The Texas Tribune reports: President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday he would nominate Houston billionaire hospitality mogul Tilman Fertitta to serve as U.S. ambassador to Italy. Fertitta, owner of the Houston Rockets and Landry’s restaurant group, is a prolific political donor who hosted a fundraiser for Trump at his Post Oak Hotel in Houston earlier this year. He has donated millions …

USA Today reports: President-elect Donald Trump to Mark Burnett: You’re hired. Trump on Saturday named Burnett, who produced “The Apprentice,” as the special envoy to the United Kingdom. Burnett is also just the latest person with a background in television to be named to Trump’s administration. His exact role as envoy was unclear. Trump earlier named businessman Warren Stephens as …

The New York Times reports: In recent weeks, the bird flu outbreak has wiped out flocks of egg-laying hens, causing wholesale prices to surge just as many Americans are planning holiday recipes that call for more eggs, like cookies, eggnog and latkes. As of Thursday, the average wholesale price for a dozen eggs in the United States was up more …

The Dallas Express reports: Amid the ongoing drama in D.C. with Congress furiously debating and voting on an interim spending bill a key question has arisen from constituents in Texas Congressional District 12, “Where is Congresswoman Kay Granger?” According to Ms. Granger’s roll call vote page, Grangers last vote was on July 24th, 2024 as she voted No to the …

The Associated Press reports: Lara Trump said Saturday that she’s removing herself from consideration to be a Florida senator — ending speculation that she could replace Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who has been tapped to be the incoming administration’s secretary of state. Instead, she promised a “big announcement to share in January.” The announcement comes weeks after Trump announced that …

Politico reports: President-elect Donald Trump threatened on Saturday that the U.S. would reassume control of the Panama Canal if it felt that Panama wasn’t honoring the terms of a 1977 treaty regarding the waterway’s legal status. In two lengthy Truth Social posts Saturday evening, Trump accused Panama of charging U.S. vessels exorbitant rates to pass through the critical waterway. He …

Truthout reports: After a record-breaking year for anti-trans legislation, 2025 is shaping up to be even more challenging for transgender and queer people across the United States. A legislative tracker maintained by Erin In The Morning and other volunteers has found that nearly 120 anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ bills have already been filed in states nationwide ahead of the 2025 legislative …

CNBC reports: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday said he told the European Union it must reduce its trade gap with the U.S. through oil and gas purchases or face tariffs. “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas. Otherwise, it …

Bloomberg News reports: Less than two months ago, shares of Tesla Inc. were on their way to just the third losing year in the electric-vehicle maker’s decade-and-a-half as a public company. But after a furious rally in the last seven weeks, the stock is suddenly among the S&P 500 Index’s best performers for 2024. Prior to the US presidential election …

Deadline reports: Wham!’s festive song Last Christmas never got to number one in the year of its release 1984, but it has scored a historical first, becoming the first track to occupy the festive chart’s top slot for a second consecutive year. 40 years after its debut, the song penned by George Michael beat off competition by Mariah Carey, Gracie …

Ars Technica reports: Craig Wright, the man who claims he invented bitcoin and has been filing lawsuits asserting intellectual property rights, was sentenced to a year in prison yesterday for committing contempt of court. The sentence is suspended and can be enforced if Wright continues violating court rulings—but he may be able to avoid imprisonment by staying away from countries …

German outlet Der Spiegel reports: The alleged [Christmas market] perpetrator is obviously a fan of the AfD, as revealed by an analysis of several of his social media accounts by SPIEGEL. Eight years ago, he wrote on Twitter that he wanted to start a project together with the AfD: an academy for ex-Muslims. When another user asked why he was …

The Hill reports: Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio praised his son Anthony, a walk-on player for the Florida Gators, who scored his first touchdown in the school’s Gasparilla Bowl on Friday night. Anthony Rubio, a running back, scored in the waning minutes of the game against Tulane. Florida won, 33-8. The touchdown set off a frenzy among his teammates, with …

ABC News reports: Shares of Trump Media and Technology Group slid in midday trading Friday after President-elect Donald Trump transferred all of his shares into a revocable trust, according to a regulatory filing. Trump transferred all of his nearly 115 million shares — worth around $4 billion on paper — in the parent company of social networking site Truth Social …

NBC News reports: NASA is preparing to “taste” the sun on Christmas Eve. The agency’s Parker Solar Probe is days away from making its closest-ever approach to the sun on Tuesday, swooping nearer to our star than any other human-made object in history. The spacecraft, which is about the size of a small car, is set to dive within 3.86 …

Reuters reports: Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden secured his 235th appointment to the federal judiciary on Friday, narrowly surpassing President-elect Donald Trump’s first-term tally by one with a record number of women and people of color named to the bench. The Democratic-led U.S. Senate voted to confirm two of Biden’s nominees to serve as life-tenured federal trial court judges in …

The New York Daily News reports: NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey resigned abruptly Friday night amid bombshell allegations from a female NYPD lieutenant who accused him of predatory sexual harassment, the Daily News has learned. In allegations that surfaced Saturday, Quathisha Epps claims that Maddrey repeatedly demanded sex from her and then paid her back by approving massive amounts …

St. Louis’s NBC affiliate reports: Missouri’s near-total abortion ban was deemed unenforceable by a judge on Friday, but some aspects of the state’s laws against abortion remain in place, even after voters enshrined reproductive rights into the state’s constitution by passing Amendment 3. Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang ruled Missouri’s total ban, eighteen-week ban, fourteen-week ban, eight-week ban, and “reasons …

CBS News reports: Legislation to expand Social Security benefits to millions of Americans passed the U.S. Senate early Saturday and is now headed to the desk of President Biden, who is expected to sign the measure into law. Senators voted 76-20 for the Social Security Fairness Act, which would eliminate two federal policies that prevent nearly 3 million people, including …

The Guardian reports: Elon Musk has caused outrage in Berlin after appearing to endorse the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative für Deutschland. Musk, who has been named by Donald Trump to co-lead a commission aimed at reducing the size of the US federal government, wrote on his social media platform X: “Only the AfD can save Germany.” The German health minister, Karl …