Obama 'pardons' one last turkey ahead of Thanksgiving holiday

Barack Obama pardoned his last turkey as U.S. president on Wednesday, but his daughters should beware: he plans to continue the tradition as a private citizen.
Obama, who leaves office in January, has followed the annual tradition of "pardoning" a turkey every year before the Thanksgiving Day holiday, which many Americans celebrate with a turkey dinner.
His daughters, Malia and Sasha, often join their father for the tongue-in-cheek Rose Garden Ceremony. Not this year.
"Of course, Thanksgiving is a family holiday as much as a national one. So for the past seven years, I've established another tradition: embarrassing my daughters with a corny-copia of Dad jokes about turkeys," Obama said.
"This year they had a scheduling conflict," he deadpanned.
The president was joined in the Rose Garden by his young nephews, Austin and Aaron Robinson, instead.
He joked that he planned to keep up the tradition during his post presidency.
"Malia and Sasha, by the way, are thankful that this is my final presidential turkey pardon. What I haven’t told them yet is that we are going to do this every year from now on," he said to laughter. "No cameras. Just us. Every year. No way I’m cutting this habit cold turkey."
White House staffers, eager to see the final iteration of the annual tradition, filled the Rose Garden for the ceremony. The president had some more serious words for them and the public, too.
"On this Thanksgiving, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the American people for the trust that you’ve placed in me over these last eight years and the incredible kindness that you’ve shown my family," he said. "On behalf of Michelle, and my mother-in-law, and our girls, we want to thank you so very, very much."
After finishing his remarks, the president blessed a 40-pound (18-kg) fowl from Iowa, granting it a long life and a pardon from appearing on an American dinner table. A backup turkey also had its life spared. Their names: "Tot" and "Tater."

Vice President-elect Mike Pence to spend Thanksgiving in Mississippi

JACKSON, MS 

Vice President-elect Mike Pence will be spending the Thanksgiving holiday in Mississippi, according to the Associated Press.
According to Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump's transition team, Pence's son, 2nd Lt. Michael Pence Jr., is a Marine who is training to be a pilot and is stationed at Naval Air Station Meridian.
The public affairs officer for NAS Meridian says while Pence is coming to spend the holiday in the area, the Naval Air Station does not expect a visit from him at this time.
Miller says that President-elect Donald Trump will spend Thanksgiving at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Security tightens up at Mar-a-Lago Club during Trump family Thanksgiving visit

PALM BEACH, Fla. - Security is incredibly tight around the Mar-a-Lago Club this week as President-elect Donald Trump and his family are in Palm Beach to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Secret Service and sheriff's deputies were posted around the perimeter of the lavish waterfront property as Trump prepares to enjoy the holiday.

"They're stopping all the trucks and searching every truck," Palm Beach resident Andrew Krinsky said.
The future first family arrived in Palm Beach on Tuesday and a day later, school busses were parked in front of the Trump jet, likely as a security precaution.
"I've been a Donald trump supporter from the beginning," Palm Beach County resident Janusz Piskupek said.
Piskupek drove to Mar-a-Lago from Boca Raton just to be close to the president-elect.
"He works very, very hard," Piskupek said.
Meanwhile, flight restrictions were put in place around the waterfront club.  The security on the water is also very tight, as the Coast Guard set up several security zones.
"I'm not very proud, actually, that he had two towers very close to where we live," seasonal resident Brinlee Shultz said.
And while not everyone is thrilled to have Trump in the area, it's not all about politics.
"People are staying away from the area," gift shop owner David Leon said.
Leon said his store has seen less customers because people are trying to avoid the traffic.
"I've checked the years before, previous years," Leon said. "We've done a little better. A lot better actually then we have done in the last couple of days. And I think it is because Mr. Trump is here."
The Trump family is expected to go back to New York on Sunday.

DeNiro Cartoon

Gingrich: 'I can think of 20 other people' better suited for secretary of state than Romney

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich expressed skepticism Tuesday at reports that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was the frontrunner to be President-elect Donald Trump's secretary of state.
"I can think of 20 other people who would be more naturally compatible with the Trump vision of foreign policy," Gingrich told Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight."
MITT ROMNEY LEADS DONALD TRUMP'S PICKS TO BE SECRETARY OF STATE
Gingrich said that Trump would have to consider whether Romney would be a secretary of state "in the John Kerry tradition" and whether the 2012 Republican presidential nominee would "represent the kind of tough-minded, America-first policies that Trump has campaigned on."
Gingrich added that his preferred choices for secretary of state over Romney included former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, former U.N. ambassador John Bolton, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Hewlett-Packard CEO and Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina.
However, the former Speaker added that if Trump nominated Romney to be America's top diplomat, "I'm going to support him. But President-elect Trump deserves to have the team he wants."
Gingrich also addressed Trump's offer of the secretary of housing and urban development post to former primary rival Dr. Ben Carson.
CARSON SAYS TRUMP HAS OFFERED HIM HUD SECRETARY, OTHER POSTS
"It would be a little bit unusual because I think Dr. Carson would be more obviously the secretary of health and human services," Gingrich said. "[But] certainly Ben Carson, anything he did, he would do extraordinarily well."

