Certification halted for North Carolina Supreme Court race

 

Tuesday, January 7 As the inauguration approaches, we remain committed to holding the next administration accountable. Our focus will always be on putting readers first — sign up to become a premium member for $120/year and stay updated while helping us fight for a stronger democracy! North Carolina Supreme Court Republicans halt certification of race Today, the Supreme Court of North Carolina blocked the certification of a race for a seat on its own court and will hear a case challenging the State Board of Elections’ decision to reject the losing GOP candidate's challenges to over 60,000 ballots. “The crisis of democracy didn’t end with [President-elect Donald] Trump’s victory—it got worse,” Ben Wikler, candidate for chair of the Democratic National Committee, said on X. “When North Carolina’s state Supreme Court is blocking certification of a state Supreme Court election, the house is on fire.” Watch Marc’s interview with Wikler about his bid to lead the Democratic Party here. Speaking of DNC chair candidate interviews… In the second interview in our DNC candidate chair series, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin joined Marc to discuss how he would "reimagine" the DNC, specifically by “getting the DNC out of D.C.” Judge Cannon blocks release of Jack Smith’s report on Trump Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon blocked the release of special counsel Jack Smith's final report on the investigations into Trump's Florida documents and Washington, D.C. election subversion cases until the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules on a similar request. Smith filed a motion at the end of November to dismiss the election subversion case without prejudice — meaning it can be refiled in the future — in light of Trump’s reelection. The court granted the motion the same day, ending the case. In a press conference today, Trump commented on the cases the DOJ brought against him, arguing that “it was all to influence the election,” and “a fight against their political opponent.” Courts are the last guardrail In the incoming Trump administration, anti-democratic actors will wield huge power in the executive and legislative branches. However, in a new op-ed, Marc argued the judiciary remains a strong safeguard and guardrail for democracy. Want to check out more pro-democracy op-eds? From politicians to activists to lawyers, our guest authors brought unique perspectives to the biggest debates surrounding democracy. Read here to find all of the opinion pieces from the diverse voices Democracy Docket featured in 2024.

 

