China Discusses Sale of TikTok US to Musk as One Possible Option  — ByteDance's preferred strategy is to fight ban, sources say  — Trump has said he would like to delay ban to seek resolution  —  Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring …

Johnson confirms ‘discussions’ on tying wildfire aid to debt limit  —  House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed to reporters Monday there's “been some discussion” of tying California wildfire aid to a debt limit increase, after GOP members raised the issue with Donald Trump in several meetings …

Star Washington Post Columnist Torches Paper on Her Way Out the Door  —  The star Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin resigned from the paper Monday and took a parting shot at Jeff Bezos, its billionaire owner.Driving her departure was recent executive decisions at the Post, she told CNN.

Pete Hegseth's FBI background check does not include interviews with key women from his past  —  The report doesn't have material from his ex-wives or a woman who accused Hegseth of sexual assault in 2017.  Hegseth has said that encounter was consensual, and prosecutors never filed charges.

Judge clears the way for release of special counsel Smith's report on Trump's 2020 election case  —  The Justice Department can publicly release special counsel Jack Smith's investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case, a federal judge said Monday …

House GOP crafts bill to let Trump purchase Greenland … - Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) last week introduced a bill that would have the Gulf of Mexico renamed the “Gulf of America” on official documents and maps.  — Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) also introduced a bill last week along …

Biden's parting gift: Student loan debt relief  —  More than 5 million borrowers have had loans forgiven since the president took office.  —  In the waning days of Joe Biden's presidency, his administration announced on Monday that it will provide student debt relief to 150,000 borrowers.

Statement from President Biden Announcing the Names of CVN 82 and CVN 83  —  I am proud to announce that the next two Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers will be named for two former presidents: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.  —  When I personally delivered the news to Bill and George, they were deeply humbled.

Maybe It Was Never About the Factory Jobs  —  The theory that populist economic policies can win back the working class for Democrats has been tried, and it has failed.  —  if there was any place in America where President Joe Biden's economic agenda ought to have won him votes, it would have been Lordstown, Ohio.

Trump flies US flag at full height before end of 30-day mourning period following Carter's death  —  U.S. flags at President-elect Donald Trump 's private Mar-a-Lago club are back to flying at full height.  Flags are supposed to fly at half-staff through the end of January out of respect …

The people should own the town square  —  For any enquiry regarding this announcement, please contact press@joinmastodon.org  —  Mastodon was founded on the principles that people should be able to control their social circle online, curate their own timeline, and convene freely with any community of their choosing.

Begun, the MAGA Wars Have  —  1. #TeamBannon  —  Over the weekend Steve Bannon unleashed on Elon Musk: … That was Bannon's marker.  His actual critique of Musk?  Buckle up, Francis. … Bannon went on to describe Musk's preferred objective as “techno-feudalism.”  —  Some observations:

Meta Is Blocking Links to Decentralized Instagram Competitor Pixelfed  —  Meta is deleting links to Pixelfed, a decentralized Instagram competitor.  On Facebook, the company is labeling links to Pixelfed.social as “spam” and deleting them immediately.  —  Pixelfed is an open-source …

Trump Gets Insane Show of Support From Washington Post Editorial Board  —  The Washington Post's editorial board made the mind-boggling decision Monday to say they support all but four of Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees, and their rationales were as unconvincing as they were brief.

Gavin Newsom and California Democrats reach $50M deal to Trump-proof the state  —  The first-of-its-kind agreement would fund litigation against the incoming White House and protect against a potential mass deportation of immigrants.  —  SACRAMENTO, California — California Democrats …

Elon Musk Exposed Over Right-Wing Lie on L.A. Fires  —  Elon Musk was fact-checked on his own livestream after making false statements about the California wildfires, and Gavin Newsom was quick to call out the tech mogul on social media.  —  In a post on X Sunday night …

North Carolina Judge Denies Republicans' Request To Toss 60,000 Ballots  —  Today, a North Carolina judge rejected a request from the Republican National Committee (RNC), North Carolina GOP, Wake County GOP and two voters to toss out nearly 60,000 ballots cast in all November 2024 statewide races.

Special Counsel Report on Hunter Biden Denounces President's Criticism of Case  —  The report by the special counsel, David C. Weiss, criticized President Biden for making “baseless accusations” that threatened “the integrity of the justice system as a whole.”

Biden Aides Warned Putin as Russia's Shadow War Threatened Air Disaster  —  The White House scrambled to get a message to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last year after U.S. intelligence agencies said a Russian military unit was preparing to send explosive packages on cargo planes.

Supreme Court denies oil industry plea to block climate lawsuits filed by California, other blue states  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court dealt a major setback to the oil industry on Monday, refusing to block lawsuits from California and other blue states that seek billions of dollars in damages for the impact of climate change.

Suspect arrested with ‘flamethrower’ near LA Fire is an illegal immigrant: sources  —  The homeless man tackled and zip-tied by onlookers who say he was trying to start fires with a blowtorch near a Los Angeles wildfire is an illegal immigrant who will likely be protected by California's sanctuary city status, according to sources.

Public health experts, scientists warn senators on confirming RFK Jr  —  A new coalition of more than 700 public health professionals, scientists and activists signed an open letter to oppose Senate confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary, saying his “fringe” …