BY ALEX GANGITANO AND AL WEAVER |
President-elect Trump may need to rely on acting secretaries to fill out his Cabinet as a number of key nominations draw significant concern from key GOP senators.
When Senate confirmations are in limbo, especially if there is pushback from lawmakers, presidents can slip nominees into acting roles for at least 210 days. Trump did so across more than 20 Cabinet-level jobs in his first term.
Trump's picks like Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary, Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for Health and Human Services secretary, among others, are sure to face some opposition from Senate Republicans. |
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MEXICO CITY — President-elect Trump's pledge to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada threatens to upend decades of North American integration, a bumpy process that's recast the two U.S. neighbors as providers of raw and finished goods for the world's biggest economy.
In some ways, Canada and Mexico have traded places over the past three decades.
Before the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mexico was a mid-tier petrostate without a competitive industrial base. Now, its economy is dependent mostly on manufacturing, tourism, agricultural exports and cash sent home by Mexicans abroad. |
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BY ELLA LEE AND ZACH SCHONFELD |
President-elect Trump will gain back vast powers when he retakes the nation's highest office, including the ability to grant pardons. During his first four years as president, Trump granted 144 pardons — a notably low number that included several of his allies. Excluding President Biden, whose term is not yet up, the only president in modern history to grant fewer pardons is President George H.W. Bush. But heading into his second term, Trump has promised vast clemency for some and hinted at relief for others, raising the specter that waves of pardons are on the horizon. |
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Thousands of Amazon workers around the world went on strike Friday, demanding more pay and better working conditions during one of the retail giant's busiest weekends of the year. The strike, dubbed "Make Amazon Pay," has planned demonstrations in more than 20 countries including the United States, and the protests are slated to last through Cyber Monday. |
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House Democrats are sounding early alarms that a second Trump administration will lead to a vast erosion of Palestinian rights and undermine efforts to bring peace to the volatile Middle East. The lawmakers fear President-elect Trump's staunchly pro-Israel sensibilities — combined with his cozy relationship with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — could not only pave the way for Israel to annex the West Bank, but also dash any chance of a two-state approach that's viewed widely in Washington as the only viable path to a lasting peace in the region. |
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly meeting with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago Friday evening, in the wake of the former president's recent threats to impose steep tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China. Trump has touted tariffs for years as his preferred way to boost U.S. manufacturing and push other countries toward more favorable trade terms. He said the most recent threats are aimed at forcing both Mexico and Canada to crack down on the flow of migrants and drugs into the U.S. |
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Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) hit Elon Musk for suggesting in a post on his social platform X on Wednesday that retired Army Lt. Col Alexander Vindman "committed treason" and "will pay" after the former Trump impeachment witness accused the tech billionaire and close Trump ally of being unwittingly used by Russia. "Message to Elon Musk—The Vindman family embodies patriotism and public service. You know nothing about either," Kaine wrote in a post on X Friday with a link to The Hill's reporting on the situation. |
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Scott Gottlieb, who served as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) during President-elect Trump's first term, expressed concerns with the pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) due to his anti-vaccine advocacy. "I think if RFK follows through on his intentions, and I believe he will, and I believe he can, it will cost lives in this country," he said during a Friday appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box." |
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Syrian rebels against the country's President Bashar Al-Assad advanced toward one of the largest cities in the country — the first time since 2016 — following a shock offensive launched by insurgents on Wednesday. The incursions on Wednesday mostly affected Syria's northwestern countryside as residents fled neighborhoods and dozens of fighters from both sides were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, as reported by AP. |
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OPINION | Donald Trump's victorious campaign for the White House exploited transphobic myths, fears and prejudices. His ads targeted trans athletes in women's sports, gender-affirming medical care and new pronoun usages. So anyone who disputes those practices is a transphobe, right? Wrong. All of these matters are — or should be — open to debate. And if you dismiss people who raise questions about them as bigots, you're engaging in a form of bigotry yourself. Let's be clear: transphobia is real, and some people are so lurid, discriminatory and misleading in their remarks about the topic that it's fair to label them transphobic. |
OPINION | The U.S. Secret Service has long been synonymous with protecting the nation's highest leaders. From securing the president and vice president to guarding visiting foreign heads of state, the agency plays a key role in protecting the lives of the world's important leaders. But the Service's dual mission — protecting personnel while also investigating financial crimes — has left it disoriented and stretched dangerously thin. |
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BY ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS AND ERICA L. GREEN |
During the campaign, President-elect Trump swore he had "nothing to do with" a right-wing policy blueprint known as Project 2025 that would overhaul the federal government, even though many of those involved in developing the plans were his allies. Trump even described many of the policy goals as "absolutely ridiculous." And during his debate with Vice President Harris, he said he was "not going to read it." |
BY BRIAN SPEGELE AND REBECCA FENG |
A rare prisoner swap between China and the U.S. this week that secured the release of three Americans points to Beijing's willingness to negotiate with Washington on high-profile cases, including ones involving charges of espionage. But dozens of Americans remain trapped in China under exit bans, often for more mundane causes such as business disputes. These cases show the enduring risks of getting caught in China's murky legal system—ones that the U.S. government cannot easily solve. |
Five years after a catastrophic fire reduced Notre Dame Cathedral to a smoldering shell, journalists got a first glimpse of the Gothic masterpiece's fully restored interiors during a visit with French President Emmanuel Macron. The transformation is nothing short of breathtaking: light dances across brilliant stone, gilded accents gleam anew, and the iconic monument's majesty is reborn. From Dec. 8, visitors will once again marvel at the cathedral's blend of history and craftsmanship. The Associated Press offers a reporter's-eye view. |
BY ISAAC STANLEY-BECKER AND PETER JAMISON |
Gov. Kristi L. Noem was about to seize the spotlight, and she wanted to make the most of it. In June 2021, the South Dakota Republican was preparing to announce that her state would be the first to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in response to an appeal from Texas. What's more, she was mobilizing the state's forces in a highly unusual way — bankrolled by an out-of-state billionaire. After a last-minute conversation with the governor, Noem's chief of staff changed her quote in a news release drawn up for the announcement — "to represent more accurately her stance on this issue," as her top adviser wrote in an internal email. No longer would Noem praise border-state governors. Instead, she would declare bluntly: "The border is a national security crisis." |
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