President-elect Trump is rumored to be considering replacing his Defense Secretary pick, former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Trump is mulling another Cabinet pick switch-up as Republican Senators have concerns about sexual assault allegations against Hegseth.

If he were to choose DeSantis, it would be a shocking turn for the president-elect.

The Florida Governor ran a GOP presidential primary bid against Trump, and the two traded insults during the campaign. Still, the Journal noted that DeSantis was a well-known conservative who served in the military.

Hegseth is facing growing scrutiny from GOP senators after new revelations over the weekend included allegations of alcohol abuse and previous sexual misconduct.

He plans to meet with the House Republican Study Committee on Wednesday. While House members don’t have a say in the confirmation process, it could be seen as a pressure tactic to back the former “Fox & Friends Weekend” host.

Hegseth held his third round of meetings with senators and brought his wife, former Fox News producer Jennifer Cunningham Rauchet.

The Journal’s report comes just after Trump senior adviser Jason Miller said the team isn’t concerned with their choice of Hegseth amid the controversial reports.

DeSantis, who attempted to make amends as Trump seized the GOP nomination, will be ineligible to run for governor again once his term ends in 2027.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who was initially tapped to be Trump’s attorney general but withdrew amid his own sexual misconduct allegations, has been floated to fill DeSantis’s seat when his term ends.

New rule: if Donald Trump is getting back his old job, then it might not be worth staying at your current job. That’s the premise that Bill Maher floated on his “Club Random” podcast speaking with Jane Fonda in an episode released Sunday. While interviewing the actor and activist, Maher expressed exhaustion at the prospect of covering Trump’s administration for the next four years.

“I mean I may quit,” Maher told Fonda.

“I don’t want to do another… I did Trump. I did all the Trump stuff before anybody. I called him a con man before anybody. I did, ‘He’s a mafia boss.’ I was the one who said he wasn’t going to concede the election. I’ve done it. I’ve seen this fucking—”

“Well then how come he’s so hostile to Jimmy Kimmel and not to you?” Fonda interrupted.

“He’s very hostile to me. He tweets about me every week. Every week he accidentally watches my show and goes, ‘Low ratings loser!’ I’m bored with it,” Maher answered.

“The show is the politics. There is no other thing. And he’s going to dominate the news like he always does.”

President-elect Trump last made headlines for attacking Maher back in September, when he wrote in a post on his platform Truth Social, “I seldom watch Low Rated Bill Maher but, when I do, I marvel at the fake laughter on the Show. It sounds like a bad ‘Laugh Machine,’ it’s so obnoxious and disgusting, just like him, always laughing no matter what is said.”

Whether or not Maher is seriously weighing an exit from “Real Time” due to Trump’s coming presidency, the host is supposedly on the books through 2026. Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO renewed “Real Time” for two more seasons back in March.

“Two more years in the dream job of a lifetime, on the network so many dream of being on — I think that’s what we call a no-brainer,” Maher said in a statement at the time. Maher has led “Real Time” on HBO since 2003 and has done 12 comedy specials for the network. “Real Time” was last renewed in 2021 with a two-season guarantor.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister has withdrawn from consideration to head President-elect Donald Trump‘s Drug Enforcement Administration.

In a statement, Chronister said Tuesday being nominated “the honor of a lifetime” but was stepping down after the “gravity of this very important responsibility set in.”

“Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration. There is more work to be done for the citizens of Hillsborough County and a lot of initiatives I am committed to fulfilling,” he wrote in a statement. “I sincerely appreciate the nomination, outpouring of support by the American people, and look forward to continuing my service as Sheriff of Hillsborough County.”

To have been nominated by President-Elect @realDonaldTrump to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the honor of a lifetime. Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully… pic.twitter.com/bvNF8m9Bh4

— Chad Chronister (@ChadChronister) December 3, 2024

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who had previously voiced concerns over Chronister’s nomination over his arrest of a pastor for defying COVID-19 lockdown orders, celebrated his withdrawal shortly after it was announced.

“This sheriff ordered the arrest of a pastor for holding services during the COVID panic. He was tapped by Trump to head the DEA. Glad to see him withdraw from consideration,” Massie said in a statement on X. “Next time politicians lose their ever-lovin minds, he can redeem himself by following the Constitution.”

Massie had previously voiced concerns over Chronister’s nomination, announced by Trump on Saturday, over the arrest, saying it should have “disqualified” him.

Momentum against the Florida sheriff gradually built in the days after Trump tapped Chronister despite strong showings of support from Florida Republicans, including Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).

“When I appointed Chad as Hillsborough County Sheriff in 2017, he had already spent more than 20 years in law enforcement fighting every day to protect Florida families,” Scott claimed.

“His work over the last 7 years shows Chad’s dedication to cracking down on crime, fighting the fentanyl crisis, and showing up every day to keep Floridians safe.”

Chronister joins former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as the sole nominees to Trump’s Cabinet to withdraw from consideration before the Senate confirmation process. Gaetz, Trump’s first pick to be attorney general, backed out after meetings with Republicans in the Senate showed he lacked the votes to be confirmed.

The jury in the trial of Daniel Penny, the 26-year-old Marine veteran charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, began deliberating the case on Tuesday afternoon. They later came back with a note requesting that part of the jury instructions be reread.

“We the jury, request a reading of jury instructions, part 2, explanation of the law that applies to the part which is justification and defines causation,” the note read, per Inner City Press.

