1. Incoming U.S. Presidential Cabinet

Following a huge campaign on both sides this November with millions of dollars being spent in campaigning, Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump has been elected President of the United States over Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 term. Since he was the president for the 2016 term and since he is getting a majority in both the House and the Senate, it seems he will have no problem getting his choices for the cabinet into his presidency.  Take a look below at the most notable of Trump’s cabinet picks.

• Attorney General: Pam Bondi

Pamela Jo Bondi, born Nov. 17, 1965 was a former attorney general for the state of Florida between 2011 and 2019, the first female in that position. She was also one of Donald Trump’s legal advisers during his first impeachment trial. In addition, she led the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-aligned political organization. She replaces Matt Gaetz was replaced.

• Health and Human Services secretary: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is an American politician widely known for his anti-vaccine beliefs and advocacy, according to PBS News. This has caused a large amount of controversy, as many detractors  worry about an anti-vax secretary of a major health agency. Despite this, RFK maintains his position as the pre-emptive secretary, using the slogan “Make America Healthy Again” to rally support.

• Director of National Intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard  is a former Democrat presidential nominee, who joined the Republican party in 2024 to run with Trump. Many people disagree with her being chosen for this position, with ABC news saying, “the 43-year-old former congresswoman and onetime Democratic presidential candidate has no intelligence experience, yet would be overseeing 18 intelligence agencies with a $100 billion budget.” However, many republicans believe she is the right person for the job, with Trump choosing to continue her appointment to the position.

• Department of Government Efficiency: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, a former republican presidential nominee, have been chosen to run the “Department of Government Efficiency,” an unofficial department that Trump plans to create during his term. The department’s goal is planned to be the cutting of government expenses and to slash the budget. While the organization has received some negative reception due to the already existent organization “Government Accountability Office,” progressives like Bernie Sander, according to an NBC article by Jackson Walker,  have expressed support for the agency’s goals. “Elon Musk is right,” said Sanders. “The Pentagon, with a budget of $886 billion, just failed its 7th audit in a row. It’s lost track of billions.”

2. United States Navy shoots Houthi Missiles

In the Gulf of Aden, two U.S. Navy Destroyers shot down missiles that were coming towards a group of three U.S. flagged commercial ships that were sailing in the area. The United States Central Command has stated that there was no damage done to the ships involved, and that no injuries were sustained.
The destroyers, being the USS Stockade and the USS O’Kane, shot down the weapons between Saturday and Sunday. According to the ABC, The weapons were launched by the Islamic political and militant group called “The Houthi’s.” The Houthis are a radical group of Zaydia Shia Muslims who have been a vital part of the Yemeni civil war. The Houthis began their attacks on shipping containers at the onset of the war between Israel and Hamas, demanding that Israel withdraw from the Gaza strip before they ended their attacks.

3. Martial Law in South Korea

To the shock of many, on Dec. 3, 2024, the president of South Korea suddenly declared martial law, a policy where the military acts as law enforcement according to the New York Times.  President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law to prevent what he called “anti-state activities” from being performed by the center-liberal political party called the DPK, who had a majority in the national assembly. He called the DPK “Collaborators with the North Korean Communists.” Following this declaration, the military attempted to prevent lawmakers from voting to end the martial law, and civilians protested outside the national assembly to prevent the military from achieving this. Eventually, lawmakers succeeded in entering the National Assembly Proceeding Hall and unanimously voted for an end to the martial law. President Yoon is in a lot of trouble presently, with some lawmakers calling this an attempted coup.

4. Syrian Rebels defeat Assad

Bashar al-Assad, whose family has been in charge of Syria for 53 years, has been toppled by a coalition of rebel forces. Assad’s Government, supported by Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, has been pushed from damascus and into the coast by the rebel forces of the Syrian Interim Government, the Syrian Free Army (US Supported), the Syrian Salvation Government, and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.Assad, who had used dictatorial powers against peaceful protesters in 2007 under his Ba-athist regime, faced a revolution against his rule in 2011 during the Arab Spring. America intervened to prevent terrorism in the region while Russia intervened in order to defend Assad’s regime. The rapid fall of the Syrian forces is attributed mainly to the economic collapse of Syria, and the lack of morale among Assad’s forces. According to Al-Jazeera, many wonder if the now successful rebel forces can get past their differences and form a stable government.

5. French Government faces Collapse

The French government faces a vote of no confidence as the far-left and far-right parties (France Unbowed and National Rally respectively) look to remove the current Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, from government and replace him. According to Reuters, this comes following a failure by Barnier to appease National Rally, as he attempted to force through a social security bill, one which was a desperate attempt to save the French economy. This bill was not enough for them; however, and they went through with the vote. Despite the vote of no confidence succeeding, National Rally has lost a seat in the government, and Macron and the left parties look to form a new government under a center-left Prime Minister.