Today in Politics, Bulletin 41. 1/7/25 Ron Filipkowski Jan 8 ∙ … Trump gave an insane press conference today as he continued to threaten and insult our closest friends and allies. The purpose of the press conference was ostensibly to announce that Dubai businessman Hussain Sajwani, chairman of Dubai-based developer Damac Properties, is investing $20 billion in the U.S. for new data centers. … But then the questions began, and Trump started off by talking about seizing Greenland: “People really don't even know if Denmark has any legal right to it. But if they do, they should he give it up because we need it for national security.” … When asked if he could assure the world that he will not resort to using military force to seize Greenland or the Panama Canal, Trump responded: “No. I can’t assure you on either of those two.” … He then said this about the Gulf of Mexico: “We’re going to be changing the name to the Gulf of America. Which has a beautiful ring to it. What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate.” … Then on to Canada: “They rely on our military. It’s all fine, but they gotta pay for that.” He was then asked if he would use military force to invade Canada just like he said he might do with Panama and Greenland: “No. Economic force. Canada and the US together. That would be something. You get rid of that artificially drawn line and take a look at what that looks like.” … Trump then said that Canada is basically useless to the US: “We don’t need their cars. They make 20% of our cars, we don’t need that. We don’t need their lumber. We don’t need their milk. We don’t need anything they have. They should be a state, that’s what I told Trudeau when he came down.” … He also threatened Mexico while he was at it. … Franklin Graham also weighed in: “Pray for Canada as they begin to sort out their new leadership after the resignation of their PM Justin Trudeau. We have seen a big shift in Canada over the last few years in how the government and law enforcement view Christians and pastors who dared to speak out. Pray that Canada will get leadership who will respect faith and help preserve religious freedom in their country.” … I’m sure Canadians love all this input from their right-wing American friends on how much they need American leadership to survive. … Justin Trudeau responded: “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would ever become part of the United States.” … Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly: “His comments show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country. Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never back down in the face of threats.” … Marge Greene responded to Trump’s press conference by being the first sycophant to file a bill based on what he said: “Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper or other record of the US to the Gulf of Mexico shall be deemed to be a reference to the “Gulf of America. The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall oversee the implementation of the renaming.” … Meanwhile, Don Jr landed in Greenland this morning with Charlie Kirk on ‘Trump Force One’ where they had lunch with 10 people wearing MAGA hats who supposedly wanted the US to come and take over their territory. Trump also posted a video this morning of a man from Greenland wearing a MAGA hat who felt the same way. The man was convicted drug trafficker Timmy Zeeb, who has an extensive criminal history. … Trump then posted: “Don Jr and my Reps landing in Greenland. The reception has been great. They, and the Free World, need safety, security, strength, and PEACE! This is a deal that must happen. MAGA. Make Greenland Great Again!” … Trump called in to Junior’s phone and he was put on speaker in the Greenland restaurant. He explained to the 10 people there that it is important for the US to take over their land because “you see the people in the ships sailing around, and they’re not the right ships. So we need security. Our country needs it and the whole world because you’re so strategically located.” … But after we take your country over we are happy to give you a job at our new Trump Tower Greenland! … But Trump ran as a peace candidate who was going to stop US involvement in “endless wars” and promised repeatedly that he was going to end the war in Ukraine “less than 24 hours” after taking office, that “it will be easy,” and “everyone will be happy.” Let’s check in on how that’s going with this from Reuters: “Trump's Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, has postponed his first post-election trip to Kyiv, slated for early January. Reason not clear but it underlines how solving the conflict will be more time-intensive than Trump had planned.” … Imagine that. … Elon Musk responded to photos from Junior’s trip: “If the people of Greenland want to be a part of America, which I hope they do, they would be most welcome!” … Danish PM Mette Frederiksen made it clear today that they will not be selling or handing over Greenland to the US and says that Greenland PM Mute Egede has assured her that there is no support for that among the vast majority of people in the territory. … Greenland has just under 60,000 people and has had self-rule since 1979 with their own parliament, although it is still part of Denmark and that country provides military and foreign policy for the island. Greenland has the ability to gain complete independence from Denmark if they wish by referendum, which could possibly happen during their elections this April. That may be what Trump and his minions are trying to influence, which could also explain why Charlie Kirk went on the trip. … We will also see if Musk’s money will somehow be used to influence the Greenland’s elections. Wouldn’t shock me - his plan to use his vast fortune to someday rule the world is becoming pretty obvious. … The Biden Administration announced a rule change which requires companies that compile consumer credit data to remove medical debt from their reports. More than $49 billion in medical debt from the credit reports of millions of Americans across the country will no longer negatively affect their credit score, and lenders will no longer be able to consider medical debt when evaluating whether or not to give someone a loan. … As a result of this rule change, Americans could see their credit scores skyrocket by an average of 20 points, and more than 20,000 new mortgages could now be approved each year. … Of course, it is Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that enforces this new rule, and Trump and Stephen Miller have pledged to abolish that agency, so we will see whether they choose to reverse this decision along with so much else that helps tens of millions of Americans. … Puck is reporting that Amazon is paying Melania Trump $40 million for the movie rights to her life story. Her husband and son Barron must also make cameos in the film as part of the deal. A source close to Melania: “She is more confident and has taken full control of her public image, which she knows is worth millions, and she’s ready to be paid for the work she puts into the movie and for revealing more about herself.” … The story from Puck quotes the same source as saying that Jeff Bezos “took a personal interest in the movie” which “helped him get back on friendly terms with Trump.” … Bezos’s Washington Post announced today it is laying off 4% of its workforce. … Meanwhile, as Merrick Garland was mulling over whether to release the complete report from Jack Smith’s investigation, Judge Aileen Cannon issued an order out of the blue temporarily blocking release of the report. Cannon has no jurisdiction over the J6 investigation - the case she had dealt with classified documents. So while it seems like this is another breach of judicial ethics by Cannon, it may serve to draw another appeal to delay this until Trump takes office and the report is killed. … Of course, if this was a Trump AG with an incriminating report on a Democrat, they would release it regardless of what a judge with no jurisdiction in Florida says. That is exactly what Garland should do. But knowing him, he will probably dither and it will never see the light of day. It damn well better at least be leaked by a staffer if Garland doesn’t release it. … Liz Cheney: “AG Garland now has a duty to release the Justice Department Report and prevent its evidence from being destroyed. The truth must prevail. The framers of our Constitution knew the lessons of history — that people led by men without character can quickly lose their freedom.” … Yesterday, Meidas went over 250,000 free subscribers on Substack in just 3 months on the platform. This is how to build a movement that provides a serious alternative to legacy media. Thank you especially to the paid subscribers - you are the engine that drives this train. