Donald Trump has picked former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats to be director of national intelligence, CBS News’ Arden Farhi reports, citing a senior transition official.
Coats’ name has been floating for weeks (which has not always turned out well for potential appointees).
CBS News’ Major Garrett had reported that Mr. Trump was also seriously considering cutting back the DNI. However on Thursday, Trump transition spokesman Sean Spicer said “all discussions are tentative” and went on to say, “there is no truth to this idea of restructuring the intelligence community infrastructure. It is 100 percent false.”
The senior transition official said that Mr. Trump “would like to streamline [the CIA and ODNI]. He needs to confer with the intelligence community, but many of them have asked for this for a long time.”
On another remaining cabinet position, Garrett reports Sonny Perdue is the leading candidate for agriculture secretary. It’s not clear whether this has been finalized, though it is certainly close — he was most recently being vetted through Senate GOP leadership.

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Sentiment rank: 5.9

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Here’s a look at the life of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. He is wanted by Swedish authorities over allegations of sexual assault, and was granted asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on July 19, 2012.

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Sentiment rank: 5.6

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (UPI) — House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday said House Republicans intend to strip Planned Parenthood of funding as part of their promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Speaking at his weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D. C., Ryan said the women’s healthcare organization would lose millions of dollars in a fast-track bill.
«Planned Parenthood legislation would be in our reconciliation bill,» he said, referring to a congressional procedure that avoids a potential Senate filibuster and would require a simple majority instead of the 60-vote supermajority.
Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, have vowed to dismantle much of Obamacare this year. Ryan said Thursday they’d provide a transition period before implementing new healthcare legislation.
«We’re going to have a transition period so that people do not have the rug pulled out from underneath them while we get to a better place,» he said. «Obamacare has failed, is getting worse and we have to provide relief.
«This law is failing and we have to fix it. »
Democrats and pro-choice leaders gathered on Capitol Hill on Thursday to speak against Republican efforts.
«We are going to stand against this with every fiber of our beings,» said Rep. Diana DeGette , D-Colo., chairwoman of the House Pro-Choice Caucus.
Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said «an attack on the Affordable Care Act is an attack on women’s health, plain and simple. »
In 2014, Planned Parenthood said it received $553 million in government funding, The Washington Post reported. That represents about 40 percent of its overall funding.
Planned Parenthood isn’t allowed to use federal funds for abortions, but can use it to pay for other health services like birth control.
A reconciliation bill defunding Planned Parenthood was passed by both houses of Congress in 2015, but President Barack Obama vetoed it. Trump is expected to sign the new legislation after repeatedly calling for the organization to be defunded throughout his campaign.
«Planned Parenthood should absolutely be defunded,» Trump said in an October 2015 appearance on Fox News Sunday. «I mean if you look at what’s going on with that, it’s terrible. »
In December, Obama signed an executive order preventing states from cutting off federal funding to Planned Parenthood.

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© Source: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2017/01/05/Paul-Ryan-vows-to-defund-Planned-Parenthood-in-Obamacare-repeal/9801483643872/
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Washington (CNN) Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas said Thursday Republicans won’t offer a comprehensive bill to replace Obamacare, saying instead that the GOP will try to enact individual health care measures.

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Donald Trump has tweeted that Toyota will face hefty tariffs on cars built in Mexico for the US market.
The President-elect said the Japanese company would be hit with a «big border tax» if it went ahead with plans to build Corollas south of the border.
American car companies have faced harsh criticism from Mr Trump for building cars more cheaply outside the US.
Toyota’s President Akio Toyoda said the company had no immediate plans to curb production in Mexico.
«We will consider our option as we see what policies the incoming president adopts,» said Mr Toyoda, speaking in Japan on Thursday.
The company’s US arm issued a statement which said that production and employment levels at Toyota in the US would not decrease as a result of the new plant in Mexico. The company has ten manufacturing plants in the US.
«Toyota looks forward to collaborating with the Trump Administration to serve in the best interests of consumers and the automotive industry,» the statement said.
Mr Trump has already targeted American carmakers General Motors and Ford for manufacturing south of the border, resulting in Ford’s decision to cancel its plans for a $1.6bn (£1.3bn) plant in Mexico and expand operations in the US instead.
The Nafta free trade area, and the lower cost of labour, makes it attractive for firms to build cars in Mexico for sale in the US.
But Mr Trump has said he would end this practice, as it was costing American jobs.
Toyota announced in April 2015 it would build a $1bn Corolla factory in central Mexico. Construction began in November 2016.
It has existing manufacturing facilities in Baja, Mexico which were established in 2002.

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© Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38525389
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Criminal charges were filed today against the four Illinois residents who are accused of torturing a man police characterized as having mental health issues in Chicago earlier this week.
The suspects initially posted a video on Facebook that allegedly shows them assaulting the man. The video was later removed by the social media company, which said it does «not allow people to celebrate or glorify crimes on Facebook. «
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Illinois identified the four suspects as 18-year-old Jordan Hill of Carpentersville, 18-year-old Tesfaye Cooper of Chicago, 18-year-old Brittany Covington of Chicago and 24-year-old Tanishia Covington of Chicago.
All four suspects were charged with aggravated kidnapping, hate crime, aggravated unlawful restraint and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Hill, Cooper and Covington were also charged with residential burglary. Hill was additionally charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The suspects are scheduled to appear in Central Bond Court on Friday afternoon.
The suspects were arrested in Chicago on Wednesday in connection with the «sickening» video which purportedly shows the individuals committing a «brutal act» toward a man «with mental health challenges,» Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie Johnson said at a press conference following the arrests.
While on patrol on Chicago’s West Side on Tuesday, police officers encountered the victim, who «didn’t seem right» and was «in distress,» Chicago Police Department Capt. Steven Sesso said at a press conference. The victim was then transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Around the same time, the suspects were taken into custody for another incident near the address where the victim was found, police said. A Chicago Police Department press release explained that the officers «responded to a battery at a residence… where they discovered signs of a struggle and damage to the property and were able to link this evidence to the disoriented male. «
Police determined that the individuals arrested were responsible for the «injury and maltreatment» of the victim, Sesso said.
Officials later became aware of a social media video depicting a battery of an adult male which is believed to be the same individual, police said.
The video of the violent assault shows a white man with his mouth taped shut as his captors repeatedly torture him. Someone is heard yelling, «F—- white people. «
At one point, the victim was threatened with a knife and told to curse President-elect Donald Trump.
«Say f— Donald Trump,» someone is heard saying.
«F— Donald Trump,» the victim says.
Detectives later determined that the victim had been listed as a missing endangered person from a nearby suburb, said Chicago Police Department Cmdr. Kevin Duffin.
According to a press release issued by the Streamwood Police Department, the victim’s parents reported his disappearance late Monday night, telling police they had not heard from their son since Saturday when they dropped him off at a McDonald’s restaurant. The victim was then entered into the Law Enforcement Agency Data System as a missing endangered person due to his mental health history and because he had not taken his medication since Saturday, according to the incident report from the Streamwood Police Department.
As officers were investigating, the victim’s parents “began receiving text messages from persons claiming to be holding him captive,” the Streamwood Police Department stated in the press release. Soon after, Streamwood police discovered the video on Facebook and they were informed by the Chicago Police Department that the victim had been located.
Police believe the victim is an acquaintance of one of the suspects. Duffin had said on Wednesday that the suspects stole a van from the suburbs and drove to Chicago. The victim voluntarily went with them, Duffin said, and he may have been held captive for 24 to 48 hours.
All four suspects have given video statements, Duffin said. Police do not believe any additional suspects were involved in the incident. The investigation is ongoing.

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