World/National Archives - Page 33 of 74

Infowars auction could determine whether Alex Jones is kicked off its platforms

It’s auction day for Alex Jones’ Infowars. The Infowars studio and most other assets of the conspiracy theorist’s company were expected to be sold off Wednesday. The proceeds will help pay the nearly $1.5 billion in defamation lawsuit judgments Jones owes families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut for calling the massacre a hoax. Jones says Infowars could be shut down if opponents win the bidding. Sealed bids were scheduled to be opened Wednesday morning. There was no immediate announcement of the results. Jones says he has set up a new studio, websites and social media accounts just in case.… Continue Reading

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts to a mixed finish after an inflation update

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish after the latest inflation update boosted hopes that more help for the economy will arrive next month from another cut to interest rates. The S&P 500 ended little changed Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3%. Treasury yields were also mixed after a report said the inflation that U.S. consumers felt last month was exactly as economists expected. That strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates for a third time this year in about a month and sent short-term Treasury yields lower.… Continue Reading

Republican John Thune of South Dakota is elected the next Senate majority leader

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John Thune has won an internal election among Republican senators to become the chamber’s next majority leader. It makes the South Dakota Republican a key partner on Capitol Hill to President-elect Donald Trump. Thune beat out two other competitors, Sens. John Cornyn and Rick Scott, by gaining majority support from GOP senators in a secret ballot vote. Republicans are replacing Sen. Mitch McConnell, the longest serving Senate party leader, as they prepare to take majority control of the Senate with the 53 seats they won in last week’s elections. Like McConnell, Thune hails from the Republican Party’s traditional wing. He has held the Republican whip position since 2019.… Continue Reading

Trump makes a victor’s return to Washington and pledges a ‘smooth’ transition of power from Biden

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has made a victor’s return to Washington. He’s holding a lengthy Oval Office meeting Wednesday with President Joe Biden and committing to a straightforward transition of power. The meeting comes as the Republican president-elect is moving quickly to build out his new administration. “Donald, congratulations,” Biden said, greeting Trump with a handshake in the Oval Office and adding that he looked “forward to a smooth transition.” Trump also pledged a smooth transition and expressed thanks to Biden for the invitation — one that Trump himself had not extended to Biden after losing the 2020 election.… Continue Reading

GM recalling big pickups and SUVs because the rear wheels can lock up, increasing risk of a crash

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is recalling nearly 462,000 pickup trucks and SUVs with diesel engines because the rear wheels can lock up, increasing the risk of a crash. The recall in the U.S. covers certain Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups from 2020 through 2022. Also included are the 2021 Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban. GM says in government documents that a transmission control valve can wear out over time. In rare cases it can fail and lock up the wheels. GM says dealers will install software to monitor the valve and detect excess wear before the wheels can lock up. GM will provide warranty coverage to fix transmissions with defective valves. Owners will be notified by letter Dec. 9.… Continue Reading

Trump’s defense choice stuns the Pentagon and raises questions about the Fox News host’s experience

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has stunned the Pentagon and the broader defense world by nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to be defense secretary. Trump has picked someone who’s largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage to take over the world’s largest and most powerful military. The news Tuesday was met with bewilderment and worry among many in Washington. Trump passed on a number of established national security heavy-hitters and chose an Army National Guard officer who’s well known in conservative circles as a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend.” He could bring sweeping changes. Hegseth opposes “woke” programs that promote inclusion and he questions the role of women in combat.… Continue Reading

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts as the Trump trade cools

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting as some momentum comes out of the torrid “Trump trade” that swept Wall Street following Donald Trump’s presidential victory. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% Tuesday, coming off its latest record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 139 points, and the Nasdaq composite was flat. Smaller U.S. stocks slipped in a turnaround from their rocket ride higher after Trump’s election raised expectations for economic growth and inflation. Even Tesla, which is run by Trump’s ally Elon Musk, is on track for its first drop since before Election Day. Yields rose as trading for U.S. government bonds resumed following Veterans Day.… Continue Reading

Trump on Day 1: Begin deportation push, pardon Jan. 6 rioters and make his criminal cases vanish

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has ambitious Day 1 plans for when he moves back into the White House in January. His list includes starting mass deportations of migrants and rolling back Biden administration policies on education. He’s also promising to reshape the federal government by firing potentially thousands of federal workers he believes are secretly working against him. Trump wants to pardon those arrested for their role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. And he wants to make the federal criminal cases against him go away. When Trump took office in 2017, he had a long Day 1 list, too. But not everything on that list happened right away.… Continue Reading

FAA prohibits US airlines from flying to Haiti for 30 days after plane was shot by gangs

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration is prohibiting U.S. airlines from flying to Haiti for 30 days after gangs shot at a Spirit Airlines flight. The bullets hit the plane when it was about to land Monday in the country’s capital Port-au-Prince, hitting a flight attendant. It was part of a wave of violence that erupted in Haiti as the country swore in its new prime minister after a politically tumultuous process. The United Nations estimates that gangs control 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.… Continue Reading

Trump has promised to ‘save TikTok’. What happens next is less clear

After a tumultuous year filled with anxiety and a legal fight about its future in the U.S., TikTok may have just been thrown a lifeline by the man who was once its biggest foe. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly pledged during his most recent campaign to oppose a ban on the short-form video app. For months, TikTok, and its China-based parent company ByteDance, have been embroiled in a legal battle with the U.S. over a federal law that forces them to cut ties or face a ban. If the courts uphold the law, it would fall on Trump’s Justice Department to enforce the statute. Trump could try different things to prevent the app from disappearing, including finding an buyer for it.… Continue Reading