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. … Oral argument was held before an appeals court today on Trump’s attempt to block his sentencing before Judge Merchan in NY this Friday. According to journalist Adam Klasfeld who was on the scene: “Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche had a skeptical reception” from the judges on the court. … Klasfeld’s instincts were right, because they denied the appeal less than an hour later. Sentencing will proceed on Friday. Expect to hear A LOT from Trump about this over the next 48 hours. … Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) was asked on CNN if Trump should pardon J6 defendants: “No.” Needless to say, this resulted in a firestorm from MAGA social media influencers calling for Lawler to be primaried. One posted: “We are going to Liz Cheney him!” … Punchbowl is reporting that Marco Rubio’s confirmation hearing will be January 15 and Elise Stefanik’s will be January 16. Two of the least controversial picks will be first up on the calendar for the Senate. … Ron Desantis said today that he is likely to make the appointment to fill Rubio’s vacated seat in the Senate right around the time of Trump’s inauguration date. He also took a thinly veiled shot at Trump and Musk over their support of H-1B visas. Per Politico, Desantis said he would be appointing someone who “isn’t going to undermine American workers” on visa programs. … Watch for Desantis to seize on every opportunity to disagree with Trump on every issue where he knows the vast majority of the Republican base will agree with him over Trump. … It was a little unclear to me what Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was alluding to earlier this week when she talked about wanting to remodel the press briefing area at the WH. Now, it appears we have the answer. According to Fox, Leavitt will not be getting the nice big office that has been used by her predecessors for the last 30 years because it looks like that is going to Communications Director Steve Cheung. It seems she isn’t happy that the boys in Comms get the big office while she gets a closet. … Rudy Giuliani’s new lawyer Joe Cammarata posted a statement last night on social media after court: “Today my client was unjustly held in Contempt of Court. This case is about lawfare and the weaponization of the legal system in NYC. Mayor Giuliani should get a fair hearing and trial just like Trump should have but did not. The cases against Trump and Giuliani are very similar – it’s the left wing Democrats trying to use liberal Judges in NY to win when they should lose on the merits. The Judge read an extensive decision on the record, which clearly was pre-determined and written before Giuliani’s testimony concluded. Attorneys for the Plaintiffs were associated with Hunter Biden and one attorney was associate counsel in the Obama WH. That’s what this case is about.” … Dan Bongino continues to worry that Trump is going to be assassinated at his inauguration by the Deep State: “There are FBI folks, DHS folks, Secret Service, they are lying to the Trump Transition Team about the status of where they are and what they are doing. Do not trust the FBI and do not trust the Secret Service either until there is a full change in management. Trump is going to be sitting there exposed at the inauguration.” … Lauren Boebert just introduced a bill to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms & Explosives (ATF), which enforces federal gun laws and laws against explosive devices capable of causing mass casualties. Make Domestic Terrorism Great Again. … The Georgia Republican Party has voted to formally remove former Lt. Gov Geoff Duncan from the party after he endorsed Kamala Harris for president. The resolution states that Duncan is now “banned from all property owned or leased by the GA Republican Party and from any events” they host. They also requested that all media outlets now refer to Duncan as an “expelled Republican.” … Duncan responded: “Hard to believe this is a good use of time for a party that’s only got a limited amount of time to figure out mass deportations, world peace, and global tariffs. Learn how to take a victory lap, not light another dumpster fire.” … Today is Rand Paul’s birthday, in case you forgot to pass along birthday wishes. … Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta will no longer do fact-checking and will rely on a Elon Musk-style “Community Notes” system. To me, the biggest flaw in the Notes system on X is that nothing ever happens to the accounts that get noted hundreds and hundreds of times for posting false info or doctored videos. Maybe that’s because one of the Top 10 most Community Noted accounts belongs to Elon Musk. … Business Insider got some reactions from Democrats on the hill to the news from Zuckerberg. AOC: “We got a bunch of billionaire ass kissers.” Maxwell Frost: “I was like, damn, Facebook had fact checkers?” … Two days after Musk trashed his pal Nigel Farage because the right-wing politician recognized that Elon’s new hero Tommy Robinson is a racist thug, he then went after Piers Morgan for saying the same thing. Musk: “Piers’s brain hasn’t received its software update yet.” … UK Reform Party leader Farage announced he will fly to the US to attend Trump’s inauguration. Maybe Musk can convince him that white nationalist prison inmate Robinson is just misunderstood. … Fox is reporting that President Biden will not hold an end of term press conference. Poor Pete Doocy, he had binders full of questions. … Trump’s chief Congressional Liaison James Braid is already pissing off Republicans on the Hill. He called in to their meeting on Dec 19 to “forcefully” demand they raise or erase the debt limit, something many conservatives do not want to do. According to Punchbowl, “several House Freedom Caucus members found Braid’s demeanor overly aggressive and privately complained to each other after.” … You may hear a lot about Trump and Republicans wanting to roll their entire domestic agenda - fiscal and social items - into one giant reconciliation package or at most two of them. The primary reason why they want to do it that way is because a reconciliation bypasses the Senate filibuster, therefore they can pass their entire agenda without needing a single Democratic vote. … Mike Johnson was asked by CNN if he will consider adding Medicare cuts to the package to keep the deficit from exploding after Trump’s huge planned tax cuts: “No, the President has made it clear, Social Security and Medicare have to be preserved and no one is coming in with any intention of cutting benefits.” … The bottom line here is that Trump has never cared a jot about debt or the deficits. The question is, will members of the Freedom Caucus, who have steadfastly maintained that reducing the deficit is their number one priority, give in to Trump on that issue to pass his agenda. That is precisely why Trump wants everything bundled up into one or two packages - to force Republicans to either explode the deficit to record levels or vote against his entire agenda, with no third option. … Punchbowl also reported that several Freedom Caucus members were disappointed that Budget Director Russ Vought wasn’t chosen as WH Chief of Staff over Susie Wiles. … CBS is reporting that the U.S. government will issue refunds to tens of thousands of migrants married to American citizens who applied for a Biden administration program that was struck down in federal court. 94,000 people paid $580 application fees. This program would’ve offered 500,000 unauthorized immigrants married to US citizens a chance to get temporary legal status and a path to permanent residency, if they had lived in the US for 10+ years without committing serious crimes. … DNC Chair candidate Martin O’Malley said that one of his priorities would be to “crack down on scam PACs that divert resources away from our candidates to the pockets of consultants.” I agree with that, but I think I would also like him to name a few to see how serious he is by calling them out.

