Trump tells 37 people on death row with commuted sentences to ‘go to hell’

On Truth Social, president-elect also lashes out at Chinese troops in Panama Canal and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau

Donald Trump has told 37 people on death row who had their sentences commuted by Joe Biden to “go to hell” in a lacerating Christmas Day social media post.

The president-elect – long a vocal advocate of capital punishment – lashed out at Biden’s decision on his Truth Social platform, after wishing a merry Christmas to political opponents he addressed as “Radical Left Lunatics”.

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Biden library reportedly under threat by Democrats enraged by Hunter pardon

Senior party figures consider withholding contributions to presidential library to express anger at pardon for son

Senior Democrats are reportedly considering withholding contributions to Joe Biden’s future presidential library amid a mounting backlash over his decision grant a blanket pardon to his son Hunter.

The threat has emerged as simmering anger among congressional Democrats – already building over the president’s insistence on seeking a second term before belatedly stepping aside as the party nominee in favour of Kamala Harris – has burst into the open over Sunday’s pardon, which Biden had previously vowed not to give.

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Top House Democrat calls on Biden to pardon ‘working-class Americans’

Hakeem Jeffries calls for ‘high level of compassion’ towards people in prison after president pardoned son Hunter

The top Democrat in the US House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, has called on Joe Biden to pardon some “working-class Americans” after the president faced criticism for pardoning his son Hunter.

“During his final weeks in office, President Biden should exercise the high level of compassion he has consistently demonstrated throughout his life, including toward his son, and pardon on a case-by-case basis the working-class Americans in the federal prison system whose lives have been ruined by unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses,” Jeffries said in a statement.

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Trump team signs agreement on background checks for nominees; lawyers push for hush-money case dismissal – as it happened

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Notre Dame Cathedral will reopen in Paris on Saturday with incoming US president Donald Trump set to attend the ceremony marking the resurrection of the Gothic masterpiece five years after a devastating fire.

The Republican confirmed Monday he had accepted an invitation from French president Emmanuel Macron to attend the grand re-opening of the 850-year-old edifice which was nearly lost to flames in April 2019.

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Trump says he will block Nippon Steel’s $14.9bn bid to acquire US Steel

Acquisition of Pittsburgh-based steel producer by Japanese company has faced opposition from steelworkers and Biden

Donald Trump said on Monday that he intends to block Japan’s Nippon Steel’s $14.9bn bid to acquire US Steel in a move that will fuel further fears about a global trade war when the Republican returns to the White House next month.

“I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan” the US president-elect said in a statement on Monday, adding: “Through a series of Tax Incentives and Tariffs, we will make U.S. Steel Strong and Great Again, and it will happen FAST! As President, I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!”

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Joe Biden addresses America’s ‘original sin’ of slavery on Angola visit

US president remembers ‘stolen men and women and children brought to our shores’ and lauds American investment in country

Joe Biden addressed America’s history of enslavement in a speech on Tuesday at Angola’s National Museum of Slavery, calling it “our nation’s original sin” during a trip in which he also lauded recent US investment in the region.

“We remember the stolen men and women and children who were brought to our shores in chains, subjected to unimaginable cruelty,” Biden said, as the sun set over the water behind him.

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Special counsel defends prosecution of Hunter Biden as more Democrats signal discomfort with pardon – as it happened

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President-elect Donald Trump - as we reported earlier - responded angrily to Joe Biden’s pardon.

But he himself pardoned several allies and friends in own final days in office among the 70 people granted clemency in 2021.

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With his pardon of son Hunter, Joe Biden delivers a heartfelt hypocrisy

The president and supporters argue Hunter Biden would never have been charged were it not for his name – and any father might have done the same. But this exercise of power also looks like a validation of Donald Trump

A loving act of mercy by a father who has already known much sorrow? Or a hypocritical political manoeuvre reminiscent of his great foe? Maybe both can be true.

Joe Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he had pardoned his son Hunter, who is facing sentencing in two criminal cases, is likely to have been the product of a Shakespearean struggle between head and heart.

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Joe Biden’s statement on his decision to pardon Hunter – in full

Joe Biden has issued ‘a full and unconditional’ pardon to his son Hunter Biden, in a reversal for the president

Joe Biden has issued a pardon for his son Hunter. Here is his statement in full:

Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted. Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form. Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.

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Democrats win California House seat from Republican incumbent – as it happened

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Leavitt wrote that the threats transpired Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, and included bomb threats and swatting, which refers to false reports of a crime to prompt police raids on a person’s home.

Law enforcement “acted quickly,” wrote Leavitt, adding that “President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action.”

Leavitt did not say who specifically was targeted.

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Democrats criticize Harris for ‘self-congratulatory’ review of election loss

Top campaign staff also under fire for saying party has to ‘dominate the moderate’ in Pod Save America appearance

Some Democratic figures have accused Kamala Harris’s campaign of being self-congratulatory after a series of recent public appearances from the candidate and her senior staff in which they declined to admit making any errors that could have contributed to her defeat.

Some of the criticism was aimed at Harris herself, following a video call to thank campaign donors in which the vice-president expressed pride in her failed race for the White House.

