Supporters of President-elect Donald Trump are bashing two of his top lieutenants, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, after they both defended a visa program for skilled workers.
Ramaswamy, who will lead the outside commission known as the Department of Government Efficiency alongside Musk, blamed a number of 1990s sitcoms for emphasizing the wrong values.
“A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” he wrote in a post on X.
“There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” Musk wrote on Wednesday on X. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.”
The “number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low,” he later added. “Think of this like a pro sports team: if you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be. That enables the whole TEAM to win.”
That triggered pushback on social media.
“Nobody should come from another country taking American citizens’ jobs,” responded one user, who said they worked in the internet technology field and had witnessed American workers lose status. “This needs more vetting as a policy prior to going ahead with it as it is not America Citizens First.”
Key Points
-
College campuses are calling international students back to campus before Trump’s presidency begins
-
Trump posts rambling Christmas Day greeting about US expansionism
-
Trump promises to ‘vigorously pursue the death penalty’ in Christmas Eve message
-
Greenland prime minister balks at Trump’s renewed play for territory
-
Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt reveal they’re engaged
Joe Rogan convinced that Trump knows ‘something’ about UFOs – but won’t say what
19:00 , Ariana Baio
Podcast host Joe Rogan said he believes that current and past presidents, such as President-elect Donald Trump, know “something” about extraterrestrial life but won’t reveal what it it.
Rogan told filmmaker James Fox, whose documentaries often focus on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), that he caught that feeling after asking Trump about it.
“When I confronted Mr. Trump, he was very cagey,” Rogan said on Tuesday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. “Very cagey.”
Read more:
Joe Rogan convinced that Trump knows ‘something’ about UFOs but won’t say what
MAGA civil war ramps up as Trump ally Laura Loomer lays into Elon Musk — and loses her blue check
18:30 , Justin Baragona
Another volley has been fired in the ongoing MAGA civil war that’s been playing out online between hardcore “America First” acolytes and Trump-backing Silicon Valley oligarchs over an immigrant worker visa program — and now Elon Musk is being accused of personally punishing his critics.
Laura Loomer and other far-right activists who have railed against the X (formerly Twitter) owner and his DOGE co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy for supporting H-1B visas and criticizing American work culture allege that Musk removed their X verification badges and ability to monetize their accounts in an act of retribution.
“[Musk] has removed my blue check mark on X because I dared to question his support for H1B visas, the replacement of American tech workers by Indian immigrants, and I questioned his relationship with China,” Loomer posted on Thursday night.
Read more:
MAGA civil war ramps up as Laura Loomer lays into Musk — and loses her blue check
‘Indications’ Russia took down airliner, White House says
18:10 , Gustaf Kilander
There are “indications” that Russia took down the Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, the White House has said.
“We have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems,” John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, told reporters, according to The Washington Post.
He added that the evidence goes beyond the images shared online.
The investigations’ preliminary findings revealed that the plane crashed “due to external physical and technical interference.”
Azerbaijani Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev told his country’s media, “This is evidenced by the appearance of the plane’s wreckage on the ground and eyewitness testimony.”
“The type of weapon used for the interference will be established by the investigation,” Nabiyev said.
In states that ban abortion, social safety net programs often fail families
18:00 , Laura Ungar, Kimberlee Kruesi
Taylor Cagnacci moved from California to Tennessee with hopes of starting a new chapter in a state that touts a low cost of living and natural beauty.
But she’s infuriated by Tennessee’s meager social services, which leave her and many other moms struggling in a state where abortion is banned with limited exceptions.
“I was going to have my child no matter what, but for other women, that’s kind of a crappy situation that they put you in,” said Cagnacci, a 29-year-old Kingsport mom who relies on Medicaid and a federally funded nutrition program. “You have to have your child. But where’s the assistance afterward?”
Read more:
In states that ban abortion, social safety net programs often fail families
Kash Patel ‘is the leader America needs at the FBI,’ Mike Johnson says
17:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Former Freedom Caucus chair says he wants to keep ‘options open’ on speaker fight
17:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Former Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Scott Perry has said that he wants to keep his “options open” before committing to voting for Rep. Mike Johnson for speaker for another term in the House.
“I think that Mike has done an admirable job under tough conditions, but I’m going to keep my options open,” Perry said during a Friday morning appearance on Fox Business. “I want to have a conversation with Mike.”
This comes after the current chair of the Freedom Caucus, Rep. Andy Harris, said Thursday that the GOP has to consider if the leadership in place is “what we need.”
