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Patel clash, Hunter pardon and Syrian surprise strike

 
Today's NATIONAL story

Trump says he wants Kash Patel to lead FBI

What happened
President-elect Donald Trump said late Saturday he plans to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray with Kash Patel, a staunch loyalist who has said he would dismantle the "deep state" and pursue Trump's vowed retribution against perceived enemies in law enforcement, government and journalism. Wray, appointed by Trump 2017, has three years left in his 10-year term.

Who said what
Patel "did an incredible job during my first term," Trump said on social media, and would "bring back Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity to the FBI." The 44-year-old former federal prosecutor served in senior national security roles in Trump's first administration, to mixed reviews. Former Attorney General William Barr blocked Trump from making Patel deputy FBI director, writing in his memoir that choosing such an unqualified person for that role "showed a shocking detachment from reality."

"Even among Trump loyalists," Patel is "widely viewed as a controversial figure and relentless self-promoter," CNN said. Some of Trump's top advisers "warned him" against picking Patel as FBI chief, The Wall Street Journal said. But Trump "ignored those aides" and chose "one of his most loyal foot soldiers" to "remake" America's "premier" law-enforcement agency "more fully into an arm of his agenda."

What next?
Wray could resign or "be fired once Trump takes office in January," The Associated Press said, but either way, his "days are numbered" as FBI chief. Patel is "likely to face tough questions" at his Senate confirmation hearings "about whether the agency would remain free from political interference," The New York Times said.

 
 
Today's POLITICS story

Biden pardons son Hunter

What happened
President Joe Biden last night pardoned his son Hunter for any offenses he "committed or may have committed or taken part in" since early 2014. The pardon, which spares the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for felony gun and tax convictions, reversed the president's repeated promise he would not grant his son clemency.

Who said what
Hunter was "selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted" for offenses that are rarely charged, "only because he is my son," Biden said in a statement. "I believe in the justice system," but "I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice." 

Republicans and some Democrats criticized the pardon. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) said Biden "put his family ahead of the country" and set a "bad precedent that could be abused by later presidents." Donald Trump, who pardoned several political allies and his in-law Charles Kushner right before leaving office in 2021, called it "an abuse and miscarriage of justice."

What next?
Yesterday's pardon came as Trump "made it clearer than ever that his second term would be focused on retribution and revenge" against Biden, The New York Times said, "with Hunter Biden as a prime target."

 
 
Today's INTERNATIonAL Story

Syrian rebels seize Aleppo in surprise offensive

What happened
Rebels captured Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo, over the weekend and advanced toward Hama in a surprise incursion that reignited Syria's 13-year-old civil war and embarrassed President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Airstrikes by Syrian and allied Russian warplanes have killed 56 people in Aleppo and Idlib provinces since the rebels launched their offensive on Wednesday, humanitarian group the Syrian Civil Defense, or White Helmets, said this morning.

Who said what
The rebels, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, "spent months training and preparing for a surprise offensive, but even they may not have predicted how quickly they would advance," The New York Times said. Their "lightning advance," The Washington Post said, was aided by the "weakening" of Assad's military allies Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, "and, possibly, luck: Few expected the Syrian army to collapse as quickly as it did."

What next?
Assad vowed to "defeat the terrorists." The U.S., Britain, France and Germany yesterday urged "de-escalation by all parties" and the protection of civilians to "prevent further displacement and disruption of humanitarian access."

 
 

It's not all bad

A recently discovered avian fossil has "filled in a 70-million-year gap in the understanding of how the brains of birds evolved," the BBC said. The Mesozoic Era bird, named Navaornis hestiae, lived in what is now Brazil. Because the fossil had a complete skull, researchers could see the similarities and differences between it, modern birds and the 150-million-year-old Archaeopteryx, a bird-like dinosaur. "This might be just one fossil, but it's a key piece in the puzzle of bird brain evolution," said Daniel Field of Cambridge University.

 
 
Under the radar

New AI publishing startup Spines will charge authors up to $5,000 to have their books edited, proofread, formatted, designed and circulated with the help of artificial intelligence, and the book world is in a tizzy. The book industry has described the team behind the company as "dingbats," "opportunists" and "extractive capitalists."

The startup "isn't self-publishing" or a vanity publisher, insists Spines co-founder Yehuda Niv, who previously ran a publishing services business in Israel. He describes his new venture instead as a "publishing platform." His company, which secured $16 million in a recent funding round, promises to reduce the time it takes to publish a book to two to three weeks and says authors retain 100% of their royalties.  

The publishing industry is less than enthusiastic. "Let's be clear," said Mary Kate Carr at The A.V. Club. If you are spending $5,000 to have AI edit and publish your book, you are "throwing your money away." 

The Spines model is "very unlikely to deliver on what an author is hoping they might achieve" and "most unlikely to be their best route to publication," Anna Ganley, the CEO of The Society of Authors, said to The Guardian. If the industry "relies on AI systems," there would be "concerns about the lack of originality and quality of the service being offered." 

AI is a "hot-button topic," editorial consultant Anna Hervé told Times Now. While it could assist people in artistic endeavors, "human creativity and critical thinking remain essential."

 
 
On this day

December 2, 1993

Drug kingpin Pablo Escobar was killed during a shootout with Colombian police. The founder and leader of the Medellin cartel, Escobar is considered one of the most powerful and wealthiest criminals in history; his cocaine empire made an estimated $420 million per week in the 1980s.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

"Tighter return policies spark shopper revolt," The Wall Street Journal says on today's Cyber Monday front page. "Giving Tuesday donations buoy nonprofits," USA Today says, also noting the end of the "deadliest hurricane season in years." Donald Trump's "tariffs could hurt state's farmers even more" after storm damage, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says. The "new tariffs raise supply concerns for small firms," too, the Journal says. "Some allies back Trump's pick of FBI chief bent on revenge," and in deciding whether to confirm Kash Patel, the "Senate faces decisive test of its power," The New York Times says. In California, a "special session to battle Trump looming," the San Francisco Chronicle says, and nationally, "legal statutes could weaken migrant plan." 

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

9+1+1

A 10-year-old in Wisconsin called 911 for help solving an "eighth-grade level" math problem. The child told dispatcher Kim Krause it was "not really an emergency" and apologized for calling, Shawano County Sheriff George Lenzner told "Good Morning America." But Krause still checked to see if any officers were available, and Deputy Sheriff Chase Mason offered to visit the house. This is not "something we normally do," Lenzen said, but he was "proud" Mason stepped up to assist.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Chas Newkey-Burden, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Brandon Bell / Getty Images; Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images; Rami Alsayed / NurPhoto via Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images