The Department of Justice recently briefed the House Judiciary Committee about an internal investigation it had opened into special counsel Jack Smith’s office, according to committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH).

Jordan wrote Wednesday in a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner to Jeffrey Ragsdale, the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility official who gave the briefing, that Jordan was unsatisfied with the information Ragsdale provided during it.

Ragsdale had said during the briefing, which took place last month, that he opened the inquiry into possible misconduct by Smith’s office in June 2023 but that he had not been able to take any further investigative steps while Smith’s prosecutions of President-elect Donald Trump remained pending, per Jordan. Ragsdale had said any action he took would have interfered with Smith’s cases, both of which have been terminated since Trump’s election win.

“While we appreciate you confirming an open investigation into Jack Smith’s prosecutors, we are concerned that your refusal to take prompt investigative steps will allow these attorneys to evade internal accountability by leaving the Department,” Jordan wrote.

Ragsdale had said he opened the inquiry into Smith’s office after someone working under Smith “self-reported” the possible misconduct to Ragsdale’s office, according to Jordan.

“It is absurd that OPR—the Department entity charged with upholding ethical conduct would only examine allegations of prosecutorial misconduct after the subject of the allegations has approved the inquiry,” Jordan wrote. “This process does not inspire any confidence that OPR’s examination will be independent or impartial.”

It is unclear what the nature of the misconduct was, but it is normal for attorneys to self-report to the DOJ’s personnel office if they are aware of allegations being made about them in the media or elsewhere.

Jordan, for his part, has been seeking records from Ragsdale since at least May about various ethics allegations against Smith and the attorneys working for him, including Jay Bratt and J.P. Cooney. Several of the allegations have appeared in the media and in court papers.

Bratt’s misconduct allegation, for example, was first raised in court by an attorney representing Walt Nauta, one of the co-defendants in the classified documents case against Trump. The attorney, Stanley Woodward, said that during a closed-door meeting, Bratt inappropriately brought up Woodward’s application to become a judge while Bratt was trying to convince Woodward to comply with him in the Trump case. Smith has disputed the accusation.

Cooney, another one of Smith’s deputies who has come under scrutiny, was also a key figure involved in prosecuting Trump ally Roger Stone for lying to Congress. According to a DOJ inspector general report, Cooney wanted to impose an unusually harsh sentence on Stone, and when he was overridden, he began accusing the Trump administration of giving Stone preferential treatment. The DOJ inspector general assessed in his report that this was not a “well considered” move by Cooney. Jordan said he has been seeking information from the DOJ about any internal investigations it conducted into Cooney’s “shocking sentencing recommendation” of Stone.

Jordan reiterated all of his past records requests to Ragsdale in his letter on Wednesday and also told the DOJ official to interpret the letter as a “preservation notice” of the records, a sign that the GOP-led committee will continue its investigation in the next Congress.

President Joe Biden’s senior aides are conducting a vigorous internal debate over whether to issue preemptive pardons to a range of current and former public officials who could be targeted with President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to senior Democrats familiar with the discussions.

Biden’s aides are deeply concerned about a range of current and former officials who could find themselves facing inquiries and even indictments, a sense of alarm which has only accelerated since Trump last weekend announced the appointment of Kash Patel to lead the FBI. Patel has publicly vowed to pursue Trump’s critics.

The White House officials, however, are carefully weighing the extraordinary step of handing out blanket pardons to those who’ve committed no crimes, both because it could suggest impropriety, only fueling Trump’s criticisms, and because those offered preemptive pardons may reject them.

The deliberations touch on pardoning those currently in office, elected and appointed, as well as former officials who’ve angered Trump and his loyalists.

Those who could face exposure include such members of Congress’ Jan. 6 Committee as Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. Trump has previously said Cheney “should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!” Also mentioned by Biden’s aides for a pardon is Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who became a lightning rod for criticism from the right during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The West Wing deliberations have been organized by White House counsel Ed Siskel but include a range of other aides, including chief of staff Jeff Zients. The president himself, who was intensely focused on his son’s pardon, has not been brought into the broader pardon discussions yet, according to people familiar with the deliberations.

The conversations were spurred by Trump’s repeated threats and quiet lobbying by congressional Democrats, though not by those seeking pardons themselves. “The beneficiaries know nothing,” one well-connected Democrat told me about those who could receive pardons.

Biden’s ultimate decision, though, could prove just as consequential to some of the country’s most high-profile public officials as his choice to pardon his son.

That the conversations are taking place at all reflects the growing anxieties among high-level Democrats about just how far Trump’s reprisals could go once he reclaims power. The remarkable, 11-year breadth of Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter illustrated how worried the White House is about Trump officials seizing any potential openings for prosecution.

At issue, to repurpose a phrase, is whether to take Trump seriously and literally when it comes to his prospective revenge tour against Democrats and others in the so-called Deep State who’ve raised his ire.

End-of-administration pardons are always politically fraught. But President George H.W. Bush’s intervention to spare former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and Bill Clinton’s pardon of financier and donor Marc Rich seem quaint compared with what Biden officials are grappling with as Trump returns to the presidency with lieutenants plotting tribunals against adversaries.

And that was before the president pardoned his son, infuriating many of his own party already angry at Biden for insisting on running for reelection as he neared 82. Now, Biden’s aides also must consider whether they should offer the same legal inoculation to public officials who’ve attracted the ire of Trump or his supporters that the president granted his convicted son.

The White House is facing contradictory pressures from Capitol Hill. Some longtime Democratic lawmakers, like Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), have talked favorably about the precedent of former President Gerald Ford’s preemptive pardon of Richard Nixon, issued before any charges were filed against the disgraced former president.