He added that he’s “undecided” on who should lead the Republicans in the coming year, according to Politico.
“We’ve just got to make sure that we get the best person for the job under the circumstances,” Perry added. “And I’ll tell you the one that might be able to make the difference is, quite honestly, President Trump. Whoever the president backs is likely to be the speaker, regardless.”
Trump congratulates Fox News couple on engagement
16:30 , Gustaf Kilander
President-elect Donald Trump congratulated Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt on their engagement in a post on Truth Social.
“Great news about Sean and Ainsley. They are officially engaged to be married! There are no finer people than these, and there will be no finer couple. Congratulations to both – A deal made in HEAVEN!!!” Trump wrote on Friday morning.
Read more:
Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt reveal they’re engaged
As Trump returns to the White House, and Putin’s forces advance – what next for Ukraine in 2025?
16:00 , Tom Watling
After nearly three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the future of the country’s fight against Vladimir Putin’s forces is more uncertain than ever.
Donald Trump’s sweeping victory in the US presidential race, off the back of promises to end the war in eastern Europe in 24 hours, seemingly even if that means forcing Kyiv to cede territory to Russia, seems to spell the end of the West’s long-held policy of helping Ukraine defeat Vladimir Putin’s forces entirely. Negotiations with Russia, after years of silence, are back on the agenda.
This is causing significant stress in Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. As Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian opposition leader, puts it: “The world needs to understand how crucial it is not to end the war on any idea of negotiating with Russia.”
Read more:
As Trump returns to the White House – what next for Ukraine in 2025?
How Elon Musk’s influence has grown both online and offline in 2024
15:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Elon Musk started 2024 as the controversial owner of a social media platform, but ends it as one of the most powerful individuals in the world and a key adviser to the incoming US president.
The debate around the billionaire has moved on dramatically over the last 12 months, from whether the way he was running X, formerly Twitter, would be viable or sustainable in the long-term, to whether Mr Musk’s own influence over global politics through his wealth and social media megaphone made him a threat to democracy.
The biggest story of 2024 around Mr Musk has been has dramatic swing behind the US President-elect Donald Trump ahead of the November election and how Mr Musk effectively reconfigured X into a vehicle to support the Republican candidate, alongside his personal fortune.
Read more:
How Elon Musk’s influence has grown both online and offline in 2024
Russia warns ‘radical’ Donald Trump against resuming nuclear testing
15:00 , Barney Davis
Russia has warned it “rules out nothing” regarding nuclear testing in response to Donald Trump’s “radical” position on the issue during his first term as president.
Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, who oversees arms control, warned the United States that its nuclear arsenal is intended to “sober up” countries on the “brink of direct armed conflict” with Russia.
Russia, the US and China are all undertaking major modernisations of their nuclear weapons just as the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) of the Cold War era between the Soviet Union and the US is starting to fall apart.
Read more:
Russia warns ‘radical’ Donald Trump against resuming nuclear testing
Elon Musk reveals he’s taking drug for weight loss in bizarre ‘Ozempic Santa’ post
14:30 , Justin Baragona
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and President-elect Donald Trump’s“first buddy,” revealed on Christmas night that he was using the medication Mounjaro for weight loss while dubbing himself “Ozempic Santa” in a holiday-themed social media post.
The revelation also comes just a couple of weeks after he clashed with Trump’s designated Health and Human Services chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the widespread use and long-term benefits of GLP-1 inhibitors in battling obesity.
Posting to his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Musk shared an image of himself dressed as Santa Claus next to a Christmas tree alongside the caption “Ozempic Santa.” The post quickly went viral, gathering over 200,000 likes and 26 million views.
“Like Cocaine Bear, but Santa and Ozempic!” Musk added in a separate tweet.
Read more:
Elon Musk reveals he’s taking drug for weight loss in bizarre ‘Ozempic Santa’ post
Trump’s ‘border czar’ says migrant families will be put in detention centers once again
14:00 , Alex Woodward
The Trump administration is planning to jail immigrant families together in detention centers before they are removed from the country.
“We’re going to need to construct family facilities,” Tom Homan told The Washington Post in a recent interview. “How many beds we’re going to need will depend on what the data says.”
Trump and Homan have repeatedly said that even U.S. citizen children of non-citizen parents are expected to be deported along with their families.
“Here’s the issue,” Homan told The Post. “You knew you were in the country illegally and chose to have a child. So you put your family in that position.”
