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December 3, 2025 By Sam Sifton Good morning. President Trump has escalated his attacks on immigrants, calling Somalis “garbage” in an unapologetically bigoted tirade. The U.S. also paused immigration applications from some countries. We’ll get to that and more below. But before we do, I’d like to draw your attention to Venezuela, where President Nicolás Maduro is trying to avoid the long arm of the United States. President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York Times Fast dancing In response to threats from the Trump administration, Maduro has tightened his security, my colleague Anatoly Kurmanaev reports. He hopes to escape a precision strike or a special-forces raid. He changes where he sleeps and what cellphones he uses. He has expanded the use of Cuban bodyguards in his personal security detail because he believes they are more loyal and less likely to betray him. He has also attached more Cuban counterintelligence officers to Venezuela’s military, according to multiple people close to the Venezuelan government. (They asked Anatoly not to use their names because they were worried about Maduro’s reprisals.) At the same time, Maduro has put on a public display of nonchalance in Venezuela, addressing the public frequently (if often in recordings), showing up at public events (if often unannounced), dancing and posting propaganda clips on TikTok. “It’s comfort for his supporters,” Anatoly told me on the phone yesterday, “and defiance to his opponents. He’s a good dancer.” The Trump administration says that Maduro is running a “narcoterrorist” cartel that is flooding the United States with drugs. But Venezuela does not produce fentanyl, which is responsible for two-thirds of American overdose deaths. And the cocaine that moves through his country likely accounts for less than 10 percent of the total that enters the United States. What the administration is looking for, current and former officials in Washington say, is regime change. To hasten it, Trump has moved warships and troops into the region, while also indicating that he might be open to a diplomatic solution. He and Maduro spoke by phone last month to talk about a possible meeting. (There are no current plans for a meeting, people with knowledge of the phone call told The Times.) On Monday, Anatoly reported, Maduro made a surprise appearance at a government rally in Caracas, the nation’s capital. “Party for as long as the body can bear it!” he told the crowd, before dancing to a fast electronic beat. A loop of his voice echoed over the speakers: “No war; peace.” There was a sniper standing guard nearby. ‘Street politics’ Maduro has been in this position before. Trump tried to unseat him during his first administration, calling for a “maximum pressure” campaign that appealed to Latino voters in Florida, a crucial state for Trump at the time. He imposed sanctions on Venezuela and recognized an opposition politician as the nation’s president. It was to no avail. “Maduro wasn’t born yesterday,” Anatoly told me. “He’s been in power for 12 years. He’s survived his fair share of uprisings and coup plots. His message is, I’m here. I’m not scared. I’m running this place.” Andrés Izarra, a minister under Maduro who has broken with the government and gone into exile, put it more bluntly. “He is a compulsive political operator,” he told Anatoly. “He plays by the rough rules of street politics, of corrupt union politics, rules that are similar to those of a mafia.” All of which leaves Venezuela in a precarious position. The economy there is hurting. Close to eight million people have fled the country since Maduro took office, more than a quarter of the population. He is deeply unpopular, with an approval rating that hovers around 20 percent. But many better-off Venezuelans who have stayed are anxious. They worry that dumping Maduro is a risk. “They prefer the predictable chaos of Maduro to the unpredictable chaos of the opposition,” Anatoly said. Yet they recognize that the country’s best chance may be a better relationship with the United States, the country’s cultural and financial north star. Anatoly quoted Porfirio Díaz then, the Mexican dictator who was toppled in 1911: Poor Mexico, so far from God, so close to the United States. The aphorism applies to Venezuela, and to its citizens, he said. “They have to live with the United States,” he continued. “They just want to survive this round of pressure.” Read about how Maduro is hanging on. IMMIGRATION CURBS Federal prosecutors charged an Afghan national with murder yesterday in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., one of whom died. Trump says that the attack is evidence immigrants are dangerous — and that it justifies a maximalist version of his anti-immigrant agenda. In response to the shooting, his administration has: Stopped processing green card and citizenship paperwork for immigrants from any of the countries under Trump’s travel ban, mostly in the Middle East and Africa. Paused all asylum decisions until it could “ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible,” an official said. (The shooting suspect obtained asylum in April, while Trump was president.) Trump also recently threatened in a social media post to deport foreigners deemed to be “non-compatible with Western Civilization.” Ordered ICE to start arresting and deporting Afghans who have court orders seeking their removal. A new target A Somali-American community in Minneapolis. Ben Brewer for The New York Times He has also escalated his rhetoric. Although the suspect in Washington is Afghan, he has fixated on another group since the shooting: Somali immigrants. Yesterday, Trump called them “garbage” that he doesn’t want in the country. It was an outburst that was shocking in its unapologetic bigotry, even compared to other statements he has made in his long history of insulting people from African countries. Trump continued his tirade, saying Somalis “do nothing but bitch,” and Vice President JD Vance banged the table in encouragement. He directed ICE agents to target Somali immigrants in Minnesota. THE LATEST NEWS Boat Strikes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a follow-up strike that killed men clinging to boat wreckage in the Caribbean was “the right call.” Hegseth, who watched the initial operation on video, said that he had not seen the men in the water. The admiral who ordered the second strike will face questions from Congress. More on Politics Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow for nearly five hours to discuss the end of the war in Ukraine. They did not reach any compromises. In Tennessee, Matt Van Epps, a Republican, won a special election for the House of Representatives after national Republican groups spent millions to boost his campaign. The Pentagon is test-driving a new press corps