In NY v. Daniel Penny, a jury note: “We the jury, request a reading of jury instructions, part 2, explanation of the law that applies to the part which is justification and defines causation.” So Judge Wiley is re-reading it to them. Book: https://t.co/dZCoJPxHU7

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 3, 2024

The jury of seven women and five men was specifically interested in the portion about the justified use of force, ABC News reported. To convict, the jury must weigh whether Penny’s actions aboard the uptown F train were justifiable or not.

The jury was dismissed Tuesday evening, requesting to come back Wednesday to continue deliberations, per CNN.

While jurors had not been seated on Wednesdays during the trial, which began in November, the judge had asked them to consider coming in if they were still deliberating the case.

In May 2023, Neely boarded the train and witnesses said that he began making violent threats toward passengers.

Penny and his defense team have argued that Penny was trying to protect fellow train passengers when he placed Neely in a chokehold to restrain him, with other passengers assisting.

President Biden pledged $1 billion in humanitarian support to Africans displaced by historic droughts and food insecurity on Tuesday, as North Carolina residents continue to rebuild after the devastation left by Hurricane Helene.

“The United States continues to be the world’s largest provider of humanitarian aid and development assistance. That’s going to increase, you know, that’s the right thing for the wealthiest nation in the world to do,” Biden said while speaking in Angola. “Today I’m announcing over $1 billion in new humanitarian support for Africans displaced from homes by historic droughts and food insecurity. We know African leaders and citizens are seeking more than just aid. You seek investment.

“So, the United States is expanding our relationship all across Africa from assistance to aid, investment to trade, moving from patrons to partners to help bridge the infrastructure gap,” he added.

BREAKING: Biden announces $1 billion to help African nations rebuild homes hit by natural disasters pic.twitter.com/fUcbJUamON

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 3, 2024

Biden’s visit to Angola this week marks the first time the president has stepped foot on African soil during his presidency, and it comes as people in North Carolina continue to face challenges after Hurricane Helene caused destruction and devastation in late September.

Last month, the White House requested $98 billion in additional disaster relief funding to help efforts in Helene-ravished areas.

Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle have pledged to act swiftly once they get a formal request from the Biden administration.

On top of that, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told reporters last month that her agency “will need additional funding of approximately $40 billion beyond its 2025 budget request to support the ongoing recovery efforts to these storms and meet our overall mission requirements through the end of the fiscal year.”

Still, until these funds are in place, some continue to slam Biden’s legacy of putting foreign countries before his own, which was seen Tuesday as a video of Biden making the $1 billion announcement in Africa made the rounds on social media.

“BREAKING: Joe Biden just announced a $1B aid package for AFRICAN nations that are rebuilding from natural disasters. What about North Carolina? This is DISGUSTING,” one user on X wrote.

“This is by far the WORST President of all time,” another said on X.

Still, one more user asked, “Can anyone please explain why Joe Biden hates America so much?”

Helene ravaged part of the U.S. Southeast in late September, killing more than 100 people in North Carolina alone.

It’s estimated to have caused billions of dollars worth of damage as well.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., previously told Fox News Digital that he believed it could be one of the most expensive storms in U.S. history.

Fox News host Sean Hannity was just revealed as the buyer of a jaw-dropping $23.5 million estate in Manalapan, FL, snapping up the extravagant waterfront megamansion just 10 months after announcing that he was relocating permanently to the Sunshine State from New York.

Hannity, 62, who hosts his own show on Fox News, as well as a national radio show, announced in January that he would be upping sticks from his longtime home in New York to move to his property in Palm Beach, FL, from where he planned to record both his TV and radio appearances.

The on-air personality purchased his 3,800-square-foot Florida property in 2021 for $5.3 million—but had only ever used it as a vacation home before opting to “leave New York for good” in order to pursue his “freedom.”

However, it appears the luxurious pad didn’t afford Hannity quite enough space to run free, and he has now added an enormous 12,378-square-foot dwelling to his real estate holdings in his new home state.

His new property is a 30-minute drive from Palm Beach proper and boasts an impressive eight bedrooms and 10.5 bathrooms, as well as 1.86 acres of waterfront land.

While the home—which was listed by Gary Pohrer and Nick Malinosky, of The Exclusive Group at Douglas Elliman—was originally built in 1990, it has undergone several renovations since it last traded hands in 2021, according to its listing.

These updates include “new flooring, all new bathrooms; new impact sliders; and a new cooler unit in wine room.”

Perhaps its most alluring quality, however, is its plum spot on the barrier island of Manalapan, which ensures close proximity to the beach, plenty of privacy, and staggering views of the water at all hours of the day.

The home was certainly designed with water fanatics in mind, offering a “resort-style” heated swimming pool, a large private dock, and a private beach house.

However, despite its many impressive amenities and recent upgrades, local real estate agents told the Wall Street Journal that some might consider the home a teardown and opt to raze it to make way for something more modern and imposing.

It is unclear whether Hannity plans to move into the home immediately after his Nov. 26 closing, or if he will aim to complete his own work on the property until it meets his living standards.

What is certain is that the Fox News host has no immediate plans to return to New York any time soon, having first revealed in January that he was “done” with the state forever.

“I’ve been threatening now to do this for quite a while, but we are now beginning our first broadcast from my new home and that is in the free state of Florida,” Hannity said during a January episode of his iHeartRadio show. “I am out. I am done. I’m finished.”

The outspoken conservative explained that the motivation for his move down south came from his dislike of the political policies implemented by representatives in New York, explaining that he felt much more aligned with those adopted by leaders in Florida.