Trump’s border czar wants ‘family’ detention centers for deportation plans
ICYMI: Trump names nominee for Panama ambassador after suggesting U.S. would seize control of canal
13:30 , Alex Woodward
Trump has nominated Miami-Dade Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera for U.S. ambassador to Panama, “a Country that is ripping us off on the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dreams,” the president-elect Trump announced on Christmas Eve.
“Few understand Latin American politics as well as Kevin,” Trump said.
Cabrera also served as state director for Florida in Trump’s 2020 campaign and is vice chair of Miami-Dade’s International Trade Consortium.
His nomination follows a seemingly random attack suggesting that the U.S. would seize control of the Panama Canal, part of a series of statements aimed at other countries in a signal that his administration is threatening U.S. territorial expansion to bully sovereign nations to his economic demands.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino fired back, emphasizing the canal would remain under Panama’s control.
“The sovereignty and independence of our country is non-negotiable,” he said.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has some critics worried. Others are ready for a fight
13:00 , Alex Woodward
Some of Donald Trump’s most prominent critics are bracing for impact.
“By going after me they’re just going to give me a platform,” George Conway told The Independent.
More from The Independent’s White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg on the critics preparing for a fight:
Donald Trump critics ready for his White House return and possible retribution
ICYMI: Biden signed 50 bills into law on Christmas Eve
12:00 , Alex Woodward
President Joe Biden spent Christmas Eve signing 50 bills into law, including one piece of legislation supported by Paris Hilton and another designating the bald eagle as the U.S. national bird.
Gustaf Kilander breaks them down:
Biden signs 50 bills into law – including and Paris Hilton-backed legislation
ICYMI: Nation’s largest Latino civil rights group blasts Republican figure’s viral ‘execution’ video
11:30 , Alex Woodward
A video from aspiring Republican political figure Valentina Gomez shows her firing a handgun into the back of the head of a dummy tied to a chair with a black bag over its head.
“It’s that simple, public executions for any illegal that rapes or kills an American. They don’t deserve deportation, they deserve to be ended,” she says.
The widely derided video has been condemned for glorifying “the type of vigilantism that has led to deadly consequences in our nation and feeds into the anti-immigrant lie,” according to League of United Latin American Citizens, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights group.
“LULAC denounces violent crime in our nation and expresses its deepest condolences to its victims and their loved ones,” the group’s presidet Roman Palomares said in a statement.
“However, we believe in the Christian principles of justice, not retribution. Using public executions as a hook to a politically motivated message fuels blind hatred. This kind of language is intended to appeal to an extreme base of individuals who believe the lie that all immigrants are here to harm others.”
More on the backlash to the Gomez’s latest stunt:
Aspiring MAGA congresswoman performs mock ‘execution’ of migrant in disturbing video
Vivek Ramaswamy blames ‘90s sitcoms for tech companies hiring smarter immigrant workers
11:00 , Alex Woodward
Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the leaders of the Trump administration’s incoming Department of Government Efficiency, blamed a series of 1990s TV sitcoms for what he saw as a decline in U.S. dynamism in science and technology, leading tech companies to hire more qualified foreign-born and first-generation workers over their mentally lazy American counterparts.
His comments follow wider tensions within the Trump coalition, which includes both far-right anti-immigration views, and an increasing embrace of the tech industry, whose workforce is highly diverse and made up of many immigrants and first-generation Americans.
The Independent’s Josh Marcus reports:
Vivek Ramaswamy blames 90s sitcoms for tech companies hiring immigrant workers
Trump inaugural fund set to break record
10:30 , Alex Woodward
Trump’s inaugural fund is projected to raise more than $150 million, breaking the previous $107 million inauguration fundraising record that was set during the president-elect’s first inauguration.
Trump inaugural fund set to break record as businesses scramble to curry favor
‘Should MAGA stay home in 2026?’ Laura Loomer wages ‘racist’ war against ‘tech bros’ over Indian migrants
10:00 , Alex Woodward
Trump acolyte and self-proclaimed “proud Islamophobe” Laura Loomer is threatening to tell MAGA to “stay home” during the next midterm elections amid an escalating feud with “tech bros” Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy over Silicon Valley’s reliance on foreign-born workers.
Justin Baragona reports:
‘Should MAGA stay home in 2026?’ Laura Loomer wages ‘racist’ war against ‘tech bros’
Rudy Giuliani tells judge ‘I gave everything I have to give’ as he braces for contempt hearing
09:00 , Alex Woodward
Embattled former New York City mayor and Trump’s one-time attorney Rudy Giuliani will face a contempt hearing on January 3 related to his court-ordered turnover of his property to a pair of election workers he defamed.
