A Florida jury found that CNN liable of defaming Navy veteran Zachary Young on Friday, and awarded him a total of $5 million in addition to finding that punitive damages were warranted against the network.

The verdict follows other high-stakes media defamation cases against Fox News, which agreed to pay $787 million to Dominion voting systems, and ABC, which agreed to give $15 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s presidential library.

In his lawsuit against the cable news network, Young sought damages over a November 2021 report in which CNN chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt claimed that bad actors were reportedly running a black market and charging exorbitant fees to Afghans attempting to flee their country after the Taliban retook control of it earlier that year.

Segments about Marquardt’s report ran on both Jake Tapper and Jim Acosta’s shows. Young’s name and face featured in both segments; he was the only individual identified by Marquardt.

Young’s legal team has submitted that CNN published “lies” about his business extracting people from Afghanistan and cited internal communications — which revealed that employees had doubts about the integrity of Marquardt’s story, as well as that Marquardt had called Young a “mf*****” whom he hoped to “nail” and agreed with a producer that the veteran had a “punchable face” — as evidence that the aim of of the story was to “hurt” him.

“Clients and colleagues in the national security community simply cannot associate with anyone involved in ‘black markets’ or ‘exploitation,’” argued Young in his lawsuit. “Thus, despite their falsity, CNN’s defamatory comments have rendered Young permanently unemployable in the career he has trained his whole life for, have resulted in Young’s income plunging to nothing, and have caused Young to suffer millions of dollars in lost income.”

CNN has defended itself by arguing that part of the report were opinion, rather than assertions of fact, and by declaring that “At the time of its reporting, CNN knew little about Young’s financials, his model, or whether he’d successfully evacuated anyone because whenever anyone [including CNN] asked Young to explain his business, he obfuscated, behaved unprofessionally, lied, and hid.”

At closing arguments on Thursday, CNN lead counsel David Axelrod (not the Democratic political strategist and CNN commentator) asked jurors whether Young’s team had proved there was a “conspiracy” or CNN had been “trying to do their best.”

Meanwhile, Devin Freedman, a lawyer for Young, argued that “Zach’s ability to walk into a room with pride and being seen as a professional with integrity has been stripped away.”

“These are injuries that transcend monetary loss. They pierce the soul of who he is, who he was,” added Freedman.

The trial is now set to move on to phase two, during which the figure CNN owes in punitive damages will be determined.

President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration will be moved indoors, he announced Friday, due to dangerously cold temperatures projected in the nation’s capital.

“I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985, also because of very cold weather,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“We will open Capital One Arena on Monday for LIVE viewing of this Historic event, and to host the Presidential Parade. I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing In,” Trump added.

CNN reported earlier Friday that plans were underway for Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance to be sworn in in the Rotunda and that Trump’s team was in talks to potentially hold some of the festivities at the arena, where Trump will host a rally on Sunday.

“The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies will honor the request of the President-elect and his Presidential Inaugural Committee to move the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies inside the U.S. Capitol to the Rotunda,” the committee said in a statement.

The Secret Service and other agencies, including DC and US Capitol Police, are working to determine how moving the inauguration and parade indoors will change security plans for Monday, two law enforcement sources familiar with the planning told CNN.

Agencies now have just three days to put together a new security plan that previously took months to plan.

The agencies have worked since early 2024 planning for the inauguration — designated by the Department of Homeland Security as a National Special Security Event, which triggers a multi-pronged federal approach.

Trump’s inauguration was expected to be attended by hundreds of thousands of ticketed guests and involve roughly 25,000 law enforcement and military personnel.

As of Friday morning, more than 30 miles of fencing — more than has ever erected for such an event — was still being set up and was meant to filter crowds through security checkpoints in anticipation for Trump’s now-scrapped outdoor inauguration and parade down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.

Officials are worried about the low temperatures being a health risk to attendees and guests — a concern Trump voiced on Friday.

“I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!),” Trump posted.

The last president to be sworn in indoors was Reagan in 1985, when daytime temperatures dipped to 7 degrees with a windchill of -25. Reagan took the oath of office inside the Capitol rotunda. His inaugural parade was canceled.

President William Henry Harrison is widely believed to have caught a cold during his 1841 inaugural ceremony, during which he gave a two-hour speech and wore no coat or hat, according to the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. He later contracted pneumonia and died one month after his inauguration.

This year, the temperature on Inauguration Day at noon — when the president-elect swears in — is expected to be in the low 20s, which is around 20 degrees below normal — likely the coldest since Reagan’s second inauguration.

Winds of 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph are likely Monday. These winds will make conditions feel frigid. Wind chills are likely to hover around 10 degrees during the daylight hours and could drop into the single digits after sundown.

A mix of rain and snow is possible Sunday ahead of the main event, but Monday so far looks to be cold and windy, but dry.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok by Sunday or face an effective ban of the popular social video app in the U.S.

ByteDance has so far refused to sell TikTok, meaning many U.S. users could lose access to the app this weekend. The app may still work for those who already have TikTok on their phones, although ByteDance has also threatened to shut the app down.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration, upholding the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which President Joe Biden signed in April.

“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” the Supreme Court’s opinion said. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”

Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch wrote concurrences.

TikTok’s fate in the U.S. now lies in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump, who originally favored a TikTok ban during his first administration, but has since flip-flopped on the matter. In December, Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause the law’s implementation and allow his administration “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”

In a post on his social media app Truth Social, Trump wrote that the decision was expected “and everyone must respect it.”

“My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!” Trump wrote.

Trump began to speak more favorably of TikTok after he met in February with billionaire Republican megadonor Jeff Yass. Yass is a major ByteDance investor who also owns a stake in the owner of Truth Social.

Trump will be inaugurated Monday, one day after the TikTok deadline for a sale. TikTok CEO Shou Chew is one of several tech leaders expected to be in attendance, seated on the dais.

In a video posted on TikTok, Chew thanked Trump “for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available” in the U.S. He said use of TikTok is a First Amendment right, adding that over 7 million American businesses use it to make money and find customers.

“Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to ensure our platform thrives as your online home for limitless creativity and discovery as well as a source of inspiration and joy for years to come,” he said.

