Trump warns he’ll do ‘whatever it takes’ to deport migrants; vows to shut down Department of Education: Live

Donald Trump has said he is prepared to do “whatever it takes” to drive illegal immigrants from the United States, including building more detention centres, and also vowed to shut down the Department of Education and leave teaching administration up to individual states.

Trump further moved to downplay fears over Elon Musk and Robert F Kennedy Jr’s likely influence over his administration and to manage expectations on inflation, warning he may not be able to bring down grocery prices after all by saying: “It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up, very hard.”

The president-elect made the comments in an interview withTime magazine after being named its “Person of the Year” following his November election win.

The annual cover – which highlights an individual who has greatly influenced the year, for good or ill – was unveiled on Thursday, bearing an imperious portrait of the Republican against a stark background.

Trump was also awarded the honor in 2016 after beating Hillary Clinton to win the White House for the first time.

He celebrated this latest gong yesterday by delivering a brief speech and ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Key Points

• Donald Trump tells Time he will do ‘whatever it takes’ to address illegal immigration and says he will abolish Department of Education

• President-elect officially named magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’

• Trump calls North Korean troops in Russia a ‘complicating factor’ and boasts of relationship with Kim Jong-un

• Former president backs dockworkers’ union over strike threat to protect jobs from automation

• Amazon to donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund

Trump to meet with Pete Hegseth at Army-Navy game on Saturday

11:55 , Joe Sommerlad

The president-elect is due to attend the traditional college football throwdown in Landover, Maryland, tomorrow and will sit down at the game with his embattled nominee for defense secretary Pete Hegseth, according to one of the latter’s advisers quoted by The Washington Post.

Hegseth has spent the week courting dubious Republican senators, unnerved about the string of unsavoury allegations that have been raised against him, all of which the former Fox News weekend man and military man has denied and downplayed.

FAA boss who clashed with Elon Musk over SpaceX will resign before Trump takes office

11:35 , Joe Sommerlad

Mike Whitaker, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), who has led a tougher enforcement policy against Boeing since a panel blew off a company jet in January, said on Thursday that he will step down next month, clearing the way for Trump name his choice to lead the agency.

Whitaker announced his pending resignation in a message to employees of the FAA, which regulates airlines and aircraft manufacturers and manages the nation’s airspace.

He has dealt with challenges including a surge in close calls between planes, a shortage of air traffic controllers and antiquated equipment at a time when air travel and a need for tougher oversight of Boeing.

Whitaker also clashed with Trump ally Elon Musk by proposing that his company SpaceX be fined over safey issues.

FAA boss who clashed with Elon Musk over SpaceX will resign before Trump takes office

First Zuckerberg, now Bezos: Amazon to donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund

11:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Amazon’s executive chairman Jeff Bezos is reportedly set to donate $1m to Trump’s inaugural fund, following in the footsteps of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who did the same earlier this week,

Bezos’s gesture was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and dwarfs the $57,746 the company donated to Trump’s first inauguration in 2017.

The online retail giant’s founder is meanwhile set to meet the president-elect at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, next week, according to Trump himself, who revealed the sitdown in an interview with CNBC, given after he rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is also reportedly set to follow Bezos to the Sunshine State while Zuckerberg himself already visited Trump at home last month, reportedly giving him a personal demonstration of Meta’s new Ray-Ban smart glasses, gifting him a pair and also meeting with the president-elect’s pick for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, plus advisers Stephen Miller, Vince Haley and James Blair.

First Zuckerberg, now Bezos: Amazon to donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund

Even liberals like popular Barron Trump at New York University

10:55 , Joe Sommerlad

Barron Trump has been described as a “ladies’ man” around the New York University (NYU) campus, where he is so popular that even his liberal classmates like him.

An insider at NYU’s Stern School of Business, where Barron enrolled this fall, told People magazine that Donald Trump’s only son with third wife Melania Trump has proven to be “popular with the ladies.”