composed of pro-Trump commentators and outlets after barring traditional journalists who refused to sign on to its rules. Business The Trump administration wants its “no taxes on tips” rule to exclude money made from pornographic activity. It may soon fall to the I.R.S. to decide what constitutes porn. The Times’s DealBook Summit is today. Follow along to hear from Mr. Beast, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Erika Kirk and many others. Sign up for the DealBook newsletter. Andrew Ross Sorkin and his Times colleagues help you make sense of business headlines — and the power brokers who shape them. Get it in your inbox Philanthropy Elon Musk’s charity, the Musk Foundation, controls billions of dollars. Yet it failed to give away the minimum required by law, and most of its giving went to charities closely tied to Musk, a Times investigation found. The tech billionaires Michael and Susan Dell plan to give $250 dollars each to 25 million children across the U.S. The money will go into so-called Trump accounts, a type of investment account for children. Read how those work. International Hong Kong authorities have arrested at least two people for demanding more government accountability after a deadly fire. The Indian government ordered smartphone makers to install a tracking app on all new phones. Officials say it will prevent crime; critics say it’s a tool for mass surveillance. Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seeking a pardon in his corruption trial, is borrowing from Trump’s playbook, David Halbfinger writes. Other Big Stories In a testimony in a Manhattan court, an officer told the story of arresting Luigi Mangione in New Jersey. The University of Alabama suspended two student magazines that focus on women and Black students, saying they violated guidance from the Justice Department on D.E.I. JOIN THE FIGHT The New York Times Early in the war with Russia, Ukraine cast military service as a way to defend civilization. But as war fatigue set in and recruitment suffered, the army began depicting service as just another career path. See how Ukraine’s war recruitment ads have changed. OPINIONS Americans should treat the Epstein files with skepticism, considering that Trump’s politicized Justice Department is in charge of redacting them, the editorial board writes. Millennial women are loving Lily Allen’s album “West End Girl” because they’re starting to face their own midlife crises, Lizzy Goodman writes. Morning readers: Save on the complete Times experience. Experience all of The Times, all in one subscription — all with this introductory offer. You’ll gain unlimited access to news and analysis, plus games, recipes, product reviews and more. MORNING READS Illustration and animation by David Silverman. The Simpsons™ and © 2025 20th Television The greatest generation: That’s Gen X, not so obvs. Amanda Fortini, one of its members, tackled the question for T Magazine: “How did a generation that gets stereotyped as slackers turn out to be a far more important group of artists than they were initially given credit for?” Take a chill pill. It’s true. Think of Nas rapping in “N.Y. State of Mind” about growing up in the Queensbridge housing projects. Amanda quotes the scholar Marc Lamont Hill: The lyrics are as clear and lyrical a depiction “as a Gordon Parks photograph or a Langston Hughes poem.” Report card: A student at the University of Oklahoma cited the Bible in an essay for her psychology class and wrote that the “lie that there are multiple genders” is “demonic.” Her professor gave that work a grade of zero. The student filed a claim of religious discrimination. The university conducted a formal grade appeal, which “resulted in steps to ensure no academic harm to the student from the graded assignment,” according to the school. The instructor has been placed on administrative leave. Sydney beaches: Australia uses shark nets in the ocean to keep them away from swimmers. But do they work? Iran-contra affair: Eugene Hasenfus was thrust into the national spotlight when, on a covert mission sponsored by the C.I.A., his gunrunning cargo plane was shot down over Nicaragua, setting off what would become known as the Iran-contra affair. He died at 84, TODAY’S NUMBER 1,120 — That is about the number of crews the Ohio Department of Transportation had on state roads yesterday, working to improve driving conditions as a major winter storm dumped snow and ice across the Midwest. SPORTS Tennis: Serena Williams took a step toward returning to tennis by re-entering the sport’s anti-doping testing pool. But she insists she’s not coming back. N.F.L.: The former Jets wide receiver Laveranues Coles made $42 million in football. Fifteen years after retirement, he will soon become a police officer in his hometown of Jacksonville, Fla. RECIPE OF THE DAY Ryan Liebe for The New York Times Here it is, Cooking’s most popular recipe of 2025: Zaynab Issa’s smashed beef kebab with cucumber yogurt. It’s a lovely midweek meal that wears its Persian heritage proudly, with warmly spiced, seared ground beef served over the creamy coolness of the sauce. After you’ve cooked the meat, toast walnuts and raisins in the leftover fat in the pan to add crunch and sweetness. Serve with warm pita or steamed rice. Oh, man. See the 25 most popular recipes of the year. THE BEST MOVIES OF 2025 Warner Bros. TIFF; Neon, via Associated Press Our critics Manohla Dargis and Alissa Wilkinson picked their personal top 10s from cinema’s past 12 months. The choices are reminders, Manohla says, “that what matters to us moviegoers isn’t the industry’s bottom line but the art.” Explore their favorite movies of the year. More on culture 2025 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Take some time today to focus on “The Two Fridas” by Frida Kahlo. A 10-minute investment will pay dividends, I promise. Can a celebrity be a conservative? In Trump’s America the answer is yes and no. The “Popcast" team reached out to the Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat to talk about that, and about what a right-wing-coded alternative to the Super Bowl halftime show might look like. Have a listen. Late night hosts joked about Trump on social media. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Try a shoe that resembles a potato. Really. Get your Birks on. Jacob Gallagher, who covers men’s style for The Times, says the comfortable shape is having a moment. Consider a trip to Paris. Our Travel team put together un sacré guide de poche, a great pocket guide, for the City of Light. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was chalked. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Sports Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times and me. See you tomorrow. — Sam Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Host: Sam Sifton Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren

