Trump claims Liz Cheney ‘could be in a lot of trouble’ over Jan 6 probe and makes ex-NFL star ambassador: Live
President-elect taunts ex-House Capitol riot committee member on Truth Social and appoints Herschel Walker as top US diplomat to the Bahamas
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has claimed ex-Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney “could be in a lot of trouble” after a House GOP subcommittee called for her to be investigated by the Justice Department over her stewardship of the panel that examined the Capitol riot of January 6 2021, accusing her of witness tampering by “colluding” with Cassidy Hutchinson on her testimony.
The president-elect posted the taunt on his Truth Social platform, thanking Congressman Barry Loudermilk, who led the subcommittee and produced the interim report, for “a job well done”.
Cheney herself has already rubbished Loudermilk’s report as “a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth”.
She added, witheringly: “No reputable lawyer, legislator, or judge would take this seriously.”
Meanwhile, Trump has announced two more nominees to his incoming administration, naming Florida philanthropist Nicole McGraw as the the next US ambassador to Croatia and, more surprisingly, ex-NFL star and failed Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker as ambassador to the Bahamas.
The Republican further used his social media account to warn Senate Republicans against agreeing a deal with Democrats on his nominees to top cabinet positions.
“I will make my appointments of Very Qualified People in January when I am sworn in,” he declared.
Trump-backed lawmaker roasted after apparently mistaking Star Wars prop for captured drone
Trump backs idea to make the Postal Service – which is included in the Constitution – private
Trump sues Des Moines Register and top pollster for survey released the day before the election
Judge refuses to toss out bribery charge against NYC mayor
Senators warn that Pete Hegseth’s hearings will echo Brett Kavanaugh’s with fervor from both sides
Senate Republicans fear that the confirmation hearings for secretary of defense nominee Pete Hegseth will be a repeat of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s heated 2018 hearings.
Both Kavanaugh and Hegseth have been accused of sexual misconduct and have rejected the allegations. Hegseth’s plan to release his accuser from a nondisclosure agreement is setting up the hearing to be filled with tension and fervor from both Democrats and Republicans.
Hegseth is set to push ahead with his nomination despite warnings from Senate Republicans that he’s likely to face a frenzy of uncomfortable questions about the sexual misconduct allegations and the claims against him of excessive drinking and financial mismanagement.
Read more:
Senators warn that Pete Hegseth’s hearings will echo Brett Kavanaugh’s
Texas Republican Senator tells secretary of defense nominee confirmation hearings will be ‘miserable experience’
Trump insiders reveal candid details about Melania and Barron’s relationship
Incoming First Lady Melania Trump is devoted to ensuring her 18-year-old son, Barron Trump, is happy and healthy which will likely make her role in the White House less visible than other first ladies, insiders say.
Melania, 54, strives for “open communication” with her son, who recently began attending college at New York University, to help him adjust to the spotlight, two sources familiar with the Trump family told People.
“Melania worries about the hate in the country and how it falls on her son, who is innocent of any of this,” a social source told the magazine.
Read more:
Trump insiders reveal candid details about Melania and Barron’s relationship
Melania is expected to deviate from a more traditional first lady role when Donald Trump enters the White House on January 20
Comment: Why Elon Musk should get every cent of his $56bn Tesla pay package
The moment my children became interested in the US election was not when Taylor Swift declared her support for Kamala Harris, it was when Elon Musk appeared alongside Donald Trump.
They’re late teenagers – young adults – and Musk is their hero. It’s not just that he’s the world’s richest man, although that adds considerable lustre. It’s because he breaks boundaries, not least with his attempts to award himself a $56bn pay package, compensation that a judge this week ruled excessive.
He’s also the future, their future. They admire the Tesla – ‘faster than a motorbike from traffic lights’ one said to me recently. They can take or leave X, it’s not their network. And the space rocket reversing into a dock, as neatly as any car – that video has been replayed in our household countless times.
Read more:
Why Elon Musk should get every cent of his $56 billion pay package
As Musk’s record-breaking Tesla pay day is back in the news, Chris Blackhurst says we shouldn’t be too hasty to agree with the judge saying he shouldn’t be awarded such a huge sum. Just ask the generation that lauds his achievements
Why is tech giant SoftBank investing over $100 billion in the US?
Japanese tycoon Masayoshi Son and President-elect Donald Trump have announced plans for technology and telecoms giant SoftBank Group to invest $100 billion in projects in the United States over the coming four years.
Trump said the investments in building artificial intelligence infrastructure would create 100,000 jobs, twice the 50,000 promised when Son pledged $50 billion in U.S. investments after Trump’s victory in 2016.
Son, a founder and CEO of SoftBank Group, is known for making bold choices that sometimes pay big and sometimes don’t. SoftBank has investments in dozens of Silicon Valley startups, along with big companies like semiconductor design company Arm and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The stock market rally and craze for AI has boosted the value of its assets, but it’s unclear whether its investments will create that many jobs.
Who is Masayoshi Son?
Why is tech giant SoftBank investing over $100 billion in the US?
Japanese tycoon Masayoshi Son has joined President-elect Donald Trump in announcing plans by technology and telecoms giant SoftBank Group to invest $100 billion in projects in the United States
‘We live to fight another day’
After losing the ranking member spot on the House Oversight Committee to Rep. Gerry Connolly, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on BlueSky: “Tried my best. Sorry I couldn’t pull it through everyone - we live to fight another day.”
TikTok ban in numbers: Why the block could change the world even more than we thought
After amassing more than 170 million users in the country in less than seven years, TikTok is now facing an outright ban in the US.
On 19 January, just one day before Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated as president, the country is set to become the latest to completely ban the Chinese-owned app.
TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is still attempting to reverse the ruling, and has three potential ways to avoid the nationwide ban. The first is to ask the US Supreme Court to intervene, which it did on Monday. The second is to convince Trump to reverse the decision when he comes into office, with TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew reportedly meeting with the incoming president on Monday. And the third – though this appears increasingly unlikely – ByteDance can abide by the ruling and sell TikTok to a US-based owner.
Read more:
TikTok is about to be banned – it could change the world even more than we thought
More than 3 billion people are already blocked from using the app, writes Anthony Cuthbertson
Live: Immigration activists call on Congress to oppose Trump deportation plans
Don Jr insists he will always ‘care for’ Kimberly Guilfoyle
Donald Trump Jr has said he will always “care for” Kimberly Guilfoyle and that the couple retain “a special bond” amid reports that they have ended their four-year engagement and parted ways.
While the couple has still not officially confirmed the split, the president-elect’s eldest son, 46, was recently pictured with Florida socialite Bettina Anderson celebrating her 38th birthday at Buccan, an exclusive Palm Beach restaurant, and enjoying a romantic evening stroll along the beach.
The photos, published by The Daily Mail, coincided with Guilfoyle, 55, being picked by President-elect Donald Trump to be his next US ambassador to Greece, leading to jokes from the likes of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel that she had effectively been exiled to Athens to avoid an embarrassing break-up.
Now, Don Jr has told Page Six he and Guilfoyle “will never stop caring for each other” – though he stopped short of confirming their relationship is over.
“Kimberly and I will never stop caring for each other and will always keep a special bond,” he said.
Don Jr insists he will always ‘care for’ Kimberly Guilfoyle
President-elect’s eldest son has still not officially confirmed the split but was pictured last week with Florida socialite Bettina Anderson
US embassy damaged in Vanuatu earthquake
The US embassy was damaged Tuesday in an earthquake striking Port Vila, the capital of the South Pacific Ocean nation Vanuatu.
The 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck at about 12.53 p.m. and there were following “aftershocks,” an embassy alert said.
“There are also reports of landslides in the Port Vila area. People are advised to avoid entering buildings as they may be damaged or unstable,” the embassy added. “The U.S. Embassy in Port Vila has sustained considerable damage during the earthquake and is closed until further notice.”
Electoral college certification today
Presidential electors are meeting in all 50 states and Washington D.C. to ratify President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
In a mostly ceremonial voting process, 538 electoral votes will be handed down. Thirteen of the electors are Republicans who took part in the fake electors plot in 2020, and some of them face criminal charges.
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