“Finally, for the first time that I can think of in my adult life, I actually have representatives in the state that I’m living in that share my values,” he went on. “Like so many Americans, I left New York for good and am now in the state with, let’s see: warmer weather, law and order, better education, more freedom, better quality of life – and guess what? No state income tax.”

Hannity cut ties with the state of New York once and for all in June, when he sold his picture-prefect Oyster Bay estate for $12.7 million, 16 years after he purchased the waterfront property for $8.5 million.

The TV host listed the residence in early May for $13.75 million. The palatial property, which was sold fully furnished, quickly sparked a bidding war and was under contract within seven days.

At the time, the listing agents, Shawn Elliott and his son, Zachary Elliott, of Nest Seeker’s International, told Realtor.com® that it was a “new record for the fasted home sale over $10 million in the area,” with Shawn adding that the person who purchased the home was a longtime fan of Hannity.

The identity of the seller of the anchor’s new property has not been revealed and records reveal that the deal was carried out via an LLC, likely to preserve the anonymity of its former owner.

In the years since the home was completed in 1990, it has changed hands only a few times, starting in 2005, when it sold for $8.75 million. It was then put back on the market in 2009, ultimately selling for $8.98 million later that year.

That owner retained the property for more than a decade before selling it on in 2018 for $18 million.

Hannity ultimately scored a fairly sizable discount on the enormous estate, which was first listed for sale in February 2024 for $29 million, before that price was lowered to $25.95 million in October.

It’s unclear whether Hannity plans to live in the home by himself, or if his two children, who he shares with ex-wife Jill Rhodes, will spend at least a portion of their time in the Florida mansion.

Meta is mistakenly removing too much content across its apps, according to a top executive.

Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, told reporters on Monday that the company’s moderation “error rates are still too high” and pledged to “improve the precision and accuracy with which we act on our rules.”

“We know that when enforcing our policies, our error rates are still too high, which gets in the way of the free expression that we set out to enable,” Clegg said during a press call I attended.

“Too often, harmless content gets taken down, or restricted, and too many people get penalized unfairly.”

He said the company regrets aggressively removing posts about the covid-19 pandemic. CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently told the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee the decision was influenced by pressure from the Biden administration.

“We had very stringent rules removing very large volumes of content through the pandemic,” Clegg said.

“No one during the pandemic knew how the pandemic was going to unfold, so this really is wisdom in hindsight. But with that hindsight, we feel that we overdid it a bit. We’re acutely aware because users quite rightly raised their voice and complained that we sometimes over-enforce and we make mistakes and we remove or restrict innocuous or innocent content.”

Clegg’s comments suggest that, after years of ramping up to what is now billions of dollars in annual spend on moderation, Meta’s automated systems have become too ham-fisted. Examples of “moderation failures” were recently trending on Threads, which has been plagued with takedown errors in recent months.

The company publicly apologized after its systems suppressed photos of President-elect Donald Trump surviving an attempted assassination. And its own Oversight Board recently warned ahead of the US presidential election that its moderation errors risk the “excessive removal of political speech.”

Meta has yet to make any major known changes to its content rules since the election, though it sounds like big changes could be coming. Clegg referred to the rules as “a sort of living, breathing document” during the call with reporters.

When I asked him about Zuckerberg’s dinner with Trump last week and if Meta still planned to resist government pressure to moderate, as Zuckerberg told the House Judiciary Committee, Clegg sidestepped the question.

“I can’t give you a running commentary on conversations I was not part of,” he said of Zuckerberg’s recent dinner with Trump.

“The administration is still being assembled and the inauguration has not happened, so the conversations at this stage are clearly fairly high level. Mark is very keen to play an active role in the debates that any administration needs to have about maintaining America’s leadership in the technological sphere, which, of course, is tremendously important given all the geostrategic uncertainties around the world and particularly the pivotal role that AI will play in that scenario.”

Alex Consani, a biological male, became the first transgender Model of the Year at the 2024 Fashion Awards on Monday.

Consani became the latest biological male to steal a woman’s spotlight when he appeared on stage at the Royal Albert Hall in London, calling the moment a “big step in the right direction.” Consani has spent the bulk of 2024 participating in various runway shows, modeling for brands such as Chanel, Stella McCartney and Victoria’s Secret.

Trans woman Alex Consani is crowned Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards – beating five biological females who were also shortlisted.

Is this fair? pic.twitter.com/PqhlcAugQS

— Peter Lloyd (@Suffragent_) December 3, 2024

The 21-year-old walked on stage with bleach-blond hair and eyebrows to accept the title. Consani thanked “black transwomen” Dominique Jackson, Connie Fleming and Aaron Rose Philip, who “really fought for the space I’m in today,” the model said.

He also thanked his parents for supporting his dream of joining the fashion industry, adding that more parents of transgender children should demonstrate the same level of support.

“Because change is more than possible — it’s needed,” Consani said.

The biological male made headlines in October after becoming the first transgender model to walk the runway at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

Consani is signed with IMG Models, the same agency that represents supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Hailey Bieber and Bella and Gigi Hadid, according to CNN.

The transgender model made his catwalk debut for Tom Ford in 2021 and later walked the runway for multiple luxe brands, including Alexander McQueen, Chanel and Versace.

Consani also modeled for the Ann Demeulemeester Spring-Summer 2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week in September.

