Politics
- Olivier KnoxTrump: Gingrich wrong that ‘drain the swamp’ is over
Donald Trump declared Thursday that he still plans to “drain the swamp” of alleged Washington corruption, bluntly contradicting former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s claim a day earlier that the president-elect had dumped that signature campaign slogan. Actually, we will always be trying to DTS,” Trump said on Twitter. Gingrich, whose conduct in the late 1990s earned him a historic bipartisan ethics reprimand, confessed in a short video posted on Twitter that he had “made a big boo-boo” on Wednesday when he said Trump was dumping the three-word rallying cry.
- Olivier KnoxTrump calls for apparent U.S. nuclear buildup
Donald Trump tweeted about nuclear weapons on Thursday, and it went about as well as might be expected, with reporters hurriedly seeking explanations from his communications team, arms control experts puzzling over the president-elect’s cryptic words, and a fair amount of we’re-all-going-to-die-in-atomic-fire from Twitter users apparently not overfond of the incoming administration. “The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes,” Trump wrote.
- Michael WalshWhy did North Carolina’s deal to repeal HB2 come undone?
Phil Berger and Bob Rucho listen as a bill to repeal North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” is discussed on Wednesday. A deal to scrap House Bill 2 (HB2), the “bathroom bill” that’s caused tremendous tension in the Tar Heel State, fell apart Wednesday night in a raucous special session where state legislators hurled recriminations at each other — a microcosm of the state’s deeply divided politics. HB2, which passed in March, eliminates local antidiscrimination protections for gay and transgender people and legislates that people must use bathrooms that match their biological sex as indicated on their birth certificate.
- Liz GoodwinDoes Donald Trump have a plan to prevent homegrown terror attacks?
Asked Wednesday about the recent ISIS-inspired truck attack in Berlin, President-elect Donald Trump appeared to double down on his campaign plans to stop terrorism by temporarily banning immigration from Muslim countries and creating a “registry” of Muslim immigrants already in the United States. Trump ran on the idea that the United States can prevent terrorism by not letting Muslim immigrants into the country. America’s problem is homegrown.
Dylan StablefordMan kicked off JetBlue flight for questioning why Ivanka Trump was on itA male passenger was removed from a JetBlue flight on Thursday morning after reportedly “berating” Ivanka Trump and her family shortly before takeoff at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. According to TMZ, the unruly passenger spotted the president-elect’s daughter in coach on the Florida-bound flight. “Your father is ruining the country,” the man told Trump, according to TMZ.
- Dylan StablefordDid Bolton’s mustache disqualify him from consideration for Trump’s secretary of state?
President-elect Donald Trump announced ExxonMobil chairman and chief executive officer Rex Tillerson as his nominee for secretary of state last week, casting aside several finalists, including former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, for the top Cabinet post.
- Michael IsikoffSnowden is still in contact with Russian intelligence, House report charges
Minutes after the report was released Thursday, Snowden’s chief lawyer, Ben Wizner, tweeted that the report was “petulant nonsense.” Snowden has adamantly denied such contacts, most recently this month in an interview with Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric. The panel’s newly declassified 33-page report, which is being released this morning, cites classified U.S. intelligence reporting to support its assertion of continuous contacts with Russian intelligence — an especially explosive charge in light of the current uproar in Washington over Russian interference in the U.S. election.
- Holly BaileyKellyanne Conway to join the Trump White House as counselor to the president
Kellyanne Conway, the Republican pollster and strategist who helped steady Donald Trump’s insurgent bid for the presidency, will officially join his White House team, serving as counselor to the incoming president. The move, announced by transition team early Thursday, ends weeks of intrigue about what Conway’s role might be in a Trump administration. The longtime strategist, who previously worked for Trump’s primary rival Ted Cruz and has advised other high profile Republicans including Newt Gingrich and Mike Pence, joined the campaign over the summer and was eventually tapped as his campaign manager in August during a particularly rocky period for the candidate, when even close allies believed Trump was on the path to defeat.
Jerry AdlerDo not go gentleHow many ways can you cover a year? With articles, interviews, videos, slide shows, blog posts, tweets — did we leave anything out? Well, yes, one thing: poetry. So here is Yahoo News’ take on the year that is ending, by our resident poet, Jerry Adler.
- Matt BaiA Trumpian Christmas Carol
In which the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future teach the president-elect a thing or two.
- Hunter WalkerCorey Lewandowski on his new D.C. firm: ‘I will not be a swamp creature’
Trump's ex-campaign manager says Avenue Strategies will back candidates “who support the Trump agenda” and help corporate clients “navigate” the new government.
Dylan StablefordTrump uses Berlin attack to argue for Muslim registry: ‘All along, I’ve been proven to be right — 100% correct’President-elect Donald Trump emerged from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Wednesday afternoon to briefly address questions from reporters about this week’s deadly attacks in Europe. Trump was asked whether Monday’s violence in Germany and Turkey had caused him to “rethink or reevaluate” his plan to create a Muslim registry or a ban on Muslim immigration. “You know my plans,” Trump replied.
- Gabby KaufmanTrump’s ‘very famous doctor’ speaks: 8 bizarre quotes from Dr. Harold Bornstein
It has been just over a year since Dr. Harold Bornstein, President-Elect Donald Trump’s personal physician, released a now famous letter declaring that, “If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”
- Olivier KnoxGingrich says Trump is done with ‘drain the swamp’ slogan
Donald Trump fired up campaign crowds with a promise to “drain the swamp” of Washington corruption. But former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says the president-elect has soured on that populist rallying cry now that he has won the White House.