“If it’s clear by January 19 that [revenge] is his intention, then I would recommend to President Biden that he provide those preemptive pardons to people, because that’s really what our country is going to need next year,” Markey said on WGBH last week.

Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Penn.), a close Biden ally who hosted the president in his district shortly before the election, issued a plea Wednesday for Biden to offer blanket pardons.

“This is no hypothetical threat,” Boyle said in a statement, adding: “The time for cautious restraint is over. We must act with urgency to push back against these threats and prevent Trump from abusing his power.”

Other lawmakers, I’m told, have been just as emphatic in private with Biden’s aides in calling for preemptive pardons.

However, some congressional Democrats, including those who may be in Trump’s political crosshairs, are uneasy about the idea of being granted a pardon they’re not seeking.

“I would urge the president not to do that,” Schiff said. “I think it would seem defensive and unnecessary.”

Some senior Democrats I spoke with, however, wonder how many of those facing retribution are adopting a version of the vote-no-hope-yes mantra that often surrounds difficult legislative votes. Which is to say: Some may publicly oppose preemptive pardons, for reasons of innocence or precedence, while privately hoping the president offers legal protection.

What has some Biden aides particularly concerned is that even the threat of retaliation could prove costly to individuals because they’d be forced to hire high-priced lawyers to defend themselves in any potential investigation.

Especially for those officials without significant means, the specter of six-figure legal bills in the coming years is unnerving. Some Biden appointees, I’m told by people facing scrutiny, are already considering taking the best-paying jobs next year in part to ensure they have the resources to defend themselves against any investigations.

Adding to Biden’s challenge in the final weeks of his presidency is the pressure he’s also feeling from Democrats who want him to offer the same generous clemency to those less privileged that he handed his son.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) invoked Hunter Biden’s pardon this week in calling on the president to, on a case-by-case basis, spare “the working-class Americans in the federal prison system whose lives have been ruined by unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses.”

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, told SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly on Wednesday that he believes he is the target of a “smear” campaign, comparing his experience to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation process.

After Trump nominated Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court in 2018, Democratic lawmakers quickly sought to derail his confirmation, portraying him as partisan and using sexual assault allegations that surfaced after his nomination to weaken his bid. On “The Megyn Kelly Show,” Hegseth sat down to discuss the backlash against him, with Kelly asking if he believes he is being “Kavanaugh’d.”

“I had a member, not 45 minutes ago, look me in the eye in private, just he and I, and say, ‘That’s what they’re trying to do to you,’” Hegseth said. “‘That’s their playbook. Get ready for more, and they’re gonna make it up, just like they have so far. All anonymous, all innuendo, all rumor, nothing sourced, no verification and they’re just gonna keep doing it, because you’re a threat to them. You’re a threat to their system. You’re a threat to all the things in Washington D.C., the swamp, the things that people have rejected. You’re a threat to that, and so they’re coming after you.’”

“I know that, he knows that, and when you stand firm on that, it’s not difficult to just continue to fight. So yeah, we saw what happened, but guess what happened? Kavanaugh stood up, and he fought, and he won, and hopefully Republicans have learned that lesson,” Hegseth added.

Hegseth noted that despite the criticism from lawmakers, Trump still stood by Kavanaugh, stating that what the public is witnessing in his process is the “classic art of the smear” in order to take “tiny kernels of truth” and “blow them up into a masquerade of a narrative.”

“What they never quote, and we’ll get into this too, are the legions of people from whom I served with in combat, multiple tours, from the multiple veterans organizations that I very proudly ran, and I really want to get into that, and my time at Fox News. They never asked the people closest to me,” Hegseth said.

“They never ask those people. That’s what a smear looks like. It’s a couple anonymous nuggets, usually from disgruntled people who were fired for cause, who are jealous or want a little bit of retribution, and so they peddle stuff to reporters who are not interested in the truth. They’re interested in smearing someone who supports Donald Trump’s agenda,” Hegseth continued.

Following the announcement of Hegseth’s nomination last month, reports of a sexual assault allegation surfaced, along with other outlets claiming the former Fox News host had abused alcohol. In November, The New York Times also published a 2018 email from Hegseth’s mother, calling out her son for his alleged mistreatment and belittling of women. On Wednesday, Hegseth’s mother appeared on “Fox & Friends,” stating that she wanted to “discredit” the media’s attacks against him and that she had written the email “in haste.”

In response, Hegseth denied the claims and has been meeting with Republican senators for private discussions regarding his nomination. Co-workers and friends of the former Fox host have also come forward, with host Will Cain creating a thread Wednesday on X showing how many public figures close to Hegseth are in support of him despite the “anonymous sources” calling for concerns of his alleged drinking habit.

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was one of several senior executives at the company under investigation by the Department of Justice when he was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel on Wednesday.

Thompson — who was killed in what police called a targeted shooting outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown — exercised stock options and sold shares worth $15.1 million on Feb. 16, less than two weeks before news of the federal antitrust probe went public, according to a Crain’s New York Business report from April.

The stock price dropped sharply after the revelation that the DOJ was investigating whether the company had made acquisitions that consolidated its market position in violation of antitrust laws, a source familiar with the probe told the outlet.

Thompson’s stock options reportedly had several years until expiration, and the sale of shares was his first since assuming the helm of parent company UnitedHealth’s insurance division in 2021.

