Trump chooses hardliners but talks softer on immigration

Donald Trump embraced new Cabinet officers Wednesday whose backgrounds suggest he's primed to put tough actions behind his campaign rhetoric on immigration and the environment, even as he seemed to soften his yearlong stance on immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. It's clearer by the day, underscored by Trump's at-times contradictory words, that his actual policies as president won't be settled until after he takes his seat in the Oval Office.

Trumps taps retired Marine general for homeland security

President-elect Donald Trump and U.S. Marine Corps General John Kelly emerge from the clubhouse following their meeting at Trump International Golf Club, November 20, 2016 in Bedminster Township, New Jersey. Trump and his transition team are in the process of filling cabinet and other high level positions for the new administration.

Obama’s Outgoing Attitude on War and Terrorism: Do as He Says, Not as He Did

It looks like President Barack Obama will be leaving office the same way he arrived: overestimating his actual commitment to rule of law and government transparency. That's one takeaway from the president's counterterrorism speech at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa Florida, yesterday.

‘Time’ names Donald Trump its Person of the Year

The billionaire real estate mogul and reality TV star became the unlikely Republican nominee for president among a field of 17 former governors, senators and other candidates. He then shocked pollsters who had shown Hillary Clinton ahead in the general election, getting more than the 270 electoral votes needed to be named the country's next commander-in-chief.

China Calls Iowa’s Branstad ‘Old Friend’ After Report He Picked As Ambassador

China said on Wednesday the governor of the U.S. state of Iowa, Terry Branstad, was an "old friend" after a report that he had accepted an offer from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to become the next U.S. ambassador to China. "We welcome him to play a greater role in advancing the development of China-U.S. relations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a daily press briefing when asked about the Bloomberg report.

Donald Trump is Time’s ‘Person of the Year’

Donald Trump is Time's 'Person of the Year' President-elect complained about being passed over last year Check out this story on pal-item.com: http://usat.ly/2gT3eW8 The magazine named the president-elect the year's most significant person a year after passing him over for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, drawing complains from the then-candidate. Accepting what he called the "great honor" for this year on NBC's Today show, Trump said he will wait a few more days to make his own announcement: His choice for secretary of State.

Pence claims mandate for incoming Trump administration

Vice President-elect Mike Pence claimed a governing mandate for the incoming White House, calling on Republican activists to help the Trump administration pass an ambitiously conservative agenda. The Indiana governor made little reference to still-simmering national divides in his Tuesday evening remarks before top donors of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that's working closely with Donald Trump's transition effort.

More Essential Than Ever: Leonard Cohen Stands Before “The Lord of Song”

A famous singer songwriter dies, someone you never found time to appreciate, so you go back and start listening and recognize the distant music you heard long ago walking through the fairgrounds of rock, a snatch of song coming from over there, not far, just a whisper away if you'd taken another turn somewhere between Van Morrison and David Bowie.

Taiwan Paid Bob Dole to Lobby Trump for Months

Former Kansas senator and onetime GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole didn't just arrange the phone call between Donald Trump and Taiwan's President last week; he spent months making sure it would happen. Taiwan paid Alston & Bird, the law firm where Dole works, $140,000 from May to October of this year so that the 93-year-old would lobby Trump on its behalf, Politico says.

Poll: Racial vulnerability linked to youth vote choice

In this Nov. 9, 2016 file photo, supporters of President-elect Donald Trump cheer during as they watch election returns during an election night rally in New York. Among the youngest white adult Americans, feelings of racial and economic vulnerability appear to be closely connected to their support for Donald Trump in last month's election.

News Analysis: President-elect Trump will likely shake up U.S. foreign policy

President-elect Donald Trump is likely to shake up U.S. foreign policy on a number of fronts, and may take action on areas such as Russia, Cuba and the Korean Peninsula, according to experts. Trump shocked the world last month when he pulled off a surprise victory against rival Hillary Clinton and clinched the White House, proving wrong the vast majority of polls and experts who predicted that Clinton would be the next president.

Santa Ana declares itself asanctuary city in defiance of Trump

Santa Ana City Council members voted Tuesday to declare Orange County's second-most populous city a sanctuary city - a largely symbolic gesture to protect immigrants who are in the country illegally. The move is in direct defiance of President-elect Donald Trump, who was critical of illegal immigration and sanctuary cities during his campaign.

Trump, the Know-Nothing Victor

At least least there's one country where elections produce swift results. Since Donald Trump's victory, the Mexican peso has collapsed, the cost of mortgages has risen in France, the European Commission has eased its demand for budget austerity, Japan feels encouraged to re-arm, Israel is hoping that the US embassy will move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, opinion pollsters and proponents of campaign micro-targeting have kept their heads down, what little remained of journalistic credibility is all but gone - and the Trans-Pacific Partnership is dead.

Commentary: Trump has effective energy ideas

Who knows, but there's at least a chance that President-elect Donald Trump could help save the world from global warming and, on top of that, from global warming alarmists with other means of doing harm. He is against President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan, which has the following faults: 1) It would cost consumers a fortune and save relatively little.