AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EST

Trump chooses loyalist Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Matt Gaetz withdraws

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he will nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the Justice Department, turning to a longtime ally after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations.

Bondi has been an outspoken defender of Trump. She was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial, when he was accused — but not convicted — of abusing his power as he tried to condition U.S. military assistance to Ukraine on that country investigating then-former Vice President Joe Biden. And she was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his New York hush money criminal trial that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts.

“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – Not anymore,” Trump said in a social media post. “Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again.”

Gaetz stepped aside amid continued fallout over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation’s chief federal law enforcement officer. Gaetz’s vehemently denied the allegations, but his nomination stunned many career lawyers inside the Justice Department. Gaetz, who passed the bar but barely worked as a lawyer, had very little relevant experience for the job. Bondi comes with years of legal work under her belt and that other trait Trump prizes above all: loyalty.

The hasty withdrawal by Gaetz and quick pivot to Bondi were the latest examples of Trump’s tumultuous decision-making as he rushes out nominations — some of questionable character and credentials — at a breakneck pace without the government vetting that is typical of presidential transitions. It’s an omen that despite running his most organized campaign for the White House this year, his return to the Oval Office might feature the same sort of drama that permeated his first term.

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What to know about Pam Bondi, Trump’s new pick for attorney general

NEW YORK (AP) — Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, was chosen Thursday by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. attorney general hours after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration after a federal sex trafficking investigation and ethics probe made his ability to be confirmed dubious.

The 59-year-old has long been in Trump’s orbit and her name had been floated during his first term as a potential candidate for the nation’s highest law enforcement role.

If confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, Bondi would instantly become one of the most closely watched members of Trump’s Cabinet given the Republican’s threat to pursue retribution against perceived adversaries and concern among Democrats that he will look to bend the Justice Department to his will.

Here’s a few things to know about Bondi:

Bondi has been a longtime and early ally. In March 2016, on the eve of the Republican primary in Florida, Bondi endorsed Trump at a rally, picking him over the candidate from her own state, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

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Trump convinced Republicans to overlook his misconduct. But can he do the same for his nominees?

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the two weeks since Donald Trump won the presidency, he’s tried to demonstrate his dominance by naming loyalists for top administration positions, even though many lack expertise and some face sexual misconduct accusations. It often seems like he’s daring Congress to oppose his decisions.

But on Thursday, Trump’s attempt to act with impunity showed a crack as Matt Gaetz, his choice for attorney general, withdrew from consideration.

Trump had named Gaetz, a Florida congressman, to be the country’s top law enforcement official even though he was widely disliked by his colleagues, has little legal experience and was accused of having sex with an underage girl, an allegation he denied. After being plagued by investigations during his first presidency, Trump wanted a devoted ally in charge of the Justice Department during his second.

However, it was never obvious that Gaetz could win enough support from lawmakers to get confirmed as attorney general. Trump chose for a replacement Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general who defended him during his first impeachment trial and supported his false claims of voter fraud.

Now the question is whether Gaetz was uniquely unpalatable, or if Trump’s other picks might exceed his party’s willingness to overlook concerns that would have sunk nominees in a prior political era.

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Storm dumps record rain and heavy snow on Northern California. Many in Seattle still without power

FORESTVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A major storm moving through Northern California on Thursday dropped heavy snow and record rain, flooding some areas, after killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in the Pacific Northwest. Forecasters warned that the risk of flash flooding and rockslides would continue, and scores of flights were canceled at San Francisco’s airport.

In Washington, nearly 265,000 people — mostly in the Seattle area — remained without power as crews worked to clear streets of electrical lines, fallen branches and debris. Utility officials said the outages, which began Tuesday, could last into Saturday.

Meanwhile on the East Coast, where rare wildfires have raged, New York and New Jersey welcomed much-needed rain that could ease the fire danger for the rest of the year.

The National Weather Service extended a flood watch into Saturday for areas north of San Francisco as the region was inundated by the strongest atmospheric river — a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows through the sky over land — this season.

The system roared ashore Tuesday as a “ bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly. It unleashed fierce winds that toppled trees onto roads, vehicles and homes, killing at least two people in the Washington cities of Lynnwood and Bellevue.

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Warrants put Israeli PM and others in a small group of leaders accused of crimes against humanity

The decision by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister and a top Hamas official puts them in a small group of leaders to be accused of crimes against humanity.

The court issued warrants Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and Mohammed Deif, a Hamas leader Israel claims it killed.

A three-judge panel from the court said the warrants were based on “reasonable grounds” that Netanyahu and Gallant bear responsibility for a war crime and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, where more than 44,000 people have reportedly been killed and more than 104,000 wounded in the 13-month war between Israel and Hamas.

Netanyahu condemned the warrant, saying Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions.”

The warrant against Deif said there was reason to believe he was involved in murder, rape, torture and the taking of hostages amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity for the militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in those attacks, and another 250 were abducted.

