Trump to attend Army-Navy game with key allies and cabinet picks as he vows to scrap daylight savings: Live
Donald Trump and JD Vance to watch 125th Army-Navy college football game with reported guests Pete Hegseth, Ron DeSantis, and Daniel Penny in Maryland at 3 p.m. Eastern time
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.US President-elect Donald Trump will attend the Army-Navy football game today alongside a collection of allies, cabinet picks, and controversial figures.
JD Vance, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, Elon Musk, Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, and Daniel Penny will reportedly join Trump.
Penny was recently acquitted of a homicide charge over a 2023 incident in which he put a homeless man who was yelling at passengers into a chokehold for nearly six minutes, killing him. Penny has become a cause célèbre on the right since.
Penny is not the only controversial guest. Hegseth has faced accusations of rape and alcohol abuse, which he denies.
The 3 p.m. ET matchup at Northwest Field in Landover, Maryland, is the 125th iteration of the famous college football rivalry between the military service academies.
Meanwhile, Trump has vowed to scrap Daylight Saving Time (DST) and is reportedly considering scrapping a car crash reporting requirement that Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk strongly opposes.
And officials across the East Coast are expressing frustration over continued mysterious drone spottings in the airspace above New Jersey.
Trump set to scrap car-crash regulation Musk hates: Report
Trump invites Daniel Penny, acquitted in NYC subway chokehold, to join his suite at Army-Navy football game
Larry Kudlow awkwardly does the ‘Trump dance’ while gushing over ‘DOGE brothers’ on Fox News
Nevada ‘fake electors’ hit with fresh charges months after case was dismissed
There was a poison pill for trans Americans in the defense bill. It’ll happen again
Why Bezos and Zuckerberg are suddenly getting so friendly with Trump
Jack Schlossberg accuses cousin, RFK Jr, of being a ‘Russian spy’
The grandson of John F Kennedy has claimed his cousin, Robert F Kennedy Jr, who recently became intertwined with Trump, is a “Russian spy”.
Schlossberg, a 31-year-old Democrat, has for months mocked Kennedy, a 70-year-old Democrat-turned-independent, for his political involvement with Trump and insinuated he has ties to Moscow.
But on Wednesday, Schlossberg claimed Kennedy is “so obviously a Russian spy” in response to an Axios article that alleged Kennedy wants his daughter-in-law to be part of the CIA to uncover the truth behind JFK’s assassination.
“You all think I’m joking,” Schlossberg wrote in his post before adding four “ha”s.
Here’s more from Ariana Baio.
JFK’s grandson Jack Schlossberg accuses cousin, RFK Jr, of being a ‘Russian spy’
Schlossberg, the grandson of former president John F. Kennedy, insinuated his cousin had ties to Moscow in social media posts
Who is Don Jr’s rumored new girlfriend Bettina Anderson?
Donald Trump Jr, the eldest son of the president-elect, has been spotted holding hands with Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, though he has not publicly called off his engagement to former political commentator and future US ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle.
Trump Jr, 46, attended Anderson’s 38th birthday party in Palm Beach, Florida, earlier this week and photos published by The Daily Mail captured them in an unguarded moment.
Here’s Ariana Baio with everything we know about Anderson amid the rumors.
Who is Don Jr’s rumored new girlfriend Bettina Anderson?
Eldest Trump son was photographed holding hands with Anderson recently
Trump discusses Melania’s plans for his next term
While she appeared with her husband as he rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, the former first lady was notably absent from the campaign trail this year, so much so that at one point missing persons posters and banners asking “Where’s Melania?” cropped up.
Her absence has sparked speculation over whether she wants to return to the White House this time around.
The president-elect addressed that question on Thursday.
Kelly Rissman has this on what he had to say.
Trump provides update on Melania’s plans during his next term in Time interview
Last month insiders said that it was unlikely the former first lady would return to the White House for Trump’s second term
Trump’s team has reportedly asked about closing a bank regulator
Donald Trump’s transition team has reportedly looked at ways to shrink or eliminate banking oversight – a move that could have dramatic impacts on everyday Americans and protecting their money.
In interviews with candidates to oversee the banking sector, Trump’s advisers and officials from his new advisory Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have asked if the president-elect can abolish the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC), according to The Wall Street Journal.
Trump’s team has also asked if the FDIC could be absorbed into the Treasury Department.
Any move to eliminate the the body would require congressional approval.
But, if it were to happen, it would be a massive shake-up in the industry.
Here’s more from Alex Lang.
Trump’s team has reportedly asked about closing a bank regulator
Any move to eliminate the FDIC would require Congressional approval
‘No evidence’ undercover FBI agents joined Jan 6, watchdog finds
None of the thousands of people who joined protests in Washington, DC, 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 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.
Here’s a full report from Alex Woodward.
‘No evidence’ undercover FBI agents joined Capitol riots, watchdog finds
More than two dozen FBI confidential sources were in Washington on January 6
Democratic senator warns Trump ‘compromised’ in Middle East
Connecticut’s Chris Murphy issued this warning on MSNBC after Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law, Massad Boulos, was named the president-elect’s pick as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs and in the same week Eric Trump unveiled a coming Trump Tower project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Here’s Josh Marcus on Boulos’s apparently overstated CV.
Trump’s Middle East adviser is ‘small-time truck salesman,’ not a billionaire: Report
Boulos helped Trump secure Arab-American votes, but his resume presented by Trump’s transition team seems to be largely fabrication, according to an examination of education and business records
Adam Kinzinger says Trump is threatening Jan 6 committee members because they ‘embarrassed’ him
Speaking to Kaitlan Collins on CNN’s The Source last night, the former Republican congressman said the president-elect has started threatening the likes of Liz Cheney and himself because he is “embarrassed” by their House panel’s findings about the events surrounding the Capitol riot.
“We were investigating, as per the request from Congress to do that, we obviously came up with answers that embarrassed Trump. He was embarrassed by it,” Kinzinger said.
“You know, sorry to embarrass you, Donald, but that’s, that’s, that’s what we’re tasked with, was the truth, and history books will record this as the truth. You want to threaten to throw us in jail for that?”
He also insisted he was not remotely frightened by Trump’s threats.
The same man, clearly enjoying his MAGA notoriety, has meanwhile been taunting Elon Musk’s DOGE accomplice Vivek Ramaswamy on Musk’s own platform.
Trump to meet with Pete Hegseth at Army-Navy game on Saturday
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
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
Mike Whitaker, who has led a tougher enforcement policy against Boeing since a panel blew off a company jet in January, will step down next month to let the president-elect name his choice to lead the agency
First Zuckerberg, now Bezos: Amazon to donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund
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
Online retail giant’s founder Jeff Bezos joins Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg in making a generous donation to president-elect
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments