Officer kills pet dog mistaken for a coyote in Massachusetts town. The owner says it was unnecessary An animal control officer shot and killed a pet dog in a Massachusetts town after mistaking it for a coyote in an incident local police are describing as a sad mix-up. Police in Northbridge, Massachusetts, say the shooting happened on Tuesday after police received a call of a report of a coyote in a residential backyard. Police say the animal control officer went into the woods to look for the coyote and found what they thought was the animal in a threatening position and shot it. The incident happened as communities around Massachusetts and the country have dealt with an uptick in interactions between coyotes and people. Alyssa Nakken, first full-time female coach in MLB history, leaving Giants to join Guardians CLEVELAND (AP) — Alyssa Nakken, the first woman to coach in an MLB game, is leaving the San Francisco Giants to join the Cleveland Guardians. Nakken made history in 2022 when she took over as first-base coach following an ejection. A former college softball star at Sacramento State, Nakken joined the Giants in 2014 and was promoted to a spot on manager Gabe Kapler’s staff in 2020, becoming the majors’ first full-time female coach. Nakken has been hired as an assistant director within player development for the Guardians, who won the AL Central last season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt. Nakken, 34, will work with former Giants coaches Craig Albernaz and Kai Correa. Kendrick Lamar surprises with new album 'GNX' LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kendrick Lamar gave music listeners an early holiday present with a new album. The Grammy winner released his sixth studio album “GNX” on Friday. The 12-track project is the rapper’s first release since 2022’s “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.” Lamar’s new album comes just months after his rap battle with Drake. The rap megastar will headline February's Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans. The 37-year-old has experienced massive success since his debut album “good kid, m.A.A.d city” in 2012. Since then, he’s accumulated 17 Grammy wins and became the first non-classical, non-jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize. NBA memo to players urges increased vigilance regarding home security following break-ins MIAMI (AP) — The NBA is urging its players to take additional precautions to secure their homes following reports of recent high-profile burglaries of dwellings owned by Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis and Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. In a memo sent to team officials, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, the NBA revealed that the FBI has connected some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices.” Ancient meets modern as a new subway in Greece showcases archaeological treasures THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, is opening a new subway system, blending ancient archaeological treasures with modern transit technology like driverless trains and platform screen doors. The project, which began in 2003, uncovered over 300,000 artifacts, including a Roman-era thoroughfare and Byzantine relics, many of which are now displayed in its 13 stations. Despite delays caused by preserving these findings, the inaugural line has been completed, with a second line set to open next year. Conor McGregor must pay $250K to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rules LONDON (AP) — A civil jury in Ireland has awarded more than $250,000 to a woman who says she was raped by mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor in a Dublin hotel penthouse after a night of heavy partying. The jury on Friday awarded Nikita Hand in her lawsuit that claimed McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her in 2018. The lawsuit says the assault left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor testified that he never forced her to do anything and that Hand fabricated her allegations after the two had consensual sex. McGregor says he will appeal the verdict. At least 19 people are sick in Minnesota from ground beef tied to E. coli recall U.S. health officials say at least 19 people in Minnesota have been sickened by E. coli poisoning tied to a national recall of more than 167,000 pounds of potentially tainted ground beef. Detroit-based Wolverine Packing Co. recalled the meat sent to restaurants nationwide. Minnesota state agriculture officials reported multiple illnesses and found that a sample of the product tested positive for E. coli, which can cause life-threatening infections. No illnesses have been reported outside of Minnesota. Symptoms of E. coli poisoning include fever, vomiting, diarrhea and signs of dehydration. Actor Jonathan Majors’ ex-girlfriend drops assault and defamation lawsuit against once-rising star NEW YORK (AP) — Jonathan Majors’ ex-girlfriend has dropped her assault and defamation lawsuit against the once-rising Hollywood star after reaching a settlement. Lawyers for Majors and Grace Jabbari agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice Thursday. Jabbari is a British dancer who had accused Majors of subjecting her to escalating incidents of physical and verbal abuse during their relationship. Representatives for Majors didn’t respond to emails seeking comment Friday. Jabbari’s lawyer said the suit was “favorably settled” and her client is moving on with “her head held high.” Majors was convicted of misdemeanor assault and harassment last December and sentenced to a yearlong counseling program. Hyundai, Kia recall over 208,000 electric