Good morning.

Donald Trump has reportedly picked Chinese critics Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz for the respective roles of Secretary of State and National Security Advisor.

Rubio, perhaps the most hawkish option on the president-elect’s list who advocated a tough foreign policy against US geopolitical adversaries, has softened some of his positions over the years to better align with Trump’s. During his campaign, Trump accused past leaders of dragging the U.S. into costly wars, and many Republicans have complained that U.S. allies in Europe are not paying enough for their defense.

Sources told Reuters that Trump appeared to have settled on the Florida senator as his choice on Monday, although this could always change. Waltz, a Republican congressman in Florida, has criticized Chinese activities in the Asia-Pacific and called on the US to be ready for conflict in the region.

• Who has been confirmed for Trump’s cabinet? Immigration hardliner Stephen Miller (as deputy chief of staff for policy); Susie Wiles (Chief of Staff); Lee Zeldin (Environmental Protection Agency Administrator); and Tom Homan (“border czar”).

• What does his EPA choice mean for the environment? Trump said Zeldin’s appointment would “guarantee fair and swift deregulatory decisions.” Zeldin said in 2018 that he did not support the Paris climate agreement.

Democrat Ruben Gallego defeats far-right Republican Kari Lake to win Arizona Senate seat

Arizona has elected its first Latino senator, Ruben Gallego, after the Democrat defeated far-right figure Kari Lake, who called herself “Trump in a dress.”

The final Senate race to be announced leaves Republicans with 53 seats in the Senate of Congress, compared to Democrats’ 47. Gallego, a progressive congresswoman, will replace Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who consistently blocked her party’s goals while maintaining a razor-thin majority.

As the Democratic party analyzes its defeat and recriminations mount, American progressives argued that the path back to victory was to offer voters “popular and populist” economic policies.

• How much did Gallego win? He received 50% of the votes compared to Lake’s 48%.

• Was it a surprise? Gallego was consistently ahead of Lake by several points, despite Trump easily defeating Harris in the state.

‘No ceasefire’ and ‘no delay’ in Lebanon, says Israel’s Defense Minister

Israel’s new Defense Minister, Israel Katz, has said there will be “no ceasefire” and “no delay” in Lebanon, which Israel has repeatedly struck in recent weeks.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 3,000 people and displaced another 1.2 million. In a post on social media, Katz said: “We will continue to attack Hezbollah with full force until the goals of the war are achieved.”

Katz said the aim of the war was to disarm Hezbollah, force the group to withdraw beyond the Litani River and return Israeli residents of the country’s north “safely to their homes.” Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee northern Israel by rockets fired from southern Lebanon.

• When and why was Katz appointed? Katz replaced Yoav Gallant last week after Benjamin Netanyahu fired him over disagreements over strategy. The International Criminal Court has requested arrest warrants for Gallant and Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Other news…

• New Zealand has formally apologized to the more than 200,000 children and adults, disproportionately Māori, who were abused and neglected in state and religious institutions from the 1950s onwards.

• Haiti’s international airport was closed on Monday and several airlines suspended flights to the country after gangs opened fire on a commercial flight landing in Port-Au-Prince.

• The Philippines is preparing for its fifth big storm in three weeksdays after thousands were evacuated ahead of Typhoon Toraji.

• Italian police have discovered a European crime network making counterfeits by world-famous artists such as Banksy, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol.

Stat of the Day: Bluesky gains 700,000 new members while users X then flee American elections

Users have fled X in droves following the US election, in which its owner, Elon Musk, backed Donald Trump after previously allowing a range of far-right white nationalists and conspiracy theorists back onto the social media platform. A clear beneficiary of this exodus is Bluesky, which gained more than 700,000 new users in the past week.

The violence in the Netherlands when Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax last week shocked people around the world. As the questions continue to swirl, Jon Henley goes through what we know about how the issues evolved, from Wednesday night to the political responses.

Climate check: Shell wins appeal against court ruling ordering a reduction in CO2 emissions

When the UN Secretary General told the Cop29 climate conference that 2024 has been a ‘masterclass in climate destruction’, news emerged that Shell had successfully appealed a landmark climate ruling in the Netherlands. In 2021, the country ordered the oil and gas company to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030. Shell appealed – arguing that it was a political, not legal, issue, and that another company would exploit the fossil fuels it had not extracted – and won.

Last thing: Why are there celebrity lookalike contests everywhere?

It was just two weeks ago that the actor himself shot up in a Timothée Chalamet lookalike competition in New York City. Since then, celebrity lookalike competitions have proliferated, with events featuring people who look, even passably, like Paul Mescal, Dev Patel or Harry Styles. What’s behind it? Is it a marketing ploy by talent agencies, an avant-garde anti-AI protest, or (whisper it) just a joke?

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