The global supply chain is under strain, and one of the reasons is a lack of visibility into how shipments are being transported around the world. According to one recent survey, nearly half of the organizations polled reported having little-to-no visibility into their upstream supply chains. In search of a remedy, Krenar Komoni, who’d for […]
Former President Joe Biden doled out a flurry of pardons during his final days in office, but he did not issue a pardon for Jack Smith, or other figures connected to cases involving President Donald Trump, who has frequently castigated those he feels have unjustly targeted him.
In a post on Truth Social earlier this month, Trump asserted that "Corrupt Democrat judges and prosecutors" had targeted him "at levels of injustice never seen before."
Biden also did not pardon figures Trump has publicly assailed, including Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, New York Judge Juan Merchan, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Trump has often decried Jack Smith, the special counsel who sought to wage two federal cases against him, but who has now resigned.
Trump has repeatedly called the man "Deranged Jack Smith."
In a report issued earlier this month ahead of Trump's inauguration, Smith asserted, "with respect to both Mr. Trump's unprecedented efforts to unlawfully retain power after losing the 2020 election and his unlawful retention of classified documents after leaving office, the Principles [of Federal Proseuction] compelled prosecution."
"While we were not able to bring the cases we charged to trial, I believe the fact that our team stood up for the rule of law matters," he noted.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought a case that led to a jury finding Trump guilty of charges of falsifying business records.
Bragg has been one of the targets of Trump's ire.
On Truth Social, Trump has called him "Soft on Crime Alvin Bragg" and "Corrupt Soros Funded District Attorney, Alvin Bragg."
Trump has also excoriated Judge Juan Merchan, who was involved in Trump's New York criminal trial.
For example, Trump has called him "Corrupt, Deeply Conflicted, Democrat Appointed Acting Judge Juan Merchan," and claimed that the judge was aiming to "RIG the Manhattan Sham ‘Trial.’"
The Georgia Court of Appeals declared Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis disqualified from a Trump-related election interference case.
"There is no way such corrupt people can lead a case, and then it gets taken over by somebody else," Trump told Fox News Digital. "It was a corrupt case, so how could it be taken over by someone else?"
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this report
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was confirmed unanimously by the Senate to be the next secretary of state, making him the first of President Trump's Cabinet picks to receive congressional approval.
Rubio, a senator since 2011, was confirmed during a floor vote by the full Senate Monday night, several hours after Trump took his oath of office earlier in the day. The full Senate floor vote occurred following a separate vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which also voted unanimously in favor of Rubio's nomination Monday.
Rubio enters his role as secretary of state with a strong foreign policy background as a longtime member of the Senate's Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees. He is also a first-generation Cuban American.
His road to confirmation has been less controversial than many of Trump's other Cabinet picks. At Rubio's first confirmation hearing last week in front of the Foreign Relations Committee, the committee's top-ranking Democrat, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, said she thought Rubio possessed "the skills" and is "well-qualified" to serve as the next secretary of state. She echoed this sentiment Monday evening as well before the full Senate vote.
"I've had a good working relationship with Sen. Rubio for many years, and I was very impressed during his hearing by his grasp of policy," Shaheen said Monday evening. "While we may not always agree, I believe he has the skills, knowledge and qualifications to be secretary of state."
Rubio expressed during his initial confirmation hearing last week that under Trump the State Department's "top priority" will be to put America first.
"This will not be easy," Rubio said. "And it will be impossible without a strong and a confident America that engages in the world, putting our core national interests, once again, above all else."
Rubio will face some major challenges heading into his new role, notably the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Rubio described the fighting between Ukraine and Russia as a "stalemate" that "has to end" during his confirmation hearing last week, adding that under Trump's proposed peace deal both countries will have to make "concessions." Meanwhile, despite Trump's past criticisms of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Rubio called the alliance "very important" and insisted that Trump was also a NATO supporter.
On Gaza, Rubio supported Israel's actions to defend itself against Hamas but stopped short of indicating one way or the other if he thought Israel's annexation of parts of the West Bank was something he supported.
"The idea would be that there not be conflict and the people could live side-by-side with one another without being in conflict and with the ability to pursue prosperity," Rubio said. "Sadly and unfortunately the conditions for that to exist have not been in place for a substantial period of time."
Rubio also repeatedly singled out China during his remarks in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week. "We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this global order. And they took advantage of all its benefits. But they ignored all its obligations and responsibilities," Rubio posited at his hearing. "Instead, they have lied, cheated, hacked and stolen their way to global superpower status, at our expense."
While Rubio did not face significant opposition to his confirmation, some Trump-aligned Republicans have expressed disdain over Rubio's willingness to certify the results of the 2020 election that Trump alleged was "stolen" from him. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has been an outspoken supporter of less U.S. intervention, also questioned Rubio's hawkish stance on American intervention amid his confirmation to be secretary of state.