 

Whiplash

Joyce Vance Jan 8

If you’ve been trying to keep up with the news at the intersection of law and politics for the last 48 hours, you undoubtedly have some whiplash. It’s not technically the Trump administration yet, but it has that old, familiar, and distinctly unpleasant feel to it.

Here’s a top-level look at developments you should be aware of, in an effort to help us focus on what’s important without getting overwhelmed, in the style of the forthcoming Democracy Index.

Certification of the Election Results

Outside of the Capitol on Monday, there were no crowds preparing to overrun Congress like there were in 2020. No chants of “Hang Mike Pence.” No “Camp Auschwitz” tee shirts. It’s not the passage of four years that makes a difference, it’s the outcome of the 2024 election. There is plenty of reason to believe it would not have been a peaceful transfer of power had Kamala Harris won. We should be clear about that. One party plays by the rules. One party values democratic principles. Only one.

Harris was addressed by Senator Amy Klobuchar as “Madame President” as she performed her role as President of the Senate and oversaw the confirmation of the vote for her opponent, Donald Trump.

After it was over, she issued a statement saying that she took her oath to support and defend the Constitution seriously. Even though you could see that she performed her duties with a heavy heart, she was unflinching. We would have had a splendid president in Kamala Harris, a president who believes that “America’s democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it — every single person, their willingness to fight for and respect the importance of our democracy. Otherwise, it is very fragile and it will not be able to withstand moments of crisis. And today, America’s democracy stood.”

Small acts of courage. That is what is going to keep us moving forward.

Proud Boys Leader Wants a Pardon

Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to serve 22 years in federal prison for seditious conspiracy, chose the anniversary of his crimes to ask Donald Trump for a pardon.

No word yet on whether Trump intends to issue a pardon for Tarrio.

I wrote about the possibility of pardons for the January 6 defendants in this piece for the Brennan Center. I hope you’ll jump over and read it when you’re done with the newsletter tonight. Pardons for January 6 defendants, and especially for people convicted of violent crimes like Tarrio, would be a misuse of the unrestricted power the Founding Fathers gave presidents to grant pardons. Despite the rampant whataboutism circulating on right-wing social media, Biden’s sentence commutations—which means converting death sentences to life in prison—for some death row inmates does nothing to justify releasing inmates convicted of January 6 offenses from prison.

