Biden Has Presidential Immunity.  He Should Use It.  —  1. Shiny Objects  —  I want to talk about all of the Trump insanity.  I want to talk about his insistence on “taking” Greenland.  And the Panama Canal.  And making Canada a U.S. state.  And renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”

Trump speaks with Justice Alito amid push to halt criminal sentencing  —  Alito spoke to Trump to recommend an ex-clerk for a job in his administration.  —  President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Jan. 7, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla.

In exclusive sit-down, Biden reveals his biggest regret and the compliment Trump gave him  —  Interviews like this one have been rare in Biden's tenure.  He has held fewer news conferences and individual sessions with reporters than any president since at least Ronald Reagan.

Poking Fun at Trump, Mexico's President Suggests Renaming the U.S.  —  President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico also said Donald Trump was ill-informed when he said Mexico was “essentially run by the cartels.”  —  Mexico's president rejected several of President-elect Donald J. Trump's assertions …

Lack of water from hydrants in Palisades fire is hurting firefighters, Caruso says  —  As wildfires raged across Los Angeles on Tuesday, crews battling the Palisades blaze faced an additional burden: Scores of fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades had little to no water flowing out.

House Republican bill would pave way for Trump to acquire Panama Canal for US  —  Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) will introduce a bill that would authorize the president to purchase the Panama Canal and put it under U.S. control, an acquisition that President-elect Trump has been pushing over the last several weeks.

Trump camp was fed questions for Fox News town hall in advance from person inside network, new book says  —  New York CNN —  President-elect Donald Trump's team was given the questions asked by Fox News anchors at an Iowa town hall last January in advance by someone inside the network …

Hawaii Gov: RFK Jr.'s Anti-Vax Misinformation Left Dozens Of Kids Dead In Samoa  —  The Senate is poised to make “an absolute life-or-death decision” in confirming Kennedy as HHS secretary, warned Gov. Josh Green, who is also a physician.  —  LOADING  —  WASHINGTON — Hawaii Gov. Josh Green …

Dems to the GOP on budget reconciliation: ‘Good luck’  —  As House Republicans publicly grapple over how to advance President-elect Donald Trump's agenda, House Democrats are looking across the aisle with some schadenfreude.  Just four years ago, Democrats were hotly debating …

Facebook Is Censoring 404 Media Stories About Facebook's Censorship  —  Instagram, Facebook, and Threads are removing 404 Media stories for “nudity” as the company is paid to put ads with explicit pornography in front of its users.  —  In early December I got the kind of tip we've been getting a lot over the past year.

Merchan subtweets John Roberts ahead of Trump's sentencing  —  The chief justice thinks intimidating judges is bad — some of the time.  —  👨‍⚖️ 🏛️ ⏳ With corporate outlets obeying in advance, independent political coverage will be more vital than ever in 2025.

Capitol Police arrest man with machete amid Carter visitation and ahead of Trump meeting  —  Washington — Capitol Police said officers arrested a man with a machete and other knives on Wednesday afternoon at the Capitol Visitor Center.  —  The arrest comes hours ahead of President-elect …

Threatening Canada  —  Trump posted this last night on Truth Social.  —  A lot of people went off on him.  A lot of other people chided those people for chasing a bright shiny object and ignoring important things, like Senator Majority Leader John Thune's claim he has the votes to confirm …

Watchdog group accuses RFK Jr. of voter fraud  —  The former independent candidate faces scrutiny over an address he used to vote in New York.  —  With less than two weeks before Donald Trump is sworn in as President, his pick to lead Health and Human Services is facing a new legal challenge — over alleged voter fraud.

Read what Joe Biden said during his exclusive interview with USA TODAY: Transcript  —  Transcript of President Joe Biden's Oval Office interview with Susan Page, USA TODAY's Washington Bureau Chief, on Jan. 5, 2025:  —  PAGE: This is the limits of my technological ability.  —  BIDEN: Believe me...

UnitedHealth shareholders demand review of policies that ‘delayed or denied’ health care access  —  Shareholders of UnitedHealth Group (UHG) are calling on the company's board of directors to release a report on how its policy of limiting or delaying access to health care may be impacting the company's brand and the economy overall.

Trump is considering a national economic emergency declaration to allow for new tariff program, sources say  —  President-elect Donald Trump is considering declaring a national economic emergency to provide legal justification for a large swath of universal tariffs on allies and adversaries …

Body of hostage Youssef Ziyadne found in Gaza  —  The IDF confirmed Ziyadne was discovered in an underground tunnel in Rafah adding that it discovered “findings relating to Youssef's son.”  —  Israeli security forces have discovered the body of hostage Youssef al-Ziyadne, 53, in the Gaza Strip, his family was told on Wednesday.

Annual ‘winners’ for most egregious US healthcare profiteering announced  —  Selling body parts without consent and billing desperate parents $97,599 for air transport among worst examples  —  The 2024 “winners” of the annual Shkreli awards, given each year to perpetrators of the most egregious examples …

The gravity of a GOP election challenge in N.C.: ‘Invites incredible mischief’  —  Why the North Carolina state Supreme Court allowing the case to proceed two months after the election is so extraordinary.  —  When Republican Richard Dietz was running for the North Carolina state Supreme Court in 2022 …

The Growing Push to Ban Renewable Energy in Oklahoma  —  There's a nascent, concerted effort to make Oklahoma the first state to ban new renewable energy projects.  And it's picking up steam.  —  Across the U.S., activism against wind and solar energy has only grown in intensity, power …

Elon Musk's Boring Company Is Tunneling Beneath Las Vegas With Little Oversight  —  Given Musk's role advising President-elect Donald Trump on ways to slash regulations and government oversight, Boring and the Vegas Loop project might be a harbinger for the country.  —  Co-published with City Cast Las Vegas

The Media Isn't Ready for Trump's Mass Deportation Moment  —  IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO: Department of Homeland Security agents storm a meatpacking plant in the South, a show of force in the largest workplace raid in a decade.  Rounding up workers, they target those who appear to be Latinos, without regard for citizenship.

Trump Inauguration, Awash in Cash, Runs Out of Perks for Big Donors  —  The president-elect has raised more than $170 million for his swearing-in, an inaugural record, as wealthy Americans flock to curry favor with him and some give money even without the prospect of V.I.P. access.

UK universities join retreat from Elon Musk's X, citing misinformation on platform  —  Universities and other higher education establishments have joined a retreat among British institutions from Elon Musk's X social media platform, citing its role in spreading misinformation that fuelled race riots last year.