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Disney, Fox, Warner Bros Team Up to Launch Sports Streaming Platform
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ESPN, Fox Corp.and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up to create a supersize sports-streaming service that will offer content from all major leagues, a deal that will reshape the sports and media landscape, WSJ reported.

The as-yet-unnamed service will be offered directly to consumers, who would be able to stream all of these companies’ sports content, the companies said in a statement, following a report in The Wall Street Journal about the new venture.

Each of the companies will have one-third ownership of the new service, which is expected to launch in the fall. The companies didn’t announce pricing.

The chief executives of Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney—ESPN’s majority owner—said the new offering would increase choice for sports fans and give those who have cut the cord to traditional pay-TV a new sports-centric service.

The deal marks a major milestone in the growth of the streaming industry and could accelerate consumers’ shift away from cable TV. Sports has long been the key attraction of cable—the glue holding the old-school “bundle” together.

Media companies have been hesitant to offer their most valuable sports properties, such as National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball games—outside the high-price traditional cable package, which has made watching sports exclusively on streaming platforms particularly complex.

Now, as cable’s decline accelerates because of cord-cutting, companies such as ESPN, Warner and Fox are seeing the writing on the wall and shifting their bets to the streaming world, as the creation of the new venture shows.

For Disney, the partnership with other networks adds to an array of strategic options the company has explored for ESPN. The company is still looking for a potential strategic partner or investor and will maintain a plan to offer a stand-alone ESPN streaming app for those who don’t want the all-in-one bundle from the three companies, people close to the situation said.

There are risks to the tie-up. Disney knows as well as any the perils of a joint venture in media. It is now in the middle of trying to end its joint ownership of Hulu by buying out partner Comcast, after years of difficulties. Also, the new service won’t include content from Paramount Global’s CBS or Comcast’s NBCUniversal.

The deal for the new sports-streaming venture, which is internally dubbed “raptor,” emerged after talks that started about four months ago, with ESPN’s chief, Jimmy Pitaro, and Disney Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger focusing on bundling with other media companies on sports, people familiar with the matter said. Iger then reached out to Fox Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch, who had engaged in similar talks with Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav.

Fox and the Journal’s parent, News Corp, share common ownership.

A chief executive for the venture is expected to be named in the coming weeks, people familiar with the matter said. While no price tag has been set, it is expected to be significantly lower than the typical cable bundle, which often can run north of $100 a month.

Fox and ESPN already have a similar partnership in Australia in which ESPN content airs on Foxtel there.

The new service comes as ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT are both renegotiating their rights packages with the NBA, one of their most valuable assets. Some experts expect the NBA to command three times its last deal, which would mean a deal of about $78 billion over a decade.

The service will give users access to the companies’ many traditional TV networks such as ESPN, TNT and FS1, the gateway to some of the highest-profile sporting content, including games from the NFL, the NBA, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League.

Subscribers of the companies’ streaming platforms, including Disney+, Hulu and Max, will also have the ability to subscribe to the new service as part of a bundle.

Some high-profile sports content will still remain off-limits to subscribers of that new platform.

Many sporting events have moved exclusively to streaming in recent years, including most NFL “Thursday Night Football” games, which are available on Amazon’s Prime Video.

Apple TV+ and others have also nabbed rights to a slice of the baseball season, and Comcast’s Peacock streaming service had exclusive rights to some NFL games this season—including a highly anticipated NFL playoff game last month between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins, angering scores of fans but also drawing 23 million viewers, making it the most-streamed U.S. event ever.

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Trump Picks Susie Wiles as White House Chief of Staff

Susie Wiles, a longtime GOP operative, will serve as President-elect Trump’s White House chief of staff.

Largely avoiding the spotlight, Wiles has been widely credited for running what was Trump’s most disciplined and well-executed campaign.

During his victory celebration in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump gave a special thanks to Wiles for her prominent role in the campaign.

“Let me also express my tremendous appreciation for Susie [Wiles] and Chris [LaCivita], on the job you did. Susie, come, Susie,” he said. “Susie likes to stay sort of in the back, let me tell you. The ice baby. We call her the ice baby. Susie likes to stay in the background. She’s not in the background.”

Trump described Wiles as “tough, smart, innovative” and said she is “universally admired and respected.”

He noted her place as the first female chief of staff in U.S. history, saying: “I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”

Veteran GOP strategist John Brabender told Fox News Digital: “If they searched high and low in the entire world, there is not a better choice than Susie Wiles for White House Chief of Staff.”

When it comes to Wiles, Brabender said, “nobody’s going to have a better relationship with the president, who understands that she is there to help him however she can, and he will respect that.”

“Susie will have no other agenda than helping the president help people,” Brabender emphasized. And he noted that “everybody who works for Susie in the White House will be vetted by Susie which means that there’re going to be nothing but the best.”

A longtime Florida-based Republican strategist who ran Trump’s campaign in the state in 2016 and 2020, Wiles’ decades-long political career stretches back to working as former President Reagan’s campaign scheduler for his 1980 presidential bid.

Wiles also ran Rick Scott’s 2010 campaign for Florida governor and briefly served as the manager of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s 2012 presidential campaign.

Wiles currently serves as a senior adviser to Trump and is campaign co-chair alongside Chris LaCivita.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was previously floated as a possible contender for chief of staff, but recently told “The Guy Benson Show” that he would not take the position if it was offered.

“People always ask if I’m going to be chief of staff — no, I’m not going to be… that’s a no,” he said.

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Republican McCormick Flips Pennsylvania Senate Seat — But Casey Refuses to Concede

Republican David McCormick has won Pennsylvania’s pivotal U.S. Senate seat, as the former CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund beat three-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in Tuesday’s election after accusing the incumbent of supporting policies that led to inflation, domestic turmoil and war.

The victory pads Republicans’ majority in the Senate, which they wrested from Democratic control this week, and clocked in as the nation’s second-most expensive race while playing out alongside the presidential contest won by Republican Donald Trump in the nation’s premier battleground state.

McCormick, 59, recaptured a GOP seat in Pennsylvania after Republicans lost one in 2022, paying off a bet that party brass made when they urged McCormick to run and consolidated support behind him.

In an interview on Fox News shortly after The Associated Press called the race Thursday, the Trump-endorsed McCormick said “people want change.”

“They’re deeply distressed by the skyrocketing prices, the wide-open border, the crime in our cities, the war on fossil fuels, and they want change and common-sense leadership and that’s why I think they elected President Trump and I think that’s why they have elected me,” McCormick said.

Republican strategists largely credited McCormick’s win to Trump’s strong performance in Pennsylvania, beating Vice President Kamala Harris by about 2% as Democrats navigated headwinds like voter dissatisfaction over inflation under President Joe Biden.

