The $787 Billion Mistake

Politico: “California farmers could soon enjoy bumper crops thanks to President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to lift water restrictions. But who will pick them if he follows through on his deportation threats?” “The country’s largest agricultural constituency backed Trump in November, bucking California’s deep-blue electorate over his campaign promises to ‘open the faucet’ and deliver more water to the state’s parched, conservative-leaning Central Valley.

New York Times: “In each strike, the order said, officers had the authority to risk killing up to 20 civilians.” “The order, which has not previously been reported, had no precedent in Israeli military history. Mid-ranking officers had never been given so much leeway to attack so many targets, many of which had lower military significance, at such a high potential civilian cost.” “It meant, for example, that the military could target rank-and-file militants as they were at home surrounded by relatives and neighbors, instead of only when they were alone outside.”

Washington Post: “Fifty percent of voters from families with an income of less than $50,000 a year cast their ballots for Trump, according to the data, compared with 48 percent for Vice President Kamala Harris. Four years ago, President Joe Biden carried those voters by 11 percentage points; Hillary Clinton won them by 12 points in 2016 and former president Barack Obama by 22 points in 2012.” “Now, low-income Americans who voted for Trump say they are counting on him to keep their benefits intact even while his Cabinet picks and Republican lawmakers call on him to reduce federal spending.”

Seth Masket: “Here’s the thing. Trump doesn’t and won’t have the formal powers to do a lot of the things he talks about doing. He can’t just unilaterally take back the Panama Canal or buy Greenland or make U. S. states out of Canadian provinces. He can’t just toss Liz Cheney in jail.

“The Finnish authorities on Thursday boarded an oil tanker that they believe was involved in cutting through vital undersea cables, and was part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of ships aimed at bypassing sanctions,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The Estlink 2 submarine cable, which carries electricity between Finland and Estonia, was cut on Wednesday, Finland’s police said in a statement, the latest in a slew of disruptions to undersea infrastructure that are being investigated as acts of sabotage.”

Marianne Williamson, the former Democratic presidential candidate and self-help author, announced she’s running for chair of the Democratic National Committee.