The United States has offered to provide Nato-style security guarantees for Kyiv as US and European negotiators report progress in talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, but a deal on territorial concessions remained elusive.
Envoys sent by Donald Trump made the unprecedented offer at talks on Monday with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Berlin.
US officials have warned that such a deal would not be on the table forever. European leaders stressed the outcome of the talks would affect their own countries’ security for decades to come, write Andrew Roth, Deborah Cole and Shaun Walker.
Zelenskyy said after the talks he would ask the US to hit Russia with sanctions and provide Ukraine with more arms, including long-range weapons, if Moscow rejected the proposals being discussed between Kyiv, Washington and European leaders.
“I think America will apply sanctions pressure and give us more weapons if he [Putin] rejects everything,” Zelenskyy told reporters. Kyiv supported the idea of a ceasefire, in particular for energy strikes, during the Christmas period, he added.
Read the full explainer here:
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Politico reports that new dates have been set for the depositions of Bill and Hillary Clinton, which were originally scheduled for this week on Capitol Hill as part of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
Their appearances are now slated for 13 and 14 January, according to a letter sent to an attorney for the Clintons from the House oversight and government reform committee chair James Comer.
The move comes in advance of Friday, the deadline set for the Trump administration to release its full files on Epstein.
“If your clients do not comply with these new dates, the Committee will move immediately to contempt proceedings,” said Comer, who is leading the congressional investigation into Epstein, according to the letter obtained by Politico.
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Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC was filed in a personal capacity and names the BBC and BBC studios productions as defendants. He is being represented by attorneys Alejandro Brito, Edward Paltzik and Daniel Epstein.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told Fox News: “The formerly respected and now disgraced BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election. The BBC has a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of President Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda. President Trump’s powerhouse lawsuit is holding the BBC accountable for its defamation and reckless election interference just as he has held other fake news mainstream media responsible for their wrongdoing.”
The BBC has apologized for splicing two clips of a speech Trump made before the Capitol riots in January 2021, but has disagreed about a defamation claim. Last month, BBC’s chair Samir Shah told staff the broadcaster was “determined to fight” Trump’s claims that the programme defamed him.
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Trump files lawsuit against BBC over edit of January 6 speech
President Donald Trump officially filed a $10bn lawsuit against the BBC on Monday after airing its 2024 “Panorama” documentary that distorted his 6 January 2021 speech.
The lawsuit was filed in the southern district of Florida. It includes one count of defamation and one count of violating a Florida trade practices law, and the president is asking for $5bn in damages for each count.
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Bloomberg News reports that the Food and Drug Administration has no plans to put a “black box” warning on Covid-19 vaccines, which is the agency’s most serious warning.
FDA commissioner Marty Makary confirmed the news on Bloomberg TV after CNN reported last week that the FDA was preparing to change the safety information related to the shots. Makary said: “We have no plans to put that on the Covid vaccine.”
Placing this warning on Covid-19 vaccines, which saved an estimated 20 million lives around the world, would further health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s campaign against vaccines in general. Earlier this year, he canceled $500m in funding for mRNA vaccines, ending 22 federal contracts, including one with Moderna for its bird flu vaccine for humans.
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The department of justice arrested four people in connection with an alleged plot to bomb several locations of two US companies on New Year’s Eve in southern California, according to a post by attorney general Pam Bondi.
Bondi said that members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, which she described as an “anti-government” and “anti-capitalist group”, was planning to conduct “a series of bombings against multiple targets in California beginning on New Year’s Eve”.
“The group also planned to target ICE agents and vehicles,” Bondi added.
The criminal complaint reads: “The co-conspirators then took numerous steps toward executing the bombing plot, including acquiring bomb-making materials and traveling to a remote location in the Mojave Desert to construct and detonate test explosive devices on December 12, 2025.”
The group members were arrested by the FBI “before they completed assembling a functional explosive device”, according to the filing.
A motive is still unclear, but officials said the individuals are members of an offshoot of a group called the Turtle Island Liberation Front, which calls for decolonization, tribal sovereignty, and “the working class to rise up and fight back against capitalism”, according to the complaint.
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The Trump administration argued in a court filing today that construction of the White House ballroom must continue for national security reasons, the AP reports.
