Meta Deletes Trans and Nonbinary Messenger Themes  —  Meta deleted nonbinary and trans themes for its Messenger app this week, around the same time that the company announced it would change its rules to allow users to declare that LGBTQ+ people are “mentally ill,” 404 Media has learned.

Live Updates: Trump to Be Sentenced in N.Y. Criminal Case  —  The proceedings are set to begin at 9:30 a.m. in Manhattan.  Though the president-elect is expected to avoid jail time, his sentencing on 34 counts will formalize his status as a felon and make him the first to carry that distinction into the White House.

Biden Issues Sweeping Deportation Protections Before Trump Takes Office  —  The move allows hundreds of thousands of people from Sudan, Ukraine and Venezuela to stay in the country temporarily.  —  The Biden administration on Friday issued sweeping extensions of deportation protections …

Will Trump Just Let California Burn?  —  Right now, as Los Angeles deals with a horrendous wildfire emergency, Donald Trump is just an extremely unhelpful critic of the people trying to save lives and homes.  The torrent of abuse and misinformation he is spewing is unfortunate but not calamitous.

Exclusive: Meta kills DEI programs … - The moves come just three days after Meta ended many of its efforts to fact-check and police speech on Facebook, Instagram and Threads.  — The announcement also follows a host of public moves by tech companies and executives to align with the politics …

DOGE is dispatching agents across U.S. government  —  Federal officials are already dealing with surrogates from Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's nongovernmental body before Donald Trump is sworn in again.  —  Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are sending representatives to agencies across …

Drone collides with firefighting plane during Los Angeles wildfires  —  A drone crashed into a firefighting aircraft near the California Palisades fire Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced.  —  The aircraft landed safely but sustained wing damage, and it is out of service.

House GOP puts Medicaid, ACA, climate measures on chopping block  —  The menu of potential spending offsets has been circulated by House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington.  —  House Republicans are passing around a “menu” of more than $5 trillion in cuts they could use to bankroll President-elect …

Gabbard reverses course on key intel-gathering tool as nomination teeters … In her first public comments since being nominated, Gabbard told us in an exclusive statement that she now supports Section 702, saying the program is “crucial” and “must be safeguarded to protect our nation while ensuring the civil liberties of Americans.”

A time for truth and reconciliation  —  Trump's return to the White House augurs the ‘apokálypsis’ of the ancien regime's secrets  —  The writer is a technology entrepreneur and investor.  —  In 2016, President Barack Obama told his staff that Donald Trump's election victory was “not the apocalypse”.

Mike Johnson Seeks Money From Democratic Bill He Called ‘Legislative Malpractice’  —  The House speaker opposed the Inflation Reduction Act and has vowed to roll it back.  But he's quietly urging the EPA to give his district a grant funded by the law.  —  LOADING

Barry Blitt's “Two's a Crowd”  —  Elon Musk takes center stage.  —  In cartoonist Barry Blitt's portrayal of the upcoming Inauguration Day, the new President is sidelined into a dash of yellow hair and a sliver of red tie.  “On January 20, 2025, the next leader of the United States—and of the free world—assumes power,” Blitt said.

As a Climate Scientist, I Knew It Was Time to Leave Los Angeles  —  I am utterly devastated by the Los Angeles wildfires, shaking with rage and grief.  The Altadena community near Pasadena, where the Eaton fire has damaged or destroyed at least 5,000 structures, was my home for 14 years.

US adds whopping 256K jobs in December  —  The U.S. added 256,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 percent in December, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.  —  The December jobs report showed the U.S. economy blowing past expectations to end the year.

Treasury Sanctions Venezuelan Officials Supporting Nicolas Maduro's Repression and Illegitimate Claim to Power  —  Multilateral Action Maintains Pressure on Maduro and his Representatives  —  WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) …

Temperatures Rising: NASA Confirms 2024 Warmest Year on Record  —  Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí.  —  Earth's average surface temperature in 2024 was the warmest on record, according to an analysis led by NASA scientists.  —  Global temperatures in 2024 …

'He's compromised'—NYC Dems Fear Mayor Will Trade Deportations For Trump Pardon  —  Eric Adams is politically vulnerable, under indictment, and has just one card left to play.  —  WHEN ERIC ADAMS HIT THE FAMED Apollo theater in Harlem on Thursday for his State of the City address …

Kash Patel's Emails Offer Insight Into How He Might Run the FBI  —  More than 800 pages of Patel's emails obtained by FOIA Files, from the Office of Director of National Intelligence, raise questions about whether he'll weaponize the FBI to settle scores if he's confirmed as the bureau's next director.

Live Updates: Supreme Court Seems Poised to Uphold Law That Could Ban TikTok in the U.S.  —  Congress labeled the app's Chinese ownership a national security risk and passed a law that would ban the social media platform unless it was sold.  TikTok and creators say that violates their free speech rights.

University of West Florida braces for leadership changes  —  The University of West Florida is bracing for significant changes in leadership following a wave of new appointments to its Board of Trustees.  —  Over the past month, the Florida Board of Governors replaced three trustees …

Biden job gains top Trump and Obama … - Trump oversaw 2.1 million job losses, although there were 6.6 million jobs added during his first three years in office (i.e., pre-pandemic years).  — Obama oversaw 7.1 million job gains, with losses at the beginning of his first term due to the Great Financial Crisis.

OMB nominee Russell Vought pledges to divest from Bitcoin upon confirmation  —  A newly released financial disclosure for Russell Vought, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to run the Office of Management and Budget, shows he has both Bitcoin and college savings plans among his assets.

Another Fox News alum invited to join the new Trump administration  —  Donald Trump has picked Fox News contributor Leo Terrell to serve as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department, Harmeet K. Dhillon.  Trump said Terrell …

Biden admin to GOP: Immigration bill will cost more than $3 billion  —  Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it would require more than $3.2 billion in additional funding to implement the Laken Riley Act, according to a memo obtained by POLITICO that the agency prepared last year.