📱 Teen phone crackdown goes global Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios French President Emmanuel Macron last week endorsed the idea of cellphone bans in high schools, becoming the latest world leader to back restrictions on teen tech and social media use, Sara Fischer writes in Axios Media Trends. Why it matters: Data continue to suggest a correlation between children's smartphone use and poor mental and physical health. 🌐 Zoom in: Australia this month will become the first major democratic nation to ban children under 16 from popular apps such as TikTok and Instagram. South Korea passed a measure earlier this year to ban cellphones in schools. Denmark's government announced plans to ban access to social media for minors under 15. Brazil will soon require children under 16 to link their social media accounts to a guardian who can impose restrictions. New Zealand's parliament banned cellphones in schools in 2024. Keep reading.

Science funding squeeze Data: The New York Times. Chart: Axios Visuals Trump administration policies have pushed the NIH and NSF to "make far fewer competitive awards" to fund medical and science research than in past years, according to a New York Times review of over 300,000 grants. Why it matters: Fewer grants means less research was funded "in areas such as aging, diabetes, strokes, cancer and mental health." The NIH, the world's largest funder of biomedical research, has quietly started to pay more money upfront — meaning its research funds are divided into fewer projects, instead of a larger number of diversified scientific bets. Keep reading (gift link — no subscription required).