The nation’s highest court said in the opinion that while “data collection and analysis is a common practice in this digital age,” the sheer size of TikTok and its “susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects” poses a national security concern.

Under the terms of the law, third-party internet service providers such as Apple
and Google
will be penalized for supporting a ByteDance-owned TikTok after the Jan. 19 deadline.

If service providers and app store owners comply, consumers will be unable to install the necessary updates that make the app functional.

Users look for alternatives

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated Biden’s support for the law in a statement, saying “TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law.”

“Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday,” Pierre said.

Attorney General Merrick Garland and Lisa Monaco, his deputy, said in a release that the decision “enables the Justice Department to prevent the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to undermine America’s national security.”

Kate Ruane, the director of the Center for Democracy and Technology nonprofit, criticized the ruling, saying in a statement that it “harms the free expression of hundreds of millions of TikTok users in this country and around the world.”

In December, members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent letters to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, urging the executives to begin preparing to comply with the law.

On Jan. 10, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments from lawyers representing TikTok, content creators and the U.S. government. TikTok’s lead lawyer, Noel Francisco, argued that the law violates the First Amendment rights of the app’s 170 million American users. U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued that the app’s alleged ties to the Chinese government pose a national security threat.

Many TikTok creators have been telling their fans to find them on competing social platforms such as Google’s YouTube and Meta’s
Facebook and Instagram, CNBC reported. Additionally, Instagram leaders scheduled meetings after the Jan. 10 Supreme Court hearing to direct workers to prepare for a wave of users if the court upholds the law.

Chinese social media app and TikTok look-alike RedNote rose to the top of Apple’s app store Monday, indicating that TikTok’s millions of users were seeking alternatives.

The Chinese government also weighed a contingency plan that would have X owner Elon Musk acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations as part of several options intended to keep the app from its effective ban in the U.S., Bloomberg News reported Monday.

Should ByteDance decide to sell TikTok to a U.S. company or group of investors, potential buyers may have to pay between $40 billion and $50 billion, according to an estimate by CFRA Research Senior Vice President Angelo Zino.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted will replace Vice President-elect J.D. Vance in the Senate, ending weeks of speculation as Washington, D.C., prepares to inaugurate Donald Trump for a second time as president.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) announced his decision to appoint Husted at a Friday afternoon press conference, calling him a workhorse with the “heart” to represent the people of Ohio. Trump had made a late push for DeWine to consider entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, but Husted was widely regarded as the front-runner in Ohio political circles.

He has the confidence of DeWine, serving as his deputy since 2019, and more than a decade of statewide experience.

“I have worked with him, I have seen him – I know his knowledge of Ohio, I know his heart,” DeWine said at the press conference, joined by Husted. “I know what he cares about. I know his skills, and all of that tells me that he is the right person for this.”

The other Republicans under serious consideration were state GOP Chairwoman Jane Timken and former state Rep. Jay Edwards, according to one source familiar with the deliberations.

Husted thanked DeWine for the opportunity as he took the podium on Friday, repeatedly holding back tears as he recounted his path to the Senate.

Husted, who spent part of his childhood in foster care, became emotional as he discussed his work on adoption and protecting children online. He teared up again as he called DeWine a leader and friend.

DeWine’s choice has major ramifications in Ohio, where Husted was expected to run for governor in 2026. Ramaswamy plans to mount a gubernatorial run, according to one person familiar with his plans, with further competition expected from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

DeWine is term-limited and previously signaled support for Husted had he chosen to enter the governor’s race.

In Washington, Husted’s appointment will bring Republicans one step closer to solidifying the makeup of their 53-seat Senate majority. Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV), who just finished his term as West Virginia governor, was sworn into the Senate on Tuesday.

Another vacancy is expected to open next week with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on a glide path to becoming Trump’s secretary of state. Already, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has named Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody as his replacement.

Vance had four years left on his Senate term before he resigned last Thursday. However, Husted will have to face voters twice in the next four years if he wants to keep it.

According to state law, he must compete for the remainder of Vance’s term in a 2026 special election and then again for a full, six-year term in 2028.

Democrat Sherrod Brown, a three-term senator ousted by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) in November, has not ruled out making a comeback bid in 2026.

Husted, 57, first entered politics in 2001 as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, becoming speaker just four years later.

He would serve a single term in the Ohio Senate before his election as secretary of state in 2011, a position he held for eight years.

Husted will begin his tenure in Washington as the junior senator from Ohio. Vance opted to stay in the Senate for the final weeks of President Joe Biden’s term, a move that gave Moreno senior status over Husted.

A massive fire broke out at a Californian power plant early Friday morning, threatening one of the largest battery energy storage facilities in the world.

The blaze began in a building containing lithium-ion batteries hours earlier, an official at the Monterey County Sheriff’s office told the BBC.

Locals report the massive toxic battery plant fire is next to the Elkhorn Slough Wildlife Reserve.

The emissions may have a devastating effect on birds, fish, and other wildlife, including sea otters.

The Moss Landing power plant, run by Vistra Corp, was evacuated, as were people in the surrounding area. No injuries were reported.

Officials are not actively fighting the fire, the Monterey Sheriff spokesperson said, and are instead leaving the building and the batteries to burn on the advice of fire experts.

Hundreds of people have been ordered to evacuate and part of Highway 1 in Northern California has been closed.

The Moss Landing Power Plant, located about 77 miles south of San Francisco, is owned by Texas-based company Vistra Energy and contains tens of thousands of lithium batteries, the Independent reports.

The batteries are important for storing electricity from such renewable energy sources as solar energy, but if they erupt in flames the blazes can be extremely difficult to put out.

“There’s no way to sugar coat it. This is a disaster, is what it is,” Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church told KSBW-TV. But he said he did not expect the fire to spread beyond the concrete building it was enclosed in.

North Monterey County Unified School District announced that all schools and offices would be closed Friday due to the fire.

Officials said the fire is not connected with any of the current spate of wildfires in Los Angeles or other parts of the state.

Hackers who breached AT&T’s systems may have handed criminals a roadmap to FBI informants, stealing call logs that could unravel investigations and jeopardize lives, according to alarming new details revealed Thursday.

