho handshake

Friday 13 December 2024 09:55 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s the French President and the Prime Minister of Poland teasing the US president-elect yesterday before he has even taken office.

Ariana Baio has this on Macron and Trump’s original grapple during his Notre Dame Cathedral visit over the weekend.

‘The handshake battles continue’: Social media mocks Trump-Macron meeting

Donald Trump tells Time he will do ‘whatever it takes’ to address illegal immigration and says he will abolish Department of Education

Friday 13 December 2024 09:36 , Joe Sommerlad

Good morning!

Donald Trump has said he is prepared to do “whatever it takes” to drive illegal immigrants from the United States, including building more detention centres, and also vowed to shut down the Department of Education and leave teaching administration up to individual states.

Trump further moved to downplay fears over Elon Musk and Robert F Kennedy Jr’s likely influence over his administration and to manage expectations on inflation, warning he may not be able to bring down grocery prices after all by saying: “It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up, very hard.”

The president-elect made the comments in an interview withTime magazine after being named its “Person of the Year” following his November election win.

The annual cover – which highlights an individual who has greatly influenced the year, for good or ill – was unveiled on Thursday, bearing an imperious portrait of the Republican against a stark background.

Trump was also awarded the honor in 2016 after beating Hillary Clinton to win the White House for the first time.

He celebrated this latest gong yesterday by delivering a brief speech and ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Here’s Kelly Rissman with more.

Donald Trump named Time’s ‘Person of the Year’ for second time

Elon Musk calls homelessness a ‘lie’ and ‘propaganda’ — and Trump is listening

Friday 13 December 2024 09:00 , Alex Woodward

To Elon Musk, the word “homeless” is a “lie” and “a propaganda word.”

“Homeless is a misnomer. It implies that someone got a little bit behind on their mortgage, and if you just gave them a job, they’d be back on their feet,” he told former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson in October. “What you actually have are violent, drug zombies with dead eyes and needles and human feces on the street.”

The more money spent combating homelessness, “the worse it gets,” according to Musk.

Read more:

Elon Musk calls homelessness a ‘lie’ and ‘propaganda’ — and Trump is listening

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent’s website