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UN nuclear agency’s board condemns Iran for the 2nd time this year for failing to fully cooperate

VIENNA (AP) — The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s board on Thursday condemned Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the agency, the second time it has done so in just five months.

The International Atomic Energy Agency also called on Tehran to provide answers in a long-running investigation into uranium particles found at two locations that Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites.

Nineteen members of the IAEA board voted for the resolution, while Russia, China and Burkina Faso opposed it, and 12 abstained and one did not vote, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote.

The resolution was put forward by France, Germany and Britain, supported by the United States. It comes at a critical time, ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Trump’s first term in office was marked by a particularly tense period with Iran, when the U.S. president pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” against Tehran. In 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, and imposed even harsher sanctions that have since hobbled Iran’s economy further.

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Putin touts Russia’s new missile and delivers a menacing warning to NATO

The new ballistic missile fired by Russia struck a military-industrial facility in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, but its real mission was delivering a deadly new message to NATO.

Hours after Thursday’s strike touched off a debate over whether the Ukrainian plant was hit by an intercontinental ballistic missile, President Vladimir Putin made a rare and surprise appearance on Russian television to clear up the mystery.

He described it as a new, intermediate-range ballistic missile that raced to its target at 10 times the speed of sound.

“Modern air defense systems that exist in the world and anti-missile defenses created by the Americans in Europe can’t intercept such missiles,” Putin declared in an icy and menacing tone.

The attack marked the first time that such a missile was used in the war — or in any conflict.

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Jussie Smollett’s conviction in 2019 attack on himself is overturned

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lying to Chicago police, saying he should not have been charged a second time after reaching a deal with prosecutors.

The ruling, which did not address Smollett’s continued claims of innocence, was the latest twist in a yearslong saga. Smollett, who is Black and gay, made headlines around the world after he told police in January 2019 that two men assaulted him in his downtown Chicago neighborhood, spouting slurs, tossing a noose around his neck, and yelling that he was in “MAGA country,” an apparent reference to Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” presidential campaign slogan. The report prompted a massive search for suspects by Chicago police before investigators announced that they believed the attack was a hoax.

The state’s highest court found that a special prosecutor should not have been allowed to intervene after Smollett reached a deal with the Cook County state’s attorney in which charges against him were dropped in exchange for him forfeiting his $10,000 bond and performing community service. The deal prompted outrage in part because it did not include any condition that Smollett apologize or admit he staged the attack.

“We are aware that this case has generated significant public interest and that many people were dissatisfied with the resolution of the original case and believed it to be unjust,” Justice Elizabeth Rochford wrote in the court’s 5-0 opinion. “Nevertheless, what would be more unjust than the resolution of any one criminal case would be a holding from this court that the state was not bound to honor agreements upon which people have detrimentally relied.”

Smollett was on the television drama “Empire,” which filmed in Chicago, and prosecutors alleged he staged the attack because he was unhappy with the studio’s response to hate mail he received. Testimony at trial indicated he paid $3,500 to two men whom he knew from “Empire” to carry it out. Smollett testified that “there was no hoax” and that he was the victim of a hate crime.

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Alabama carries out nation’s third nitrogen gas execution on a man for a hitchhiker’s killing

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama man convicted in the 1994 killing of a hitchhiker cursed at the prison warden and made obscene gestures with his hands shortly before he was put to death Thursday evening in the nation’s third execution using nitrogen gas.

Carey Dale Grayson, 50, was executed at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in southern Alabama. He was one of four teenagers convicted of killing Vickie DeBlieux, 37, as she hitchhiked through the state on the way to her mother’s home in Louisiana. The woman was attacked, beaten and thrown off a cliff.

Alabama began using nitrogen gas earlier this year to carry out some executions. The method involves placing a respirator gas mask over the face to replace breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, causing death by lack of oxygen.

Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm said the nitrogen flowed for 15 minutes and an electrocardiogram showed Grayson no longer had a heartbeat about 10 minutes after the gas began flowing.

Like two others previously executed by nitrogen, Grayson shook at times before taking a periodic series of gasping breaths.

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Shohei Ohtani wins third MVP award, first in NL. Aaron Judge earns second AL honor in 3 seasons

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani keeps setting records, even after the season is over.

The Los Angeles Dodgers star added his third Most Valuable Player award to his collection and first in the National League when he was chosen unanimously by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Thursday. Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees won the American League award for the second time, also unanimously.

Ohtani last year became the first two-time unanimous MVP. He won the AL award in 2021 and 2023 as a two-way star for the Los Angeles Angels and finished second to Judge in 2022 voting.

He didn’t pitch in 2024 following elbow surgery and signed a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December. Ohtani became the first player to reach 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, then helped the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series.

“The fact that I knew I wasn’t going to be able to pitch this season just made me focus more on my offensive game and fortunately I was able to produce and get this award,” Ohtani said through a translator.

The Associated Press