FBI officials have warned that last year’s AT&T system breach likely led to the theft of months’ worth of call and text records tied to federal agents, raising concerns about the safety of confidential informants, Bloomberg News reported.

The hack, which reportedly affected all FBI devices using AT&T’s public safety service, exposed agents’ phone numbers and the numbers they contacted.

Although the breach didn’t reveal the content of communications, officials fear that the stolen data could be used to identify investigators’ sources, according to a document reviewed by Bloomberg and interviews with current and former law enforcement officials.

AT&T, which suffered a major hacking incident in April 2022, disclosed in July that the attack had compromised data from approximately 109 million customer accounts.

The stolen records included detailed logs of calls and texts from that year, underscoring the breach’s massive scale.

In response, the FBI has launched urgent measures to protect its informants.

“The FBI has a solemn responsibility to protect the identity and safety of confidential human sources, who provide information every day that keeps the American people safe, often at risk to themselves,” an FBI spokesperson told Reuters.

The agency emphasized its commitment to safeguarding “any individual who contacts the FBI and provides information,” reiterating the critical importance of maintaining trust and confidentiality.

They are the long-lost secret diaries that will give new and extraordinary insights into Adolf Hitler’s private life.

In a world publishing coup, decades after being lost, the discovery of the intimate and horrifying leather-bound journal by the Mail is set to cause a global sensation.

The handwritten diaries will give never-before-seen insights into Hitler’s life as the most evil man in history launched the Second World War.

Later today MailOnline will begin to showcase these diaries for the first time after more than 80 years, offering a treasure trove to historians.

It will also be a landmark series in print in the Daily Mail, starting exclusively tomorrow.

A book classified by the CIA for more than 50 years contains a shocking theory about how the world will end.

‘The Adam and Eve Story,’ written by former US Air Force employee, UFO researcher and self-acclaimed psychic Chan Thomas, was written in 1966 but its publication was halted by the agency.

It was quietly declassified in 2013, at least in part, but remained hidden in the CIA’s database — until now.

In the book, Thomas claims that every 6,500 years, a major disaster on the scale of the Biblical ‘Great Flood’ strikes the Earth, DailyMail.com can reveal.

While experts debate the exact date of that flood in the Book of Genesis, Thomas asserts that it happened roughly 6,500 years ago, and there is some archaeological and geological evidence to support that claim.

By that logic, Thomas argues that the next catastrophe is imminent.

As for what the end of the world will look like, Thomas believes that Earth’s magnetic field will suddenly, drastically shift, wreaking havoc across the planet.

The reason behind the book was classified remains unclear, but some have suggested the agency was concerned the book would cause mass panic, or leak information related to secret government research.

Thomas had connections to classified projects during his time at the defunct aerospace company McDonnell Douglas. He was part of a small team of scientists assembled by the company to investigate reports of UFOs.

While there are no official records of Thomas working directly for the CIA, the agency’s secrecy agreement means past employees need to get approval before publishing books and other works of communication.

‘In California, the mountains shake like ferns in a breeze; the mighty Pacific rears back and piles up into a mountain of water more than two miles high, then starts its race eastward,’ Thomas wrote in his book.

‘In a fraction of a day all vestiges of civilization are gone, and the great cities — Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, New York — are nothing but legends,’ he writes. ‘Barely a stone is left where millions walked just a few hours before.’

The first chapter, titled ‘The Next Cataclysm,’ starts with: ‘Like Noah’s 6,500 years ago… Like Adam and Eve’s 11,500 years ago… This, too will come to pass…’

The cryptic opening suggests that the next cataclysm is poised to occur any day now.

The book features 55 pages, but Thomas wrote more than 200. The rest are still kept top-secret to this day. And the reason for the CIA’s involvement remains a mystery.

The apocalyptical tale begins with the destruction of California, explaining how winds ‘with the force of a thousand armies’ will shred everything in sight with its ‘supersonic bombardment,’ as the Pacific tsunami drowns Los Angeles and San Francisco ‘as if they were but grains of sand.’

Thomas claims these impacts will overtake the entire North American continent ‘within three hours,’ as an earthquake simultaneously creates massive cracks in the ground that allow magma to rise to the surface.

But it won’t just be North America that is swallowed by the destruction.

None of the seven continents will be able to escape the onslaught, Thomas writes, with each one experiencing slightly different versions of the same dramatic end.

By the seventh day, ‘the horrendous rampage is over,’ and the entire Earth has changed, he writes.

‘The Bay of Bengal basin, just east of India, is now at the North Pole. The Pacific Ocean, just west of Peru, is at the South Pole,’ Thomas explains.

Even Greenland and Antarctica have been thrown toward the equator, and ‘find their ice caps dissolving madly in the tropical heat.’

Thomas paints a terrifying picture of civilization-destroying climate change and tectonic rearrangement. But there is no scientific evidence to suggest that such a cataclysm is possible.

‘It’s just unfortunate that these things are being put out there,’ Martin Mlynczak, a senior research scientist at the NASA Langley Research Center, told The Verge.

‘Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. And there’s no proof and no science and no physics behind any of the claims about the magnetic field change being associated with climate change.’

What’s more, there is no evidence to suggest that the Earth’s magnetic field ever has, or ever will, make the 90-degree flip that Thomas describes.

‘That is totally bogus. If that’s what happened every 6,500 years, we would certainly see it; it would be in all the records… The amount of energy to bring that about is tremendous. And you know, there’s nothing to initiate it,’ Mlynczak said.

That said, Earth’s magnetic poles do shift and have done so hundreds of times throughout the planet’s history, according to NASA.

This phenomenon is called a ‘pole reversal.’ Paleomagnetic records suggest it occurs about every 300,000 years on average, though the actual time intervals vary widely.

‘During a pole reversal, the magnetic field weakens, but it doesn’t completely disappear,’ NASA states.

‘The magnetosphere, together with Earth’s atmosphere, continue protecting Earth from cosmic rays and charged solar particles, though there may be a small amount of particulate radiation that makes it down to Earth’s surface.

‘The magnetic field becomes jumbled, and multiple magnetic poles can emerge in unexpected places.’