My conclusion: “By advertising his willingness to pardon the people who supported him rather than the Constitution, Trump is sending a message to the people he is counting on to support him this go-round: If they protect him, he will take care of them. It’s a message fit for a would-be authoritarian.”

Trump Tries to Avoid Sentencing in Manhattan

Trump doesn’t want to be sentenced on Friday for his fraud convictions over the payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels. It’s not the sentence that’s the big issue—the Judge has already said he doesn’t intend to impose custody, Trump wants to find a way to keep the conviction from becoming final and irreversible. He wants to get the scarlet letter off of his chest.

Preventing the sentencing hearing from happening matters because it will trigger the appellate process. If he’s sentenced, Trump will have 30 days from that date to take an appeal. Once the appeal is concluded, the conviction is final. Trump is hoping to delay sentencing so that process won’t kick in, giving him four years to come up with a strategy, while he holds the levers of power, for avoiding the permanent designation: convicted felon.

So, after Judge Merchan refused to reconsider holding the sentencing hearing Friday, Trump asked the First Division (the first tier appellate court in New York state) to stay sentencing on Friday. An appellate judge told him no, too.

Trump argued that pre-presidential and I’m-almost-president immunity mean he can’t be sentenced. But there is no law—not in the Constitution, statutes, or judge-made—that establishes either theory. It’s a doctrine made out of whole cloth by Trump’s lawyers. During the hearing, the Judge asked: “Do you have any support for the notion that presidential immunity extends to Presidents-elect?” Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanche, whom Trump says he will nominate for the number two role at DOJ, answered that he didn’t have any, falling back on the excuse that there had never been a case like this before. Trump’s argument is pretty much, “you can’t sentence me because I said so.”

The issue now is whether, in the time left to him, Trump can find an appellate judge in state of federal court who will help him delay the proceedings. Once he’s sentenced, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to short circuit appellate proceedings. The reasons offered for rejecting criminal prosecutions of presidents are to avoid distracting them from their duties and to avoid reputational damage to the leader of the free world. While they may apply during the trial phase of proceedings, they lack similar force during an appeal, and it’s likely the New York courts will permit the case to proceed.

Giuliani in Contempt

In fitting punctuation to the day on Monday, Rudy Giuliani was held in contempt by a federal judge in New York. Giuliani is doing everything he can to avoid paying Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss the $146 million defamation judgment he owes them. Giuliani called the proceedings “lawfare” and claimed he was being unfairly targeted, quite an echo from the 2020 election on the January 6 anniversary.

Jack Smith’s Report

Understanding that release of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s final report is imminent, Trump, or rather his two former co-defendants in the classified documents case, chose to go to Judge Aileen Cannon in Miami to keep it from happening. Cannon, who has never been overly solicitious of the government in these proceedings, ruled in Trump’s favor before the government had the opportunity to weigh in.

She not only ruled that the government couldn’t release the part of the Special Counsel’s report on the case in front of her, she also seems to think she can prevent them from releasing the part of the report that is about the January 6 case—a case that was never in front of her.

But here’s the problem: Judge Cannon already dismissed the case against Trump and his co-defendants based on his lawyers’ argument that the Special Counsel’s appointment was unconstitutional. That means she no longer has jurisdiction over the case, and she can’t issue an order to anyone regarding it. Her order here shouldn’t have any force.

Defense lawyers may have belatedly seen this problem coming. They filed a duplicative request to prevent the release of the report with the Eleventh Circuit. Jurisdiction, if it exists anywhere, is there, because Jack Smith appealed Judge Cannon’s dismissal order against him to that court, and although the appeal as to Trump is now dismissed, it’s still in place as to the co-defendants.

In a virtual acknowledgement that Judge Cannon lacks jurisdiction to issue the order she entered, the co-defendants filed a supplemental brief with the Eleventh Circuit this afternoon, asking the Court to refer the matter back to Judge Cannon “to assure that no question remains as to the authority of the district court to resolve the pending motion in that Court.”

It’s up to the Eleventh Circuit to act now.

Trump

Trump had a long ramble Tuesday afternoon that would be Grandpa Simpson level parody if this wasn’t the man who is about to become the president of the United States. Among other things, he refused to rule out using military force to retake the Panama Canal and announced a multibillion-dollar plan to build data centers in multiple states bankrolled by investors from Dubai.

