All Activity

🦃 Gobble gobble — oh, pardon me! President Trump pardons "Gobble" in the Rose Garden this afternoon. Photo: Heather Diehl/Getty Images President Trump pardoned "Waddle" and "Gobble" in a Thanksgiving White House tradition this afternoon. 🍽️ While turkeys have long been presented at the White House, today's annual ritual of ceremonially pardoning what might otherwise become Thanksgiving dinner is much more recent. George H.W. Bush formalized the modern-day affair, conducting the first official turkey pardon in 1989. Data: Axios research; Chart: Jacque Schrag/Axios Trump also seized the opportunity today to take shots at former President Biden (for his autopen use) as well as Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (over safety in the Windy City), Axios' Josephine Walker reports. 👮 "The mayor is incompetent and the governor is a big fat slob," Trump said while falsely claiming Chicago has out-of-control crime rates and threatening to send in the National Guard. Go deeper.

👩‍💻 The kids aren't alright Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios It's a hard time to be a young adult, Axios' Madison Mills writes. 🏡 Youth unemployment is spiking, homeownership is increasingly out of reach, and college is no longer a sure bet. 📈 By the numbers: Unemployment among workers aged 20–24 is up 2.1 percentage points since early 2023. For those aged 16–19, it's up 3.5 points. 💰 Wage growth for young workers is falling faster than that of any other age group. 🪜 Upward mobility, normally strongest early in careers, has stalled as job-switching opportunities vanish. Layoffs are rising among entry-level workers too. 🤖 Young people are more easily replaced by AI, strategists tell Axios — though it's unclear how many recent job cuts are truly due to the emerging tech. The bottom line: Young adults' economic woes "could have a long-term scarring impact," economist Grace Zwemmer writes in a new report on Gen Z's struggles to realize the American Dream. Go deeper.

No meeting until "final stages" Responders extinguish a fire at the site of a Russian strike yesterday in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Photo: Viacheslav Mavrychev/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC "UA:PBC"/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images President Trump says he'll meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin only when they get closer to a peace deal, Axios' Barak Ravid reports. 🤳 "I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages," Trump wrote on Truth Social. 🦃 Trump's post comes after Axios reported that Zelensky wants to meet President Trump "as soon as possible" — even over Thanksgiving — to finalize a joint U.S.-Ukrainian agreement on peace terms. U.S. and Ukrainian officials have agreed in principle on most aspects of the latest, modified plan. But Zelensky wants to negotiate with Trump personally on the matter of territorial concessions, Zelensky Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak told Barak and Axios' Dave Lawler. 🇺🇸 The original U.S. plan promised Russia more territory beyond what it currently controls, provoking backlash from Ukraine and its allies. The U.S. argument: It's a matter of time before Ukraine loses that territory anyway. 🇷🇺 The other side: Moscow "welcomed" the initial U.S. plan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today, but "the situation will be fundamentally different" if the new version strays from understandings reached between Trump and Putin. 🚀 Friction point: Russia's deadly overnight attacks show that peace is not on Moscow's mind, Yermak said. ☮️ But he also argued that if the U.S. and Ukraine can finalize a joint position — and if Trump can press Putin to negotiate on those terms — the war could end soon. Go deeper.

This photo provided by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance shows Gramma eating a banana stalk in 2023. (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance via AP) Gramma the Galapagos tortoise, oldest resident of San Diego Zoo, dies at about 141 After more than a century of munching on her favorite foods of romaine lettuce and cactus fruit, beloved Galapagos tortoise Gramma, the oldest resident of the San Diego Zoo, has died. It’s not clear exactly when the tortoise arrived in San Diego, but zoo officials said she came from the Bronx Zoo in either 1928 or 1931.

Flu activity is low, but experts worry about a new strain and vaccination rates NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. flu season is starting slowly, and it’s unclear if it will be as bad as last winter’s, but some health experts are worried as U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted Friday shows a new version of the virus has emerged. https://apnews.com/article/flu-covid-vaccinations-7e437cc60e18e4d1c49b50c3b358a253?

New limits for a rent algorithm that prosecutors say let landlords drive up prices Landlords could no longer rely on rent-pricing software to quietly track each other’s moves and push rents higher using confidential data, under a settlement between RealPage Inc. and federal prosecutors to end what critics said was illegal “algorithmic collusion.” https://apnews.com/article/realpage-doj-lawsuit-settlement-rent-data-4d8985a50c28b6322b8f82a2fbb5c79e?