That was enough to pull McCormick to victory, they said.

Beating Casey is earth-shaking for Pennsylvania’s Democratic establishment. Casey is the namesake of a former two-term governor and Pennsylvania’s longest-serving Democrat ever in the Senate.

Until Tuesday, Casey, 64, had won six statewide general elections going back to 1996, but he had never been on the same ballot as Trump.

With votes still being counted, McCormick led Casey by about 31,000 votes, or half a percentage point.

Casey did not concede Thursday, and his campaign pointed to a statement from the state’s top election official that at least 100,000 ballots still remained to be counted, including provisional ballots and military and overseas ballots.

In a statement, Casey said the vote-counting process must be allowed to play out and every vote counted.

“I have dedicated my life to making sure Pennsylvanians’ voices are heard, whether on the floor of the Senate or in a free and fair election,” Casey said. He added, “That is what Pennsylvania deserves.”

McCormick drew on contacts from across the worlds of government, politics and finance to secure backing for his campaign after he was CEO of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, and served at the highest levels of former President George W. Bush’s administration.

It was McCormick’s second time running, this time with a clear primary and Trump’s endorsement. He lost narrowly to the Trump-endorsed Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2022’s expensive seven-way primary.

His wealth — he’ll be one of the wealthiest senators when he joins the chamber — and connections got him flagged by Republicans as someone who could both raise campaign cash and pay his own way for a Senate campaign.

McCormick drummed out the consistent message that Casey was a do-nothing and weak career politician who was a key ally of Biden and Harris. McCormick maintained that he would bring leadership to the job.

McCormick also benefited from tens of millions of dollars in campaign cash from allies from across the worlds of hedge funds and securities trading.

He ran an energetic campaign, often traveling by bus around the state, and appeared on stage at almost every Trump rally in Pennsylvania, Trump’s most visited state.

McCormick was at ease in front of TV cameras, a skill he honed as a top Treasury Department official giving regular media briefings during the onset of the 2008-09 recession and a prominent figure on Wall Street who was sought after for speaking engagements.

He has a long resume that includes being decorated for his Army service in the Gulf War, earning a Ph.D from Princeton University, running online auction house FreeMarkets Inc. — which had its name on a skyscraper in Pittsburgh during the tech boom — and sitting on the boards of prominent institutions, including Trump’s Defense Advisory Board.

McCormick had baggage, too.

He repeatedly tried to soften his stance against abortion rights after celebrating the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn 1972’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision and end a half-century of federal protection of the right to an abortion. In the end, McCormick insisted that he would oppose a federal ban on abortion and leave in place Pennsylvania’s law that allows an abortion up to the 24th week of gestation.

He also worked to ease concerns over Republican control of the Senate, saying he wouldn’t vote to end the filibuster, a Senate rule that effectively makes 60 the minimum number of votes needed to pass legislation as a means to provide a check on the majority.

McCormick had to absorb accusations — first in 2022’s GOP primary and then again by Casey — that he was a rich carpetbagger from Connecticut’s ritzy Gold Coast trying to buy a Senate seat. McCormick lived there until he ran for Senate in 2022 and, while he bought a house in Pittsburgh, he also maintained a massive home in Connecticut until a daughter graduated high school earlier this year.

McCormick, in turn, stressed his seventh-generation roots in Pennsylvania, talked up his high school days wrestling in towns across northern Pennsylvania — a sport that took him to the U.S. military academy at West Point — and growing up the son of two educators. His father became the first chancellor of Pennsylvania’s state-owned university system — under Casey’s father.

Still, McCormick helped bring the carpetbagger caricature to life by mispronouncing the name of one of Pennsylvania’s best-known local beers.

McCormick also suffered through a legion of attacks on his hedge fund’s investments, including accusations that he got rich at America’s expense by buying shares in Chinese companies that the federal government later came to consider part of Beijing’s military and surveillance industrial complex.

McCormick, meanwhile, tried to capitalize on turmoil in the Middle East and at the U.S. southern border with Mexico.

McCormick blamed Casey for supporting Biden administration border policies that he said had enabled illegal immigration and for backing policies that he said had empowered Iran to destabilize the Middle East.

He made a bid for Jewish voters by traveling to the Israel-Gaza border, speaking to Jewish audiences across the state and arguing that Casey and the Biden administration have not fought antisemitism or backed Israel strongly enough in the Israel-Hamas war.

On the border, he backed Trump’s pledge to carry out a mass deportation of immigrants in the country without permission — prioritizing people with criminal records — and vowed to press for U.S. military action in Mexico to target fentanyl trafficking networks, a controversial idea that originated with Trump.

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Federal Judge Strikes Down Biden Legalization Program for Illegal Immigrant Spouses

A Texas federal judge on Thursday struck down the Harris-Biden administration’s plan to fast track permanent residency for illegal migrants married to American citizens.

US District Judge J. Campbell Barker’s ruling comes two months after he issued an order temporarily pausing the administration’s so-called “Parole in Place” program, which sought to grant work authorization, permanent residency and eventually citizenship to spouses and stepchildren of US citizens who have been in the country for at least 10 years.

“The Rule exceeds statutory authority and is not in accordance with law,” Barker wrote in his 74-page ruling, adding that the policy “focuses on the wrong thing in identifying ‘significant public benefits’ — the benefits of aliens’ new legal status, rather than their presence in this country.”

The judge, an appointee of President-elect Donald Trump, found that “history and purpose confirm that defendants’ view stretches legal interpretation past its breaking point.”

The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by 16 Republican-led states in August arguing that the program “incentivizes illegal immigration and will irreparably harm” the states.

The lawsuit further contended that the “Biden-Harris Administration — dissatisfied with the system Congress created, and for blatant political purposes — has yet again attempted to create its own immigration system.”

President Biden announced the Parole in Place program in June, as part of a sweeping set of executive actions on immigration that came in the wake of a historic surge of migrants illegally entering the country throughout his first term.

It was expected that about 500,000 spouses of US citizens, and 50,000 non-citizen children, would benefit from the program, which has now been deemed illegal.

Without Parole in Place, non-citizen spouses will likely need to spend a years-long wait outside of the US before qualifying for the same benefits.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and numerous other Republican lawmakers described Biden’s plan at the time as “amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens.”

America First Legal Executive Director Gene Hamilton, who had been representing the coalition of states in their lawsuit, praised the attorneys general that “stood up” to the Harris-Biden administration.

“Since day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has dedicated itself to the decimation of our immigration system and the erasure of our borders,” Hamilton said in a statement.

