The Washington Post editorial board noted New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's effort to moderate his advisory team as observers watch to see whether he follows through on his promise to tackle the city's "crisis of antisemitism." In an editorial Saturday, the Post argued the mayor-elect has "elevated normal bureaucrats alongside left-wing zealots," underscoring the stark contrast in some of Mamdani's staffing decisions. The Post editorial also pointed out that the mayor-elect's chief of staff, Elle Bisgaard-Church, is a fellow member of the Democratic Socialists of America. New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, left, and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Original article source: Washington Post editorial says Mamdani's team is a mix of 'normal bureaucrats' and 'left-wing zealots'

He has done this through executive orders and emergency declarations that have shifted decision-making away from Congress and to the White House. The conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court have mostly sided with Trump, and the Republican-controlled Congress has done little to stand in his way. And unlike his first term, Trump has total control over his cabinet, which is packed with loyalists. “Donald Trump has wielded power with fewer restraints in the last 11 months than any president since Franklin Roosevelt,” said presidential historian Timothy Naftali. He also enjoyed significant public support for his efforts to tackle the Great Depression and faced a fractured Republican opposition.

Trump signs order easing marijuana restrictions Shanita Penny of the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation and Tim Barash of the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform discuss what marijuana reclassification means.

Today's NYT Strands puzzle features a fun seasonal topic. If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET's NYT puzzle hints page. Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So FarHint for today's Strands puzzleToday's Strands theme is: All the trimmingsIf that doesn't help you, here's a clue: O Tannenbaum. Here are the nonspangram answers:STAR, ANGEL, LIGHTS, RIBBON, TINSEL, ORNAMENTToday's Strands spangramThe completed NYT Strands puzzle for Dec. 20, 2025. Toughest Strands puzzlesHere are some of the Strands topics I've found to be the toughest in recent weeks.

What you need to know about driving on black ice ABC News' Gio Benitez took a test drive with experts to show how dangerous black ice can be and what to do if you start losing control of your vehicle.

This would be no different than if we decided to start changing names on the Vietnam memorial. AdvertisementLyman urged the panel not to “pretend” that they care about Trump taking charge, prompting broadcaster and fellow panelist Cari Champion to jump in. Lyman interrupted to reiterate that the protests “were about” Floyd, but this time it was Champion who kept rolling. Advertisement“Please let me finish because I let you finish,” said Champion, the lone Black panelist on the show. “The reality is that they may have overcorrected, but right now they’re overcorrecting in another way,” she said.

Some of those wounded in Odesa were on a bus at the center of the strike late Friday, the emergency service said in a Telegram post. The port was struck with ballistic missiles, said Oleh Kiper, the head of the Odesa region. Elsewhere, Ukrainian drones hit a Russian oil rig, the military patrol ship Okhotnik and other facilities, Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement Saturday. The facility is operated by Russian oil giant Lukoil. ___Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGA damning image from a batch of new files released Friday by the Justice Department on the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein shows a table drawer with photos of President Donald Trump inside. One of the images appears to show Trump hanging out with Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, and another shows Trump surrounded by young female models. AdvertisementAn open table drawer shows images of President Donald Trump, including one where he appears to be surrounded by young models. Justice DepartmentA spokesperson for the Justice Department did not return a request for comment from HuffPost about the removals. A photo of Jeffrey Epstein, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump sits on a table in Epstein's Manhattan mansion in this undated photo.

So the NFL wanted to do the Texans and Chargers a solid and give them the national stage to themselves. — Rams at Atlanta in Week 17 isn’t a fantastic Monday night game for Week 17, especially with the Falcons currently at 5-9. But with all the games spread throughout the week of Christmas, there weren’t a lot of great replacement options. So by moving Texans-Chargers to Saturday, both those teams are in play for the two Saturday spots in Week 18. The NFL leaned heavily into Washington after one outstanding season, giving them eight nationally televised games this season.

Linda Becerra Moran, 30, was shot by LAPD officers in February after she reported being held against her will in the motel room as a possible victim of sex trafficking. Shootings by Los Angeles police officers have increased dramatically this year, prompting Mayor Karen Bass to issue a statement Friday that said she is “deeply concerned” and seeking an explanation. The uptick in LAPD shootings comes despite crime rates in the city continuing to fall, and with officers registering fewer interactions with members of the public than in previous years. When The Times contacted the Sheriff’s Department this week, a spokesperson emailed the agency’s complete shooting numbers the next day. A Times database of LAPD shootings found that roughly 1 in 4 shootings involved a person with an edged weapon.

LOS ANGELES — A high-profile after-action report from the Los Angeles Fire Department on last January's Palisades Fire went through several drafts that minimized the department's failings both before and after the deadly blaze broke out, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday. The final report said the LAFD "balanced fiscal responsibility with proper preparation for predicted weather and fire behavior by following the LAFD predeployment matrix." The LAFD did not comment for The Times story, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from City News Service on Saturday. Despite the revisions, the final report was still critical of the LAFD, finding that the agency's response to the unfolding disaster was hampered by limited resources and leadership and communication challenges. One of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history, it burned 23,448 acres and destroyed much of the exclusive Pacific Palisades community, destroying about 6,800 structures and killing 12 people.

AdvertisementHere’s how all this trauma affects us ― and what to do when everything feels like a bit too much. Your body doesn’t know the difference between trauma on a screen versus in real life. “The same mechanisms that help us connect ... make us feel as though we are experiencing what we are watching,” Lurie explained. If you’re watching the news and notice your heart rate or breathing rate speed up, it’s time to ground yourself. Walking can quiet an overactive amygdala, lower cortisol and adrenaline levels, and boost the amount of feel-good endorphins in your body, Lurie explained.

US seized another ship in the Caribbean, Noem says Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that the U.S. Coast Guard interdicted a sanctioned vessel off the coast of Venezuela in international waters of the Caribbean Sea on Saturday.

DOJ releases limited cache of Epstein documents After months of delays, the Justice Department began to release documents from its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

Secrets Don't Expose ThemselvesHelp uncover the truth.As the Epstein files come to light, HuffPost is committed to separating fact from spin. Our newsroom is tracking what’s released, what’s withheld, and why it matters. Support reporting that holds government accountable. Become a Member. Log in to hide these messages.