President Biden issued five more pardons on Sunday on his last full day in office, including for political activist and Black nationalist Marcus Garvey.
"America is a country built on the promise of second chances," Biden said in a statement. "As President, I have used my clemency power to make that promise a reality by issuing more individual pardons and commutations than any other President in U.S. history. Today, I am exercising my clemency power to pardon 5 individuals and commute the sentences of 2 individuals who have demonstrated remorse, rehabilitation, and redemption. These clemency recipients have each made significant contributions to improving their communities."
In addition to Garvey, the clemency recipients are Darryl Chambers, Ravidath "Ravi" Ragbir,Don Leonard Scott, Jr., and Kemba Smith Pradia. Garvey was granted the pardon posthumously.
The Biden White House described Garvey, who influenced Malcolm X, as "a renowned civil rights and human rights leader who was convicted of mail fraud in 1923, and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment."
Former President Calvin Coolidge commuted his sentence in 1927. "Notably, Mr. Garvey created the Black Star Line, the first Black-owned shipping line and method of international travel, and founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association, which celebrated African history and culture. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described Mr. Garvey as ‘the first man of color in the history of the United States to lead and develop a mass movement’," the White House said. "Advocates and lawmakers praise his global advocacy and impact, and highlight the injustice underlying his criminal conviction."
Congressional leaders had pushed for Biden to pardon Garvey. Supporters long argued that Garvey's conviction was politically motivated and an effort to silence the increasingly popular leader who spoke of racial pride.
Biden also pardoned Ragbir, an immigrant rights activist, and Smith Pradia, an advocate for criminal justice reform. Ragbir was convicted of a nonviolent offense in 2001 and was sentenced to two years in prison. Smith Pradia is an advocate convicted of a drug offense in 1994 when she was sentenced to 24 years behind bars. President Bill Clinton commuted her sentence in 2000.
Biden also announced he is commuting the sentences of 2 additional individuals – Michelle West and Robin Peoples – so that their sentences expire on Feb.18, 2025.
West was convicted in the '90s on charges that included conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, drug-related homicide and aiding and abetting in drug-related homicide, court records show.
The White House said West "is currently serving a life sentence for crimes she committed between 1987 and 1993."
"During her three decades of incarceration, Ms. West has demonstrated extraordinary rehabilitation and personal transformation," the Biden White House argued. "Ms. West’s clemency petition has received overwhelming support from the civil rights community, women’s rights advocates, former fellow inmates, and lawmakers. Supporters describe Ms. West as a role model who has built a 31-year record of rehabilitation and redemption."
Meanwhile, court records show Peoples was convicted of bank robbery and other associated offenses.
Peoples "is currently serving a 111-year sentence for crimes he committed in the late 1990s," the White House said in their announcement. "Mr. Peoples would likely face a significantly lower sentence under current law and policy. While in custody, he has demonstrated remarkable rehabilitation and courage. Mr. Peoples’s clemency petition has received overwhelming support from the civil rights community, government officials, friends, and family members. Mr. Peoples’s supporters describe him as a model inmate, an inspiring mentor, and someone deserving of a second chance."
It's still not clear whether Biden will use his last full day in office to give pardons to people who have been criticized by President-elect Donald Trump.
Biden had floated the idea of issuing preemptive pardons for possible offenses by Trump’s critics that could be investigated or prosecuted by the incoming administration. Doing so would stretch the powers of the presidency in untested ways.
Former homicide detective Pat Postiglione reviews portrayals of serial killers in movies and TV shows.
He analyzes the psychology and methods of serial killers as seen in "Silence of the Lambs," starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins; and "Zodiac," starring Robert Downey Jr., Jake Gyllenhaal, and Mark Ruffalo. He talks about how to catch a suspect on the run in "True Detective," starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, and "Seven," starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Gwyneth Paltrow.
He relates to cases he's worked on to describe how to link a footprint to a suspect in "The Batman," starring Robert Pattinson, Paul Dano, and Jeffrey Wright. He talks about the portrayals of real-life serial killers like Ted Bundy in "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile," starring Zac Efron, Jim Parsons, and Lily Collins; and Jeffrey Dahmer in "Dahmer," starring Evan Peters. He discusses how serial killers dispose of bodies in "Mindhunter," starring Jonathan Groff. Finally, he details the best ways to collect evidence from a crime scene in "The Bone Collector," starring Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, and Queen Latifah.
Pat Postiglione was a detective with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department for over 32 years. He helped solve around 75 cold cases as part of the department's homicide cold case unit. With the homicide murder squad unit, he investigated the cases of six serial killers. You can watch him talk about his past cases on "Deadly Recall."
The process of getting screened for cervical cancer is quite intimidating. It’s the once-a-year, sometimes life-changing treatment that involves the bright lights of a doctor’s office and an uncomfortable insertion that always seems to last too long. It’s no wonder Kara Egan and Dr. Avnesh Thakor saw the potential to make this process more comfortable […]
Expect a traffic jam in the Senate soon as the race is on to confirm President-elect Trump’s cabinet nominees.