In a series of court filings on Christmas Eve, Giuliani pleaded with a judge to reject their demands for sanctions.
The latest on Giuliani’s legal woes:
Rudy Giuliani tells judge ‘I gave everything I have to give’ as he faces contempt
How Trump’s inner circle is celebrating the holidays
08:00 , Alex Woodward
Marjorie Taylor Greene has shared an array of messages over the holiday period varying from the more traditional photo in front of a Christmas tree, to a plea to join her in prayer this Sunday “to end abortion in America.”
Her holiday photo in front of the Christmas tree came hot on the heels of a meme she shared titled “amount of people eligible to be mass deported.”
More Christmas messages from Trumpworld, per The Independent’s Rhian Lubin:
A very MAGA Christmas: How Trump’s inner-circle are marking the holidays
Trump’s ‘made in USA’ bitcoin vow not based ‘in reality’
07:00 , Alex Woodward
It’s unlikely Donald Trump will be able to realize his campaign promise that all remaining Bitcoin will be made in the U.S., according to observers who know the industry.
The Independent’s Josh Marcus explains:
Trump’s ‘made in USA’ bitcoin promise not based ‘in reality’
Elon Musk’s spending bill antics derailed bipartisan efforts to criminalize pornographic deepfakes
05:00 , Alex Woodward
The first-ever federal legislation to criminalize pornographic deepfakes was attached to a broader bipartisan government funding bill with support from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress.
Elon Musk’s X platform was even involved in lobby efforts to support the legislation, including other actions on child safety.
It was virtually guaranteed to pass Congress.
But Musk’s pressure campaign against that government funding bill prompted Republicans to strike that language from the measure altogether. Efforts to revive the spending bill did not include it.
Democrats and Republicans have a common enemy: pornographic ‘deepfakes’
Marianne Williamson enters race for DNC chair: We need to ‘create the energy’ to counter Trump
03:30 , Alex Woodward
The race to lead the Democratic Party in the wake of Kamala Harris’s election defeat expanded on Thursday as author and two-time candidate Marianne Williamson announced that she was seeking the role.
The Independent’s John Bowden has more:
Marianne Williamson enters the race for DNC chair
Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt reveal they’re engaged
02:55 , Kelly Rissman
Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt are engaged.
Hannity, 62, proposed to Earhardt, 48, over Christmas at their home church after years of long-distance dating, according to an announcement by Fox News Thursday.
”We are overjoyed and so thankful to our families for all of their love and support during this wonderful time in our lives,” the happy couple told the network.
Read the full story.
Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt reveal they’re engaged
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has some critics worried. Others are ready for a fight
02:00 , Alex Woodward
Some of Donald Trump’s most prominent critics are bracing for impact.
“By going after me they’re just going to give me a platform,” George Conway told The Independent.
More from The Independent’s White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg on the critics preparing for a fight:
Donald Trump critics ready for his White House return and possible retribution
Haley reignites Ramaswamy feud after he bashes American work culture: ‘There’s nothing wrong with US workers’
01:55 , Josh Marcus
Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley tore into her old rival Vivek Ramaswamy on Thursday, after the entrepreneur and Trump administration adviser wrote a lengthy takedown arguing mainstream U.S. culture doesn’t encourage science and technology excellence, leading companies to hire foreign-born and first-generation workers.
“There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture,” Haley wrote in response on X. “All you have to do is look at the border and see how many want what we have. We should be investing and prioritizing in Americans, not foreign workers.”
The pair previously clashed when both were candidates during the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
Ramaswamy, who is a first-generation Indian-American, was accused in 2023 of attempting to use a racist dogwhistle by criticizing Haley using her maiden name, Nimarata Nikki Randhawa, and suggesting she was being untruthful about her own Indian family background.
Read on for all the details.
Haley re-ups Ramaswamy feud after he slams America: ‘Nothing wrong with US workers’
How toy stores could get caught in a Trump trade war
01:49 , Josh Marcus
The price of toys may soar if Donald Trump carries through on his vow to impose exorbitant international tariffs, leading to the closure of many independent retailers.
According to industry group The Toy Association, nearly 80 percent of U.S. toys are manufactured in China, one of the countries the President-elect has threatened to target with immediate charges on exports.
Trump has said he would impose a 10 percent universal tariff on foreign imports, and last month floated the idea of an additional 60 to 100 percent tariff on goods specifically from China.
But experts have warned that the tariffs are likely to have a negative effect on shoppers and the economy. Though the levy is paid by the importer, much of the tax is ultimately handed off to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Mike Bedigan reports.