The filing comes after a lawsuit brought last Friday by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The suit asks a federal judge to pause the construction until it undergoes independent reviews and receives congressional approval.
The Trump administration included a declaration from the deputy director of the US Secret Service in the filing, stating that more work on the site of the former White House East Wing is needed to meet the agency’s “safety and security requirements.”
Attorneys with the US Department of Justice have reportedly said they felt pressured to accuse the University of California of discriminating against Jewish students and faculty, at the urging of the Trump administration, in what one lawyer described as a “hit job”.
Nine attorneys, some of whom requested anonymity, shared insider accounts with the Los Angeles Times of the federal government’s investigation into California’s research university system. The attorneys said they felt pushed to conclude the UC had violated the law before they had determined the facts. All of the attorneys eventually resigned.
“The political appointees essentially determined the outcome almost before the investigation had even started,” Jen Swedish, a former DoJ lawyer who worked on the case against the University of California, Los Angeles, told the newspaper.
The investigation was centered on allegations of antisemitism that emerged during pro-Palestinian protests at UC campuses, amid a wave of student activism and demonstrations against the war in Gaza that unfolded at universities nationwide.
Read the full story:
Gavin Newsom, the California governor, announced the appointment of two prominent scientists who left the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in recent months over conflicts with the Trump administration to state positions.
Dr Susan Monarez, the former director of the CDC, will lead California’s new public health initiative, the Public Health Network Innovation Exchange (PHNIX).
In August, Monarez was fired by the Trump administration less than a month into the top job at the CDC after refusing to step down. Monarez had clashed with Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. on vaccine policy.
Newsom also hired former CDC chief medical officer Dr Debra Houry, who resigned after a decade at the agency after Monarez’s dismissal.
Both Monarez and Houry testified before Congress in September to voice their concerns about secretary Kennedy’s vaccine agenda and the sweeping changes he was making to the country’s public health system.
Read the full story:
More politicians condemn Trump as he doubles down on attack of deceased director Rob Reiner
“Vile”. “Nonsense”. “Dreadful”. These are just some of the words prominent lawmakers and public figures are using as more reactions pile in after Donald Trump’s controversial social media post about the death of director and actor Rob Reiner.
New York governor Kathy Hochul said that Reiner’s loved ones “deserve our condolences, not this insulting filth from Donald Trump.”
Maryland representative Jamie Raskin called Trump’s post “a product of Deranged Trump Syndrome” that “teaches nothing but cruelty and nonsense.” The comment comes after the president suggested Reiner’s death was due to “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME”.
Presenter and former newspaper editor, Piers Morgan, called the remarks on Truth Social a “dreadful thing to say about a man who just got murdered by his troubled son.”
“Delete it, Mr President @realDonaldTrump,” Morgan posted on X.
Meanwhile, Washington representative Pramila Jayapal, posted on social media: “What a vile and self-obsessed post. The American people deserve so much better.”
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie also reacted to Trump’s attack, calling it “completely shocking and not the least bit surprising at the very same time.”
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Trump’s post on Rob Reiner sparks outrage from lawmakers and celebrities
Celebrities and lawmakers from both of the US’s major political parties are condemning Donald Trump after the president blamed the death of Rob Reiner on what he described as the acclaimed Hollywood director’s dislike of him.
“What a disgusting and vile statement,” actor Patrick Schwarzenegger wrote on X.
Similarly, television host Whoopi Goldberg, who described Reiner as her friend and “quite an amazing man,” condemned Trump.
Referencing Trump’s own attacks on critics of the far-right political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead in September. That killing prompted reprisals from the White House against those who cited Kirk’s history of hostile rhetoric toward immigrants, women and other marginalized groups. And Goldberg said: “I don’t understand the man in the White House. He spoke at length about Charlie Kirk and about caring, and then this is what he puts out. Have you no shame? No shame at all? Can you get any lower? I don’t think so.”
Meanwhile, California’s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X: “This is a sick man.”
Echoing Newsom, US House member Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a Florida Democrat, said: “What a despicable piece of garbage.”
US senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, similarly said of Trump: “He’s just lost it. Now saying Rob and Michele Reiner caused their own murder because they didn’t support him. So sick.”