Thompson, 50, along with UnitedHealth Group chairman Stephen Helmsley, Chief People Officer Erin McSweeney and Chief Accounting Officer Tom Roos, sold a combined $101.5 million in shares, with Helmsley personally netting just shy of $85 million, according to the report.

Charles Elson, founding director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, told Crain’s that share sales by firm principals are typically scrutinized by a company’s general counsel, who can determine whether any additional disclosures to the market may be required before the trades are executed.

Earlier this year, UnitedHealth was hit by one of the largest healthcare data breaches in US history, the company estimating as many as one-third of Americans’ private data — potentially including Social Security numbers — were compromised in the ransomware attack.

The company wound up paying the hackers a $22 million ransom, CEO Andrew Witty told a Congressional panel in May.

The massive firm — with annual revenue of around $372 billion — later said it estimated its financial cost as a result of the hack to be around $705 million, Reuters reported.

The man wanted for fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Wednesday morning was spotted inside a nearby Starbucks before killing his target, police said.

The NYPD released a new photo of the hooded suspect standing in front of the counter at the Starbucks at W. 56th Street and 6th Avenue, just minutes away from the Hilton hotel where he gunned down Thompson, 50.

It was not immediately clear how long the gunman, who has yet to be identified, was at the Starbucks or if he purchased anything.

Officials said that after firing at Thompson multiple times, with bullets striking his back and right calf, the gunman quickly fled the scene on foot.

He was then spotted mounting an e-Citi Bike on Sixth Avenue and disappearing into Central Park, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

Thompson was rushed to the nearby Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police do not suspect the shooting was a random act of violence, claiming the gunman staked out the hotel, where Thompson was due to speak at an investors’ conference later that day for UnitedHealth Group.

Thompson’s wife, Paulette “Pauley” Thompson, 51, said that before the shooting, the father of two had received threats related to his job leading America’s largest private insurer.

“Every indication shows that this is a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters.

No arrests have been made so far as police search for the suspect.

NYPD Crime Stoppers has put out a $10,000 reward for information regarding Thompson’s murder.

President-elect Trump’s transition team has signed on to an agreement for the FBI to vet the incoming administration’s cabinet nominees, the transition team announced Tuesday.

Trump’s team says it will “submit names for background checks and security clearances,” an agreement typically signed even before the election. The FBI historically vets each cabinet nominee and also handles security clearances, a process that could not begin until the agreement was made.

“This agreement with the Department of Justice will ensure President Trump and his team are ready on Day 1 to begin enacting the America First Agenda that an overwhelming majority of our nation supported on Election Day,” incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in a statement.

A number of Republicans in the Senate had been apprehensive about the transition team’s initial unwillingness to face FBI background checks, and several praised the Tuesday agreement.

“I think that’s good –– it’ll save them some headache,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., according to Politico. “And it’ll give the public and senators a little comfort, I think, so I’m glad to hear that.”

Trump and his allies have been openly critical of the FBI both on the campaign trail and since the election. Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to lead the organization, has been a crusader against the “deep state” since Trump’s first term and has echoed Republican claims that Democrats have “weaponized” the FBI.

“Kash did an incredible job during my First Term, where he served as Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense, Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council. Kash has also tried over 60 jury trials,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Sunday.

“This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border. Kash will work under our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to bring back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI,” he added.

Patel’s name spread across news reports as he became known as the man behind the “Nunes Memo,” a four-page document from then-Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., released in 2018 that revealed improper use of surveillance by the FBI and the Justice Department in the Russia investigation into Trump.

“If they had gotten it right in the first place, when Devin and I and so many others were actually putting out the truth, instead of serving as a disinformation machine for the left-wing agenda, there would be no reassessment,” Patel told Fox News Digital of the memo last year. “They could not have done their work in the deep state without their partners in the mainstream media, who are part of that deep state.”

Bitcoin’s price broke $100,000 on Wednesday night, capping a bull run that has seen the original cryptocurrency rise more than 30% since Election Day.

It’s a big round number, and also a symbolic one — marking what could be the industry’s next stage of long-term growth.

The landscape for digital assets, and bitcoin in particular, has never looked brighter.

ETFs launched in January now hold north of $100 billion in assets — making it easier than ever for anyone to buy bitcoin or ether.

Wall Street, at one time an enemy crypto dreamed of slaying, has become a crucial ally, adding exponentially to the asset’s staying power.

Clear regulations in the U.S., once a pipedream, are now essentially a certainty. An ally’s been nominated to lead the SEC, and crypto will soon have a cheerleader in the White House itself.

Excitement around what Donald Trump will do for crypto has poured gasoline on the fire of a bitcoin bull run that was already in motion. But bitcoin hitting $100,000 is not just an effect of Donald Trump.

It’s a milestone hit during the fourth of bitcoin’s remarkably predictable “cycles,” which we’ll explain more about in a moment.

And if six-figure bitcoin in 2024 wasn’t itself predictable — it’s certainly a number traders had their sights on long before Trump declared his love of crypto back in May.

About that cycle. Bitcoin is once again following the familiar roughly every-four-year cycle that it has shown since 2013.

Every four years, by design, the amount of new bitcoin that’s created each day drops in half, as it did on April 19.

This decreases the liquid supply. Once that’s felt in the market, it causes an uptick in the price. (Warning: most attempts to time it by get-rich-quick schemers inevitably fail.)

Reality check

The Trump effect, and the promise of a friendlier Congress, has surely accelerated bitcoin’s climb to today’s new high.

On Deribit, the leading options exchange in the crypto market, people have been betting on $100,000 bitcoin for a while — but activity surged dramatically after the election.

