The Latest: Democratic Candidates Fight Over Refugees, Rubio

“As his time in the White House comes to a close, President Joe Biden has implemented a series of executive orders and rules, trying to cement his policies before Donald Trump returns with the threat of undoing them,” ABC News reports. “From using provisions in federal law to ban much offshore drilling to commuting the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates, Biden has been determined to accomplish the political goals he set out to do four years ago.” “Trump, never one to mince words against his rival, has condemned Biden’s moves, claiming he was hurting his agenda — what he says Americans voted for in November.”

“President Joe Biden said Friday he will not issue a preemptive pardon for himself as he considers pre-pardoning adversaries of President-elect Donald Trump who he fears could be targeted with politically motivated investigations by the Trump administration,” USA Today reports. Said Biden: “For myself? What would I pardon myself for? No, I have no contemplation of pardoning myself for anything.

Peter Baker: “A big economic package, mass deportations, maybe even some invasions of other countries. Oh, and one more item. ‘I’ll do my little thing tomorrow,’ a busy President-elect Donald Trump mentioned the other night.” “That little thing was the first criminal sentencing of an American president. That little thing was confirmation that Mr.

President Biden criticized Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, on Friday for deciding to abandon its fact-checking program on Facebook and Instagram, calling it a “shameful” decision that undermines America’s commitment to telling the truth, the New York Times reports. Said Biden: “The idea that, you know, a billionaire can buy something, and say, ‘By the way, from this point on, we’re not going to fact-check anything.’” He added: “And you know, when you have millions of people reading, going online, reading this stuff, it is — anyway, I think it’s — I think it’s really shameful.”

CNN: Elected governor three times before resigning in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations and fierce criticism over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, Cuomo is now privately describing his long-rumored and labored-over run for mayor as a near certainty.” “He is also lining up campaign aides and pollsters, in part with the help of a former top adviser who beat him out the door of the governor’s mansion more than three years ago after deciding she could no longer defend him against the flood of sexual misconduct accusations that ultimately forced him out of office.”

“Republicans made almost universal gains in mail voting during the 2024 election, eroding a key Democratic advantage in nearly every state that tracks party registration,” the New York Times reports. “The Republican rise in the use of mail voting was almost always accompanied by a drop in registered Democrats casting a mail ballot, allowing Republicans to make significant inroads in battleground states like Pennsylvania, red states like Florida and blue states like Connecticut.” “The turnaround was remarkable given Republicans’ yearslong skepticism toward mail voting, fueled by President-elect Donald J.