But this never causes the kind of widespread devastation that Thomas described in his book.

Even if his theory about why and how the world will end had scientific merit, there would still be reason to question his claim that the apocalypse is imminent.

He states that the last catastrophe of this nature — Noah’s Biblical flood — happened 6,500 years ago, and that this means we’re due for the next one.

There is some geological and archaeological evidence to suggest that date may be correct. For example, a 2006 study claimed that 6,500-year-old wood recovered from the ‘landing site of Noah’s ark’ was actually part of the ark itself.

But the wood’s age has been challenged by other experts.

The more widely accepted date-range for the flood is between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago. If this event truly occurred during that time, then Thomas’ estimated timing for the end of the world would be more than 1,000 years off.

Therefore, all the evidence suggests that the violent disaster detailed in ‘The Adam and Eve Story’ will not actually come to pass.

President Joe Biden won’t enforce a ban on the social media app TikTok that is set to take effect a day before he leaves office on Monday, a U.S. official said Thursday, leaving its fate in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump.

Congress last year, in a law signed by Biden, required that TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance divest the company by Jan. 19, a day before the presidential inauguration. The official said the outgoing administration was leaving the implementation of the law — and the potential enforcement of the ban — to Trump.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal Biden administration thinking.

Trump, who once called to ban the app, has since pledged to keep it available in the U.S., though his transition team has not said how they intend to accomplish that.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration and be granted a prime seating location on the dais as the president-elect’s national security adviser signals that the incoming administration may take steps to “keep TikTok from going dark.”

Incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz on Thursday told Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” that the federal law that could ban TikTok by Sunday also “allows for an extension as long as a viable deal is on the table.”

The push to save TikTok, much like the move to ban it in the U.S., has crossed partisan lines. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he spoke with Biden on Thursday to advocate for extending the deadline to ban TikTok.

“It’s clear that more time is needed to find an American buyer and not disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans, of so many influencers who have built up a good network of followers,” Schumer said Thursday on the Senate floor.

Democrats had tried on Wednesday to pass legislation that would have extended the deadline, but Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas blocked it. Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that TikTok has had ample time to find a buyer.

“TikTok is a Chinese Communist spy app that addicts our kids, harvests their data, targets them with harmful and manipulative content, and spreads communist propaganda,” Cotton said.

TikTok CEO’s is expected to be seated on the dais for the inauguration along with tech billionaires Elon Musk, who is CEO of SpaceX, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, according to two people with the matter. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.

Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a legal challenge to the statute brought by TikTok, its China-based parent company ByteDance, and users of the app. The Justices seemed likely to uphold the law, which requires ByteDance to divest TikTok on national security grounds or face a ban in one of its biggest markets.

“If the Supreme Court comes out with a ruling in favor of the law, President Trump has been very clear: Number one, TikTok is a great platform that many Americans use and has been great for his campaign and getting his message out. But number two, he’s going to protect their data,” Waltz said on Wednesday.

“He’s a deal maker. I don’t want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we’re going to create this space to put that deal in place,” he added.

Separately on Wednesday, Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick for attorney general, dodged a question during a Senate hearing on whether she’d uphold a TikTok ban.

Trump has reversed his position on the popular app, having tried to ban it during his first term in office over national security concerns.

He joined TikTok during his 2024 presidential campaign and his team used it to connect with younger voters, especially male voters, by pushing content that was often macho and aimed at going viral. He pledged to “save TikTok” during the campaign and has credited the platform with helping him win more youth votes.

The deal between Israel and Hamas to release hostages being held in Gaza and begin a ceasefire was officially signed by negotiators in Doha on Thursday, according to two sources familiar with the issue. But the Israeli government isn’t expected to vote on it until Saturday night.

The delay in the vote will postpone the start of the ceasefire and the release of the first three hostages from Sunday to at least Monday, according to Israeli officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was updated by the negotiations team that an agreement was reached, his office said in a statement on Friday morning local time.

Netanyahu ordered the hostage coordinator to work with relevant government ministries to prepare for the release of the hostages.

The Israeli security cabinet was supposed to convene on Thursday morning to vote on the agreement, but several last minute disputes in the negotiations in Doha delayed the official signing of the agreement a day.

A U.S. official said that on Wednesday night, after the deal was announced, there was a disagreement about the final list of Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of the deal.

Hamas demanded to swap several names on the list for military leaders of the militant group who are serving multiple life sentences for planning and orchestrating suicide bombings, Israeli and U.S. officials said.

Israel had earlier used the veto it has as part of the deal to block their release but Hamas brought them up again as a new demand in the negotiations.

President Biden’s Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, President-elect Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Qatari and Egyptian mediators worked for several hours in Doha to resolve the issue.

“In the end it was a tempest in a teapot,” a U.S. official said.

Even after the issue was resolved it took another several hours for the agreement to be officially signed.

The deal was signed by officials from Israel, Qatar and Hamas, a source with knowledge said. President Biden’s top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk signed the deal for the U.S.

While the deal continued to be negotiated in Doha, Netanyahu’s ultranationalist coalition government partners — Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir said they would vote against the deal.

Netanyahu met Smotrich on Thursday, urged him not to resign and briefed him about his discussions with the incoming Trump administration about the deal, a source with knowledge said.

Ben Gvir held a press conference and announced he would resign and his party would leave the coalition if the deal is approved by the Israeli cabinet. He said he would be ready to rejoin the coalition if Israel were to resume fighting in Gaza after the 42-day ceasefire in the first phase of the deal.

The Likud issued a statement attacking Ben Gvir and accusing him for trying to topple the right-wing government.

The Likud statement claimed the agreement includes guarantees from the U.S. that it would allow Israel to resume the war and to receive weapons from the U.S.

Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz said on CNN on Wednesday that the incoming administration made it clear to Netanyahu that if Hamas reneges on any part of the deal, the U.S. will back Israel.

Waltz also said the Trump administration will ensure Gaza is demilitarized and Hamas is destroyed.

The Israeli security cabinet is expected to convene on Friday morning to vote on the deal, Israeli officials said. The full cabinet will then convene on Saturday night.