Risks abound for new investors. To name a few:

• If the next Congress can’t get its act together on blockchain legislation;
• If the SEC doesn’t soften its stance on cryptocurrency in the new administration (though that looks like less of a risk following Paul Atkins’ nomination to lead the agency);
• Or if the president-elect changes his mind and starts selling the nation’s bitcoin holdings.

Any of those situations would likely slow, or even halt, bitcoin’s positive price momentum.

What goes up always comes down, eventually.

It’s highly likely that retail traders have once again piled into bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, chasing fast cash as they have in prior cycles.

How far bitcoin falls at the end of this cycle is the question.

Historically, bitcoin has fallen dramatically from its previous three cycle highs, typically to somewhere right around the prior cycle’s height of exuberance.

After BTC peaked just short of $70,000 in 2021, its price ultimately fell to around $20,000, right about where it peaked in the cycle ending in 2017.

That said, each crypto boom cycle has been driven not just by the halving but also some additional new piece of technology that got people excited. In 2017, it was initial coin offerings; in 2021, it was non-fungible tokens.

This time could be different

If bitcoin’s next bear market ends without it losing 80 to 90% of its value from the peak — say more like 50% — we’ll know something has changed, perhaps for good.

The entrance of institutional investors like state pension funds, deep pocketed companies like MicroStrategy and Block, Inc., and nation-states like Bhutan and El Salvador, could soften the next fall.

Bitcoin’s market cap now makes it the 7th largest asset in the world, higher than market values of Tesla, Meta (Facebook) and even silver, the precious metal.

It’s edging close to the value of Amazon and Alphabet.

This puts the original cryptocurrency in a different position than it has ever been in before.

This could help soften the severe volatility that has always marked the asset class, making more and more people comfortable with including it in their portfolio — whether or not anyone can find two people who agree on just exactly what Bitcoin is really good for.

In May 2010, a programmer famously spent 10,000 bitcoins to have two (large) Papa John’s pizzas delivered.

Today, 10,000 BTC (worth $1 billion) could buy nearly 65% of Papa John’s International — the company.

The LPGA Tour on Wednesday updated its gender-eligibility policy, which will go into effect at the start of the 2025 season.

The organization said in a news release that male players who have gone through male puberty are barred from competing in the LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour and all other elite LPGA competitions.

“Players assigned male at birth and who have gone through male puberty are not eligible to compete in the aforementioned events,” the organization said. “The policies governing the LPGA’s recreational programs and non-elite events utilize different criteria to provide opportunities for participation in the broader LPGA community.”

The announcement came after two pro golfers and a retired player called on the organization to change its rules.

“Golf offers opportunities for all athletes to compete at professional and elite amateur levels,” the LPGA Tour said. “Individual competitions are generally categorized as ‘women’s events,’ which have specific eligibility requirements, or ‘open events,’ where any player, regardless of sex, is eligible to compete.”

Outgoing LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said the policy change is based on science.

“Our policy is reflective of an extensive, science-based and inclusive approach,” Marcoux Samaan said. “The policy represents our continued commitment to ensuring that all feel welcome within our organization, while preserving the fairness and competitive equity of our elite competitions.”

The CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance division was gunned down Wednesday morning outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown in what police called a “brazen, targeted” attack.

Brian Thompson, 50, was repeatedly shot by a masked gunman about 6:46 a.m. who had been lying in wait outside the Sixth Avenue hotel, said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” she said.

Thompson was hit in the torso, prompting a desperate attempt by first responders to save him with CPR, harrowing video shows.

He was rushed in critical condition to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m., police said.

The mysterious gunman – who appeared to be skilled with a firearm, police said – ran off before hopping on an electric Citi Bike and disappearing into Central Park, said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny.

🔥🚨BREAKING: Footage of United Health CEO Brian Thompson being assassinated has been released. pic.twitter.com/O0TF4D86re

— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) December 4, 2024

A manhunt was underway for the suspect as the NYPD and CrimeStoppers offered a $10,000 reward for information.

The motive behind the heinous hit remained unknown, Kenny said.

The gunman walked up to the hotel – where the UnitedHealth Group was holding its investors’ conference – about five minutes before the shooting, Kenny said.

Witnesses told The Post the suspect had been spotted near the hotel, on Sixth Avenue, milling around.

When Thompson – who had been staying at the nearby Marriott, according to sources – walked up to the hotel, the masked suspect struck, Kenny said.

“The shooter steps onto the sidewalk from behind the car, he ignores numerous other pedestrians, approaches the victim from behind and shoots him in the back,” Kenny said. “The shooter then walks toward the victim and continues to shoot.”

The shooter’s weapon appeared to have malfunctioned at that point, but he managed to quickly clear the gun and begin to fire again – a sign the suspect is proficient with firearms, Kenny said.

Thompson was struck by bullets at least once each in his back and right calf, Tisch said.

The suspect was described as a white male wearing a dark jacket, black face mask, and black and white sneakers. Officials said he was carrying a distinctive gray backpack.

Kenny said the shooter first ran off through the Ziegfeld alleyway between 54th and 55th streets, then hopped onto an electric Citi Bike – a ride captured in another surveillance photo.

The gunman peddled up the Avenue of the Americas toward Central Park, and was last seen around 6:48 a.m. biking onto Center Drive, Kenny said.

Cops recovered three live 9-millimeter rounds and three discharged shell casings at the scene, the chief said.

“The motive for this murder currently is unknown, but based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear that the victim was specifically targeted,” Kenny said. “But at this point, we do not know why.”