Other instances of biological men stealing the spotlight from women include Bailey Anne Kennedy, who won the Miss Maryland USA pageant in 2024; Kataluna Enriquez, who won the Miss Nevada USA pageant in 2021; Rikkie Valerie Kolle, who won the Miss Netherlands pageant in 2023 and Marina Machete, who placed in the top 20 at the Miss Universe pageant in 2023.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday, vowing to eliminate “anti-state” forces as he struggles against an opposition that controls the country’s parliament and that he accuses of sympathizing with communist North Korea.

Less than three hours later, parliament voted to lift the declaration, with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik declaring that the martial law was “invalid” and that lawmakers “will protect democracy with the people.”

Police and military personnel were seen leaving the Assembly’s grounds after Woo called for their withdrawal. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the liberal Democratic Party, which holds the majority in the 300-seat parliament, said the party’s lawmakers will remain in the Assembly’s main hall until Yoon formally lifts his order.

Seemingly hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Assembly, waving banners and calling for Yoon’s impeachment.

“Democratic Party lawmakers, including me and many others, will protect our country’s democracy and future and public safety, lives and properties, with our own lives,” Lee told reporters.

The president’s surprising move harkened back to an era of authoritarian leaders that the country has not seen since the 1980s, and it was immediately denounced by the opposition and the leader of Yoon’s own conservative party.

Under South Korea’s constitution, the president can declare martial law during “wartime, war-like situations or other comparable national emergency states” that require the use of military force to maintain peace and order. It was questionable whether South Korea is currently in such a state.

When martial law is declared, “special measures” can be employed to restrict the freedom of press, freedom of assembly and other rights, as well as the power of courts.

The constitution also states that the president must oblige when the National Assembly demands the lifting of martial law with a majority vote.

Following Yoon’s announcement, South Korea’s military proclaimed that parliament and other political gatherings that could cause “social confusion” would be suspended, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.

In Washington, the White House said the U.S. was “seriously concerned” by the events in Seoul. A spokesperson for the National Security Council said President Joe Biden’s administration was not notified in advance of the martial law announcement and was in contact with the South Korean government.

The military also said that the country’s striking doctors should return to work within 48 hours, Yonhap said. Thousands of doctors have been striking for months over government plans to expand the number of students at medical schools. The military said anyone who violates the decree could be arrested without a warrant.

Soon after the declaration, the parliament speaker called on his YouTube channel for all lawmakers to gather at the National Assembly. He urged military and law enforcement personnel to “remain calm and hold their positions.

All 190 lawmakers who participated in the vote supported the lifting of martial law. Television footage showed soldiers who had been stationed at parliament leaving the site after the vote.

Hours earlier, TV showed police officers blocking the entrance of the National Assembly and helmeted soldiers carrying rifles in front of the building.

An Associated Press photographer saw at least three helicopters, likely from the military, that landed inside the Assembly grounds, while two or three helicopters circled above the site.

The leader of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, called the decision to impose martial law “wrong” and vowed to “stop it with the people.” Lee, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, called Yoon’s announcement “illegal and unconstitutional.”

Yoon said during a televised speech that martial law would help “rebuild and protect” the country from “falling into the depths of national ruin.” He said he would “eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order.”

“I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country,” he said, while asking the people to believe in him and tolerate “some inconveniences.”

Yoon — whose approval rating has dipped in recent months — has struggled to push his agenda against an opposition-controlled parliament since taking office in 2022.

Yoon’s party has been locked in an impasse with the liberal opposition over next year’s budget bill. The opposition has also attempted to pass motions to impeach three top prosecutors, including the chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, in what the conservatives have called a vendetta against their criminal investigations of Lee, who has been seen as the favorite for the next presidential election in 2027 in opinion polls.

During his televised announcement, Yoon also described the opposition as “shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces who are plundering the freedom and happiness of our citizens,” but he did not elaborate.

Yoon has taken a hard line on North Korea over its nuclear ambitions, departing from the policies of his liberal predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who pursued inter-Korean engagement.

Yoon has also dismissed calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and top officials, drawing quick, strong rebukes from his political rivals.

Yoon’s move was the first declaration of martial law since the country’s democratization in 1987. The country’s last previous martial law was in October 1979, following the assassination of former military dictator Park Chung-hee.

A U.S. Secret Service agent opened fire near the Washington, D.C., home of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen after confronting several people who were trying to break into cars on her street early Tuesday morning, the agency said.

There is no evidence that the agent, who was assigned to Yellen’s protective detail, hit any of the suspects before they fled in their own vehicle, the Secret Service said.

Yellen was not under threat during the incident and was not harmed, the agency said.

The shooting occurred nearly 13 months after a Secret Service agent assigned to protect President Joe Biden’s eldest granddaughter, Naomi Biden Neal, fired shots at several people who were breaking into an unoccupied government vehicle outside of her home in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C.

The incident Tuesday outside of Yellen’s home, which is in the northwest section of Washington, occurred at about 1:30 a.m. ET, according to the Secret Service.

The agent “observed a sedan with multiple occupants who were attempting to open car doors along the street,” the agency said.

“As the sedan approached the agent, a confrontation occurred between the agent and the car’s occupants, the Secret Service said. “The agent discharged their service weapon.”

“The suspects fled the scene in the sedan, and a lookout was issued to local law enforcement,” the agency said.

The shooting will be investigated by the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington and Washington Metropolitan Police, according to the Secret Service.

A 13-year-old migrant boy and three masked buddies stabbed a man in a brass-knuckle beatdown near Times Square on Sunday – all because he wouldn’t take their photo, cops and sources said.