Under Israeli law, Palestinian prisoners can’t be released from prison without a government vote. If the deal is approved, there will be a 24-hour period for the public to appeal to the court.

Netanyahu is expected to have a majority in both votes, even if Smotrich, Ben Gvir and the cabinet ministers from their parties vote against the deal.

Netanyahu’s aide said that because of the schedule, the ceasefire and the release of the hostages would be delayed from Sunday to Monday.

According to the agreement, 33 hostages will be released in the first phase of the deal, including women, children, men over the age of 50 and men under the age of 50 who are wounded or sick. Israel’s assessment is that most of those 33 hostages are alive.

The hostages will be released gradually throughout the first phase of the agreement, beginning on the first day of the six-week ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli Defense Forces will also gradually withdraw to a buffer zone in Gaza near the border with Israel. The IDF will leave the Netzarim corridor in the center of the Gaza Strip and most of the Philadelphi corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt.

Palestinians will also be allowed to return to northern Gaza during the first phase of the deal. Those who walk won’t go through security checks but vehicles will be checked by Qatari and Egyptian officials to ensure no heavy weapons are transferred to Gaza.

More than 700 Palestinian prisoners will also be released, including about 275 who are accused of murdering Israelis and are serving life sentences. Another thousand Palestinians from Gaza who were detained by the IDF during the war but didn’t participate in the Oct. 7 attack will also be released.

The exact number of prisoners to be released will be determined only after Hamas clarifies which of the hostages to be released are alive, Israeli official said.

From the first day of the ceasefire, 600 aid trucks, including 50 fuel trucks, will enter Gaza every day. In addition, 200,000 tents and 60,000 mobile homes will be delivered for displaced Palestinians in Gaza.

The agreement stipulates that Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. will serve as guarantors for the implementation of the agreement.

On the 16th day of the ceasefire, Israel and Hamas will begin negotiations on the second phase of the agreement, which is supposed to include the release of the remaining hostages and a permanent ceasefire and complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump plans to announce Sean Curran as his pick for director of the Secret Service, CNN reported on Thursday, citing multiple sources familiar with the plan.

Curran has served as the special agent in charge of Trump’s security detail and was with him at the time of an assassination attempt on the Republican during an appearance in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Curran has a close personal relationship with Trump, CNN said, and supervises about 85 people in his current role.

He would replace Ron Rowe, who has served as served as acting director since July, when Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned after the agency came under harsh scrutiny for its failure to stop a would-be assassin from wounding Trump during a campaign rally.

The House on Jan. 16 passed legislation that will deport illegal immigrants convicted of domestic violence or sexual assault. All Republicans were joined by 61 Democrats to push the bill through with a vote of 274–145.

The legislation, known as the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act and introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), also renders these individuals inadmissible for immigration to the United States.

Similar legislation passed the House 266–158 in the last Congress but languished in committee in the Senate.

Mace, a victim of rape and domestic violence, refuted accusations that the bill demonizes illegal immigrants, saying that she wanted to “demonize illegal immigrants who are here raping our women and girls, murdering our women and girls, and who are pedophiles, molesting our children.”

“You’re darn right, that’s what I’m here to do today,” she said during a debate on the House floor.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said he opposed the bill because victims of domestic violence are sometimes accused by their attackers as retaliation.

“The way this messaging bill is actually written will create big problems for many, many victims of domestic violence,” Raskin said.

He cited the example of a woman who was convicted of domestic violence after she bit the ear of a man allegedly trying to assault her. She was sentenced to time served after spending 10 days in jail, he said.

Raskin also objected that the bill uses the definition of domestic violence from the Violence Against Women Act. This expands domestic abuse to encompass nonviolent offenses such as “verbal, psychological, economic, or technological abuse,” Raskin said.

He noted that the legislation was opposed by numerous domestic violence advocacy groups, including the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and Catholic Charities in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, supported by over 200 such agencies, issued a letter to Congress opposing the bill.

The same group also opposed the Laken Riley Act—which requires detaining illegal immigrants who commit or are accused of theft or shoplifting—as well as a bill banning men from women’s sports.

Both of those bills have passed the House and are expected to clear the Senate.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said current immigration laws already call for deportation for those who are convicted of or admit to such crimes.

“There is actually no gap in the law that needs to be fixed,” she said.

President-elect Donald Trump will regain the Oval Office next week after a campaign in which he pledged to take a hard stance on illegal immigrants who commit crimes in the United States.

Former ICE director Tom Homan, who has been tapped as Trump’s border czar—a position that doesn’t require Senate confirmation—has said he will conduct a large-scale deportation of illegal immigrants, beginning with those who have been convicted of criminal activity.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Thursday selected Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) to chair the House Intelligence Committee, elevating the veteran panel member to the role after he removed Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) from the top job.

The shift was a surprise on Capitol Hill, where Turner’s ouster sparked an outcry from Democrats and some Republicans who were given no advance warning of the move — and suspected the “America First” wing of the party helped push Turner out.

But Johnson’s selection of Crawford, the most senior GOP lawmaker on the panel, could help calm concerns from national-security focused Republicans.

“Our intelligence community and its oversight must maintain the highest levels of trust. The House Intel Committee will play a pivotal role in this work in the new Congress, and Rick Crawford will provide principled leadership as its chairman,” Johnson said in a statement first shared with The Hill. “He has earned the respect of his colleagues through his years of faithful service on the committee and his steady approach to the challenges facing our country.”

He also lauded Turner’s leadership on the panel during the last Congress.

“He led the committee well during a very challenging period of our nation’s history and was fully dedicated to the task,” Johnson said in a statement. “He is a highly valued member of our Conference, and we look forward to his continued contributions to keeping America safe and expanding our global security, including in his important position as the Chair of the U.S. Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.”

In addition to Crawford becoming chair, Johnson made five new additions to the House Intelligence Committee, spots that are highly coveted by members: Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), who had sought to be chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.), Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), and Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas).

The announcement from Johnson came less than 24 hours after news broke that he would not re-appoint Turner to lead the Intelligence Committee in the 119th Congress amid, according to one GOP lawmaker, complaints from hard-line conservatives and Trump World about his leadership.

