President-elect Donald Trump is filling key posts in his second administration, and it’s shaping up much differently than his first. He’s prioritizing loyalists for top jobs. Trump was bruised and hampered by internal squabbles during his initial term in office. Now he appears focused on remaking the federal government in his own image. Some of his choices could face difficult confirmation battles even with Republicans in control of the U.S. Senate. Here’s a look at whom he has selected so far. Cabinet nominees: SECRETARY OF STATE: Marco Rubio Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making the critic-turned-ally his choice for top diplomat.

Imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi underwent a complex surgery in Iran that saw part of a bone in her right leg removed over cancer fears but was immediately returned to prison, raising the risks to her life, rights groups warned. A letter signed by over 40 activist groups, sent to the United Nations Human Rights Council, urged that Mohammadi be immediately released on a medical furlough from a prison sentence on charges long criticized internationally. It is part of a wider pressure campaign on Iran over Mohammadi’s detention since the Nobel committee honored her last year.

I am begging you, please help save my daughter My name is Yitzchak, and I am writing to you as a broken and worried father. Our dear Avigayil, less than a year old now, was born with a small, heartwarming smile, but now she’s fighting a severe illness—cutaneous lymphoma. The word “cancer” is still too heavy for us to assimilate, and the fear is unrelenting. A few years ago, my wife Tehillah and I went through a terrible time when our eldest daughter was fighting for her life after a severe accident. Somehow, we managed to get through it, but now we’re facing another painful battle, and we lose entire nights to worry. For our baby Avigayil to overcome this illness, she urgently needs costly biological treatment. We need your help.

Germany’s defense minister said Tuesday officials have to assume damage to two data cables under the Baltic Sea, one of which ends in Germany, was caused by sabotage — though he said they have no proof at present. Damage was detected Monday to the C-Lion1 cable that runs nearly 1.200 kilometers (750 miles) from the Finnish capital, Helsinki, to the German port city of Rostock. Another cable between Lithuania and Sweden was also damaged. Speaking in Brussels, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Russia poses not just a military but also a hybrid threat, and that Europe needs to take a broad approach to defense.

Over a New Mexico training range named the Hornet, two Osprey aircraft speed 100 feet off the ground, banking hard over valleys and hills as they close in on a dusty landing zone. A flight engineer in the back braces a .50-caliber machine gun over the edge of the Osprey’s open ramp as desert shrubbery blurs past. The aircraft’s joints shift and rattle, and there is little steady to hold on to until the Osprey touches down with a bump, flooding seats with rust-colored dust. After being grounded for months following a crash last November that killed eight U.S. service members in Japan, the V-22 Osprey is back in the air. But there are still questions as to whether it should be.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir spoke at the start of an Otzma Yehudit party meeting on Monday and revealed that Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara tried to fabricate a criminal case against him. “This story,” Ben-Gvir began, “should shake the foundations. It also shows the working methods of the attorney-general. Unfortunately, the picture I get is that she does what she wants, with no limits or checks, and what I’m about to tell you illustrates this.” “A few months ago, one of the attorney-general’s deputies visited the police’s Lahav 443 crime unit.

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday formally lowered the threshold for Russia’s use of its nuclear weapons, a move that follows U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russian territory with American-supplied longer-range missiles. The new doctrine allows for a potential nuclear response by Moscow even to a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Ukraine fired six U.S.-made ATACMS missiles early Tuesday at a military facility in Russia’s Bryansk region that borders Ukraine, adding that air defenses shot down five of them and damaged one more.

Sweden has issued five million pamphlets urging its citizens to stockpile food, water, and other essential supplies, citing a “worsening security situation” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The updated “If Crisis or War Comes” document, last revised six years ago, highlights growing concerns over nuclear risks and the potential for broader conflict in Europe. The release of the pamphlets coincided with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s stark warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a video address, Zelensky referenced U.S.-supplied long-range missiles, stating, “Missiles will speak for themselves,” in response to reports that the U.S. has authorized strikes on Russian territory.

As President Joe Biden approaches the end of his term, his administration is coming under fire for policies that punish Israel while easing restrictions on Hamas and Hezbollah. The president, once vocal in his support of Israel after the Oct. 7 massacre, now appears to be bending to anti-Israel pressures within his own party. The controversy intensified last week when the Biden administration reversed a 2022 Treasury Department decision that barred the U.S.-based Foundation for Global Political Exchange from hosting Hamas and Hezbollah representatives at a Beirut conference. The sudden approval has drawn outrage, with critics accusing Biden of capitulating to Iran-backed terror groups.

The IDF issued arrest orders for 1,126 bnei yeshivos who ignored their draft orders, Army Radio reported on Tuesday. “Our target was for 1,110 Chareidim to show up for the first summons out of 3,000, and only 290 came,” said Brig. Gen. Shay Taib, the head of the IDF’s Manpower Division, at a meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. “We issued 1,126 arrest warrants to those who didn’t respond to the first and second orders.” “They will then receive a call to come to the induction centers and anyone who fails to appear will be declared a draft dodger.” Those who are declared draft dodgers will not be arrested immediately but will be taken into police custody if they try to leave the country and be prevented from receiving a driver’s license.

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