Americans eye Thanksgiving travel weather after Texas tornadoes, snow and rain elsewhere CYPRESS, Texas (AP) — Kenny Beck surveyed the damage Tuesday to his family’s two-story home after at least two tornadoes tore through the Houston area, damaging over 100 homes at the start of a busy Thanksgiving travel week that has Americans closely eyeing the weather. https://apnews.com/article/severe-weather-texas-tornado-travel-ff20367238823f401aba3aeca84b746f?

Israel says it has received another set of human remains from militants in Gaza DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel on Tuesday said it received human remains turned over by Palestinian militants and forensic experts were trying to determine if they belonged to one of the three remaining hostages held in Gaza. https://apnews.com/article/gaza-israel-hostage-body-ceasefire-rains-f97bdf2d6212b766e1aa3359f3a33004?

Pakistan denies Afghanistan’s claims of airstrikes killing 10 people, mostly children KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban government on Tuesday accused Pakistan of launching deadly overnight strikes in three eastern provinces, but Pakistan’s military dismissed the claim and said no such strikes were carried out. https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-pakistan-airstrikes-children-killed-2d5239006f41b3ee94c361715d792c03?

More people are addicted to marijuana, but fewer of them are seeking help, experts say Pot use among young adults reached historic levels in recent years, according to a federally supported survey. Daily use even outpaced daily drinking, with nearly 18 million Americans reporting in 2022 that they use marijuana every day or nearly every day, up from less than 1 million three decades earlier. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ They relied on marijuana to get through the day. But then days felt impossible without it It’s possible to get addicted to pot. Here’s what to know WATCH: A rising number of Americans are addicted to cannabis and struggling to quit

All 24 schoolgirls abducted last week in Kebbi in northwestern Nigeria have been rescued, Nigeria's president says All 24 schoolgirls who were abducted by armed assailants from a school last week in Kebbi in northwestern Nigeria have been rescued, the country’s president announced Tuesday. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Why schoolchildren are often abducted in Nigeria and who the usual kidnappers are UN food agency projects northern Nigeria to experience hunger at unprecedented level in 2026 US signals broader efforts to protect Nigeria’s Christians following Trump’s military threat

Some DACA recipients have been arrested in Trump’s immigration crackdown An organization is tracking the growing number of arrests among people with temporary deportation protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Although DACA was created to shield noncitizens who were brought into the country by their parents from deportation if they meet certain requirements, including keeping a clean record, the Trump administration has obfuscated the protections granted to these recipients. At least 20 cases have been documented, including the recent arrest of a Dallas area resident who was a vocal participant in political meetings and public demonstrations. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Live updates: FBI seeks interviews with Democratic lawmakers who urged troops to defy illegal orders Trump says he’s sending his envoys to see Putin and Ukrainians after fine-tuning plan to end war Consumer confidence slides as Americans grow wary of high costs and sluggish job gains Dismissal of Comey, James cases won’t be the final word. Here’s what the path ahead may look like Trump spares turkeys — but not his political opponents — at annual pardoning ceremony

FBI seeks interviews with Democrats who urged US troops to defy illegal orders WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic lawmakers who appeared in a social media video urging U.S. troops to defy “illegal orders” say the FBI has contacted them to begin scheduling interviews, signaling a possible inquiry into the matter. https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-congress-80c1a1ffbbaa3a12e63745356f2377f3?

