Donald Trump has named Florida Republican operative Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff for his incoming administration. Wiles led Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and previously his Florida operations in 2016. She will be the first woman chief of staff. She also worked on the gubernatorial campaign of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Overnight, several news outlets projected Trump would win the state of Nevada, expanding his victory to 301 Electoral College votes. Trump is leading in Arizona, making it likely he will complete a sweep of battleground states.

Control over the House of Representatives remains unresolved, with more than two dozen House races yet to be called. Republicans have won 211 of the 218 seats needed to retake their House majority. Democrats have won 199 seats. In one closely watched race, Long Island Democrat Laura Gillen has defeated incumbent Republican congressmember and former NYPD detective Anthony D’Esposito to represent New York’s 4th District.

Republicans are poised to expand their Senate majority. In Pennsylvania, several news outlets have projected Republican Dave McCormick will defeat incumbent Democratic Senator Bob Casey. However, Casey has refused to concede, and the very close race could be headed to a recount.

In Arizona’s Senate race, with three-quarters of ballots counted, Democrat Rubén Gallego holds a 1.7 percentage point lead over Republican challenger Kari Lake, a far-right election denier and Trump ally.

Trump’s allies are celebrating Tuesday’s victory with calls to implement the far-right policy plan to overhaul the federal government, known as Project 2025. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon on Wednesday amplified a message by the far-right podcast host Matt Walsh, who tweeted, “Now that the election is over I think we can finally say that yeah actually Project 2025 is the agenda. Lol.”

A federal judge on Thursday struck down a Biden administration policy that would grant undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens a pathway to U.S. citizenship without having to leave the country. Trump-appointed Judge J. Campbell Barker sided with Texas and over a dozen other Republican-led states, declaring the program illegal. The Keeping Families Together program was expected to benefit some half-a-million mixed-status families. Even if Biden’s Justice Department appeals the ruling, the case is likely to stretch into the incoming anti-immigrant Trump administration.

On Thursday, Trump told NBC there is “no price tag” on his plans to launch mass deportations as soon as he comes into office. The American Immigration Council estimates such a plan would cost nearly $1 trillion over 10 years.

Here in New York, hundreds of immigrant justice advocates and their allies gathered in Lower Manhattan Thursday evening and vowed to protect immigrant New Yorkers and fight against the incoming administration. This is community organizer Jorge Paz Reyes.

Jorge Paz Reyes: “Donald Trump has and will continue to vilify our stories, to portray us as unworthy. And his deportation agenda seeks to divide and just create chaos within our communities. That is why we need to stand united and declare that immigrants are not the problem. We are the solution.”

Israel continues to bomb the Gaza Strip, with reports of nearly two dozen Palestinians killed since dawn. This follows an Israeli attack Thursday on a school turned shelter in Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp that killed at least 12 Palestinians and wounded 30 others. Survivors said the bombing came without warning.

Umm Hani: “We were baking bread, and our children were sitting around us. And we were at the bottom, and we saw nobody, and the floor shook. The bomb hit, and all the tents were destroyed. People ran. Some people were martyred on the floor. Rubble fell on us, and people were torn to pieces. Where is the humanity? Where is the rest of the world? Where is the mercy? We have never seen any nation waging war on children. I am 65 years old, and I’ve never seen any nation waging war on children.”

For the last seven weeks, Israel has allowed almost no food or aid into northern Gaza as the U.N. has repeatedly warned the entire northern population is “at imminent risk of dying.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations Human Rights Office reports nearly 70% of the more than 43,000 Palestinians killed by Israel over the last 13 months are women and children.

On Thursday, Israel’s military said it had secured 25 next-generation F-15 fighter jets from Boeing. The $5.2 billion deal is part of a larger U.S. funding package to Israel approved by Congress and provided by the Biden-Harris administration. Many Gaza residents fear Donald Trump’s election won’t bring an end to the flow of weapons that have laid waste to much of Gaza.

Walid Abdul Wahab: “Biden sent a lot of weapons, rockets, bombs, you know. Those weapons helped the Israeli occupation do their disgraceful acts to the Palestinian people, and the Gazans especially.”