Thompson leaves behind his wife Paulette ‘Pauley’ Thompson, 51, and two children in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The family had received threats, Paulette Thompson told NBC News.

“There had been some threats,” she said, according to NBC. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”

The shooting sent shockwaves through the investors’ conference, where Forbes reported emotional attendees began to cry.

The slain CEO was “a stand up guy, a good dude,” said one investor who had previously dined with Thompson, according to Forbes. “I’ve never met anyone who had anything bad to say about him.”

Andrew Witty, CEO of parent company UnitedHealth Group, said the firm had been holding its Investor Day conference at the hotel on Wednesday, which Thompson was attending.

The conference was abruptly called off due to “a very serious medical situation” with one of its team members, Witty said in a statement.

Thompson, who had worked with UnitedHealth for the last 20 years, took the role of CEO in 2021 and was based at its offices in Minnetonka, Minnesota, according to his LinkedIn account.

When promoting Thompson, Witty praised his commitment to the company, which serves as the largest private health insurer in the US.

“Brian’s experience, relationships and values make him especially well-suited to help UnitedHealthcare improve how healthcare works for consumers, physicians, employers, governments and our other partners, leading to continued and sustained long-term growth,” Witty said at the time.

The exec lived in a five-bedroom home that he purchased in the North Star State in 2018 for $1 million, according to Zillow.

Thompson previously served as the company’s head of government programs, including Medicare and retirement.

The UnitedHealth Group, which employs more than 100,000 people across America, is ranked fourth in the Fortune 500.

Prior to joining UnitedHealth, Thompson spent six years in Minneapolis at PwC, an auditing and accounting firm.

Kenny said detectives are working with Citi Bike, which puts GPS tracks on its bikes, to track down the shooter’s ride.

He said the NYPD was “looking at everything.”

“We’re looking at his social media,” he said. “We are interviewing employees, we are interviewing family members. We will be speaking to law enforcement in Minnesota.”

Mayor Eric Adams sought to reassure New Yorkers that the shooting wasn’t a random act of violence in one of the most visible and highly trafficked places in the country – mere blocks and hours away from the Rockefeller Christmas tree’s lighting.

“It appears as though this was a targeted murder,” he said during an unrelated news conference.

“It seemed to have been clearly targeted by an individual, and we will apprehend that individual.”

NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said the shooting will not affect the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting later that evening.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement that state police will provide the NYPD with whatever they need.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz offered prayers for Thompson’s family.

“This is horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota,” he said in a statement.

The French government collapsed on Wednesday as parliament voted to oust Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his cabinet, throwing the nation into the worst political and fiscal turmoil in decades.

The chaos leaves Europe’s second largest economy without a functioning government for the first time in 60 years — the most severe fallout to date from the efforts to shrink its deficit.

It is the latest political drama to stem from a bleak fiscal situation that caused backlash from financial investors. The UK faced its own economic and political turmoil that forced its central bank to intervene in 2022.

While an ocean away, it is a warning for President-elect Trump whose fiscal plans are expected to drive the deficit higher.

Barnier was ousted after just three months in the job. He was appointed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who called the snap elections that resulted in a deeply fractured parliament with no majority.

The “no-confidence” vote was called this week after Barnier pushed through an unpopular social security measure without parliamentary approval.

Barnier’s budget proposal, which came against a fiscal backdrop that was worse than initially thought, included roughly $60 billion worth of tax hikes and spending cuts.

France’s far-right firebrand Marine Le Pen has led the opposition against the budget.

The left-wing New Popular Front alliance joined forces with Le Pen’s National Rally to pass the no-confidence motion.

Investors have been dumping French government debt, pushing up the nation’s borrowing costs — upping the pressure to get its fiscal house in order.

The yield on France’s 10-year government bond briefly surpassed that of Greece, the country that faced its own devastating debt crisis a decade ago.

A caretaker government will have to lean on unprecedented measures to avert a shutdown this year.

Macron will have to appoint a new prime minister.

That official will begin the budget process again.

Republicans will have 220 seats in the House of Representatives in the 119th Congress, completing their majority caucus, after the last election to the House with outstanding results was called on Dec. 4.

The House Republican Conference on Nov. 12 declared victory in its quest to retain the majority in 2024’s general elections, and the Associated Press called the majority-making 218th House seat for the GOP—in Arizona’s 6th Congressional district, where Rep. Juan Ciscomani won re-election—on Nov. 13.

However, in a few races, the differences between candidates were just hundreds of votes and thus were too close to call until recounts and legal proceedings were completed. That process concluded on Dec. 4, nearly one month after Election Day on Nov. 5.

In the 13th district near the San Francisco Bay Area, Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) lost re-election to Democratic nominee Adam Gray by just 187 votes out of more than 205,000 votes cast. The contest was the final federal race to be called in the 2024 general election.

Democrats also flipped a GOP-held seat in California’s 45th district, which is located in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. The contest’s Democratic nominee, labor lawyer Derek Tran, defeated two-term Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) by a narrow margin of 613 votes, with the race being called on Nov. 27. The district was regarded as a toss-up by the Cook Political Report. The race was divided along county lines—the Los Angeles County half of the district voted heavily for Tran, while the Orange County portion voted narrowly for Steel.

Meanwhile, in Iowa’s First Congressional District, two-term Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks defeated Democratic nominee Christina Bohannan by just 798 votes, with that race also called on Nov. 27. The race was expected to be highly competitive, and the Cook Political Report had rated it as a “toss up.”

These results conclude the counting of votes in 2024’s federal elections, which resulted in Republican control of both houses of the 119th Congress from 2025 to 2027.