Johnson has denied that President-elect Trump played any role in the decision, and a spokesperson for Trump also indicated he did not request the shakeup. The Speaker has the sole authority to appoint the Intelligence Committee chair and GOP members.

Crawford, who is in his eighth term in Congress and is starting his fifth term on the Intelligence Committee, had unsuccessfully sought to be chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee at the end of last year.

In a statement, Crawford echoed the kind of concerns Trump has espoused about the intelligence community.

“Since joining the Committee in 2017, I have witnessed firsthand that abuse within our nation’s security apparatus has eroded trust in our institutions and compromised America’s ability to gather intelligence,” Crawford said in a statement. “As Chairman, I will aggressively uphold our mandate to provide credible and robust oversight of the Intelligence Community’s funding and activities. Without aggressive oversight and vigorous protection of Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights, the IC is prone to give in to mission creep and skirt U.S. laws. In all our work, I pledge to preserve Americans’ constitutional rights even as we work to support the IC in doing everything required to collect indispensable information from our foreign adversaries.”

Crawford added that “leaks and indiscretions by misguided intelligence staff can endanger Americans and hinder our ability to predict and prevent attacks,” and that “everyone on the Committee and within the IC must be devoted to secrecy regarding the material we review.”

Crawford supported renewal of a controversial law allowing the warrantless surveillance of foreigners when they are abroad, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

It’s a measure that has earned the ire of the MAGA wing of the party, which sees the intelligence tool as a backdoor for gaining access to Americans and who want to include a warrant requirement.

Turner was also a major proponent of the tool, putting him at odds with staunch Trump supporters like Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), a critic of the law and one of the few Intelligence Committee members to vote against extending FISA 702.

Renewal of FISA 702 will be a major issue facing this year, as Congress voted to extend the measure for two years — pushing what will no doubt be a controversial reauthorization into the Trump presidency.

Crawford also voted against a $60.8 billion Ukraine aid package in 2024, saying in a statement at the time: “While the entire Western world stands in support of Ukraine’s fight to expel Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion force, I cannot in good faith vote to send billions of dollars in non-military financial aid to Ukraine to prop up its economy when Americans are struggling with rising costs at home.”

Turner, on the other hand, has been a strong Republican supporter of aid to Ukraine — drawing the ire of Trump-allied, America First conservatives.

Crawford has played an elevated role on the Intelligence Committee in recent weeks.

He led a subcommittee investigation into the origins of the anomalous health incidents (AHI), also known as “Havana syndrome,” that have been plaguing some in the intelligence community.

In that assessment he departed from the conclusion of intelligence leaders, asserting that as foreign adversary was likely behind the attack.

“I’m convinced that there is a foreign adversary responsible for these. … Now to be clear, it doesn’t mean all these incidents that have been reported are attributable to a foreign adversary. It just means that the evidence supports that in many cases,” Crawford told reporters last month.

“This is not speculation on my part. This is me telling you we have collected evidence that I can confidently say we can attribute many of these AHI attacks to foreign adversaries.”

In doing so, Crawford was highly critical of the Biden Administration, criticizing the president for an issue that the county has grappled with since 2016.

But he blamed the White House both for a failure to take action and suggested they engaged in a cover-up on the topic.

“The Biden Administration and IC leadership has sought to hinder the Subcommittee’s investigation into AHIs to keep the truth about AHIs from Congress and, by extension, the American public,” he said, using an abbreviation for the intelligence community.

Across the aisle, Democrats wasted no time bashing Johnson’s decision to replace Turner at the top of the Intel panel, accusing the Speaker of catering to the wishes of Trump at the expense of national security.

“The Constitution demands that Congress function as a check and balance to the Executive Branch, not cater to its demands,” said Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), the senior Democrat on the committee.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he is appointing multiple legendary Hollywood actors as “special ambassadors” to Hollywood.

Those special ambassadors will be Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, Trump said.

All three actors are conservative and have appeared publicly with Trump or praised him publicly in the past. Stallone, for example, praised Trump as “the second George Washington” while introducing him at the America First Policy Gala in Palm Beach in November.

“It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California,” Trump wrote in a Thursday Truth Social post.

“They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!”

“These three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest,” Trump added. “It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!”

The actors’ support for Trump is particularly significant given the strong anti-Trump sentiment voiced by many Hollywood progressives, such as George Clooney, who embrace politicians like former President Barack Obama.

“When George Washington defended his country, he had no idea that he was going to change the world,” Stallone said of Trump in November. “‘Cause without him, you can imagine what the world would look like. Guess what, we got the second George Washington.”

Gibson, who has been pictured with Trump on a number of occasions in the past, shared that he was voting for Trump in October, telling paparazzi of Kamala Harris: “I know what it’ll be like if we let her in. And that ain’t good. Miserable track record. No policies to speak of. She’s got the IQ of a fence post.”

Pope Francis fell Thursday and hurt his right arm, the Vatican said, just weeks after another apparent fall resulted in a bad bruise on his chin.

Francis didn’t break his arm, but a sling was put on as a precaution, the Vatican spokesman said in a statement.

On Dec. 7, the pope whacked his chin on his nightstand in an apparent fall that resulted in a bad bruise.

The 88-year-old pope, who has battled health problems including long bouts of bronchitis, often has to use a wheelchair because of bad knees.

He uses a walker or cane when moving around his apartment in the Vatican’s Santa Marta hotel.

The Vatican said that Thursday’s fall also occurred at Santa Marta, and the pope was later seen in audiences with his right arm in a sling. At one of the meetings, Francis apologetically offered his left hand for a handshake when he greeted the head of the U.N. fund for agricultural development, Alvaro Lario.

“This morning, due to a fall at the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis suffered a contusion to his right forearm, without fracture. The arm was immobilized as a precautionary measure,” the statement said.

Speculation about Francis’ health is a constant in Vatican circles, especially after Pope Benedict XVI broke 600 years of tradition and resigned from the papacy in 2013.

Benedict’s aides have attributed the decision to a nighttime fall that he suffered during a 2012 trip to Mexico, after which he determined he couldn’t keep up with the globe-trotting demands of the papacy.

