KFAV

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that he has appointed Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to replace Marco Rubio in the U.S Senat,, whom President-elect Donald Trump tapped to be secretary of state. DeSantis told reporters that he would appoint his chief of staff, James Uthmeier, to fill Moody’s attorney general post.

DeSantis said at a press conference near Orlando: “These are always significant appointments, but I think right now appointments like these are more significant than ever. This is a time for action and a time for Washington D.C. to deliver results to the American people. There are no more excuses for Republicans. Today I am proud to announce that I am selecting our attorney general, Ashley Moody, to serve as our next U.S. senator,” adding that Moody has “honorably served our people” during her time as the state’s top law enforcement officer.

Rubio has served in the Senate since 2010; he was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing. Moody will have to run in a 2026 special election to keep the seat for the final two years of Rubio’s term.  When Moody takes the seat, there will be 10 GOP women in the chamber.

Moody, 49, was a federal prosecutor and circuit court judge before she won her bidden 2018 to serve as Florida’s attorney general, as well as her re-election bid in 2022. Moody said at the press conference: “You better believe that as a United States Senator, I will work for you, those that stand on that thin line between chaos and order, between safety and crime. I have got your back.”

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Per her spokesperson, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, January 20th.  ABC News first reported the news, with Pelosi’s  spokesperson not providing a reason for her planned absence from Trump’s second inauguration.

Pelosi led House Democrats during Trump’s first administration and attended his inauguration in 2017. During his presidency, she became one of Trump’s chief antagonists, overseeing both impeachments against him as speaker. Pelosi stepped down from leadership after the 2022 midterm elections, has been vocal about her opposition to Trump’s return to office.

Last December, Pelosi fell and injured her hip during an overseas trip to Luxembourg which required hip replacement surgery before returning to the U.S.  When Congress reconvened earlier this month, Pelosi was seen using a walker in the Capitol.

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President Biden delivered his farewell address to the nation on Wednesday, five days before he passes the mantle of the presidency to his predecessor and his successor, President-elect Donald Trump.

Speaking from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, Biden reflected on his political career and said he was proud of what his administration accomplished as the country climbed out of the coronavirus pandemic and made investments in the economy, infrastructure, gun safety, and climate change.  As Vice President Kamala Harris sat nearby alongside second gentleman Doug Emhoff, first lady Jill Biden and Hunter Biden, the President commended Harris as a “great partner”.

Biden went on to express his concerns to the nation as he prepares to cede power to President-elect Donald Trump, noting that the concentration of power is in the hands of a few wealthy individuals: “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead. Powerful forces want to wield their unchecked influence, to eliminate the steps we’ve taken to tackle the climate crisis, to serve their own interest for power and profit. We must not be bullied into sacrificing the future, the future of our children and our grandchildren, must keep pushing forward and push faster. There’s no time to waste.”

Prior to his televised address, a farewell letter released by the White House was released Wednesday morning in which Mr. Biden wrote that it has been “the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years. Nowhere else on Earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as President of the United States. I have given my heart and my soul to our nation. And I have been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American people. I ran for president because I believed that the soul of America was at stake. The very nature of who we are was at stake. And, that’s still the case. America is an idea stronger than any army and larger than any ocean. It’s the most powerful idea in the history of the world. That idea is that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

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The Israeli government and Hamas have reached a ceasefire and hostage release agreement after more than a year of fighting in the Gaza Strip. The deal had been reached following the Qatari prime minister’s meeting with Hamas negotiators, and separately with Israeli negotiators in his office, and will lead to the phased release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, sources told CNN.

Per ABC News, intense negotiations have been underway in Doha for the past few weeks, with delegations from both Israel and Hamas were dispatched to Doha to resume the negotiations, which were brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.  President Biden’s top Middle East advisor, Brett McGurk, staying in the region for the better part of a month. McGurk has been closely coordinating with President-elect Trump’s pick for special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Mr. Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the phone on Sunday about the negotiations.

The deal comes after a week of intense negotiations mediated by Qatar, the U.S. and Egypt. Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that the deal will take effect Sunday. Under the phased agreement, Israeli forces would withdraw to the Gaza border, allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their homes and for the transfer of hostages and prisoners. Large amounts of humanitarian aid would be shipped to the enclave and hospitals and health care centers would be rebuilt. Hamas will release 33 hostages in exchange for 100 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences, according to a portion of the deal shared by Hamas. Israel will also release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners who were not involved in the Oct. 7 attacks, and an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners will also be released abroad or in Gaza.

President Biden said in a statement that the ceasefire deal took “many months of intensive diplomacy” by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, adding that “my diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done.” Later in a press conference, Biden said he was “deeply satisfied this day has finally come, for the sake of the people of Israel and the families waiting in agony, and for the sake of the innocent people in Gaza, who suffered unimaginable devastation because of the war.”

Biden also noted that his team and the incoming Trump administration’s spoke as “one team” in negotiating the ceasefire deal reached Wednesday: “this deal was developed and negotiated under my administration, but its terms will be implemented for the most part by the next administration. In these past few days, we’ve been speaking as one team. This has been a time of real turmoil in the Middle East, but as I prepare to leave office, our friends are strong, our enemies are weak, and those are genuine opportunities for a new future.”

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