“He’s tall and handsome,” the source said of the 18-year-old, who stands an astonishing six feet nine inches tall.

“A lot of people seem to think he’s pretty attractive – yes, even liberal people like him.”

People’s article about Barron is so complimentary it has prompted some speculation about the source of the quotes, given that his father was known to enjoy calling in gossip to the tabloids during his Big Apple real estate days under the false name “John Barron.”

Even liberals like popular Barron Trump at New York University

Trump calls North Korean troops in Russia a ‘complicating factor’ and boasts of relationship with Kim Jong-un

10:35 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s more from the president-elect’s Time interview, in which he also addressed the presence of North Korean troops on Russia’s frontline with Ukraine but stopped short of denouncing Pyongyang, preferring instead to tout his friendship with the country’s “Rocket Man” dictator.

Shweta Sharma has this report.

Trump calls North Korean troops in Russia a ‘complicating factor’

Trump backs dockworkers’ union over strike threat to protect jobs from automation

10:15 , Joe Sommerlad

The president-elect was on Truth Social last night speaking up for the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) after meeting with its bosses Harold and Dennis Daggett.

“There has been a lot of discussion having to do with ‘automation’ on United States docks,” Trump wrote.

“I’ve studied automation, and know just about everything there is to know about it. The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen.”

The ILA, which represents more than 40,000 dockworkers, went on strike for three days in October over the prospect of robots replacing its members’ jobs.

The Biden administration helped reach a deal to avert that action, which reportedly cost the US economy $1bn a day, put further unrest could rear its head in the New Year.

Watch: Emmanuel Macron and Donald Tusk mock Trump’s macho handshake

09:55 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s the French President and the Prime Minister of Poland teasing the US president-elect yesterday before he has even taken office.

Ariana Baio has this on Macron and Trump’s original grapple during his Notre Dame Cathedral visit over the weekend.

‘The handshake battles continue’: Social media mocks Trump-Macron meeting

Donald Trump tells Time he will do ‘whatever it takes’ to address illegal immigration and says he will abolish Department of Education

09:36 , Joe Sommerlad

Good morning!

Donald Trump has said he is prepared to do “whatever it takes” to drive illegal immigrants from the United States, including building more detention centres, and also vowed to shut down the Department of Education and leave teaching administration up to individual states.

Trump further moved to downplay fears over Elon Musk and Robert F Kennedy Jr’s likely influence over his administration and to manage expectations on inflation, warning he may not be able to bring down grocery prices after all by saying: “It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up, very hard.”

The president-elect made the comments in an interview withTime magazine after being named its “Person of the Year” following his November election win.

The annual cover – which highlights an individual who has greatly influenced the year, for good or ill – was unveiled on Thursday, bearing an imperious portrait of the Republican against a stark background.

Trump was also awarded the honor in 2016 after beating Hillary Clinton to win the White House for the first time.

He celebrated this latest gong yesterday by delivering a brief speech and ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Here’s Kelly Rissman with more.

Donald Trump named Time’s ‘Person of the Year’ for second time

Elon Musk calls homelessness a ‘lie’ and ‘propaganda’ — and Trump is listening

09:00 , Alex Woodward

To Elon Musk, the word “homeless” is a “lie” and “a propaganda word.”

“Homeless is a misnomer. It implies that someone got a little bit behind on their mortgage, and if you just gave them a job, they’d be back on their feet,” he told former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson in October. “What you actually have are violent, drug zombies with dead eyes and needles and human feces on the street.”

The more money spent combating homelessness, “the worse it gets,” according to Musk.

Read more:

Elon Musk calls homelessness a ‘lie’ and ‘propaganda’ — and Trump is listening

‘No evidence’ undercover FBI agents joined Capitol riots despite ongoing conspiracy theories, watchdog finds

08:00 , Alex Woodward

None of the thousands of people who joined protests in Washington, D.C., and stormed the halls of Congress on January 6, 2021 were undercover FBI agents, according to the results of a lengthy probe from a Department of Justice watchdog.