Francis has said that he has no plans to resign anytime soon, even if Benedict “opened the door” to the possibility. In his autobiography “Hope” released this week, Francis said that he hadn’t considered resigning even when he had major intestinal surgery.

David Lynch, who co-created “Twin Peaks” and directed films such as “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive,” has died. He was 78.

Lynch’s family revealed his passing via social media on Thursday.

“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch,” their statement read. “We would appreciate some privacy at this time.”

“There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole,’” Lynch’s family added. “It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”

The family did not reveal Lynch’s cause of death.

The famed writer-director was diagnosed with emphysema, a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, back in 2020.

It was reported last week that Lynch evacuated his LA home near Laurel Canyon Boulevard due to the deadly wildfires. His producer Sabrina Sutherland confirmed that he was safe.

In November, Lynch — who started smoking at age 8 but quit in 2022 — told People that he needed supplemental oxygen to do much of anything.

“What you sow is what you reap,” said Lynch. “You’re literally playing with fire. It can bite you. I took a chance, and I got bit.”

Lynch added that “it’s tough living with emphysema. I can hardly walk across a room. It’s like you’re walking around with a plastic bag around your head.”

In August, Lynch told Sight and Sound magazine that he was homebound because “it would be very bad for me to get sick, even with a cold.”

Lynch was born in 1946 in Missoula, Montana. He began his filmmaking career in the 1960s.

His first feature-length movie was the 1977 art film “Eraserhead.”

Lynch’s next film was 1980’s “The Elephant Man,” about a severely deformed man living in London. The movie, starring John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins, was nominated for eight Oscars — including Best Director for Lynch.

He followed that up with 1984’s “Dune,” which did not fare well at the box office. Denis Villeneuve has since made his version of the epic space opera with Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet in the cast.

In 1990, Lynch and Mark Frost created “Twin Peaks”. The series starred Kyle MacLachlan and aired on ABC for two seasons before it was canceled. It spawned a movie prequel, 1992’s “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” that Lynch directed and co-wrote.

“Twin Peaks” later returned for a revival series called “Twin Peaks: The Return” on Showtime in 2017. Lynch directed and co-wrote all 18 episodes.

In his storied career, Lynch was nominated for four Oscars and several Emmy Awards. He won the César Award twice and the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival once.

Lynch had four wives. He was married to Peggy Lentz from 1967 to 1974, Mary Fisk from 1977 to 1987 and director Mary Sweeney from 2006 to 2007. He wed actress Emily Stofle in 2009, and she filed for divorce in late 2023. A settlement was reached just last month.

He was also in a relationship with “Blue Velvet” star Isabella Rossellini from 1986 to 1991.

Lynch was a father of four children. His oldest child, Jennifer Lynch, 56, is a filmmaker.

President-elect Donald Trump indicated on Wednesday that anyone who’s worked for former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley or any other of his Republican critics need not apply for open jobs in his new administration.

Trump, 78, touted in a Truth Social post that he’s already hired “over 1,000 people” for roles in his incoming administration that are “outstanding in every way” before shedding light on the sort of individuals he doesn’t plan on extending job offers to.

“In order to save time, money, and effort, it would be helpful if you would not send, or recommend to us, people who worked with, or are endorsed by, Americans for No Prosperity (headed by Charles Koch), ‘Dumb as a Rock’ John Bolton, ‘Birdbrain’ Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, disloyal Warmongers Dick Cheney, and his Psycho daughter, Liz, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, General(?) Mark Milley, James Mattis, Mark Yesper, or any of the other people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, more commonly known as TDS,” the president-elect wrote.

“Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added.

Haley and Pence both ran failed campaigns against Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries.

Pence refused to endorse Trump once he became the GOP nominee.

Meanwhile, Haley, who ended her White House bid last March, waited until late May to back Trump and didn’t release her delegates until July – just days before the Republican National Convention.

Americans for Prosperity Action, a super PAC funded by billionaire Charles Koch, had endorsed Haley in the GOP primaries.

Former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), both endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 race and Liz frequently appeared on the campaign trail with the Democratic nominee.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) – the top and bottom of the 2012 GOP presidential ticket – also indicated ahead of Election Day 2024 that they would not be voting for Trump.

Bolton, Milley, Mattis and Mark Esper are all former members of the first Trump administration who have been critical of the president-elect.

Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday.

The FBI has closed its DEI office.

“In recent weeks, the FBI took steps to close the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), effective by December 2024,” the agency told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

The agency didn’t specify why it had closed the office, although many Republicans have been critical of it prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion, saying that had overshadowed national security.

Earlier this month, Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray claiming that “radical” DEI practices had “endangered” Americans following the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans.

“I am deeply concerned that—under your leadership—the Bureau has prioritized Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives over its core mission of protecting the American people,” Balckburn wrote in the Jan. 3 letter after referencing the attack.

After the announcement, Blackburn said in a post on X: “The question is why were they allowed to be focused on DEI in the first place? The FBI should be focused on catching criminals, not winning participation trophies.”

The FBI page on diversity and inclusion – that was still on its website as of Thursday – says the agency is “committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive workforce. In 2015, the FBI added diversity as one of the organization’s core values.

It continued: “We believe that differences in thought and belief, in race and religion, in orientation, and in ability contribute to more effective decision making, drive innovation, and enhance the employee experience. We know that a more diverse workforce allows us to connect with and maintain the trust of the American people. We also understand we have work to do. We stand committed, as today’s FBI, to fostering a culture of inclusivity and diversity.”

Former FBI special agent and Fox News contributor Nicole Parker told Fox News Digital: “I appreciate all forms of diversity. Make no mistake of that. What I do not appreciate is when there is a constant push for social justice weaponization at the FBI whose top priorities are to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution.”

She added that FBI Director Christopher Wray has made it clear that threats across and against the nation are “at an all-time high. ‘Flashing red lights,’ as he has stated in congressional testimony. There is no time for clubs, groups, or social agendas that divert time, attention and resources away from the mission of the FBI to protect the American people.”

“DEI is a dangerous distraction,” she continued. “I have no issue in celebrating whatever you would like regarding your heritage or gender or religion. But that should be done on your own time and not with the U.S. taxpayers’ dollars while on official Bureau time.”

