Mon, December 9, 2024

by: The New York Times

The Fall of Assad in Syria: How It Happened and What Comes Next

The main rebel group behind Assad's ouster is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, whose name means Organization for the Liberation of the Levant. It began to come together at the beginning of Syria's civil war, when jihadists formed the Nusra Front to fight pro-Assad forces with hundreds of insurgent and suicide attacks.

by: Detroit News

Trump has flip-flopped on abortion policy. His appointees may offer clues to what happens next

Trump's cabinet picks offer a preview of how his administration could handle abortion after he repeatedly flip-flopped on the issue on the campaign trail.

by: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

International Institute of St. Louis' CEO is out

International Institute president and CEO Arrey Obenson's last day with the organization was Friday, according to an internal email obtained by the Post-Dispatch.

by: Buffalo News

And then there were 3: Council Member Rasheed Wyatt enters Buffalo mayor's race

Wyatt becomes the third candidate to officially declare his candidacy after State Sen. Sean Ryan and former Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield Jr., who both threw their hats in the ring last month.

by: Smithsonian Magazine

'Polarization' Is Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2024

The winning word beat out finalists such as "demure," "pander," "totality," "fortnight," "allision" and "democracy"

by: AOL

Ghana becomes record fifth African nation to see opposition victory this year

This year has been an "annus horribilis" for those governments in sub-Saharan Africa that have had to face voters at the ballot box. In almost every election held in the region this year under reasonably democratic conditions, the governing party either lost a significant number of seats or lost power completely.

by: BBC

Rachel Reeves signals wider reset of EU relations

Closer relations between the UK and the EU will boost economic growth, Rachel Reeves will tell European finance leaders on Monday. In the first address by a British chancellor to the Eurogroup since Brexit, Reeves will say resetting relations means "breaking down barriers to trade" as well as helping "businesses sell in each other's markets".

by: Journalist's Resource

If you report on US colleges and universities, get to know these 19 higher education databases

We spotlight free higher education databases that offer information on U.S. student demographics, campus safety, faculty pay and other topics.

by: Yahoo

Syrian PM says government still works, but UN official says public sector is at a 'complete halt'

Syria's prime minister said Monday that most cabinet ministers were still at work after rebels overthrew President Bashar Assad, but some state workers failed to return to their jobs, and a United Nations official said the country's public sector had come "to a complete and abrupt halt.

by: The New York Times

Supreme Court Turns Down Cases on Admissions, Gender Identity and Guns

Conservative justices voiced objections and concerns about the court's failures to take up a series of cases on major social controversies.

by: Sydney Morning Herald

Voters back migration cuts as Dutton retreats on target

The Coalition is standing by its stated goal of reducing permanent migration after scrapping a separate pledge to cut the number of net arrivals to 160,000 a year as an exclusive survey shows strong majority support for a lower intake.

by: Mother Jones

How Kash Patel Became a Useful Idiot for Vladimir Putin

With Donald Trump tapping Kash Patel, the MAGA provocateur, conspiracy theory monger, and grifter, to be FBI director, it's time to revisit the Trump-Russia scandal. I know many folks think this is old news.

by: CNN

'Someone who sees enemies everywhere': How Kash Patel's years as a government lawyer fueled his disdain for Washington elites

Years before he was Donald Trump's pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel was a midlevel Justice Department lawyer who once drew the ire of a Texas judge who described Patel as being precisely the kind of federal bureaucrat he has vowed to weed out in his crusade against the so-called deep state.

by: The Independent

Trump's controversial nominees Patel, Gabbard and Hegseth on Capitol Hill in attempt to win over senators: Live

President-elect promises to free Capitol rioters and says representatives that investigated him 'should go to jail' in Meet the Presss interview with Kristen Welker

by: WESA

Meet Pennsylvania's 2024 electors and learn about the Electoral College

Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes. Like most states, Pennsylvania awards all of them to the winner of the popular vote. Trump won 3.5 million votes to Democrat Kamala Harris' 3.4 million, giving him all of Pennsylvania's electoral votes. In total, Trump won 312 electoral votes to Harris' 226.

by: The Mirror

Downfall of 'rat of Damascus' Assad is a 'humiliation' for Russia and Iran, says David Lammy

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Syrian tyrant Bashar al Assad had 'the blood of countless innocents on his hands' who had fled to Moscow 'with his tail between his legs'

by: London Evening Standard

Government accused of 'tinkering' with housebuilding permissions

A Conservative shadow housing minister has suggested the Government is "tinkering" with planning decision-making, instead of "getting developers developing and builders building" new homes.

by: CNN

Who is the leader of Syria's rebels and what does he want?