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Biden administration claims win with Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire – but will it hold?

Peace is shaky at best, as Israel will still strike targets in Lebanon and a power transition looms in the US

The Biden administration has claimed the long-awaited ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel as a diplomatic triumph achieved under tremendous pressure during a lame-duck period with a hostile Donald Trump administration waiting in the wings.

Speaking from a lectern in the Rose Garden of the White House, Joe Biden called the result “historic” and said that it “reminds us that peace is possible”. It would return civilians to their homes, he said, and had “determined this conflict will not be just another cycle of violence”.

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China releases three US citizens held for years in prisoner swap

Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung freed after Biden administration forges rare agreement with Beijing

Three American citizens imprisoned for years by China have been released in a prisoner swap, the White House has said, announcing a rare diplomatic agreement with Beijing in the final months of the Biden administration.

The three are Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung, all of whom had been designated by the US government as wrongfully detained. Swidan had been facing a death sentence on drug charges while Li and Leung were imprisoned on espionage charges.

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Trump’s incoming ‘border czar’ promises secure southern US border – as it happened

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Donald Trump has used the fentanyl crisis gripping the US to support his ambition to impose trade tariffs on China. It gives the incoming US president an opportunity to both appear to be addressing the narcotics emergency, while also reinforcing one of his key aims in terms of US trade.

China is the dominant source of chemical precursors used by Mexican cartels to produce fentanyl, while Chinese money launderers have also become key players in the international drug trade, US authorities say.

Trump has said that, as soon as he gets into office, he will impose a 25% tariff on “ALL products coming into the United States” from Mexico and Canada.

He says the tariffs will remain in place until both countries clamp down on migrants and drugs crossing the border into the US.

Trump also says he will impose a further 10% tariff “above any additional tariffs” on all products coming into the US from China.

It was not entirely clear what this would mean for China as Trump has previously pledged to end China’s most-favoured-nation trading status and slap tariffs on Chinese imports in excess of 60% - much higher than those imposed during his first term.

The reasons for the China tariff, Trump said, was their failure to curb the supply of drugs into the US. China is a major producer of the chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl.

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What are the terms of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire and will it succeed?

A truce between Israel and the Lebanese militant group has come into effect after 14 months of fighting

A ceasefire to end 14 months of fighting between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah has come into effect, with Lebanese civilians already returning to the devastated south of the country.

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China and Canada respond to Trump’s tariff threats and border comments – as it happened

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Corey Lewandowski, an adviser to Donald Trump, has said that he and the president-elect have “no concerns at all” regarding Pete Hegseth’s confirmation by the Senate as the next US secretary of defense.

During an appearance on NewsMax, Lewandowski was asked if Trump had any concerns about Hegseth and his nomination, to which Lewandowski responded: “We have no concerns at all.”

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Biden will attend Trump’s inauguration in January, says White House

US president and Jill Biden to attend swearing-in of Trump, who did not attend Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will attend Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, a White House spokesperson said on Monday.

“The president promised that he would attend the inauguration of whomever won the election,” said Andrew Bates, senior deputy press secretary at the White House, Reuters reported.

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Ukrainian boxing champ Wladimir Klitschko calls out Rogan for ‘repeating Russian propaganda’

Olympic gold medalist argues in video that podcaster’s remarks about war in Ukraine is result of Putin-led plot

The podcaster Joe Rogan is “repeating Russian propaganda” about the war in Ukraine, the former world heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko charged in remarks on social media, adding that Rogan should invite him on his podcast to discuss the issue “like free men”.

“I listen to your latest podcast,” said Klitschko, whose brother Vitali Klitschko was also a world champion boxer and is now mayor of Kyiv.

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Will the Ukraine missile crisis change the course of the war?

While Putin conducts his missile diplomacy, restrictions around the use of long-range weapons may help Kyiv

In Kyiv, as autumn turns fast turns to winter, Ukrainians in the government describe a vacuum before the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House on 20 January that will be filled by more war as both sides jockey for advantage. “Trump has said he wants to end the war within 24 hours. Nobody is more interested in this topic than Ukraine,” a senior official told the Guardian.

“But the problem is, for the moment, everything is just speculation. Will it be the first peace plan, the second plan, the first variant, the 10th variant?” they said. Ukraine is in “a difficult but not catastrophic position” and has little choice but to fight on and perhaps show Trump that backing Kyiv is not a losing bet.

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Outcry over stalemate on Gaetz report; Trump reportedly considering Martin Makary for FDA – US politics live

Democrat Susan Wild says committee chair Michael Guest mischaracterized meeting and committee will reconvene in December; Markary opposed Covid vaccine mandates

The Federal Reserve must not remove Wells Fargo’s $1.95tn asset cap until the bank has fixed its risk management and compliance issues, top Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren told the US central bank on Wednesday, reports Reuters.

In a letter to Fed chair, Jerome Powell, and the central bank’s regulatory chief, Michael Barr, Warren said the Fed must reject Wells Fargo reported appeal to have the punishment imposed in 2018 lifted until it “can show that it can properly manage the risks associated with running a large bank”.

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