“Time and again, the States stood up. And today, the great State of Texas and the courageous Ken Paxton, alongside a coalition of other brave Attorneys General, succeeded in stopping an illegal program that would have provided amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens and paved the path for the largest administrative amnesty in American history.”

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Trump Confirms Border Control Among First Priorities — ‘No Choice’ But to Carry Out Mass Deportations

President-elect Donald Trump affirmed Thursday that border security will be his top concern when he assumes office in January, regardless of the cost.

“It’s not a question of a price tag,” the 78-year-old told NBC News in his first interview since media outlets projected him to be the 47th president early Wednesday. “It’s not — really, we have no choice.”

“When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries — and now they’re going to go back to those countries because they’re not staying here,” Trump added. “There is no price tag.”

Throughout his campaign, Trump vowed to round up and remove millions of illegal immigrants residing within the US, teasing plans for “largest deportation effort in American history.”

In an interview with The Post last month, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) estimated that 4.5 million illegal aliens will be “first priority” for removal.

Johnson added that those “who’ve already committed crimes” would be singled out.

“They’re in the system now [for] shoplifting, or whatever it is … or [having] done things that are untoward or unlawful,” he explained. “We know where they are, we know what they’ve done, they’re here detained, they gotta go.”

“We obviously have to make the border strong and powerful,” Trump told NBC News Thursday. “We have to — at the same time, we want people to come into our country.

“And you know, I’m not somebody that says, ‘No, you can’t come in.’ We want people to come in.”

The soon-to-be 47th president has long maintained that he wants to build a wall along the US-Mexico border but later revised that imagery to include a “big fat, open beautiful door.”

During the 2016 election cycle, Trump similarly vowed to deport between 2 and 3 million illegal immigrants, with criminals the priority.

However, the 45th president’s administration recorded fewer deportations than under President Biden, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security.

Trump made significant gains with Latino voters this cycle, with an exit poll by Edison Research indicating that 45% of that demographic backed him over Vice President Kamala Harris, including 54% of Latino men.

“I started to see realignment could happen because the Democrats are not in line with the thinking of the country,” Trump said Thursday.

“You can’t have ‘Defund the Police,’ these kind of things … they don’t work, and the people understand that.”

Trump estimated that he has “probably” talked with 70 world leaders since he was projected to win the presidency early Wednesday.

The president-elect also spoke by phone with Biden and Harris, describing them as “very nice calls, very respectful both ways.

Trump added that he and Harris “talked about transition, and she said she’d like it to be smooth as can be, which I agree with, of course.”

The president-elect was coy about his conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and confirmed that he has not yet spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but did say that “I think we’ll speak” at some point.

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Trump Ally — Who Could Be AG — Warns NY’s Letitia James to Back Off President-Elect

A fierce ally of President-elect Donald Trump warned Thursday that the new administration will have no patience for New York Attorney General Letitia James if she weaponizes the legal system against the 47th president.

“I dare you to try to continue your lawfare against President Trump in his second term,” Mike Davis, the founder of the Article III Project, an advocacy group that pushes for the nominations of conservative judges, said during an appearance on “The Benny Show” podcast.

“Listen here, sweetheart,” Davis continued, addressing James. “We’re not messing around this time and we will put your fat a– in prison for conspiracy against rights. I promise you that.”

Davis, who has been floated as a possible Trump pick for attorney general or White House counsel in his incoming administration, urged the New York AG to “think long and hard” before potentially violating the president-elect’s “constitutional rights or any other Americans’ constitutional rights.”

“It’s not going to happen again,” he declared.

Watch:

The day after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election, James, 66, threatened to “use the rule of law to fight back” against the future administration, noting that her office has been “preparing for several months” to counter Trump’s ascendance.

James won a $454 million civil fraud judgment against Trump, 78, earlier this year after accusing the real estate magnate of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to get better loan and insurance terms.

Trump has appealed the ruling.

“I can imagine that the Trump 47 Justice Department is not going to have any patience for this Democrat lawfare over the next four years,” Davis said in an interview with Newsmax.

The former chief counsel for nominations to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) argued that James would be in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 241 — “conspiracy against rights” — if she continues to go after her “political enemies.”

In response to a Wall Street Journal report linking Davis to the White House counsel role under Trump, the lawyer suggested that his ambitions lie elsewhere.

“No, thank you. I want to serve as the Viceroy,” he wrote on X.

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Fed Cuts a Quarter — Powell Says He Won’t Resign If Asked by Trump

The Federal Reserve approved its second consecutive interest rate cut Thursday, moving at a less aggressive pace than before but continuing its efforts to right-size monetary policy.

In a follow-up to September’s big half percentage point reduction, the Federal Open Market Committee lowered its benchmark overnight borrowing rate by a quarter percentage point, or 25 basis points, to a target range of 4.50%-4.75%. The rate sets what banks charge each other for overnight lending but often influences consumer debt instruments such as mortgages, credit cards and auto loans.

Markets had widely expected the move, which was telegraphed both at the September meeting and in follow-up remarks from policymakers since then. The vote was unanimous, unlike the previous move that saw the first “no” vote from a Fed governor since 2005. This time, Governor Michelle Bowman went along with the decision.

Stocks closed positive after the meeting wrapped, with the Nasdaq, whose holdings are tilted towards the tech sector, rallying 1.5% to lead the major averages. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed at record highs. Treasury yields plunged after roaring higher the day before.

The post-meeting statement reflected a few tweaks in how the Fed views the economy. Among them was an altered view in how it assesses the effort to bring down inflation while supporting the labor market.

“The Committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance,” the document said, a change from September when it noted “greater confidence” in the process.

Recalibrating policy

Fed officials have justified the easing mode for policy as they view supporting employment becoming at least as much of a priority as arresting inflation.

The statement slightly downgraded the labor market, saying “conditions have generally eased, and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low.” The committee again said the economy “has continued to expand at a solid pace.”

Officials have largely framed the change in policy as an attempt to get the rate structure back in line with an economy where inflation is drifting back to the central bank’s 2% target while the labor market has shown some indications of softening. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has spoken of “recalibrating” policy back to where it no longer needs to be as restrictive as it was when the central bank focused almost solely on taming inflation.

“This further recalibration of our policy stance will help maintain the strength of the economy and the labor market and will continue to enable further progress on inflation as we move towards a more neutral stance,” Powell said at his post-meeting news conference.

There is uncertainty over how far the Fed will need to go with cuts as the macro economy continues to post solid growth and inflation remains a stifling problem for U.S. households.