vehicles to fix problem that can cause loss of power DETROIT (AP) — Hyundai and Kia are recalling over 208,000 electric vehicles to fix a pesky problem that can cause loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash. The recalls cover more than 145,000 Hyundai and Genesis vehicles including the 2022 through 2024 Ioniq 5, the 2023 through 2025 Ioniq 6, GV60 and GV70, and the 2023 and 2024 G80. Also included are nearly 63,000 Kia EV 6 vehicles from 2022 through 2024. The affiliated Korean automakers say in government documents that a transistor in a charging control unit can be damaged and stop charging the 12-volt battery. Dealers will inspect and replace the control unit and a fuse if needed. They also will update software. Christmas TV movies are in their Taylor Swift era, with two Swift-inspired films airing this year Two of the new holiday movies coming to TV this season have a Taylor Swift connection that her fans would have no problem decoding. “Christmas in the Spotlight” debuts Saturday on Lifetime. It stars Jessica Lord as the world’s biggest pop star and Laith Wallschleger, playing a pro football player, who meet and fall in love, not unlike Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. On Nov. 30, Hallmark will air “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.” Instead of a nod to Swift, it’s an ode to family traditions and bonding, like rooting for a sports team. Hallmark’s headquarters is also in Kansas City.Researchers in China are exploring innovative methods to extract lithium from low-quality brines like seawater and salt lakes. In order to facilitate the production of lithium batteries for use in construction and energy storage, these developments seek to access plentiful but untapped sources. According to a Nanjing University study, the increasing demand for renewable energy technology and electric vehicles (EVs) could cause the present lithium supply to run out as early as 2029. According to a Chinese online news outlet, because of the impending shortage of supplies, scientists are looking into novel ways to extract lithium from unusual sources like salt lakes, seawater, and even sediment deposits all around the world. Surge in demand The need for sustainable lithium extraction techniques is being driven by the growing demand for renewable energy technologies and electric vehicles (EVs).Su Conventional methods, such as mining hard-rock ores and removing lithium from brines, are energy-intensive, emit a lot of greenhouse gases, and disrupt land and deplete groundwater. These methods lead to supply chain and environmental issues, underscoring the need for effective and sustainable substitutes. Because of their broad availability and large stocks, low-quality brines—such as sedimentary liquids, geothermal fluids, oilfield-produced waters, seawater, and some salt lakes—represent a promising but untapped resource. However, due to low lithium contents and high magnesium -to-lithium ratios, lithium extraction from these sources is still technically difficult. Advanced extraction techniques are required to make the most of these resources. According to a report by the South China Morning Post ( SCMP ), hard-rock ores from places like Zimbabwe and the highly concentrated brine resources in South America are the main sources of lithium for China, the largest refiner of lithium in the world. To meet domestic demand, Chinese mining companies have expanded operations in Zimbabwe, bolstering global lithium supply chains. Dominating lithium-ion battery production, China accounts for 77 percent of the world’s EV batteries , with combined exports exceeding $139 billion in 2023. Despite emerging alternatives like sodium-ion batteries, lithium-ion batteries are expected to remain dominant due to their superior efficiency and energy density. Rising demand could deplete global lithium reserves by the end of the decade, underscoring the urgency for innovative solutions. Optimizing brine resource Researchers introduced the term “low-quality brine” to describe sources with lithium concentrations below 0.26 grams per liter or magnesium-to-lithium ratios exceeding 6.15. These circumstances put traditional extraction techniques to the test, which concentrate lithium by evaporating water and separate it from other elements using chemicals. For such brines, conventional methods are ineffective due to low concentrations and the co-extraction of undesirable components. The researchers investigated developments in pre-concentration and direct extraction techniques to solve these problems, according to SCMP . An enhanced precipitation technique created by a group from Chengdu University of Technology efficiently eliminates magnesium while reducing lithium loss to 0.4 percent. At a salt lake in Qinghai, researchers from Nanjing University found that solvent extraction methods had an effectiveness of over 65 percent for lithium recovery. Other innovative approaches examined include filtration membranes that use pressure gradients or electrical fields to separate lithium, as well as electrochemical methods leveraging ion properties, reports SCMP . According to the study, optimizing lithium extraction from low-quality brines may involve combining various approaches. Efficiency could be increased, for example, by combining extraction with seawater desalination or incorporating renewable energy into the process. The potential of low-quality brines to contribute significantly to sustainable lithium production, bolster energy storage systems, and further the global shift to cleaner energy sources was highlighted by the researchers. The details of the team’s research were published in the journal Nature .