💰 Billionaires bankroll Trump's presidency Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios Private wealth has become an operational arm of the Trump presidency, bankrolling pet projects and policies on a scale unmatched by any previous administration, Axios' Zachary Basu writes. Why it matters: The generosity of America's billionaires can't be divorced from the tax incentives and privileged access that come from orbiting — or serving in — the wealthiest administration in U.S. history. While some donations are earmarked for the public good — like Michael Dell's historic $6.25 billion gift yesterday for "Trump accounts" for kids — many flow into the president's personal ecosystem. 🔎 Zoom in: Like any private philanthropy, Dell's massive donation — which will seed 25 million child investment accounts with $250 — is ultimately dwarfed by the $7 trillion federal budget. But its power lies in its ability to bypass congressional gridlock, allowing Trump to broaden a popular benefit — $1,000 for newborns starting next year — far beyond what lawmakers were willing or able to authorize. The same dynamic applied to GOP megadonor Timothy Mellon's $130 million contribution to backstop troop salaries during the government shutdown, which worked out to about $100 per service member. 🔭 Zoom out: Many wealthy donors have chosen to support projects insulated from the federal balance sheet. In Trump's world, that often means financing the spaces and spectacles he values most. Inauguration: Unburdened by campaign-finance limits, Trump's 2025 inaugural committee raised a record-shattering $245 million — nearly triple his 2017 total and four times President Biden's 2021 haul. Military parade: Sponsors of Trump's 250th-anniversary Army parade in June included corporations with deep financial or political ties to the president, including Palantir, Coinbase and Oracle. White House ballroom: Trump has broken ground on a 90,000-square-foot ballroom replacing part of the East Wing. So far, the White House has disclosed a list of 37 corporate and individual contributors, including major tech companies, defense contractors, crypto firms and longtime Trump allies. Some have remained anonymous. White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai told Axios in a statement: "Thanks to President Trump's leadership, America's richest billionaires are giving away their money to Make America Great Again — from investing in Trump Accounts for our children's future to supporting our troops." Keep reading.

The power of real reporting Photo illustration: Maura Kearns/Axios; Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images President Trump came into office promising to decapitate mainstream media. He bullied and sued media companies, blocked or curtailed access for reporters, and elevated nontraditional news sources. Yet mainstream media ends the year as dominant as ever in capturing Trump's attention and setting Washington's agenda, Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write in a "Behind the Curtain" column. Why it matters: Trump remains a voracious consumer of so-called legacy news and takes more calls from more reporters than any president in our lifetime. His days are often filled with responses — not to MAGA media or X influencers, but to conventional stories from conventional reporters at conventional media publications. Trump administration efforts to restrict the proximity of some White House reporters, or boot them from Pentagon workspace, have done little to slow the flow of leaks to legacy media from inside those buildings. Yes, his lawsuits against the big networks and others have a chilling effect on coverage, reporters at those networks tell us. And, yes, some legacy voices — notably the opinion section of The Washington Post — are drifting rightward in the age of Trump. And what the Pentagon calls its "brand new" press corps of Trump-friendly outlets (including MAGA provocateur Laura Loomer) was welcomed into the building this week for exclusive briefings after traditional news organizations refused to sign a new press policy. But it's hard to argue legacy media has been defanged when the president himself spends his days engaging with it and reacting to deeply reported stories that clearly hit a nerve. 🖼️ The big picture: The era of Big News is over — the days of networks and newspapers and traditional media alone setting the agenda are long past. Influencers, podcasters, social media stars and independent thinkers and journalists are often just as powerful as old-line media in shaping how most people see reality day to day. But these newer players often feast on old-fashioned reporting to provide their daily buffet of content on new platforms. The media dynamic in Washington has changed less than we expected in 2025. At the beginning of the year, both X and MAGA media were ascendant, even dominant, in shaping the national conversation. X remains a force, especially for Republicans, the tech world and the media. But MAGA has been mired in months of infighting, often about personality or identity disputes. That said, we're clearly in the post-news era, in which people are forming views and realities based on numerous inputs. Yet even in this post-news era, news still matters. A lot. Case in point: Look at how The Washington Post drove days of coverage and social-media posts — and sent the Trump administration scrambling — with last week's report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered commanders to kill those aboard alleged drug-smuggling boats off South America. The reporting kicked even Trump-friendly Republican committee chairs into oversight action. (Hegseth said yesterday he "did not personally see survivors" and cited the "fog of war" in defending the follow-on strike in a September attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.) Or look at how the most powerful people in technology rallied to defend White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks after The New York Times this week ran a five-byline investigation into his holdings in realms where he shapes policies. If The New York Times is unreliable and irrelevant, why did Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen, Marc Benioff and other big-name execs feel obligated to publicly defend Sacks? Or look at the way a beat reporter, Axios global affairs correspondent Barak Ravid, has dominated coverage of Israel and Middle East peace talks. Trump himself has been doing interviews with Ravid to discuss his views. The bottom line: For all his anti-media rhetoric, Trump remains the most accessible president of modern times to many mainstream reporters. We're not diminishing the damage Trump has done with lawsuits and constant claims of "fake news." It's real. Lawsuits drain money, time and attention. But as we've seen at Axios this past year, interest in clinical, serious, credible reporting has never been higher — including inside this White House.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY December 03 1947 “A Streetcar Named Desire” opens on Broadway On December 3, 1947, Marlon Brando’s famous cry of “STELLA!” first booms across a Broadway stage, electrifying the audience at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre during the first-ever performance of Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire. The 23-year-old Brando played the rough, working-class... read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1818 Illinois becomes the 21st state 1980s 1984 Explosion kills thousands at pesticide plant In Bhopal, India Arts & Entertainment 1979 Eleven people killed in a stampede outside Who concert in Cincinnati, Ohio Cold War 1989 Bush and Gorbachev suggest Cold War is coming to an end Crime 1989 Five-year-old disappears—abductor is later ID’d by clothing fibers Inventions & Science 1967 First human heart transplant 1979 Last AMC Pacer rolls off assembly line 1992 First SMS text message is sent World War I 1912 Armistice signed in First Balkan War