The findings deal a blow to persistent right-wing conspiracy theories that federal law enforcement agents provoked a riot or a “false flag” attack to entrap Donald Trump’s supporters to break into the Capitol.

But the report’s discovery that roughly two dozen confidential sources were on the ground at the time is likely to continue fueling a false narrative that federal agents had something to do with instigating the assault.

Read more:

‘No evidence’ undercover FBI agents joined Capitol riots, watchdog finds

From ‘Aspie supremacy’ to vaccines: The toxic autism politics of Trump’s second administration

07:00 , Eric Garcia

Back in September, an X/Twitter account known as Autism Capital posted a screenshot of a written theory that appeared to be taken from 4Chan. The theory postulated that only “high [testostrone] alpha males” and “aneurotypical people” can think freely and be trusted to know what is objectively true. That means “a Republic for high-status males is best for decision making,” the theory continued. Elon Musk, the X owner and Tesla executive, responded: “Interesting observation.”

Little wonder that Musk found such proclamations interesting. He has talked in public a number of times about having “Asperger’s syndrome” (a term that fell out of favor as researchers learned the extent of Hans Asperger’s collaboration with the Nazi regime’s child euthanasia program and one that hasn’t been used clinically since 2013.) The concept of “Aspie supremacy” — a term some disability rights advocates coined for the deeply problematic idea that people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who previously would be considered as having Asperger’s are superior to both neurotypical people and other autistic people — has been around for a while. But it’s gained traction in the past few years in some very online, very right-wing spaces.

Read more:

The toxic autism politics of Trump’s second administration

WATCH: Eric Adams says NYC won’t be ‘safe haven’ for criminals after Trump border czar meeting

06:00 , Gustaf Kilander

US Senate chaplain Barry Black hospitalized after brain bleed

05:00 , Mary Clare Jalonick

U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black has been hospitalized after suffering a bleed on his brain and is expected to have a “smooth recovery,” his office said.

Black, 76, suffered a subdural hematoma earlier this week and is at a local hospital and under the care of the Capitol’s physician, said Rev. Lisa Schultz, Black’s chief of staff. A subdural hematoma is when blood builds up between the skull and the surface of the brain, increasing pressure on the brain.

Read more:

US Senate chaplain Barry Black hospitalized after brain bleed

From a 10-year-old to a Muppet to a president-elect, NYSE bell-ringers range from famous to obscure

04:00 , Damian J. Troise

The first guest invited to ring the bell to open trading at the New York Stock Exchange in 1956 wasn’t a company executive, a politician or a well-known celebrity. It was a 10-year-old boy, Leonard Ross, who received the honor by winning a television quiz show.

Since then, business titans, political giants and global film stars have all been among those ringing the opening bell at the NYSE. Ronald Reagan rang the bell as president in 1985. Billionaire businessman and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr. have also rung the bell. The list even includes famous Muppets: Miss Piggy was once a bell ringer.

Read more:

From a 10-year-old to a Muppet to a president-elect, NYSE bell-ringers range from famous to obscure

White House sees ‘no evidence’ of threat from drones and says ‘many’ sightings were of ‘manned aircraft’

03:30 , Andrew Feinberg

The White House is knocking down claims that New Jersey’s airspace has been invaded by drones controlled by hostile nations and says many of the aircraft sightings that have been cited to support such assertions are actually normal piloted airplanes.

In recent days, residents of the Garden State have been posting videos of what they describe as sightings of unmanned aircraft over the areas where the U.S. Army has a research facility as well as President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey golf club.

One Republican congressman, Representative Jeff Van Drew, claimed Wednesday during a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing that the aircraft in question were Iranian in origin and were being controlled by a “mothership” operated by Tehran off the US coast.

Read more:

White House sees ‘no evidence’ of threat from drones seen over New Jersey

GOP chairman says he’s a ‘big AOC fan,’ supports her bid to be top Democrat on Oversight Committee

03:00 , Justin Baragona

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said on Thursday that he’s a “big fan” of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and he supports the progressive lawmaker’s bid to become the ranking member of the committee he chairs.

