| | | | |  | | By Eli Okun | | Presented by |  | | | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | SIREN — “US determines Sudan’s RSF paramilitary group committed genocide in country’s civil war,” by CNN’s Jennifer Hansler: “This is the second genocide committed in Sudan in less than three decades … The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions and visa restrictions on the leader of the RSF, MOHAMMAD HAMDAN DAGLO MOUSA.” CANNON FODDER — Judge AILEEN CANNON today temporarily blocked the Justice Department from releasing special counsel JACK SMITH’s final report from the two federal criminal cases against President-elect DONALD TRUMP. “The extraordinary move … scrambles the final stage of the special counsel’s work,” Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney write.
|  Mark Zuckerberg framed Meta's new approach on speech as a response in part to Donald Trump's election. | STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images | NOT EVERYTHING IN MODERATION — The second Trump era has arrived at Facebook in a big way. Meta CEO MARK ZUCKERBERG announced today that the company will essentially end its fact-checking program, a key tenet of its content moderation that has sought to stem the spread of misinformation and lies across Facebook, Instagram and Threads. Instead, Meta will shift to a “community notes” practice similar to ELON MUSK’s X, placing greater emphasis on unfettered free speech. More details from CNN The current content moderation approach “has gone too far,” wrote JOEL KAPLAN, the Republican newly elevated to lead Meta’s global policy. “As well-intentioned as many of these efforts have been, they have expanded over time to the point where we are making too many mistakes, frustrating our users and too often getting in the way of the free expression we set out to enable.” What’s especially striking about the shift is that Zuckerberg framed it, in an accompanying video, not in narrow terms but as an explicit reaction to Republicans’ November victory, which he called “a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing speech.” Kaplan also rolled out the changes on Fox News. Aligning himself with frequent Republican complaints about social-media content moderators, Zuckerberg said they were “politically biased,” and that Facebook’s moderators will now move from California to Texas and elsewhere. Specifically, Meta will do away with “a bunch of restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that are just out of touch with mainstream discourse,” Zuckerberg added. And having downplayed the amount of political content users see since 2021, Meta will now start bringing it back more for those who want it. The upshot of this tradeoff, he acknowledged, is that more “bad stuff” will spread across Meta’s platforms. The changes come, of course, as Meta has sought smoother relations with the incoming Trump administration. Republicans welcomed the news: “They have come a long way,” Trump told Fox News’ Brooke Singman. TRUMP SOUNDS OFF — In a news conference at Mar-a-Lago today, Trump continued to throw his weight around on the world stage. The president-elect announced that he wants to change the Gulf of Mexico’s name to the Gulf of America. He refused to commit to not using military or economic coercion to seize control of Greenland and the Panama Canal. And he announced that UAE-based Damac Properties is committing $20 billion to invest in data centers in the U.S. DEMOCRACY WATCH — “NC Supreme Court blocks state from certifying Riggs as the winner in high court election,” by The News & Observer’s Kyle Ingram HAPPENING NOW — The House is voting momentarily on the Laken Riley Act, which would require undocumented immigrants accused of theft or burglary to be detained. Senate Majority Leader JOHN THUNE is planning to bring it up for a vote in the Senate soon — as well as a bill sanctioning the International Criminal Court, per Punchbowl’s Andrew Desiderio and Max Cohen. Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com.
| | | | A message from Meta: Open source AI is available to all, not just the few.
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Now, radiologists have more ways to reduce the 4% error rate in the 3 billion imaging exams done each year – potentially improving outcomes for millions of patients.