Gross domestic product grew at a 2.8% pace in the third quarter, less than expected and slightly below the second-quarter level, but still above the historical trend for the U.S. around 1.8%-2%. Preliminary tracking for the fourth quarter is pointing to growth around 2.4%, according to the Atlanta Fed.

Generally, the labor market has held up well. However, nonfarm payrolls increased by just by 12,000 in October, though the weakness was attributed in part to storms in the Southeast and labor strikes.

The decision comes amid a changing political backdrop.

President-elect Donald Trump scored a stunning victory in Tuesday’s election. Economists largely expect his policies to pose challenges for inflation, with his stated intentions of punitive tariffs and mass deportations for undocumented immigrants. In his first term, however, inflation held low while economic growth, outside of the initial phase of the Covid pandemic, held strong.

Still, Trump was a fierce critic of Powell and his colleagues during his first stint in office, and the chair’s term expires in early 2026. Central bankers assiduously steer clear of commenting on political matters, but the Trump dynamic could be an overhang for the course of policy ahead.

An acceleration in economic activity under Trump could persuade the Fed to cut rates less, depending on how inflation reacts.

Powell said the new administration won’t factor directly into monetary policy.

“In the near term, the election will have no effect on our policy decisions,” Powell said. The November meeting was moved back a day due to the election.

Powell also said he would not step down even if the president-elect asked for his resignation. He ended the news conference a bit shorter than usual after being peppered with questions about the incoming administration.

Pace of future cuts

Questions have arisen over what the “terminal” point is for the Fed, or the point at which it will decide it has cut enough and has its benchmark rate where it is neither pushing nor holding back growth. Traders expect the Fed likely will approve another quarter-point cut in December then pause in January as it assesses the impact of its tightening moves, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

“We interpret the statement overall as pointing to a steady-as-she-goes policy path for now as policymakers take their time to digest emerging Trump shocks to economic policy, financial conditions and animal spirits, with another cut in December a good base case,” said Krishna Guha, Evercore ISI vice chairman.

The FOMC indicated in September that members expected a half percentage point more in cuts by the end of this year and then another full percentage point in 2025. The September “dot plot” of individual officials’ expectations pointed to a terminal rate of 2.9%, which would imply another half percentage point of cuts in 2026.

Even with the Fed lowering rates, markets have not responded in kind. Treasury yields have jumped higher since the September cut, as have mortgage rates. The 30-year mortgage, for instance, has climbed about 0.7 percentage point to 6.8%, according to Freddie Mac. The 10-year Treasury yield is up almost as much.

The Fed is seeking to achieve a “soft landing” for the economy in which it can bring down inflation without causing a recession. The Fed’s preferred inflation indicator most recently showed a 2.1% 12-month rate, though the so-called core, which excludes food and energy and is generally considered a better long-run indicator, was at 2.7%.

Powell Says He Won’t Resign If Asked by Trump

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday that he will not step down if President-elect Donald Trump asks for his resignation.

When asked whether he would resign if requested to by Trump, the Fed chair simply said: “No.” Powell subsequently told reporters that the president does not have the power to fire or demote him.

“Not permitted under the law,” Powell told reporters at a news conference, after the Fed cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point.

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Harvard Professors Cancel Classes So Students Can ‘Recover’ from Trump Win

Professors at Harvard and Princeton have canceled classes following Trump’s victory, and other units within the universities are offering “spaces” to process the election results.

At Harvard University, the courses “Sociology 1156: Statistics for Social Sciences,” “Applied Math 22a: Solving and Optimizing,” and the general education courses “The Ancient Greek Hero” and “Popular Culture and Modern China” canceled Wednesday class sessions, made attendance optional, or extended assignment deadlines, according to the student-run paper the Crimson.

An undergraduate student at Harvard told National Review that the first 30 minutes of a section meeting for the class “Gov 1790: American Foreign Policy” were dedicated to origami folding.

Harvard economics lecturer Maxim Boycko said in an email that the in-class quiz for “Economics 1010a: Intermediate Microeconomics” would be optional this week and further permitted students to “take time off,” per the Crimson.

“As we recover from the eventful election night and process the implications of Trump’s victory, please know that class will proceed as usual today, except that classroom quizzes will not be for credit,” Boycko wrote. “Feel free to take time off if needed.”

According to the Crimson, Physics professor Jennifer E. Hoffman said in an email to physics students and faculty that her office would be “a space to process the election.”

“Many in our community are sleep-deprived, again grieving for glass ceilings that weren’t shattered, fearful for the future, or embarrassed to face our international colleagues,” she wrote. “I stress-baked several pans of lemon bars to share.”

The Harvard College Democrats released a statement on Thursday expressing support for Kamala Harris and concerns about a second Trump presidency.

“The Harvard College Democrats are incredibly grateful for the leadership of Vice President Kamala Harris and the vision she presented for the future of the country in her campaign for President of the United States,” reads the statement. “We are proud to endorse a campaign that centered joy, community, and a belief in the immense potential of this great nation.”

At Princeton University, at least two classes were canceled on Wednesday: a graduate molecular-biology class, and the psychology course “Social Cognition: The Psychology of Interactive Minds.”

An undergraduate Princeton student in the course “Social Cognition: The Psychology of Interactive Minds” wrote to National Review that all precepts for the class were canceled for the week, and at the beginning of the lecture on Thursday, students were told they had the opportunity to leave if they could not emotionally handle participating. (The professor of the class, Alin Coman, did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.)

University Health Services at Princeton University hosted virtual and in-person “Post-Election Listening Circles” on Wednesday.

“We have been hearing about lots of anxiety from students about the election and felt like listening circles can be a helpful way to allow students to process and get support from one another,” Princeton University spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill told the student-run publication Daily Princetonian in a statement.

The Gender and Sexuality Resource Center (GSRC) at Princeton University held a “post-election discussion” on Wednesday, where students groups led conversations about “queer/trans concerns” and “misogynoir in the 2024 election.” On Thursday evening, the GSRC is sponsoring a “meditation session” with Molly Crockett, a professor of psychology at Princeton. The GSRC will also hold an “arts and crafts” session for crocheting.

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion — Campus Life at Princeton University held a “post election decompression space” on Wednesday, and the Office of Religious Life will hold an event titled “Holding Space: The Work of Active Listening and Compassion” on Thursday evening.

The Carl A. Fields Center at Princeton University is hosting a “community care dinner” on Thursday evening. “The food is seasoned,” the Carl A. Fields Center advertised. “The community care sacred.”

Sunrise Princeton, a student-run climate-activism group, held a gathering “to process the election” with craft-making on Wednesday.

“Last night was devastating to watch,” the group Sunrise Princeton wrote in an email. “Many of us are feeling frustrated, scared, uncertain — a whole mishmash of (mostly not good) emotions.”