The Ecuadorian teen and his pals approached the 23-year-old victim around 9 p.m. at West 40th Street and Seventh Avenue and asked him to snap their picture, police and sources said.

When the pedestrian said no, the crew ganged up on him – socking him in the face and stabbing him in the back and leg with a brass-knuckle knife, authorities said.

They also tried to grab his cellphone but were unsuccessful, cops said.

The suspects ran off, but cops managed to nab the young teen after searching the area with the victim, police said.

The incident was first reported by ViralNewsNYC.

The youngster – whose last known address is the notoriously violence-ridden Roosevelt Hotel – was charged with second-degree robbery, cops and sources said.

The victim refused medical attention after the violent encounter with the stab wounds only superficial, authorities and police said.

The three suspects who are still on the loose were each last seen wearing all black and black facemasks, sources said.

The arrested teen was previously busted this past Oct. 26 in connection to a chain snatching on board a northbound F train at McDonald Avenue and Avenue X in Brooklyn, law enforcement sources said.

Four other suspects were involved – with all five holding down the victim, who had been sleeping before the robbery but then tried to fight off the muggers, the sources said.

The teen’s bust steps from the Crossroads of the World came weeks after NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael Lipetri told The Post that the department is “arresting juveniles at the highest level than we have ever seen before.”

“We are seeing juveniles commit five, six, seven robberies. Most of them get dealt with under the Family Court statutes.” Lipetri said.

Just this week, dozens of children were found alone at the U.S.-Mexico border, including a 10-year-old boy who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on Thanksgiving Day and a 4-year-old girl from Honduras found by officials.

According to Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez, more than 100 unaccompanied children have encountered agents on the nation’s southern border since Sunday, Nov. 24.

“I want the American people to see the impacts of this current border situation that we’ve been in for the last three plus years, and how it impacts unaccompanied children are coming across that border,” Olivarez told “NewsNation Prime.”

According to Olivarez, the children they’ve encountered ranged from 2 years old to 17 years old.

The unnamed 4-year-old girl had a note with her when she encountered agents, with a phone number and first name. Her mother told NewsNation she is already in the U.S. and said she left her child in the hands of criminal smugglers in Honduras and Mexico in hopes of being reunited.

“I found a coyote and I paid for them to bring her to me,” the woman said.

“She came alone. It was just the coyote. The last time I talked to my daughter was Saturday, and I haven’t heard anything since they told me the coyote had already handed her over to another coyote, but I don’t know anything else about her.”

It’s “all too common,” Olivarez explained, adding that he fears the influx of unaccompanied minors will only get worse.

“It really shows the inner workings of how these criminals are operating, also how some of these family members, if they are family members in fact, how they even allow their child to make this long, precarious journey to United States at the hands of criminals,” he added.

Olivarez pointed to “whatever agreement” the Biden administration made with Mexico to get its border crossings numbers down, saying: “There is no safety mechanisms. There is no protocols in place to protect unaccompanied children.”

The 4-year-old’s mother shared photos of her daughter with NewsNation.

The photos, sent to the mother by a human smuggler while her daughter was still in Mexico, show more children in the background.

The mother tells NewsNation that her daughter is still under U.S. immigration custody and it’s unclear if or when she will be released to her in South Carolina.

France’s minority government appeared to be in its final hours Tuesday as opposition lawmakers from the left and the far right vowed to topple Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s Cabinet.

A no-confidence vote is scheduled Wednesday in parliament in the wake of a divisive budget debate, with a strong chance of being successful.

If the motion passes, Barnier’s Cabinet would be the shortest-lived government in France’s modern history, marking an unprecedented period of political instability.

President Emmanuel Macron would be in charge of appointing a new prime minister.

Why is the situation so volatile?

Following the June-July parliamentary elections, the National Assembly, France’s powerful lower house of parliament, is divided into three major blocs: a left-wing coalition known as the New Popular Front, Macron’s centrist allies and the far-right National Rally party. None won an outright majority.

In September, Macron asked Barnier, a conservative, to form a government dominated by Republicans and centrists — implicitly relying on the far right’s goodwill to be able to stay in power.

However, far-right leader Marine Le Pen now says her party will vote for bringing the government down, accusing Barnier of ignoring her demands.

Meanwhile, the left-wing coalition denounces an “austerity budget” and criticizes “the absence of dialogue and disregard for parliamentary work.”

The National Assembly said the no-confidence motion requires a majority of the votes to pass — or at least 288 of 574 lawmakers currently in office.

Altogether, the left and the far right count over 330 lawmakers — yet some may abstain from voting.

What if the government falls?

Wednesday could see the first no-confidence motion succeed in over six decades.

If the government falls, Macron could ask outgoing ministers to handle current affairs pending the appointment of a new prime minister.

The parliament’s fractured composition would remain the same. No new legislative elections can be held before July, because under the French Constitution, the National Assembly must remain in place for a minimum of one year.

No favorite figure to replace Barnier has emerged yet. Macron could pick a politician from his centrist alliance, French media report.

The New Popular Front asks for a left-wing Cabinet to be appointed instead.

Some opposition lawmakers are calling for Macron to resign, but the French president has previously ruled out that option.

How about the budget?

France is at no risk of a government shutdown that in the United States would disrupt many services and squeeze federal employees.

An outgoing government could present a special law to levy taxes from Jan. 1, based on this year’s rules. It would also be able to decide on renewing spending by decree in order to pay civil servants, pensions and other key government expenses.

However, this would suspend any potential tax hike — like one initially expected on big companies — and freeze any new spending.