Noting that he has a “lot of differences” with her on policy, Comer repeatedly told CNN that Ocasio-Cortez is a “good person” and “well-spoken.” He also claimed she would be a “great” choice to co-chair the oversight committee, adding that he had a fraught relationship with the outgoing ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).

Read more:

James Comer says he’s a ‘big AOC fan,’ supports her as top Dem on Oversight Committee

Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge

02:30 , Lolita C. Baldor

Reported sexual assaults at the U.S. military service academies dropped in 2024 for the second year in a row, according to new Pentagon data, marking a sharp turnaround from an alarming surge two years ago that triggered sweeping reviews and an overhaul in leadership.

The decline in reports was mirrored by a similar decrease in the total number of students who said in an anonymous survey that they experienced some type of unwanted sexual contact during the school year that ended in the spring.

Defense officials, however, warned on Thursday that the numbers are still high, and there is still a lot of work to be done.

Read more:

Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge

Larry Hogan slams parties for ‘dividing’ Americans in first post-election speech

02:00 , John Bowden

Larry Hogan came to Washington with a very simple message on Thursday: America is tired of you. All of you.

The former governor of Maryland came up short in his bid to be the first Republican senator from Maryland in decades in November. This week, he gave his first remarks since the election at No Labels, the bipartisan organization he co-chaired before his Senate bid.

Read more:

Larry Hogan slams parties for ‘dividing’ Americans in first post-election speech

Trump mocks Jill Biden — again — by sharing photo of Notre Dame meeting

01:30 , Rhian Lubin

President-elect Donald Trump mocked First Lady Jill Biden for a second time by sharing a photo from their conversation in Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral.

The photo was taken at the reopening of the famed cathedral last weekend, when the two exchanged polite conversation as they sat near one another during the ceremony.

Trump shared a meme on Truth Social with the “rolling on the floor laughing” and “smiling face with heart eyes” emojis. “Get you someone who looks at you like Jill looks at Trump,” it said.

Read more:

Trump mocks Jill Biden — again — by sharing photo of Notre Dame meeting

Trump invites Chinese President Xi Jinping to inauguration after threatening additional tariffs on country

01:00 , Kelly Rissman

President-elect Donald Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration next month, according to a report.

The invitation came in early November after Trump’s election victory, CBS News reported Thursday. The revelation comes a month after Trump promised to impose hefty tariffs on China.

Transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the Chinese leader had been invited during an appearance on Fox & Friends Thursday morning.

Read more:

Trump invites China’s Xi Jinping to inauguration after threatening more tariffs

Report: Amazon allegedly planning $1m donation to Trump inaugural fund

00:30 , Ariana Baio

Jeff Bezos’s Amazon is allegedly planning to donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The planning apparently coincides with Bezos’s expected visit to Mar-a-Lago next week, people familiar with the matter told WSJ.

Meta co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg also made a $1 million contribution to Trump’s inaugural fund.

Trump provides update on Melania’s plans during his next term in wide-ranging Time interview

00:00 , Kelly Rissman

President-elect Donald Trump discussed Melania’s plans during his second term in a sweeping interview with Time as he was named 2024 “Person of the Year.”

The magazine honored Trump with the esteemed title for the second time — the first was after his 2016 election win — Thursday. The president-elect sat down with a Time reporter to discuss his successful presidential campaign, his ambitions for his second term, and Melania’s plans to return to the White House.

Read more:

Trump provides update on Melania’s plans during his next term in Time interview

Nato chief warns West ‘not ready’ to deal with Russian threat

Thursday 12 December 2024 23:30 , David Maddox

Nato general secretary Mark Rutte has warned that the west is “not ready” to deal with the threat of war from Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

His warning has come amid concerns over the war in Ukraine with the election of Donald Trump as US president and fears he may pull American backing for the conflict.

