Prison abuse, deaths and escapes prompt calls for more oversight

 By Amanda Hernandez

Rampant sexual abuse by guards at women’s prisons in California. An inmate suicide that went unnoticed for 18 hours in Washington state. Multiple jail breaks in Pennsylvania.

Prisons and jails across the United States are overcrowded and understaffed, jeopardizing the safety of incarcerated people, correctional officers and surrounding communities. As state legislatures convene in the coming weeks, many lawmakers are focusing on a key criminal justice issue for prisons and jails: more oversight.

Trump administration profile: Pam Bondi

 By Emma Rose Brown

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Pamela J. Bondi to lead the Department of Justice on Nov. 21, just hours after Trump’s original pick, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), withdrew his name from consideration over alleged sex crimes and drug-related misconduct. 

Who is she? Bondi, a corporate lobbyist and former two-term attorney general of Florida, is a longtime Trump loyalist who served on his first impeachment team. She falsely claimed he won Pennsylvania in 2020, and she stumped for Trump in late 2024. 

Trump administration profile: Pete Hegseth

 By Charlotte Ehrlich

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Pete Hegseth to be secretary of defense on Nov. 12, 2024, a choice that caught many in Washington off guard. Hegseth, 44, is a Fox News personality, author and Army National Guard veteran who deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. 

While he is celebrated for earning two Bronze Stars, Hegseth’s political and financial controversies have raised concerns ahead of his Senate confirmation.

Baltimore Media ‘Create a False Impression That Youth Are Responsible for a Lot of Very Dangerous Crime’: .

By Janine Jackson 

Janine Jackson interviewed the Sentencing Project’s Richard Mendel about coverage of youth crime for the December 20, 2024, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript.

Janine Jackson: Some listeners may know the Sentencing Project for their work calling out racial disparities in sentencing associated with crack versus powder cocaine, and mandatory minimums. A recent project involves looking into another factor shaping public understanding and public policy around criminal justice—the news media. In this case, the focus is young people.

No jail time or fines for Trump in sentencing for NY hush money case

By Ashley Murray

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced Friday in his New York hush money case just days before his inauguration, making him the only past and future U.S. president with a criminal record.

Trump has faced four criminal prosecutions but the New York state case was the sole one that went to trial. A jury convicted him in May on 34 felonies for falsifying invoices, checks and ledger entries that amounted to a $130,000 reimbursement to his lawyer for paying off a porn star ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Minimum wages are increasing in nearly half the states this year

By Kevin Hardy 

The minimum wage will increase in nearly half the states this year even as the federal wage floor remains stuck at $7.25 per hour.

In many states, the minimum wage is automatically adjusted upward as inflation rises. But voters in several states, including deeply red ones such as Alaska and Missouri, chose in November to significantly increase their minimum wages this year.

Trump calls for avoiding default, possibly using military force for expansion

 By Shauneen Miranda

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said during a wide-ranging press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday he wanted to see the country’s debt limit addressed while cutting spending and would not rule out military force to expand U.S. territory. 

Trump, who will take office Jan. 20 after lawmakers breezily certified the election results Monday, continued to place blame on outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden for what he will be left with in his second term as he dives into an ambitious GOP agenda.

Hundreds of California prison firefighters join battle against Los Angeles wildfires

 By Cayla Mihalovich

About 800 incarcerated firefighters are battling the unprecedented fires raging across Southern California, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. They join thousands of firefighting and emergency personnel who have been dispatched to respond to multiple fires throughout the Los Angeles area. 

Maxwell Frost says he won’t be an automatic ‘no’ on Trump agenda

By Mitch Perry

A rising star for the Florida Democrats who has previously called Donald Trump a “threat to the planet” said he intends to work with the incoming administration on certain issues but he vows that he is prepared to oppose “horrible” measures that he fears will be coming out of the White House.

Rep. Maxwell Frost, who just started his second term in office and at 27 remains the youngest member of Congress (he turns 28 next week), told the Florida Phoenix “I’m going to continue to do what I’ve done the past two years.”

Fact check: Why is Trump blaming the LA fires on Newsom’s water policies?

By Alastair Bland

In summary

President-elect Donald Trump faulted California water policies for the devastating wildfires that are burning in Los Angeles County. The fires started because of fierce winds and extremely dry conditions.

The Los Angeles County wildfires triggered a rant from President-elect Donald Trump, who blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom for depriving Southern California of water. Trump today repeated a claim he has made in the past, that state efforts “to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt” have caused pain and hardship in California.