First Thing: Trump’s FBI pick Kash Patel locks down Senate support as Wray prepares to quit | US news

Good morning.

Donald Trump’s controversial pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, has broadly secured support from Republicans on the Senate judiciary committee, laying the foundation for his confirmation after its current director said he would quit once the president-elect takes office.

Patel’s strategy of laying the groundwork with the judiciary committee, according to two sources close to the matter, is that it will make it more challenging for skeptical Republicans to oppose him once the committee reports out his nomination. A Trump transition official said Patel had now met with every member of the judiciary committee.

Patel’s agenda, which includes gutting the FBI, has made him a controversial figure – but he has benefited from attention focusing on others, like Pete Hegseth, who has been scrutinized over his sexual misconduct allegations and reports of excessive drinking.

Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing may not have been a client, say police

Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, does not appear to have been a client of the insurer and police are considering that he may have targeted it due to its size.

Joseph Kenny, the chief of detectives for the New York police department, told NBC New York in an interview on Thursday that investigators had uncovered evidence that Luigi Mangione had prior knowledge that UnitedHealthcare was holding its annual investor conference in New York City.

A note found on Mangione’s person also mentions that it is “the fifth-largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest healthcare organization in America,” Kenny said.

Russia launches huge missile attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure

Russia launched another massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine on Friday morning, targeting energy infrastructure across the country, particularly in the western border regions.

Russia has been systematically hitting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent months as the country’s bitter winter sets in, with temperatures set to drop significantly below freezing in most of the country in the coming days. Ukraines’ energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, said energy workers were doing everything possible to “minimise negative consequences for the energy system”.

The latest attacks came after the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, on Thursday called for European governments to increase their defense budgets, telling security experts and analysts at the Carnegie Europe thinktank in Brussels: “It is time to shift to a wartime mindset.” He said Russia may try to use deadly “swarms of drones” in Europe like it has in Ukraine.

• How much is Russia spending on its military? Rutte said Russia’s military spending was likely to come to 7-8% of its GDP next year. In contrast, Nato members are reportedly considering increasing spending to 3% of members’ national budgets.

In other news …

• Donald Trump’s defence secretary pick, Pete Hegseth, denounced allowing openly gay soldiers to serve in the US military as part of a “Marxist” agenda in his latest book.

• French president Emmanuel Macron is expected to name a new prime minister on Friday after Michel Barnier was toppled in a historic no-confidence vote on 4 December.

• Jamaica has tabled a bill that would unseat King Charles as head of state and transition the country into a republic.

• Rapid eradication of an invasive hornet species has been successful in the UK, reducing the threat to native bee populations.

Stat of the day: 1.1 million displaced by Syrian rebel offensive, UN says

Some 1.1 million people in Syria have been displaced since Syrian rebels launched the lightning offensive that overthrew former president Bashar al-Assad, the UN’s humanitarian agency said, the majority of whom are women and children. Fighting between different factions continues.

Don’t miss this: ‘Fame is a drug like LSD’: Robbie Williams on success, sexuality – and why he’s played by a monkey in his biopic

Ahead of the release of Better Man, the biopic that charts the highs and lows of Robbie Williams’ career while the singer is played by a CGI monkey, he speaks to the Guardian about his love-hate relationship with fame, rumors about his sexuality and performing in gay clubs. “I am very aware that I am stunted,” a deadly serious Williams says as he reflects on his simian movie alter ego. “I’m very aware that I am unevolved.”

Climate check: How climate activism has been criminalised globally in 2024

The UK leads the world in arresting environmental protesters, research revealed this week. But though British police arrest climate activists at higher rates than other countries, it is far from alone. Nina Lakhani dives into the global crackdown against climate activists and how, from the US to Uganda, the fossil fuel industry is using legal means to shut out dissenting voices.

Last Thing: Knitting with dog hair was a craze in the 90s – let’s make it happen again

In the 1990s, Kendall Crolius wrote a book about how to spin dogs hair into yarn and knit with it. It was something of a hit, especially with the press, she recounts, and several readers contacted her to tell her how glad they were to have something to remember their beloved pet by. This piece on knitting with dog hair also features the hilarious subhead: “Clothes made from a canine you know are much more special than clothes from an anonymous sheep.”

Sign up

First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.

Get in touch

If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email [email protected]