Damning Leaked Figures Show ICE Barbie Is Failing to Arrest the ‘Worst of the Worst’ The Trump-ordered raids appear to be missing their claimed target. Leaked Immigration and Customs Enforcement data show that nearly three-quarters of detainees have no criminal conviction, undermining President Donald Trump’s promise to remove “millions and millions of criminal aliens.” The figures, leaked to the libertarian Cato Institute, expose the gulf between the administration’s rhetoric and results, as Trump’s top enforcer, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, insists the dragnet is targeting America’s “worst of the worst.” Since Oct. 1, 73 percent of people booked into ICE custody had no criminal conviction, while nearly half had neither a conviction nor pending charges, according to the Cato analysis. Just 5 percent had a violent conviction. ICE detained almost as many people for immigration offenses—such as illegal entry or re-entry—as for violent crimes. Cato’s director of immigration studies, David Bier, said: “President Trump’s deportation agenda does not match the campaign promises that he made, nor the rhetoric from his officials. The agenda is taking resources away from targeting true public safety threats, whether from immigrants or Americans. ICE should redirect its resources back toward serious public safety threats.” Separate figures obtained by CBS News for Border Patrol’s latest operation in North Carolina suggest it is facing similar problems. Addressing the data, the agency’s lead commander for its operations in Chicago and Charlotte, Gregory Bovino, who earlier this month was declared by a judge to be a liar after he falsely claimed he was hit in the head with a rock before lobbing tear gas at protesters, said to Bier on X, “Many immigration offenses are felonies and should be counted. Traffic offenses such as DWI sure as hell count. “Thousands of dead Americans attention to that [sic]. You know, the dead Americans you ignore while you’re busy choosing illegal aliens over US citizens.” Cato noted that the shift in arrests began after April 26, 2025, when the White House leaned harder into mass detentions. Compared with the October 2024–April 2025 period, 80 percent of the surge in daily ICE book-ins since October has come from people with no criminal convictions. Other datasets back those patterns. A Freedom of Information Act release reviewed by the Deportation Data Project at UC Berkeley Law and UCLA School of Law found that by late July, 67 percent of ICE arrests were of people without criminal convictions, and nearly 40 percent had no convictions or charges. Under President Joe Biden, just one in 10 arrests involved people with no criminal history, the researchers reported. The scale of the increase is stark, with ICE arrests of immigrants without criminal convictions ballooning 571 percent from January, while arrests of people with no conviction and no charge jumped 1,500 percent, according to the FOIA dataset. The graph shows off spikes in arrests in January and June. Cato Insititute ICE’s own public-facing detention dashboard paints a similar picture. By mid-November, 69 percent of ICE detainees arrested by ICE officers had no criminal conviction, and 40 percent had no charge at all. Meanwhile, detainees who had criminal convictions but no pending charges skyrocketed from fewer than 1,000 in January to more than 21,000—a 2,370 percent increase. ICE data show the share of people detained after an ICE arrest who have criminal convictions has dropped from 62 percent in January to 31 percent in November, while those held with no conviction or charge have jumped from six percent to 40 percent. Deportation figures follow the same pattern. In November 2025, ICE’s data show that 70 percent of people it removed had no criminal convictions, and 43 percent had neither a conviction nor a pending charge. ICE removals from detention between Nov. 1 and Nov. 16, 2025. Cato Insititute CBS News reported that only one-third of Border Patrol arrests in Charlotte, North Carolina, during Trump’s high-profile “Green Army” deployment involved people with criminal histories. A DHS spokesperson said the figures cited by CBS News were “likely inaccurate” but did not provide any alternate breakdown of criminality beyond what appeared in the document. The department did, though, finally release some meaningful figures of its own. After months of offering only percentage increases, Noem posted on X that there had been a 1,153 percent increase in assaults on agents between Jan. 21 and Nov. 21 this year. She said that figure represented 238 reported assaults against ICE law enforcement compared to 19 during the same period last year. “President Trump and I will always stand with the men and women of @ICEgov who risk their lives every single day to arrest the worst of the worst.” The Daily Beast contacted the White House for comment. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that “70 percent of illegal aliens ICE arrested across the country have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges just in the U.S.,” and that that didn’t “account for those wanted for violent crimes in their home country or another country, INTERPOL notices, human rights abusers, gang members, terrorists, etc.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/damning-leaked-figures-show-ice-barbie-kristi-noem-is-totally-failing-to-arrest-the-worst-of-the-worst/?