Toy stores could go bust under Trump’s proposed international tariffs
Democratic congressman calls for decriminalizing sex work after bombshell Matt Gaetz report
01:00 , Alex Woodward
A Democratic congressman is calling for the United States to decriminalize sex work nationwide in response to damning findings released by the House Ethics Committee about Matt Gaetz.
Illinois Rep. Shri Thanedar said to the government show work to “maximize sex workers’ legal protection and their ability to exercise other rights, including unionization, justice, and health care. Decriminalization and regulation would prevent trafficking and exploitation of minors.”
More from The Independent’s John Bowden:
Democrat congressman calls for decriminalizing sex work after House report on Gaetz
Trump’s ‘border czar’ says migrant families will be put in detention centers once again
00:00 , Alex Woodward
The Trump administration is planning to jail immigrant families together in detention centers before they are removed from the country.
“We’re going to need to construct family facilities,” Tom Homan told The Washington Post in a recent interview. “How many beds we’re going to need will depend on what the data says.”
Trump and Homan have repeatedly said that even U.S. citizen children of non-citizen parents are expected to be deported along with their families.
“Here’s the issue,” Homan told The Post. “You knew you were in the country illegally and chose to have a child. So you put your family in that position.”
Trump’s border czar wants ‘family’ detention centers for deportation plans
Trump inaugural fund set to break record as businesses scramble to curry favor
Thursday 26 December 2024 23:00 , Alex Woodward
Trump’s inaugural fund is projected to raise more than $150 million, breaking the previous $107 million inauguration fundraising record that was set during the president-elect’s first inauguration.
Trump inaugural fund set to break record as businesses scramble to curry favor
‘Should MAGA stay home in 2026?’ Laura Loomer wages ‘racist’ war against ‘tech bros’ over Indian migrants
Thursday 26 December 2024 22:30 , Alex Woodward
Trump acolyte and self-proclaimed “proud Islamophobe” Laura Loomer is threatening to tell MAGA to “stay home” during the next midterm elections amid an escalating feud with “tech bros” Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy over Silicon Valley’s reliance on foreign-born workers.
Justin Baragona reports:
‘Should MAGA stay home in 2026?’ Laura Loomer wages ‘racist’ war against ‘tech bros’
Nation’s largest Latino civil rights group blasts Republican figure’s viral ‘execution’ video
Thursday 26 December 2024 22:00 , Alex Woodward
A video from aspiring Republican political figure Valentina Gomez shows her firing a handgun into the back of the head of a dummy tied to a chair with a black bag over its head.
“It’s that simple, public executions for any illegal that rapes or kills an American. They don’t deserve deportation, they deserve to be ended,” she says.
The widely derided video has been condemned for glorifying “the type of vigilantism that has led to deadly consequences in our nation and feeds into the anti-immigrant lie,” according to League of United Latin American Citizens, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights group.
“LULAC denounces violent crime in our nation and expresses its deepest condolences to its victims and their loved ones,” the group’s presidet Roman Palomares said in a staatement.
“However, we believe in the Christian principles of justice, not retribution. Using public executions as a hook to a politically motivated message fuels blind hatred. This kind of language is intended to appeal to an extreme base of individuals who believe the lie that all immigrants are here to harm others.”
More on the backlash to the Gomez’s latest stunt:
Aspiring MAGA congresswoman performs mock ‘execution’ of migrant in disturbing video
Full story: Vivek Ramaswamy blames ’90s sitcoms for tech companies hiring smarter immigrant workers
Thursday 26 December 2024 21:30 , Alex Woodward
Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the leaders of the Trump administration’s incoming Department of Government Efficiency, blamed a series of 1990s TV sitcoms for what he saw as a decline in U.S. dynamism in science and technology, leading tech companies to hire more qualified foreign-born and first-generation workers over their mentally lazy American counterparts.
His comments follow wider tensions within the Trump coalition, which includes both far-right anti-immigration views, and an increasing embrace of the tech industry, whose workforce is highly diverse and made up of many immigrants and first-generation Americans.
The Independent’s Josh Marcus reports:
Vivek Ramaswamy blames 90s sitcoms for tech companies hiring immigrant workers
Rudy Giuliani tells judge ‘I gave everything I have to give’ as he braces for contempt hearing
Thursday 26 December 2024 21:00 , Alex Woodward
Embattled former New York City mayor and Trump’s one-time attorney Rudy Giuliani will face a contempt hearing on January 3 related to his court-ordered turnover of his property to a pair of election workers he defamed.