Read more:

Nato chief warns West ‘not ready’ to deal with Russian threat

These are the 39 people who had non-violent crimes pardoned by Biden

Thursday 12 December 2024 23:00 , Josh Marcus

President Biden announced on Thursday he was granting 39 pardons to people with non-violent criminal convictions and commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500, the largest single-day act of clemency in modern presidential history, according to the White House.

“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Biden said in a statement. “As President, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses.”

Read more:

These are the 39 people pardoned by Biden after non-violent crime convictions

What is Voice of America? Trump wants Kari Lake to run global news network he tried to ‘bulldoze’

Thursday 12 December 2024 22:30 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump has gone over the head of an international press agency to select his own nominee for its publicly funded flagship news network.

Trump wants Kari Lake — the failed Republican candidate for Arizona governor and U.S. Senate who pledged to be the media’s “worst nightmare” — to run Voice of America, the nation’s oldest international broadcaster, reaching millions of people around the world.

Read more:

What is Voice of America? Trump wants Kari Lake to run network he tried to ‘bulldoze’

WATCH: Donald Trump makes joke about 'taking on' the media while accepting Time Magazine Award

Thursday 12 December 2024 22:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Elon Musk calls homelessness a ‘lie’ and ‘propaganda’ — and Trump is listening

Thursday 12 December 2024 21:30 , Alex Woodward

To Elon Musk, the word “homeless” is a “lie” and “a propaganda word.”

“Homeless is a misnomer. It implies that someone got a little bit behind on their mortgage, and if you just gave them a job, they’d be back on their feet,” he told former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson in October. “What you actually have are violent, drug zombies with dead eyes and needles and human feces on the street.”

The more money spent combating homelessness, “the worse it gets,” according to Musk.

Read more:

Elon Musk calls homelessness a ‘lie’ and ‘propaganda’ — and Trump is listening

From ‘Aspie supremacy’ to vaccines: The toxic autism politics of Trump’s second administration

Thursday 12 December 2024 21:00 , Eric Garcia

Back in September, an X/Twitter account known as Autism Capital posted a screenshot of a written theory that appeared to be taken from 4Chan. The theory postulated that only “high [testostrone] alpha males” and “aneurotypical people” can think freely and be trusted to know what is objectively true. That means “a Republic for high-status males is best for decision making,” the theory continued. Elon Musk, the X owner and Tesla executive, responded: “Interesting observation.”

Little wonder that Musk found such proclamations interesting. He has talked in public a number of times about having “Asperger’s syndrome” (a term that fell out of favor as researchers learned the extent of Hans Asperger’s collaboration with the Nazi regime’s child euthanasia program and one that hasn’t been used clinically since 2013.) The concept of “Aspie supremacy” — a term some disability rights advocates coined for the deeply problematic idea that people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who previously would be considered as having Asperger’s are superior to both neurotypical people and other autistic people — has been around for a while. But it’s gained traction in the past few years in some very online, very right-wing spaces.

Read more:

The toxic autism politics of Trump’s second administration

WATCH: James Comer says he’s a ‘Big AOC Fan’

Thursday 12 December 2024 20:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor

Thursday 12 December 2024 20:00 , David Koenig

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration, who has led a tougher enforcement policy against Boeing since a panel blew off a Boeing jet in January, said Thursday that he will step down next month, clearing the way for President-elect Donald Trump name his choice to lead the agency.

Mike Whitaker announced his pending resignation in a message to employees of the FAA, which regulates airlines and aircraft manufacturers and manages the nation’s airspace.

Read more:

Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor

‘No evidence’ undercover FBI agents joined Capitol riots despite ongoing conspiracy theories, watchdog finds

Thursday 12 December 2024 19:30 , Alex Woodward

None of the thousands of people who joined protests in Washington, D.C., and stormed the halls of Congress on January 6, 2021 were undercover FBI agents, according to the results of a lengthy probe from a Department of Justice watchdog.

