Trump Cabinet Members and Flights Hit by Gunfire in Haiti: Morning Rundown

Donald Trump is gaining allies for senior roles in his second administration. Three US airlines have suspended flights to Haiti after a Spirit Airlines jet was hit by gunfire. And thousands of Chinese cyclists growl through traffic on their way to soup dumplings.

This is what you should know today.

Trump is building his second administration

President-elect Donald Trump’s administration continued to take shape yesterday with the possible selection of a Secretary of State and a series of Cabinet appointments and appointments.

Trump is expected to nominate Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is nominated as Secretary of State in the coming days, according to three sources familiar with the selection process. Trump’s “America First” doctrine emphasizes less foreign aid and limiting U.S. involvement in conflicts, but foreign policy is one of the few areas where there is deep philosophical disagreement within Trump’s base. Some view Rubio as one of the “less MAGA” options, but he is still someone “who Trump’s base could trust,” a Trump ally said.

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Trump’s first cabinet pick was Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York will serve as ambassador to the United Nations. The House Republican Conference chairman and longtime Trump ally was a staunch defender of Israel in its assault on Gaza after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and has been outspoken about anti-Semitism on college campuses.

Hours later, Trump announced his second Cabinet choice. former Rep. Lee Zeldin to oversee the Environmental Protection Agency. The former four-term Republican from New York has already promised to prioritize efforts to “roll back regulations” that he said were causing difficulties for businesses. In Congress, Zeldin voted against President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which provided billions of dollars to expand clean energy. Trump has called for the law to be repealed.

Trump’s Cabinet picks require Senate confirmation.

Meanwhile, Trump is expected to name a name Stephen Miller as his deputy chief of staff for policysaid a source. Miller is a staunch hardliner on immigration policy and is expected to be instrumental in implementing Trump’s promise of mass deportation of undocumented immigrants next year.

And Trump chose Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida will be his national security advisersaid four sources familiar with the decision. Waltz is a Green Beret veteran who served in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa. He is a member of the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees.

More coverage:

• ➡️ Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego defeated Republican Kari Lake in Arizona to become the state’s first Latino senator.
• ➡️ Trump-appointed FBI Director Christopher Wray is preparing the possibility that he will replace himsaid three people familiar with the matter.
• ➡️ A three-way race to become the next Senate Majority Leader – two Republicans with an institutionalist view of the Senate versus an outsider promising to advance “the Trump agenda” – becomes an early test the power of the MAGA movement in Trump’s second term.

Airlines suspend flights to Haiti after planes hit by gunfire

Spirit Airlines is suspending flights to Haiti after a plane en route to the country was hit by gunfire, as the State Department warned of “gang-led efforts” to stop travel there. A flight attendant was injured in yesterday’s incident on a flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The flight was diverted to the Dominican Republic and a return trip to Florida was arranged for passengers and crew.

JetBlue also announced yesterday that it would suspend its flights to and from Haiti until at least December 2, citing “ongoing unrest.” The airline said a follow-up inspection of the exterior of a plane used to travel from Port-au-Prince to New York City revealed evidence that it had been hit by a shell. American Airlines said it would also suspend its flights from Miami to Port-au-Prince.

The Foreign Ministry advises against traveling to Haiti due to the intense political unrest. Armed groups have been vying for power since the assassination of the democratically elected president in 2021 Violence broke out again this year after the elections were postponed.

Women denied an abortion in Idaho will share their stories

Four women suing the state of Idaho over its abortion laws will testify today and tomorrow about their experiences traveling out of state to terminate unviable pregnancies after being denied abortions. The lawsuit alleges that Idaho’s abortion laws violate pregnant people’s right to safety and equal protection and the right of physicians to practice medicine under the state constitution.

A plaintiff in this case is Rebecca Vincen-Brown, who learned at 16 weeks that her pregnancy was not viable. When she and her husband decided to terminate the pregnancy, they had to travel seven hours to Portland, Oregon, for the procedure. The trauma resulting from her experience, Vincen-Brown said, “was completely unnecessary and could have been 100% avoidable.”

Idaho has two laws restricting abortion. It is said that it is a criminal offense to terminate a pregnancy at any stage, with few exceptions. The other allows private individuals to sue health care providers who perform abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy. None of the guidelines make an exception for fatal fetal anomalies. The trial in Ada County District Court tries to clarify the medical exceptions in the laws.

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• Former CVS employee Richard Allen was convicted of murder two teenage girls in a case that rocked the small town of Delphi, Indiana.
• East and West Coast crews fight forest fires in dry conditions. The Jennings Creek wildfire in New Jersey and New York has grown to over 3,500 acres, and firefighters expect the fire to continue burning throughout the week. In California, a cold front could aid efforts to contain the destructive 20,630-acre Mountain Fire.
• Thousands of Mattel’s Wicked character dolls were pulled from the shelves about a packaging error that contained a link to an adult website.
• Scientists warned in a new report that a key ocean current in the Atlantic is on the path to collapse – just one of several climate tipping points in existence more immediate than previously thought.
• The New York Jets hoped firing their head coach would turn the season around, but the team’s struggles could actually do that Start with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Personnel selection: China’s “Night Riding Army” is on a viral quest for soup dumplings

Most people in China will probably take the train if they want to try another city’s delicious food. But last week, tens of thousands of Chinese university students followed a viral trend and cycled all night for more than five hours to Kaifeng to get to the ancient capital famous soup dumplings. The sheer volume of cyclists brought traffic to a standstill and led to restrictions from the tourism-hungry city officials who had encouraged them to come. — Peter Guo, Asia Desk Fellow

NBC Select: Online shopping, simplified

Black Friday sales have already begun and NBC Select editors know what’s up for grabs:

• A Walmart+ membership is 50% off for a limited time, just ahead of the retailer’s first round of holiday deals. Members also receive benefits like free shipping, special fuel pricing and more.
• Equipment, tool sets and more from Home Depot’s early Black Friday sale.
• Clothing, travel accessories and more from a wide selection other early Black Friday sales happening this week from brands like Casper, Calpak and Our Place.

Sign up for The Selection Newsletter with practical product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales every week.

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