The US State Department is advertising an up to 10-million-dollar reward for information leading to the capture of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, who the agency first designated as a terrorist more than a decade ago,

by: The Grio

Rep. Clyburn has a lot to get off his chest about Trump and the future of American democracy

by: Wall Street Journal

Biden Is Ceding Presidential Influence to Trump, and Some Democrats Are Furious

The president-elect doesn't take office until Jan. 20, but he's negotiating with foreign leaders and many are taking cues from his comments.

by: Associated Press

Advancing the power of facts

Discover a world of unbiased journalism, in-depth analysis, and real-time updates from every corner of the globe.

by: The Financial Times

Politics class: Keir Starmer to take aim at Whitehall with new UK 'mission' targets

Both examination boards require Politics students to make an in-depth study of two Prime Ministers, one from 1945-97 and one since 1997. You are asked to assess their ability to control events and policy. If you choose Keir Starmer as your post-1997 example, you need to start collecting material and reflecting on his performance.

by: CNN

Trump lays out sweeping early acts on deportation and January 6 pardons, says Cheney and others 'should go to jail'

President-elect Donald Trump previewed immigration actions he plans to take in his first days in office and outlined how he expects his Justice Department to handle investigations into his political opponents and the criminal cases against January 6 rioters in his first major television interview since winning November's presidential election.

by: USA Today

Counselor to the president pick Alina Habba was scolded by judge in Trump's defamation trial

Alina Habba is the latest in a series of former defense lawyers to President-elect Trump who have been selected for the new administration.

by: Fox News

Democrat Ritchie Torres' torrent of attacks against own party fuels primary showdown buzz in New York

"Those who have government jobs who aren't focused on their jobs, and are focused on an election almost two years off, I would think their constituents would have a problem with that," she said. Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital ...

by: National Post

'Genuinely great' Lara Trump to step down as co-chair of Republican National Committee

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.

by: The Atlantic

A New Bracero Program Is Not the Solution

Immigration officials called it "drying out the wetbacks." The growers enrolled them in the so-called Bracero Program, the Mexican agricultural guest-worker program that had been in place since the early 1940s.

by: USA Today

The world won't wait: Trump's foreign policy takeover begins, from Syria to Ukraine

Joe Biden is still president, but the world's leaders and its crises are knocking on Donald Trump's door. The contrast from last time is striking.

by: The Atlantic

Even the Koch Brothers Weren't This Brazen

Marc Andreessen has been feeling pretty good since Election Day, and at the end of November, he went on The Joe Rogan Experience to say as much. Sitting in the podcast studio, grinning, Andreessen told Rogan that he was "very happy" about the election and that it is now "Morning in America"—directly invoking the famous Ronald Reagan campaign ad.

by: Sky

UK to reduce support for Georgia after 'shocking scenes of violence' at EU protests

Protests broke out at the end of November when the Georgian ruling party suspended its talks on joining the EU after the European Parliament rejected its election result.

by: MSN

Germany and Austria freeze Syrian refugee claims

Germany and Austria have frozen Syrian asylum applications in the wake of the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime. All asylum requests from Syrian citizens will be put on hold until there is more clarity on political developments in the country,

by: MSN

Donald Trump Says Prince William Said King Charles Is 'Fighting Very Hard' and He 'Loves' Wife Kate Middleton

The president-elect had candid things to say about his conversation with the Prince of Wales President-elect Donald Trump says he had a telling conversation with Prince William about King Charles and Kate Middleton following a difficult year in which the King and Kate were each diagnosed with cancer.

by: MSN

Trump Envoy Engages Netanyahu and Qatari PM to Secure Gaza Ceasefire Before Inauguration

President-elect Donald Trump's incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has initiated diplomatic efforts to establish a Gaza ceasefire and facilitate hostage releases before the January 20 inauguration.

by: MSN

Syria's Assad and his family are in Moscow after Russia granted them asylum, say Russian news agencies

Syria's Bashar al-Assad and his family have arrived in Russia and have been granted asylum by the Russian authorities, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, citing a Kremlin source. The Interfax news agency quoted the unnamed source as saying: "President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow.

