Richard “Ric” Grenell, the former acting director of National Intelligence in President-elect Trump’s first administration, is reportedly under consideration to be special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Currently, there is no special envoy responsible for bringing an end to the war in Eastern Europe. Trump is strongly considering whether to create the role, Reuters reported, citing four sources familiar with the president’s deliberations.

If he does create the new position, Grenell is said to be a leading candidate, though Trump may select someone else, the sources told Reuters. There is also no guarantee that Grenell would accept the position if it were offered to him, the sources reportedly said. 

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Fox News Digital was previously told Grenell was under consideration to be U.S. Secretary of State. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was instead named to lead the State Department.

Neither Grenell nor the Trump transition team responded to requests for comment. 

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Former Acting Director of National Intelligence of the U.S. Richard Grenell, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), U.S. Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump and conservative radio host Glenn Beck participate in a private roundtable discussion during a campaign rally at Findlay Toyota Center on October 13, 2024, in Prescott Valley, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

Trump repeatedly made campaign promises to quickly resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, if elected, although he has never laid out a specific plan to end the war.

Grenell, an outspoken Trump loyalist, has made statements in the past that may be of concern to Ukrainian leadership.

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Former Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell speaks on stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

During a Bloomberg round table in July, he advocated for the creation of “autonomous zones” as a means of settling the conflict, which began after Russia invaded Ukrainian sovereign territory. He also suggested he would not be in favor of Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the immediate future, a position he shares with many Trump allies.

Grenell’s supporters note he has had a long diplomatic career and has a deep knowledge of European affairs. In addition to serving as ambassador to Germany, Grenell was also a special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations.

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Prior to working for the first Trump administration, Grenell was a U.S. State Department spokesman to the United Nations under President George W. Bush. He has advised various Republican candidates and was a foreign policy spokesman for Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential campaign.

Grenell was previously a Fox News contributor. 

Reuters contributed to this report.

A mummified saber-toothed cub dating back 35,000 years was left almost perfectly preserved in Siberia’s permafrost.

The remains had been found back in 2020, northeast of Yakutia, Russia. Research regarding the study of the cub was published in the journal Scientific Reports on November 14, 2024. 

The discovery of frozen remains from the Late Pleistocene period is “very rare,” according to the published research, though most discovered in Russia lie in the Indigirka River basin, the authors note. 

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The mummified cub remained well-preserved, frozen in time for thousands of years. The frozen nature of this find left it in impressive condition, even still containing fur. 

“The mummy body is covered with short, thick, soft, dark brown fur with hair about 20–30 mm long,” the authors wrote in the published research, also pointing out that the fur that was located on the back and neck of the cub was longer than the hair that was found on the legs. 

The head of the mummy was also left well-preserved, down to its chest, front arms and paws. 

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The study of this find wasn’t just a unique opportunity for scientists, it also provided first-of-its kind research.  

“For the first time in the history of paleontology, the appearance of an extinct mammal that has no analogues in the modern fauna has been studied,” the authors of the study explained. 

This discovery provided an extremely unique and rare opportunity for scientists to study an extinct species that was so well preserved. (Alexey V. Lopatin)

The scientists determined that the cub had died at about three weeks old. It was identified by the authors of the study as belonging to the species Homotherium latidens and had many differentiations from a modern lion cub of a similar age. 

The shape of the muzzle displayed by the mummified cub, which had a large mouth and small ears, plus a “massive” neck, long forelimbs and a darker colored coat, were all among key differences from today’s modern lion cubs that scientists observed. 

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Scientists also worked in their research to find out how the extinct species was able to survive through frigid temperatures.  

Large contributors to their survival were the shape of the large paws and absence of carpal pads. Scientists believe these elements helped them get through the snow.

In recent years, there have been other ancient animals found in Siberian permafrost. 

Analysis of the cub’s skull helped scientists identify it as belonging to the genus Homotherium. (Alexey V. Lopatin)

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For example, in 2021, a mummified wolf was discovered that dated back over 44,000 years, Live Science reported in June 2024. 

MSNBC contributor Jennifer Rubin went on an unprecedented tear against her own network as well as her “Morning Joe” colleagues Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski on her podcast, defiantly criticizing her employer’s business model and ratcheting up her attacks towards the duo for revealing their meeting with President-elect Donald Trump. 

