Nation and world news — at a glance— for December 8
Want a job in the Trump administration? Be prepared for the loyalty test.
(NYTimes) — At the Trump transition offices in Florida, prospective occupants of high posts in the Pentagon and the intelligence agencies typically run through three to four interviews. Applicants report being asked about policy and procedures for doing the jobs. But some have also been asked questions that seemed designed to assess their loyalty to President-elect Donald Trump. The questions went further than just affirming allegiance to the incoming administration and include, among others, what they thought about the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and whether they believed the 2020 election was stolen.
Ocasio-Cortez seeks House post that would make her a top foil to Donald Trump
(NYTimes) — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., announced Friday that she would seek the coveted position of top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, challenging a more senior colleague to fill the vacancy. If she is chosen as the panel’s ranking member, the 35-year-old would be the youngest Democrat to help lead a House committee. She would gain a platform not only to investigate the incoming Trump administration but also to help her party chart a path back from electoral defeat. But first she must contend with Rep. Gerald Connolly, 74, a pugnacious, well-liked eight-term incumbent from Virginia who has pitched himself as a more seasoned investigator.
Some on social media see suspect in CEO killing as a folk hero
(NYTimes) — Three days after a shooter assassinated a top health insurance executive in midtown Manhattan and vanished, the unidentified suspect has, in some quarters, been venerated as something of a folk hero. Authorities have pleaded for help from the public to find the person who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. But in a macabre turn, some seem more interested in thwarting the police’s efforts. Thompson’s killing has released a tide of online frustration toward the health insurance industry, with some people voicing their support for the gunman. The shooter remained at large as of Saturday.
Disappointed protesters vow to keep pressure on South Korea’s Yoon
(NYTimes) — Tens of thousands of protesters massed outside South Korea’s National Assembly on Saturday, calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s ouster as lawmakers inside voted on whether to impeach him. By the time Yoon had survived the impeachment motion, the crowd in Seoul had thinned out, but many said they would not give up. “I plan to come every weekend,” said Subin Park, 29. “I hope a lot of people will show up.” For hours, the area around the National Assembly was packed with protesters calling for Yoon’s impeachment after his audacious, though short-lived, declaration of martial law this past week plunged South Korea into political crisis. Saturday’s rally was the largest yet.
Zelenskyy met with Trump in Paris to press Ukraine’s case
(NYTimes) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President-elect Donald Trump in Paris on Saturday, marking their first face-to-face encounter since Trump won the U.S. presidential election last month after claiming that he would end the war in 24 hours. Trump and Zelenskyy were brought together by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace on Saturday evening, before Notre Dame Cathedral’s grand reopening. It was a diplomatic coup for the French leader, who is otherwise facing a political crisis at home after his government fell this past week. Zelenskyy said afterward that it had been a “productive meeting.”
In a Romanian village, anger fuels support for an ultranationalist ‘messiah’
(NYTimes) — In the bedraggled Romanian village of Pestera, 45% of the residents have moved abroad. Farmland has been bought up by foreigners and well-connected locals. The only business besides farming is a German-owned convenience store. Nearly every family has a father or mother working outside Romania. And most of those who stayed behind, according to the village’s mayor, were — at least until the cancellation of Romania’s presidential election Sunday — “waiting for the messiah,” in the form of an ultranationalist candidate, Calin Georgescu, who promised jobs, good salaries and dignity for those feeling forgotten. In Pestera, Georgescu won 46% of the vote last month in the opening round of the presidential race.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
As Trump threatens tariffs, Europe and South America strengthen ties
(NYTimes) — The European Union reached a trade agreement Friday with four South American countries, concluding a negotiation that took on new urgency as President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on some of the world’s largest economies. The deal, between the EU and members of Mercosur — a bloc that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay — would establish one of the largest trade zones in the world and would be the EU’s biggest trade agreement. With European leaders preparing for the possibility that Trump’s return to office will lead to a more fragmented global economy, the deal is a victory for proponents of free trade.
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