Learn more about how others are building with open source AI. | | | | | 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  The U.S. has been in negotiations with the Taliban over a prisoner swap, including a detainee at Guantánamo Bay. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo | 1. HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONS: For at least half a year, the U.S. has been discussing a prisoner swap with the Taliban to release a Guantánamo Bay prisoner in exchange for three Americans detained in Afghanistan, WSJ’s Alex Ward and Brett Forrest scooped. President JOE BIDEN has a difficult decision to make: The U.S. offered to give up MUHAMMAD RAHIM AL AFGHANI, an alleged top al Qaeda aide, for GEORGE GLEZMANN, RYAN CORBETT and MAHMOUD HABIBI. But the Taliban countered that they wanted two others as well — and that they don’t have Habibi. Then-House Foreign Affairs Chair MICHAEL McCAUL (R-Texas) had reservations about the deal. 2. THE DAY AFTER: “UAE discusses post-war Gaza government with US and Israel,” by Reuters’ Alexander Cornwell in Dubai: “The behind-the-scenes discussions, reported by Reuters for the first time, included the possibility of the UAE and the United States, along with other nations, temporarily overseeing the governance, security and reconstruction of Gaza after the Israeli military withdraws and until a Palestinian administration is able to take over. … Emirati officials had suggested the use of private military contractors as part of a post-war peacekeeping force in Gaza.” 3. MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Next week will be busy for Trump Cabinet confirmation hearings in the Senate. On top of the dates we covered in this morning’s Playbook, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hear from Interior pick DOUG BURGUM on Jan. 14, and Energy pick CHRIS WRIGHT the next day, Josh Siegel reports. Transportation pick SEAN DUFFY will go before Senate Commerce on Jan. 15, per Punchbowl. 4. FLAME WARS: Trump is considering an executive order to try to bolster gas stoves and other appliances, amid some regulatory efforts over concerns about their climate and health impacts, Reuters’ Jarrett Renshaw and Nichola Groom report. The move would likely bar federal support for local initiatives to regulate or limit such appliances, in line with congressional and state legislative efforts by Republicans in recent years. 5. ANOTHER TOUGH DAY AT WAPO: “Washington Post Lays Off 4 Percent of Its Work Force,” by NYT’s Benjamin Mullin: “The cuts will affect fewer than 100 people across The Post’s business divisions, which include its advertising sales, marketing and information technology teams. They will not affect The Post’s newsroom.” 6. MONUMENTAL NEWS: “Biden creates 2 new national monuments, setting a conservation record,” by NPR’s Deepa Shivaram: “The Sáttítla Highlands National Monument covers more than 224,000 acres in Northern California … The Chuckwalla National Monument covers more than 624,000 acres south of Joshua Tree National Park in southern California.” 7. IMMIGRATION FILES: In a reflection of the country’s rightward shift on immigration, the issue has jumped in salience in the latest AP/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll: The share of Americans who cite immigration as a top issue for the government to work on has risen 12 points since last year, per Linley Sanders, Humera Lodhi and Jonathan Cooper. Economic issues are still No. 1, though. Meanwhile, education and student debt are slipping as a focus. As immigrant communities prepare for mass deportations under Trump, many school systems are seeing skyrocketing anxiety among parents and students — and working through their plans for what to do if ICE agents arrive at schools, NYT’s Dana Goldstein reports. And south of the border, Mexican law enforcement is scattering migrants who want to reach the U.S. around the country, leaving them exhausted and spread apart, AP’s Antonio Castillo and María Verza report from Acapulco. 8. BOOGIE WOOGIE WOOGIE: “These EV ‘Battery Belt’ Towns Are Betting Trump Won’t Ditch Them,” by WSJ’s Christopher Otts and Mike Colias in Elizabethtown, Kentucky: “The town is gearing up for a population boom from a pair of electric-vehicle battery factories rising nearby … Now, tens of billions in federal money to support more than a dozen new U.S. battery plants similar to the Elizabethtown project are at risk … Some D.C. watchers and Wall Street analysts say they expect the battery funding to survive because it is nurturing U.S. manufacturing jobs.”
| | | | A message from Meta:   | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Jens Stoltenberg will attend Donald Trump’s inauguration. Melania Trump’s documentary is raking in $40 million in licensing from Amazon. Chris Sununu said on CNN he’s “truly not” running for Senate next year. Elizabeth Warren has more than 70 questions for Pete Hegseth. Lindy Li says she hasn’t switched parties. Kamala Harris will ceremonially swear in Lateefah Simon today. WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Josh Dickson is now SVP for public policy and advocacy transition at United Way Worldwide. He previously was special assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff to second gentleman Doug Emhoff. TRANSITIONS — Leah Schaefer is now a policy adviser for Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah). She previously was a senior legislative assistant for Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). … Sam Barnett is now a legislative assistant for Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.). She previously was a senior legislative assistant for Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). … Boundary Stone Partners has added Andrew Rogers and Andrew Wishnia as SVPs in its transportation and infrastructure practice. They most recently were at EpicWorks Advisors, and previously helped craft the bipartisan infrastructure law while at the Transportation Department. … … Matt Smith is now comms director for Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.). He previously was comms director for Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.). … Catherine Hayes is now executive director of the GOP Doctors Caucus. She previously was senior director of government relations at the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons. … San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie is adding Nina Negusse as comms director, Annie Gabillet as deputy comms director and Charles Lutvak as press secretary and senior comms adviser. Negusse previously was at Edelman, Gabillet was on Lurie’s campaign, and Lutvak was a national spokesperson for the Kamala Harris presidential campaign. ENGAGED — Rebecca Hattar, a legislative assistant for Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Casey Hines, an engineer at the FAA, got engaged in December in Annapolis, Maryland, where Rebecca grew up. While both University of Virginia alums, they had their first date in September 2022 at Castas Rum Bar. Pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Nick Fineman, senior producer at MSNBC and NBC News, and Summer Delaney, founder and CEO of CollabWORK, welcomed Charleston “Charlie” Delaney Fineman on Dec. 27. Nick’s late father, Howard Fineman, suggested the name Charlie when he learned they were expecting. Pic … Another pic — Meredith McCoy, a partner in Venable’s political law practice, and Michael O’Brien, VP of global public affairs for the Business Software Alliance, on Thursday welcomed Mallory McCoy O’Brien, who joins big sister Eleanor and dog Tuck. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
