Trump attempts to prevent the public from viewing the final report of special counsel Jack Smith. Biden has been asked to commute the sentences of two federal death row convicts. Additionally, California prepares for strong winds as a winter storm begins to move offshore of the eastern United States.
What to know today is as follows.
Trump seeks to block release of final report from Jack Smith
An attempt has been made by President-elect Donald Trump and his erstwhile co-defendants in the Florida classified papers case to prevent the publication of special counsel Jack Smith’s final report, which includes discusses the election interference case.
According to Justice Department regulations, the special counsel’s office must provide the aforementioned report. The confidential report may or may not be made public by Attorney General Merrick Garland. The cases involving electoral tampering and secret documents have both been dropped.
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Last night, attorneys for Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, the defendants in the Florida case involving secret documents, filed a request asking U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to prevent Smith from releasing his report, which they believe is about to happen. They referenced Cannon’s July decision to drop the case against Trump on the grounds that Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has received a letter from Trump’s attorneys pleading with him to prevent Smith from making the findings public. Trump’s staff referred to Smith as an unruly private citizen who was acting illegally as a prosecutor in their letter.
Go here to read the entire story.
More Trump and politics news:
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A lead prosecutor in the classified documents case has left the Justice Department, retiring after 34 years. Trump also wants to
replace the head of the National Archives
.
-
Congress
formally certified Trump s 2024 election victory
exactly four years after the Capitol riot, returning Jan. 6 to its historical roots as a rote affair.
Kamala Harris presided
over the session.
-
New York state Judge Juan Merchan
denied Trump s request
to delay the Friday sentencing hearing in his hush money case.
-
Trump s son, Donald Trump Jr., and various representatives
will visit Greenland
, the president-elect said as he ramps up calls to buy the territory owned by Denmark.
-
Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani
was found in contempt of court
for not complying with orders to turn over information about his assets to the former Georgia election workers he defamed.
-
House Speaker Mike Johnson is
pushing a strategy to pass Trump s agenda
with one bill, which includes provisions about border security and tax policy and calls for extending the debt ceiling.
-
House Speaker Mike Johnson is
pushing a strategy to pass Trump s agenda
with one bill, which includes provisions about border security and tax policy and calls for extending the debt ceiling.
-
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden
met in New Orleans with families
, survivors and local law enforcement affected by the New Year s Day attack on Bourbon Street. The White House also announced it would allocate additional federal resources to support the city s preparations for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras.
Cold weather in eastern U.S.; fire threat in California
The cold weather is persisting as a winter storm that afflicted the eastern half of the United States moves offshore. It is predicted that high temperatures would be 5 to 20 degrees below normal from northern Texas and the Plains to the Mid-Atlantic.
In addition to hundreds of thousands of customers experiencing power disruptions, yesterday’s snow and freezing weather caused thousands of aircraft delays.
According to officials, the winter storm has claimed the lives of at least four people, including a 61-year-old Missouri public works worker who was engaged in snow removal labor. Additionally, a crash in Wichita, Kansas, claimed the lives of two persons, and cold conditions in Houston resulted in the discovery of a body.
California experienced extreme fire weather, driven by warm days and dry winds, as the eastern part of the country struggles with cold weather. The National Weather Service issued a warning of 50 to 80 mph offshore winds for the coastal flatlands, inland valleys, and canyons of the Los Angeles region, and 80 to 100 mph offshore winds for the mountains in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
For the most recent weather information, follow our live blog.
2 death row inmates reject Biden s commutation
President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 federal convicts, and two of them are refusing to sign the documents acknowledging the clemency. As they attempt to appeal their convictions on the grounds of innocence, Shannon Agofsky and Len Davis, both inmates at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, have taken the rare position that a commuted sentence would disadvantage them legally. On December 30, the men submitted emergency requests to prevent the commutation of their death sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Agofsky was found guilty of killing the president of an Oklahoma bank in 1989 and then stomping to death a fellow prisoner in Texas in 2001. According to his request for an injunction, he is attempting to prove his innocence in the 1989 murder and contests how he was charged in the stomping death.
Former New Orleans police officer Davis was found guilty in the 1994 murder of Kim Graves, who had complained that he had beaten a teenager in her community. According to his filing, Davis has insisted on his innocence and accused the Justice Department of wrongdoing.
Although it is unclear what will happen next, legal experts stated that the couple will face a difficult task in trying to get their death sentences reinstated.
Mob of college students attack man in To Catch a Predator -like trap, police say
A gang of over two dozen people followed and assaulted an active duty service member who was lured to campus by six students at a private Catholic university in Massachusetts, according to authorities. The service man was falsely accused of being a sexual predator.
In October, the incident took place at Worcester’s Assumption University. According to the case’s statement of facts, one of the accused pupils informed police that the idea was based on To Catch a Predator, NBC’s now-canceled show that sought to apprehend adults who were trying to prey on children. “Catch a predator is a big thing on TikTok currently,” the student said. Due to a social media trend that went global, 11 Illinois teenagers were accused in a similar event that occurred in a suburb close to Chicago last month.
According to the statement, one of the students who is currently facing charges in the Massachusetts case initially informed police that a creepy Tinder app contact had visited the school in an attempt to meet a 17-year-old girl and had phoned a friend, who repelled the individual. However, the victim, a 22-year-old military member, provided investigators with an alternative narrative, which was verified by security footage.
Read All About It
-
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
announced he will resign
as the leader of the ruling Liberal Party, citing polarization inside and outside the country and following growing calls for him to step down.
-
A person in Louisiana
has died from bird flu
, marking the first human death from the H5N1 infection.
-
The New York Giants are
retaining its general manager and head coach
the chief architects of the team s historically dismal season. Coaches in Jacksonville and New England
weren t as lucky
.
-
A 7.1.-magnitude earthquake struck
near one of Tibet s holiest cities, killing at least 95 people, Chinese state media reported.
-
Longtime television sports firebrand Skip Bayless is accused in a lawsuit of offering a former Fox Sports hairstylist
$1.5 million for sex
.
Staff Pick:
A secret from the Roman Empire buried in ice
The Romans were becoming less intelligent as a result of their air pollution problem.
According to a recent study, the amount of lead released into the atmosphere during the Roman Empire’s silver smelting would have reduced Romans’ IQs by an average of 2.5–3 points. Researchers analyzed Greenland ice samples, which provide genetic hints of historical environmental conditions, and discovered high levels of the heavy metal, a neurotoxin linked to mental health disorders, learning difficulties, and reproductive troubles, among other consequences. Researchers discovered that some 2,000 years ago, dust particles from the ancient civilization drifted to Greenland. The results, according to academics, are the first obvious instance of industrial pollution in history and may provide hints as to the causes of Rome’s demise.Science reporter Evan Bush
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
The brand’s famous Dutch oven and other items will be discounted as part of Le Creuset’s Winter Savings Event.This is what you should buy.Additionally, these lunchboxes and reusable containers will help keep your food fresh if you plan to do more meal planning in the new year.
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