Trump shaping administration as Stein presses for recounts

President-elect Donald Trump is connecting with foreign leaders and considering new Cabinet-prospects Friday as he gathers with family for a long Thanksgiving weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate. As the incoming president looks ahead, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein made progress on her push to force recounts in three Midwestern battleground states that fueled Trump's stunning victory.

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump spent the Thanksgiving holiday at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Thursday, dining with his family at the Florida golf club after revisiting a campaign pledge he made about restoring American manufacturing. Trump, known for his use of Twitter to drive political debate, tweeted about an Indiana air conditioner maker he featured in his election campaign as an emblem of trade deals he said were unfavorable to American workers.

For Democrats, the road back

One of the more salutary outcomes of the recent election is that Democrats are finally beginning to question the wisdom of basing their fortunes on identity politics. Having counted on the allegiance of African-Americans, Hispanics, gays, unmarried women and the young - and winning the popular vote all but once since 1992 - they were seduced into believing that they could ride this "coalition of the ascendant" into permanent command of the presidency.

Trump scorned Roberts but could need his Supreme Court vote

It's a safe bet that when Chief Justice John Roberts and Donald Trump meet outside the Capitol on Inauguration Day, Roberts won't ask why Trump said terrible things about him. Come Jan. 20, Roberts will administer the oath of office, the two men will shake hands and then Roberts will recede into the background.

Jeb: GOP Should Build on Trump’s Success

Established Republicans can learn from Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election and should build on his success, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush argues in The Wall Street Journal . Bush, who was part of the crowded field of 17 Republicans vying for the presidential nomination, was often the target of Trump's arguments that Washington was broken - a point Bush makes in his opinion piece.

Betsy DeVos, Trump’s education pick, has deep ties to Christian Reformed community

President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would nominate Betsy DeVos, a billionaire philanthropist with deep ties to the Christian Reformed community in Michigan, as his education secretary. DeVos is politically known in Michigan for her push for private school voucher programs, a position that has been controversial within public education circles.

Jill Stein says she’s raised enough money for Wis., Pa. election recounts

President-elect Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos pose for photographs at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J., on Nov. 19, 2016. President-elect Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos pose for photographs at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J., on Nov. 19, 2016.

Trump says he’s trying to save jobs in US

FILE - In this Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016, file photo, President-elect Donald Trump, left, stands with investor Wilbur Ross after meeting at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J. Trump is poised to ... . In this Jan. 8, 2015 photo, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley along with her family, husband Michael, daughter Rena, and son Nalin sit for a portrait in the drawing room of the Governor's Mansion, in Columbia, S.C. President-ele... PALM BEACH, Fla.

NY’s Cuomo Finds Common Ground with Trump on Infrastructure

President-elect Donald Trump has made big promises when it comes to building new highways, tunnels, bridges and airports in America - and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is hoping he makes good on his word. Cuomo has embarked on projects to rebuild Penn Station and LaGuardia and Kennedy airports, and to replace the aging Tappan Zee Bridge.

Obama Urged to Free Asylum-Seekers Before Trump Takes Office

Immigration advocates are asking the Obama administration to release thousands of detained Central American women and children who want asylum in the U.S., citing concerns that Donald Trump will deport them after his inauguration in January. Representatives of groups including the Women's Refugee Commission and the American Immigration Lawyers Association met with White House officials last week to discuss a host of immigration issues, including the fate of about 4,000 Central American detainees, some as young as two years old, who have fled violence in their home countries.

Trump chooses racial conciliator in UN pick Nikki Haley

In this Oct., 4, 2014 file photo, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, right, and her husband Michael Haley, left, listen to early election results at the Haley campaign headquarters, in Columbia, S.C. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Gov. Haley as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the first woman tapped for a top-level administration post during his White House transition so far. FILE - In this Jan. 14, 2015 file photo, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is escorted down the steps of the Capitol by her husband Michael, in Columbia, S.C. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Haley as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the first woman tapped for a top-level administration post during his White House transition so far.

Nov. 25: Trump and racism, Hamilton and immigration

Rockaway Beach: Brooklyn College Professor Ron Howell's Op-Ed was a bunch of nonsense. Are progressive liberals now mind readers? Are their thoughts of what another person may, or may not be thinking, now considered fact? What makes it acceptable for African-Americans to vote 95% for a black man, largely in part because he's black, but simply ruled an act of racism for whites who voted for Donald Trump? Which by the way, are some of the very same whites who pulled the lever for Obama - twice! Howell states that it was the educated whites as well as the ignorant ones who voted for a race-baiter.

[Other view] How Trump can help Medicaid

President-elect Donald Trump has already stepped back from his campaign pledge to entirely repeal Obamacare, saying he'll keep a couple of the law's popular insurance protections. Soon enough, certain governors in his own party can be expected to argue that it would also be smart to retain the law's most successful component: the expansion of Medicaid.

Donald Trump should think through Russian policy

Under president Obama, relations with Moscow plummeted to depths lower than those that brought on his administration's attempt at a so-called "reset." Now, Trump hopes to capitalize on the increasingly vocal sentiments of Americans on the unorthodox right and left who worried that Hillary Clinton and other "globalists" wanted continued conflict or outright war with the former superpower.