In short, nothing can happen until President-elect Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
Yes, there will be plenty of Trump loyalists attending various inaugural balls around town.
But once the inauguration festivities conclude at the Capitol, the Senate will get down to business. A handful of committees are already angling to schedule "markups" to potentially discharge or send various nominations to the floor. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has already teed up a meeting for 3:15 pm et on January 20 for the nomination of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to be Secretary of State. And if the custom holds, the Senate will confirm at least a few of Mr. Trump’s nominees just hours after he takes the oath of office.
The Senate confirmed Trump’s Defense Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on the evening of January 20, 2017. The next confirmation didn’t come until January 31, 2017. That was Elaine Chao, wife of former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), to be Transportation Secretary.
In 2021, the Senate confirmed one of President Biden’s nominees shortly after he was sworn-in. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines was the first Biden nominee confirmed – on the night of January 20, 2021. The first, full cabinet-level vote did not come until January 22, when the Senate confirmed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
So, while everyone is trying to squeeze into their tux on Monday night, look for the Senate to potentially vote on a nominee or two on the evening of January 20th.
Fox is told that the most likely candidates might include Rubio – since he is a known quantity in the Senate and has bipartisan support. Another possibility would be CIA Director nominee John Ratcliffe. The Senate previously confirmed Ratcliffe as the Director of National Intelligence during the first Trump Administration. He is also a known entity in the halls of Congress and served as a Republican congressman from Texas. His hearing is on for tomorrow.
Frankly, the ambitious timetable of approving several of the nominees quickly could be challenging.
The Senate Energy Committee had to postpone Tuesday’s confirmation hearing for Interior Secretary Doug Burgum from Tuesday until Thursday due to delays over paperwork. Veterans Affairs Secretary nominee Doug Collins is not controversial. He is a former GOP congressman from Georgia. But his confirmation hearing for Tuesday was pushed back until next week. Collins may have been one figure who could have been confirmed quickly.
Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi is also one who could secure relatively speedy confirmation. Her hearing is Wednesday and Thursday. So maybe next week for her? Unclear.
But let’s examine the track record of the Senate confirming President Biden’s nominees and place it against expectations for the new Trump Administration.
After Lloyd Austin, the Senate confirmed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on January 25, 2021, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on January 26. Most cabinet officials weren’t confirmed until February or March. The Senate did not confirm Interior Secretary Deb Haaland until March 15, 2021, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra until March 18, 2021, and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh until March 22, 2021.
You get the idea.
Every nominee must go through a hearing. Committees have different rules about how they discharge a nomination to the floor. So that could consume some time as well. Some nominees could be bottled up in committee, depending on opposition or attendance problems. Then there may be debate on the floor.
If Democrats filibuster a nominee, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) may need to tee up a procedural gambit to break filibusters. The process of just initiating a procedural vote to break a filibuster consumes parts of three days alone. If a nominee’s opponents still don’t relent, it’s possible that senators could drag out debate on a nominee for day or two – even though the Senate has broken a filibuster.
In February 2017, Mike Pence became the first Vice President to break a tie to confirm a cabinet official. He did so to confirm former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
In other words, floor time is at a premium. There are various parliamentary "meridians" for when the Senate can take certain procedural votes to advance a nominee. That’s why the Senate took a procedural vote at 7 am on the DeVos nomination in February 2017. The Senate also confirmed then Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price around 2 am one morning.
And we haven’t even gotten to other nominations which are important to the Administration – such as Pete Hoekstra to be Ambassador to Canada or Mike Huckabee to serve as Ambassador to Israel. There are more than 800 positions which require Senate confirmation.
To accelerate things, the Senate could confirm some swaths of non-controversial nominees "en bloc." That means the Senate clears the nominees on both sides to make sure there are no objections. If there are none, the Senate compiles a list and confirms a group of nominees together in one fell swoop.
But this is a long and tedious process. Confirming various positions in the Trump administration is going to take months. It consumes hours of floor time. That’s the most precious commodity in the Senate. Keep in mind that the push to confirm Trump nominees comes as the Senate is trying to work out a time agreement and amendments to pass the Laken Riley Act and a bill to sanction the International Criminal Court over its arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
This is a monster process. And it will likely consume some early mornings, very late nights and even some weekend sessions before this is settled.
Former President Jimmy Carter's body was brought to the District of Columbia on Tuesday afternoon and will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol before a state funeral set for Thursday across town at the Washington National Cathedral.
Carter died Sunday, Dec. 29, at 100 years old. His death came just over a year after the death of his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter.
Carter’s ceremonial arrival at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda came after the start of six days of funeral ceremonies that began Saturday morning in the 39th president's hometown of Plains, Georgia.
