The Excerpt

The tragic death of 31-year-old One Direction star Liam Payne earlier this year, after falling from the balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, has led some to question how young is too young for international stardom. Several have been charged in his death, including one person who was allegedly supplying him with drugs. Liam Payne was just 16 years old when One Direction was created. The world has watched as young stars, like Britney Spears and Justin Bieber, struggled to navigate the heights of celebrity. UCLA’s Dr. Adi Jaffe, a psychologist who specializes in addiction, joins The Excerpt to discuss whether it is reasonable to expect young people, even children, to be able to handle the psychological challenges associated with extreme fame.

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Israel and Hezbollah have reached a cease-fire agreement.

USA TODAY National Immigration Reporter Lauren Villagran discusses the response in Mexico after President-elect Donald Trump's tariff threats.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy push for federal workers to return to the office.

Millions of Americans could have expanded Medicare and Medicaid to cover blockbuster weight loss drugs.

USA TODAY Reporter Andrea Riquier discusses what this week's announcement by Fannie May and Freddie Mac means for the housing market.

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USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Bart Jansen looks at what's next for President-elect Donald Trump's legal cases after a judge dismissed his Jan. 6 case.

Lawyers for Donald Trump have conducted a probe into reports that a top aide asked prospective political appointees for payments to promote their candidacies with Trump.

The Fox News to government official pipeline is growing.

USA TODAY Supreme Court Correspondent Maureen Groppe looks at the high court's decision not to review a case dealing with whether SWAT teams must pay for property damage.

A newly discovered planet is one of the youngest.

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President-elect Donald Trump over the weekend tapped Brooke Rollins for Secretary of Agriculture. Plus, Trump tapped Russell Vought, a Project 2025 architect, to lead the budget office.

Tennessean State Government and Politics Reporter Melissa Brown explains how a Tennessee teenager could change transgender rights nationwide.

Public faith in US institutions continues to erode, as Trump takes aim at dismantling parts of the government.

USA TODAY Senior National Political Correspondent Sarah D. Wire examines what the next Democratic resistance movement might look like.

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When people talk about the crime of sex trafficking they often think of girls and women. But there are male victims of sex trafficking too. The recent arrest and indictment of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries on charges of international sex trafficking and interstate prostitution could bring dozens of men out of the shadows to talk about their trauma. Could this be the beginning of a broader reckoning involving male victims of trafficking? Steven Procopio, a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in men’s issues including sexual abuse and sex trafficking, joins The Excerpt to talk about this often overlooked community of survivors.

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President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing in his New York hush money case is indefinitely on hold and the judge will weigh tossing it completely. 

Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is Trump’s pick for ambassador to Israel – a big win for Christian Zionists. Liam Adams, who covers religion for The Tennessean explains.

Students in Texas will be taught with reading lesson materials that prominently include stories from the Bible. 

Trump has vowed to reverse what he calls Joe Biden’s “woke takeover” of Washington. USA Today Senior Reporter Jessica Guynn explains how diversity, equity and inclusion will change. 

And finally, people are turning to Reddit for real estate advice. And it’s pretty uplifting to see.

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Matt Gaetz couldn’t beat the criticism and controversy. He withdrew his nomination to be President-Elect Donald Trump’s Attorney General. Trump quickly named Florida’s top prosecutor, Pam Bondi, in his place. USA TODAY Congress & Campaigns Reporter Riley Beggin gives the inside details on what happened.

Matt Gaetz isn’t the only controversial pick President-elect Donald Trump has announced. He continues to fill his Cabinet at a breakneck speed, outpacing other recent presidents, including himself during his first term. 

The architect of two of the most controversial policies from Donald Trump’s first term – the Muslim ban and the family separation police at the border – will again play a prominent role in Trump’s second presidency, likely leading the rollout of Trump’s promise for mass deportation. For more on this story, we're joined by USA TODAY National News Reporter Lauren Villagran.

Judges at the International Criminal Court have issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity for its military response in Gaza.

Bluesky – the relatively new social media platform created by the founders of Twitter – continues to rapidly grow, reaching 20 million users – many, who signed up after Donald Trump was elected earlier this month.

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In the US, demand for power from AI data centers is skyrocketing, driven by the intensive computational requirements of its models, which often require vast amounts of energy for both training and operation. Then there are also AI’s carbon emissions. In many cases, the electricity used to power the AI data centers today relies on nonrenewable energy sources such as coal or gas. Can we afford AI’s huge environmental costs? Landon Marston, an associate professor at Viriginia Tech’s Environmental and Water Resources Engineering program, joins The Excerpt to discuss how engineers and policymakers are approaching solving for AI in the long-term.

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California police have released details about a sexual assault report on Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Defense Department. Plus, the House Ethics Commission has reviewed records detailing $10,000 in Venmo payments Matt Gaetz allegedly made to two women in the panel's probe. Gaetz is Trump's nominee for attorney general.

USA TODAY Democracy Reporter Erin Mansfield discusses allegations of sexual abuse against Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy outline plans for 'large-scale firings' in the federal workforce under Donald Trump.

USA TODAY Education Reporter Zach Schermele takes a look at the future of higher education, and examines Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Education - Linda McMahon.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announces a transgender bathroom ban in the Capitol.

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AI applications in vertical farming have the potential to usher in a new model that not only yields a high volume of quality product, but also offers a much smaller carbon footprint in terms of resources and the space necessary to deploy them. By incorporating AI, robotics and vertically stacked crops in controlled environmental conditions, the vertical farming model might be a gamechanger in the agricultural sector. Hiroki Koga, co-founder and CEO of Oishii, the company behind the world's largest indoor vertical farm, joins The Excerpt to share his insights into how AI is transforming farming potential.

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