The Gulf of America

President-elect Donald Trump is so committed to acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal that he’d be willing to use military coercion to get them. The remains of President Jimmy Carter lie in state at the U.S. Capitol. The Pacific Palisades wildfire rages as tens of thousands are forced to evacuate.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I’m Nicole Fallert, and welcome to the Daily Briefing.

Trump won’t rule out military force to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday repeatedly declined to rule out involving the U.S. military to carry out his ambitions for the U.S. to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal.

Why is Trump saying this? This is about Trump establishing American dominance abroad. Trump claims China is effectively operating the Panama Canal. Trump said the U.S. needs Greenland, which has a population of about 56,000 people, for “national security purposes.”

Trump also publicly pondered the idea of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state. Trump said he is not considering military force to annex Canada ‒ whose longtime prime minister, Justin Trudeau, resigned Monday ‒ but said he hopes the U.S. can acquire the neighboring country to the north through “economic force.”

The Gulf of America? Trump also suggested on Tuesday that he plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America — and it was not immediately clear why.

Donald Trump Jr. (2ndR) poses after arriving in Nuuk, Greenland on January 7, 2025.

USA TODAY exclusive: Biden’s belief and Trump’s compliment

President Joe Biden, both reflective and defensive as he discussed his legacy, told USA TODAY in an exclusive exit interview he believes he could have won his reelection bid − but isn’t sure he would have had the vigor to complete four more years in the Oval Office. The outgoing president also told USA TODAY details about his private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump. In public, Trump has decried the state of the nation as “a disaster” and “a mess.” But at their private meeting, Trump praised him, Biden said. Read highlights from USA TODAY’s conversation with President Biden.

USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page interviews President Joe Biden at the White House on Jan., 5 2025.

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The U.S. Army's Caisson Detachment carries the casket of Jimmy Carter, the former U.S. president who died on December 29 at the age of 100, to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington on January 7, 2025.

Today’s talkers

The snow is good. Why is Park City, Utah, so quiet?

The Park City Mountain Resort is struggling to open terrain during a strike of ski patrollers. On Tuesday, the Utah resort’s website showed just 104 out of 350 trails were open, despite the mountain receiving four inches of fresh snow in the last 48 hours, and more than two feet in the last week. The mountain’s executives acknowledged that it’s unclear how much can remain open each day as the patrollers union and Vail Resorts, which owns the mountain, continue to struggle to come to terms for a new contract. Read more

a poll generated more than 116,000 votes across 165 countries.

The people have spoken! Meet Poppy, the new pygmy hippo stealing hearts

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.