Carter's casket was greeted at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, D.C., on Tuesday by the U.S. Air Force Band playing "Abide with Me." From Andrews, a hearse took Carter's casket to the U.S. Navy Memorial for a brief ceremony. Carter, a Naval Academy alumnus, served as a submarine officer before leaving the Navy to take over his family's farm.
At the Navy Memorial, the casket was transferred to a horse-drawn caisson for a procession up Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S. Capitol.
Vice President Harris delivered a eulogy at the Capitol's lying-in-state ceremony and was joined by second gentleman Doug Emhoff in presenting a memorial wreath on behalf of the executive branch of the government.
The U.S. Capitol ceremony on Tuesday featured remarks from both House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., representing their respective houses of Congress.
Johnson praised Carter in his speech as an "extraordinary man" and applauded both his service in the military and his work for charitable causes such as Habitat for Humanity and The Carter Center, the latter founded in 1982 by the former first couple.
"I'm reminded of his admonition to quote, 'Live our lives as though Christ were coming this afternoon,'" Johnson remarked on Tuesday. "And of his amazing personal reflection, 'If I have one life and one chance to make it count for something.'"
"We all agree that he certainly did," he concluded. "So today, in these hallowed halls of our republic, we honor President Carter, his family and his enduring legacy that he leaves not only upon this nation but upon the world."
Johnson announced last month that Carter would lie in state in a letter to Carter's second-eldest son, James Carter III.
"In recognition of President Carter’s long and distinguished service to the nation, it is our intention to ask the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate to permit his remains lie in state in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol," the leaders wrote.
Besides Carter, just 12 presidents have lain in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, the use of which requires approval by both the House and Senate. The last president to lie in state was George H.W. Bush in December 2018. Since 1865, nearly all services held in the Capitol Rotunda have used the catafalque that was constructed in 1865 for displaying President Lincoln's casket.
Members of the public can view Carter’s casket from early Wednesday through early Thursday, when his official state funeral service will be held at the Washington National Cathedral.
The former president will be honored and remembered through several days of funeral services before returning to his hometown for private funeral and interment ceremonies. He will be laid to rest by his wife.
Following President Biden's move to commute the sentences of 37 prisoners on federal death row, Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., called the clemency granted to two of the individuals "horribly misguided and insulting."
In the 37 cases, Biden commuted the sentences to life sentences without the potential for parole.
Manchin — a Democrat-turned-independent senator who will soon leave office — said he felt a responsibility to speak out on behalf of the parents of Samantha Burns, who was slain in 2002 at the age of 19, according to reports.
"After speaking to Samantha Burns’ parents, I believe it is my duty to speak on their behalf and say President Biden’s decision to commute the death sentences for the two men convicted in her brutal murder is horribly misguided and insulting," the lawmaker declared in a statement posted on X.
"Particularly since Samantha’s family wrote letters to President Biden & the Department of Justice, pleading for them not to do this, but their concerns were unheard. I can’t imagine the grief that Kandi and John Burns are reliving and dealing with during the holiday season," Manchin continued. "As their U.S. Senator and a father, I want to express my deepest sympathy for their continued suffering. Please know that Samantha will forever be in our prayers."
"On November 4, 2002, cellmates Chadrick Fulks and Brandon Basham escaped from a county detention facility in Kentucky" and "unleashed a criminal rampage that lasted seventeen days and zigzagged across several states," according to the court, which noted that the men "admitted to killing Burns and pleaded guilty to carjacking resulting in death in the Southern District of West Virginia."
In a fiery Christmas Day post on Truth Social, President-elect Trump told the 37 individuals who escaped capital punishment to "GO TO HELL!"
In a statement about the commutations, President Biden said, "I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss."
But he also said that he was "more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level."
"These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my Administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder," Biden said.
Odyssey, a startup founded by self-driving pioneers Oliver Cameron and Jeff Hawke, is developing an AI-powered tool that can transform text or an image into a 3D rendering. The tool, dubbed Explorer, is similar in some ways to the so-called world models recently demoed by DeepMind, World Labs, and Israeli upstart Decart. Given a caption like “a […]
I shopped for my holiday groceries at Aldi and Trader Joe's.
Joe Opaleski
I'm a loyal Aldi shopper, but I wanted to see how its holiday groceries compared to Trader Joe's.
I found plenty of sweet treats and snacks at both stores, and Aldi's prices were great.
However, when it came to a festive atmosphere, Trader Joe's blew it out of the water.
Every winter, Aldi and Trader Joe's roll out an array of seasonal groceries that get shoppers (myself included) excited for the season.
Aldi is usually my go-to grocery store, but I love stocking up on festive snacks and treats, so I decided to visit both to compare their prices, variety, and overall atmosphere.
Although both chains had seasonal items on display, only one truly delivered the holiday spirit.
The Aldi Finds section was packed with holiday treats.
I tend to avoid the pricier Aldi Finds, but I can't help it around the holidays.
