Donald Trump taps allies for high-power roles in his second administration. Three U.S. airlines have suspended flights to Haiti after a Spirit Airlines jet was struck by gunfire. And thousands of Chinese cyclists snarl traffic on a journey for soup dumplings.
Here’s what to know today.
Trump builds his second administration
President-elect Donald Trump’s administration continued to take shape yesterday with a possible secretary of state pick and a number of Cabinet selections and appointments.
Trump is expected to nominate
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida for secretary of state
in the coming days, according to three sources familiar with the selection process. Trump’s “America First” doctrine emphasizes less foreign aid and curtailing U.S. involvement in conflicts, but foreign policy is one of the few areas in which there is a deep philosophical disagreement among Trump’s base. Some see Rubio as one of the “less MAGA” options but is still someone “Trump’s base could trust,” a Trump ally said.
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Trump’s first Cabinet pick was
Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, to serve as ambassador to the United Nations
. The House Republican Conference chair and longtime Trump ally has been a staunch defender of Israel in its assault on Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks and has been outspoken about antisemitism on college campuses.
Hours later Trump announced his second Cabinet selection,
former Rep. Lee Zeldin, to oversee the Environmental Protection Agency.
The former four-term Republican from New York has already promised to prioritize efforts to “roll back regulations” that he said caused businesses to struggle. In Congress, Zeldin voted against President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which committed billions of dollars toward expanding clean energy. Trump has called for repealing the law.
Trump’s Cabinet picks will require Senate confirmation.
Meanwhile, Trump is expected to name
Stephen Miller as his deputy chief of staff for policy
, a source said. Miller is a staunch hard-liner on immigration policy and would most likely be instrumental next year in trying to execute Trump’s promise of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
And Trump has picked
Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida to be his national security adviser
, four sources familiar with the decision said. Waltz is a Green Beret veteran who served in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa. He’s a member of the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees.
More coverage:
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➡️
Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego
defeated Republican Kari Lake in Arizona to become the state’s first Latino senator.
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➡️ Trump-appointed FBI Director Christopher Wray is preparing for
the possibility that he will replace him
, three people familiar with the matter said.
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➡️ A three-way fight to become the next Senate majority leader — pitting two Republicans with an institutionalist view of the Senate against an underdog who promises to push “the Trump agenda” —
is becoming an early test
of the MAGA movement’s power in Trump’s second term.
Airlines suspend flights to Haiti after planes hit by gunfire
Spirit Airlines is suspending its services to Haiti after gunfire hit a plane headed to the country, as the State Department warned of “gang-led efforts” to stop travel to there. A flight attendant was injured in yesterday’s incident involving a flight traveling from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The flight was diverted to the Dominican Republic, and a return trip to Florida was arranged for passengers and crew members.
JetBlue also announced yesterday that its flights to and from Haiti will be suspended through at least Dec. 2, citing “ongoing civil unrest.” The airline said that a post-flight inspection of the exterior of an aircraft used for a trip from Port-au-Prince to New York City turned up evidence that it had been struck by a round. American Airlines said it was also suspending its services from Miami to Port-au-Prince.
The State Department is advising against travel to Haiti in the midst of violent political turmoil. Armed groups have been vying for power since the 2021 assassination of its democratically elected president, and
violence ensued again this year
after elections were delayed.
Women denied abortions in Idaho will tell their stories
Four women who are suing the state of Idaho over its abortion laws will testify today and tomorrow about their experiences traveling out of state to end nonviable pregnancies after they were denied abortions. The lawsuit alleges that Idaho’s abortion laws violate pregnant people’s rights to safety and equal protection, as well as physicians’ rights to practice medicine under the state constitution.
One plaintiff in the case is Rebecca Vincen-Brown, who learned at 16 weeks that her pregnancy was nonviable. When she and her husband decided to end the pregnancy, they were forced to travel seven hours to Portland, Oregon for the procedure. The trauma resulting from her experience, Vincen-Brown said, “was completely unnecessary and could have been 100% preventable.”
Idaho has two laws restricting abortion. One says it is a felony to terminate a pregnancy at any stage, with limited exceptions. The other allows private citizens to sue health care providers who perform abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Neither policy makes an exception for fatal fetal abnormalities. The trial in Ada County District Court
seeks to clarify the medical exemptions
in the laws.
Read All About It
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Former CVS clerk Richard Allen
was convicted of murdering
two teen girls in a case that shook the small Indiana town of Delphi.
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Crews on the East and West coasts
are battling wildfires amid dry conditions
. The Jennings Creek Wildfire in New Jersey and New York has grown to over 3,500 acres, and fire officials expect the blaze to keep burning through the week. In California, a cold front could help with efforts to contain the destructive 20,630-are Mountain Fire.
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Thousands of Mattel’s “Wicked” character dolls
were pulled from shelves
over a packaging misprint that featured a link to an adult website.
-
Scientists warned in a new report that a key ocean current in the Atlantic is on a path toward collapse — just one of multiple climate tipping points that are
more imminent than previously thought
.
-
The New York Jets hoped firing their head coach would turn the season around, but the team’s problems might actually
start with quarterback Aaron Rodgers
.
Staff Pick:
China’s ‘Night Riding Army’ is on a viral quest for soup dumplings
Most people in China will probably take the train if they want to try another city’s delicious food. But last week, tens of thousands of Chinese university students followed a viral trend, riding bikes for more than five hours through the night to Kaifeng for the ancient capital’s
famous soup dumplings
. The sheer number of cyclists snarled traffic and prompted restrictions by the city’s tourism-hungry officials, who had encouraged them to come. —
Peter Guo,
Asia Desk Fellow
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
Black Friday sales have already started and NBC Select’s editors have the scoop what to shop:
-
A Walmart+ membership
is 50% off for a limited time, just ahead of the retailer’s first round of holiday deals. Members also get benefits such as free shipping, special prices on fuel and more.
-
Appliances, tool sets and more from
The Home Depot’s early Black Friday sale
.
-
Clothing, travel accessories and more from a slew of
other early Black Friday sales
happening this week from brands like Casper, Calpak and Our Place.
Sign up to The Selection
newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.
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