Manhunt: German authorities are now searching for a 23-year-old Tunisian man they believe was the driver of a truck that killed 12 people at a Berlin Christmas market. Anis Amri, 23, had previously been investigated on suspicion that he planned a robbery to raise money to buy guns.

Before entering Germany, Amri served four years in prison for arson in Italy and was sentenced to prison in absentia in Tunisia. Amri, who had been turned down for asylum and faced deportation, left his residence permit in the truck, allowing investigators to identify him.

President-elect Donald Trump said yesterday that the Berlin incident affirms his plans to bar Muslims from countries at high risk of terrorism from entering the US. “You know my plans,” Trump told reporters. “All along, I’ve been proven to be right. One hundred percent correct.”

In Transition: Trump has named a sharp critic of China to head a new National Trade Council. Peter Navarro, a business professor at UC Irvine, has written about the potential for both trade and military conflicts with China.  The title of one of his books is “The Coming China Wars: Where They Will Be Fought, How They Can Be Won.”

Trump also named his campaign manager Kellyanne Conway to be a White House “counselor.” She would be the highest ranking woman in his administration.

In Litigation: The federal judge in the Trump University fraud case has given preliminary approval to a deal in which Trump would pay the complainants a total of $25 million before Inauguration Day.

Trump appears to be clearing his litigation docket. He also recently dropped a lawsuit against Palm Beach County over airplane noise at his Mar-a-Lago Estate and yesterday settled labor agreements with unions at two of his hotels.

Grace Notes: As we have previously noted, winning isn’t enough for Donald Trump, he needs to give himself continuing affirmation. Yesterday he tweeted, “Campaigning to win the Electoral College is much more difficult & sophisticated than the popular vote. Hillary focused on the wrong states!”

He followed that with, “I would have done even better in the election, if that is possible, if the winner was based on popular vote – but would campaign differently.”

Rest Room: The North Carolina legislature yesterday failed to reach an agreement to repeal the state’s “bathroom bill” that requires users of public bathrooms to use the facility marked for their sex at birth. The state’s Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger blamed Democrats in a statement saying, “Their action proves they only wanted a repeal in order to force radical social engineering and shared bathrooms across North Carolina, at the expense of our state’s families, our reputation and our economy.”

Now, what reputation would that be?

Climate: A spike in temperatures in the Arctic this year has scientists warning that there could be a record low in summer ice next year, leading to even more warming and melting. Ice reflects the sun’s rays and dark water absorbs them.

Last month, parts of the Arctic were 35 degrees warmer than the average for the time of year.

Unnatural Disaster: Just in time for the heavy dessert time of year, there is a national shortage of whipped cream: the kind of whipped cream for people who think milk comes from the milkman. Reddi-wip and other industrial-food whipped creams that come from an aerosol can are getting tough to find.

A key ingredient in spray-on whipped cream is nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas. An explosion in a Florida gas manufacturing plant cut the supply of nitrous oxide used to push “food” out of a can.

For those of you who can’t find Reddi-wip at the store, here’s an Old World secret. Buy a pint of real heavy cream, put it in a bowl, add sugar, and whip it with a whisk. It turns into whipped cream. Real whipped cream.

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