Trump’s cabinet choices poll poorly with public as Xi Jinping snubs inauguration invite: Live

Donald Trump’s ability to appoint well-qualified people to his cabinet or manage government spending effectively does not inspire confidence in more than half of Americans, despite their recently electing him to lead the United States, according to a new poll.

Just 44 percent of US adults report feeling “very” or even “moderately” confident that the president-elect will select well-qualified individuals for cabinet or high-level government positions.

The results from the Associated Press and NORC survey come in response to Trump choosing a group of controversial nominees to serve in his incoming administration, including ex-Fox News host Pete Hegseth, former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and erstwhile presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr, all of whom are expected to undergo rocky Senate confirmation hearings in January.

Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping appears to have snubbed Trump’s invitation to attend his inauguration in Washington DC on January 20, an offer the American admitted had been a “risky” overture.

Trump is due to attend the traditional Army-Navy college football game in Maryland on Saturday, with his Vice President-elect JD Vance bringing Daniel Penny as his guest after he was acquitted of the manslaughter of homeless man Jordan Neely earlier this week.

Key Points

• Americans aren’t confident about Donald Trump’s cabinet choices, new poll finds

• Xi Jinping reportedly snubs Trump’s inauguration invite

• JD Vance bringing Daniel Penny to Army-Navy college football game

• Ex-House speaker Nancy Pelosi hospitalized on trip to Luxembourg

• Amazon to donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund

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

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’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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’

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘No evidence’ undercover FBI agents joined Capitol riots despite ongoing conspiracy theories, watchdog finds

08:00 , Alex Woodward

None of the thousands of people who joined protests in Washington, D.C., 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 Donald 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.

Read more:

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

From ‘Aspie supremacy’ to vaccines: The toxic autism politics of Trump’s second administration

07:00 , Eric Garcia

Back in September, an X/Twitter account known as Autism Capital posted a screenshot of a written theory that appeared to be taken from 4Chan. The theory postulated that only “high [testostrone] alpha males” and “aneurotypical people” can think freely and be trusted to know what is objectively true. That means “a Republic for high-status males is best for decision making,” the theory continued. Elon Musk, the X owner and Tesla executive, responded: “Interesting observation.”

Little wonder that Musk found such proclamations interesting. He has talked in public a number of times about having “Asperger’s syndrome” (a term that fell out of favor as researchers learned the extent of Hans Asperger’s collaboration with the Nazi regime’s child euthanasia program and one that hasn’t been used clinically since 2013.) The concept of “Aspie supremacy” — a term some disability rights advocates coined for the deeply problematic idea that people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who previously would be considered as having Asperger’s are superior to both neurotypical people and other autistic people — has been around for a while. But it’s gained traction in the past few years in some very online, very right-wing spaces.

Read more:

The toxic autism politics of Trump’s second administration

WATCH: Eric Adams says NYC won’t be ‘safe haven’ for criminals after Trump border czar meeting

06:00 , Gustaf Kilander

US Senate chaplain Barry Black hospitalized after brain bleed

05:00 , Mary Clare Jalonick

U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black has been hospitalized after suffering a bleed on his brain and is expected to have a “smooth recovery,” his office said.

Black, 76, suffered a subdural hematoma earlier this week and is at a local hospital and under the care of the Capitol’s physician, said Rev. Lisa Schultz, Black’s chief of staff. A subdural hematoma is when blood builds up between the skull and the surface of the brain, increasing pressure on the brain.

Read more:

US Senate chaplain Barry Black hospitalized after brain bleed

From a 10-year-old to a Muppet to a president-elect, NYSE bell-ringers range from famous to obscure

04:00 , Damian J. Troise

The first guest invited to ring the bell to open trading at the New York Stock Exchange in 1956 wasn’t a company executive, a politician or a well-known celebrity. It was a 10-year-old boy, Leonard Ross, who received the honor by winning a television quiz show.

