Hastert's Sweet Deal

WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Democratic philanthropist George Soros and actor-director Denzel Washington will be awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor on Saturday in a White House ceremony. President Joe Biden will bestow the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 of the most famous names in politics, sports, entertainment, civil rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy and science. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The White House said the recipients have made “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.” Four medals are to be awarded posthumously.

“President-elect Donald Trump had planned to prioritize operations aimed at protecting the southern border over traditional counterterrorism efforts, a strategy shift that faces fresh scrutiny after a U. S. Army veteran unleashed an attack in New Orleans,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “When a Ford pickup truck rammed into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more, federal officials initially believed that the driver had crossed the southern border shortly before the attack—providing potential fodder for Trump’s attacks on the Biden border policy.” “On Thursday, even after it was shown that 42-year old Shamsud-Din Jabbar wasn’t in the rented truck when it crossed the border, Trump still blamed the current administration.”

“President Biden went against top national-security aides when deciding to tank a Japanese takeover of U. S. Steel and instead align with his domestic advisers to bolster his pro-union legacy,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Staff presented Biden two broad options in recent days, administration officials said: block the $14.1 billion deal entirely, or delay an approval until Nippon Steel could allay concerns that its ownership would harm the American manufacturing supply chain.”

The State Department has notified Congress “informally” of an $8 billion proposed arms deal with Israel that will include munitions for fighter jets and attack helicopters as well as artillery shells, Axios reports.

“Since his victory in November, President-elect Donald Trump’s allies have raised well over $200 million for a constellation of groups that will fund his inauguration, his political operation and eventually his presidential library,“ the New York Times reports. “It is a staggering sum that underscores efforts by donors and corporate interests to curry favor with Mr.

New York Times: “Ever since he ascended to the top job in the House after many of those same conservatives ousted his predecessor, Mr. Johnson has had one of the hardest jobs in Washington. Now, with total Republican control of government and President-elect Donald Trump’s enormous domestic agenda at stake, he is facing his toughest test yet.” “Mr.