Morning Briefing: Trump's Mad Dog, Record Jumping Robots, Trump Time's Person of the Year

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday evening at a rally in North Carolina officially announced his plans to nominate retired Marine Gen. James Mattis as defense secretary, promoting him as a man who "plays no games."

Mattis, whose nickname is "Mad Dog," stood next to Trump and was met with dog barks from a crowd of Trump supporters. "Mad Dog Mattis plays no games," said Trump.

That may be more true than Trump would care for it to be. Mattis doesn't exactly see eye to eye with the president-elect on some key issues. But before Trump can place Mattis as the civilian in charge of the Pentagon, he has to convince lawmakers that he's just that: a civilian. Congress must grant Mattis a waiver to a law that requires at least seven years of separation from the military before anyone can become defense secretary (Mattis only retired three years ago).

Top Stories

Donald Trump Chooses Defense Chief With Professional Success, Divergent Views: "Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, named as President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary, doesn’t agree with his presumptive new boss on every issue of national security policy. But he encompasses traits the incoming commander-in-chief evidently prizes: professional success, the esteem of peers and an edgy public image." (The Wall Street Journal)

Donald Trump Named Time Magazine's Person of the Year, Ruins the Surprise: "President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday was named Time magazine's Person of the Year. 'It’s a great honor. It means a lot,' Trump told NBC's 'Today' show. He added: 'To be on the cover of Time magazine as the person of the year is a tremendous honor.'" (Patch)

Jumping Robot Inspired By African Primate: "In a new related development, researchers from University of California, Berkeley, designed a small robot, which has 'the highest robotic vertical jumping agility ever recorded.' Known as Salto (short for saltatorial locomotion on terrain obstacles), the robot is 10.2 inches tall when fully extended and can jump up to 1 meter (almost 3.3 feet), which is more than three times its full height." (International Business Times)

Beyonce's 'Lemonade' Dominates Grammy Nominations: "Powered by her hit album 'Lemonade,' Beyonce scored a leading nine nominations Tuesday for the 59th annual Grammy Awards, while Kanye West, Drake and Rihanna each collected eight." (Patch)

How Jack Dorsey Feels About Trump on Twitter: ‘Complicated’: "Speaking earlier this evening at Recode’s Code Commerce conference, Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey said that his feelings are 'complicated' when it comes to president-elect Donald Trump’s activity on Twitter." (The Verge)

From the Twitterverse

Don't fall for it:

Today's Numbers

• Japanese tech billionaire Masayoshi Son pledged to invest $50 billion in American startups, committing to creating 50,000 new jobs over an unspecified time period.
• The Earth's spin is slowing at a rate of 1.8 milliseconds per century.
• Gummy bears send 14 Chicago high school students to the hospital.
• A 70-mile-long crack opens up in Antarctica.

Quote of the Day

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York on Republicans insisting on repealing Obamacare next month:

“They have nothing to put in its place. And believe me, just repealing Obamacare, even though they have nothing to put in its place, and saying they’ll do it sometime down the road, will cause huge calamity, from one end of America to the other. They don’t know what to do. They’re like the dog that caught the bus.”

McDuffee is a politics and policy reporter, investigative journalist, blogger and podcast host. He has written for The Atlantic, Wired and The Washington Post. Follow him on Twitter: @AllenMcDuffee

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons