After Opting Out Of Presidential Race, Trump Becomes Go-to Validator For Gop Field

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This story was originally published by Slate and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The firestorms that have been ravaging Los Angeles and Southern California since Tuesday afternoon are nothing short of calamitous. Thanks to dry weather and a burst of high-speed Santa Ana winds—some billowing in at close to 100 miles per hour—brush fires began flaring up across Pacific Palisades, Topanga, and Malibu, spreading rapidly and forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee. By that evening, the Palisades fire had consumed more than 1,260 acres and reached down to Santa Monica, destroying homes and schools in its wake.

Once again, Trump’s accusations against real news networks are nothing but projection and admissions. CNN got an exclusive look at excerpts from a forthcoming book by Politico’s Alex Isenstadt. He reports that in January 2024, Trump had agreed to a “sit down” with his “golf buddy” the supposedly serious journalist Bret Baier.

[Above, Maria Bartiromo in October, 2024, doing what she does best? -- eds] There's a new book coming out this week called "Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power" and like all Trump bombshell books, it contains critical information that would have been useful when voters needed it, but book sales. One "bombshell" is that Trump really really wanted Maria Bartiromo as his running mate.

This article is part of The D. C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. Since Election Day, Democrats have rightly been in something of a funk. They sauntered into November expecting Kamala Harris would hold the White House for the party, the House might tip their way, and they even dared to dream about keeping a majority in the Senate. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Then, votes were counted. Americans decided to send Donald Trump back to Washington for another four years.

CNN reports that the Biden administration is finalizing a rule that will help millions of Americans battling bad credit due to medical debt. Before Biden leaves office, medical debts will no longer be allowed for inclusion on credit reports. The outlet noted the new rule will remove $49 billion in medical bills from credit reports, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).