> Samsung debuts its first trifold smartphone with 10-inch display, available in South Korea this month and in the US next year; Chinese company Huawei released trifold phones last year, and Apple is expected to debut a foldable iPhone next year (More) > Researchers find shingles vaccine may slow progression of dementia, building on an earlier study that linked the vaccine to a lower risk of developing dementia (More) > Terminally ill baby ants emit a chemical signal that prompts adult ants to kill them, helping protect the rest of the colony from infection (More)

Hong Kong Fire Probe Hong Kong is establishing an independent committee to investigate last week's apartment complex fire that killed 156 people and to initiate reforms in the construction industry. Over a dozen people affiliated with the complex's renovation have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after netting around a high-rise building caught fire last Wednesday. The blaze spread to six other buildings (see visualization). A preliminary probe found seven of 20 netting samples didn't meet safety codes, prompting authorities to accuse contractors of misleading inspectors to cut costs. The labor department had conducted 16 project inspections since July 2024—including one a week before the fire—and told residents who raised safety concerns that a fire was relatively unlikely. Authorities declined to comment on reports that civilians were arrested over the weekend after demanding government accountability for the fire. In reaction to 2019 pro-democracy demonstrations, Beijing has passed down national security laws that can effectively criminalize free speech and protests in Hong Kong.

German chocolate cake was invented in Texas. It was named for a person, Sam German, who created a type of baking chocolate for Baker’s in 1852. James

Trump-backed Republican Matt Van Epps wins US House special election in Tennessee NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican Matt Van Epps won a nationally watched special election in Tennessee for a U.S. House seat Tuesday, maintaining his party’s grip on the conservative district with help from President Donald Trump. But the comparatively slim margin of victory fueled Democratic hopes for next year’s midterms as the party grasps for a path back to power in Washington. https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-special-election-congress-van-epps-behn-246e101692e3dd002d43a4cdb467164b?

Which states contribute the most and least to federal revenue? In 2024, Californians paid about $275.6 billion more to the federal government than they received. https://usafacts.org/articles/which-states-contribute-the-most-and-least-to-federal-revenue/? What’s in the “One Big Beautiful Bill”? From tax reform to shifts in healthcare, immigration, and SNAP, this legislation will likely affect you. https://usafacts.org/articles/whats-in-the-one-big-beautiful-bill/? One last fact Cashier jobs are expected to disappear more than any other job by 2034. Find out which jobs are expected to be the fastest-growing. 

🌊 Parting shot! Photo: Van Taylor A beautiful shot of Sugar Lake in Midway, Ala. — snapped last week by Finish Line reader Van Taylor of Plano, Texas, with an iPhone.

🚀 First look: Isaacman's encore testimony Jared Isaacman performs at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., on July 22. Photo: Austin DeSisto/NurPhoto via Getty Images Trump's nominee to lead NASA will tell senators tomorrow that he is "not here for personal gain," is committed to returning Americans to the Moon, and wants to push even deeper into space, according to remarks we've obtained. Why it matters: Jared Isaacman — a private astronaut and billionaire entrepreneur — wants to convince senators that his approach to NASA will be determined, but not disruptive. "If confirmed, I am here to bring urgency and extreme focus to the mission — to work with the best and brightest at NASA to lead humanity's effort to unlock the secrets of the universe and ensure American leadership across the last great frontier," Isaacman plans to say. Driving the news: This will be Isaacman's second appearance before the Commerce Committee. He testified in April, but Trump withdrew his nomination in June before renominating him in November. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will praise Isaacman in his opening remarks: "Mr. Isaacman will prioritize stability, accountability and respect for the men and women who make the agency's missions possible." "Jared, I know you are as committed as I am to American supremacy in the final frontier. The United States must remain the unquestioned leader in space exploration, and this imperative is why we must confirm your nomination as expeditiously as possible." — Hans Nichols