US House member Zoe Lofgren, another California Democrat, called Trump’s comments “a new low for this petty, hateful man”. Lofgren added: “His party needs to condemn this.”
Similarly, US House member Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, wrote: “This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies.”
Read the full story:
Trump doubles down on Rob Reiner statement, mocking dead director again
Asked by a reporter if he stands by his statement on Rob Reiner’s death after a number of Republicans have denounced it, Trump doesn’t offer any sympathy, doubles down on his dislike for Reiner AND refers to himself in the third person.
Well, I wasn’t a fan of his at all, he was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned.
He knew it was false, in fact it was the exact opposite, but he said that I was a friend of Russia, controlled by Russia, the Russia hoax, he was one of the people behind it.
I think he hurt himself career-wise, he became like a deranged person, Trump derangement syndrome.
So I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way, shape or form. I thought he was very bad for our country.
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Per my earlier post, Trump confirms that he’s considering an executive order to reclassify marijuana “because a lot of people want to see it … because it leads to a tremendous amount of research that can’t be done unless you reclassify it.”
“We are looking at that very strongly,” Trump tells reporters in the Oval Office.
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Trump says he's suing the BBC 'probably this afternoon or tomorrow morning' for 'putting words in my mouth'
Trump says he’s suing the BBC for “putting words in my mouth” and that he’ll be filing the suit “probably this afternoon or tomorrow morning”.
He suggests the BBC used AI to put words in his mouth. But the broadcaster is not accused of changing the words Trump said; rather it is accused of editing a speech that Trump made on 6 January 2021 in such a way that made it appear clearer that he encouraged the US Capitol attack.
Below is a side-by-side comparison of the original and edited footage in question, which shows how the BBC selectively edited the speech.
An edition of Panorama, broadcast a week before the 2024 US election, spliced together clips of the speech, suggesting that Trump told the crowd: ‘We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.’ The words were taken from sections of his speech almost an hour apart.
Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general; and the head of BBC News resigned over the affair, and the broadcaster issued an apology.
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“America’s adversaries are trafficking fentanyl into the United States at least in part because they want to kill Americans,” he says.
Trump says he will sign executive order classifying fentanyl as 'weapon of mass destruction'
“With this historic executive order I will sign today, we’re formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, which is what it is,” Trump says.
“These are a direct military threat to the United States of America,” Trump says of the boats. “They’re trying to drug out our country.” He then appears to compare the US to China during the Opium Wars.
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Trump suggests US is going to start hitting drug smugglers on land
Turning to a mix of the border, gas prices and drug smuggling, Trump claims drug smuggling by sea is “down 94%”, adding: “And we’re going to start hitting them on land.”
Trump says he hopes they can get Russia and Ukraine “on the same page” in order to end the war.
Trump says 'we're closer now than ever' to ending Russia's war in Ukraine
“I think we’re closer now than we have been ever,” he adds, referring to the prospect of ending the war. “We’re having tremendous support from European leaders, they want to get it ended also.”
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He says he had “very long and very good talks” with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the heads of Germany, Italy, Nato, Finland, France, the UK, Poland, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
“Things are going along pretty well,” he says again.
Trump says they’ve also had numerous conversations with Vladimir Putin.
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Trump says he had a “very good conversation” with European leaders about an hour ago regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We had a long discussion and things are seemingly going well, but we’ve been saying that for a long time” he says. “It’s a difficult one.”
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Donald Trump is taking part in a border defense medal ceremony now. I’ll bring you any key lines if he says anything newsworthy.
“This statement is wrong,” Republican representative Mike Lawler, of New York, wrote on X today in response to Donald Trump’s reaction to the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner.
Regardless of one’s political views, no one should be subjected to violence, let alone at the hands of their own son. It’s a horrible tragedy that should engender sympathy and compassion from everyone in our country, period.
He joins a number of fellow Republicans outraged by the president’s attack on the director, who was killed alongside his wife at their home in Los Angeles. In a separate post Lawler paid tribute to Reiner’s work, and called the couple’s deaths “heartbreaking”. He wrote:
Rob Reiner was an iconic actor, director, and producer. He directed some of my favorite films, including A Few Good Men and the American President. Rob and his wife Michele’s death is a tragedy and heartbreaking. May their memory always be a blessing — his legacy will endure.
