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Trump pick for DEA walks away from job as Hegseth scandals threaten defense role: Live

Allegations of sexual assault, drunkenness, Islamophobia, and mismanagement of a non-profit dog president-elect’s pick for defense secretary as Trump ally Lindsey Graham calls them ‘disturbing’

Oliver O'Connell,Mike Bedigan
Wednesday 04 December 2024 01:22 GMT
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Biden pardons son Hunter

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Sheriff Chad Chronister, Donald Trump’s pick to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration has withdrawn himself from consideration for the role.

He wrote on X: “To have been nominated by President-Elect @realDonaldTrump to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the honor of a lifetime. Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration.”

Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s attorneys are calling on the judge overseeing his hush-money case to dismiss it, pointing to President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter, and raising the idea that presidential “immunity” should apply to the president-elect.

Trump’s lead criminal defense attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove — both of whom were nominated for top roles at the Department of Justice — quoted from President Biden’s own statement claiming that his son was “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” and “treated differently.”

Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense Pete Hegseth continues to be dogged by alleged scandals from his past, potentially making his confirmation less likely and splitting rightwing media on his prospects.

Why a second Trump’ presidency poses a new global threat to women’s health

Rachel Schraer writes:

Immediately after Donald Trump clinched a second term in the White House, mail orders of abortion pills spiked across the U.S. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood, the country’s biggest provider of reproductive health services, saw an eightfold increase in appointments for long-acting contraceptive devices known as IUDs.

The reality of another Trump presidency appears to have stoked fears among many Americans that their access to abortion and contraception could be further restricted. But the issue stretches beyond U.S. borders. Around the world, hundreds of millions of women who had no say in Trump’s election could lose vital health services because of his decisions.

Continue reading...

Why Trump’s next presidency poses a new global threat to women’s health

Women who had no say in Trump’s election could lose vital reproductive health services because of his policies, Rachel Schraer reports

Oliver O'Connell3 December 2024 14:27

WATCH: Most controversial presidential pardons in history

Most controversial presidential pardons in history
Rachel Sharp3 December 2024 14:00

Can Trump pardon himself once he is back in office?

Gustaf Kilander takes a closer look...

Can Trump pardon himself now he has won the presidency again?

Experts weigh in on whether the now president-elect Donald Trump can spare himself

Rachel Sharp3 December 2024 13:40

WATCH: All the times Joe Biden has said he won’t pardon son Hunter

All the times Joe Biden has said he won't pardon son Hunter
Rachel Sharp3 December 2024 13:20

Trump joked Canada could avoid tariffs by becoming 51st US state, says report

Donald Trump joked that Canada could become the 51st US state if it wants to avoid hefty tariffs he plans to impose on the nation, according to sources.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined Trump for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday, for what Trump called a “very productive” three-hour dinner between the two leaders.

The meeting came days after the president-elect threatened a blanket 25 percent tariff on “all products” entering the US from Canada and Mexico – and an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods.

Read the full story:

Trump joked Canada could avoid tariffs by becoming 51st US state, says report

President-elect conceded that prime minster sounds better than governor

Rachel Sharp3 December 2024 13:00

RFK Jr used to hawk bottles of water with high levels of fluoride. Now he wants to ban it

As Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services director pick, Robert F Kennedy Jr has vowed to ban flouride from drinking water.

But, it has emerged that, the Kennedy dynasty heir actually used to hawk bottles of drinking water with a higher concentration of fluoride than most tap water in the US.

In 2009, RFK Jr co-founded Keeper Springs bottled water in a bid to support his environmental organization the Waterkeeper Alliance, a network of groups dedicated to cleaning up polluted waterways.

Read on...

RFK Jr used to hawk water with high levels of fluoride. Now he wants to ban it

Bottled water from RFK Jr’s company Keeper Springs contained almost double the concentration of fluoride recommended by the HHS

Rachel Sharp3 December 2024 12:48

Analysis: I covered the 2024 election cycle as a political reporter. Here are the predictions I got wrong

Eric Garcia explains what he saw coming, what he got wrong — and what that taught him about future elections

As a political reporter who covered the 2024 election cycle, here’s what I got wrong

Eric Garcia explains what he saw coming, what he got wrong — and what that taught him about future elections

Rachel Sharp3 December 2024 12:20

WATCH: First Lady Jill Biden offers holiday wishes from the First Family for the last time

First Lady Jill Biden offers holiday wishes from the First Family for the last time
Rachel Sharp3 December 2024 12:00

California launches plot to Trump-proof state laws

A California senator has said that the state won’t aid the incoming Trump administration in its mass deportation efforts because it would be legally unable to.

Sen. Alex Padilla of the Golden State appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, saying that he would work to block state resources from boosting deportation efforts by pushing for the government to follow the constitutional requirement that it’s up to the federal government to control the border.

“There’s an important distinction here. No state’s government, not Texas, not California, not any state in the nation, has a constitutional authority to impose federal immigration law,” the Democrat said. “That is the responsibility of the federal government.”

Trump has insisted that he will declare a national emergency and utilize the military to conduct the mass deportations, a proposed effort that has faced criticism from both Democrats and some Republicans.

Read on...

California won’t aid Trump’s deportation plans because it legally can’t, says senator

Alex Padilla says no ‘state in the nation has a constitutional authority to impose federal immigration law’

Rachel Sharp3 December 2024 11:40

Jimmy Kimmel defends Biden’s 180 on Hunter pardon – because there’s ‘a good chance he doesn’t remember’

Jimmy Kimmel has defended President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden joking that there’s a “very good chance” the president “doesn’t remember” previously saying he wouldn’t.

Alarm bells sounded on both sides of the political aisle on Sunday when Biden granted his son clemency for federal crimes committed between January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024 – claiming the 54-year-old was “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted” by the Department of Justice.

Biden had previously ruled out pardoning his son and so the sudden change of heart prompted backlash from Republicans as well as some Democrats.

The Jimmy Kimmel Live host weighed in on the saga on Monday night’s show, conceding that the president did indeed vow not to pardon Hunter.

But Kimmel joked that Biden, who culled his re-election campaign in July amid speculation around his mental acuity, may not “remember saying that.”

Read on...

Jimmy Kimmel jokes that Biden ‘doesn’t remember’ his past promises on Hunter pardon

‘The Biden presidency has now entered the “grandpa doesn’t give a damn about you” stage,” the Jimmy Kimmel Live host quipped

Rachel Sharp3 December 2024 11:20

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