President-elect Trump is nominating Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth as defense secretary. He is nominating former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to lead the CIA, chose former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will head a new agency focused on regulating federal spending. (AP)
The FAA has imposed a 30-day flight ban to-and-from Haiti following gunfire hitting JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines planes near Port-au-Prince, citing safety risks amid gang violence. Exceptions for emergency flights are allowed. The gunfire incidents occurred on the same day that Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille was fired. (UPI)
A federal judge in Louisiana deemed the mandatory display of the Ten Commandments in public classrooms unconstitutional, citing its religious intent and ordering that state education officials not enforce it. The ruling affects only five local school boards named as defendants, with potential implications for others. The state plans to appeal. (AP)
An explosion at a Louisville business led to 11 employees being hospitalized and residents advised to shelter in place. The blast at Givaudan Sense Colour caused no fatalities, with two individuals in critical condition. “The cause at this point of the explosion is unknown,” Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a news conference. (CBS News)
Former Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira was sentenced to 15 years for stealing classified information from the Pentagon. He pleaded guilty to six counts after transmitting documents for over a year. The leak exposed troop movements and foreign adversary plots, putting U.S. personnel and allies at risk. (NBC News)