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The Guardian Offers Therapy to Staff After ‘Devastating’ Trump Election Win

The Guardian is offering counselling to staff as it vowed to support its workforce after Donald Trump’s “upsetting” US election victory this week.

In an email to staff, The Guardian’s editor Katharine Viner said the election had “exposed alarming fault lines on many fronts” and urged journalists based in the UK to contact colleagues in the US “to offer your support”.

Ms Viner said that the result would be “upsetting for many others”, according to the memo seen by Guido Fawkes, adding: “If you want to talk about it, your manager and members of the leadership team are all available, as the People team. There is also free access to free support services, which I’ve outlined at the end of this email.”

It comes after Ms Viner sought to reassure readers over the election outcome, writing in an editorial on Wednesday that the paper would “stand up to four more years of Donald Trump” and that the election was an “extraordinary, devastating moment in the history of the United States”.

Ms Viner added: “With Trump months away from taking office again – with dramatic implications for wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the health of American democracy, reproductive rights, inequality and, perhaps most of all, our collective environmental future – it’s time for us to redouble our efforts to hold the president-elect and those who surround him to account.”

Above an invitation to donate to The Guardian, her editorial ended with the message that the paper “will stand up to these threats, but it will take brave, well-funded independent journalism. It will take reporting that can’t be leaned upon by a billionaire owner terrified of retribution from a bully in the White House”.

A Guardian spokesman said on Thursday: “What you refer to as ‘therapy after Trump result’ is actually our employee assistance programme – a function that any responsible international media organisation has available for staff at all times.”

In the US, some colleges have given students time off, an extension on deadlines, art therapy classes and access to a therapy duck in response to Trump’s win.

The University of Oregon told students this week that to “promote well-being and lessen anxiety during election week, University Health Services is bringing Quacktavious the Therapy Duck to campus”.

Students at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy were reportedly told this week that they could play with Lego, colouring books, and have milk and cookies in “self-care suites” following the result.

The University of Michigan is also hosting an “art therapy” and “post-election processing” event.

Some stores in the US even closed on Wednesday, with Iowa retailer The Collective writing on its Instagram page that it was closing to allow for a “day of collective grief”.

Among the overseas reaction was Germany’s popular weekly Die Zeit, which led its website on Wednesday with the one-word expletive “F—”.

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Putin Congratulates Trump on Election Win, Says He’s ‘Ready’ for Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday congratulated Donald Trump on winning the U.S. election, praised him for showing courage when a gunman tried to assassinate him, and said Moscow was ready for dialogue with the Republican president-elect.

In his first public remarks since Trump’s win, Putin said Trump had acted like a real man during an assassination attempt on him while he was speaking at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July.

“He behaved, in my opinion, in a very correct way, courageously, like a real man,” Putin said at the Valdai discussion club in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. “I take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election.”

Putin said remarks Trump had made during the election campaign about Ukraine and restoring relations with Russia deserved attention.

“What was said about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to bring about the end of the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion this deserves attention at least,” said Putin.

Trump said during campaigning that he could bring peace in Ukraine within 24 hours if elected, but has given few details on how he would seek to end the biggest land war in Europe since World War Two.

The 72-year-old Kremlin chief gave just one note of caution: “I do not know what is going to happen now. I have no clue.”

When pressed by a questioner what he would do if Trump called to suggest a meeting, Putin said he was ready to resume contacts if a Trump administration wanted that, and was ready for discussions with Trump.

Russia and Trump have repeatedly dismissed as nonsense some claims in Western media that Trump was a sort of Russian agent of influence. Russian officials say that during his first term, from 2017 to 2021, Trump was tough on Russia.

U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigated allegations of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, but said in a 2019 report that he found no evidence of conspiracy.

Moscow has also repeatedly denied U.S. assertions that Russia meddled in the 2024 and other presidential elections and had spread disinformation in an attempt to sow chaos.

WAR?

The 2-1/2-year-old war in Ukraine is entering what some Russian and Western officials say could be its final – most dangerous – phase after Moscow’s forces advance at their fastest pace since the early weeks of the conflict and the West ponders how the war will end.

Putin on June 14 set out his terms for an end to the war: Ukraine would have to drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw all of its troops from all of the territory of four regions claimed by Russia.

Russia controls Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, about 80% of the Donbas – a coal-and-steel zone comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk regions – and more than 70% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Speaking for several hours on Thursday, Putin railed against the “adventurism” of Western leaders whom he accused of pushing the world to a “dangerous line” by seeking to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia in Ukraine.

“It is useless to put pressure on us. But we are always ready to negotiate with full consideration of mutual legitimate interests,” Putin said, just seconds after scolding the West for promising Ukraine and Georgia eventual NATO membership in 2008.

He said that the West had never accepted Russia as an equal partner since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, treating it as a defeated power and enlarging the U.S.-led NATO military alliance eastwards towards Russia.

Russia, Putin said, was ready to restore relations with the United States but the ball was in Washington’s court. Putin also said that China was Russia’s “ally”.

Asked about Kamala Harris’ warning that Putin would eat Trump for lunch, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said with a chuckle: “Putin does not eat people.”

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Merchan Considers Tossing Trump’s ‘Hush Money’ Conviction

The New York judge who oversaw Donald Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan is considering tossing his felony convictions after the former president won Tuesday’s election, CNN reported Wednesday.

Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records relating to payments made to former porn star Stormy Daniels.

The country’s 45th president is set to be sentenced in the case on Nov. 26, but whether the hearing will happen is now being decided by Judge Juan Merchan.

CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid reported Wednesday evening that Merchan will give himself until next week to decide if tossing those convictions is appropriate.

During CNN’s ongoing coverage of the 2024 election, network anchor Jake Tapper welcomed Reid to discuss Trump’s felony criminal case in New York. She reported:

I’m told that his legal team is going to try to make sure that sentencing never happens. As we know, their usual strategy is always to just try to get things delayed. But here they’re going to argue to the judge that the sentencing should never happen because now that Trump is president-elect, they will say that he is entitled to the same constitutional protections as a sitting president and should be protected from state actors and in this case, state prosecutors and the judge overseeing that case, Judge Juan Merchan.

He’s giving himself a deadline of November 12th to decide if the conviction against Trump should be tossed based on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on immunity. If he tosses the conviction, there’ll be no sentencing. But if that sentencing continues to go forward, this is the argument that the Trump team is going to make.