Joe Opaleski
The Aldi Finds section of the store has a variety of specialty items year-round, and it didn't disappoint this holiday season.
The section was filled with everything from desserts and snacks to holiday-themed party favors.
One standout was the gingerbread kit, a classic activity during the holidays. Priced at $8.50, it included prebaked gingerbread, icing, and assorted candies for decorating.
Trader Joe's sprinkled holiday cheer throughout the store.
There wasn't one section of seasonal products at Trader Joe's; they were spread out.
Joe Opaleski
Unlike Aldi, Trader Joe's didn't confine its seasonal items to one section. Festive snacks and treats were scattered throughout the store, adding little pops of cheer as I walked the aisles.
However, each item was clearly marked as a holiday special, so they were still easy to find.
I saw that Trader Joe's had its own take on a gingerbread-house kit. It was similarly priced at $9.
I spotted panettone, the Italian holiday cake, at Aldi.
Panettone screams Christmas.
Joe Opaleski
If you're looking for a classic Italian treat this holiday season, Aldi has a 26.5-ounce panettone for $6.
The store had a chocolate-chip panettone as well as a more traditional version of the cake with dried fruit.
Luckily, Trader Joe's had the classic Italian dessert, too.
I could only find panettone with dried fruit at Trader Joe's.
Joe Opaleski
Trader Joe's had a traditional panettone for sale through its Trader Giotto's line.
The 26.5-ounce cake was a dollar more here at $7, and I only saw one flavor option.
There was no shortage of cheerful snacks at Aldi.
I've never tried peppermint-flavored popcorn.
Joe Opaleski
Both stores offered unique seasonal snacks, but Aldi's peppermint kettle corn caught my eye.
I'd never seen this flavor before, so I was definitely interested in trying it out, especially since the big bag was only $4.
Trader Joe's also stepped up its snack game.
I thought the cranberry granola had a nice festive twist.
I liked the festive twist of the $4 spiced cranberry granola. It was refreshing to see a less common holiday flavor profile.
Aldi's holiday-themed beverages were affordable.
There were dairy and nondairy festive creamers.
Joe Opaleski
When it came to beverages, Aldi impressed me with its range of holiday-themed coffee creamers.
I saw peppermint-bark creamer for $2.70, and the almond-milk-based peppermint-mocha creamer was the same price.
Trader Joe's options, on the other hand, seemed a little more fun.
I could see the festive hot cocoa being a fun stocking stuffer.
Joe Opaleski
Over at Trader Joe's, the standout festive drink was its hot-cocoa polar bear.
The $2.50 chocolate bear melts into warm milk to make a tasty mug of cocoa. I think these kinds of items make great stocking stuffers or smaller gifts, especially for families with kids.
Overall, I think Trader Joe's brought the most cheer.
In addition to festive products, there were also a lot of things that would make great gifts.
Joe Opaleski
If you're looking to save money on holiday treats, Aldi might be a safer bet. It had a nice variety, and its prices were pretty great — I expected as much from the budget grocer.
However, if you want an overall festive shopping experience, I suggest heading to Trader Joe's. The store really impressed me with its range of unique seasonal offerings.
I'll likely be back to both stores as the season unfolds, but for now, Trader Joe's put me in the Christmas spirit just a bit more.
This story was originally published on December 18, 2024, and most recently updated on December 23, 2024.
The holidays have long been the time when American retailers look for a bit of extra help in their stores. Most of the short-term gigs are of the shelf-stocking and checkout nature. And that makes one recent ad that Macy's posted to ZipRecruiter a standout. Requirements? "Always maintain a cheerful, upbeat demeanor," "assist with crowd...
AI training data has a big price tag, one best-suited for deep-pocketed tech firms. This is why Harvard University plans to release a dataset that includes in the region of 1 million public-domain books, spanning genres, languages, and authors including Dickens, Dante, and Shakespeare, which are no longer copyright-protected due to their age. The new […]
Multiple top Alaskan officials are expressing outrage at the way the Biden administration is orchestrating its final congressionally mandated leasing of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Section 1002 land for fossil fuel exploration.
Both of Alaska's U.S. senators, the state’s governor and local officials in the remote communities nearest the North Slope refuge collectively expressed that the Department of Interior’s planned January sale was set up in bad faith.
"These leases should be executed in good faith along the established historical processes. And obviously, the Biden administration in the past four years has just been brutal on Alaska," said Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
"And, you know, they're in the twilight of their term here. But nonetheless, they're going to continue to double-down on denying Alaska opportunities, denying our people opportunities, denying America the opportunity to potentially get some more oil [exploration] going to the future."
Dunleavy added that, despite his top perch in Juneau, he remained unclear on exactly what the Biden administration sought to gain by treating Alaska as alleged while buying energy from America’s rivals and working to shepherd in alternative fuels.
"I think when we look back on this over time, there's going to be a lot of head-scratching as to what was the purpose of all this?" he said.