Dylan Stableford43 days after winning election, Trump still touchy about losing popular voteForty-three days after winning the election and 29 days before his inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump is still obsessing over the fact that he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton. In a series of tweets early Wednesday, Trump claimed he would have campaigned “differently” had he not been focused on amassing the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency — and that he could’ve won the popular vote if he wanted to. “Campaigning to win the Electoral College is much more difficult & sophisticated than the popular vote,” Trump tweeted.
- Dylan StablefordBill O’Reilly says ‘the left wants power taken away from the white establishment’
Bill O’Reilly used the “Talking Points” segment on his Fox News show Tuesday night to weigh in on the ongoing debate over the Electoral College, claiming those who’d like to see the system abolished are motivated by race. “This is all about race,” O’Reilly said. “The left sees white privilege in America as an oppressive force that must be done away with.
- Caitlin Dickson‘Troll storm’ goes after Jewish residents of Richard Spencer’s Montana hometown
The FBI is reportedly reviewing the spate of harassing emails and tweets that have slammed residents of the small town of Whitefish, Mont., after the neo-Nazi site Daily Stormer put out a cyberhit on several members of the Jewish community there last week. The call to “take action” against Jews in the small ski resort town was issued after Whitefish resident and property owner Sherry Spencer, mother of prominent white nationalist figure Richard Spencer, told the local ABC News affiliate earlier this month that mounting backlash over her son’s controversial political views had forced her to consider selling her property downtown.
- Olivier KnoxTrump portrays Berlin attack as onslaught against Christians
President-elect Donald Trump characterized the gruesome truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin as part of a systematic campaign by Muslim extremists against Christians, fueling speculation that he views the war on terrorism as a clash of civilizations and not a conflict against extremists. “ISIS and other Islamist terrorists continually slaughter Christians in their communities and places of worship as part of their global jihad,” Trump said.
- Dylan StablefordAlabama official apologizes for chopping public park tree for Trump rally
An Alabama mayor’s chief of staff has apologized for cutting down a giant tree from a city park in Mobile so it could be used as a backdrop for President-elect Donald Trump’s “thank you” rally at a nearby football stadium. Colby Cooper, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s top aide, admitted he was “overzealous” in fulfilling a request from Trump’s advance team ahead of Saturday’s event. The 50-foot cedar tree was cut down at the city’s Public Safety Memorial Park on Friday and taken to Ladd-Peebles Stadium, placed behind the podium was decorated with Christmas ornaments.
- Michael WalshGermany’s refugee policy under scrutiny after Berlin attack
Tensions over Germany’s large migrant community reignited after authorities detained an asylum-seeker from Pakistan in connection with the deadly truck attack that killed at least 12 and injured nearly 50 at a bustling Christmas market Monday. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has faced criticism for opening Germany’s borders to more Middle Eastern refugees than any other European nation during the current crisis, said it must be assumed that the incident outside Berlin’s Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was a “terrorist attack” and was quick to acknowledge the possibility that an individual who entered the country under the guise of seeking refuge might be responsible. “I know that it would be particularly hard for us all to bear if it were confirmed that a person committed this act had asked for protection and asylum in Germany,” Merkel said on Tuesday.
- Michael Isikoff44 years after conviction, Freedom Rider Sala Udin is pardoned by Obama
President Obama’s decision this week to issue 78 Christmas season pardons — the most of his presidency — should have special meaning for veterans of the civil rights movement. Among the recipients was former Pittsburgh City Council member Sala Udin, a onetime Freedom Rider who was beaten up registering voters in 1960s Mississippi. “I’m ecstatic,” Udin emailed Yahoo News shortly after he got the call from his lawyer that his long-languishing bid for a pardon had finally been granted by Obama. After waiting patiently for years, Udin had all but given up hope.
Dylan StablefordMichelle Obama says she’s not interested in running for officeFirst lady Michelle Obama says she has no plans to run for office after her family leaves the White House. “I don’t make stuff up, I’m not coy — I’m pretty direct,” Obama told Oprah Winfrey in an interview that aired on CBS Monday night.
- Michael WalshLGBT advocates troubled by catch in N.C. deal to scrap HB2
LGBT advocates celebrated the news Monday that North Carolina legislators were planning to repeal an unpopular law, known as House Bill 2 (HB2), which hurt the state’s reputation and resulted in job losses. Simone Bell, the regional director of the southern office for Lamda Legal, an LGBT civil rights organization, told Yahoo News that the group was disheartened that the rights of LGBT people in Charlotte were sacrificed in order to get rid of HB2.
- Michael WalshMerriam-Webster: ‘Surreal’ Is the Word of the Year for 2016
Merriam-Webster announced Monday that “surreal” is its top Word of the Year for 2016. Peter Sokolowski, the editor at large for Merriam-Webster, told Yahoo News that these are the criteria, because many of the most looked-up words are actually the same every year. “When we look at year-over-year growth, we see really interesting things about what’s new and different about 2016,” Sokolowski said.
Dylan StablefordTexas GOP elector voting Kasich over Trump: ‘I don't consider this a protest vote’Republican electors are gathering around the country on Monday to certify Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. But Chris Suprun says he won't be one of them.