🥷🏻 Johnson vs. Stefanik Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is publicly feuding with House Speaker Mike Johnson and accusing him of siding with Democratic Rep. "Jamie Raskin against Trump Republicans." Stefanik is a member of Johnson's leadership team, even as she runs for governor of New York. Zoom in: Stefanik is now threatening to tank the National Defense Authorization Act vote over the omission of her provision that would require the FBI to notify Congress when opening a counterintelligence investigation into candidates for federal office. "I don't exactly know why Elise won't just call me," Johnson said. "I texted her last night and said I would help figure out what happened." He added he supports her provision but argued it was removed because "the two chairs and the two rankers in both chambers did not agree." "I had nothing to do with it, so I don't know why she's frustrated with me." Stefanik quickly shot back, posting on X: "Just more lies from the Speaker. ... This is his preferred tactic to tell Members when he gets caught torpedoing the Republican agenda." Between the lines: Today's eruption is an escalation of their problems that date back to earlier this year. Stefanik has reportedly blamed Johnson for delaying and ultimately killing her nomination as UN ambassador to keep his narrow GOP House majority from further dwindling, which Johnson has denied. Johnson subsequently gave her a largely symbolic role as chair of House GOP leadership. The bottom line: The rift widened further today when Stefanik signed onto Rep. Anna Paulina Luna's (R-Fla.) discharge petition to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks. — Kate Santaliz and Andrew Solender

🔥 Dems rage over briefings Key Senate Democrats say they weren't briefed on the second strike against survivors of the September attack on a suspected drug trafficking boat off the coast of Venezuela. "The DoD owes the entire committee, the House and the Senate answers to this," Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) told us. Why it matters: Lawmakers have battled with the White House for months about the administration's sharing of information about military activities — with Democrats complaining they've been iced out. The congressional backlash had gotten to the point that President Trump ordered more briefings, saying he kept "getting calls about this from congressmen," as we scooped in November. Zoom in: Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), an Armed Services Committee member who is also the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations panel, said she didn't know about a second strike "until it was reported." Administration officials "certainly didn't tell us" there were survivors who were hit with a second strike, Kelly said today. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) told us, "We have not seen the videos, we have not been briefed on any of that." Between the lines: The White House said yesterday that U.S. Special Operations Command head Adm. Frank Bradley, and not Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, directed the strike. "I don't remember them sharing those details that [White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt] shared at the podium," Kelly told us. What's next: Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the top lawmakers on the Armed Services panel, will meet with Bradley this week and have publicly pledged to investigate the situation. Rosen said it was "her understanding, per Jack Reed, that we will be having an investigation ... so that means that we have the subpoena power to call people there." — Stephen Neukam

