“So, look, we got a lot of people to find, and we got to find them. And we’re going to do it. And — but I’m telling you right now, it’s going to be hard. So that’s why we’re — especially with children, we’re going to bring in some private sector organizations that work trafficking on their own. We’re also …

Politico reports: Former Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell is giving some indirect hints into his thinking on President-elect Donald Trump’s forthcoming nominees. “I will vote to confirm nominees to senior national security roles whose record and experience will make them immediate assets — not liabilities — in the pursuit of peace through strength,” McConnell said during a speech from the …

Rolling Stone reports: President-elect Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary pick, a billionaire who has been accused of evading taxes, says that “the most important economic issue of the day” is extending Trump’s tax cuts for the ultra rich. Scott Bessent spoke about his economic plans while sitting for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. Bessent is an …

CBS News reports: Quietly, just before the calendar turned for the new year, an already whopping debt tentatively owed by President-elect Donald Trump and co-defendants in his New York civil fraud case hit an eye-popping, interest-accumulating milestone: half a billion dollars. The total crossed $500 million on Dec. 29, and stands at more than $502 million on Thursday, a spokesperson …

“It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California. They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE! …

Reuters reports: Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who served as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, has reached a settlement with two Georgia election workers he falsely accused of helping steal the 2020 election for Joe Biden, court records on Thursday show. The settlement came on the same day a non-jury civil trial before U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman …

Deadline Hollywood reports: One of Hollywood’s worst weeks in just got worse. David Lynch, the four-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Eraserhead, Wild at Heart, The Elephant Man and others who also created the Showtime drama Twin Peaks, has died. He was 78. Lynch had been diagnosed with emphysema. Sources told Deadline that he was forced to relocate …

The New York Times reports: Rudolph W. Giuliani has not shown up to federal court in Lower Manhattan to testify in a trial that will determine whether he can keep a Florida condo, his only remaining home, as well as three personalized Yankees World Series rings. The judge in the case, Lewis J. Liman, is expected to rule on whether …

Axios reports: A powerful Arctic outbreak tied in part to the polar vortex is set to send temperatures by next week tumbling down to as cold as 25 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit below average for mid-January, forecasts show. The hazardous cold could endanger public health, stress electricity grids, damage crops and make for a frigid Inauguration Day. Mother Nature’s refrigerator …

Atlanta News First reports: A Georgia senator who had been previously banned from the floor of the state House was arrested Thursday when he tried to attend Gov. Brian Kemp’s State of the State address. The governor’s annual speech is delivered from the Georgia House chamber, and state Sen. Colton Moore (R-Trenton) was banned last year after he denounced late …

The Daily Beast reports: Alternative für Deutschland, the far-right German political party suspected of extremism by the country’s domestic intelligence agency, said it has accepted an invite to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week. The AfD’s co-leader Tino Chrupalla [photo] and parliamentary group leader Beatrix von Storch will attend, Chrupalla told news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur Thursday, saying the invite came …

The Austin Statesman reports: Austin real estate investor Nate Paul on Wednesday pleaded guilty to a charge of making false statements to a financial institution as part of a deal with prosecutors, ending a six-year legal saga. All other counts against Paul will be dropped under the terms of the agreement. He faces up to six months in prison. Paul …

ABC News reports: Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday was interrupted multiple times by outbursts from attendees — who are not members of the regular State Department press corps — shouting questions about U.S. support for Israel as he tried to make farewell remarks to reporters in the State Department briefing room. At least one individual was removed from …

ABC News reports: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, according to her spokesperson. Pelosi notably attended Trump’s inauguration in 2017, when she was the House Democratic leader. A spokesman did not disclose a reason why the California Democrat is skipping the high-profile event. Trump labeled Pelosi at his 2024 campaign rallies as “an enemy …

“Big Tech, who has been in the pockets of the Democratic party for years, they sit out one election cycle because things are going bad with the country. And now you want to make them the enemy? They helped you out the last time. “What about apologizing to the American people? When you said that the laptop was disinformation. You …

NBC News reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed state Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate, setting her up to fill the seat of Sen. Marco Rubio, whom President-elect Donald Trump tapped to be secretary of state. Rubio was selected to serve in Trump’s administration shortly after Trump won the 2024 presidential race, handing DeSantis a Senate appointment that …

The Associated Press reports: Thursday’s hearings include Doug Burgum for the Interior Department, Scott Turner for the Housing and Urban Development Department, Lee Zeldin for the EPA, Scott Bessent for the Treasury Department and Pam Bondi will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a second day. Bessent, the billionaire money manager from South Carolina, will take questions from members …

Housing Wire reports: As President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Scott Turner will be questioned on Thursday by lawmakers of both parties in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. But ahead of that hearing, a familiar Trump foe — Sen. Elizabeth …

USA Today reports: The Donald Trump confirmation train keeps rolling Thursday as senators take up the president-elect’s picks to run the Treasury and Interior departments – and hear from witnesses in Pam Bondi’s bid to become the next U.S. Attorney General. So far, all of Trump’s appointees who’ve had hearings appear bound for confirmation after he takes office on Monday, …

The Telegraph reports: Donald Trump’s official inauguration portrait has been revealed ahead of next Monday’s ceremony – and has a striking resemblance to his infamous mugshot. The president-elect is well-lit, and is wearing a blue suit and blue tie – but it is his expression that has captured the attention of keen observers. Leaning in, Mr Trump has one eyebrow …