In particular, an additional 3.3 billion euro ($3.5 billion) package for the French military was planned as the country supports Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Later, a new government could present its own budget proposals at parliament.

Why are markets spooked?

In a last-ditch effort to save his government, Barnier warned of “ a big storm and very serious turbulence on the financial markets.”

France is under pressure from the European Union’s executive body to reduce its colossal debt. The country’s deficit is estimated to reach 6% of gross domestic product this year and analysts say it could rise to 7% next year without drastic adjustments.

The political instability could push up French interest rates, digging the debt even further.

In addition, without a clear parliamentary majority, no major reform appears within the reach of a new government.

President-elect Donald Trump on Monday announced that he will be in Paris, France, this coming weekend for the grand re-opening of Notre Dame Cathedral.

Notre Dame has been closed to the public for the past five years because of repairs after a major fire swept through the centuries-old structure.

But the world was given the first glimpse of the refurbished cathedral on Friday.

“It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!”

Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue – who was seen in the viral, night vision photo showing the final American soldier out of Kabul, Afghanistan – was quietly confirmed by the Senate on Monday to lead U.S. Army forces in Europe and Africa.

Donahue, who headed the 82nd Airborne Division during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, was tapped by President Biden for the promotion to four-star general, but the confirmation was left out of a series of a hundred other military promotions green-lighted by the Senate before Thanksgiving recess. The delay was caused by one senator holding Donahue’s confirmation, according to Politico.

Several outlets reported that Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., was responsible for the procedural hold.

Mullin has been a vocal critic of the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the botched withdrawal mired by the killing of 13 U.S. service members and roughly 170 Afghan civilians during a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport’s Abbey Gate. Donahue was responsible for the 82nd Airborne as it was tasked with securing the airfield at the Kabul airport during evacuations before the country fell to the Taliban.

The senator called out Donahue, as well as other officials, in an Aug. 24, 2024, statement on the three-year anniversary of the suicide bombing attack.

“Three years later, not one person has been held accountable for the disaster–not Gen. Milley, Gen. McKenzie, Gen. Donahue, U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan John Pommersheim, or anyone at the State Department,” Mullin said at the time. “To this day, no one has testified before Congress as to who gave this directive. No one has been held accountable for the 13 brave American heroes who died at Abbey Gate, or the countless Americans who lost their lives trying to escape Kabul.”

President-elect Trump’s former defense secretary turned Trump critic, Mark Esper, had defended Donahue’s nomination, and urged last month for the hold to be lifted.

Mullin has been a vocal critic of the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the botched withdrawal mired by the killing of 13 U.S. service members and roughly 170 Afghan civilians during a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport’s Abbey Gate. Donahue was responsible for the 82nd Airborne as it was tasked with securing the airfield at the Kabul airport during evacuations before the country fell to the Taliban.

The senator called out Donahue, as well as other officials, in an Aug. 24, 2024, statement on the three-year anniversary of the suicide bombing attack.

“Three years later, not one person has been held accountable for the disaster–not Gen. Milley, Gen. McKenzie, Gen. Donahue, U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan John Pommersheim, or anyone at the State Department,” Mullin said at the time. “To this day, no one has testified before Congress as to who gave this directive. No one has been held accountable for the 13 brave American heroes who died at Abbey Gate, or the countless Americans who lost their lives trying to escape Kabul.”

President-elect Trump’s former defense secretary turned Trump critic, Mark Esper, had defended Donahue’s nomination, and urged last month for the hold to be lifted.

“Responsibility for the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 rests with the White House, not the Defense Dept, and certainly not with the uniformed leaders who faithfully executed Pres Biden’s misbegotten decisions,” Esper wrote on X.

Trump had promised on the campaign trail to fire senior officers involved in the withdrawal, though not Donahue specifically.

One U.S. official told NBC News last month that the Trump transition team was compiling a list of senior current and former U.S. military officers to be potentially court-martialed over the pullout.

The Senate ultimately confirmed Donahue’s promotion to be the commander of US Army Europe-Africa by unanimous consent on Monday, as the hold was dropped. Mullin had not publicly commented about the hold.

Donahue has headed the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, since 2022.

He has also been leader of the Special Operations Joint Task Force Afghanistan and served as the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s deputy director for special operations and counterterrorism.

The far-left group behind a massive Supreme Court case on child gender transitions is sending a trans-identifying lawyer to Washington, D.C., this week to defend transitioning children.

Chase Strangio is a woman who identifies as a transgender man, and the co-director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT & HIV Project. She has undergone transgender medical treatments herself, which she has documented on her social media, and argues that children should also be able to access so-called gender-affirming care.

“Every aspect of gender-affirming care that has transformed my life,” Strangio told CNN, “I’m keenly aware that I want to preserve the ability for other people to access that care.”

“For me it is not about a genderless society,” she argued in another interview. “It is about challenging our assumptions about a fixed binary gender and exposing instead what gendered systems do to organize and reinforce power. I think we all have a role to play in being more critical about the operation of gender – not to make everything genderless but to make gender a site of play, reconstruction and reimagination.”

When the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in United States v. Skrmetti on December 4, Strangio will be the one presenting on behalf of the ACLU. The case deals with Tennessee’s law banning irreversible gender transition procedures for children — and it promises to be one of the most significant the court has looked at this term.

If the court rules for Tennessee, children across the United States will be protected from these irreversible procedures. Already, lawmakers throughout the country have enacted more than 24 laws protecting children from “gender-affirming care” and the activist doctors who push these procedures.