by: MSN

'What's going on?': Why the government's deficit projections remain a mystery

Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson talks to Quebec correspondent Antoine Trepanier about the strange delay of the government's fall economic statement, which will update the country's deficit projections.

by: MSN

Americans face challenges as health insurance costs rise and delays mount

Jen Watson, a 41-year-old mother in Federal Way, Washington, has worked for years with her doctor to find the right medications to deal with her multiple chronic illnesses, which include epilepsy and fibromyalgia.

by: The Hill

More Americans say health care is government responsibility: Gallup

Sixty-two percent of Americans say it's the federal government's responsibility to ensure everyone has health care coverage, a new survey from Gallup found. The figure is the highest it's been in

by: RepublicWorld

How US President-Elect Donald Trump Is Reshaping The Federal Government

Donald Trump may prove to be in a class of his own, and he appears more interested in beating the federal government into submission than recalibrating it.

by: MSN

This Week in Louisiana Politics: Taxes, Meta and Social Security

On This Week in Louisiana Politics, Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law a number of major changes to the state tax code, including a cut in income taxes and a rise in sales taxes.

by: MSN

Lara Trump stepping down as RNC co-chair and addressing speculation about Florida Senate seat

What she does next could shape Republican politics, given her elevated political profile ... "I really don't think we've seen movement like this in our federal government since our country's founding in many ways," she said.

by: MSN

Trump lackey's 'deep state' conspiracies rooted in courtroom dressing-down by judge

President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the FBI, former House GOP intelligence staffer and Pentagon chief of staff Kash Patel, is notorious for his embrace of far-right conspiracy theories and his paranoia about the "Deep State" being out to get conservatives,

by: Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The debate over Australia's energy future

Sarah Ferguson presents Australia's premier daily current affairs program, delivering agenda-setting public affairs journalism and interviews that hold the powerful to account. Plus political analysis from Laura Tingle.

by: MSN

Assad's Fall After 24-Year Rule Creates Power Vacuum in Middle East

As Bashar Al-Assad fled to Moscow, the looters started raiding the presidential palace and people took to the streets of Damascus to celebrate his demise. The Syrian president had tried to hang on until the bitter end,

by: Slate

Why New Sanctuary City Laws Won't Be Enough

Many immigration advocates are celebrating the Los Angeles City Council's unanimous passage of a "sanctuary city" ordinance on Wednesday.

by: MSN

US Supreme Court rejects school gender-identity policy challenge

The U.S. Supreme Court, turning away another case involving transgender issues, declined on Monday to hear a bid to revive a lawsuit against a public school district in Wisconsin over a policy to support gender identity of students that some parents challenged on religious rights and other grounds.

by: MSN

DOGE has exposed the hypocrisy of those who rail against unelected bureaucrats

Over the last year, a number of very wealthy Americans have argued that the problem with the federal government is that it is full of unelected decision-makers working without authorization from Congress and the Constitution.

by: MSN

The SNP Government Budget is a missed opportunity to transform Scotland

In his column for the Daily Record, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar criticises last week's SNP Government Budget.

by: MSN

Tonga PM Sovaleni resigns ahead of no confidence vote, government says

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni has resigned "for the good of the country and moving Tonga forward", the Pacific Island nation's parliament said on Monday. Media reported the resignation in parliament shortly before midday came ahead of a motion for a vote of no confidence expected to be put to the assembly.

Ex-Trump solicitor general representing Chinese social media giant in case against US government

From 2017-2020, attorney Noel J. Francisco served as solicitor general during the first Trump Administration. Francisco went on to join a major law firm, Jones Day, after leaving the White House in July 2020.

The article discusses how Ted Cruz, a former U.S. Solicitor General under President Trump, is now representing TikTok, a Chinese-owned social media company, in a lawsuit against the U.S. government. The lawsuit challenges a law that requires TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. operations or face a potential ban due to national security concerns over data privacy and potential Chinese government influence. Cruz, alongside other lawyers, argues that the legislation violates the First Amendment rights of TikTok's American users and represents an unconstitutional bill of attainder, which is a legislative act that punishes a specific person or entity without a judicial trial. This case marks a significant legal battle over national security, free speech, and the regulation of foreign technology companies in the U.S.

Read the Full MSN Article at:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/ex-trump-solicitor-general-representing-chinese-social-media-giant-in-case-against-us-government/ar-AA1vy3Ck


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