On Friday’s installment of “Jen Rubin’s Green Room,” Rubin accused Scarborough and Brzezinski of “forgetting” that their audience “despises Trump” and that viewers wanted them to “hold the line against Trump” instead of engaging with the incoming president. 

“What were they thinking? Who do they think their audience was?” Rubin asked. “Well, perhaps this wasn’t about their audience. Perhaps this was them trying to defend themselves or avoid retribution that they thought was coming their way. But really, these are rich, famous people. What have they got to worry about? It was just an appalling example at how eager so many elites are to fall in line, to curry favor, to deflect attention, to deflect any kind of incoming criticism that might come their way from the White House.”

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“So they are getting hammered for it. They are hemorrhaging their audience. And this, of course, only exacerbates the reason and the problem why MSNBC and its other cable networks are being spun off. And that is, cable television is dying,” Rubin said. “Most of you probably haven’t watched MSNBC since the election either, and not understanding your audience and continuing to serve up the same chewed-over talking points with the same panels, essentially same program day, after day, after day, hour after hour, is no longer working. So Comcast has said, ‘Fine, spin you off. You guys go fend for yourselves. And the question after the spin-off is completed will be whether that’s a viable business model. Can they afford to pay Rachel Maddow, God bless her, 20 plus million dollars a year? Is there advertising to support that? Are there cable fees to support that? We don’t know. We don’t know if MSNBC, a year from now, is gonna exist, or whether it’s gonna be in some slim down fashion.”

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Rubin, also a Washington Post columnist, went on by offering suggestions on how MSNBC can “rethink their model.” 

“Get rid of the pattern of chewing over the same three or four stories all day long with a shuffling of panelists all parroting back the same line to the host, this is not working. It’s boring. It’s not good TV. They need to do something else, and they should look to models that are successful,” Rubin said. “They should look to people like The Onion. Hey, they’ve purchased Info Wars. I can’t wait to watch what they’re gonna program. They should look to shows that, yes, are perhaps lighter on the news, but actually have much more information than they do.” 

Rubin took several swipes at her employer MSNBC on her podcast.  (Kim Kulish/Corbis via Getty Images)

She went on to say that viewers “get more from a John Oliver monologue” than they do “from a day or two of watching CNN or MSNBC.”

“And by the way, I’m an MSNBC contributor,” Rubin reminded her liberal audience. “At least I have the honesty, I have the candor, to tell you this is not gonna work, and this is not continuing to work. And what’s more, by hanging on to these legacy outlets that are failing, I think Democrats fail to explore other options. They fail to look for other avenues to communicate with the public. They are relying on dying outlets in a dying industry, cable TV news, and they have to be way more innovative, way more creative in figuring out ways to reach people, including people who don’t like politics all that much, and that’s the big challenge. Those were the people who, frankly, went along voting for Trump because they did not know too much about what he had in mind and what he had planned, and really his threat to their well-being.” 

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“So I think once we get past a stage in which we are doing the same thing over and over again, otherwise known as the definition of insanity- if you expect a different result, then perhaps we can experience some innovation, and maybe we can expect something better from news… But you know one thing, you can always come here, because I’m gonna tell you what I think. I’m gonna be provocative…  We’re gonna tell the truth. We’re gonna talk to you. I want to hear from you, because unlike Mika and Joe, I care about my audience, and I wanna hear what you think,” Rubin added. 

Rubin did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital‘s request for comment. A spokesperson for MSNBC declined to comment.

Rubin said viewers “get more from a John Oliver monologue” than they do “from a day or two of watching CNN or MSNBC.” (William B. Plowman/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

While Rubin is currently urging MSNBC to get rid of the formula of “panelists all parroting back the same line to the host,” she was notably vocal against NBC’s hiring of former RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel (she was fired following swift backlash from the network’s liberal stars). 

Ruben previously fueled a boycott against “Morning Joe.”

“The market works great. You can stop watching Morning Joe anytime,” Rubin wrote on social media Monday.

She then added on the social media site BlueSky:, “On MJ: If you don’t appreciate the audience you have, betray that audience and lose their trust you are [going] to lose lots of them. I have seen this movie.”

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Rubin was also outspoken against her other employer The Washington Post and its billionaire over Jeff Bezos over his decision to halt the paper’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris just days before the election. 