"I keep telling people the idea that nobody's going to want oil if you don't allow drilling in Alaska: it makes no sense."
For his part, Dunleavy has expressed an openness to pursuing alternative fuels, including the idea of harnessing tides in the Kenai Peninsula's Cook Inlet — the second-strongest in the world — to produce energy.
The governor said that just as the Biden administration cancelled leases in ANWR-1002, President-elect Trump could nix those moves.
"They defied the spirit of the law itself," he said. "So I look forward to January 20th."
Meanwhile, leaders in the Inupiat village of Kaktovik — the only community within ANWR-1002 — slammed the structure of the lease sale.
Green interests have long claimed local residents and Native communities oppose development on their lands, but in a statement to Fox News Digital, Inupiat leaders disagreed.
"The release of the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has left the community of Kaktovik, Alaska… frustrated and discontented," a community representative said.
"The lands under question are the traditional lands of the Kaktovikmiut. However, it is apparent once again that outside, well-funded environmental groups have had the preferential voice during the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) process."
Local leaders accused the administration of siding with outside interests, rather than hearing from locals who may not see it their way.
"Kaktovik does not support this outcome nor condone the process by which it was reached," community leaders jointly said of the lease sale structure.
Edward Rexford, the Native village president, called it a "predetermined outcome," and that as a small tribal entity, they were not afforded adequate opportunity to participate in the impact statement process.
"The City of Kaktovik is outraged by this result," said Mayor Nathan Gordon, Jr.
Officials at the Alaska Industrial Development & Export Authority (AIDEA) concurred, adding their analysis found the Biden administration's record-of-decision blocked "nearly all development of even a small part" of ANWR-1002.
"Sadly, the Biden administration continues to take illegal actions to stop all natural resource development in Alaska," said AIDEA executive director Randy Ruaro.
"Jobs from developing ANWR would offer high wages to Alaskans at a level that can keep families in-state."
In a statement, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said the sale is an "eleventh-hour" decision and "yet another charade aimed at subverting the will of Congress in the 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act."
The Trump-era law was the policy that set the timeline and compelled the Biden administration to conduct the sale.
"It’s a fitting finale for an administration that has routinely allowed Iran, Venezuela and other adversaries to produce their resources, regardless of the consequences, while attempting to shut everything down in Alaska," added Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of the Interior and the White House for response to the collective criticism, but did not receive a response by press time.
Lunden Roberts, the mother of Hunter Biden's child, Navy Joan Roberts, is backing President Biden's decision to issue a sweeping pardon for his son.
"I think what Joe did is what the love of any parent would do and not everybody will understand that," Roberts said in a statement provided by her publisher, Skyhorse, to the DailyMail. "I'd like to see more of that love towards Navy Joan and hope that Biden will take the steps to become a grandparent for my daughter."
Roberts went on to say that she believes that Hunter was "targeted because of who his dad is."
"I don't know what it's like to be president, so I can't say what choices I would make if I was in Biden's shoes, but I am a mother," she said. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for my child. No barrier I wouldn't break for Navy Joan."
"Many people have done what he's done and have never gotten in trouble," Roberts added. "But because his dad is president, he's being held to a different set of circumstances."
Despite repeatedly stating that he would not pardon Hunter, President Biden reversed course and granted clemency to his son for all offenses against the United States he committed or may have committed from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024.
The sweeping pardon, therefore, covers, but is not limited to, Hunter's conviction on federal gun charges in Delaware and his guilty plea on federal tax charges in California. He was due to be sentenced in both cases this month.
Roberts penned a book published in August titled, "Out of the Shadows: My Life Inside the Wild World of Hunter Biden."
The Arkansas native details how she met Hunter while she was in Washington, D.C., for school and while Hunter was at the height of his addiction to crack cocaine.
She said she moved back home after becoming pregnant, and Hunter, already a father to three daughters with ex-wife Kathleen Buhle at the time, had grown distant. Roberts gave birth to their daughter, Navy, in August 2018.
Hunter was also briefly involved with the widow of his late brother Beau Biden, and not long afterward, he married his current wife, Melissa Cohen Biden. The couple welcomed a son in March 2020 named Beau Biden Jr.
The White House Christmas stocking display has included just six grandchildren for years, excluding Navy. President Biden had refused to acknowledge Navy as his grandchild until July 2023.
A court-ordered paternity test confirmed Hunter as Navy's father in 2020. Earlier this year, Roberts agreed to reduced child support payments in exchange for Hunter trying to build a relationship with his daughter.
Roberts said Hunter has spoken with his daughter over Zoom.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and Skyhorse for additional comment.
President-elect Trump announced last week that he intends to nominate former White House aide and longtime ally Kash Patel to serve as FBI director, potentially making him the only U.S. president to have fired and installed two separate FBI directors in the middle of their 10-year terms.
"Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People," Trump said in a social media post announcing his intent to nominate Patel for FBI director.