Trump’s two federal cases are also expected to be dropped while special counsel Jack Smith winds them down. The former president previously vowed to fire Smith if he won the election. As for Trump’s RICO case in Georgia, CNN reported:

There is no clear answer as to whether a state-level prosecutor, like [Fulton County DA Fani Willis], can prosecute a sitting president. Trump’s victory now forces Willis to confront that constitutional question in addition to the existing legal issues that have already cast uncertainly over the Georgia case’s future.

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Radical Left Activates Anti-Trump Protests as AOC Riles Up Rioters

Not even 24 hours after President-elect Donald Trump won more votes in Illinois this general election than in the previous two, and after winning the US election in a massive red wave sweep, far-left protesters gathered outside the Trump Hotel in Obama’s Chicago.

The protests appear to have been highly organized and well-planned before the election, given the coordination among activists, the hundreds—if not thousands—of protesters—many holding signs—and the likely pre-approved protest routes from City Hall.

Organizers shouted into megaphones, “Trump is a fascist” and “racist,” echoing hate speech spewed by the defunct Harris-Walz campaign in the months leading up to November 5. Here’s the mobilization effort by far-left radicals:

Separately, far-left activist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was on X, saying the quiet part out loud: “There are … mass movements of people that mobilize to protect one another in times of fascism and authoritarianism … and this is the era that we are poised to enter.”

In other words, AOC appears to be giving marching orders to her followers, whom some Marxists regard as “agents of change” or “agents of history.” These folks will be herded like cattle—or “useful idiots”—onto city streets by a mysterious web of nonprofits funded by dark money from leftist billionaires.

The Democrat’s playbook to potentially unleash another wave of social unrest through activism campaigns, with command-and-control centers operated by nonprofits, will likely not be tolerated under a Trump administration.

It’s not just the Trump administration; it’s the American people – a strong majority now – who won’t tolerate far-left activism that burns buildings and trashes businesses. This new path in history has already shifted the Overton Window back towards the center. Plus, politics will focus on law and order instead of nation-killing progressive policies that push for destruction.

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UPDATE: Kari Lake Cutting Into Ruben Gallego’s Lead in Arizona Senate Race

Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego remains in front Kari Lake in the race for Arizona’s open U.S. Senate seat, but the Republican has closed the gap since Election Day.

As of Thursday morning, Gallego’s advantage was 50.1%-47.9% — a difference of 2.2 percentage points (52,578 votes) — with nearly 2.5 million votes tallied, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office results page.

Green Party candidate Eduardo Quintana was pulling about 2%.

Gallego’s lead fluctuated for most of Wednesday as rural counties that reported results earlier in the day favored Lake. Maricopa County, the state’s largest county by far, released the results of about 175,000 votes slightly favoring the Democrat in two evening drops.

Gallego was leading Lake by 5.4 points in the initial results posted after the polls closed Tuesday night.

The winner will replace Kyrsten Sinema, an independent who did not seek reelection.

Regardless of who wins the Arizona race, Republicans will win control of the Senate, giving a boost to Donald Trump’s agenda as he returns to the White House.

Who are Ruben Gallego and Kari Lake?

Gallego is the representative for Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers most of south, west and downtown Phoenix. The Marine veteran has served five terms in the U.S. House.

Gallego entered the race in January 2023 and ran unopposed in the July primary election.

Lake, the Republican candidate, is one of Arizona’s most well known political figures and popular in GOP circles.

Lake, recognizable in the Phoenix market from her years on TV before getting into politics, built an enthusiastic following among Republicans with her unflinching support for Donald Trump and her steadfast promotion of false claims of election fraud.

She lost the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election to Democrat Katie Hobbs in her first run for office. Lake has since unsuccessfully fought the results of the 2022 election in court.

Lake entered the race in October 2023 and defeated Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb in the primary.

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WATCH: Jimmy Kimmel Literally Cries Over Trump Win, Suggests Trump Voters Are Stupid

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel literally cried on Wednesday over Donald Trump winning the 2024 election, claiming it was a “terrible day” for all Americans, even for those who voted for Trump.

Kimmel, along with other late-night hosts, is an ardent anti-Trumper who routinely mocks the former, and future, president in mean-spirited monologues and sketches.

“It was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hard-working immigrants who make this country g0, for health care, for our climate, for science, for journalism, for justice, for free speech,” Kimmel said through tears to his liberal audience in Hollywood.

“I’ve been trying to come up with something positive, the best I can come up with is we’ve been through this once before and yes this time it’s probably gonna be worse, maybe a lot worse,” Kimmel amped up the dramatics.

The host went on to take some not-so-subtle shots at Trump’s supporters, too, like suggesting they lack “common sense” and are ignorant or stupid.

“I’m disappointed, I know a lot of you are too,” he said.

“I thought common sense would prevail. I’m so stupid, I always think it’s gonna but for a lot of people, this just isn’t important. It’s not high on their list.”

“It was a terrible night for everyone who voted against him, and guess what?” Kimmel continued.

“It was a bad night for everyone who voted for him too. You just don’t realize it yet.”

Watch:

Kimmel recently made headlines for joking that Trump supporters should vote after Election Day. “If you want to vote for Trump, vote late,” he said. “Vote very late. Do your voting on Thursday or maybe Friday.”

Despite Kimmel’s cries of supposed authoritarianism under Trump, it was the Biden-Harris DOJ who sentenced a young man named Douglass Mackey to prison time for a similar joke made online about Hillary Clinton supporters.

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‘You Helped Save America’: Conservatives Heap Praise on Trump’s ‘Secret Weapon’ in Pennsylvania

Conservatives are crediting activist Scott Presler for helping to deliver the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania to former President Donald this election.

Presler, who’s been dubbed Trump’s “secret weapon” in PA, made it his mission to register as many Trump voters as possible in the Keystone State, and he left no stone unturned, targeting hunters and even Amish Americans, who are known for staying out of national politics.

“Mister President, I’m pleased to share that we have delivered Pennsylvania for you,” Presler posted to X early Wednesday morning. “Congratulations, sir.”

Leading a PAC called Early Vote Action, Presler moved to the battleground in September and worked for 40 days straight to register voters. His activism in the state, though, dates back years.

He’s been credited with helping to flip numerous Democrat counties red, with regard to voter registration, and leading an effective campaign targeting the Amish.

“If Trump wins Pennsylvania, we all owe it to this man!” Jan Halper-Hayes, a former Trump camp official, said of Presler, claiming he registered “180,000 Amish first time voters.”

“Please send a thank you to Scott!” Halper-Hayes said.

“Scott Presler began his quest to help the Republicans win the state of Pennsylvania back in February 2021,” another post said. “He spent 4 years trying to win Pennsylvania. Nobody asked him to do this. No one paid him to do this. He just went out and did it. And he won.”