In the past, Strangio has challenged Trump’s actions against trans-identifying service members in the military, and another case, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC, which the ACLU boasts, “resulted in a landmark 6-3 ruling from the Supreme Court finding the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s prohibition on sex discrimination in employment extended to discrimination against LGBTQ workers.”

The ACLU has advertised that Strangio will be the first openly trans-identifying individual to argue a case before the Supreme Court, describing Strangio as “our nation’s leading legal expert on the rights of transgender people, bar none.”

“It’s hard to see the challengers’ feeble equal protection theory having sway with the Court, so it’s not surprising that they would prefer to focus on historic firsts over the actual merits of their case,” Judicial Crisis Network’s Carrie Severino told The Daily Wire.

Earlier this year, after Manhattan Institute Fellow Leor Sapir reported that Strangio had angered the ACLU by disrespecting LGBTQ leaders and acting without concern for the interests of specifically gay activists, Strangio deleted her X account.

Her presence before the Supreme Court may pose a challenge to some of the justices, given the debate surrounding preferred pronouns for people who identify as transgender. The ACLU and legacy media outlets, for example, use “he/him” pronouns to describe Strangio, though she is a biological woman.

Given the high-profile, controversial nature of the case, it is likely the justices will want to avoid references to Strangio’s gender altogether.

“To me, a feminist is someone who works to name and destabilize the ways in which systems of gender operate to inequitably distribute survival opportunities for different individuals and groups,” Strangio said in a recent interview with “Feminist.”

It is unclear why the website interviewed Strangio, who identifies as a man.

“Critical to this project is recognizing that gender does not just operate on individuals but is inextricable from systems of governance.”

 

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Strangio also argues that young people have been “cut off from the medical care they need,” referring to transgender surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers, “leaving them and their loving parents scrambling.”

“Cutting off this care is not an option for people so families are moving out of their homes, splitting up so one parent can take a trans child out of state, and even making plans to leave the United States to better protect their trans adolescent children,” she argued, referring to parents seeking to help their minor children undergo irreversible surgeries or begin taking hormones that may destroy their fertility, increase mental health issues, cause cardiovascular side effects, and more.

President-elect Trump threatened on Monday that if hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are not released before his inauguration “there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge.”

This is the first time since he won the election that Trump has weighed in publicly on the hostages that are being held in Gaza.

The hostage families hope that his involvement both in private and in public could lead to a breakthrough in the stalled negotiations for their release.

Trump’s statement in a post on Truth Social came a few hours after the IDF announced that Omer Neutra, an American-Israeli hostage held by Hamas, had died during the Oct. 7 attack and that his body was taken to Gaza.

For more than 420 days, Neutra’s family didn’t have any information on whether he was dead or alive.

A senior Israeli intelligence official said the determination was made after IDF obtained new information that established the fact that Neutra had been killed.

Hamas released a video on Saturday with proof of life from U.S. citizen Edan Alexander, who is also being held hostage in Gaza, who called on Trump to negotiate for his release.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Axios in an interview that Trump wants to see a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza before he assumes office on Jan. 20.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that the hostages “are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will” and threatened “ALL HELL TO PAY” if they are not released.

He added: “Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”

Earlier on Monday, President Biden issued a statement expressing condolences to Neutra’s family.

“To all the families of those still held hostage: We see you. We are with you. And I will not stop working to bring your loved ones back home where they belong,” Biden said.

Ronen and Orna Neutra, parents of Omer Neutra, said in a statement they demand action and not words in order to bring the hostages back home.

“We call upon the Israeli government to work with President Biden and President-elect Trump, to use all of their leverage and resources to return all 101 hostages — living and the deceased — to their families as soon as possible,” they said.

House Republicans could begin the new year grappling with a one-seat majority, a perilously slim margin for the 119th Congress as President-elect Donald Trump guns for an active first 100 days.

Last-minute GOP losses and exits in favor of the new administration mean Republicans could begin that period with precious little room for dissent, and one congressional race could decide the difference between a likely one- or two-seat majority.

In California’s 13th Congressional District, Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., is fighting for his political life against Democrat Adam Gray.

As of Monday afternoon, Gray leads Duarte by a few hundred votes – a margin of roughly 0.1%. California state law mandates that counties certify their election results by Dec. 5.

If Democrats flip the seat, the House would have 220 Republicans and 215 Democrats heading into the New Year.

However, three Republican lawmakers’ departures are expected to whittle that down further. Now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned from the 118th and 119th Congresses amid consideration to be Trump’s attorney general.

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., was tapped to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., was named national security adviser.

All three lawmakers represent deep-red districts, so there is little concern their seats will fall into Democrats’ hands.

However, with special elections to replace Gaetz and Waltz set for April 1, and Stefanik’s not yet scheduled, the GOP may spend nearly all of their first 100 days controlling Washington’s power centers with a one-seat majority in the House.

House GOP Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., brushed off concerns about the prospects of holding a one- or two-seat edge in a recent television interview on FOX Business.

“That’s essentially what we’ve had over the last year, for better parts of the last year,” Emmer told “The Bottom Line.”

“I’ve got to tell you, I don’t give a darn whether it’s 222, 225, 218. As long as we have a majority, we can deliver with Donald J. Trump for the American people.”

Ultimately, there is little daylight between a one- or two-seat majority, but if the 118th Congress is any indication, the numbers set up House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., with a tricky political situation.

House Republicans’ slim margins over the last two years enabled different factions of the GOP to paralyze the chamber floor at times over disagreements on government funding and other critical legislative fights.