"He played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution."
Patel is a close ally of the president-elect and served in the first Trump administration both as a deputy assistant and as the senior director for counterterrorism. He was endorsed on Friday by the National Police Association, which praised Patel's record of "transparency" and "accountability" that it said makes him well-positioned to head up the nation's sprawling law enforcement agency.
Still, news of Trump's plans to nominate Patel was met with criticism — if not shock — from others in the law enforcement community.
That's because replacing a sitting FBI director is a controversial move that breaks with the express purpose of the role, which, under post-Watergate laws, mandated that directors are nominated for 10-year terms: an express length of time designed to allow the directors — at least in theory — to operate outside political pressure or interference from a sitting president.
Trump sent shock waves through the law enforcement community in 2017 when he fired then-FBI Director James Comey, who at the time was less than four years into his 10-year term. Trump also personally selected current FBI Director Christopher Wray — whom he praised at the time as a "fierce guardian of the law and model of integrity" — to replace him.
For Trump to install Patel as FBI director, two things must happen: Wray must exit the job, and Patel must earn Senate confirmation.
How Wray will leave remains unclear.
He could opt to voluntarily vacate the position on his own before Trump's inauguration, though he has not yet said whether he plans to do so. If Wray does not voluntarily vacate his position, Trump could be the only president in U.S. history to have fired and installed two separate FBI directors.
Patel must also be confirmed by the Senate, though it is likely that the Republican-led chamber will move to approve him for the role.
Patel's nomination has sparked early criticism from some Democrats ahead of his confirmation hearing, who have cited his previous vows to prosecute journalists and career officials at the Justice Department and FBI that he sees as being part of the "deep state." He has since attempted to clarify some of those remarks.
Only one other FBI director has been fired in U.S. history: William Sessions, a Reagan appointee who was widely disliked both for being an ineffective leader and for using his post to commandeer limousines and private government flights for personal business, among other things.
President Biden's White House is reportedly considering preemptive pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, Sen.-elect Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.
White House counsel Ed Siskel is arranging discussions about the potential pardons with several other senior Biden aides, including chief of staff Jeff Zients, Politico reported, citing senior Democrats familiar with the talks.
The president, who granted a sweeping pardon to his son, Hunter, for the past 11 years of crimes or potential crimes earlier this week, reportedly has not been roped in on the deliberations, according to Politico.
The conversations included whether Fauci, Schiff or Cheney would even accept a preemptive pardon, which could suggest wrongdoing and exacerbate criticisms brought by President-elect Trump's team.
"I would urge the president not to do that," Schiff told Politico. "I think it would seem defensive and unnecessary."
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Trump's appointment of Kash Patel to be the next FBI director reportedly drove the talks of preemptive pardons amid concern of possible forthcoming inquiries or indictments once the new administration takes over in January.
Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., who hosted Biden in battleground Pennsylvania before the election, called on the president to issue blanket pardons when Patel's nomination was announced — though he did not specify the intended recipients.
"By choosing Kash Patel as his FBI Director, Trump has made it clear that he is more focused on settling personal scores than on protecting the American people or upholding the rule of law. Patel has openly published an ‘enemies list’ in his book, naming individuals he and Trump plan to investigate and prosecute — targeting those who stood up to Trump’s lies, abuses of power, and baseless attempts to overturn the 2020 election. This is no hypothetical threat," Boyle said in a statement. "The people they’re targeting include law enforcement officers, military personnel, and others who have spent their lives protecting this country. These patriots shouldn’t have to live in fear of political retribution for doing what’s right. That’s why I’m urging President Biden to issue a blanket pardon for anyone unjustly targeted by this vindictive scheme."
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., also spoke in favor of preemptive pardons last week, noting how former President Gerald Ford granted one to Richard Nixon.
"If it’s clear by January 19 that [revenge] is his intention, then I would recommend to President Biden that he provide those preemptive pardons to people, because that’s really what our country is going to need next year," Markey told WGBH.
Schiff and Cheney both led the Jan. 6 select committee that investigated the U.S. Capitol riot.
Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is under renewed scrutiny this week in light of the over 500-page final report dropped by the House subcommittee that has been investigating government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report — which found that COVID-19 most likely emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China — supported how Fauci "played a critical role in disparaging the lab-leak theory" among top scientific circles early in 2020 and later to the public. His congressional testimony to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., the report states, misled the public regarding National Institute of Health funding of gain-of-function research at coronavirus labs.
It goes on to cite how Fauci testified that the six-foot social distancing rule imposed on Americans "sort of just appeared" and did not support quality scientific standards, when he was grilled on what studies he and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had reviewed before announcing the policy. He also gave similarly vague testimony when asked what science supported K-12 public school mask mandates.
Thus begins the quadrennial tradition of various Cabinet nominees parading around the Senate. They’re here to meet with senators, answer questions, press the flesh, get a sense of what senators want to know about them in a confirmation hearing – and where the pitfalls lie.