Former president Bill Clinton said he and wife Hillary Clinton were “heartbroken by the tragic deaths of our friends Rob and Michele Reiner”. In a post on X he continued:
They inspired and uplifted millions through their work in film and television. And they were good, generous people who made everyone who knew them better through their active citizenship in defense of inclusive democracy, setting an example for us all to follow. Hillary and I will always be grateful for their friendship, unfailing kindness and support.
Maria Shriver, the journalist and former first lady of California, said Rob and Michele Reiner were among her “closest friends,” saying they last had dinner together last week and that the two were “in the best place in the their lives”.
She commented on Trump’s post, saying she normally tries to rise above the noise, but that Trump “has no human decency”.
“This goes beyond. It’s absolutely disgusting. We should all be horrified and disgusted by this inhumane behavior, because that’s what it is. Rob and Michele Reiner were good, kind, loving people. They were good human beings and good friends to me and countless others. Their family is in deep, unimaginable pain. What kind of human being would share a statement like this, much less a president? Rob and Michele would tell me to just ignore him, but I can’t. I just can’t. And I hope you don’t either. They deserve so much better, as does their family.”
She said in another post on X that the Reiners were “devoted parents” who never gave up on any of their kids. “It’s important to know this and understand this,” she said. “This is not a time for judgement, for politics or rumors. It’s a time for compassion, for understanding, for love. Just because we have a president who can’t do better doesn’t mean each of us can’t.”
In addition to those speaking out against Trump for his comments about Rob Reiner’s murder, political figures are writing in remembrance of the director and actor, who was also active in Democratic politics.
Former president Barack Obama said he was “heartbroken” by the loss of the Reiners, citing Rob Reiner’s movies and TV shows for giving the Obamas “some of our most cherished stories on screen”.
“But beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people—and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action,” Obama wrote. “Together, he and his wife lived lives defined by purpose. They will be remembered for the values they championed and the countless people they inspired.”
Conservative commentator Jack Posobiec wrote late last night that people on the right would not be celebrating Rob Reiner’s murder. “Compare to the Left’s reaction to Charlie Kirk’s murder,” he wrote.
That was, of course, before the president himself posted a rant about Reiner condemned by people on both sides of the aisle.
“Jack, seems like your president may disagree with you. Sick,” the press office for California governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X.
A reminder that police are still investigating the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner as an apparent homicide, and their son Nick is currently in custody. Donald Trump’s shocking comments claiming that their deaths are linked to Rob Reiner’s outspoken opposition to him is unsubstantiated.
The Associated Press reports that the White House, which amplified the president’s attack on X, did not respond to a message about the criticism it was receiving and calls for Trump to take it down.
Trump has a long track record of making light of violence against those he perceives as his political opponents, but as the AP notes his comments today were “a drastic departure from the role presidents typically play in offering a message of consolation or tribute to the death of a public figure. His message has drawn criticism even from conservatives and his supporters and laid bare Trump’s unwillingness to rise above political grievance in moments of crisis.”
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Democratic senator Chris Murphy has also lambasted the president’s intent on decrying his opponents even in the face of a tragedy as “sick”. He wrote on X:
He’s just lost it. Now saying Rob and Michele Reiner caused their own murder because they didn’t support him. So sick.
And Texas representative Jasmine Crockett denounced Trump treating Reiner’s death as “an opportunity to ‘score’ political points”. “There is no limit to how low he is willing to go,” she wrote on X, “and that speaks volumes about how dangerously unfit he is to lead.”
The sitting President of the United States looked at the death of Rob Reiner and decided it was an opportunity to “score” political points. Let me be very clear: this was a horrific tragedy. Families are mourning. This is not a campaign rally. There is no limit to how low he is willing to go—and that speaks volumes about how dangerously unfit he is to lead. My condolences go out to Rob Reiner’s family and loved ones.
Adding to the chorus of voices condemning Donald Trump’s mocking Rob Reiner’s death this morning is Jenna Ellis, who was one of Trump’s lawyers and worked on his efforts in 2020 to overturn the results of the presidential election.
