Trump teases U.S. expansion as Matt Gaetz fires back at explosive report: Live

More than 1,500 people who have been criminally charged in connection with a mob’s assault on the Capitol — fuelled by his bogus narrative that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and stolen from him — are now awaiting potential pardons for alleged crimes live-streamed to millions of viewers.

Trump could issue mass amnesty to hundreds of defendants as soon as his first day in office, maintaining that even violent offenders could be granted clemency on a “case-by-case” basis.

Here are some of their stories:

With Donald Trump and Elon Musk dominating the headlines, we’ve heard a little less these days from Vice President Kamala Harris.

So what has she been up to?

On Christmas Eve, at least, she and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff checked out homemade ornaments from Washington-area students.

People often say to take Trump seriously but not literally.

It seemed on Monday that Denmark was doing both, announcing a funding package to defend Greenland worth at least $1.5 billion.

The timing, however, was apparently coincidental.

Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told the BBC the announcement falling as Trump toyed with somehow buying Greenland was an “irony of fate.”

Katie Hawkinson has the details.

The discovery by a local newspaper of a “confused” Texas Republican congresswoman living in an assisted care facility after she dropped out of sight last month has triggered concerns about aging lawmakers clinging to their powerful roles in the face of fears about diminishing competence.

The Independent’s John Bowden reports:

In the final weeks of his administration, Joe Biden has sought to shore up his criminal justice legacy, issuing pardons and commutations to reformed offenders, while removing most people from federal death row.

However, in another key area, policing, the Biden administration’s progress could stall once Trump takes over.

During the last four years, the Biden administration has secured just one federal oversight agreement, known as a consent decree, with a department investigated for misconduct.

The DOJ has investigated 12 departments this administration, but so far only this month’s agreement with Louisville has translated into more long-lasting, binding reform steps.

Trump, who has frequently called for harsher, law-and-order-style policing, and who has been critical of past police reform efforts, is unlikely to do as much as Biden on this front, leaving the future status of these agreements in doubt.

Biden also failed to pass a long-sought police reform bill after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020.

Here’s more on Biden’s death penalty policy as the administration comes to a close.

The Biden administration has spent weeks trying to assure the public there’s nothing to fear about drones and aircraft spotted buzzing over New Jersey and other states.

On Christmas Eve, it highlighted a different kind of drone, taking viewers on an aerial tour through the White House’s Christmas decorations.

It may not quell the raging conspiracy theories about the drones, but it is still a pretty cool video.

Watch below.

As President Joe Biden winds down his presidency, Trump is behaving as though he is already in office, writes Rhian Lubin.

Within the last week, Trump launched a campaign against last week’s temporary bill and issued threats against the Panama Canal and Greenland.

The state of Texas is paying an estimated $100,000 to install on blunt and at-times graphic billboards across Mexico and Central America in the coming weeks in the hopes of deterring future illegal immigration.

The Independent’s Josh Marcus reports:

As a sitting member of Congress, Matt Gaetz paid for sex with a 17-year-old high school student, used cocaine and ecstasy, and spent thousands of dollars on sex- and drug-fueled partying, according to a bombshell report from the House Ethics Committee.

Monday’s report found “substantial evidence” the now-former Republican congressman “regularly” paid for sex and met women through a “sugar dating” website through a former associate who has since pleaded guilty to sex trafficking.

We combed through the report.