The House majority will be narrow, at just three seats, a decline from five seats after 2022’s midterm election.

President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election also means that conservatives will control all three branches of government, as six of the U.S. Supreme Court’s nine current justices were appointed by Republican presidents and are widely regarded as being conservative jurists.

Losses and Gains

Steel and Duarte will be among the several Republican incumbents who lost reelection in 2024. The list includes Rep. Mike Garcia of California as well as Reps. Marc Molinaro, Anthony D’Esposito, and Brandon Williams of New York. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) also lost reelection, though she will be nominated by Trump to be the Secretary of Labor once he takes office on Jan. 20, 2025.

These losses, however, were offset by Republican gains in five other seats. In Alaska’s at-large district, Republican nominee Nick Begich defeated Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) by a two-percentage-point margin. The party also won two House seats in Northeastern Pennsylvania: In the 7th District, Republican state legislator Ryan Mackenzie defeated Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.); in the 8th District, Republican businessman Robert Bresnahan defeated Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.).

Other Republican gains include state Rep. Gabe Evans’s victory for the Republicans in the race for Colorado’s Eighth Congressional District, in which he defeated Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D). In Michigan’s Seventh district, former state Sen. Tom Barrett (R) beat Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr., also a former state senator, in the open election to replace Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D), who herself was elected to the U.S. Senate from Michigan, replacing the retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).

Vacancies

Despite their victories, Republicans will not begin the 119th Congress with a full majority. Several members of the conference have been selected by Trump for executive branch positions and, thus, will have to resign their seats in the House to assume them.

Departing members include Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), who was appointed National Security Adviser with Cabinet rank. Waltz will take his seat in the 119th Congress on Jan. 3, only to resign 17 days later on Jan. 20 to assume his new office, which does not require Senate confirmation. Similarly, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) will also resign from office should her nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations be confirmed by the Senate.

It’s highly likely that special elections to these seats will yield Republican winners, given their partisan rating and electoral history.

One former House Republican, Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), was nominated for the role of attorney general by Trump but withdrew shortly afterward amid heavy opposition to his nomination. Gaetz resigned from the 118th Congress immediately after he was nominated and, despite his withdrawal, has announced he will not take his seat in the 119th Congress. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) has already announced plans to hold special elections for the seats held by Gaetz and Waltz.

The immediate departures of Waltz and Gaetz and the expected departure of Stefanik will mean the conference has a zero-seat majority of 217 members in a 432-member House. During this time, Republicans will need every single member of the conference to vote with the party in order to pass legislation, and a sudden vacancy may unexpectedly give House Democrats the majority.

Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the FBI, was recently informed by the bureau that he had been targeted as part of an Iranian hack, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Hackers are believed to have accessed at least some of Patel’s communications, according to one of the sources.

Trump transition spokesman Alex Pfeiffer declined to comment specifically on the hack in a statement to CNN.

“Kash Patel was a key part of the first Trump administration’s efforts against the terrorist Iranian regime and will implement President Trump’s policies to protect America from adversaries as the FBI Director,” Pfeiffer said in the statement.

Members of Trump’s inner circle have been targeted by foreign hackers in recent months. Last month, the FBI informed Todd Blanche, one of Trump’s lead attorneys and now his pick to be deputy attorney general, that his cellphone was tapped by Chinese hackers, three sources familiar with the matter previously told CNN. The Chinese government has denied US allegations that it is behind that hack.

Blanche was the second Trump attorney believed to be targeted by foreign hackers. CNN reported in August that attorney Lindsey Halligan was targeted as part of a separate Iranian hacking effort.

Donald Trump Jr. has also said he was notified by the FBI that he was “one of the top targets” of Iran.

Iran has for several years targeted members of Trump’s first administration and more recently sent information they stole from his presidential campaign to people who were affiliated with President Joe Biden’s campaign this summer.

In June, Iranian hackers breached the email account of longtime Trump ally Roger Stone and used the account to try to break into a senior Trump campaign official’s email, investigators have said.

The Iranian government has denied US allegations that it was trying to meddle in the November election.

President-elect Donald Trump announced several more additions to his incoming administration on Wednesday, including his choices for Army secretary, trade adviser, hostage envoy and NASA administrator.

Daniel P. Driscoll of North Carolina, a U.S. Army veteran and venture capitalist, will serve as secretary of the Army. Driscoll is a senior adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance who fought with the 10th Mountain Division as a Cavalry Scout Platoon Leader in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“I am pleased to nominate Daniel P. Driscoll, from the Great State of North Carolina, to serve as the Secretary of the Army. As a former Soldier, Investor, and Political Advisor, Dan brings a powerful combination of experiences to serve as a disruptor and change agent,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Peter Navarro, who previously served as Trump’s trade adviser in the president-elect’s first term, will resume that role. Navarro returns to the White House as senior counsel for Trade and Manufacturing after his conviction on a misdemeanor contempt of Congress charge, for which he served four months in a federal prison.

“I am pleased to announce that Peter Navarro, a man who was treated horribly by the Deep State, or whatever else you would like to call it, will serve as my Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “During my First Term, few were more effective or tenacious than Peter in enforcing my two sacred rules, Buy American, Hire American. He helped me renegotiate unfair Trade Deals like NAFTA and the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), and moved every one of my Tariff and Trade actions FAST….”

Adam Boehler, a businessman and former government official, will be Trump’s special presidential envoy for Hostage Affairs, with the rank of ambassador. Boehler previously served as the first CEO of the United States Development Finance Corporation and had worked with the Trump administration to negotiate the Abraham Accords.