De Niro appears to soften tone on Trump

Actor Robert De Niro appeared to soften his tone toward President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday when he was asked what message he would share with the soon-to-be 45th U.S. president.
“I would only say that we’re all hoping, waiting and hoping, that he will lead the country in a way that’ll benefit everyone and benefit our neighbors around the world,” De Niro told ITK, according to The Hill.
“We’re waiting and hoping, and we’ll see.”
De Niro spoke to ITK at the White House after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the highest civilian honor. The 73-year-old actor joined the likes of Michael Jordan, Bruce Springsteen and Vin Scully in getting the award.
The “Raging Bull” actor’s comments appear to be a complete turnaround from the disparaging remarks he made about the real estate mogul in October.
Of Trump, De Niro said "he's a punk, he's a dog, he's a pig, he's a con, a bulls--- artist, a mutt who doesn't know what he's talking about."
"It makes me so angry that this country has gotten to this point that this fool, this bozo, has wound up where he has," De Niro added. "He talks how he'd like to punch people in the face? Well, I'd like to punch him in the face."

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Leading up to Election Day, De Niro called Trump “insane” and compared him to General Jack D. Ripper who was one of Stanley Kubrick’s characters in “Dr. Strangelove.” After Trump’s election win, he told The Hollywood Reporter that it made him feel like he did after 9/11.
Tuesday, De Niro appeared more diplomatic and called the video “more symbolic.”
“After he said the things that he said, anybody would want to punch him in the face,” De Niro said. “Many people told me, ‘You said what I’d want to say.’ It’s just unacceptable to say those things in the situations that he said them in.
“I just want to see what he’s going to do.”

Carson says Trump has offered him HUD secretary, other Cabinet posts

It appears the doctor is in.
Former Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson is close to accepting the position of secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet, a GOP source with knowledge of the offer told Fox News late Tuesday.
The source said Carson would consider Trump's offer over the Thanksgiving holiday before making a final decision.
On Tuesday, Carson told Fox News' "Your World with Neil Cavuto" that the HUD position was "one of the offers [from Trump] that is on the table."
"Our inner cities are in terrible shape," Carson said. "And they definitely need some real attention. There have been so many promises made over the last several decades and nothing has been done, so it certainly is something that has been a long-term interest of mine."

Minutes after Carson left a meeting with Trump at Trump Tower Tuesday, the billionaire mogul tweeted: “I am seriously considering Dr. Ben Carson as the head of HUD. I’ve gotten to know him well—he’s a greatly talented person who loves people!”

BEN CARSON WOULD GIVE SERIOUS CONSIDERATION TO CABINET POST
On Sunday, Carson told “Fox Report Weekend” he was open to accepting a spot on Trump’s White House team.
“Basically, I’ve said my preference is to be outside and to act as an adviser, but if after going through the process they all conclude it would be much better to have me in the Cabinet, I would have to give that very serious consideration,” Carson said.
The walk-back followed Carson friend and business manager Armstrong Williams’ comments to The Hill on Nov. 15, during which he said Carson “feels he has no government experience, he’s never run a federal agency. The last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency.”
Later that day, Carson tried in a Facebook post to tamp down the embarrassing statement, noting his decision not to seek a Cabinet post “has nothing to do with the complexity of the job as is being reported by some news outlets.”
It’s previously been reported that Carson could be considered for a variety of department secretary jobs, including Education, Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs.
The HUD position is at first blush a surprising fit for Carson. However, Carson has previously shown an interest in the department. In June 2015, Carson criticized HUD for “overreach” for forcing the city of Dubuque, Iowa to weigh housing voucher applications from Chicago the same as it did applications from Dubuque residents.
“This is just an example of what happens when we allow the government to infiltrate every part of our lives,” said Carson, then a Republican presidential primary contender and an adversary of Trump. “This is what you see in communist countries, where they have so many regulations encircling every aspect of your life that if you don’t agree with them, all they have to do is pull the noose.”
Carson also wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Times in July 2015 on HUD’s policies to “desegregate” housing.
“There are reasonable ways to use housing policy to enhance the opportunities available to lower-income citizens,” Carson wrote, “but based on the history of failed socialist experiments in this country, entrusting the government to get it right can prove downright dangerous.”

Merkel 'not happy' over crumbling Pacific trade pact

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that she wasn’t happy about the possible demise of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which President-elect Donald Trump vowed to pull out of in his first day in office.
Merkel didn’t directly mention Trump in the speech to the German Parliament, but called for nations to take a multilateral approach to solving global issues.
Merkel said: "I will tell you honestly: I am not happy that the trans-Pacific agreement now will probably not become reality. I don't know who will benefit from that."
She added: "I know only one thing: there will be other trade agreements, and they won't have the standards that this agreement and the hoped-for TTIP agreement have."
Trump’s video message Monday came after President Obama and other leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group called for fighting the backlash against trade highlighted by Trump’s victory and Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
Trump had previously described the 12-nation pact as a “potential disaster for our country.” he has also said he wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, something Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said he would be willing to work with Trump on.
The TPP, signed this year in New Zealand, would take effect after it is ratified by six countries that account for 85 percent of the combined gross domestic product of its member nations.
The United States is 60 percent of the combined GDP of that group and Japan less than 20 percent, so those conditions cannot be met without U.S. participation.

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"TPP is meaningless without the United States," said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Last week, he became the first foreign leader to meet Trump since his Nov. 8 election victory.
As Japan's most powerful leader in a decade, Abe invested political capital in overcoming opposition to the TPP from farmers and the medical lobby. His ruling Liberal Democratic Party pushed TPP ratification through the lower house of parliament and had been set to seek final approval in the upper house.
Renegotiating the agreement would "disturb the fundamental balance of benefits," said Abe, who was in Argentina following APEC.
Other TPP members include Chile, Mexico, Canada, Peru, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Australia.
Obama has said he would give up seeking congressional approval for the TPP. He had championed it as a way for the United States to lead the creation of "gold standard" rules for 21st century trade.
"I think not moving forward would undermine our position across the region," Obama said last week at the APEC summit in Peru.