As Donald Trump starts naming his team for his second term one position is already filled – first lady.

Melania Trump proved a colourful first lady last time round and the early signs are that she will be no less discussed during the second term. "Melania does what Melania wants," Mary Jordan, author of a book about Melania, told Axios, because "her view" is that her role is "unelected" and "not paid".

What happened last time?
By the time the Trumps left the White House in 2021, Melania was the least popular first lady yet, according to surveys by CNN, SRSS and Gallup.

She was absent from Washington for large chunks of her husband's reign amid conjecture that her stepdaughter Ivanka held the de facto position. So this time round, "with her son at university in New York" and Ivanka "off the political scene", it "may feel like her first run at first lady", said The Times.

Will she live in the White House?
Speculation is already rife over where she will live, but the prospect of her "rolling in" for a second full-time stint in the East Wing is "doubtful", according to several "Melania-ologists" on Axios. "I mean, she clearly hated being in Washington," said Kate Andersen Brower, an author who specialises in the White House and first ladies.

Will she weigh in on policy?
Melania's profile on the White House archive says she spent "much of her time" during Trump's first term "meeting with children all over the world – in classrooms, hospitals, care facilities, at home in the White House, and in communities worldwide".

She has also spoken out about a far more divisive issue: abortion; and in her recently published memoir she actively backed abortion rights. "There are several legitimate reasons for a woman to choose to have an abortion," she wrote. She "seems to have joined a long line of Republican former first ladies" who have "come out in support" of abortion rights, "putting them at odds" with their husbands' public statements on the issue, said the BBC.

Five people were taken to hospital with injuries after Israeli football fans were attacked in Amsterdam last night following a match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Police said they were investigating reports of a "possible hostage situation and of missing persons", and that 62 people had been arrested so far. Israel's President Isaac Herzog described the violence as an "antisemitic pogrom".

'Like a war zone'
"The match was fraught from the start," said Politico. A group of protesters from a planned pro-Palestine demonstration tried to march to the stadium and were blocked by riot police. Videos also showed Israeli fans "tearing down Palestinian flags and chanting anti-Arab slogans" before the match, said Sky News.

After the match, things turned "extremely ugly". Israeli fans were "chased, beaten and kicked on the floor". Some videos appear to show fans being "forced to show their passports". The violence "resurfaces the worst memories of antisemitism in Europe". "Mobs chanted anti-Israel slogans and proudly shared videos of their violent acts on social media," Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

"We don't feel safe," one Israeli told Dutch state broadcaster NOS. "You come to the game to have fun, but I can't believe what happened here. I come here for a holiday, but it looked like a war zone."

'A blaring alarm call'
Maccabi Tel Aviv advised its fans not to show Israeli or Jewish symbols outside, and to return to Israel as soon as possible. Israeli airline El Al said it was operating two rescue flights to Amsterdam to bring passengers back to Israel free of charge. Dutch authorities said extra police would patrol Amsterdam, with security particularly "beefed up" at sites such as Anne Frank's house, said The Independent.

Israel's new foreign minister, Gideon Sa'ar, is travelling to the Netherlands for an "urgent diplomatic visit", according to Israeli media. He has called the attack "a blaring alarm call for Europe and the world".
"Freedom-loving countries, democracies, cannot allow unbridled hatred to roam the streets with impunity," he said. "As history has shown – what begins with persecution and violence against Jews never ends with the Jews."

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Smiling, winking, Biden looked delighted that Kamala Harris lost
Poppy Coburn in The Telegraph
Joe Biden is "too old to be a father of the nation", writes Poppy Coburn, but his national address yesterday "was a pretty good bid" to be its grandfather. He was "winking at the crowd of staffers" and it was "hard to escape the impression" that this was "the happiest Biden had been in a long, long time". It would be "impossible for the famously irascible" outgoing president not to feel "some degree of schadenfreude at the outcome of the election".

Prince William's struggle with cancer in the family is a familiar feeling to many
Russell Myers in The Mirror
The "brutal reality" Prince William has revealed is a feeling "far too many families will experience", writes Russell Myers, because cancer can be a "merciless guest". As his wife and the King "enter new phases of their recovery", William "could use his platform" to "draw attention to the challenges cancer poses" and "highlight the need for resources" to help families deal with such "devastating" diagnoses. "One hopes better things will be on the horizon for them all."

'Gary Barlow's massive son' has saved us from Trump misery
Clair Woodward in The Independent
Social media "exploded into a blaze of joy" when Gary Barlow shared a photo of his son, who "dwarfs the rest of his family", writes Clair Woodward. The height difference "brought out the best in X users". It reminded us of when the platform was all about "users making stupid jokes" and "not telling their political opponents to eff off". It was the "socials palate cleanser" that we need after the US election.