Overview
President to give speeches on both days of unprecedented gathering
Donald Trump gave sizable holiday gifts to four White House aides, according to new financial disclosures released by the administration, including $45,000 to executive assistant Natalie Harp.
Communications adviser Margo Martin and deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain Harris also received $45,000, while director of Oval Office operations Walt Nauta received a $20,000 gift.
Clashing court rulings plunged Missouri’s congressional elections into uncertainty. The US Supreme Court decided not to intervene to reinstate a Donald Trump-backed US House map, upholding a a ruling from the state’s highest state court that prevented the use of the map in the November elections. But shortly after a federal judge temporarily barred the state from using its old congressional maps in November.
The US military destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after a US navy warship was targeted with ballistic missiles. Iran had targeted the warship twice over two days, the US Central Command said.
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The US will ban Canadian dairy products, motorcycles and most alcoholic beverages. The move marked an escalation in the ongoing trade war between the North American countries, and comes just after Canada announced retaliatory tariffs on $20bn in US goods.
Congressman Chris Pappas beat back progressive challenger Karishma Manzur in the New Hampshire Democratic primary for US Senate. Former senator John E Sununu, who is backed by Trump, won the state’s Republican Senate primary.
Lonnie G Bunch III announced he is stepping down as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution after seven years in the role amid Donald Trump’s unprecedented crackdown on the world’s largest museum’s autonomy.
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Originally published at www.theguardian.com.