The findings deal a blow to persistent right-wing conspiracy theories that federal law enforcement agents provoked a riot or a “false flag” attack to entrap Donald Trump’s supporters to break into the Capitol.

But the report’s discovery that roughly two dozen confidential sources were on the ground at the time is likely to continue fueling a false narrative that federal agents had something to do with instigating the assault.

Read more:

‘No evidence’ undercover FBI agents joined Capitol riots, watchdog finds

Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing

Thursday 12 December 2024 19:00 , Dylan Lovan, Alanna Durkin Richer

The U.S. Justice Department and the city of Louisville have reached an agreement to reform the city’s police force after an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor, officials said Thursday.

The consent decree, which must be approved by a judge, follows a federal investigation that found Louisville police have engaged in a pattern of violating constitutional rights and discrimination against the Black community.

Read more:

Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing

US senator says mysterious drones spotted in New Jersey region should be 'shot down, if necessary'

Thursday 12 December 2024 18:30 , Bruce Shipkowski

A U.S. senator has called for mysterious drones spotted flying over sensitive areas in New Jersey and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic region to be “shot down, if necessary,” as it remains unclear who owns them.

“We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Thursday as concerns about the drones spread across Capitol Hill.

Read more:

US senator says mysterious drones spotted in New Jersey region should be 'shot down, if necessary'

We asked Republicans about Tulsi Gabbard’s remarks on Syria. This is what they said

Thursday 12 December 2024 18:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Their remarks show a changed attitude among the GOP toward Trump’s cabinet picks, says Eric Garcia.

I asked Republicans about Tulsi Gabbard’s remarks on Syria. This is what they said

Bernie Sanders says his next term is ‘probably’ his last

Thursday 12 December 2024 17:30 , Joe Sommerlad

The Vermont Senator, a leader in the progressive movement for decades, has said his current term is likely to be his last in Congress.

Sanders, 83, has been a member of the legislative since 1991, first serving as a representative from Vermont before becoming one of the state’s senators in 2007.

He was re-elected in November to another six-year term, but said it would likely be his last when asked by Politico on Tuesday.

“I’m 83 now. I’ll be 89 when I get out of here. You can do the figuring. I don’t know, but I would assume, probably, yes,” Sanders told the outlet.

Ariana Baio has more.

Progressive war horse Bernie Sanders says his next term is ‘probably’ his last

Missouri introduces ‘Donald Trump bill’ that lets people with felonies run for office

Thursday 12 December 2024 17:00 , Joe Sommerlad

A Republican state representative in Missouri has proposed legislation that would allow a person who has pleaded guilty to, or been convicted of, a felony to serve in public office – and has named it, pointedly, after the president-elect.

The “Donald J Trump Election Qualification Act,” introduced by state representative Michael Davis, would repeal a 2015 local law that prevents a person with a felony from becoming a candidate in a local or state-wide election.

If passed, it would allow a person with a criminal record to run for office “if otherwise qualified.”

Ariana Baio reports.

Missouri introduces ‘Donald Trump’ bill making it legal for felons to run for office

Ex-Biden adviser slams ‘timing, argument and rationale’ of Hunter’s pardon

Thursday 12 December 2024 16:45 , Joe Sommerlad

Anita Dunn, who left the White House in July for an advisory role on a Democratic super PAC ahead of the presidential election, has expressed her disquiet about the handling of Hunter Biden’s pardon, which she says she approves of in principle, arguing that it would have been “a different story” had the pardon come at the end of the outgoing president’s term.

Biden Sr sent shockwaves through the political world earlier this month when he announced his decision to grant his son clemency, claiming that Hunter had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted” by the Department of Justice.

The timing of the decision has not gone down well with Dunn, one of his longest serving aides.

Rhian Lubin reports.

