Top Asian News 4:18 a.m. GMT

Associated Press

Updated December 18, 2024 at 11:18 p.m.·1 min read

South Korea's acting leader to veto opposition-sponsored bills, deepening political strife

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s acting leader said Thursday he would veto a spate of contentious bills sponsored by the main opposition party, deepening political strife in the wake of parliament’s impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The ruling and opposition parties have been bickering over how much authority Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country's No. 2 official, has assumed since the opposition-controlled National Assembly last Saturday voted to suspend Yoon’s presidential powers over his short-lived Dec. 3 martial law. The Constitutional Court is to determine whether to formally dismiss the conservative Yoon as president or reinstate him.

The Daily Beast
Trump Snubs Elon With Decision on White House Digs
Elon Musk is reportedly set to receive office space in the White House complex for his incoming work as co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but he won’t be wall-to-wall with President-elect Donald Trump. Citing two sources that have been briefed on the plans, The New York Times reports that Musk will set up camp at the Eisenhower Executive Office, a separate building adjacent to the White House. It’s still not clear whether Musk’s DOGE partner, Vivek Ramaswamy, will also h
HuffPost
'Massive Reversal': Trump Ripped For Already Backpedaling On Key Campaign Promise
The president-elect and one of his advisers just shifted an important timetable.
HuffPost
Melania Trump Reveals Where She Plans To Live During Her Husband's Presidency
The former first lady's living plans have been the subject of much speculation ahead of Donald Trump's second term.
HuffPost
Donald Trump's Inauguration Will Have A Prominent No-Show
No explanation was given for the VIP's planned absence at Trump's second inauguration.
The Canadian Press
Michelle Obama will skip Trump inauguration, but ex-Presidents Obama, Clinton and Bush will be there
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Former first lady Michelle Obama will skip the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the second time in two weeks that she is not attending a gathering of former U.S. leaders and their spouses, but former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will be there.
The Canadian Press
West Virginia governor axes DEI and enacts vaccine exemptions on first full day in office
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued a slew of aggressive executive orders on his first full day as West Virginia's chief executive Tuesday, including one enabling families to receive religious exemptions from required school vaccinations — a massive departure for a state with one of the strictest vaccine policies in the nation.
HuffPost
Donald Trump's Inaugural Parade Is Reportedly Getting A Trashy Twist
A surprise star of the president-elect's 2024 campaign could make an appearance.
BuzzFeed
Mexico And Canada's Leaders Had Hilarious Responses To The Whole "Gulf Of America" And "51st State" Thing
It's all reality TV at this point.
The Daily Beast
Trump Loses It Over Jack Smith Report Finding Only Election Saved Him
Donald Trump lashed out at Jack Smith in a borderline incoherent late-night rant after the special counsel released a report finding Trump was part of an “unprecedented criminal effort” to overturn the 2020 election. Apparently confusing Smith’s criminal case with an earlier investigation by a select committee of the House of Representatives, the president-elect wrote on his social media platform Truth Social: “Deranged Jack Smith was unable to successfully prosecute the Political Opponent of hi
GOBankingRates
Trump Explains How He Plans To Bring Grocery Prices Down: Do Experts Think It Will Work?
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), food prices jumped nearly 10% in 2022, the fastest increase in more than 40 years. Costs continued to rise by almost 6% in 2023. Read...
The Daily Beast
Lying Trump Took His Own Supporters for Fools: Jack Smith
Special Counsel Jack Smith found that Donald Trump’s team took his own MAGA faithful for easily manipulated fools when he and several co-conspirators carried out an “unprecedented criminal effort” to overturn the 2020 election. Smith detailed his conclusion in a report released Tuesday, which explains his decision to indict Trump on four counts for plotting to obstruct the certification of the presidential race he lost to Joe Biden. Smith wrote that Trump’s team “deceived” a group of MAGA hardli
LA Times
Column: Trump wants to grab control of Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal. He's already bungled it
Trump wants to take Greenland from Denmark, make Canada the 51st state and retake the Panama Canal, threats reflecting his view that might makes right.
HuffPost
'Well, Gee, That Didn't Happen': Maddow Lays Out Trump's Already-Broken Promises
MSNBC's Rachel Madow slammed the president-elect's transition as "incompetent" and "incoherent."
The Hill
Liz Cheney: Smith report raises question for Trump DOJ nominees
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) raised questions Tuesday about President-elect Trump’s choices to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ) amid fallout from special counsel Jack Smith’s report about the former president’s involvement in the 2021 Capitol insurrection. “DOJ’s exhaustive and independent investigation reached the same essential conclusions as the Select Committee. All this DOJ evidence must…
HuffPost
Mary Trump Exposes The ‘Sordid’ Truth About Uncle's Leadership In Disasters
Donald Trump's niece also pinpointed "one of the most frustrating things" about his response to the California wildfires.
The Daily Beast
Bannon Claims Victory in MAGA Civil War as He Knocks Musk’s Relevance
Outspoken Elon Musk hater, Steve Bannon, was happy to degrade the tech mogul’s status in President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle Tuesday claiming that he doesn’t have as much power as presumed. While speaking to Politico’s Dasha Burns at the outlet’s “Politico Playbook: The First 100 Days” event, Trump’s former chief strategist claimed that while Musk may have had some influence over Cabinet picks, he doesn’t “have the ability to actually make decisions and inform those decisions and drive t
TVLine.com
The View Debates Carrie Underwood Performing at Trump Inauguration: ‘How Do You Support Somebody Who Wants to Destroy the Country?’
Carrie Underwood’s decision to perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration was a hot topic on Tuesday’s edition of The View. Joy Behar and Alyssa Farah Griffin had opposing views on the country singer’s choice to accept the invitation, with Griffin wanting to move past “where we ‘cancel’ people’s livelihood because we don’t like their …
HuffPost
Ivanka Trump Reveals Her Role For Dad During His Second Term
Donald Trump's daughter talked about politics being a "very dark, negative business."
Reuters
North Korea's suicide soldiers pose new challenge for Ukraine in war with Russia
After a battle in Russia's snowy western region of Kursk this week, Ukrainian special forces scoured the bodies of more than a dozen slain North Korean enemy soldiers. But it is among mounting evidence from the battlefield, intelligence reports and testimonies of defectors that some North Korean soldiers are resorting to extreme measures as they support Russia's three-year war with Ukraine. "Self-detonation and suicides: that's the reality about North Korea," said Kim, a 32-year-old former North Korean soldier who defected to the South in 2022, requesting he only be identified by his surname due to fears of reprisals against his family left in the North.
The Canadian Press
Judge clears the way for release of special counsel Smith's report on Trump's Jan. 6 case
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge said Monday that the Justice Department can release special counsel Jack Smith’s investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case.

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