Last night Hunter Biden’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss his California tax fraud case after Joe Biden issued a blanket pardon absolving him of all crimes committed over a 10 year period.

“The President’s pardon moots Mr. Biden’s pending and yet to occur sentencing and entry of judgment in this case and requires an automatic dismissal of the Indictment with prejudice,” wrote Hunter’s lawyer Abbe Lowell in the filing, adding that “this Court must dismiss the Indictment against Mr. Biden with prejudice and adjourn all future proceedings in this matter.”

Special Counsel David Weiss isn’t having it. In a Monday response in opposition, Weiss argued that “The defendant’s motion should be denied since there is no binding authority on this Court which requires dismissal.”

“As a matter of past-practice in this district, courts do not dismiss indictments when pardons are granted,” Weiss wrote – citing cases involving Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, Joe Arpaio and Ollie North, Above the Law reports. “Instead, it has been the practice of this court that once an Executive Grant of Clemency has been filed on the docket, the docket is marked closed, the disposition entry is updated to reflect the executive grant of clemency, and no further action is taken by the Court.”

Although Weiss purported not to have seen the pardon itself (which Lowell inexplicably failed to docket), he took particular umbrage at the suggestion that the prosecution was politically motivated, huffing that “The court similarly found [Biden’s] vindictive prosecution claims unmoored from any evidence or even a coherent theory as to vindictiveness.”

Judge Mark Scarsi of the Central District of California has taken no action, thus far. But in Delaware, Judge Maryellen Noreika said in a minute order that she intends to terminate the proceedings, and instructing the government to say by tomorrow if it objects to termination by dismissal. Presumably it does, although no objection has hit the docket as of this writing. -Above the Law

Hunter pleaded guilty to the tax charges earlier this year, after a Delaware jury found him guilty of lying about his drug use on a background check form used to purchase a firearm.

In Weiss’ new filing, he writes:

“The defendant did not docket the pardon nor has the government seen it. If media reports are accurate, the Government does not challenge that the defendant has been the recipient of an act of mercy. But that does not mean the grand jury’s decision to charge him, based on a finding of probable cause, should be wiped away as if it never occurred. It also does not mean that his charges should be wiped away because the defendant falsely claimed that the charges were the result of some improper motive. No court has agreed with the defendant on these baseless claims, and his request to dismiss the indictment finds no support in the law or the practice of this district.”

The Biden administration announced a big decision to block new mining in a key region producing nearly half of the nation’s coal over climate change concerns, but it could be short-lived as President-elect Trump prepares to make U.S. energy dominance a key focus of his incoming administration.

Biden’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently approved an amendment to the Resource Management Plan (RMP) to ban new federal coal leases and make “48.12 billion short tons of coal unavailable for leasing consideration in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a proxy for climate change,” according to Todd D. Yeager, BLM Buffalo field manager.

The decision will block any new federal mining leases in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, the country’s largest coal producing region, by 2041. This region produces about 40% of the nation’s coal. BLM, however, will allow for existing coal leases to still be developed.

In a statement to Fox News Digital regarding the decision, Trump’s transition team reinforced the idea of the president-elect’s campaign promise to bolster American-made energy.

“Families have suffered under the past four years’ war on American energy, which prompted the worst inflation crisis in a generation. Voters re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, including lowering energy costs for consumers,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance Transition spokeswoman, said in a statement.

Leavitt added that when Trump takes office, he “will make America energy dominant again, protect our energy jobs, and bring down the cost of living for working families.”

The Powder River Basin lease ban, which covers parts of southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, includes making more than 1.7 million acres unavailable for coal leasing within the Miles City Field Office planning area.

The BLM memo claimed that the “U.S. energy market is moving away from coal to lower priced natural gas and renewable energy sources.” But the affected state representatives say the region is a vital natural energy resource.

The decision was widely criticized by Montana and Wyoming elected officials, including Sen. Steve Daines, R–Mont., who said he would be introducing legislation in an attempt to reverse the decision.

“At every turn, the Biden administration has launched attack after attack on made-in-Montana energy, and the people of Montana and the rest of the country rebuked the administration for it at the ballot box,” Daines said in a statement following the decision. “… Eastern Montana is rich in coal and mining operations and the jobs and coal produced in the Powder River Basin help support our national security, bolster our energy grid and create high-paying jobs.”

“Once again, the Biden-Harris administration is ignoring states and crippling our energy supply,” Gov. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., said in a statement.

“While Montana supports an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy, the White House is picking winners and losers on the president’s way out the door. Simply put, this rule will destroy coal jobs and defund public education in Montana. It’s a disaster.”

“After the American people issued a stunning rebuke to President Biden, he continues to punish Wyoming communities,” Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said in a statement.

“I will work with President Trump and his team to reverse this and other midnight regulations.”

The BLM memo said the administration is blocking coal leasing to support Biden’s target of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, suggesting that “the U.S. energy market is moving away from coal to lower priced natural gas and renewable energy sources.”

Earth Justice, an environmental justice group, also claimed the mining bans stemmed from an evolving approach to energy production.

“Coal has powered our nation for many decades, but technology, economics and markets are changing radically. BLM’s announcement recognizes that coal’s era is ending, and it’s time to focus on supporting our communities through the transition away from coal, investing in workers, and moving to heal our lands, waters and climate as we enter a bright clean energy future,” Paula Antoine, Western Organization of Resource Councils board chair, said in an Earth Justice press release after Biden announced his initial plans in May.