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Political News Compilation - Weekend Updates - Jan. 11 & 12, 2025
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Special counsel Jack Smith has resigned after submitting his Trump report, Justice Department says
By ERIC TUCKERUpdated 4:41 PM CST, January 11, 2025
WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith has resigned from the Justice Department after submitting his investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump, an expected move that comes amid legal wrangling over how much of that document can be made public in the days ahead.
The department disclosed Smith’s departure in a court filing Saturday, saying he had resigned one day earlier. The resignation, 10 days before Trump is inaugurated , follows the conclusion of two unsuccessful criminal prosecutions against Trump that were withdrawn following Trump’s White House win in November.
At issue now is the fate of a two-volume report that Smith and his team had prepared about their twin investigations into Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of his 2020 election and his hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
The Justice Department had been expected to make the document public in the final days of the Biden administration, but the Trump-appointed judge who presided over the classified documents case granted a defense request to at least temporarily halt its release. Two of Trump’s co-defendants in that case, Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira, had argued that the release of the report would be unfairly prejudicial, an argument that the Trump legal team joined in. ...
READ THE FULL STORY - AP
Jack Smith report release hangs in balance as prosecutor exits DOJ - Washington Examiner
Prosecutors are at the mercy of Judge Aileen Cannon or 11th Circuit Court judges over the report's release.
www.washingtonexaminer.com
Pressure on China and pure 'trolling': Why Trump is pushing an expansionist agenda
The president-elect is suddenly pushing to annex Greenland, reclaim the Panama Canal and absorb Canada, provoking longtime allies just days before taking office.
www.nbcnews.comBiden speaks with relatives of Americans held by Taliban, but deal to bring them home still elusive
President Joe Biden has spoken with relatives of three Americans the U.S. government is looking to bring home from Afghanistan, but no agreement has been reached on a deal to get them back.
apnews.com
Top Foreign Affairs Republican predicts US won't leave NATO but will strengthen it
Top Foreign Affairs Republican Sen. Jim Risch predicted the U.S. would not abandon NATO under the Trump administration, and promised to work with the new president to strengthen it instead.
Newsom says California wildfires will be one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history
“I think it will be in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope,” the California governor said.
www.nbcnews.comTrump's Cabinet picks are set for Senate hearings. Here's the schedule
Senate hearings are set to begin for Donald Trump’s picks for his Cabinet. Many have been meeting with senators individually.
apnews.com
Sen. Barrasso says "a paperwork problem" is holding up Tulsi Gabbard's confirmation hearing
Sen. John Barrasso that the confirmation hearing for Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for director of national intelligence, is being held up by "a paperwork problem" with the Office of Government Ethics.
www.cbsnews.com
Barrasso vows no ‘blank check’ for wildfire aid - Washington Examiner
The Wyoming senator was adamant that any sort of supplementary aid provided to Southern California should come with "strings attached."
www.washingtonexaminer.com24 dead as fire crews try to corral Los Angeles blazes before winds return this week
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office says eight of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire and 16 resulted from the Eaton Fire.
apnews.com
Los Angeles County wildfires: The ongoing fight to stop the fires and the devastation of neighborhoods
Days after fires began tearing through homes in the Los Angeles area, families are returning to smoldering neighborhoods as firefighters continue their battle against the deadly wildfires.
www.cbsnews.comCroatia's President Milanović wins another term after defeating ruling party candidate in runoff
Croatia’s opposition-backed President Zoran Milanović, a critic of the European Union and NATO, overwhelmingly won reelection for another five-year term on Sunday, defeating a candidate from the ruling conservative party in a runoff vote.
apnews.com
California Democrats get an early taste of new clashes with Trump as wildfires rage on | CNN Politics
Hed: California Democrats get an early taste of new clashes with Trump as wildfires rage on
www.cnn.com
Gov. Gavin Newsom slams Trump's disinformation about California wildfires
Newsom’s response on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” followed an invitation to the president-elect to tour the devastation.
www.nbcnews.comBiden and Netanyahu discuss the latest in the effort to reach an Israel-Hamas war ceasefire
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden have spoken in a phone call on the latest efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release in the Israel-Hamas war.
apnews.com'There is going to be shock and awe with executive orders'
Republican Sen. John Barrasso predicted Donald Trump will hit the ground running.
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Trump says US will send some migrants to Guantanamo Bay
The president orders the construction of a detention facility at the US Navy base, prompting an angry backlash from Cuba.
Continue reading...Guantanamo could be used to hold up to 30,000 migrants
Guantanamo could be used to hold up to 30,000 migrants who are in transit waiting to be transported to their home countries.
Continue reading...U.S. immigration website stops accepting applicants for Biden program in Trump crackdown
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website is no longer accepting forms needed to sponsor migrants as part of the Biden administration's defunct parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV).
The 2023 program, which allowed certain migrants to apply for U.S. entry and stay for up to two years, was shut down on President Donald Trump's first day in office.
As of August 2024, nearly 530,000 people were granted parole through the program, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY...
Continue reading...The 2023 program, which allowed certain migrants to apply for U.S. entry and stay for up to two years, was shut down on President Donald Trump's first day in office.
As of August 2024, nearly 530,000 people were granted parole through the program, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY...
Scoop: Key conservative caucus draws red line on House budget plan
EXCLUSIVE: DORAL, Fla. — Leaders within the House GOP's largest caucus are drawing a red line in congressional Republicans' budget talks.
The Republican Study Committee's (RSC) steering group is calling for any budget reconciliation plan to ultimately lead to reductions in the U.S. deficit, which occurs when the federal government's spending outpaces its revenues in a given fiscal year.
"Reconciliation legislation must reduce the federal budget deficit. Our national security depends on our ability to bring about meaningful fiscal reform," the...
Continue reading...The Republican Study Committee's (RSC) steering group is calling for any budget reconciliation plan to ultimately lead to reductions in the U.S. deficit, which occurs when the federal government's spending outpaces its revenues in a given fiscal year.
"Reconciliation legislation must reduce the federal budget deficit. Our national security depends on our ability to bring about meaningful fiscal reform," the...
What to know about Guantanamo Bay, the base where Trump will send ‘criminal aliens'
President Donald Trump, who made the deportation of immigrants a central part of his campaign and presidency, said Wednesday that the U.S. will use a detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to hold tens of thousands of people who can't be sent back to their home countries.
“We’re going to send them out to Guantanamo,” Trump said at the signing of the Laken Riley Act.
He later signed a presidential memorandum and said he’d direct federal officials to get facilities ready to receive criminal immigrants in the US illegally. Border czar Tom Homan...
Continue reading...“We’re going to send them out to Guantanamo,” Trump said at the signing of the Laken Riley Act.
He later signed a presidential memorandum and said he’d direct federal officials to get facilities ready to receive criminal immigrants in the US illegally. Border czar Tom Homan...
Attorney for Eric Adams asked DOJ to drop case against mayor, sources say
An attorney for New York City Mayor Eric Adams has reached out to the Department of Justice seeking to have the case against the mayor dropped, according to two people briefed on the matter.
The office of Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has been involved in discussions with the Southern District of New York and Adams' team about the pending case, a Justice Department official told NBC News.
A plea to drop the case was first reported by the New York Times, which noted it is not unusual nor particularly surprising that a high-profile...
Continue reading...The office of Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has been involved in discussions with the Southern District of New York and Adams' team about the pending case, a Justice Department official told NBC News.
A plea to drop the case was first reported by the New York Times, which noted it is not unusual nor particularly surprising that a high-profile...
WATCH: Kevin Jonas and daughter jam out to Jonas Brothers song
POV: Your Jonas Brother dad is also in charge of the car music.
Continue reading...RFK Jr. questioned for hours on vaccines, abortion in contentious Senate hearing
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced questions from senators in a hearing that last more than three hours Wednesday as he strives to be confirmed as President Trump's director of the Department of Health and Human Services. He was pressed about controversial statements he has made in the past on vaccines and abortion. Dr. Jon LaPook has more on the hearing.
Continue reading...Abortion opponents praise RFK Jr., after he vows to follow Trump
Abortion opponents praised Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday, after he vowed at a Senate hearing to implement "whatever" position President Trump takes on regulating abortion pills, if confirmed as the next secretary of health and human services.
Kennedy's pledge comes as conservatives have stepped up pressure on the Trump administration to force the Food and Drug Administration to roll back decisions that eased restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone, also known as Mifeprex.
If confirmed as head of the department that oversees the FDA...
Continue reading...Kennedy's pledge comes as conservatives have stepped up pressure on the Trump administration to force the Food and Drug Administration to roll back decisions that eased restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone, also known as Mifeprex.
If confirmed as head of the department that oversees the FDA...
4 takeaways after RFK Jr. is grilled by senators during confirmation hearing
The takeaways after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced questions from senators during his confirmation hearing to potentially lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Continue reading...Trump's executive order aims to restrict education related to race, gender, politics
President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order that aims to cut federal funding to schools that teach certain lessons about race, sex, gender or politics.
Continue reading...Trump signs order aimed at critical race theory in schools
President Trump is ordering U.S. schools to stop teaching what he views as "critical race theory" and other material dealing with race and sexuality or risk losing their federal money.
A separate plan announced Wednesday calls for aggressive action to fight antisemitism on college campuses, promising to prosecute offenders and revoke visas for international students found to be "Hamas sympathizers."
Both plans were outlined in executive orders signed by Mr. Trump on Wednesday. The measures seek to fulfill some of the Republican president's core...
Continue reading...A separate plan announced Wednesday calls for aggressive action to fight antisemitism on college campuses, promising to prosecute offenders and revoke visas for international students found to be "Hamas sympathizers."
Both plans were outlined in executive orders signed by Mr. Trump on Wednesday. The measures seek to fulfill some of the Republican president's core...
First-term House Dem attacks White House spox Karoline Leavitt as 'Fake Christian'
A first-term House Democrat is attacking White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on X after she sought to clarify a White House memo rescinding an earlier policy statement on President Donald Trump's federal funding order.
"Karoline Leavitt is a Fake Christian, like so many in this Golden Calf administration," Rep. Dave Min, D-Calif., wrote on Wednesday.
It comes after the White House rescinded an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo that ordered the freeze of most federal grants and assistance, which was blocked by a federal judge on...
Continue reading..."Karoline Leavitt is a Fake Christian, like so many in this Golden Calf administration," Rep. Dave Min, D-Calif., wrote on Wednesday.
It comes after the White House rescinded an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo that ordered the freeze of most federal grants and assistance, which was blocked by a federal judge on...
'Dems look unhinged': Conservatives rally around RFK Jr's 'masterclass' confirmation hearing performance
Conservatives on social media rallied around Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on social media on Wednesday as the Trump nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) faced questions from senators in his confirmation hearing.
"RFK crushed it," conservative commentator Charlie Kirk posted on X. "Very proud of him. Confirm him, now!"
"RFK killed it today," RNC national committeewoman Amy Kremer posted on X." So proud of him! LFG."
"RFK Jr is crushing this hearing," Former GOP Congressman Scott Taylor posted on X. "Dems look unhinged and very petty...
Continue reading..."RFK crushed it," conservative commentator Charlie Kirk posted on X. "Very proud of him. Confirm him, now!"
"RFK killed it today," RNC national committeewoman Amy Kremer posted on X." So proud of him! LFG."
"RFK Jr is crushing this hearing," Former GOP Congressman Scott Taylor posted on X. "Dems look unhinged and very petty...