Donald Trump’s vision for Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and “government efficiency” raises questions. The trial for the man suspected in the death of student Laken Riley is set to begin. And Mike Tyson and Jake Paul will face off in a boxing match.

Here’s what you need to know today.

The ‘Department for Government Efficiency’ won’t be a real ‘department’ – or it will be inside the government

President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement of an advisory panel chaired by billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy turned heads earlier this week. The two were tapped to lead the “Department of Government Efficiency” (or “DOGE,” a play on a cryptocurrency Musk has promoted).

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But DOGE is not a “department” like the Department of Education or the Department of Homeland Security. And the effort will not be within the government. Trump said DOGE will “provide advice and guidance from outside the government” and Musk and Ramaswamy’s work will be completed by July 4, 2026.

So how will the arrangement play out?

Both Musk and Ramaswamy have talked about their big plans. Musk wants to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, though he has offered few details on what he would seek to cut. Yesterday, he began searching for candidates for non-staff jobs, specifically “super-high IQ government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours a week,” he told X.

Ramaswamy said this week on X that the government should allocate any money to programs that have expired, although critics have pointed out that one of those expired programs is veterans health care. When he ran for president, Ramaswamy sought to eliminate the FBI, the Department of Education and more.

However, the actual authority to make the cuts will rest with the Cabinet secretaries and agency heads Trump has chosen, said Max Stier, CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit group dedicated to making government run more efficiently. “You can say ‘Do this’ or ‘Do that’ from the outside, but to do that, you need people who really know how to make things happen and execute effectively.”

Read the full story here.

More political coverage:

• Trump announced Robert F. Kennedy Jr.an anti-vaccine activist as his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. While some senators were excited upon Trump’s selection, others criticized what they called Kennedy’s “weird views of basic scientific facts.”

• Meanwhile, GOP senators are setting up for a solid Matt Gaetz checkTrump’s pick for attorney general, who was facing an ethics investigation in the House of Representatives. Instead, a House Ethics Committee hearing set for today was canceled because Gaetz’s resignation from Congress led to questions about whether the results can be made public.

• Trump plans to nominate Todd Blanche to be deputy general prosecutor. Unlike Gaetz, Blanche, one of Trump’s criminal lawyers, has experience working for the Justice Department.

• Doug Collinsa former Georgia representative and Iraq War veteran, has been named Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.

• North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department.

• Beyond success in federal races, Republicans won big in state legislative racesespecially those where partisan control was at stake.

• What parts of President Joe Biden’s legacy are in danger of being undone? From executive actions on student loans and immigration to big bills like the infrastructure bill, here is what is at stake.

Alex Jones’ footprint on the right-wing media ecosystem

No joke: The Onion — the satirical news outlet that has repeatedly ridiculed conspiracy theorist Alex Jones — acquired his media empireespecially the Infowars site. The purchase took place in a bankruptcy auction with the support of the families of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims, who successfully sued Jones for defamation after he repeatedly called the 2012 massacre a hoax. Infowars’ website was immediately shut down, and The Onion said it plans to rebuild it with humor writers and Internet content creators.

Despite the shutdown, media scholars say the website’s legacy will live on thanks to the far-right media ecosystem it helped inspire. Jones built an audience by spreading false and conspiracy-laden comments on social media platforms with initially lax moderation policies, making room for other far-right voices to follow suit.

“It doesn’t seem to matter what’s real or what’s not real,” said one former Infowars employee. “People will believe what they want. And I think Alex Jones played a huge part in that.” Read the full story here.

The trial begins with the death of Laken Riley

A judge will decide the fate of the man accused of killing 22-year-old college student Laken Riley, whose killing has become a political talking point among Republicans over immigration policy. The suspect, Jose Antonio Ibarra, waived his right to a jury, clearing the way for a bench trial expected to begin today. Ibarra was indicted on three counts of murder, as well as other charges. Prosecutors in the case are seeking life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Riley was found dead in February with “visible injuries” in a wooded area on the University of Georgia campus in Athens after never returning home from jogging. There was no indication that Riley knew Ibarra, University Police Chief Jeff Clark said at the time. And Ibarra, a Venezuelan citizen who entered the country illegally in 2022, did not have an extensive violent criminal record, Clark said. Read the full story here.

Mike Tyson slaps Jake Paul at the weigh-in ahead of a bizarre match

Tonight, a boxing legend and a social media star will step into the ring for one of the most unlikely matches in boxing history. Although it seems a bit ridiculous, there is intrigue as to whether Mike Tyson, who was once the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, can defeat Jake Paul, who only took up boxing in recent years. Things have already started dramatically. At yesterday’s weigh-in, Tyson slapped Paul before security came in to separate them. Netflix is ​​streaming the fight, which is expected to take place around 11pm ET. The live broadcast starts at 20:00 Here’s what else to know.

Read all about it

• FBI confiscated electronic devices belonging to betting site Polymarket CEO Shayne Copeland, amid speculation about the identities of major punters and whether the odds may have had an effect on voters.

• The lawyers who defended Rudy Giuliani in his defamation case asked for permission to drop him as a customer.

• A civil rights investigation into Georgia’s Fulton County Jail conditions not covered which violates the constitutional rights of persons in custody.

• There were about 10.3 million cases of measles worldwide in 2023, up 20 percent from the previous year, the WHO and CDC said, due to “inadequate immunization coverage.”

• Disappearance of a 25-year-old woman after being arrested in Iran raised concerns among human rights organizations.

Staff selection: Under the sea, visible from space

This week, scientists announced that the largest coral ever recorded was found in the Solomon Islands during an expedition to study ocean health. What they thought was a shipwreck was actually a mega reef that is longer than a blue whale, big enough to fit two full-size basketball courts and three times the size of the previous record holder. Estimated to be around 300 to 500 years old, it was unknown to the local community until now. As one environmentalist said, just when you thought there was “nothing left to discover on planet Earth,” it turns out our oceans have more mysteries waiting to be discovered. — Josh Feldmanplatform editor

NBC Select: Online shopping made easy

Ready to improve your shower routine? NBC Select editors are here to help. Here I am the best soaps for every skin type, according to editors and experts. And your loofah probably has more germs than you think. Use one of the these dermatologist-approved alternatives instead.

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