Biden’s ex-adviser publicly slams ‘timing, argument and rationale’ of Hunter’s pardon

Are fake aliens flying over New Jersey to ‘steal Trump’s swagger?’ One MAGA podcaster is worried

Thursday 12 December 2024 16:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson has reacted to the mysterious drones appearing over the Garden State in recent weeks by wondering if they were part of a “fake alien invasion” being staged to “steal Trump’s swagger”.

Here’s Justin Baragona with a much-needed explanation.

Are fake aliens flying over NJ to ‘steal Trump’s swagger?’ MAGA podcaster is worried

Trump’s cronies rush to praise Time Person of the Year award – but others aren’t so sure

Thursday 12 December 2024 16:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s Kelly Rissman with a roundup of the toadying responses from the president-elect’s MAGA cronies to his latest accolade.

Trump’s cronies rush to praise Time POTY award - but others aren’t as sure

Steve Bannon warns GOP Congress will give wealthy and corporations ‘massive’ tax breaks

Thursday 12 December 2024 16:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Trump ally Steve Bannon is warning that House Republicans would vote in favor of “massive” tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations while also voting to increase defense spending in a strategy doomed to push the nation even deeper into debt.

Bannon, who has long promoted taxing wealthy individuals and corporations, said the leaderhsip of the key committess will vote that way.

“You watch – every one of them wants increased defense,” he told his podcast guest, Texas Republican Representative Chip Roy, on Tuesday.

“They want to get to a trillion dollars as quickly as possible, and they’re [also] going to vote for massive tax cuts for the wealthy, for the billionaires and corporations.”

Ariana Baio has more.

Steve Bannon warns wealthy and corporations will get ‘massive’ tax breaks

Trump to revoke policy shielding migrants from deportation in churches

Thursday 12 December 2024 15:30 , Joe Sommerlad

As soon as its first day in office, the incoming Trump administration is reportedly planning on rescinding a 2011 immigration policy limiting deportation arrests in sensitive locations like schools, churches, and hospitals.

Instead, the administration plans to let Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents make arrests in these locations if they’re related to national security concerns, the arrest of a dangerous felon, or risks of imminent danger or the compromising of a criminal investigation, according to NBC News, which first reported on the alleged plan, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the new administration.

The new brief would also apply to arrests made in other locations like colleges and at events like protests, which could hamper the kind of large-scale pro-immigration protests seen during the first Trump administration.

Here’s more from Josh Marcus.

Trump will revoke policy shielding migrants from deportation arrests in churches

Trump tells Time he may not be able to bring grocery prices down

Thursday 12 December 2024 15:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Here are a few highlights from the president-elect’s interview accompanying his “Person of the Year” gong.

He says he may not be able to wrestle inflation to the floor after all, claims to see no conflict of interest in giving Elon Musk wide-ranging powers over government and hints that he could yet rein in some of RFK Jr’s more, ahem, eccentric ambitions.

Trump also says “there might be” more detention camps built to temporarily house illegal immigrants.

He adds: “Whatever it takes to get them out. I don’t care. Honestly, whatever it takes to get them out.”

On whether or not he has spoken to Vladimir Putin since winning the election on November 5, Trump says: “I can’t tell you. I can’t tell you. It’s just inappropriate.” (Why not?)

He claims the conflict in Gaza is “easier to solve” than Russia-Ukraine but won’t say what he wants to see from Israel.

“What I want is a deal where there’s going to be peace and where the killing stops”, he tells Time, vaguely.

On trans rights, he says he agrees with the incoming member for Delaware, Sarah McBride, that too much time is spent discussing bathroom access: “I do agree with that. On that – absolutely. As I was saying, it’s a small number of people.”

He also praises under-fire Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito (”incredible”) and says any investigations into his enemies will come at the discretion of Pam Bondi, his nominee for attorney general.

Finally, on whether or not he will pardon January 6 convicts, he says: “I’m going to do case-by-case, and if they were non-violent, I think they’ve been greatly punished.

“And the answer is I will be doing that, yeah, I’m going to look if there’s some that really were out of control.”

Plenty to chew on!