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Deshawn Purdie threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to O'Mega Blake for the go-ahead score and Charlotte defeated Florida Atlantic 39-27 on Saturday in a game that matched two new interim coaches. Charlotte (4-7, 3-4 American Athletic Conference) fired Biff Poggi on Monday and Tim Brewster took over. FAU (2-9, 0-7) fired Tom Ferman, also on Monday, with Chad Lunsford taking charge. After Blake's third touchdown catch of the game that came with 5:25 left, the 49ers extended their lead when Tyriq Starks was strip-sacked by Ja'Qurious Conley and 335-pound Katron Kevans carried it 22 yards into the end zone. Blake made five catches for a career-high 205 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown. Purdie was 16 of 30 for a career-best 396 yards passing with the three scores plus an interception. The 49ers only rushed for 46 yards. Stephen Rusnak kicked four field goals. Starks was 12-of-23 passing for 179 yards including a 65-yard score to Omari Hayes in the final minute of the third quarter to get FAU within six of the 49ers. CJ Campbell rushed 58 yards to score early in the fourth quarter and the Owls had a 27-26 lead. Campbell finished with 150 yards on 21 carries. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football . Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25None
PHOENIX — An investigation is underway after a woman was struck and killed by a car while crossing the street in Phoenix, police said. The crash happened around 7:45 p.m. on Monday near 17th Avenue and Buckeye Road. According to early reports, 46-year-old Christina Hertzbach was crossing mid-block when she was struck. First responders took her to the hospital where she later died. Police believe that the driver was impaired but charges are pending further investigation. Investigators are working to learn more about what led up to the crash. >> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone. Watch 12News for free You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12+ app! The free 12+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV . 12+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona. Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives. Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX." Amazon Fire TV: Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12+ app to add to your account , or have the 12+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was on the verge of backing a 16-week federal abortion ban earlier this year when aides staged an intervention. According to Time magazine's cover story on his selection as its 2024 Person of the Year, Trump's aides first raised concerns in mid-March that the abortion cutoff being pushed by some allies would be stricter than existing law in numerous states. It was seen as a potential political liability amid ongoing fallout over the overturning of Roe v. Wade by a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that includes three justices nominated by Trump in his first term. Trump political director James Blair went to work assembling a slide deck — eventually titled “How a national abortion ban will cost Trump the election" — that argued a 16-week ban would hurt the Republican candidate in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, the magazine reported. “After flipping through Blair’s presentation" on a flight to a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in April, Trump dropped the idea, according to the report. "So we leave it to the states, right?" Trump was quoted as saying. He soon released a video articulating that position. At the time, Trump’s campaign denied that he was considering supporting the 16-week ban, calling it “fake news” and saying Trump planned to “negotiate a deal” on abortion if elected to the White House. Here are other highlights from the story and the president-elect's 65-minute interview with the magazine: Trump reaffirmed his plans to pardon most of those convicted for their actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. “It’s going to start in the first hour,” he said of the pardons. “Maybe the first nine minutes.” Trump said he would look at individuals on a “case-by-case" basis, but that “a vast majority of them should not be in jail.” More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the riot that left more than 100 police officers injured and sent lawmakers running into hiding as they met to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory . More than 1,000 defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial of charges, including misdemeanor trespassing offenses, assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy. Trump insisted he has the authority to use the military to assist with his promised mass deportations , even though, as his interviewers noted, the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the use of the military in domestic law enforcement. “It doesn’t stop the military if it’s an invasion of our country, and I consider it an invasion of our country," he said. “I’ll only do what the law allows, but I will go up to the maximum level of what the law allows. And I think in many cases, the sheriffs and law enforcement is going to need help." Trump did not deny that camps would be needed to hold detained migrants as they are processed for deportation. “Whatever it takes to get them out. I don’t care," he said. “I hope we’re not going to need too many because I want to get them out and I don’t want them sitting in camp for the next 20 years.” Trump told Time he does not plan to restore