Zombie DOGE Back From Dead With Promise to Continue Reign of Terror The nation’s DOGE headache is refusing to go away. The Department of Government Efficiency says it is not dead yet. A Reuters report asserting that DOGE “doesn’t exist” anymore has been discredited by the controversial agency and criticized by the Office of Personnel Management director Scott Kupor, the primary source for the wire service’s article. Elon Musk, who led DOGE as it recklessly fired thousands of federal workers whom the government later begged to return, launched attacks against Reuters, calling it “the worst” and claiming that it lies “relentlessly.” The official DOGE account weighed in Monday night. “As usual, this is fake news from @Reuters,” it wrote. “President Trump was given a mandate by the American people to modernize the federal government and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse. Just last week, DOGE terminated 78 wasteful contracts and saved taxpayers $335M. We’ll be back in a few days with our regularly scheduled Friday update.” Kupor, 54, said Reuters “spliced” his comments to “create a grabbing headline,” but he did not outright call the article false. He said DOGE has no centralized leadership and that its mission lives on via the Office of Personnel Management. Reuters has not issued a correction or clarification for its story. The White House, which did not respond to questions seeking clarity on DOGE’s status, has not said whether the department still exists. DOGE, which was chartered to operate into next summer, has operated in a grey area since it was established on day one of MAGA 2.0. Created by executive order, DOGE skirted government norms and rules—like having Musk, the world’s richest man, lead the initiative despite being a special government employee that was not authorized to do so. Infamously, DOGE hired right-wing Gen Zers who led a firing blitz that upended the lives of tens of thousands of Americans with little to show for it. The department faded into the background after Musk’s explosive exit from Washington in June. As Reuters noted, Trump now refers to DOGE in the past tense. One of Musk’s teen goons, Edward “Big Balls” Coristine, arguably the highest-profile member of DOGE outside of Musk, now works for the newly created “National Design Studio,” as does Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, who was also initially an adviser at DOGE. Despite this, DOGE’s account on X claims that it is still canceling contracts and cutting federal spending by billions each month. It is unclear who is making such cuts. Unlike other government entities, DOGE’s figures cannot be taken at face value. In February, it logged a canceled contract, earmarked for ICE’s since-shuttered “Office of Diversity and Civil Rights,” as having saved $8 billion, despite the contract being worth $8 million—a whopping $7.992 billion less than the actual savings. DOGE has been plagued by similar billion-dollar mistakes since then. DOGE’s blind slashing of government jobs required the government to rehire 26,511 people that it had let go, says Elaine Kamarck, the director of the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institution. Kamarck told Ars Technica that it is evident that DOGE “cut muscle, not fat,” and that “they didn’t really know what they were doing.” She added that the mass rehirings of workers were a “tacit admission that the blanket firings that took place during the DOGE era placed the federal government in danger of not being able to accomplish some of its most important missions.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/doge-back-from-dead-with-pledge-to-continue-reign-of-terror/?

Republican Rips Pentagon Pete’s ‘Amateur Hour’ Attempt to Punish Trump Target Don Bacon, U.S. representative for Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district since 2017, is fed up with Pete Hegseth’s theatrics. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest crusade—a bizarre Pentagon investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly—triggered immediate blowback, including from inside his own party. Even Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon, a retired military officer, has decided he’s seen enough, branding the spectacle “amateur hour once again at the Department of Dense.” Hegseth, who now calls himself the ‘Secretary of War’ as part of his attempted makeover of the Defense Department, ordered the probe after Navy veteran Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers appeared in a minute-long video urging service members to “refuse illegal orders.” The group—Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Kelly, and Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, and Jason Crow—told troops that “no one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our constitution.” Kelly defended himself to Rachel Maddow on MS NOW. He rattled off his résumé of near-death encounters—missiles exploding next to his aircraft, multiple near shoot-downs, and four trips to space “built by the lowest bidder”—before invoking the 2011 assassination attempt on his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords. “We know what political violence is,” he said. “And we know what causes it, too. The statement that Donald Trump made is inciteful.” Republicans may not have loved the Democrats’ video, but several seem even less impressed by the Trump-Hegseth scorched-earth response. Enter Bacon, a Nebraska Republican and retired military officer who publicly blasted the Pentagon’s escalation. “I thought the video by six Dems was unnecessary and foolish,” he wrote on X. “But the threats of sedition charges and courts martial in response are also crazy.” One respondent to Bacon’s post suggested lawmakers seemingly sowing dissent could lead to “instability.” Bacon shared the sober view that what the gaggle of lawmakers called for is actually run-of-the-mill. “We all have to decide if an order is illegal. We are trained to not follow illegal orders,” he asserted. In another reply, he said, “I think good to criticize... but dumb to be talking courts martial.” One respondent proffered that, “Calls for insurrection are serious, actually!” He replied, “They said don’t follow illegal orders. That is the law by the way. It was dumb and unnecessary video, but good luck prosecuting someone who is quoting the law. The Administration should have just pointed out how dumb it was. The threats looked dumber.” Several accounts came at Bacon from a similar angle, but he stuck to his guns. “Let’s show some common sense and restraint,” Bacon signed off his original post. Restraint wasn’t exactly President Donald Trump’s instinct, however. The president erupted after the lawmakers’ video circulated, fixating on capital punishment. He accused the Democrats of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH,” amplifying a user who urged him to “go get all those traitorous sons of b-----s for sedition at the very least.” Another repost, also highlighted by the president, declared: “These pompous traitorous communists should be impeached and prosecuted.” The political theatrics arrived as Trump continues to pressure the Pentagon and intelligence community to align more closely with his directives. Kelly has become a target of the administration, but it might not have hurt his potential bid for a 2028 presidential run. Kelly has not ruled out such a run. In July, CNN’s Jake Tapper pressed the Arizona senator on why he’s suddenly popping up in Pennsylvania and Michigan, two states any future White House hopeful would be foolish to ignore. “Yes or no: Are you considering running for president in 2028?” Tapper asked. Kelly dodged. “That is a good question,” he said, before refusing to give the yes-or-no answer Tapper repeatedly invited. He insisted he’s focused on his day job and “getting the word out to the American people.” Kelly—who made the shortlist to be Kamala Harris’s running mate in 2024—pointed instead to Democrats’ dismal polling and said he’s concentrating on trying to improve it. https://www.thedailybeast.com/republican-rips-pentagon-petes-amateur-hour-attempt-to-punish-trump-target/?

Vance Ally With Zero Experience Takes on Putin in Peace Deal Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is meeting with the Russians after joining Marco Rubio in Geneva. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has taken center stage as the man to deliver the latest Ukraine peace proposal to the Russians in what has been a meteoric rise for the longtime friend of Vice President JD Vance. Driscoll arrived in Abu Dhabi and met with Russian officials on Tuesday as the U.S. looks to make good on President Donald Trump’s promise to broker an agreement to end the war. Driscoll’s participation is unusual for an army secretary, but he has proven to be a key player in the Trump administration. His outsized role with the high-stakes Ukraine talks suggests the vice president’s influence looms large at the White House as both Driscoll and Secretary of State Marco Rubio scramble to facilitate the deal. Driscoll’s rising profile on the world stage also raises questions about what kind of role he could potentially play in a future Vance administration as the vice president and Rubio, the two most likely 2028 contenders work around each other and alongside one another to curry favor with the current commander in chief. The army secretary and Vance have been friends for years, having attended Yale Law School together. He has taken on the role more often carried out by the secretary of state. First, Driscoll traveled to Kyiv, where he sat down one-on-one with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the initial framework for an agreement that the U.S. had been quietly working on. Even some Republicans blasted the first draft of the 28-point plan as a Vladimir Putin wish list, but officials insisted it was just the starting point in the ongoing negotiations. On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Ukrainian officials in Geneva for further negotiations. He called them the most productive talks they’ve had so far. While it was Rubio’s show over the weekend, including speaking to reporters about the latest updates, Driscoll was in Switzerland at the table seated right beside Rubio for the discussions. Special envoy Steve Witkoff was also in the room. But it was Driscoll who was tasked with bringing the plan now containing Ukraine’s newest input back to the Russians. He arrived late on Monday in Abu Dhabi for the key meeting. With the ball now back in Putin and Russia’s court, it is perhaps the most challenging leg of his journey so far, especially for someone who has no background negotiating with the Russians. Asked about how it came to be Driscoll was chosen to meet with Zelensky and then the Russians, the White House said that the entire national security team is working together. “President Trump appreciates Secretary Driscoll’s efforts to gather input from both the Russians and the Ukrainians in order to craft a deal that secures a durable and enforceable peace,” said spokesperson Anna Kelly in a statement. Vance’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s inquiry. But the vice president has been fiercely defending the administration’s efforts against criticism that the initial framework heavily favored Russia and that Putin has been stringing the president along for months. Ahead of the ongoing talks, he wrote on X that critics “either misunderstands the framework or misstates some critical reality on the ground.” He also reposted his potential 2028 rival as Rubio insisted the original draft came from the U.S. and not Russia. A spokesperson for the war secretary said in a statement provided to multiple news outlets that Driscoll and the team met with the Russians on Monday and Tuesday and that the talks are “going well” and they remain optimistic. https://www.thedailybeast.com/vance-ally-with-zero-experience-takes-on-putin-in-peace-deal/?

DOJ Staff Rip Trump and Bondi’s ‘Irreversible Damage’ in Tell-All Farewell Notes Unhappy staff are “being asked to put loyalty to the President over the Constitution.” A wave of former Justice Department employees is reportedly leaving behind more than just empty seats, revealing a glimpse of life inside the Trump administration. Farewell letters paint a portrait of an agency appearing to buckle under President Donald Trump’s second-term demands, with some insiders warning of “potentially irreversible damage,” according to Axios. The Justice Connection, a network of DOJ and FBI alumni, has been collecting the notes from those who have walked out. Contributors describe collapsing ethics, corrosive pressure, and a toxic workplace. Executive Director Stacey Young said in a statement that staff are “being asked to put loyalty to the president over the Constitution, the rule of law, and their professional ethical obligations.” Carrie A. Syme, a former trial attorney, wrote in a March farewell that the “current incarnation” of the department “defines ‘justice’ in a way that I do not recognize.” She pleaded with the remaining staff to remember that “the vast majority of DOJ attorneys are people of good will who are trying to maintain a true sense of justice.” For some, the concerns are more immediate. Devon Flanagan, formerly a trial attorney in the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section, warned that the damage will only accelerate as more employees “find these stressful and demeaning conditions untenable.” Three assistant United States attorneys who refused to dismiss New York Mayor Eric Adams’ case put their objections in writing before they walked. In their April letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, they said the department had “decided that obedience supersedes all else.” The push to drop the charges sparked a broader internal revolt. “There is no greater privilege than to work for an institution whose mandate is to do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons,” they wrote. “We will not abandon this principle to keep our jobs.” Others say they didn’t even get the choice to resign. Anam Rahman Petit, an immigration judge who said she was terminated without explanation, called the staffing changes “a systemic effort to reshape the bench with individuals more likely to deny cases without regard for due process.” Inside the Office of Immigration Litigation, trial attorney Joseph Darrow wrote that firing whistleblower Erez Reuveni was “a warning and act of intimidation against us all.” The departures aren’t limited to whistleblowers or dissenters. They include prosecutors who handled cases tied to the Jan. 6 riot. One of the highest-profile firings was Maurene Comey, who worked on the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases and is the daughter of Trump antagonist James Comey. She has sued the government, writing in her farewell, “If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.” Still, the DOJ’s own buyout program accounts for thousands more departures. Justice Connection estimates more than 4,000 employees have exited following those offers. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s early move to create a “Weaponization Working Group” signaled the direction she planned to take the department, targeting offices that previously investigated Trump. She has echoed Trump’s claims that he was a victim of lawfare and Deep State sabotage. And for some, the problem isn’t ideology—it’s incompetence. Trial attorney Barbara Schwabauer, who resigned in August, wrote that her departure wasn’t due to “a ‘deep-state’ refusal to work with this administration.” Instead, she blamed “hollow leadership that disregards longstanding interpretations of civil rights law, upends Division and Departmental norms, and values perceived loyalty above the meritocratic principles it claims to espouse.” The DOJ refused to comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/departing-doj-staffers-warn-of-irreversible-damage-trump-is-doing/?

Florida bear hunt to take place next month after judge rejects injunction Florida’s first bear hunt in a decade will take place as scheduled next month after a state judge on Monday denied a motion by a conservation group to stop it from taking place. https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/24/florida-bear-hunt-to-take-place-next-month-after-judge-rejects-injunction/?

Just follow orders or obey the law? What US troops told us about refusing illegal commands As the Trump administration carries out what many observers say are illegal military strikes against vessels in the Caribbean allegedly smuggling drugs, six Democratic members of Congress issued a video on Nov. 18, 2025, telling the military “You can refuse illegal orders” and “You must refuse illegal orders.” https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/25/repub/just-follow-orders-or-obey-the-law-what-us-troops-told-us-about-refusing-illegal-commands/? Trump’s Immigration Forces Deploy “Less Lethal” Weapons in Dangerous Ways, Skirting Rules and Maiming Protesters (This story contains videos and photos showing blood and violence against protesters.) As the Trump administration’s immigration dragnet intensified in June, a nurse in Portland, Oregon, left work one midafternoon and drove to a nearby detention facility to voice his opposition. Federal agents had set off smoke grenades, driving away many protesters at the front of the facility, but Vincent Hawkins lifted his megaphone anyway. https://www.propublica.org/article/ice-border-patrol-less-lethal-weapons?