In a series of court filings on Christmas Eve, Giuliani pleaded with a judge to reject their demands for sanctions.
The latest on Giuliani’s legal woes:
Rudy Giuliani tells judge ‘I gave everything I have to give’ as he faces contempt
Vivek Ramaswamy appears to blame ‘90s sitcom tropes to explain why foreign tech workers are superior
Thursday 26 December 2024 20:30 , Alex Woodward
Vivek Ramaswamy, who is working with the incoming Trump administration alongside Elon Musk to recommend drastic cuts in government spending, wrote a lengthy post on X arguing that the dominance of pop cultural tropes about “nerdiness” and veneration of “jocks” explains why tech companies rely on foreign workers.
“Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer),” he wrote. “That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG. A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.”
His comments follow Elon Musk’s support for H-1B visas, non-immigrant visas that allow companies to hire foreign workers. His Tesla is among the leading employers for foreign-born engineers and scientists, receiving 742 approved H-1B petitions in 2024, according to Forbes.
Musk, a prominent anti-immigration activist who was born in South Africa, also is the recipient of an H-1B visa.
“As a reminder to Vivek, Saved by the Bell went off the air in 1993, just three years after Congress last made any major changes to the legal immigration process,” reminded Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council. “The world he’s describing hasn’t existed for decades.”
Trump’s ‘made in USA’ bitcoin vow not based ‘in reality’
Thursday 26 December 2024 20:00 , Alex Woodward
It’s unlikely Donald Trump will be able to realize his campaign promise that all remaining Bitcoin will be made in the U.S., according to observers who know the industry.
The Independent’s Josh Marcus explains:
Trump’s ‘made in USA’ bitcoin promise not based ‘in reality’
‘Exhausted’ Americans are tuning out politics, according to cable news ratings and recent poll
Thursday 26 December 2024 19:45 , Alex Woodward
A new Associated Press poll finds that most Americans are worn out since Donald Trump’s electoral victory and have tuned out from political news.
The Independent’s Justin Baragona takes a look:
‘Exhausted’ Americans are tuning out politics, according to TV ratings and new poll
Trump names nominee for Panama ambassador after suggesting U.S. would seize control of canal
Thursday 26 December 2024 19:15 , Alex Woodward
Trump has nominated Miami-Dade Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera for U.S. ambassador to Panama, “a Country that is ripping us off on the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dreams,” the president-elect Trump announced on Christmas Eve.
“Few understand Latin American politics as well as Kevin,” Trump said.
Cabrera also served as state director for Florida in Trump’s 2020 campaign and is vice chair of Miami-Dade’s International Trade Consortium.
His nomination follows a seemingly random attack suggesting that the U.S. would seize control of the Panama Canal, part of a series of statements aimed at other countries in a signal that his administration is threatening U.S. territorial expansion to bully sovereign nations to his economic demands.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino fired back, emphasizing the canal would remain under Panama’s control.
“The sovereignty and independence of our country is non-negotiable,” he said.
(AP)
Trump posts flurry of endorsements for Pete Hegseth and Kristi Noem day after Christmas
Thursday 26 December 2024 18:50 , Alex Woodward
In a flurry of posts on his Truth Social account, Trump has shared several pieces from right-wing media outlets and other commentators supporting his nominees for Homeland Security and Department of Defense secretaries.
Trump had continued to stand by former Fox News host Pete Hegseth despite coming under fire for allegations of sexual harassment, nonprofit mismanagement, alcohol abuse and sexual assault, among other controversies, since the president-elect named him to lead the Pentagon.
The president-elect also shared letters from the Fraternal Order of Police supporting Kristi Noem, Trump’s pick to lead the massive Homeland Security law enforcement umbrella agency.
Marianne Williamson enters race for DNC chair: We need to ‘create the energy’ to counter Trump
Thursday 26 December 2024 18:45 , Alex Woodward
The race to lead the Democratic Party in the wake of Kamala Harris’s election defeat expanded on Thursday as author and two-time candidate Marianne Williamson announced that she was seeking the role.
The Independent’s John Bowden has more:
Marianne Williamson enters the race for DNC chair
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has some critics worried. Others are ready for a fight
Thursday 26 December 2024 18:15 , Alex Woodward
Some of Donald Trump’s most prominent critics are bracing for impact.
“By going after me they’re just going to give me a platform,” George Conway told The Independent.
