Trump targets Greenland and Panama as international students urged back to campus before inauguration: Live
Danish defense minister says country will spend $1.5 billion to ensire ‘stronger presence’ in Arctic
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has posted his traditional rambling Christmas message calling out various foes, taunting adversaries, and reiterating his desire for U.S. territorial expansionism — including retaking the Panama Canal, incorporating Canada into the union, and buying Greenland.
A Danish official said an announcement that the country is boosting defense spending for Greenland, was an “irony of fate.”
Troels Lund Poulsen, the Danish defense minister, told the paper Jyllands-Posten Tuesday that the country plans to spend a “double-digit billion amount” in krone — about $1.5 billion — to make sure they have a “stronger presence” in the Arctic.
Trump said the “ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” for the U.S., which operates a base in the territory’s northwest.
Meanwhile, college campuses across the country are calling the nation’s more than 1 million international students back to school before Trump’s inauguration, warning that the possibility of an imminent travel ban targeting certain countries could impact their return.
At the same time, Trump allies Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have divided their party with recent comments lamenting the quality of the U.S. workforce.
Mar-a-Lago wedding? Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt reveal they’re engaged
Haley reignites Ramaswamy feud after he bashes American work culture: ‘There’s nothing wrong with US workers’
How Elon Musk’s influence has grown both online and offline in 2024
‘Should MAGA stay home in 2026?’ Laura Loomer wages ‘racist’ war against ‘tech bros’ over Indian migrants
Rudy Giuliani tells judge ‘I gave everything I have to give’ as he braces for contempt hearing
Embattled former New York City mayor and Trump’s one-time attorney Rudy Giuliani will face a contempt hearing on January 3 related to his court-ordered turnover of his property to a pair of election workers he defamed.
In a series of court filings on Christmas Eve, Giuliani pleaded with a judge to reject their demands for sanctions.
The latest on Giuliani’s legal woes:
Rudy Giuliani tells judge ‘I gave everything I have to give’ as he faces contempt
Giuliani pleads to federal judge to reject proposed sanctions in flurry of Christmas Eve court documents
How Trump’s inner circle is celebrating the holidays
Marjorie Taylor Greene has shared an array of messages over the holiday period varying from the more traditional photo in front of a Christmas tree, to a plea to join her in prayer this Sunday “to end abortion in America.”
Her holiday photo in front of the Christmas tree came hot on the heels of a meme she shared titled “amount of people eligible to be mass deported.”
More Christmas messages from Trumpworld, per The Independent’s Rhian Lubin:
A very MAGA Christmas: How Trump’s inner-circle are marking the holidays
Trump toned down his annual festive message this year but MAGA is out in full force
Trump’s ‘made in USA’ bitcoin vow not based ‘in reality’
It’s unlikely Donald Trump will be able to realize his campaign promise that all remaining Bitcoin will be made in the U.S., according to observers who know the industry.
The Independent’s Josh Marcus explains:
Trump’s ‘made in USA’ bitcoin promise not based ‘in reality’
Trump has promised to make US the ‘crypto capital of the planet’
Elon Musk’s spending bill antics derailed bipartisan efforts to criminalize pornographic deepfakes
The first-ever federal legislation to criminalize pornographic deepfakes was attached to a broader bipartisan government funding bill with support from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress.
Elon Musk’s X platform was even involved in lobby efforts to support the legislation, including other actions on child safety.
It was virtually guaranteed to pass Congress.
But Musk’s pressure campaign against that government funding bill prompted Republicans to strike that language from the measure altogether. Efforts to revive the spending bill did not include it.
Democrats and Republicans have a common enemy: pornographic ‘deepfakes’
Ted Cruz and AOC are unlikely allies forcing Big Tech to take down nonconsenual images, but Elon Musk’s antics derailed their efforts, Alex Woodward reports
Marianne Williamson enters race for DNC chair: We need to ‘create the energy’ to counter Trump
The race to lead the Democratic Party in the wake of Kamala Harris’s election defeat expanded on Thursday as author and two-time candidate Marianne Williamson announced that she was seeking the role.
The Independent’s John Bowden has more:
Marianne Williamson enters the race for DNC chair
Williamson joins former governor, state party leaders in crowded race to lead Democrats after Trump drubbing
Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt reveal they’re engaged
Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt are engaged.
Hannity, 62, proposed to Earhardt, 48, over Christmas at their home church after years of long-distance dating, according to an announcement by Fox News Thursday.
”We are overjoyed and so thankful to our families for all of their love and support during this wonderful time in our lives,” the happy couple told the network.
Read the full story.
Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt reveal they’re engaged
Hannity popped the question at their home church over the holiday, the couple announced
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has some critics worried. Others are ready for a fight
Some of Donald Trump’s most prominent critics are bracing for impact.
“By going after me they’re just going to give me a platform,” George Conway told The Independent.
More from The Independent’s White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg on the critics preparing for a fight:
Donald Trump critics ready for his White House return and possible retribution
While some critics brace for Donald Trump’s return to the White House, others are ready for a fight.
Haley reignites Ramaswamy feud after he bashes American work culture: ‘There’s nothing wrong with US workers’
Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley tore into her old rival Vivek Ramaswamy on Thursday, after the entrepreneur and Trump administration adviser wrote a lengthy takedown arguing mainstream U.S. culture doesn’t encourage science and technology excellence, leading companies to hire foreign-born and first-generation workers.
“There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture,” Haley wrote in response on X. “All you have to do is look at the border and see how many want what we have. We should be investing and prioritizing in Americans, not foreign workers.”
The pair previously clashed when both were candidates during the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
Ramaswamy, who is a first-generation Indian-American, was accused in 2023 of attempting to use a racist dogwhistle by criticizing Haley using her maiden name, Nimarata Nikki Randhawa, and suggesting she was being untruthful about her own Indian family background.
Read on for all the details.
Haley re-ups Ramaswamy feud after he slams America: ‘Nothing wrong with US workers’
Back-and-forth comes after Elon Musk and Ramaswamy weighed in on state of U.S. workforce and culture
How toy stores could get caught in a Trump trade war
The price of toys may soar if Donald Trump carries through on his vow to impose exorbitant international tariffs, leading to the closure of many independent retailers.
According to industry group The Toy Association, nearly 80 percent of U.S. toys are manufactured in China, one of the countries the President-elect has threatened to target with immediate charges on exports.
Trump has said he would impose a 10 percent universal tariff on foreign imports, and last month floated the idea of an additional 60 to 100 percent tariff on goods specifically from China.
But experts have warned that the tariffs are likely to have a negative effect on shoppers and the economy. Though the levy is paid by the importer, much of the tax is ultimately handed off to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Mike Bedigan reports.
Toy stores could go bust under Trump’s proposed international tariffs
Nearly 80 percent of U.S. toys are manufactured in China, one of the countries the president-elect has threatened to target with immediate charges on imports
Democratic congressman calls for decriminalizing sex work after bombshell Matt Gaetz report
A Democratic congressman is calling for the United States to decriminalize sex work nationwide in response to damning findings released by the House Ethics Committee about Matt Gaetz.
Illinois Rep. Shri Thanedar said to the government show work to “maximize sex workers’ legal protection and their ability to exercise other rights, including unionization, justice, and health care. Decriminalization and regulation would prevent trafficking and exploitation of minors.”
More from The Independent’s John Bowden:
Democrat congressman calls for decriminalizing sex work after House report on Gaetz
Illinois congressman says victims would be empowered to speak out if law changes
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