the policy of separating children from their families to deter border crossings, but he did not rule it out. The practice led to thousands of children being separated from their parents and was condemned around the globe as inhumane. “I don’t believe we’ll have to because we will send the whole family back,” he said. “I would much rather deport them together, yes, than separate.” Trump dismissed the idea that Elon Musk will face conflicts of interest as he takes the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency , an advisory group that Trump has selected him to lead. The panel is supposed to find waste and cut regulations, including many that could affect Musk's wide-ranging interests , which include electric cars, rockets and telecommunications. “I don’t think so," Trump said. “I think that Elon puts the country long before his company. ... He considers this to be his most important project." Trump lowered expectations about his ability to drive down grocery prices. “I’d like to bring them down. It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard. But I think that they will,” he said. Trump said he is planning “a virtual closure" of the "Department of Education in Washington.” “You’re going to need some people just to make sure they’re teaching English in the schools," he said. “But we want to move education back to the states.” Yet Trump has proposed exerting enormous influence over schools. He has threatened to cut funding for schools with vaccine mandates while forcing them to “teach students to love their country" and promote “the nuclear family,” including “the roles of mothers and fathers” and the “things that make men and women different and unique.” Asked to clarify whether he was committed to preventing the Food and Drug Administration from stripping access to abortion pills , Trump replied, “It’s always been my commitment.” But Trump has offered numerous conflicting stances on the issue, including to Time. Earlier in the interview, he was asked whether he would promise that his FDA would not do anything to limit access to medication abortion or abortion pills. "We’re going to take a look at all of that,” he said, before calling the prospect “very unlikely.” “Look, I’ve stated it very clearly and I just stated it again very clearly. I think it would be highly unlikely. I can’t imagine, but with, you know, we’re looking at everything, but highly unlikely. I guess I could say probably as close to ruling it out as possible, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to do anything now.” Pressed on whether he would abandon Ukraine in its efforts to stave off Russia's invasion , Trump said he would use U.S. support for Kyiv as leverage against Moscow in negotiating an end to the war. “I want to reach an agreement,” he said, “and the only way you’re going to reach an agreement is not to abandon.” Trump would not commit to supporting a two-state solution, with a Palestinian state alongside Israel, as he had previously. “I support whatever solution we can do to get peace," he said. "There are other ideas other than two state, but I support whatever, whatever is necessary to get not just peace, a lasting peace. It can’t go on where every five years you end up in tragedy. There are other alternatives.” Asked whether he trusted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , he told Time: “I don’t trust anybody.” Trump would not rule out the possibility of war with Iran during his second term. “Anything can happen. It’s a very volatile situation," he said. Asked if he has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin since the Nov. 5 election, Trump continued to play coy: "I can’t tell you. It’s just inappropriate.” Trump insisted that his bid to install Matt Gaetz as attorney general ”wasn’t blocked. I had the votes (in the Senate) if I needed them, but I had to work very hard.” When the scope of resistance to the former Republican congressman from Florida became clear, Trump said, “I talked to him, and I said, ‘You know, Matt, I don’t think this is worth the fight.'" Gaetz pulled out amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations, and Trump tapped former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for the Cabinet post. Trump, who has named anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, did not rule out the possibility of eliminating some childhood vaccinations even though they have been proved safe in extensive studies and real world use in hundreds of millions of people over decades and are considered among the most effective public health measures in modern history. Pressed on whether “getting rid of some vaccinations” — neither Trump nor the interviewers specified which ones — might be part of the plan to improve the health of the country, Trump responded: “It could if I think it’s dangerous, if I think they are not beneficial, but I don’t think it’s going to be very controversial in the end.” “I think there could be, yeah," Trump said of the prospect of others in his family continuing in his footsteps. He pointed to daughter-in-law Lara Trump , who served as co-chair of the Republican National Committee and is now being talked about as a potential replacement for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whom Trump has chosen for secretary of state. Trump said the former and soon-to-be first lady Melania Trump will be joining him at the White House during second term and will "be active, when she needs to be.” “Oh yes,” he said. “She’s very beloved by the people, Melania. And they like the fact that she’s not out there in your face all the time for many reasons.”