“He has negotiated with some of the toughest people in the World, including the Taliban, but Adam knows that NO ONE is tougher than the United States of America, at least when President Trump is its Leader. Adam will work tirelessly to bring our Great American Citizens HOME,” Trump said.

Continuing, Trump picked billionaire Jared Isaacman to head up NASA. Isaacman is a private astronaut and associate of Elon Musk, who will lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Isaacman is CEO of the payment processing company Shift4Payments and leads Polaris, a program that uses SpaceX vehicles to conduct private astronaut missions in orbit.

“I am delighted to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut, as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),’ Trump said.

“Over the past 25 years, as the Founder and CEO of Shift4, Jared has demonstrated exceptional leadership, building a trailblazing global financial technology company. He also co-founded and served as CEO of Draken International, a defense aerospace company, for over a decade, supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, and our Allies. Jared’s passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era.”

In subsequent social media posts, Trump announced that Gail Slater would serve as assistant attorney general for the antitrust division at the Justice Department, and Dr. Michael William Faulkender will serve as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Additionally, Trump selected Monica Crowley, a former assistant treasury secretary and former Fox News analyst, to serve as ambassador, assistant secretary of state and chief of protocol for the United States of America. He also named his personal lawyer, David A. Warrington, to serve as the next head of the Office of White House Counsel, the chief attorney for the White House.

Willam McGinley, a former White House Cabinet secretary from Trump’s first term, will also serve as counsel to the Department of Government Efficiency. Additionally, Paul Atkins, CEO of Patomak Global Partners, will be tapped as the next Securities and Exchange Commission chairman.

President Joe Biden is on a trip to Angola this week, and it appeared that during one of his events in the African country, his travel across the Atlantic Ocean left him with some jet lag.

During a meeting with African leaders at the Lobito Corridor Trans-Africa Summit on Wednesday, Biden appeared to monetarily fall asleep. The president closed his eyes multiple times as other leaders and officials spoke, and at times, his head appeared to drift into sleep as his eyes remained closed.

Watch:

Biden just fell asleep smack in the middle of a summit with African leaders pic.twitter.com/fs692GkE1A

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 4, 2024

Biden’s apparent sleep episodes were brief, and come near the end of a whirlwind trip to Angola which saw him visit with Angolan President Joao Lourenco and visit the country’s National Museum of Slavery. The president arrived in Angola Monday and is leaving the country, which is six hours ahead of Washington, D.C., Wednesday. Biden is expected to arrive back at the White House Thursday.

During the summit, Biden announced the U.S. would invest another $600 million into the rail corridor which goes across the African continent, including upgrading the railroad and helping with development of the corridor.

“The United States understands that how we invest in Africa is just as important as how much we invest in Africa,” Biden said at the summit.

“The Leaders discussed the transformative impact the Lobito Trans-Africa Corridor has had on enhancing access to the critical minerals needed for the clean energy transition and digital connectivity, strengthening food security, boosting regional trade, and empowering communities all along the Corridor,” a White House readout of the meeting said.

Biden’s trip to Africa comes more than a month before he leaves the White House on Jan. 20, and will be one of his final international trips before his term expires.

The president’s sleep was a topic of discussion following his poor debate performance against now-President-elect Donald Trump in June.

A report from the New York Times in July claimed that the president told Democratic governors he needed more sleep and fewer events after 8 p.m., and would be fine to continue his reelection bid. Later that month, Biden dropped his bid for a second term.

Tucker Carlson has travelled to Moscow to interview the Russian Foreign Minister, expressing concern at a lack of communication is leading the world to a potential “nuclear holocaust”, and stating his anger at the U.S. government preventing him from hearing both sides of the story by blocking an interview with Ukrainian President Zelensky.

Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden is accelerating towards the possibility of nuclear war between America and Russia, “back channel” de-escalation methods developed during the Cold War are being ignored, and the U.S. government has blocked repeated requests to interview Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, broadcaster Tucker Carlson said as he revealed a new Russia interview overnight. Speaking in a trailer for the forthcoming broadcast with Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s top diplomat, Carlson revealed he’d travelled to Moscow for the discussion and that he’d found the interview “absolutely fascinating”.

The Russian government confirmed the interview has been recorded, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova saying it was “quite long, over an hour and a half” and that it would have to be translated before broadcast. On the topics covered, she said the discussion touched on the state of Russian-U.S. relations, the Ukraine War, and “global geopolitics”.

Zakharova also made clear the Russian government’s own view on the nature and purpose of the war was expressed by her boss Lavrov, including allegations — common to Russia’s rhetoric over the conflict — that Ukraine was committing terrorist attacks against civilians.

The interview with Foreign Minister Lavrov comes ten months after Carlson became the first Western journalist to have a sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the renewed Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Carlson was criticised by many legacy media outlets for even speaking to Putin, to which he replied at the time: “it’s our job. We’re in journalism. Our duty is to inform people”, and said he was also trying to interview Ukraine’s President Zelensky.

Kyiv later forcefully slapped down the suggestion they’d talk to Carlson at all, implying he was an Russian asset. Yet today Carlson said the limiting factor on having such a conversation with Zelensky himself was not the Ukrainian government, but the United States. Carlson said:

…we’ve also tried for over a year to get an interview with Zelensky, the President of Ukraine. We’ve attacked that from a bunch of different angles, we’ve spoken to a lot of different people around him, had dinner with them, we’ve been in talks continuously. And those efforts have been thwarted by the U.S. government. The American embassy in Kyiv, which our tax dollars pay for, told the Zelensky government no, you may not do the interview. You can talk to CNN, but you can’t talk to us. So we’ve been unable to speak to him.