Spain has denied harbor to two ships operated by the Danish company Maersk, which were believed to be carrying weapons to Israel. El País reports the ships set sail from New York.

On Thursday, Turkey’s Ambassador to the U.N. Ahmet Yildiz renewed demands for a global arms embargo on Israel as he addressed U.N. reporters. Turkey and another 50 nations recently sent a joint letter to the U.N. pressing for an end to Israeli arms transfers.

Ahmet Yildiz: “We cannot stress enough that the staggering civilian toll, predominantly affecting women and children, resulting from ongoing breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law, is both unacceptable and intolerable.”

Two Canadian Palestinian citizens are suing the government of Canada for violating its duty to prevent genocide. This is attorney Shane Martínez.

Shane Martínez: “Our claim alleges that Canada, by failing to fulfill its legal duty to take all reasonable measures to prevent the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, did causally contribute to violations of our clients’ rights under the charter.”

The plaintiffs in the case have lost family members to Israel’s assault on Gaza, which they argue Canada has illegally abetted.

Activists in New York have joined a global hunger strike movement to end the war on Gaza. They’re holding vigils outside the U.N.'s headquarters today and over the weekend to call attention to Israel's catastrophic, 13-month-long assault. Dozens of activists in Amman, Jordan, launched their hunger strike one week ago. This is Mohammed Al-Tobasy.

Mohammed Al-Tobasy: “We had the idea in response to international calls to pressure through a global hunger strike in order to break the siege on northern Gaza. From there, no one has anything more precious than his health, so we decided to use our health as a form of pressure. Hunger strike, as we all know, is a form of pressure and peaceful resistance to achieve a certain demand.”

Israel’s military is continuing deadly attacks on southern Lebanon, including an airstrike on Sidon that killed three civilians while wounding five United Nations peacekeepers. A separate strike Thursday in the eastern Beqaa Valley destroyed the historic Al-Manshiya building, an Ottoman-era structure just yards away from the Roman temples of Baalbek, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed over 3,100 people.

In climate news, a new U.N. report finds financing from wealthy nations to help poorer countries adapt to the climate crisis totaled $28 billion in 2022, far short of the $359 billion that is needed. The report was released ahead of next week’s U.N. climate summit in Azerbaijan, where financing is set to be a key issue. This is U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.

Secretary-General António Guterres: “Climate catastrophe is hammering health, widening inequalities, harming sustainable development and rocking the foundations of peace. The vulnerable are hardest hit, and taxpayers are footing the bill, while the purveyors of all this destruction, particularly the fossil fuel industry, reap massive profits and subsidies. Meanwhile, the gap between the funds needed for adaptation and the funds available to developing countries is said to reach up to $359 billion U.S. a year by 2030.”

In Bolivia, wildfires have ravaged 75,000 acres of the Madidi National Park. Half of that is pampas, or wetland savannahs. The park is home to over 1,200 bird species, 270 types of mammals and hundreds of species of fish, amphibians and reptiles. This is a park ranger.

Radamir Sevillanos: “We protect a natural gem, both in biodiversity and landscape and culture. That is why Madidi Park is considered as one of the world’s 10 most biodiverse parks in the world. The place that is burning is very important because it is the second place with the largest population of jaguars in South America.”

In Mozambique, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters Thursday, killing an estimated five people and injuring 120 others amid ongoing post-election turmoil. The long-ruling Frelimo party declared victory last month, triggering protests and accusations of a rigged election by opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane and his supporters. At least 24 people have been killed in the unrest, according to a local rights group. This is a resident of Maputo.

Sheila Mavale: “I think the situation is terrible. For better or for worse, what is happening is harming the population. We are the ones who are suffering. I think the parties should sit down and talk, for the good of the population, because it is the population that is suffering.”

Australia may soon become the first country to ban social media use for children under 16 years old. The ban could take effect in roughly a year’s time if the government’s proposal is approved by Parliament. This is Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: “Social media is doing social harm to our young Australians. And I am calling time on it. The safety and mental health of our young people has to be a priority. And my government will do all that we can to protect our young Australians but also to provide support for parents and teachers who are dealing with these issues.”