More from The Independent’s White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg on the critics preparing for a fight:
Donald Trump critics ready for his White House return and possible retribution
ICYMI: Biden gives Christmas Day drone tour of White House
Thursday 26 December 2024 17:45 , Alex Woodward
GOP congressman downplays potential Russian attack, saying ‘it’s not the first one’
Thursday 26 December 2024 17:10 , Alex Woodward
At least 38 people were killed when an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet bound for Russia crashed in Kazakhstan in an incident that officials are speculating was caused by a Russian air defense.
One Republican member of Congress appeared to downplay the possibility.
“If reports are true, that Russia did down it, if reports are true, it’s not the first one they did,” Rep. Ryan Zinke told Fox Business on Thursday.
He then went on to suggest that Ukrain should not be in NATO and should conceded the Crimean peninsula to Russia to avoid further attacks.
“It’s … a melting pot, without an answer, unless we have clearly defined objectives. What’s our plan? My position is I don’t think Ukraine is ready for NATO. They’d have to do a massive political reform that they’re not willing to do,” he said.
“And the Crimean peninsula has been, you know, a sticking point … Quite frankly, there’s been 14 wars fought over that Crimean peninsula. I don’t think you’re gonna wrestle it out of the hands of Russia any time soon, and I don’t think you should be going to NATO,” Zinke added.
“I think that’s where President Trump has been starting, I have not talked with him about this specific issue, but in my judgment that would be a good start,” he said.
Former congressman Adam Kinzinger shared the clip, writing: “I seriously dislike these people.”
“I know Zinke. He never would have said this except for now, because he has no soul. He simply wants power and will debase himself for it,” Kinzinger wrote. “History will look on these people with scorn.”
Trump’s ‘border czar’ says migrant families will be put in detention centers once again
Thursday 26 December 2024 16:50 , Alex Woodward
The Trump administration is planning to jail immigrant families together in detention centers before they are removed from the country.
“We’re going to need to construct family facilities,” Tom Homan told The Washington Post in a recent interview. “How many beds we’re going to need will depend on what the data says.”
Trump and Homan have repeatedly said that even U.S. citizen children of non-citizen parents are expected to be deported along with their families.
“Here’s the issue,” Homan told The Post. “You knew you were in the country illegally and chose to have a child. So you put your family in that position.”
Trump’s border czar wants ‘family’ detention centers for deportation plans
Retiring congresswoman on why she didn’t run for re-election: ‘He tried to kill me once. I’m not available for it again’
Thursday 26 December 2024 16:40 , Alex Woodward
Democratic Rep. Ann McLane Kuster didn’t seek re-election this year particially because she feared Trump’s return to office, she told Roll Call.
Kuster was among the last members of Congress in the House gallery on January 6, 2021, and security footage showed that there was only “30 seconds from when I was able to evacuate that the insurrectionists were in that hallway hunting for us with zip ties and bear mace and who knows what else,” she said.
“I just felt like, he tried to kill me once. I’m not available for it again,” she told Roll Call.
“I’m not prepared to be the gladiator, if you will, again for him, with his attack on women and undermining the social fabric,” she added. “I’ve worked very hard on mental health and addiction treatment and on the environment. I’ve done a lot of work on tackling sexual assault and the whole ‘Me To’ era of protecting women in the military and in the workplace, and it appears his approach is to tear that all down.”
Elon Musk: ‘Ozempic Santa’
Thursday 26 December 2024 16:30 , Alex Woodward
Incoming Trump administration official and world’s wealthiest person Elon Musk posted a photograph of himself dressed as Santa Claus “Ozempic Santa” and revealed he’s taking the antidiabetic drug Mounjaro for weight loss.
Elon Musk reveals he’s taking drug for weight loss in bizarre ‘Ozempic Santa’ post
Elon Musk’s spending bill antics derailed bipartisan efforts to criminalize pornographic deepfakes
Thursday 26 December 2024 16:00 , Alex Woodward
The “Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act” was attached to a broader bipartisan government funding bill with support from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress.
Elon Musk’s X platform was even involved in lobby efforts to support the legislation, including other actions on child safety.
But his pressure campaign against that government funding bill prompted Republicans to strike that language from the measure altogether. Efforts to revive the spending bill did not include it.
Democrats and Republicans have a common enemy: pornographic ‘deepfakes’
After a year of legal challenges and a wild stock market ride, here’s Trump’s net worth going into 2025
Thursday 26 December 2024 15:30 , Alex Woodward
President-elect Donald Trump’s net worth ballooned from $2.5 billion to $6.1 billion during a year marred by legal struggles and assassination attempts.