Watch: Trump rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange

Thursday 12 December 2024 14:39 , Joe Sommerlad

The president-elect declares the day’s trading open.

Trump: ‘Go out and get ‘em, we’re with you all the way'

Thursday 12 December 2024 14:35 , Joe Sommerlad

The president-elect wrapped up his brief remarks at the exchange by pivoting to the economy, pledging a return to American prosperity and concluding with a sad but probably fictional story about an elderly lady forced to return an apple to the refigerator in a grocery store because she could not afford it, promising this would never happen again in America under his leadership.

Trump says his second term will be an even greater success because he now knows ’everybody’ in Washington

Thursday 12 December 2024 14:27 , Joe Sommerlad

The president-elect is on more ingratiating form than he was in the final weeks of the election campaign, offering praise to Melania and to cabinet nominee Lee Zeldin, among others, even offering a kind word to a gentleman from ABC News.

He moves on to reflecting, suddenly, on the “powerful” and “devastating” threat posed by nuclear weapons before pivoting, equally abruptly, to congratulating Emmanuel Macron on the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral.

Trump says 25 per cent of his Time covers ‘great’ but he hides the rest

Thursday 12 December 2024 14:23 , Joe Sommerlad

The president-elect also joked about possibly holding the record for Time magazine covers, saying he enjoyed most of them but considers the new issue his favorite.

He said his first term was a success “despite a lot of turmoil that was not necessary” and suggested he has since tamed the media.

He further teased Scott Bessant, his nominee as treasury secretary.

Trump arrives with entourage to address New York Stock Exchange

Thursday 12 December 2024 14:15 , Joe Sommerlad

The president-elect, flanked by his wife Melania, daughters Ivanka and Tiffany, Vice President-elect JD Vance, RFK Jr and Doug Burgum and others, just arrived on stage at the New York Stock Exchange to discuss his Time win and the economy before declaring the day’s trading open.

Live: Trump visits the NYSE to ding opening bell

Thursday 12 December 2024 14:10 , Joe Sommerlad

You can watch a livefeed of the president-elect’s adventures at the exchange below.

Trump to ring opening bell at New York Stock Exchange

Thursday 12 December 2024 14:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s the president-elect a little while ago arriving on Wall Street and signing the exchange’s guest book.

Eric Trump, Pete Hegseth cheer Trump’s Time win

Thursday 12 December 2024 13:45 , Joe Sommerlad

Let the ring-kissing commence.

UK to mostly avoid tariff trouble with the US, say economists

Thursday 12 December 2024 13:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Trump will impose a tariff of less than 10 percent on UK imports next year or none at all, which will have an insignificant effect on the UK economy, according to a strong majority of economists polled by Reuters.

Those expectations stand in contrast to widespread fears that the European Union, which Britain officially left in 2020, will be harder-hit, according to a similar poll last month.

Part of the reason economists are more optimistic about the country is that while one-fifth of total UK trade is with the United States only a third of Britain's exports are goods – where the proposed tariffs will be focused.

While Trump is focused on correcting US trade deficits with other countries, differing methodologies of their respective statistics agencies mean Britain and the US both report goods trade surpluses with the other.

However, the European Union remains the UK's biggest trading partner and London has a delicate challenge in both mending frayed relations with Brussels and remaining open to deals with a new government in Washington.

“Without the broader complexities of the EU trading bloc, the UK will be somewhat more flexible in reaching a negotiated settlement with President Trump. It also helps that trade in goods with the US is roughly balanced, meaning the tariffs may end up being lower,” noted James Rossiter at TD Securities.

More than 80 percent of economists, 19 of 23, expect the US to put a tariff of less than 10 percent or zero on UK imports despite talk of a blanket 10-20 percent tariff on all countries and higher tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico.

Four said zero. Only four forecast a 10-20 percent tariff.

A similar proportion of economists, 20 of 25, said the tariff will have an insignificant impact on the British economy, good news for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s government which has pledged to boost growth.

Four said significant, while one said no impact.

Reuters