We got a sliver of this before Thanksgiving. That’s when former attorney general nominee and former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., huddled with a handful of Republican senators. Then Gaetz bowed out, so it was on to Trump’s second pick for attorney general – Pam Bondi.
Bondi arrived at the Capitol Monday to meet with incoming Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, but her first meeting was postponed because Grassley’s flight was delayed. They finally chatted later in the afternoon.
"I look forward to working with you and leading your nomination through the United States Senate," said Grassley once he finally made it to his office in the Hart Senate Office Building.
"Should I earn the trust and the nomination from all of the senators, I will do my best every day to work tirelessly for the American people. And I will make you, the president and our country proud," added Bondi.
"Is this going to be easier than Mr. Gaetz?" asked yours truly.
"She's a great choice. Been a longtime friend. I think right person at right time," said Graham.
Bondi may have an easier path to Senate confirmation than the other nominee roaming the Senate corridors, Defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth.
He met with Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska.
"We’re taking it meeting by meeting," said Hegseth.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, faces a host of questions about whether he’s qualified to lead such a massive organization as the U.S. military. There’s been a blanket of allegations lodged against Hegseth.
"Were you ever drunk while traveling on the job?" asked Nikole Killion of CBS.
"I won't dignify that with a response," replied Hegseth.
He then proceeded to a series of sessions with Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah. Hegseth appears to have earned the support of some of the most conservative members of the Senate.
"We don't need a general officer, admiral or a person of high command," said Tuberville. "We need a drill sergeant in the military. We need somebody to straighten the military out. Get the woke, the DEI affiliation out and go from there."
Hegseth was back at it Tuesday morning, meeting with Sens. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., Ted Budd, R-N.C., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.
Wednesday meant meetings with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and the next chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
Hegseth has also expressed reservations about women serving in combat.
Colleague Aishah Hasnie pressed Hegseth on this very point as he toggled between Senate offices.
"We have amazing women who serve in our military. Amazing women," said Hegseth.
"Do you think they should be in combat?" asked Hasnie.
"I think they're already in combat," replied Hegseth.
Amid all the focus on Bondi and Hegseth, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the nominee for United Nations ambassador, snuck in a meeting with Grassley. And Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent is also slated to meet with Thune and newly tapped Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo.
Out of the middle of nowhere, Education secretary nominee Linda McMahon materialized for a session with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., Tuesday.
You think things are hitting a fevered pitch now? Wait until FBI pick Kash Patel and Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. begin making their office calls.
And we haven’t even gotten to the prospective confirmation hearings of Hegseth, Kennedy and Patel in early January. Cable TV channels will likely carry those hearings wall-to-wall. And depending on the day, it may be a challenging programming decision on which hearing to take live – especially if two or three all come around the same time.
A dynamic duo arrives at Capitol Hill later this week – who don’t require confirmation. And in fact, their visits may command more attention than any of the nominees for the next cabinet.
President-elect Trump tapped former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk to run the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. They’re set to meet with House and Senate Republicans about their plans to pare back the government. They begin with meetings with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is leading the Senate’s DOGE Caucus.
"We have a lot of waste that exists in the federal government," said Ernst. "We have over $1 trillion of savings already identified for the DOGE."
Even Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., became the first Democrat to join the House DOGE Caucus.
"I believe that streamlining government processes and reducing ineffective government spending should not be a partisan issue," said Moskowitz. "The caucus should look at the bureaucracy that DHS has become and include recommendations to make Secret Service and FEMA independent federal agencies with a direct report to the White House."
When it comes to confirmations, Democrats insist that Republicans do things by the book. They want background checks on nominees, and they’re also imploring the GOP not to allow Trump to bypass the Senate if there are problems and install people temporarily via recess appointments.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., took issue with the speedy meetings Republican senators had with nominees. Some of those sessions resulted in GOP senators then proclaiming they would vote to confirm.
"You can't do a speed dating process for the Cabinet of the president of the United States without ending up embarrassed and with things that are discovered only through a deep investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation," said Durbin, "I can tell you privately, many Republicans senators have spoken to me and said ‘For goodness sakes, we can't do away with the FBI check.’ That is something that's just integral to the system."
"The advise and consent authority is a cornerstone of the Senate's constitutional mandate. A power central to preserving America's system of checks and balances. The Founding Fathers knew firsthand the great danger of allowing unchecked executives to appoint individuals to positions of power without any guardrails," said Schumer. "Hopefully this doesn't become an issue. But nevertheless, it will be the responsibility of the incoming Republican majority to protect the Senate against any attempt to erode its authority."
So this is going to be quite a few weeks.
Lots of meetings. Lots of hearings. Lots of votes. All surrounding staffing the next administration.
Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is fond of saying that the Senate is "in the personnel business."
It’s also in the "policy" business, and those "policies" are now walking around the halls of Capitol Hill.
