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WASHINGTON — Olivia Troye, a former Trump administration official who denounced him in a speech at the Democratic convention in August, was boarding a plane recently when a passenger looked at her and said: “Your days are numbered.” Not wanting to escalate a bad situation, she said nothing, but the troubling encounter is emblematic of the hostility she’s faced as a recognizable and vocal critic of Trump. Now, with Trump returning to the White House, she is beset by newfound fears that he, his appointees or supporters could try to punish her for speaking out. “I’m worried that I’ll be targeted by him and a lot of people in his circle,” Troye said in an interview. “They very much know who I am. And I’m concerned for my family.” She has plenty of company . For some who’ve run ...

HAVANA — A 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook eastern Cuba on Sunday, after weeks of hurricanes and blackouts that have left many on the island reeling. The epicenter of the quake was located approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Bartolomé Masó, Cuba, according to a report by the United States Geological Survey. The rumbling was felt across the eastern stretch of Cuba, including in bigger cities like Santiago de Cuba. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Residents in Santiago, Cuba’s second largest city, were left shaken on Sunday. Yolanda Tabío, 76, said people in the city flocked to the streets and were still nervously sitting in their doorways. She said she felt at least two aftershocks following the quake, but that among friends and family she hadn’t heard of a...

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said Sunday that she has “no intention” of dropping the criminal case against a group of President-elect Donald Trump’s allies who sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Arizona. “I have no intention of breaking that case up. I have no intention of dropping that case,” Mayes, a Democrat, told MSNBC’s Ali Velshi. “A grand jury in the state of Arizona decided that these individuals who engaged in an attempt to overthrow our democracy in 2020 should be held accountable, so we won’t be cowed, we won’t be intimidated,” she added. A state grand jury in April charged over a dozen allies of Trump for allegedly attempting to send a slate of alternate electors to the Electoral College in 2020. Joe Biden won the state by several thou...

An 18-year-old New York state employee was killed while battling a wildfire in Orange County's Sterling Forest Saturday. Dariel Vasquez, an aid working for the New York State Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Department, was helping mitigate the forest fire when he was killed, New York State Police said in a statement. Police are investigating the incident. “I am deeply saddened by the passing of one of our New York State Parks employees while responding to a wildfire in Orange County yesterday," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement Sunday. "My prayers go out to his family, friends and coworkers during this difficult time." Wildfires continue to rage amid warm, dry conditions across the New England area, where 11 million people remain under fire alerts Sunday afte...

Taylor Swift is back at Arrowhead Stadium for the second time in a week to cheer on boyfriend Travis Kelce as he and the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Denver Broncos. Swift arrived at Sunday's game shortly before kickoff at 1 p.m. ET. The singer wore a matching red and black plaid blazer and skirt, paired with a black corset and all black accessories. She was photographed at Arrowhead Stadium arriving in a golf cart alongside her mom, Andrea. Swift has now attended all five of the team’s games at Arrowhead this season, but conflicts with her busy “Eras Tour” schedule have prevented her from attending any of the team’s away games. She was last at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday, Nov 4., to root for the Chiefs when they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime 30-2...

Yale University is getting in formation with a new course dedicated to studying Beyoncé. Starting this upcoming spring semester, Yale will offer a class titled “Beyonce Makes History: Black Radical Tradition History, Culture, Theory & Politics Through Music.” The aim, according to its course description, is to use her work as a lens through which to examine Black intellectual thought and activism. It’s the latest college course to take on pop culture-inspired themes by focusing on a global music superstar, as universities around the world have embraced classes on the cultural impact of celebrities including Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. Following Beyoncé’s innovations and influence from her self-titled 2013 album to her latest, “Cowboy Carter,” students will anal...

Cryptocurrencies extended their rally on Sunday, with bitcoin touching $80,000 for the first time ever. The price of the flagship cryptocurrency was last higher by 4.5% at $79,800.19, according to Coin Metrics. Ether rose 3%, after passing the $3,000 level on Saturday. It last changed hands at $3,203.10. Smaller coins saw bigger moves as investors continued to digest the implications of a second term for President-elect Donald Trump. The payments coin XRP surged 11%. The decentralized finance token tied to Cardano rocketed 40%. Memecoins dogecoin a nd Shiba Inu coin soared 17% and 31%, respectively. “Crypto is poised to enter a golden era,” Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, said in a research note Friday. “Trump has pr...

Director Jon M. Chu and his wife, Kristin Hodge, expanded their family by one more, welcoming the birth of their daughter on Nov. 9. Her birth coincided with another big moment in Chu's life: the Los Angeles premiere of “Wicked,” a musical fantasy film he directed that was produced by Universal Pictures, which is owned by NBCUniversal, TODAY’s parent company. Chu shared a “special magical announcement” on his Instagram stories, posting a photo of a green and black friendship bracelet placed on a tray table in the hospital that read “defy gravity.” “This movie has always moved in mysterious ways,” he wrote on the image. “Today is a day I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. Two babies (a movie and a little girl) all at one time and I truly couldn’t be happier.” Chu announced ...

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, on Sunday said that he and his House Republican colleagues are “not taking anything off the table” related to investigating special counsel Jack Smith. “We want the facts,” Jordan told CNN ’ s “ State of the Union ,” days after Smith and the Justice Department started the process of winding down two federal investigations into President-elect Donald Trump, who was projected to win the presidential election last week. “I assume there’s going to be some report. But all we’re saying is, ‘preserve everything,’ so we, the Congress, who have a constitutional duty to do oversight, can see everything,” Jordan added. Asked specifically multiple times whether Jordan would call on Smith to ...

Jamie Stupey has lived most of her life without answers to her mother’s disappearance. “There’s so much I don’t know,” she told Dateline. Jamie was only 2 years old when her mother, 24-year-old Barbara McClure, vanished in Seattle, following a night out with friends. That was 46 years ago. Jamie’s parents separated shortly after she was born and later divorced. She was raised by her father and stepmother, following her mother’s disappearance. Jamie says she would wonder about her mom from time to time, but was mostly shielded from what happened. “I never really knew what to ask,” Jamie said. “It was kind of like, I always knew it was a thing, but I never really paid attention to it.” That changed as Jamie got older. According to a Facebook post by the King County Sheriff’s ...