DECEMBER 2024 NEWS

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At least four Democratic representatives from Connecticut said Thursday they were targeted with bomb threats while home celebrating Thanksgiving with their families. Reps. Joe Courtney, Jim Himes, John Larson and Jahana Hayes each issued statements revealing they were targeted with bomb threats, prompting law enforcement to respond. In each case, law enforcement ultimately found no evidence of a bomb and all four lawmakers have reported their families are safe.

After a phone call to Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum, President-elect Donald Trump claimed on Truth Social that Sheinbaum agreed to stop migration into the US and close the southern border. Sheinbaum responded on X, saying that Mexico is not trying to close the border. 

With his new pick for attorney general, President-elect Donald Trump has found not only a powerhouse media strategist and loyal ally, but a tenacious litigator known for her battles in court for conservative causes. And while little about Trump is conventional, Pam Bondi is a far more conventional selection to lead the US Justice Department than Matt Gaetz, who stepped aside after a week of nonstop scrutiny from Democrats and Republicans alike. Bondi’s rise through the Florida state legal system and her fealty to Trump make her a key enforcer on his proposed policies around immigration, reproductive health and political retribution.

Anyone who had any doubt that Donald Trump’s love of tariffs is true should take note of his new promise, for Day 1 of his presidency, to slap products imported from Canada and Mexico with 25% taxes. Trump said the new taxes on those foreign goods, along with a 10% hike in tariffs on products from China, would remain in place “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”

Donald Trump announced on Thursday that his campaign manager, Susie Wiles, will be named his White House chief of staff. “Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” the president-elect said in a statement. “Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again. 

Kamala Harris raised more than $1.5 billion dollars in less than 107 days — a staggering, incomprehensible sum of money that signified an enormous confidence in her ability to deliver the presidency — and then she went on to lose all seven battleground states and the popular vote to a four times-indicted, twice-impeached, convicted felon and adjudicated sexual abuser. If losing that badly weren’t fuck-up enough, the campaign appears to have ceased operations tens of millions of dollars in debt. 

A Nevada Supreme Court judge ruled Tuesday that Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter can move forward with his counterclaim against Shannon “Shay” Ruth, who accused him of raping her when she was 17 years old on a tour bus. According to documents obtained by People, Judge Nancy L. Allf denied Ruth’s anti-SLAPP motion against Carter’s countersuit because she “failed to satisfy her burden.”

A judge denied Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs bail for a third time on Wednesday, after prosecutors accused the music mogul of trying to tamper with witnesses and using fellow inmates’ resources to contact third parties in an attempt to sway a potential jury pool — all from behind bars. The 55-year-old appeared in Manhattan federal court last Friday, hugging his lawyers and waving to his children, mother, and other family members who piled into the packed courtroom as they hoped for his release ahead of Thanksgiving.

 As a reality TV fan, there is a strange (and slightly unhinged?) feeling of loss when the reality stars whose lives you’ve watched unfold for so many years step away from the camera. You realize that the over-familiar (and entirely one-sided) relationship you’ve formed with them won’t continue in the same way. This is how I’ve been feeling since Bravo announced that it would be totally recasting Vanderpump Rules for Season 12. The rebooted show will focus itself on a new group of “Sur-vers” at Lisa Vanderpump’s West Hollywood restaurants. 

 Right from the start, Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It, the first-ever documentary on the late pop-R&B singer, songwriter, and organ maestro, makes it clear that few communicated as much unabashed, unapologetic joy onstage as Preston. In its opening scene, from George Harrison’s 1971 Concert for Bangladesh, Preston starts singing the warmly 

Wednesday wasn’t just a good day for Donald Trump. The wealth of the world’s 10 richest people also soared by a record amount, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. The biggest gainer was Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and one of Trump’s most outspoken and dedicated supporters, whose wealth jumped $26.5 billion to $290 billion Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ wealth grew $7.1 billion a week after defending his decision to withhold the Washington Post’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, another Trump supporter, saw his net worth rose $5.5 billion Wednesday.

  Dr. Mehmet Oz, Donald Trump‘s pick to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has yet to be confirmed to the Cabinet position by a Senate he failed to join after a costly 2022 campaign. But his activity on social media over the Thanksgiving holiday suggests that he may continue to serve as pitchman for dubious miracle cures even when he’s in government. 

Drake’s taken the Kendrick Lamar beef from the court of public opinion to actual court. This week, Drake’s attorneys made a pair of legal filings that state their intent to find out if Universal Music Group, the parent company of his label Republic Records, sought to artificially boost the acclaim of Lamar’s “Not Like Us” diss by paying Spotify and iHeartRadio. 

Khalid is opening up about his sexuality — and making it clear that he’s happy with who he is. In a series of X posts on Friday, the American Teen singer confirmed that he’s gay after being outed on the platform.

The Israeli military said its air force struck a facility used by Hezbollah to store mid-range rockets in southern Lebanon on Thursday, after both sides accused each other of breaching a ceasefire that aims to halt over a year of fighting. Israel said it also opened fire on Thursday towards what it called "suspects" with vehicles arriving at several areas in the southern zone, saying it was a breach of the truce with Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, which came into effect on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to attack decision-making centres in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv with the country's new ballistic missile, Oreshnik. Putin was speaking hours after Russia launched a “comprehensive” strike on Ukraine’s energy grid overnight, in what he called a response to "continued attacks" using US-supplied Atacms missiles on Russian soil.

Ariana Grande is sharing the magic of “Wicked” with her grandmother Marjorie “Nonna” Grande. The singer and actress, who stars as Glinda the Good Witch in the “Wicked” movie, made a pit stop in her hometown of Boca Raton, Florida on Monday to see the movie with her Nonna, who turned 99 in October. “Flew to Boca for a day to watch with Nonna,” Grande wrote on her Instagram Stories, showing a photo of herself sitting next to her grandmother and brother Frankie in a dimly lit movie theater.

Jude Law has broken a few hearts by sharing some behind-the-scenes information about the classic film, “The Holiday.” During a recent interview with BBC Radio, Law discussed the 2006 Christmas movie that is a must-see for many each winter holiday season. He plays Cameron Diaz’s love interest and Kate Winslet’s brother in the rom-com. “I find it just, honestly, glorious,” Law said of “The Holiday’s” long popularity with audiences.