On Christmas Eve when Trump talked about taking over Greenland, the Panama Canal & even Canada, I took him seriously & wrote about it.

Christmas Eve Crazy

Joyce Vance · December 24, 2024

Happy Christmas Eve, and here’s your reminder that it’s not normal for an American president to talk about taking over territory that belongs to our allies. Greenland, the Panama Canal, and…Canada. This is, however it’s presented, speculative war talk. It’s invasion talk—how else does one country take over land held by another? We need look no further t…

Read full story

That he was back at it today suggests that this isn’t just a bright, shiny object we can ignore. Let’s not do that just yet. But let’s understand exactly what it is and why it matters.

The concern isn’t that Trump will actually invade Greenland (at least not yet). It’s the damage he’s capable of doing to our relationships with key allies when he continues to talk smack like this. It’s lawlessness, it’s the talk of authoritarians, not American presidents, and that means we need to keep an eye on it.

There’s a common theme running through all of these events: Trump’s cavalier lawlessness and his desire to have the powers of an authoritarian leader. That’s what we should be paying attention to. Many people are turning a blind eye to Trump’s behavior at this point. But democracy really could die in darkness. We have to make sure the spotlight stays on Trump.

We’re in this together,

Joyce

 

Meta Disregards Truth, Sides With Trump 1.7.25 Ally Sammarco Jan 8 Credit: Getty Images It’s Tuesday and we're back with another edition of Today’s American News, your source of news and analysis for the circus that is American politics and entertainment. Trump won’t rule out military force against Panama and Denmark… Yikes. Convicted felon Donald Trump is willing to send American troops into Panama and Denmark, a NATO ally of the United States, in order to capture the Panama Canal and Greenland. It’s all part of his so-called “America First” strategy even though sending American troops to war for Trump’s imperial ambitions would be the opposite of putting our country first. “We’re going to have to settle some big problems that are going on right now,” Trump said vaguely and nonsensically. Apparently open to military conflict with our allies, Trump has also called for a trade war with China, Canada, and Mexico, something that would be a de facto tax increase on working families. Zuckerberg to allow lies on Facebook after Trump win… For the most outrageous of reasons, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, will no longer fact check lies and misinformation from sources foreign and domestic–including lies from Trump and MAGA supporters. CEO Mark Zuckerberg strongly implied he made the decision as a result of election wins by Trump and Republicans. Zuckerberg bemoaned how “legacy media” wrote about misinformation "after Trump first got elected in 2016” and said Meta “tried in good faith to address those concerns” but “fact checkers have just been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they've created, especially in the U.S." President Carter lies in state at U.S. Capitol… As our 39th President lay in state, Vice President Kamala Harris, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) gave bipartisan, bicameral tributes to his life. VP Harris said, “Jimmy Carter was that all too rare example of a gifted man who also walks with humility, modesty and grace.” Johnson noted the former president’s “life, his selfless service, his fight against cancer and his lasting contributions to his fellow man, are all truly remarkable. Calling him “a faithful servant of his creator and his fellow man,” Thune noted his service as a navy veteran, peanut farmer, governor of Georgia, and president. Newsom secures federal aid amid wildfires… California is on fire, again. The latest fires are particularly bad, plaguing the heavily populated Pacific Palisades and exacerbated by 60mph Santa Ana winds. Thankfully, Democrats in Sacramento and Washington are doing the most they can to combat this force of nature that is linked to Republican-denied climate change. Governor Gavin Newsom said federal officials swiftly approved a Fire Management Assistant Grant “without hand-wringing” allowing 75 percent of eligible firefighting costs to be covered. It’s good when politics doesn’t get in the way of helping Americans who face natural disasters. Florida governor Ron DeSantis should keep that in mind the next time a hurricane hits his state. Today’s Buzz Vin Diesel’s feud with The Rock breaks the internet… Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have a longstanding feud–not as publicly intense as Drake and Kendrick Lamar but well known among Hollywood followers. Golden Globes watchers were quick to comment on their brief exchange as Diesel said, “Hey, Dwayne from stage as the former presented the award for cinematic and box office achievement. Globes producers were apparently on edge, wondering if the feud would play out on air and overshadow the award winners. “It kind of keeps you gripped, and even you in the press room, us in the truck, are going, ‘Wait, what? What’s happening?'” Globes producer Glenn Weiss said in an interview with Variety. Thanks for reading Today’s American News. Support us by becoming a free or paid subscriber below.