Appeals court allows special counsel's report about Trump's election interference case to be released to public  —  The president-elect could still appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.  —  A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the Justice Department can release a report …

How a Phone Call Drew Alito Into a Trump Loyalty Squabble  —  The phone call centered on a former law clerk of Justice Alito's.  In the eyes of the Trump team, the clerk still needed to prove his loyalty to the president-elect.  —  Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. received a call on his cellphone Tuesday.

Leaked Meta Rules: Users Are Free to Post “Mexican Immigrants Are Trash!” or “Trans People Are Immoral”  —  Meta is now granting its users new freedom to post a wide array of derogatory remarks about races, nationalities, ethnic groups, sexual orientations, and gender identities, training materials obtained by The Intercept reveal.

Donald Trump Jr.'s Ridiculous Greenland Trip Just Took a Dark Turn  —  A MAGA visit intended to make Greenland look pro-Donald Trump appears staged from the bottom up.  —  The so-called tourism trip saw Donald Trump Jr., far-right political pundit Charlie Kirk, and Trump administration …

Live Updates: U.S. Job Growth Ends the Year Strong  —  Employers finished the year with a burst of hiring, adding 256,000 jobs in December.  The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 percent.  —  The economy added 256,000 jobs as unemployment dipped.  —  Employers stuck the landing in 2024 …

‘Pizzagate’ gunman killed by police in North Carolina after traffic stop, authorities say  —  A man who fired a gun inside a restaurant in the nation's capital after a fake online conspiracy theory called “Pizzagate” motivated him to do so nearly a decade ago was shot and killed by North Carolina police during a weekend traffic stop.

THE 2024 ANNUAL CLIMATE SUMMARY  —  Global Climate Highlights 2024  —  Table of Contents  — 1. 2024 - a second record-breaking year, following the exceptional 2023  — 2. Regional temperature variations  — 3. European temperatures  — 4. Heat stress  — 5. Sea surface temperature

Live updates Challenge to TikTok ban law goes before Supreme Court  —  The fate of TikTok is before the Supreme Court on Friday morning in a high-stakes case reviewing a federal law that would effectively shut down the popular social media platform in the United States in less than two weeks …

Anita Bryant, Singer and Crusader Against Gay Rights, Dies at 84  —  She has hits with songs like “Paper Roses” and served as a spokesperson for Florida orange juice before her career came crashing down.  —  Anita Bryant, the pop singer and Oklahoma beauty queen who gained fame by convincing America that a …

Barry Blitt's “Two's a Crowd”  —  Elon Musk takes center stage.  —  In cartoonist Barry Blitt's portrayal of the upcoming Inauguration Day, the new President is sidelined into a dash of yellow hair and a sliver of red tie.  “On January 20, 2025, the next leader of the United States—and of the free world—assumes power,” Blitt said.

Inside Trump's Search for a Health Threat to Justify His Immigration Crackdown  —  President-elect Donald J. Trump's advisers have spent months trying to identify a disease that will help them build their case for closing the border.  —  President-elect Donald J. Trump is likely to justify …

Black Lesbian LAFD Asst Chief Sums Up Everything Wrong With DEI in One Snark  —  And I made sure to tell you she was a BLACK LESBIAN right up front because she's so damn proud of it.  Historic, even.  —  I know she would want me to.  —  Plus, she's got the Ivy League DEI certificate, and I don't.

Activists Gear Up to Counter Trump's Inauguration  —  From street protests to community support, progressives are bracing for the new administration by standing up for the most vulnerable  —  The dawn of the second Trump age has been marked by corporate fawning.

As a Climate Scientist, I Knew It Was Time to Leave Los Angeles  —  I am utterly devastated by the Los Angeles wildfires, shaking with rage and grief.  The Altadena community near Pasadena, where the Eaton fire has damaged or destroyed at least 5,000 structures, was my home for 14 years.

“DEI is deadly”: Fox News spin on California wildfires exposes MAGA's total incoherence  —  Jesse Watters implied women are too stupid to run fire departments — most LA fire department leaders are men  —  One thing no one can deny: MAGA influencers put a lot of work into pushing really stupid talking points.

Economists Are in the Wilderness.  Can They Find a Way Back to Influence?  —  Economists have long helped to shape policy on issues like taxes and health care.  But flawed forecasts and arcane language have cost them credibility.  —  Partway through a panel discussion at a recent economics conference …

Federal judge strikes down Biden Title IX rules  —  A federal judge in Kentucky struck down changes made to Title IX by the Biden administration Thursday, ruling that the new regulations, which had sought to expand nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ students, violate the Constitution.

Mark Zuckerberg gave Meta's Llama team the OK to train on copyrighted works, filing claims  —  Counsel for plaintiffs in a copyright lawsuit filed against Meta allege that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave the green light to the team behind the company's Llama AI models to use a dataset of pirated e-books and articles for training.

Remembering Carter, Biden's truth deficit, and Zuckerberg's choice to raise the risk of genocide  —  Good evening from Washington, where I am still learning and relearning the lesson not to compose newsletters in the content management system.  If you're reading this, you're subscribed to the first edition of Civic Texts in the year.

Lawmakers urge FTC to release newest report on pharmacy benefit managers  —  A bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers is calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to vote in favor of releasing an interim staff report on pharmacy benefit managers (PBM).