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 …

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).

Appeals Court Upholds U.S. Ban of TikTok  —  Panel rules Congress has the power to shut down Chinese-backed app in the U.S. because of national security concerns  —  A federal appeals court ruled Friday that TikTok can be banned in the U.S. over national security concerns …

Trump's F.B.I. Pick Has an Enemies List.  Biden Should Pardon Everyone on It.  —  There are few good things to be said about Donald Trump's plan to fire the F.B.I. director, Chris Wray, and install in his place Kash Patel, a thuggish lackey who has spent years fantasizing about taking revenge on Trump's enemies.

Health-care quality rating at 24-year low: Gallup  —  Americans' outlook on the quality of health care in the U.S. is at a 24-year low, according to a new survey.  —  The Gallup poll, released Friday, shows 33 percent of U.S. adults said the quality of American health care is excellent and 11 percent said it is good.

Romanian court cancels presidential election amid Russian influence fears  —  Constitutional court throws Romanian politics into turmoil, 2 days before runoff vote was due to take place.  —  BUCHAREST — Romania's top constitutional court on Friday dramatically cancelled high-stakes presidential elections …

Eric Adams doesn't rule out switch to the GOP: ‘Cancel me’  —  The New York City mayor has been at odds with national Democrats over immigration.  —  NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who has taken a soft touch with President-elect Donald Trump, left open the possibility …

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.

How Trump could bring on a second civil war  —  Trump may force a second civil war on America with his plan to use the military to round up at least 11 million undocumented people inside the United States — even if it means breaking up families — send them to detention camps, and then deport them.

Tim Walz Says He Was ‘a Little Surprised’ Trump Won  —  In his first interviews since the election, Kamala Harris's running mate told Minnesota television stations that he had thought the country would embrace the Democratic ticket's positive message.  —  Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota …

The Trump NIH Pick Who Wants to Take On ‘Cancel Culture’ Colleges  —  Jay Bhattacharya would consider academic freedom at universities and medical schools seeking NIH grants  —  President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health wants to take on campus culture …

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In news deserts, Trump won in a landslide  —  But what does this election-result correlation mean?  —  Donald Trump won the 2024 election with one of the smallest popular-vote margins in U.S. history, but in news deserts - counties lacking a professional source of local news - it was an avalanche.

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.

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 …

Melania Trump Credits Barron Trump With Helping His Father Win  —  “He was very vocal” in advising his father on appearing with media personalities popular with young people, Melania Trump said on the morning show “Fox & Friends.”  —  In her first interview since her husband won the presidential election …

Trump's Allies Go Global: ‘Make Argentina Great Again’  —  At its international conferences, CPAC is giving a stage to right-wing politicians and hunting for ideas for use back home.  —  From a distance, Alejo de Gennaro would have fit in at any Trump rally.

Paul Krugman retires as Times columnist  —  After nearly 25 years as an Opinion columnist, Paul is signing off.  —  I want to take you back to Jan. 2, 2000, a day when Y2K was in the rearview mirror and the dot-com bubble burst was just around the corner, when the Dow stood at a mighty 11,500 …

US judge upholds Naval Academy's race-conscious admissions policies  —  A federal judge on Friday ruled that the U.S. Naval Academy may continue to consider race when evaluating candidates to attend the elite military school, even after the U.S. Supreme Court barred civilian colleges from employing similar affirmative action policies.

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.

‘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.

Don't Mistake Neil Gorsuch's Abrupt Recusal for Actual Ethics  —  On Wednesday afternoon, Supreme Court clerk Scott Harris sent a very unusual letter to lawyers involved with an upcoming environmental case.  Justice Neil Gorsuch, the clerk wrote, “has determined that he will not continue …

John Fetterman: ‘I admire Mr. Musk’  —  Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) offered praise for tech billionaire Elon Musk and his career on Thursday, while acknowledging that they may not always see eye-to-eye on political issues.  —  “I admire Mr. Musk.  He's been involved in very important parts …