Since then, business titans, political giants and global film stars have all been among those ringing the opening bell at the NYSE. Ronald Reagan rang the bell as president in 1985. Billionaire businessman and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr. have also rung the bell. The list even includes famous Muppets: Miss Piggy was once a bell ringer.

Read more:

From a 10-year-old to a Muppet to a president-elect, NYSE bell-ringers range from famous to obscure

White House sees ‘no evidence’ of threat from drones and says ‘many’ sightings were of ‘manned aircraft’

03:30 , Andrew Feinberg

The White House is knocking down claims that New Jersey’s airspace has been invaded by drones controlled by hostile nations and says many of the aircraft sightings that have been cited to support such assertions are actually normal piloted airplanes.

In recent days, residents of the Garden State have been posting videos of what they describe as sightings of unmanned aircraft over the areas where the U.S. Army has a research facility as well as President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey golf club.

One Republican congressman, Representative Jeff Van Drew, claimed Wednesday during a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing that the aircraft in question were Iranian in origin and were being controlled by a “mothership” operated by Tehran off the US coast.

Read more:

White House sees ‘no evidence’ of threat from drones seen over New Jersey

GOP chairman says he’s a ‘big AOC fan,’ supports her bid to be top Democrat on Oversight Committee

03:00 , Justin Baragona

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said on Thursday that he’s a “big fan” of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and he supports the progressive lawmaker’s bid to become the ranking member of the committee he chairs.

Noting that he has a “lot of differences” with her on policy, Comer repeatedly told CNN that Ocasio-Cortez is a “good person” and “well-spoken.” He also claimed she would be a “great” choice to co-chair the oversight committee, adding that he had a fraught relationship with the outgoing ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).

Read more:

James Comer says he’s a ‘big AOC fan,’ supports her as top Dem on Oversight Committee

Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge

02:30 , Lolita C. Baldor

Reported sexual assaults at the U.S. military service academies dropped in 2024 for the second year in a row, according to new Pentagon data, marking a sharp turnaround from an alarming surge two years ago that triggered sweeping reviews and an overhaul in leadership.

The decline in reports was mirrored by a similar decrease in the total number of students who said in an anonymous survey that they experienced some type of unwanted sexual contact during the school year that ended in the spring.

Defense officials, however, warned on Thursday that the numbers are still high, and there is still a lot of work to be done.

Read more:

Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge

Larry Hogan slams parties for ‘dividing’ Americans in first post-election speech

02:00 , John Bowden

Larry Hogan came to Washington with a very simple message on Thursday: America is tired of you. All of you.

The former governor of Maryland came up short in his bid to be the first Republican senator from Maryland in decades in November. This week, he gave his first remarks since the election at No Labels, the bipartisan organization he co-chaired before his Senate bid.

Read more:

Larry Hogan slams parties for ‘dividing’ Americans in first post-election speech

Trump mocks Jill Biden — again — by sharing photo of Notre Dame meeting

01:30 , Rhian Lubin

President-elect Donald Trump mocked First Lady Jill Biden for a second time by sharing a photo from their conversation in Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral.

The photo was taken at the reopening of the famed cathedral last weekend, when the two exchanged polite conversation as they sat near one another during the ceremony.

Trump shared a meme on Truth Social with the “rolling on the floor laughing” and “smiling face with heart eyes” emojis. “Get you someone who looks at you like Jill looks at Trump,” it said.

Read more:

Trump mocks Jill Biden — again — by sharing photo of Notre Dame meeting

Trump invites Chinese President Xi Jinping to inauguration after threatening additional tariffs on country

01:00 , Kelly Rissman

President-elect Donald Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration next month, according to a report.

The invitation came in early November after Trump’s election victory, CBS News reported Thursday. The revelation comes a month after Trump promised to impose hefty tariffs on China.

Transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the Chinese leader had been invited during an appearance on Fox & Friends Thursday morning.