Trump’s majority stake in his social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (TMTG) the parent company of Truth Social, was the main driver of this growth.
The president-elect began the year with a net worth of about $2.5 billion, according to Forbes. That was a decrease from his previous term in the White House when it reached $4 billion. His net worth was not as volatile before he became the owner of a publicly traded company, the outlet noted.
Gustaf Kilander has the details.
Trump’s net worth rose by billions despite legal challenges and wild stock market
These are some of the most notorious January 6 rioters could pardon when he returns to the White House
Thursday 26 December 2024 15:00 , Alex Woodward
More than 1,500 people who have been criminally charged in connection with a mob’s assault on the Capitol — fuelled by his bogus narrative that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and stolen from him — are now awaiting potential pardons for alleged crimes live-streamed to millions of viewers.
Trump could issue mass amnesty to hundreds of defendants as soon as his first day in office, maintaining that even violent offenders could be granted clemency on a “case-by-case” basis.
Here are some of their stories:
The notorious January 6 rioters Trump could pardon
College campuses are calling international students back to campus before Trump’s presidency begins
Thursday 26 December 2024 14:28 , Alex Woodward
More than 1.1 million international students are enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities in the 2023 and 2024 year, and many schools are calling them back to campus before Trump returns to the White House, according to CNN.
International students typically rely on nonimmigrant visas that allow them to study in the U.S. but are not a legal pathway for permanent resident status.
At Cornell University, students who are traveling abroad have been advised to return for the spring semester by January 21 or to “communicate with an advisor about your travel plans and be prepared for delays.”
“A travel ban is likely to go into effect soon after inauguration,” the university warned students late last month, according to a memo obtained by CNN. “The ban is likely to include citizens of the countries targeted in the first Trump administration: Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sudan, Tanzania, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Somalia. New countries could be added to this list, particularly China and India.”
More than 17,000 international students studied at the University of Southern California during the last academic year — the largest number of international students in the state — and school administrators have urged foreign students in an email to return to campus one week before Trump’s presidency, according to an email reviewed by CNN.
“One or more executive orders impacting travel … and visa processing” may be issued, the email said.
Trump has promised to reinstate a ban on travel into the United States from majority-Muslim countries he implemented in his first administration through a series of executive actions targeting immigration. Joe Biden later rescinded them.
On the campaig trail, the president-elect threatened to take aim at students involved in campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war, and then students who would otherwise be eligible for permanent resident status after graduation will be screened to “exclude all communists, radical Islamists, Hamas supporters, America haters and public charges.”
Trump has also promised to “ban refugee resettlement from terror-infested areas like the Gaza Strip” and to launch an aggressive nationwide deportation operation targeting people living in the country illegally.
“We didn’t take people from certain areas of the world because I didn’t want to have people ripping down and burning our shopping centers and killing people,” he said earlier this year.
(AP)
Trump’s long, weird history with Panama
Thursday 26 December 2024 14:00 , Oliver O’Connell
Donald Trump rattled North American diplomatic relations over the weekend with a threat to retake the Panama Canal, two and a half decades after the US transferred control of the vital global trade route to Panama.
In a series of posts on Truth Social, the president-elect accused the country of “ripping off” the US.
Josh Marcus reports.
Canal threats and a hotel battle: Trump’s long, weird history with Panama
Trump aims dig at Obama in bizarre hour-long Christmas Day Truth Social posting spree
Thursday 26 December 2024 13:30 , Oliver O’Connell
Donald Trump made a dig at former president Barack Obama as he went on a Christmas Day Truth Social posting spree.
The president-elect initially seemed to adopt a toned-down festive message, simply posting, “MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!” on Truth Social on Wednesday morning.
In the afternoon, however, he shared a lengthy post where he wished “Merry Christmas to the Radical Left Lunatics,” but refused the same sentiment to the “37 most violent criminals” pardoned by Joe Biden, instead telling them to “GO TO HELL.”
Rhian Lubin has the story.
Trump aims dig at Obama in bizarre hour-long Christmas Day Truth Social posting spree
Biden signs 50 bills into law on Christmas Eve
Thursday 26 December 2024 13:00 , Oliver O’Connell
President Joe Biden spent Christmas Eve signing 50 bills into law, including one piece of legislation supported by Paris Hilton and another designating the bald eagle as the U.S. national bird.
The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, backed by Hilton, a socialite and activist, is designed to hold teenage treatment centers and care facilities accountable. Hilton spent time on Capitol Hill promoting the measure.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Biden signs 50 bills into law – including and Paris Hilton-backed legislation