Snoop Dogg's daughter, Cori Broadus, is pregnant! She shares her dad's funny reactionHighlights from Trump's interview with Time magazine
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Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith suffered a knee injury during the team’s Week 15 loss to the Packers. While he was able to play all of Sunday’s loss to the Vikings, Smith still isn’t 100 percent — and told reporters on Tuesday and likely won’t be for some time. Playing the Bears on Thursday night, Smith was asked if the knee injury is behind him. “ It’s not ,” Smith said, via Brady Henderson of ESPN. “It’s going to be there for a while, but you’ve got to keep pushing.” Smith completed 31-of-43 passes for 314 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in the 27-24 loss to Minnesota. He was also sacked twice. The Seahawks still have a chance to win the NFC West, especially if the Rams fall to the Cardinals on Saturday. But they also have to take care of their own business on Thursday against the Bears. In 15 games this year, Smith has completed 70.1 percent of his throws for 3,837 yards with 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
B.C. aims to hang onto 'Hollywood north' title by boosting film and TV tax incentivesThe Detroit Lions have revoked the season tickets of a fan that had a brief verbal altercation with Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur on Dec. 5, the franchise confirmed to ESPN's Eric Woodyard . Prior to the opening kickoff, the fan was on the field as part of a group holding a large flag for the performance of the national anthem and was seen exchanging words with LaFleur near the Packers' sideline. The Lions ended up defeating the Packers by the final score of 34-31. After the game, LaFleur condemned the fan's actions. "I've never been a part of something like that," LaFleur explained, per Woodyard. "He was talking junk to our players, giving them the throat slash sign. You're trying to de-escalate it, and then he gets in my face. I thought it was pretty unsportsmanlike. I've never seen that. I've been on many fields, and usually they police that much better. I thought it was an arrogant fan that wanted to get in a part of the action." "I would like to see security, or something step in there and get him out of there, because it's, he shouldn't be doing that," he added. The fan was surprised by the season ticket revocation, revealing that the Lions informed him of the decision in an email. "The biggest gut punch, man," the fan said, via Woodyard (h/t The Detroit News ). "Just waking up and seeing that email and not being able to talk to somebody in person, it was a terrible feeling. I don't have my chance to give my side of the story or anything." While the Lions and Packers have been in the same division since the NFC North was known as the NFC Central prior to 2001, their rivalry has intensified with both teams competing for playoff positioning as of late. The victory over Green Bay marked Detroit's 11th consecutive win in 2024, improving to 12-1. The Packers still sit at 9-4 despite the defeat, although it'll be difficult for them to catch the Lions before the year comes to a close after losing the tiebreaker. Green Bay and Detroit won't meet again in the regular season until 2025, but a potential playoff matchup between both squads isn't hard to imagine.Amber Heard stepped into the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni fray on Monday after learning that the crisis control PR firm Baldoni had hired was the same one ex-husband Johnny Depp used during their 2022 defamation trial. “Social media is the absolute personification of the classic saying ‘A lie travels halfway around the world before truth can get its boots on,’ ” she told NBC News. “I saw this firsthand and up close. It’s as horrifying as it is destructive .” Heard was vilified online during the bitter trial between her and ex Johnny Depp, and there are some suspicions that Saudi bots could have played a role , according to CBC News. While there is no indication Baldoni’s firm employed such measures, The New York Times on Saturday reported on apparent attempts to discredit Lively after she complained during the shoot about Baldoni’s behavior. Heard and Depp were embroiled in a bitter trial amid dueling defamation charges stemming from a 2018 Washington Post op-ed Heard penned saying she was a domestic abuse survivor. While she didn’t name Depp in the piece, he sued her for $50 million in damages. Depp denied all allegations made by Heard during their trial, including one of sexual assault. After months of contentious testimony, a seven-member jury found unanimously that Heard had libeled her ex and awarded him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Heard was awarded $2 million in defamation damages for her countersuit. They settled the case in December of that year, with Heard paying $1 million to Depp. He later said he planned to donate the money to charity . Lively alluded to the firm’s clientele history in the complaint she filed Friday with the California Civil Rights Department accusing her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star of sexual harassment followed by a smear campaign. Baldoni’s attorneys and spokespeople have vehemently denied her allegations, calling them “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious.” The day after Lively filed her complaint, Baldoni’s talent agency, William Morris Endeavor (WME) dropped him. In addition, author Colleen Hoover, whose novel of the same name is the basis for the movie, came out in support of Lively, as did the star’s sister, Robyn Lively. Soon afterward her “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” co-stars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn shared a joint statement declaring they “ stand in solidarity ” with their friend of 20-plus years. Since then, a slew of other Hollywood stars have cropped up in Lively’s corner, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Amy Schumer and director Paul Feig, according to Deadline.Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo go viral in 'Wicked' press tour
NATO chief Rutte talks security with Trump in FloridaMap Shows Best States to Find a Job