“First of all, I do not believe the reason stated. I don’t believe they have suddenly decided— he has suddenly decided that we should endorse everybody except presidential candidates, and that of all the elections, this is the one to start with this new policy,” Rubin said on her podcast last month. “We endorsed a presidential candidate in 2020 no problem. And I perceive this, and even if it’s not intended, it is inevitably perceived as bending the knee to Donald Trump at the worst possible moment when democracy is on the line.”

“You have a billionaire who has a business aside from the Post that does business with the federal government deciding not to run afoul of a man who has declared war on democracy and on the free press, and I still find it absolutely inconceivable that someone who owns a newspaper would do this,” she continued.”

Roughly two months after barring parents who wore “XX” wristbands during a high school soccer game against a transgender athlete, a school district is confident in its decision to do so.

Anthony Foote of Bow, New Hampshire, told the New Hampshire Journal he had received a notice of trespass from Bow and Dunbarton School Districts Superintendent Marcy Kelley after he had worn armbands in support of biological girls-only sports to his daughter’s high school soccer game back in September.

Foote, his wife Nicole, Kyle Fellers, and Eldon Rash then filed a federal lawsuit against the Bow School District, Superintendent of Schools Marcy Kelley, Principal Matt Fisk, Athletic Director Mike Desilets, Bow Police Lieutenant Phil Lamy and soccer referee Steve Rossetti several days later.

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The “silent protest” at Bow High School, the lawsuit says, intended to “show solidarity” with the Bow team and oppose a policy that allowed a transgender girl to play on Plymouth’s team.

Fellers and Foote testified Thursday that they hadn’t intended to harass or otherwise target a transgender player on the opposing team, but the school district said differently.

Kelley and Desilets believed that the protest wouldn’t stop at just wristbands, saying they had received strongly worded emails from Foote in which he called himself a “real leader” who was prepared to take action. They also said Foote urged others to attend the game on social media.

In the days leading up to the game, another parent told school officials that she had overheard others talk about showing up to the game wearing dresses and heckling the transgender player.

“When we suspect there’s some sort of threat . . . we don’t wait for it to happen,” Kelley said on Friday.

The “silent protest” at Bow High School, the lawsuit says, intended to “show solidarity” with the Bow team and oppose a policy that allowed a transgender girl to play on Plymouth’s team.

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Kelley also pushed back on the idea that the plaintiffs were simply expressing support for their daughters and the girls’ teammates in general, noting that they had chosen the one game involving a transgender player to begin wearing the wristbands.

“This was organized and targeted,” she said. “If we were to allow harassment, we’re liable.”

A federal judge in the case, Steven McAuliffe, pushed back on the parents for repeatedly referring to the athlete as a boy on Thursday.

“You seem to go out of your way to suggest there’s no such thing as a trans girl,” McAuliffe said during the hearing. 

The transgender player in question, Parker Tirrell, and another student athlete are challenging the state law that bans transgender athletes in grades 5 to 12 from playing on teams that align with their gender identity. A federal judge ruled in their case that they can play sports during the ongoing lawsuit that seeks to overturn the law.

The Bow School District defended its decision to bar those who wore “XX” wristbands at the game. (Friedemann Vogel/Getty Images)

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Gov. Chris Sununu, who signed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act into law in July, has said that it “ensures fairness and safety in women’s sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions.” 

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj, Landon Mion, Jackson Thompson, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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“Real Time” host Bill Maher vowed that he wouldn’t “pre-hate” the incoming Trump administration despite his own personal animosity towards President-elect Donald Trump. 

“They are calling themselves the ‘disruptors,'” Maher began during a panel discussion Friday night. “The country does need disrupting. I mean, the country needs a colonic and a slap in the face so bad.

“This is not who I would choose to administer the colonic but it’s not like the bureaucracy isn’t bloated. It’s not like the debt isn’t $36 trillion. it’s not like there aren’t thousands of regulations that do stop people from living lives that they could live better and don’t do anything. There is woke in the military. Whatever they’re going after… I’m not going to pre-hate anything,” Maher said. 

“Do I have really good, optimistic feelings about it? No, I don’t. I’m just not gonna pre-hate. I can’t get into that mind[set]. Let’s see what the disruptors can do. Because, quite frankly, the experts have just sort of, like, let something go for so long that it’s just sclerotic now and constipated.”

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The HBO star offered some skepticism towards how effective the “disruptors” will be when the “corn lobby,” “pharmaceutical industry” and “defense contractors” begin voicing their objections towards the administration’s policies. 