Parker added, “The FBI needs to focus on hiring the best and brightest based solely on meritocracy. Americans deserve the best. I have never been on an operation or heard of a civilian calling into the FBI and requesting an individual of a certain race or gender provide them with assistance in solving their problem or stopping a crime they’ve fallen victim to. Americans simply want to be safe.”

“The FBI should be focused on being one in fighting crime, not various groups and divisions that divide,” she said.

Parker also noted that there are numerous other groups within the FBI aside from the DEI office, including the American Indian and Alaska Native Advisory Committee, Asian Pacific American Advisory Committee, Black Affairs Diversity Committee, Bureau Equality, Hispanic Advisory Board, Near and Middle East Advisory Committee, Persons with Disabilities Advisory Committee, Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee, and the Women’s Advisory Committee.

She said the bureau also has numerous resource groups, including Blacks in Government, FBI African American Millennials, FBI Family, FBI Jewish Americans, FBI Latinos for Empowerment Advancement and Development, FBI Pride, Federal Asian Pacific American Counsel, Federally Employed Women, From Boots to Suits and the Toastmasters Club.

Wray announced in December that he planned to resign with nearly three years left in his term, citing Trump’s desire for a change in leadership at the agency.

This is President Biden’s last week in office. President-elect Trump will take office on Monday.

The FBI’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion was created in 2012 during the Obama administration with its goal to provide “guidance and implement programs that promote a diverse and inclusive workplace that allows all employees to succeed and advance.”

In 2021, after Biden took office, Scott McMillion became the FBI’s first chief diversity officer, saying that he planned to spearhead a “cultural shift” at the agency.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody will take Marco Rubio’s seat in the U.S. Senate, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday, making Moody only the second woman to represent Florida in the chamber.

Moody, 49, elected as the state’s top law enforcement officer in 2018, campaigned on a pledge to voters that she’d be a prosecutor, not a politician.

Along with DeSantis, Moody boosted her political profile during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling on the federal government to “hold China responsible” for the outbreak.

Before running for statewide office, Moody worked as a federal prosecutor. In 2006, she was elected to the post of circuit judge in Hillsborough County, home to Tampa.

As the state’s attorney general, Moody has been instrumental in defending DeSantis’ conservative agenda in court and has joined other Republican-led states in challenging the Biden administration’s policies, suing over changes to immigration enforcement, student loan forgiveness and vaccine mandates for federal contractors.

“I’m happy to say we’ve had an Attorney General that is somebody that has acted time and time again to support the values that we all share,” DeSantis said.

Under Florida law, it’s up to the Republican governor to pick Rubio’s replacement, after President-elect Donald Trump picked the three-term senator to be his next Secretary of State. Moody will serve in the Senate until the next general election in 2026, when the seat will be back on the ballot.

Moody fought unsuccessfully to keep an abortion rights measure off the ballot in Florida in 2024, saying proponents were waging “a war” to protect the procedure. The measure did go before voters but ultimately failed to get the 60% approval needed to pass.

She was also among the state attorneys general to sign on to the lawsuit backed by Trump aimed at overturning Joe Biden’s election victory in 2020.

Republican state Sen. Joe Gruters, a key Trump ally in the state, was among those who had pushed the president-elect’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump as their top pick for the Senate seat. Lara Trump removed herself from consideration in December.

Still, Gruters praised Moody, calling her “a winner here in Florida.”

“She’s very popular. And I think people see the job that she does and they appreciate her work and her effort at trying to … keep Florida safe,” Gruters said before the announcement.

Moody’s appointment opens up a key vacancy in Florida’s Cabinet, giving DeSantis another shot at expanding his influence in the state. DeSantis will also get to pick a replacement for outgoing Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who’s leaving his post to run for former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s open seat in Congress.

Rudy Giuliani reached a deal Thursday with two Georgia women who won a $148 million defamation verdict against him that allows him to keep all of his property in exchange for a payment of unknown size — plus a promise to never again defame them.

The settlement saves Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, from the brink of losing both of his homes, as well as countless other pieces of valuable property.

The women, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, have spent months in court seeking to force Giuliani to turn over his possessions to them to help satisfy the massive judgment.

Freeman and Moss, who are former election workers in Georgia, won the defamation judgment in 2023 when a jury found that Giuliani accused them of election fraud after the 2020 election. The women, who are mother and daughter, said in a statement they had agreed “to allow Mr. Giuliani to retain his property in exchange for compensation.”

“The past four years have been a living nightmare,” Freeman and Moss said. “We have fought to clear our names, restore our reputations, and prove that we did nothing wrong. Today is a major milestone in our journey. We have reached an agreement and we can now move forward with our lives.”

In a court filing, lawyers for the women and Giuliani said the settlement “would result in the conclusion of all litigation currently pending between and among the Parties.”

The amount of the compensation was not disclosed. In remarks to reporters outside Manhattan federal court Thursday, a lawyer for Giuliani, Joseph Cammarata, declined to say whether a third party was funding the payment, saying he wouldn’t discuss the “material terms” of the agreement.

Cammarata said the settlement allows Giuliani to keep his Upper East Side apartment and his condo in Palm Beach, Florida, as well as “all his personal belongings.”

Those belongings include property a judge already ordered Giuliani to turn over to the women, including watches, a ring, sports memorabilia and a vintage Mercedes-Benz convertible.

In a statement posted to social media, Giuliani said: “I am satisfied with and have no grievances relating to the result we have reached.”

He added: “No one deserves to be subjected to threats, harassment, or intimidation. This litigation has taken its toll on all parties. This whole episode was unfortunate. I and the Plaintiffs have agreed not to ever talk about each other in any defamatory manner, and I urge others to do the same.”

The announcement of the settlement came five hours after Giuliani was set to start a trial over whether he could shield his Florida condo from being seized by creditors and whether he had given World Series rings to his son, a step that might have also made them off-limits.

Giuliani appeared poised to lose the Palm Beach property in the trial, particularly after U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman found him in civil contempt of court twice and, as punishment, declared that Giuliani would be barred from presenting the central legal defense that could have helped him retain the condo.