Read more:

Trump invites China’s Xi Jinping to inauguration after threatening more tariffs

Report: Amazon allegedly planning $1m donation to Trump inaugural fund

00:30 , Ariana Baio

Jeff Bezos’s Amazon is allegedly planning to donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The planning apparently coincides with Bezos’s expected visit to Mar-a-Lago next week, people familiar with the matter told WSJ.

Meta co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg also made a $1 million contribution to Trump’s inaugural fund.

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

00:00 , Kelly Rissman

President-elect Donald Trump discussed Melania’s plans during his second term in a sweeping interview with Time as he was named 2024 “Person of the Year.”

The magazine honored Trump with the esteemed title for the second time — the first was after his 2016 election win — Thursday. The president-elect sat down with a Time reporter to discuss his successful presidential campaign, his ambitions for his second term, and Melania’s plans to return to the White House.

Read more:

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

Nato chief warns West ‘not ready’ to deal with Russian threat

Thursday 12 December 2024 23:30 , David Maddox

Nato general secretary Mark Rutte has warned that the west is “not ready” to deal with the threat of war from Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

His warning has come amid concerns over the war in Ukraine with the election of Donald Trump as US president and fears he may pull American backing for the conflict.

Read more:

Nato chief warns West ‘not ready’ to deal with Russian threat

These are the 39 people who had non-violent crimes pardoned by Biden

Thursday 12 December 2024 23:00 , Josh Marcus

President Biden announced on Thursday he was granting 39 pardons to people with non-violent criminal convictions and commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500, the largest single-day act of clemency in modern presidential history, according to the White House.

“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Biden said in a statement. “As President, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses.”

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These are the 39 people pardoned by Biden after non-violent crime convictions

What is Voice of America? Trump wants Kari Lake to run global news network he tried to ‘bulldoze’

Thursday 12 December 2024 22:30 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump has gone over the head of an international press agency to select his own nominee for its publicly funded flagship news network.

Trump wants Kari Lake — the failed Republican candidate for Arizona governor and U.S. Senate who pledged to be the media’s “worst nightmare” — to run Voice of America, the nation’s oldest international broadcaster, reaching millions of people around the world.

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What is Voice of America? Trump wants Kari Lake to run network he tried to ‘bulldoze’

WATCH: Donald Trump makes joke about 'taking on' the media while accepting Time Magazine Award

Thursday 12 December 2024 22:00 , Gustaf Kilander

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

Thursday 12 December 2024 21:30 , 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.

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

From ‘Aspie supremacy’ to vaccines: The toxic autism politics of Trump’s second administration

Thursday 12 December 2024 21:00 , Eric Garcia

Back in September, an X/Twitter account known as Autism Capital posted a screenshot of a written theory that appeared to be taken from 4Chan. The theory postulated that only “high [testostrone] alpha males” and “aneurotypical people” can think freely and be trusted to know what is objectively true. That means “a Republic for high-status males is best for decision making,” the theory continued. Elon Musk, the X owner and Tesla executive, responded: “Interesting observation.”

Little wonder that Musk found such proclamations interesting. He has talked in public a number of times about having “Asperger’s syndrome” (a term that fell out of favor as researchers learned the extent of Hans Asperger’s collaboration with the Nazi regime’s child euthanasia program and one that hasn’t been used clinically since 2013.) The concept of “Aspie supremacy” — a term some disability rights advocates coined for the deeply problematic idea that people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who previously would be considered as having Asperger’s are superior to both neurotypical people and other autistic people — has been around for a while. But it’s gained traction in the past few years in some very online, very right-wing spaces.

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The toxic autism politics of Trump’s second administration

WATCH: James Comer says he’s a ‘Big AOC Fan’

Thursday 12 December 2024 20:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor

Thursday 12 December 2024 20:00 , David Koenig

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration, who has led a tougher enforcement policy against Boeing since a panel blew off a Boeing jet in January, said Thursday that he will step down next month, clearing the way for President-elect Donald Trump name his choice to lead the agency.

Mike 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.

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Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor