Trump names Karoline Leavitt as press secretary: Live updates

James Liddell reports.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Tom Watling reports:

Sir Alex Younger, former chief of MI6 from 2014 to 2020, believes both the incoming president and his Russian counterpart overestimate their ability to influence the other.

“I think Trump overestimates his ability to force Putin into a land swap where Putin clearly wants a lot more, when he feels that he is winning and when he has to show [the Russian people] a lot more if he is to justify the appalling sacrifice he’s imposed,” he says. “Trump is underestimating the challenge and overestimating his influence.”

Continue reading…

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and environmentalist, for years gained a loyal and fierce following with his biting condemnations of how the nation’s public health agencies do business.

And that’s put him on a direct collision course with some of the 80,000 scientists, researchers, doctors and other officials who work for the Department of Health and Human Services, especially with President-elect Donald Trump tapping him to head the agency.

If confirmed, Kennedy will control the world’s largest public health agency, and its $1.7 trillion budget.

The agency’s reach is massive. It provides health insurance for nearly half of the country — poor, disabled and older Americans. It oversees research of vaccines, diseases and cures. It regulates the medications found in medicine cabinets and inspects the foods that end up in cupboards.

A look at Kennedy’s comments about some of the agencies that fall within the HHS arena, and how he has said he plans to shake them up:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released an update on the offensive and racist text messages sent to African American and Black communities across the country after the election, saying they have spread to Hispanic and LGBT+ communities.

A new statement was released on Friday:

The FBI is aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to African American and Black communities around the country and is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter. The reports are not identical and vary in their specific language, but many say the recipient has been selected to pick cotton on a plantation.

The text message recipients have now expanded to high school students, as well as both the Hispanic and LGBTQIA+ communities. Some recipients reported being told they were selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp. The messages have also been reported as being received via email communication.

Although we have not received reports of violent acts stemming from these offensive messages, we are evaluating all reported incidents and engaging with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. We are also sharing information with our law enforcement partners and community, academia, and faith leaders.

Recipients of messages consistent with those described are encouraged to report the details to the FBI by phone at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or online at tips.fbi.gov.

As always, we encourage members of the public to remain vigilant and report threats of violence or anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement immediately, call their local FBI office, or submit a report to tips.fbi.gov.

Here’s Katie Hawkinson with our initial reporting on the matter:

Alex Woodward writes:

There is no secret plan or conspiracy theory at work; putting an enemy of the “deep state” in charge of it, creating an agency named after a meme, naming widely loathed congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general — it’s the trolling as politics that Trump’s movement inspired. It’s an absurd attack on the institutions that Trump despises, and they’re laughing all the way to the White House. It’s what he campaigned on, and he’s fulfilling his campaign promises.

Continue reading…

Donald Trump has appointed Karoline Leavitt as his White House Press Secretary.

Leavitt served as national press secretary for his campaign.

“Karoline Leavitt did a phenomenal job as the National Press Secretary on my Historic Campaign, and I am pleased to announce she will serve as White House Press Secretary,” Trump said in a statement. “Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator. I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American People as we, Make America Great Again.”

Two people in former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s inner orbit must comply with their subpoenas in the defamation case as Giuliani’s deadline to hand over his belongings closes in, a judge ordered.

A federal judge in Giuliani’s case against Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss — a mother-daughter pair of election workers he owes $148 million for defaming — ordered Maria Ryan, Giuliani’s business partner, and Ted Goodman, his spokesperson, on Thursday to respond to subpoenas requesting information on their financial ties to the former mayor. Ryan and Goodman were served on August 5.

The order comes weeks after the cash-strapped former mayor revealed that he, Ryan, and Goodman formed a new business as recently as August 30 and he is storing some of his property in a Long Island storage facility under Ryan’s name.

Kelly Rissman has been following the case.

Kelly Rissman explains.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.