Trump won’t rule out sending military to take Panama Canal and Greenland in rambling press conference: Live updates

“By blocking the release of the Special Counsel’s report on Trump’s mishandling of classified documents to the American public erodes the integrity of our justice system and unduly shields President-elect Trump from accountability.

“House Republicans complain about a so-called ‘two-tier system of justice,’ but it is not lost upon anyone that the Department of Justice released in full—for all to see—Special Counsel Hur’s report on the classified documents recovered from President Biden. In stark contrast to President-elect Trump, President Biden cooperated completely and unhesitatingly with DOJ. DOJ must release its report on Trump’s mishandling of classified documents by January 20 so that the American people can understand the full extent of the President-elect’s unlawful possession of hundreds of the government’s most sensitive documents. The public’s right to know is paramount.”

But then, before the assembled press, any sense of focus or discipline went out the window as Trump rambled and weaved his way through topic after topic.

Andrew Feinberg reports on what was said.

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is falling short of its goal to have 2,000 political appointees on board by Inauguration Day, a new report reveals.

Trump’s team sent out several employment offers to political appointees on Monday in an effort to meet the goal — but they’re still falling short, CBS News reports, citing two sources familiar with the situation.

The president-elect has desperately fought to return to the White House with a clear record. But after his latest courtroom failures to overturn his conviction and sentence, Trump is set to enter office as the first criminally convicted president in U.S. history.

Moments after a brief hearing with Trump’s attorneys and Manhattan prosecutors on Tuesday, a New York state appellate court judge issued a one-page denial of the president-elect’s latest attempt to avoid his imminent court date.

Alex Woodward reports from New York.

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to close out her term with an around-the-world trip making stops in Singapore, Bahrain and Germany, her office said.

The trip, which is scheduled to last from Jan. 13 to Jan. 17, will be a final opportunity for Harris to address U.S. foreign policy challenges before Donald Trump takes office. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff is expected to join the vice president.

Although she has not disclosed her next steps after losing the presidential election, the expansive travel suggests that Harris might want to continue playing a role on the global stage. There’s also speculation that Harris could run for governor of her home state of California.

Dean Lieberman, Harris’ deputy national security adviser, said in a written statement that “the vice president felt it important to spend some of her final days in office thanking and engaging directly with U.S. servicemembers deployed overseas, which as she has said, has been one of her greatest privileges as vice president.”

There are U.S. troops based at all three of Harris’ stops.

Read on for more details…

Unpaid medical bills will no longer appear on credit reports, where they can block people from mortgages, car loans or small business loans, according to a final rule announced Tuesday by the Biden administration.

Andrew Georgeson reports.