Crew-8 Astronauts Remain Mum About Post-splashdown Medical Issue - Spacenews

“A New York judge on Tuesday declined to immediately postpone Steve Bannon’s Dec. 9 trial on charges that he defrauded supporters of President-elect Donald Trump who donated to an online campaign to fund a wall on the U. S.-Mexico border,” ABC News reports.

“Alina Habba, a lawyer who represented Donald Trump in a series of high-profile cases, has emerged as a front-runner to serve as press secretary in the incoming White House,” Mediaite reports.

“A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a Massachusetts Air National Guard member to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine,” the AP reports. “Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty earlier this year to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act following his arrest in the most consequential national security case in years.”

“House conservatives say they expect to present a challenger to Speaker Mike Johnson in Wednesday’s internal GOP leadership elections,” Axios reports.

Former Vice President Mike Pence made clear he opposes President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to pardon January 6 rioters – especially those who attacked police, Mediaite reports. Said Pence: “I don’t think the president should pardon anyone who assaulted a police officer at the Capitol on Jan. 6.” Asked whether Trump will bust through the guardrails this time, he responded: “The American people are just not gonna have it.”

“The Trump transition team is considering a draft executive order that establishes a ‘warrior board’ of retired senior military personnel with the power to review three- and four-star officers and to recommend removals of any deemed unfit for leadership,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “If Donald Trump approves the order, it could fast-track the removal of generals and admirals found to be ‘lacking in requisite leadership qualities,’… But it could also create a chilling effect on top military officers, given the president-elect’s past vow to fire ‘woke generals,’ referring to officers seen as promoting diversity in the ranks at the expense of military readiness.” “As commander in chief, Trump can fire any officer at will, but an outside board whose members he appoints would bypass the Pentagon’s regular promotion system, signaling across the military that he intends to purge a number of generals and admirals.”