Trump Is Even Making Fake Christmas Trees More Expensive U.S. shoppers will also be paying more for artificial decorations because of the president’s tariffs. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs have driven up the price of artificial Christmas trees this holiday season, an executive has warned shoppers. Mac Harman, CEO of Balsam Hill, which sells artificial Christmas trees and other festive decorations, told Politico’s West Wing Playbook that he has been forced to raise prices by about 20 percent. Tens of millions of Americans, already struggling with a cost-of-living crisis, inflation, and high food prices, are now facing the prospect of having to spend even more because of Trump’s tariffs on imports. A LendingTree study warned that the president’s tariffs mean the average U.S. consumer will need to spend $132 more on gifts this year than in 2024. Harman said the cost he has had to pass on to consumers would have been even higher if he had not purchased most of this year’s inventory before Trump re-entered office. Harman, whose company sponsors the National Christmas Tree, which will be placed on the White House lawn, said he was in talks with the White House to try to reduce tariffs and lower the cost of artificial Christmas trees. He argued that pre-lit artificial trees are difficult to produce in the U.S. and are not as vital to the domestic economy as technology or medicine. “We are optimistic that the president will save Christmas,” Harman said. Mark Mathews, chief economist and executive director of research at the National Retail Federation, said there is “definitely some cause for concern” about pricing this holiday season. “Businesses have been eating the majority of tariffs up until this point,” he told West Wing Playbook. “We also know that that’s unsustainable, and we’re going to have to see more transmission of increased prices onto the consumer.” White House spokesperson Kush Desai dismissed the Christmas costs concerns as “endless doomsday fantasizing by the Fake News and Democrats.” “Hard data of robust consumer spending and retail sales have been clear. Real wages are rising under President Trump, and Americans’ hard-earned money is going further than it did under [former President] Joe Biden,” he said. One person who also does not seem too bothered about issues surrounding Christmas trees is Melania Trump. On Monday, the first lady spent less than three minutes welcoming the arrival of the White House Christmas tree in front of the press before leaving the event. Trump—who has repeatedly brushed aside Americans’ concerns about their financial struggles—has also tried to suggest that Thanksgiving dinner would be cheaper this year while using distorted math. The president’s claim that a Walmart Thanksgiving package is 25 percent cheaper than last year relies on the fact that it contains fewer products and more generic brands. https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-is-even-making-fake-christmas-trees-more-expensive/?

Inspecting claim Education Department stopped counting nursing, other programs as 'professional degrees' The department's proposal may impact how much money student loan borrowers can receive depending on the graduate degree they choose. Claim: In late 2025, the Department of Education said it would no longer classify these credentials as professional degrees: education (including teaching master’s degrees), nursing (MSN, DNP), social work (MSW, DSW), public health (MPH, DrPH), physician assistant, occupational therapy, physical therapy, audiology, speech-language pathology and counseling and therapy degrees. Rating: Mixture About this rating What's True The Department of Education has proposed excluding a wide range of college programs from the definition of "professional degrees" specifically in relation to eligibility for student loans. What's False As of this writing, the proposal has not yet passed. Some counseling degrees would also be classified as "professional degrees" under the Department of Education's plan. What's Undetermined It was unclear if this decision that specifically would affect student loan borrowing limits indicated a more widespread change in Department of Education policy and practice. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-professional-degrees-nursing/?

Rumor has it leaked phone call features Trump panicking about Epstein files. Here's the truth In the alleged recording, Trump could purportedly be heard saying, "Just don't let 'em get out. If I go down, I will bring all of you down with me." Claim: A leaked phone call audio recording authentically features U.S. President Donald Trump panicking to White House staffers about the release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Rating: Fake A rumor circulated online in November 2025 that a purportedly leaked phone call audio recording featured U.S. President Donald Trump panicking to White House staffers about the release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-phone-call-epstein-files/?

A larger statement of SDA beliefs, which is listed in 28 statements may be found at: https://szu.adventist.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/28_Beliefs.pdf

Throughout SDA history people being baptized and becoming SDA members have been asked ot agree to a minimal set of Adventist beliefs. While there have been some minor differences among such versions, the following website provides you with a generally accepted set of such requirements. https://seca7.adventistchurch.org.uk/uploaded_assets/273016-OFFICIAL_SDA_BAPTISMAL_VOWS.pdf?thumbnail=original&1587578683 NOYE: The above website also contains an "Affirmation of Faith" which seems to be used in the United Kingdom, but I have not seen used in the United States exactly as presented by the abovelink.