“Let’s see what happens,” Maher said. 

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Later in the conversation, Maher conceded that Trump was correct in his assessment on how to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war after mentioning the Biden administration allowing Ukraine to fire US-made missiles into Russia, fueling fears of further escalation by the Kremlin. 

“It just looks like everybody’s coming on board to the idea that, I hate to admit it, Trump said at the beginning, it’s gonna be a negotiated settlement. Marco Rubio was saying- he’s going to be Secretary of State,” Maher said. “And I feel like– that they are losing the war, Ukraine. And they are noble, and we support them, certainly in spirit, should we do it as we have been?” 

Maher admitted that President-elect Donald Trump was right about his stance that the Russia-Ukraine war ends through negotiations versus aiding Ukraine.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

He went on to compare the ongoing war to last week’s highly-watched boxing match between 27-year-old influencer Jake Paul and 58-year-old boxing legend Mike Tyson. 

“I remember a week ago and I was leaving here, everyone was talking about it. ‘Oh, what’s gonna happen?’ And then you saw the fight and you realize- we kind of really knew in the rational part of our brain from the beginning that a 58-year-old man who was over the hill in the 90s was not gonna beat this [27]-year-old behemoth. And yet we all were like, ‘Maybe- oh, I’m gonna go home and watch it!’ Maher said. 

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Maher compared the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war to the recent boxing match between 27-year-old Jake Paul and 58-year-old Mike Tyson.  (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

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Last week, Maher appeared open-minded about the prospect of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leading the Department of Health and Human Services, saying “we do need shaking up.”

“Well, the system as it is, the way we do health, is already very f—ed,” Maher said. “So maybe he’ll make it worse. But, like, my head is not exploding about it.”

LAS VEGAS – It’s nearly time for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Formula 1’s impact in the United States has increased significantly. 

If the fanfare in Las Vegas didn’t prove it, then three races and the possibility of an American race team joining the fold does. 

And so do the betting markets.

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“I think it was a slow burner initially,” Caesars Sportsbook Senior Trader Chris Pearce told Fox News Digital. “I think recently, because there’s more and more Grands Prix in the Northern Hemisphere, and in the U.S., especially with the Austin Grand Prix as well as Vegas, it is picking up.

“And there’s definitely more interest. It’s one of those things that if you spend the time on the products, you offer more markets, you give it the showcase that it deserves, then the punters will latch onto that.”

Pearce said the growth in F1 bets exploded over the last few years with the Las Vegas Grand Prix helping in 2023.

“The growth is definitely at least three times higher than when I first took the product over two years ago. And the Vegas Grand Prix has again really helped to grow the products,” he said. “Last year, it was the glitz and the sparkle. You don’t really get that from the more established grand prix. Obviously, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone was key globally and was the signature grand prix of the year.

“I think, last year, everybody was looking forward to Vegas more than the British Grand Prix and followed on into this year. So, yes, it’s growing, and I expect it to grow more as well. I think that year the turnout for the Vegas Grand Prix was three times that of Daytona, which obviously is an established U.S. race. If we offer the markets, it should grow even further.”

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain drives past the Sphere during a practice session for the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix auto race Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Las Vegas.  (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

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There won’t be an American on the starting grid this year after Logan Sargeant’s time with Williams Racing abruptly came to an end this season.

But with the success and popularity of Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” docu-series, superstars like Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, who have international appeal in Europe and Asia, have helped become household names in the U.S.

“It’s a little bit of both, I think,” Pearce said of whether an American driver affects the betting market. “Last year, Logan Sargeant was on the grid. He was by far our biggest liability going into the race. He was a multimillion-dollar loser for us last year. So, when he was going into free practice and qualifying, there was a little bit of worry that something may fall into the race. Luckily, we dodged that bullet.

“Yes, the U.S. driver does help. And, that said, because of the recent Netflix series with F1, that’s helped to push the sport and the names within the sport. I think more people now do tend to know drivers outside of (Lewis) Hamilton, outside of, say, the past (Michael) Schumacher. They will know Lando Norris. They will know Carlos Sainz.”

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain drives during a practice session for the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Las Vegas.  (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

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The Las Vegas Grand Prix will begin at 1 a.m. ET Sunday for fans on the East Coast. Those on the West Coast and in the city for the race will see the race begin at 10 p.m. PT.

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