Elon Musk Backed Trump With Over $250 Million, Fueling the Unusual ‘RBG PAC’  —  The enormous spending from the world's richest man quietly fueled allied groups and was revealed only now, as Mr. Musk plays a key role in the presidential transition.  —  Elon Musk, the world's richest man …

Biden Team Considers Blanket Pardons Before Trump's Promised ‘Retribution’  —  White House officials believe President-elect Donald J. Trump's selection of partisan warriors for top law enforcement jobs indicates that he will pursue revenge against his perceived enemies.

Trump's billionaires set to take government by storm … - They've been picked to lead the departments of Treasury (Scott Bessent), Commerce (Howard Lutnick), Education (Linda McMahon), Interior (Doug Burgum), the Small Business Administration (Kelly Loeffler) and NASA (Jared Isaacman).

Breaking news.  Romanian court cancels presidential election in latest political earthquake  —  The first round of the elections saw a previously unknown far-right nationalist candidate Călin Georgescu top the polls in a shock result.  —  The Romanian presidential run-off between …

Putin's Pals Say Tucker Carlson Is Acting as a Secret Back-Channel to Trump  —  GOING UNDERCOVER  —  Carlson traveled to Moscow to push the Kremlin's Ukraine propaganda in public, but what was he doing in private?  —  Tucker Carlson, the darling of the Russian state media …

House Republicans vote to block release of Gaetz ethics report  —  House Republicans voted on Thursday to block a Democrat-led effort to release a long-awaited Ethics Committee report on allegations against former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.  —  The House took a step to effectively shut …

Searching for a ray of hope?  Look at Wisconsin.  —  Stringing together small wins can lead to big progress. … 🧀  —  A lot of the post-mortems of the 2024 election have felt impossibly grim, with Democrats grappling with the fact that most of the country lurched right to elect a felon who led an insurrection.

Trump picks David Perdue to be ambassador to China  —  Donald Trump has selected former Georgia Sen. David Perdue to serve as ambassador to China.  Perdue has significant business experience in Asia, including China, something he ran on during his Senate election in 2014.

EU snubs France to seal huge Latin American trade deal  —  European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sealed a massive trade agreement with South America on Friday, in a bold step that threatens to widen a rift between France, which hates the deal, and her native Germany, which loves it.

Trump names ICE chief and makes another round of immigration announcements  —  President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday night announced a new round of nominees and appointments to tackle his aggressive immigration and homeland security agenda.  Trump said he was nominating Rodney Scott as commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.

‘An act of hate’: Counter-terrorism police to investigate synagogue firebombing  —  Officers from the state's Counter Terrorism Command will join the investigation into the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue that has been widely condemned as an act of antisemitism.

Trump Names Top Silicon Valley Conservative to Oversee Crypto and A.I.  —  David Sacks, a venture capitalist who hosts a hit podcast, has generally called for a looser hand in regulating both emerging technologies.  —  President-elect Donald J. Trump has named one of Silicon Valley's …

What if everyone had masked up?  Analysis of app data has an answer … What would have happened if everyone in the United Kingdom had worn high-grade masks during the COVID-19 pandemic?  A modelling study 1 has estimated just how sharply transmission might have dropped.  —  Access options

No, Trump Can't Just ‘Dismiss’ the Senate  —  The threat from House Republicans should be seen and called out for what it is: an autocratic move that is not just unlawful but contemptuous of constitutionalism.  —  Donald Trump has not even returned to office, and already a constitutional crisis may be in the making.

Trump's Fans Are Suffering From Tony Soprano Syndrome  —  Some conservatives are embracing the villains in what are supposed to be cautionary tales.  —  In every Judge Joe Dredd story I've ever read, there is at least one almost comically obvious moment when the author makes clear …

Everybody Loves FRED: How America Fell for a Data Tool  —  From Facebook political debates to college classrooms, the St. Louis Fed's data tool has gained a major following.  —  Fans post about him on social media.  Swag bearing his name sells out on the regular.

Trump could hobble renewed fight against domestic terrorism, analysts warn  —  Based on his first-term record, researchers expect the next Trump administration to shift the government's focus from white supremacists and other far-right militants.  —  After more than two decades …

How Trump could bring on a second civil war  —  With his plans to use the military to root out undocumented immigrants and to use the Justice Department and FBI to punish his political enemies  —  Trump may force a second civil war on America with his plan to use the military to round …

AOC tells Democratic colleagues she's running for top job on Oversight Committee  —  New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's entrance into the Oversight race pits the millennial progressive star against Rep. Gerry Connolly, 74, a senior member of the panel.

Obama calls political ‘divisiveness’ one of the ‘greatest challenges of our time’  —  CHICAGO — Former President Barack Obama called out divisiveness and polarization as “one of the greatest challenges of our time,” as he avoided any specific political references in his first public remarks since the election.

A squeaker: Sports betting passed in Missouri with just 50.05% support, certified results show  —  JEFFERSON CITY — Fans in Missouri will be able to bet on sports next year as a result of a ballot measure that barely passed despite getting help from record-setting spending and the state's professional teams.

Trump Claims a ‘Historic’ Mandate.  Polls Show Americans Have Mixed Feelings.  —  The public may have more nuanced views on issues like tariffs and mass deportations than it might seem at first blush.  —  President-elect Donald J. Trump and his allies have declared that his incoming administration has an …

Canada to boost Arctic cooperation with US, cites Russia threat  —  Canada plans to work more closely with the United States in the Arctic to ensure regional security in the face of an increasingly aggressive Russia, Ottawa said on Friday.  —  As part of a renewed strategy …

Playbook: Inside the generational fight roiling Democrats  —  With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  END OF AN ERA, PART I — “Goodbye to the American Century?” by Joshua Zeitz: “The post-WWII world order of American dominance is over.  DONALD TRUMP proves it.”