In a post on X, she pointed out the president’s double standard by comparing his comments to the right’s reaction to Charlie Kirk’s death and called Trump’s post “NOT the appropriate response”. “This is a horrible example from Trump,” she said, “and should be condemned by everyone with decency.”
A man and his wife were murdered last night. This is NOT the appropriate response.
The Right uniformly condemned political and celebratory responses to Charlie Kirk’s death. This is a horrible example from Trump (and surprising considering the two attempts on his own life) and should be condemned by everyone with any decency.
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Kash Patel under fire again for touting FBI’s work tracking down suspect prematurely
FBI director Kash Patel is once again facing criticism for rushing to social media to tout his agency’s work on tracking down a person of interest in a shooting prematurely.
After a shooter killed two and injured nine at Brown University on Saturday, Patel, a lawyer and rightwing commentator before his job in the administration, posted on X that his agency had helped detain a “person of interest in a hotel room” in Coventry, Rhode Island, acting off a lead from the Providence police.
But the person of interest was later released from custody hours later, and the shooter is still at large.
“We have not yet solved this case, but I am confident we are going to do that in the near future,” Rhode Island attorney general Peter Neronha said today, adding there was only a “quantum of evidence which justified detaining this person as a person of interest”.
Local authorities said in a press conference on Sunday night that a tip came in about the person of interest, which the FBI picked up and investigated. The evidence wasn’t sufficient to keep the person in custody.
It isn’t the first time Patel has erroneously posted online to tout police work. After Charlie Kirk was murdered on a college campus in September, Patel shared on social media that “the subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody”, though the shooter had not yet been apprehended. Conservatives came after Patel for the error. Some have referred to him as “Keystone Kash”, a reference to slapstick policing by Keystone cops depicted in silent films.
Agents within the bureau and those who have recently left it have said Patel is “in over his head” and leading a “chronically underperforming” agency paralyzed by fear and plummeting morale, a report compiled earlier this month said. The FBI sources told a national group that Patel doesn’t have the experience necessary to run the agency, leaving it a “rudderless ship”.
Analysis: Despite positive US rhetoric, Ukraine and US appear to be still quite far from comprehensive deal
I’m just off a call with US officials on Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s discussions with the Ukrainians and European delegations in Berlin, which included nearly 8 hours of meetings with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
While the discussions were described as constructive in particular concerning future US-brokered security guarantees for Ukraine, it sounds like the sides are quite far from a comprehensive peace deal, with significant differences remaining on the future status of the occupied Ukrainian territory, as well as key issues like the future operations of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
The US delegation was upbeat. The officials claimed that they are “90%” of the way toward a deal between Ukraine and Russia -- in particular, the US delegation claimed that they had developed “Article 5-like” security guarantees for Ukraine that had satisfied both Kyiv and the Europeans (we’ll see what the Europeans brief about that).
The US officials said they wouldn’t release details of the security guarantees yet, but that it included “very strong safeguards” to prevent the war from restarting if a deal is reached. That said, the US won’t be putting boots on the ground in Ukraine according to the officials, so they’ll have to release more details to convince skeptics that Russia will respect those “Article 5-like” guarantees in the future.
A lot of questions remain.
The main one is territory. It was clear from the call that there is not an agreement yet on who would control what territory after a peace deal and how that territory would be recognised. One US official said they had “brainstormed” on turning the occupied Ukrainian territory into an “economic free zone” and they had spent “a lot of time trying to define what that would mean, how it operates”.
So there’s a long way to go in those discussions as well, and the US officials admitted that they may not be able to get that issue across the line: “Ultimately, if we can get that defined, then it will really get to [Russia and Ukraine] to work out the final issues of sovereignty and to see if there’s a deal that can be done between them.”
The US officials said they’ll go back to working groups in the US this weekend, but that they’re ready to travel to Russia or Ukraine in the future if the deal can get done.
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California Democrat describes comments as 'new low for this petty, hateful man'
Democratic representative Zoe Lofgren, of California, called on the president’s party to condemn his “making light” of Rob and Michele Reiner’s deaths, which she called “a new low for this petty, hateful man”. She wrote on X:
Rob Reiner was a beloved Californian who always used his platform to make the world better. Donald Trump making light of him and his wife’s murders is a new low for this petty, hateful man. His party needs to condemn this.
