| | | | Trump taps Hardee's CEO for Labor secretary | | President-elect Donald Trump has picked Andrew Puzder, the head of the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast food restaurants, as his nominee for Labor secretary, a source familiar with the decision tells CNN.
Why this pick is controversial: Puzder, 66, is a vocal critic of government regulation and opposes a $15 minimum wage, broader overtime pay and the Affordable Care Act. The Labor Department oversees America's job market, regulates the workplace and produces statistics like the unemployment rate that underpin economic policy.
The water cooler talk: Pudzer approves of this ad: | | More news on Trump's incoming administration:
Democrats target EPA pick: Senate Democrats are digging in their heels against Trump's choice to helm the EPA -- Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. "This is a four-alarm fire. We are going to do everything we can to stop his nomination," said Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii. "This is a full-fledged environmental emergency, and we have a person who's not just a climate denier, but a professional climate denier," Schatz said on a call organized by the League of Conservation Voters.
Kaine attacks Flynn: Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine intensified his criticism of Trump's national security adviser, telling CNN's Manu Raju that retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn peddles in conspiracy theories. "Gen. Flynn's trafficking in conspiracy stories that a fourth grader would find incredible suggests either that he's highly gullible or that he's so consumed with malice that he loses his ability to judge what's fact and what's fiction."
Petraeus talk surprises Broadwell: "As I woke up to the news, it was little bit of a shocker that he was being considered for a Cabinet position," Paula Broadwell -- the woman with whom David Petraeus, a candidate for secretary of state, had an affair, and whom he was convicted of revealing classified information to -- told CBS's Norah O'Donnell today. | | "I find myself embarrassed by the nature of the way in which this campaign was conducted. So much for the shining city on the hill." | | | | Americans are less approving of President-elect Donald Trump than they were of previous presidents during their transitions into office, a new Pew Research Group poll shows. | | | One startling statistic for Trump: 54% of Americans believe he's done too little to distance himself from white nationalist groups. | | Retiring Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid used his final speech Thursday as a senator to sing the praises of fellow lawmakers who supported him during his life's rough patches and to encourage those he's leaving behind in the Senate to continue to champion issues close to him. "I didn't make it in life because of my athletic prowess. I didn't make it because of my good looks. I didn't make it because I'm a genius," the Nevada senator said in his farewell address on the Senate floor. "I made it because I worked hard." More from CNN's Eugene Scott.
A Reid exit interview to read: The New York Times' Carl Hulse examines the former boxer from Searchlight's evolution since 1987. "Maybe I was trying to be somebody I wasn't," Reid told Hulse. | | Clinton talks 'fake news' on Senate floor | | Hillary Clinton was back in Washington today, speaking in the Senate about Harry Reid. She also addressed what she called a threat to democracy -- "the epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda that flooded social media over the past year."
Here's what Clinton said: "It is now clear that so-called fake news can have real-world consequences. This is not about politics or partisanship. Lives are at risk -- lives of ordinary people just trying to go about their days to do their jobs, contribute to their communities. It is a danger that must be addressed and addressed quickly." CNN's Dan Merica has more on her remarks.
Behind the scenes ... Clinton spoke with the owners of Comet Ping Pong after an armed man inspired by a fake news story about the pizza shop stormed the restaurant, according to a Clinton aide.
Let's talk about what "fake news" is. It means bogus, made-up, false accounts designed to attract clicks or further conspiracy theories. And it has real-world consequences. The false claim that Clinton was somehow involved in a child sex ring run out of a DC pizza shop led to a gunman showing up at that pizza joint last weekend. The insane notion that the Sandy Hook massacre was a "false flag" government conspiracy led to a death threat against the parents of one of the victims. These fake news accounts and conspiracy theories sometimes seize on an element of truth -- in the Sandy Hook case, that an FBI crime database happens to be incomplete -- and turns them into malicious falsehoods that prey on some Americans' distrust of institutions.
Here's what "fake news" is NOT: News or opinion reporting that you disagree with -- or even news or opinion that ultimately proves inaccurate or incomplete. Journalists covering fast-moving breaking news stories sometimes make mistakes. But here's the problem: Some Donald Trump supporters, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, are conflating those real, if imperfect, news reports with actually fake, bogus, made-up news. Blurring those lines might make it easier to dismiss damaging stories out of hand, but it's ultimately democracy that truly suffers. | | | Spotted behind Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-California, on the House floor today: Christmas lights. | | House passes funding bill; Senate trouble remains | | From CNN's Ted Barrett: The House voted 326 to 96 Thursday to pass a government funding bill, one day before agencies are set to run out of money.
What's next: The bill now goes to the Senate, where Democrats are considering blocking it, in part over a dispute about what to do about an expiring health insurance program for miners in West Virginia, Illinois, Kentucky and other states. Senate Democrats are huddled at this hour to determine their next steps, weighing whether to force a shutdown of the government if Republicans don't agree to their changes.
What's in the bill: It would fund the agencies through April 28 and would allow the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump to then put its stamp on spending priorities. It includes money for New York to repay the city for funds it spent providing security to Trump. It also has a provision to fast track a special waiver for Gen. James Mattis to serve as Trump's defense secretary since he left the military three years ago and the law requires military leaders be retired for at least seven before becoming the top civilian leader of the Pentagon. | | | A 2014 speech by President-elect Donald Trump's Homeland Security pick, retired Gen. John Kelly, brought Rep. Adam Kinzinger to tears today. ... The RNC raised $36.6 million the last few weeks of the campaign. It now has $21.4 million on hand and no debt. ... Pioneering astronaut and former Sen. John Glenn of Ohio -- the first man to orbit the Earth -- has died. He was 95. Here's how politicians are reacting to Glenn's death. | | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes, and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people will be talking about. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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