Former NFL star and Trump supporter Antonio Brown commented on a photo of Presler, writing, “This guy deserves a ton of credit for Pennsylvania.”

“In 2020 [Scott Presler] personally registered me to vote,” Olivia Rondeau posted. “He met me at a McDonald’s. In 2024 he played the largest role of any individual to win Pennsylvania for Donald Trump. Everybody say thanks, Scott.”

“You were the most impactful non-billionaire this election cycle,” X account The Vigilant Fox posted. “Well done, Scott. You helped save America.”

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RFK Jr. Says ‘Entire Departments’ at FDA ‘Have to Go’

Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who backed President-elect Donald Trump, said Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bureaucracy should be winnowed down.

Before the election, Trump had floated Kennedy as having a role in his administration, namely targeting federal agencies that oversee health care, food, and drugs.

“There are entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA … that have to go—that are not doing their job. They’re not protecting our kids,” Kennedy told MSNBC on Wednesday.

When he was asked if he would remove any health agencies, Kennedy said, “to eliminate the agencies, as long as it requires congressional approval, I wouldn’t be doing that.”

“I can get the corruption out of the agencies,” he added.

Kennedy added in a separate interview with Fox News earlier this week that “we don’t know what I’m going to do. I talked to the president about it yesterday, and he asked me what I wanted, and I said, we’re developing a proposal now.”

He was asked whether he would be appointed as Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, a position that requires Senate confirmation.

At a Madison Square Garden rally last month, Trump reiterated that he would have Kennedy join his administration and “let him go wild on health.”

“I’m going to let him go wild on the food. I’m going to let him go wild on the medicines,” Trump said.

During the Al Smith dinner that Trump attended last month, he again floated Kennedy as leading his administration’s efforts around food and health.

“We’re going to let him go wild for a little while, then I’m going to have to maybe reign him back, because he’s got some pretty wild ideas, but most of them are really good,” Trump said during the New York City dinner.

“I think he’s a he’s a good man, and he believes, he believes the environment, the healthy people. He wants healthy people, he wants healthy food. And he’s going to do it. He’s going to have a big chance to do it, because we do need that.”

Kennedy and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) are also part of the president-elect’s transition team, along with Trump’s two sons Eric and Donald Jr., businessman Howard Lutnick, and former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) executive Linda McMahon.

Speaking to CNN last week, Lutnick was asked about Kennedy and whether he would be appointed as HHS secretary.

Lutnick, however, said that Kennedy would not be “getting a job” at HHS and instead would be seeking federal health data on vaccines.

“He says, ‘If you give me the data, all I want is the data, and I’ll take on the data and show that it’s not safe.’ And then if you pull the product liability [protections], the companies will yank these vaccines right off, off of the market,” Lutnick told the outlet.

Over the past weekend, Kennedy drew headlines when he floated the idea that Trump may seek to ban the addition of fluoride to drinking water, coming after a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should look at recent data and studies showing that fluoridation may lower children’s IQ.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote on X.

Trump and his wife Melania Trump “want to Make America Healthy Again,” he added, repeating a phrase Trump often uses and links to Kennedy.

Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken to Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but it sounds okay to me. You know it’s possible.”

Kennedy was running as an independent presidential candidate before he suspended his bid over the summer and endorsing Trump.

He appeared at multiple Trump rallies, including the recent Madison Square Garden event.

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Australia Moves to Ban Young Teens from Social Media

Children and teenagers under the age of 16 could soon be banned from using social media after Labor announced it would back the higher cut-off limit.

The government had previously committed to introducing the legislation that would get kids off social media by the end of the year, but earlier suggested it would not announce a specific cut-off age until after a trial of verification technology.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also confirmed on Thursday that the proposed legislation would not include grandfathering arrangements — meaning young people already on social media would not be exempt — nor would it allow for exemptions due to parental consent.

A virtual national cabinet meeting will be held on Friday to discuss the changes, where states and territory leaders will be asked to support the policy.

Labor’s decision to back the higher cut-off age comes after the Coalition announced it would support a minimum age of 16 earlier this year.

The changes would come into force a year after the legislation is passed by parliament, Mr Albanese told reporters, and there will be a review of the rules after they commence.

“This is world-leading legislation and we want to make sure we’ve got it right,” Mr Albanese said.

“We think there will be some, of course, exclusions and exemptions as well for this, to make sure that there aren’t unintended consequences — but we think this is absolutely the right thing.”

Some social media platforms already have policies barring anyone under the age of 13 from joining with their own account, but they can be notoriously difficult to enforce.

The prime minister argued that access to social media was causing harm to young people’s mental health and he was “calling time on it”.

“I’ve spoken to thousands of parents, grandparents, aunties, and uncles and like me they are worried sick about the safety of our kids online,” he said.

“I want parents to be able to say, ‘Sorry mate, it’s against the law for me to let you do this.'”

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland acknowledged that social media offers many benefits to young people, such as helping them stay connected, but that it also brought many harms.

“As a mother of two young daughters, I understand this personally,” she said.

“I want to say to parents … when it comes to protecting children from the harms caused by content or addictive behaviours as a result of social media, we are on your side.”

Onus will be on social media giants

Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman described social media use by young people as “one of the defining issues of our era” and one that “shouldn’t be bipartisan in any way” as he welcomed the government’s announcement.

“We want to make sure that the legislation is strong and that there aren’t loopholes,” he said, standing in Parliament House with advocacy group 36 Months which has long lobbied for the minimum age to be set at 16.

“We don’t think that TikTok can be made safe for children, we do not think that Snapchat can ever be made safe for children, and we don’t think that Instagram can be safe for children.”

Under the proposed changes, social media companies will bear the onus of enforcing the age limit rather than parents and there would be no penalties for users.

As for what social media platforms would be included in the legislation, Ms Rowland said platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, and YouTube would likely “fall within that definition”.

The government said the definition of what would constitute an age-restricted social media platform would be adapted from the existing definition in the Online Safety Act, but it would have flexibility and could be narrowed through regulations.

Earlier this week Ms Rowland said the legislation would include an “exemption framework” to encourage platforms to “develop age-appropriate safe and healthier versions of their service”.

For example, Ms Rowland said there could be the potential for carve-outs for platforms deemed “low risk” by the eSafety Commissioner.

Mr Coleman said the Coalition didn’t want to see a situation where major social media companies could seek exemption from the laws.

“We do not think that with a tweak here or a change there that you can make TikTok safe for kids — that applies to products like Instagram and Snapchat as well,” he said.

But he was confident that the laws could be enforced, even if it wasn’t perfect.