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Republicans criticize Trump's 'inappropriate and disrespectful' Rob Reiner remarks
More Republicans are weighing in on Trump’s earlier comments around the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner.
Kentucky representative Thomas Massie, who has fiercely opposed Trump on several issues and been personally attacked by the president as a result, called Trump’s comments “inappropriate and disrespectful” and challenged his GOP colleagues to defend them. He wrote on X:
Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered. I guess my elected GOP colleagues, the VP, and White House staff will just ignore it because they’re afraid? I challenge anyone to defend it.
And Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a once staunch ally turned vocal critic of Trump who last month abruptly announced her resignation after a bitter public falling out with the president, wrote:
Rob Reiner and his wife were tragically killed at the hands of their own son, who reportedly had drug addiction and other issues, and their remaining children are left in serious mourning and heartbreak. This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies. Many families deal with a family member with drug addiction and mental health issues. It’s incredibly difficult and should be met with empathy especially when it ends in murder.
Nick Reiner has been arrested following the death of his parents, according to Los Angeles jail records.
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CNBC reported last week that Trump could sign an executive order “as soon as Monday” that would allow for reclassification of marijuana, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Trump first floated the idea that he was “looking at reclassification” in August, and the Washington Post (paywall) was first to report last week that he’s planning to direct agencies to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug, similar to some common prescription painkillers.
But Axios reported the change would likely take place early next year and, per my last post, there’s no executive order signing on Trump’s schedule today. And a White House official said on Thursday that no final decision had been made. We’ll let you know if anything looks likely to change on that later today.
According to the president’s schedule, Donald Trump will be participating in a “Mexican border defense” medal ceremony at 3pm ET followed by two Christmas parties in the evening.
Kamala Harris also paid tribute to her “dear friends” Rob and Michele, calling Rob Reiner someone who “loved our country, cared deeply about the future of our nation, and fought for America’s democracy”. In a post on X, she wrote:
Rob Reiner’s work has impacted generations of Americans. The characters, dialogue, and visuals he brought to life in film and television are woven throughout our culture. Rob loved our country, cared deeply about the future of our nation, and fought for America’s democracy. Rob and his wife Michele loved each other very much. They were dear friends, and Doug and I are devastated to learn of their passing. Our thoughts are with their loved ones during this tragic time.
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Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer also paid tribute in a post on X, not only to Reiner’s work in film but also to his being “a relentless defender of democracy and the values so many of us share”.
Horrific news today out of California of the tragic death of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele. Not only was Rob an incredibly talented actor & director, he was also a relentless defender of democracy and the values so many of us share. He will be missed dearly. My prayers this morning are with the Reiner family and all those who loved his movies and what he and Michele stood for.
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In stark contrast to the president’s comments, Republican senator Ted Cruz has expressed that he is “deeply saddened by the horrific murder of Rob Reiner and his wife”. In a post on X, Cruz went on:
He was one of the most talented movie-makers to have ever lived. From Spinal Tap to When Harry Met Sally, from A Few Good Men to my favorite movie of all time, The Princess Bride. We are weeping the loss of a comedic and story-telling master. His movies touched us, deeply, and spoke to our fundamental humanity. Rob Reiner was one of a kind, and he will be missed.
The tragic circumstances of his murder make it all the more horrible. Heidi & I are praying for his family. Rest in Peace.
Trump condemned for ‘disgusting’ and ‘depraved’ statement after deaths of Rob Reiner and wife Michele
In an astonishing post on Truth Social this morning, Donald Trump suggested that Hollywood director Rob Reiner, 78, who was found dead at his home alongside his wife Michele, 68, in what is being investigated as an “apparent homicide”, was killed because he angered people with his “Trump Derangement Syndrome”.
Reiner had spoken out about Trump many times over the years. He said in a 2017 interview with Variety that he thought Trump was “mentally unfit” to be president and called him the “single most unqualified human being to ever assume the presidency of the United States”.
