Mexican President's Harsh Takedown of Trump Exposes an Ugly MAGA Scam  —  Donald Trump's angry threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on all U.S. imports from Mexico—delivered Monday via the cautious diplomatic language of a Truth Social rant—is widely being depicted as a bluff.

Elon Musk publicized the names of government employees he wants to cut.  It's terrifying federal workers  —  When President-elect Donald Trump said Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would recommend major cuts to the federal government in his administration, many public employees knew that their jobs could be on the line.

X users left stunned by ‘terrible’ video of Harris speaking to supporters: ‘Who thought this was a good idea?’  —  Vice President Kamala Harris addressed her loss for the first time since her concession speech  —  Vice President Kamala Harris' first video to her supporters after the election stunned social media users Tuesday.

Trump Cabinet nominees, appointees targeted with ‘violent, unAmerican threats’  —  The “attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting’”  —  EXCLUSIVE: Nearly a dozen of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees and other appointees tapped for the incoming administration …

Musk Calls for Abolishing Consumer Agency GOP Has Long Targeted  — GOP has long sought to neutralize agency proposed by Warren  — Musk, Ramaswamy leading DOGE effort to cut federal government  —  Billionaire Elon Musk called for eliminating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau …

Democrat Derek Tran ousts Michelle Steel in CA House battle  —  The battle for the Orange County district turned harshly personal in the closing weeks of the campaign.  —  Derek Tran, a first-time Democratic candidate, has flipped a toss-up California House seat, narrowly defeating GOP Rep. Michelle Steel …

MSNBC Has Lost Nearly Half Its Audience Since the Election  —  BYE FOR NOW  —  Liberal viewers are apparently avoiding the news while conservatives tune in for a victory lap with Fox, the Nielsen ratings show.  —  MSNBC's audience has tanked since the election.

Trump appoints Keith Kellogg as Ukraine peace envoy  —  President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named former national security aide and retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as a special envoy to Russia and Ukraine, commissioning him to lead negotiations to end the war.

Ruble tumbles as Russia's war economy comes under increasing strain  —  New sanctions package closes one of the last conduits of hard currency to Moscow.  —  The ruble tumbled on Wednesday to its lowest level in over two years, as a mix of low oil prices, new sanctions against Russian businesses …

Ex-Prosecutor Spots The Jack Smith Move That May Keep Donald Trump ‘Cases Alive’  —  It's “not at all” about “obeying an authoritarian in advance,” argued Barbara McQuade.  —  LOADING  —  Former U.S. attorney Barbara McQuade broke down why Jack Smith would preemptively “pull the plug” …

‘You deceived millions of us!’:  Trump fans tell him they're outraged over latest move  —  Some of Donald Trump's fans are outraged about his latest move involving the Navy, according to posts on the former and incoming president's social media.  —  Trump late Tuesday took to his Truth Social …

Courtroom sketch artist describes Giuliani's behavior inside court  —  Courtroom sketch artist Jane Rosenberg joins CNN's Kaitlan Collins and details Rudy Giuliani's behavior inside the courtroom.

Moulton could draw challengers  —  Dan Koh is making calls about a possible campaign against Moulton.  —  BOSTON — Rep. Seth Moulton drew swift condemnation from local Democratic leaders and LGBTQ+ advocates for comments he made about transgender youth in sports in the wake of Democrats' defeats earlier this month.

Ohio governor signs bill limiting bathroom use by transgender students  —  Transgender students from kindergarten through college at Ohio public and private schools will be banned from using multiperson bathrooms that fit their gender identities under a measure that Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said Wednesday that he has signed.

3 Americans, Including F.B.I. Informant, Are Said to Be Freed in China Swap  —  The three men, John Leung, Kai Li and Mark Swidan, are on planes heading to the United States, officials said.  —  The Biden administration has negotiated a prisoner swap with China for the release of three American men …

Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez seeks new trial, citing evidence prosecutors said was inadvertently provided to jury  —  Washington — Former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez asked a federal court in New York on Wednesday to throw out his conviction in a sprawling bribery scheme and grant him a new trial …

‘Soros of the right’ Elon Musk eyes progressive prosecutors as next target  —  The billionaire told advisors ahead of the election that his pro-Trump super PAC should aim at “Soros DAs” across the country.  —  Donald Trump adviser Brooke Rollins had a question for the crowd celebrating …

CBP, Partners Seize More than $18 million in Fake Gibson Guitars in Largest Counterfeit Musical Instrument Seizure on Record  —  LOS ANGELES— U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers and Import Specialists assigned to the LA/Long Beach Seaport, in conjunction with U.S. Homeland …

Loose Bannon  —  The Rasputin of the MAGA movement has big plans for the new world order under Donald Trump—mass deportations, checking China, working with Elon and dismantling McConnell's Senate—and if it requires a little “smash mouth” to get it done, so be it.

Someone Made a Dataset of One Million Bluesky Posts for ‘Machine Learning Research’  —  Update: Following the publication of this article on Tuesday evening, van Strien removed the dataset.  “I've removed the Bluesky data from the repo,” he wrote on Bluesky.