The likelihood of Carlson coming under fire from the legacy media this time around is also dampened by establishment broadcaster CNN publishing an interview of their own with Lavrov’s subordinate, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov on Wednesday.

Perhaps the key theme in Carlson’s remarks is the importance of communication, both in the sense of allowing journalists to do their jobs to shine light on all players in the Ukraine drama, but also in preventing nuclear war itself by keeping the U.S. and Russia talking to each other. Carlson expressed alarm at the idea that there was no senior person in Washington trying to de-escalate, and that there was no contact between Washington and Moscow whatsoever. He said: “Tony Blinken, the Secretary of State, cut off all contact between the U.S. and Russian governments. There is no back channel, there is no conversation, there hasn’t been for more than two years. That’s shocking.”

On the United States suddenly ploughing forward with allowing Ukraine to launch strikes into the Russian hinterland with U.S.-provided missiles after the election of President Trump, Carlson said this was bringing the world closer to nuclear war even than during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He said of President Biden’s apparent decision: “It has accelerated ever since and it has reached its apogee so far in the weeks after Trump’s election… just a few weeks ago, the Biden administration, American military personnel launched missiles into mainland Russia and killed at least a dozen Russian soldiers. So we are, unbeknownst to most Americans, in a hot war with Russia, undeclared war.”

Tucker Carlson said the interview would be published “very soon” but did not name a date.

We’re back in Moscow. Here’s why. pic.twitter.com/7FfBhcaIUu

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) December 3, 2024

Sergei Lavrov has been the foreign minister of Russia since 2004 and is a career diplomat. As reported at Breitbart News, he has been heavily involved in Russia’s campaign to attempt to dissuade the West from supporting Ukraine through threats of retaliation. He has also appeared abroad as a deputy for President Putin since the Russian head of state was issued with an International Arrest Warrant.

In November, Lavrov criticised President Biden for deliberately trying to “muck things up” for President Trump’s forthcoming second term, saying the outgoing leader was trying to “leave as negative a legacy as possible for the next administration”. In June, he said Russia would consider any NATO troops deployed to Ukraine fair game, stating they “represent a legitimate target for our armed forces”.

Several top Veterans Affairs officials in Tennessee resigned as an internal investigation and a broader congressional probe into alleged sexual misconduct intensified, Breitbart News has reported.

Congressional investigators discovered that one man who resigned, whose name they would not tell Breitbart News but sources familiar say was a bargaining unit biomedical employee, had dozens of sexual relationships with women who worked at the Mountain Home VA medical center in Tennessee. In fact, the congressional investigators told Breitbart News this one man slept with no fewer than 32 different women who worked there—and the man and several of the women bragged about their exploits on an online group forum on a government communication portal that VA officials use to communicate about veteran healthcare and facility operations.

What’s more, sources familiar with the congressional investigation told Breitbart News they uncovered that an orgy of at least 12 officials who work at the facility took place. It’s unclear at this time whether the orgy happened on government property at the VA facility or off-site—but the mere fact that a dozen of the government workers employed there did this is astounding.

Regardless of the location of the orgy, at least two employees of the facility admitted having sex on the grounds of the VA hospital.

“The fact that the culture would even allow this to happen in the first place is absolutely wild and it all starts at the top,” a senior congressional aide familiar with the facts of the ongoing investigation told Breitbart News on Tuesday.

This scandal threatens to upend the closing days of outgoing Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration and could engulf senior officials like VA Secretary Denis McDonough. McDonough was former President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff for Obama’s second term before Biden later named him to be the VA Secretary in this administration. Former President Donald Trump, now the president-elect again as he won the 2024 presidential election in a landslide, has named former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) to lead the VA in his incoming administration. Collins may find serious issues from the Biden administration to clean up on this front as he takes office after he presumably is confirmed by the U.S. Senate early next year.

In addition to the biomedical employee—the man who investigators say had sex with 32 different women who work there—several other officials have also resigned as the investigations have intensified. The director of the Mountain Home facility also resigned, and at least two other employees there have resigned.

The story first surfaced in the summer as the House Committee on Veterans Affairs announced through chairman Rep. Michael Bost (R-IL) sending a letter to McDonough that the committee was investigating the matter. Later, in September, Bost pressed for more information and asked more questions on the matter.

Bost wrote to McDonough in September that since his initial letter in July that “whistleblowers have been in communication with Committee staff and provided further details on the allegations and information regarding additional allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and improper interpersonal relationships at the Mountain Home VA, which facility leadership allegedly did not address properly, that were previously unknown to Committee staff.”

“This new information is extremely disturbing and leads the Committee to believe there may be a serious culture problem at the Mountain Home VA,” Bost wrote.

The investigation spans both sides of Capitol Hill, as a local news report from September on the matter noted that Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)—who represents the state affected by this obviously—was supportive of the probe into the misconduct.

“The allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault at the VA Medical Center in Mountain Home are serious and disgusting, and American taxpayers deserve thorough and immediate answers from the Inspector General’s ongoing investigation,” Blackburn said at the time. “This is not the first time the VA has been the subject of scandal under the Biden-Harris administration, and any responsible parties must be held accountable.”

Congressional investigators are closing in now on more on this, and details are likely to keep seeping out into the public. It’s also unclear if this culture of depravity is something that extends beyond this one VA facility in Tennessee to other hospitals and facilities nationwide.

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.