*By Conor White*
At a critical time in his presidency, Donald Trump has found an adviser he can trust who will help him navigate the most vexing questions of war and peace.
Gina Haspel's confirmation as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, despite concerns about her role in the interrogations of terrorism suspects at secret CIA "black sites," puts her at Trump's side as he confronts no fewer than three major diplomatic and national security conflagrations.
"He wants someone he can rely on to give intelligence advice during this really critical time," said Daniel Lippman, a reporter at Politico. "You have North Korea, that summit coming up, the Iranian nuclear deal on tenter hooks, you have the Middle East going up in flames with Gaza, and so to have someone there that Trump doesn't fight like he did with Rex Tillerson at the State Department, that is reassuring to Americans."
It should at least be reassuring to the CIA.
"This is the best the CIA could've asked for," said Lippman. "She was the deputy under Pompeo, she's not a John Bolton-type person, she's pretty reasonable, that's why she got a number of Democratic votes."
Haspel, the first-ever female director of the agency, will be part of a national security team that also includes Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who used to lead the CIA, and Trump's National Security Adviser, John Bolton.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-senate-confirms-haspel-and-giulianis-latest-tv-appearances).
Nashville city councilors will likely appoint Justin Jones to his former seat on Monday while Memphis-area county commissioners will soon announce when they'll meet to fill the vacancy left by the expulsion of Justin Pearson, which Pearson himself is eligible to fill.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said "Everything is on the table" when asked if he'd recommend that the FDA ignore Friday's ruling to reverse the agency's nearly 23-year-old approval of the medication abortion drug mifepristone.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas defended himself against reports that a GOP donor treated him to super luxury vacations.
California Rep. Mark Takano re-introduced a bill for a four-day work week to bring to Congress. "The idea here is to ignite and jumpstart a serious conversation about how long the work week should be," Rep. Takano said. "The next steps are to continue to build interest ... that interest needs to be turned into public sentiment."
Cheddar Explains: How Climate Change is Driving Migration
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says he wasn’t required to disclose the many trips he and his wife took that were paid for by a Republican megadonor.
The two expelled members are Black and the member not expelled is white.
On A Positive Note: U.S. Taps First Woman to Ever Lead Largest U.S. National Guard
The capacity to burn coal for power went up in 2022 despite global promises to phase down the fuel that’s the biggest source of planet-warming gases in the atmosphere, a report Wednesday found.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has for more than two decades accepted luxury trips nearly every year from Republican megadonor Harlan Crow without reporting them on financial disclosure forms, ProPublica reports.
