Government facilities for immigrant youth are struggling to deal with threats to their safety, including a young woman who cut herself with a sewing needle, a fight in which one boy repeatedly kicked another in the head, and a 6-year-old who tried to run away, according to an investigation by the Associated Press.
Why it matters: These facilities are holding about 14,000 immigrant children throughout the country. Those numbers are likely to increase, since it's taking longer to reunite them with relatives who are afraid of being deported.
Mexican President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s transition team and other Mexican officials indicated to the Trump administration that they at least temporarily support a U.S. plan to rework the border policy so that asylum seekers must wait in Mexico as U.S. courts review their claims, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: An agreement would break tradition with current asylum rules and provide a barrier in the path of Central American migrants attempting to receive asylum in the U.S.
A state judge ruled late Friday that a lawsuit brought by New York's attorney general against the Trump Foundation for alleged violations of campaign finance law can proceed, according to Reuters, despite President Trump's request that the suit be dismissed on the grounds that the state's AG is "biased."
Why it matters: This is the second time this year that a New York judge has ruled that Trump can still face civil lawsuits, even as president, according to the New York Times. The lawsuit claims that Trump wrongfully gave $2.8 million worth of foundation donations to his campaign, used $100,000 to settle a dispute involving his Mar-a-Lago resort, and spent $10,000 on a portrait of himself to hang in one of his golf clubs. New York seeks to dissolve the Trump foundation with the lawsuit.
Why it matters: A plea from Corsi "could bring Mueller’s team closer to determining whether Trump or his advisers were linked to WikiLeaks’ release of hacked Democratic emails in 2016," the Post says.
The incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Democrat Adam Schiff, told the Washington Post he'll use his committee next year to figure out what U.S. intelligence agencies know about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi to determine if President Trump is "representing something very different."
Why it matters:The Post had previously reported that the CIA concluded the killing of Khashoggi was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump yesterday disputed those reports, stating that the crown prince has denied any involvement, and suggested "the world should be held accountable because the world is a vicious place."
A record 14,030 immigrant children were in shelters across the country as of last week, one-third of them in Texas, the Houston Chronicle's Lomi Kriel reports.
Why it matters: "It is almost three times the number of children in federal detention a year ago."
Nancy Pelosi’s "relentless honey-over-vinegar approach to dealing with political headaches — which she learned at the foot of her father, former Baltimore mayor Thomas D’Alesandro Jr. — has been critical to sustaining her grip on power since Democrats won the House majority this month," the WashPost's Mike DeBonis and Bob Costa report:
"She has personally courted disgruntled members in meetings and by phone while deploying her sprawling network to bolster her bid among both liberals and moderates, all but overwhelming her critics with her ability to outmaneuver them."
Why it matters: "According to several aides involved in their discussions, Pelosi’s tenacity has rattled and weakened the ragtag group of rebel Democrats, mostly men, who have struggled to recruit a challenger."