He also told the Guardian last year that Trump’s re-election could lead to the US turning into an autocracy. “We see autocracy making its move around the world,” he said. “And so if we [the US] crumble, there’s a danger that democracy crumbles around the world.”
The president’s Truth Social post has been met with fierce criticism online, with many commentators calling it “disgusting” and “depraved”. Others have also contrasted Trump’s words with his administration’s calls for compassion after the killing of Charlie Kirk (and its crackdown on anyone it deemed to be “celebrating” or “making light” of it). At the time, Trump called Kirk’s killing a “the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree”.
This clip has been making the rounds, in which Reiner poignantly explained that he had felt “absolute horror” at Kirk’s assassination in September. “That should’ve never happened to anybody,” Reiner told Piers Morgan. “I don’t care what your political beliefs are – that’s not acceptable, that’s not a solution.” He added that he found Kirk’s widow’s forgiveness of her husband’s killer “beautiful” and “admirable”. It would be one of Reiner’s final television interviews.
A quote from Kirk himself in 2016 has also resurfaced today: “You can tell a lot about a person by the way they react when someone dies.”
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Ukraine’s top negotiator has said that talks with the US have been constructive and productive, my colleague Frances Mao reports.
Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, said in a post on X that “real progress” had been achieved with hopes of lasting peace deal. He said the Americans, led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, were “working extremely constructively to help Ukraine find a way to a peace agreement that lasts”.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that US peace negotiators insisted during yesterday’s talks in Berlin that the Ukrainian side should agree to withdraw its troops from the Donetsk region, saying the matter of territory was a central issue for Russia, an official familiar with the matter said.
Citing an official with direct knowledge of the talks, the news agency reports that the territorial question remained unresolved today and that the Ukrainian delegation responded yesterday that further discussion was needed.
AFP hears similar, reporting that US negotiators still want Ukraine to cede control of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions as a condition for peace talks with Russia.
Kyiv is pushing back against Washington’s demand that it pull troops from the two regions collectively known as Donbas, which Russia has been unable to capture since invading in February 2022.
Russian president Vladimir Putin “wants territory,” an official briefed on the discussions told AFP, adding the US was demanding that Ukraine “withdraw” from the regions and that Kyiv was refusing.
“It’s a bit striking that the Americans are taking the Russians’ position on this issue,” the official added.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz will host other world leaders, including Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, in a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday.
The countries are working alongside Ukraine on peace talks. European leaders have previously criticized US proposals to end the war as too friendly to Russia.
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have been in Berlin as part of these talks, including a lengthy meeting with Zelenskyy on Sunday.
Witkoff and Kushner have been invited to the dinner with European leaders.
In the interview with WCCO, Representative Ilhan Omar said her office has received a flood of calls in the weeks since Trump began targeting her by name and calling her, and other Somalis, “garbage”.
Most of those calls, she said, are people lending their support and saying they disagree with the president.
“They also tell us to continue fighting, because it does set an example when you stand up to bullies,” Omar said.
She touched on the massive fraud cases in Minnesota, which is part of why Trump has said he’s going after Somalis. Many of those convicted of defrauding public programs, including a program meant to provide meals to kids, are of Somali descent. Omar said the whole community should not be blamed for the crimes of individuals, and that she and other Minnesotans also were “deeply hurt” by the fraud. As to whether money sent from Somalis in the US back home could be funding Al-Shabaab, the terrorist group – a claim made by rightwing media in recent weeks – she said she supports the government investigating.
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Ilhan Omar says ICE agents pulled her son over
Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of US politics.
Ilhan Omar, the Somalia-born Minnesota congresswoman, has said her son was pulled over by ICE agents on Saturday and asked to provide proof of citizenship.
“Yesterday, after he made a stop at Target, he did get pulled over by ICE agents, and once he was able to produce his passport ID, they did let him go,” she told WCCO’s Esme Murphy.
Omar fled civil war as a young child, came to the US as a refugee and became a US citizen in 2000.
She became one of the first people of Muslim faith to be elected to the US Congress after winning Minnesota’s fifth congressional district in the midterm elections in 2018.
Omar told WCCO that it was “disturbing” and “creepy” to have the president be “obsessed with you” – but said it is a deflection tactic to focus attention away from his political failures.
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