By Joy Reid This is an adapted excerpt from the Dec. 11 episode of "The ReidOut." The United States Constitution enumerates three separate and co-equal branches of government: The legislative, the executive and the judicial. The idea was to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful since people inside each would fight to defend their own power. But now, those basic checks and balances enumerated in the Constitution are collapsing. Under Republicans, all three branches of our government are bowing down to the incoming president, Donald Trump. Case in point: FBI Director Christopher Wray has announced he will resign at the end of President Joe Biden’s term. Tuberville and his fellow congressional supplicants are looking to blow up the Constitution because it restrains Trump’s powers too much. “My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day,” Wray told the FBI’s workforce Wednesday. “And in my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray.” In normal times, Wray, who was appointed by Trump during his first administration, would have served out his full term, through 2027. However, Wray, a Republican and a contributor to the conservative Federalist Society, was deemed insufficiently obsequious for Trump. Instead, Trump announced last month that he wants MAGA loyalist Kash Patel to take over Wray's job. Republican senators were more than willing to play the role of the president-elect’s marionettes. Take 91-year-old Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, who on Monday issued a letter criticizing Wray for executing a search warrant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence to recover classified documents and for his handling of the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. Grassley suggested Wray and his deputy “move on.” The same day, he shared a photo on X of him shaking hands with Patel. An even more obvious Trump appendage is Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. “You’ve got several of these senators up here trying to be relevant and [I] want to do ‘my due diligence,’” Tuberville said Wednesday on the right-wing podcast “The Benny Show.” “Wait a minute, the people of Alabama gave a referendum to me. They said, ‘You vote for whatever Donald Trump wants.’ And that’s exactly what I’m doing. These people from the Senate, the senator from Alaska — Donald Trump wins Alaska — she’s gonna be judge and jury over Donald Trump’s picks? I don’t understand this." It’s no surprise that Tuberville doesn’t understand his explicit Article II, clause 2 constitutional duty to advise the president on and consent or refuse the appointment of judges, secretaries and ambassadors since this is the same guy who thinks the branches of government are “the House, the Senate and the executive.” Tuberville is proudly displaying the corrosive effects of Trump’s grip on America, where he and his fellow congressional supplicants are looking to blow up the Constitution because it restrains Trump’s powers too much. What they want for America is a model based on Russia and Hungary where their leaders — Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán, respectively — have demolished the system of checks and balances and installed loyalists. The ruling parties control the media, their parliaments and pretty much everything else. Independence is reviled and rejected. Here in the U.S., it’s called the “unitary executive theory," a popular conservative concept that says a president has sole authority over the executive branch. Trump, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, the conservative-majority Supreme Court , and the president-elect’s Project 2025 friends like Russell Vought all believe that the president deserves total power, despite this country’s founders having fought a literal war to withdraw from a monarchy. In Trump’s America, the president should be immune from prosecution for allegedly mishandling classified documents or their efforts to overthrow an election or maybe even directing SEAL Team Six to assassinate a political rival (as Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned could be deemed constitutional under the Supreme Court's July 1 immunity ruling). But it doesn't stop there; Republicans also want to expand the president’s powers to include something called impoundment. Impoundment is the idea that the president has the constitutional authority to withhold, or “impound,” money from projects approved by Congress. Trump has already surrounded himself with players who want to get him that historic expansion of power, including Mark Paoletta, who will return as general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget, working closely with Vought. Paoletta, who happens to be close buddies with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginni Thomas, has argued repeatedly for broad impoundment power. His singular goal at OMB seems to be giving Trump, not Congress, the power of the purse. Musk and Ramaswamy, Trump’s picks to run the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, hold similar views. In their November op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, the pair wrote: Skeptics question how much federal spending DOGE can tame through executive action alone. They point to the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, which stops the president from ceasing expenditures authorized by Congress. Mr. Trump has previously suggested this statute is unconstitutional, and we believe the current Supreme Court would likely side with him on this question. What they are referring to is a law signed by Congress after President Richard Nixon tried what Trump is likely going to attempt. Nixon refused to spend money that Congress had appropriated for several programs. The move was so brazen that William Rehnquist, the head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel who would later serve on the Supreme Court, wrote a memo stating that there is no constitutional right for the president to do that. The courts agreed and so lawmakers went ahead and passed a law reasserting Congress’ power of the purse. However, they did set up a process through which presidents could impound funds but only with Congress’ participation. This brings us back to today, with a Congress willing to do whatever Trump wants, and a Supreme Court that likely agrees the president-elect should have the freedom to do whatever he wants with his so-called unitary executive power. Allison Detzel contributed. Joy-Ann Reid is host of “The ReidOut” at 7 p.m. ET on MSNBC. “The ReidOut” features one-on-one conversations with politicians and newsmakers while addressing provocative political issues both inside and outside of the beltway.Japan launches FAST fusion project to achieve limitless energy by 2030