Meta pushes back on the ban

Meta — the company behind Facebook and Instagram — launched its strongest public push against the ban so far on Thursday after it was seemingly blindsided by the government’s announcement.

The company argued that parents of Australian teenagers want more control than an outright ban will give them, citing Ipsos polling it commissioned that was released on Thursday.

The survey of more than 1,000 Australian parents found 67 per cent want to be able to decide on social media access on their child’s behalf, rather than a non-negotiable ban.

“What this research suggests is that [parents] really want to be and think they should be the decider here,” said Meta’s head of global safety, Antigone Davis.

“Parents are rightfully the gatekeepers for their children’s activities and experiences.”

The company also made the case that it should not bear the main responsibility for verifying users’ ages, and that app stores are better placed to do so.

Ms Davis said forcing every social media platform to collect data from users would create an “ultimately unnecessary intrusion into their privacy” and that by focusing on app stores the government would ensure that Australians would only need to prove their age once.

“We’re obviously going to comply with whatever government decision is made,” Ms Davis said.

“But I really would love for us to see a system that … really listens to what parents have said.”

The legislation will be developed in conjunction with states and territories and be informed by a review undertaken by the South Australian government as part of its draft laws.

Under South Australia’s proposed laws, social media companies would be forced to ban children under the age of 14 from their platforms or face hefty fines.

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DOJ Set to Drop Federal Cases Against Trump Before Inauguration

The special counsel overseeing the federal criminal cases against Donald Trump is preparing to drop the prosecutions of the president-elect before he is sworn in, according to a Justice Department official.

Special Counsel Jack Smith is evaluating how to wind down two federal cases against Trump in order to comply with a department policy that a sitting president can’t be prosecuted, said the official, who asked to remain anonymous speaking about non-public matters.

Smith may still seek to prosecute two of Trump’s co-defendants in one of the cases.

Smith charged Trump with illegally trying to remain in office after the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden.

In a separate case, Trump was charged with illegally retaining classified documents and obstructing federal efforts to retrieve them after he left the White House.

A Justice Department policy put in place in 2000 states that “the indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions.”

Several questions remain unanswered about how the prosecutions will be brought to a close, including whether Trump’s co-defendants in the classified documents case can still be prosecuted.

The classified documents case already was dismissed by a federal judge in Florida who ruled that Attorney General Merrick Garland didn’t have authority to appoint and fund a special counsel.

The department is currently appealing the ruling in an effort to preserve the institutional ability of the agency to appoint special counsels in the future.

Smith may choose to leave the special counsel position when Trump takes office but it wasn’t clear whether he would leave the Justice Department or move to another position. If Smith remains in the department, Trump could seek to have him fired when he becomes president.

The mechanics of how the cases will wind down will become clear in the coming days as court deadlines approach.

The special counsel’s office is due to make a filing in the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals on Nov. 15 with regard to the classified documents case.

Trump’s lawyers have several filings due on Nov. 21 before a federal court in Washington regarding the election interference case.

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Kamala Concedes Defeat, Pledges Peaceful Transfer of Power

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris vowed to keep fighting for the ideals that powered her presidential campaign on Wednesday in a concession speech that acknowledged President-elect Donald Trump’s win while warning of potential dark times to come.

“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” she told supporters, many of them in tears, at her alma mater Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington.

Harris, her voice at times wavering, pledged to continue fighting for women’s rights and against gun violence and to “fight for the dignity that all people deserve.”

She said she had called Trump, congratulated him on his triumph in Tuesday’s presidential election and promised to engage in a peaceful transfer of power.

“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for, but hear me when I say – hear me when I say: The light of America’s promise will always burn bright,” she said.

The somber mood was in striking contrast to the homecoming celebration a few weeks ago on the Howard campus when thousands of students and alumni gathered ahead of what they hoped would be the election of the country’s first graduate of historically Black Colleges and Universities as president.

Harris addressed a crowd on Wednesday that included former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, aides in President Joe Biden’s White House and thousands of fans. Harris’ campaign anthem, Beyonce’s “Freedom,” played as she entered the stage.

Her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, joined the crowd.

“A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results. That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny, and anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it,” Harris said, in a nod at Trump’s efforts, before he won, to sow doubt about the legitimacy of the election.

Harris encouraged her supporters, especially young people, not to give up even in their disappointment and said: “Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win.”

Harris rose to the top of the Democratic ticket in July after Biden stepped aside. She brought new-found enthusiasm and cash to the effort, but she struggled to overcome voters’ concerns about the economy and immigration.

“I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time, but for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here’s the thing: America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion of stars … the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service,” she said.

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Biden Congratulates Trump, Invites Him to White House

President Joe Biden called President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him on his Election Day victory and invited him to the White House for a transition meeting, Fox News reported.

Democratic candidate Kamala Harris also called Trump on Wednesday to concede the race after Trump was declared the winner in the early hours of Wednesday.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Trump has received 292 electoral college votes to Harris’ 224, according to the Associated Press. The first to reach 270 is declared the winner.

A Harris aide said that Harris had called to congratulate Trump on winning, and “discussed the importance of a peaceful transfer of power and being a president for all Americans.”

Biden was the original Democratic candidate in the race but dropped out in July after increasing pressure from his own party in the wake of an abysmal debate performance against Trump. Harris was quickly selected as the replacement for Biden, despite receiving no votes in the primaries.

Inauguration Day will take place on Monday, January 20, 2025, when Trump will have his second term in the White House. He is only the second president to serve a second non-consecutive term.

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Kamala Didn’t Outperform Biden in a Single County in the US

CNN anchor Jake Tapper expressed shock on Wednesday morning after Vice President Kamala Harris failed to outperform President Joe Biden’s 2020 record in a single state.

After Tapper asked CNN chief national correspondent John King whether there were any places Harris overperformed Biden in 2020, King responded, “You asked are there any places that the vice president is overperforming Joe Biden in 2020, so we can show you that as well. We just bring that out here. Harris overperforming 2020.”

King then switched to a slide that showed Harris failing to outperform Biden in a single state by 3% or more.

“Holy smokes!” reacted Tapper. “Literally nothing?”

“Literally nothing,” replied King.

Watch:

After Tapper questioned, “Literally not one county?” King pointed out that the slide showed states, not counties, before switching to another slide, which showed Harris outperforming Biden by 3% or more in a mere 58 counties.

“So in counties, in 58 counties,” explained King. “We just showed Donald Trump was over a thousand counties of the 4,600 counties and townships across America.”

He continued, “There might be more out here on the West Coast, possibly one or two more as they finish the count here, but in the states that matter – again, I just showed you all those Trump counties – in one county in battleground Pennsylvania, she’s outperforming President Biden by 3% or more.”

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