For the Record: How much longer until it's great o'clock?

Brett McGinness

USA TODAY

So many questions leading up to Friday's inauguration: Will America become great again exactly at 12 p.m. EST Friday, or is it a gradual process? Will it happen once the Affordable Care Act is repealed, or do we have to wait until it's replaced? Will it happen when Mexico cuts us the check for the wall? And will those lying pollsters let us know once it's great, or do we just wait for President Trump to tell us when it's great?

We don't have the answers just yet, but we do have an update on the greatest cabinet nominees ever, a great deal of new jobs in the pipeline, and a status report on the handful of European nations who want to retour a la grandeur or whatever.

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Education nominee takes on Democrats, grizzly bears

Trump's nominee for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, defended her support for alternatives to public school as she appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for confirmation hearings Tuesday. DeVos, a longtime advocate for private and charter schools and homeschooling, seems poised to turn the millions of nontraditionally educated students into an army of spelling bee juggernauts.

“Not all schools are working for the students that are assigned to them. I’m hoping we can work together to find common ground,” DeVos told Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) as Murray asked DeVos not to propose funding cuts for public schools.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, asked DeVos about her stance on guns in schools -- and DeVos more or less said the Second Amendment protects our right to bear arms against bears: "I would imagine that there is probably a gun in the schools to protect from potential grizzlies" in places like rural Idaho. (The plan clearly is effective ... when was the last time we heard about a bear trying to attack a school? Check and mate, Sen. Murphy.)

Also Tuesday, Trump's nominee for interior secretary, Ryan Zinke, is the latest nominee to break with Trump on a key issue when he said that climate change isn't a hoax.

Companies learning to beat the tweet

A few months ago, it was candy brands on high alert for random social media crises. Now that Trump is the president-elect, every brand is worried they'll be the next ones in @realDonaldTrump's Twitter crosshairs. On Tuesday, both General Motors and Walmart announced thousands of new jobs in the U.S. in the coming months, though GM's jobs appear to have been in the works for months, and Walmart's 10,000 new jobs are barely a blip on the radar for a company that employs 1.5 million in the U.S.

Amazon far and away had the largest job announcement so far this year, vowing to create 100,000 new jobs this year. But critics say the positions are simply low-paying warehouse jobs.

“Given that there’s no real news here, one certainly has to wonder if Amazon's announcement is mainly aimed at currying favor with President-elect Trump," Mitchell says.

Who's gonna be great again next?

British Prime Minister Theresa May waves as she arrives back at 10 Downing Street in London on Jan. 17, 2017, after delivering a Brexit speech at Lancaster House in London.

With just days until Trump's populist movement takes the reins in Washington, let's check in with populist movements across the Atlantic:

United Kingdom: British Prime Minister Theresa May outlined the plans for the Brexit process, which will begin in March. Her wish list: a clean break with the EU, stronger immigration controls, a trade deal from outside the EU that looks like the one they had inside it, and continued open borders and cooperation with the Republic of Ireland. The reaction from the EU: we'll see.
Germany: The country's high court refused to outlaw the populist neo-Nazi National Democratic Party, saying the movement doesn't pose a threat to the country's democracy. The party hopes to make a showing in the elections for Saarland's state legislature in March. The nationalist AfD ("Alternative for Germany") party is gaining ground in the polls in the wake of the terror attack in Berlin last month. The next election will take place before Oct. 22.
Netherlands: The anti-EU, anti-immigrant PVV ("Party for Freedom") is leading the polls for March's parliamentary elections, but is just one of seven parties expected to pick up seats. It would have to form a partnership with one or more other parties to create a ruling coalition, and no one else seems willing to partner up.
Italy: Elections for a new prime minister will take place by May, with populist leader and potential front-runner Beppe Grillo steering his 5-Star Movement toward the mainstream and away from former nationalist allies. Trump supporter Matteo Salvini, who has called for tighter border controls, is a distant third in the polls.
France: French presidential elections are coming up in late April and early May. The Russian-backed populist candidate Marine Le Pen is promising immigration control, the end of free trade and a "France first" mentality ... so basically, she's France's Donald Trump. Among her opponents are Francois Fillon, a surprise winner in the primaries who warns of "Islamic totalitarianism" and wants to cut France's wealth tax ... in other words, he's France's Donald Trump. Also seeing a late surge in popularity: Emmanuel Macron, an outsider who has never held political office but has been attracting enthusiastic crowds at rallies across the nation. He's ... hm, trying to think of a good analogy here.

It's a yuge world after all

To track Trump's business ties, Buzzfeed launched TrumpWorld, a wild ride through the 1,500 individuals and organizations in Trump's orbit. Keep your tiny hands inside the vehicle at all times.

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For the Record: How much longer until it's great o'clock?

Education nominee takes on Democrats, grizzly bears

Companies learning to beat the tweet

Who's gonna be great again next?

More from transition week

It's a yuge world after all