The Washington Post reports: President-elect Donald Trump is set to be sentenced Friday, as part of a case in which a New York jury convicted him on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to an adult-film actress shortly before the 2016 election. New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial, …

The BBC reports: UK officials are monitoring social media posts by Elon Musk and others as a possible security risk. The monitoring is being carried out by a team in the Home Office’s Homeland Security group, which is responsible for reducing national security risks and, according to a government website, “focuses on the highest harm risks to the homeland”. They …

The Associated Press reports: A powerful winter storm that dumped heavy snow and glazed roads with ice across much of Texas and Oklahoma lumbered eastward into southern U.S. states overnight, prompting governors to declare states of emergency and shuttering schools across the region. School was canceled Friday for millions of children across a wide tract of southern states from Texas …

Politico reports: 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, a civil rights attorney and talk radio host in California, will work closely alongside Dhillon, a former vice chair of the California GOP who represented the …

New York City’s ABC affiliate reports: Ten days ahead of his presidential inauguration, Donald Trump is scheduled to be sentenced Friday morning in New York for committing what the judge in his case characterized as a “premeditated and continuous deception” to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election. President-elect Trump — who plans to attend the 9:30 a.m. hearing virtually from …

“A warning to those on the left, those of you that are obsessed, those of you that believe with religious fervor in this eco-socialist, Marxist, statist utopia under the Green New Deal, it’s not going to end well. “Pay attention to what’s happening in California. You know, free universal health care, day care, childcare, guaranteed healthy food and housing and …

The New Republic reports: Danish media reported Thursday that a series of photos featuring Kirk and Greenlandic residents in MAGA hats was staged. The MAGA cohort reportedly rounded up homeless people from the area—including one person from under a bridge—promising them a meal at the Hotel Hans Egede in exchange for their participation in the pro-Trump photo circuit. Videos of …

Bloomberg News reports: Donald Trump’s claim that the U.S. doesn’t need anything from Canada is “simply false,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s energy minister and a potential candidate in the contest to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister. The U.S. doesn’t have easy alternatives to Canadian crude oil, uranium, potash and other critical minerals, Wilkinson said. And he warned that nothing …

“Are your friends in LA not reacting to danger in an expected way? Are they almost in a trance? Multiple confirmations independently that suggest that this is the case, including from a therapist who says her patients are not reacting normally. “Could a mood stabilizer of some kind be in what was sprayed, or do weather manipulation waves entrain human …

“Deranged Jack Smith was sent packing after losing both of his Witch Hunts against President Trump. Deranged was unconstitutionally appointed and paid for, so he cannot be allowed to do anything more in perpetuation of his election-interfering hoaxes, let alone prepare an unconstitutional, one-sided, falsehood-ridden screed. Today’s decision by the 11th Circuit keeps Judge Cannon’s injunction in place and prevents …

“The people of Greenland would love to become a state of the United States of America. Now, Denmark maybe doesn’t like it. But then we can’t be too happy with Denmark and maybe things have to happen with respect to Denmark having to do with tariffs.” – Trump, last night at Mar-A-Lago after meeting with Republican governors. Of note, Denmark’s …

Deadline Hollywood reports: As the conflagration in the Palisades continues to spread, Hollywood has already felt the effects of the event with several premieres set for Wednesday night canceled and production on television shows paused for the time being. The Producers Guild pushed nominations announcements for its annual awards show to Sunday, Jan. 12. The Writers Guild said it is …

The Associated Press reports: A divided Supreme Court refused to delay Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money case, clearing the way for the president-elect to face judgment in a New York courtroom on Friday and to be formally classified as a felon before he returns to the White House. Trump turned to the Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort …

The Washington Post reports: Some judicial ethics experts and Democratic lawmakers say Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. should recuse himself from a decision on whether President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing in New York can go forward on Friday, citing a phone call between the two men earlier this week. Alito said in a statement that he took the call …

Variety reports: Anita Bryant, a former beauty queen and pop singer of the 1960s whose career led her to become a spokesperson for Florida oranges in the early ’70s and an evangelical crusader against gay rights later in that decade, died Dec. 16 at age 84, her family announced Thursday. The family’s obituary for Anita Bryant Day, as she was …

The New York Times reports: President-elect Donald J. Trump is likely to justify his plans to seal off the border with Mexico by citing a public health emergency from immigrants bringing disease into the United States. Now he just has to find one. Mr. Trump last invoked public health restrictions, known as Title 42, in the early days of the …

The Wrap reports: A New York state appeals court rejected Fox’s bid to dismiss a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit by voting machine company Smartmatic over statements made on air after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Reuters reported on Thursday. The decision was issued by a five-judge panel of the Appellate Division in Manhattan. Fox Corporation and Fox News Network were …

Via email from hate group leader Monica Cole: WARNING! Zondervan’s newest NIV study Bible is unlike other Bibles in that it includes elements of theological and gender diversity. As such, Christians should be aware this could be called a DEI Bible. (DEI is an acronym for diversity, equity, and inclusion.) One of Zondervan’s newest publications is the Upside-Down Kingdom Bible: …

“Have we ruled out all outside agitators? I’d like to know what kind of investigation is underway in terms of outside agitators. I mean, all of these people who have come into America and wanting to disrupt our lives. I would like to see an investigation to ensure that we know that there were no outside agitators starting these fires.” …

NBC News reports: The Senate voted Thursday to begin debate on the Laken Riley Act, clearing a key hurdle to advance a Republican-led bill aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration that has garnered significant support from Democrats. With a vote of 84-9, the bill easily cleared the 60-vote threshold to advance in GOP-controlled Senate. But many Democrats have suggested …