The Last Avenue View in browser Even today, nearly five years later, listening to Donald Trump’s call is shocking. “So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes,” he told Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and a few aides on January 2, 2021. Trump warned Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, that if he didn’t act, he would face prosecution: “That’s a criminal, that’s a criminal offense. And you can’t let that happen. That’s a big risk to you and to Ryan, your lawyer.” And to underscore that he was asking Raffensperger to subvert the election results, he added, “So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break.” The Washington Post obtained the call and published it on January 3. Three days later, a crowd of Trump supporters, whipped into a frenzy by the president, marched on the Capitol, attacked police, and sacked the building in an attempt to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s victory. In the days, weeks, and years to follow, much more would be revealed: a long-running campaign, as dedicated as it was sloppy, to steal the 2020 election. Trump and several associates were charged for their roles in the scheme in a splashy Georgia indictment, but the case’s dismissal last week, on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, received less attention. A judge acted at the request of Peter Skandalakis, the prosecutor appointed to handle the case after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who obtained the indictment, was disqualified from overseeing it. Skandalakis made both legal and practical arguments against the racketeering case, deeming the charges against some of the defendants weak. (The racketeering law allowed Willis to charge many people at once but created a sprawling case.) As for Trump, Skandalakis wrote, “There is no realistic prospect that a sitting President will be compelled to appear in Georgia to stand trial on the allegations in this indictment.” By the time he leaves office, “eight years will have elapsed since the phone call at issue.” The Georgia case was the last remaining criminal case against Trump, and the last legal or political avenue to hold him accountable for the 2020-election plot. (It was also important because Trump cannot pardon himself or others if convicted in state court.) A federal election-subversion case against him was dismissed after he won reelection last November. State prosecutions against fake electors have not made much headway. And last month, Trump issued pardons to dozens of people implicated in the attempted subversion. In short, Trump has gotten away with his attempt to subvert the election: If the criminal-justice system is incapable of prosecuting attempts to steal an election, then stealing an election is de facto legal. Each of these cases had its own wrinkles and reasons for failing. In the Georgia case, for example, Willis made grievous errors in judgment, intertwining her personal life and work by hiring a dubiously qualified special prosecutor with whom she was in a romantic relationship. Her racketeering charge was also ambitious but risky, as Skandalakis argued; the collapse of her case against the rapper Young Thug’s YSL group shows how such cases can go wrong. The federal prosecution was set up for failure by Attorney General Merrick Garland’s decision to slow-walk prosecuting Trump to appear nonpartisan; the result was that by the time Special Counsel Jack Smith took over, he had little time to work. The Supreme Court used much of that time deliberating a challenge from Trump before issuing a startling opinion that gives presidents immunity for a huge range of “official” acts. Political remedies haven’t worked either. The House voted to impeach Trump for his actions, but the Senate, under the influence of the GOP leader Mitch McConnell, failed to convict him. Republicans fell back on both legalistic claims—they argued that they couldn’t convict Trump once he was no longer president—and a misplaced belief that Trump would never be able to mount a political comeback. And when states tried to disqualify Trump from appearing on the 2024 ballot under the Fourteenth Amendment (a legally questionable approach), the Supreme Court blocked them. All that remains are a few cases against the fake electors who allegedly formed alternative pro-Trump slates. A case in Michigan was dismissed. Wisconsin’s case is creeping forward. A case in Nevada was quashed by a trial judge on procedural grounds but resuscitated by the state supreme court; something similar happened in Arizona, where the attorney general has asked the state supreme court to revive a case. (That one also involves a few Trump allies.) Even if some of these cases succeed, though, they will punish the lowest-level participants while allowing the big fish—Trump chief among them—to swim free. Trump’s pardon order guarantees that some of the high-profile figures will never face federal charges related to the 2020 election, including the lawyers Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro, Boris Epshteyn, John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, and Jenna Ellis, as well as former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. (Trump’s order explicitly ruled himself out; he has previously said that he has the power to self-pardon, but many legal scholars disagree.) Giuliani and Eastman have lost their law license, and Clark may as well, but that’s hardly proportional punishment. Notwithstanding the various prosecutors’ miscalculations that led to this point, it is possible that no effective legal path existed to hold Trump and his minions accountable. Despite their bumbling, their scheme was vague and diffuse enough that prosecuting them was tricky. This does not make election-subversion attempts acceptable, though; it means that lawmakers should write laws that would allow authorities to punish the kind of behavior that occurred after the 2020 election. Unfortunately, there is little prospect of that at the federal level or in potential key states. And as I wrote in The Atlantic’s December cover story, the president and his allies are already working to interfere in the 2026 election. When moving to dismiss the Georgia charges, Skandalakis lamented the sordid aftermath of the election: “Never before, and hopefully never again, will our country face circumstances such as these.” The failure to punish the major figures, however, all but guarantees a repeat. Related: Donald Trump’s plan to subvert the midterms is already under way. North Carolina is the canary in the election coal mine.

🐭 1 for the road: Pika-who? An American pika with a mouthful of food. Photo: Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images The squeaks of fast, fuzzy creatures called pikas dashing across Colorado's mountains may be fading, Axios Denver's Alayna Alvarez reports from a new study. 💧The American pika doubles as an early-warning system for the health of mountain ecosystems that provide water to millions. 📉 University of Colorado Boulder researchers discovered that the number of young pikas living near Rocky Mountain National Park has "plummeted" since the 1980s. 🌡️ The cause is unclear, but researchers suspect warming temperatures are playing a role. Go deeper ...

🤳 All the president's posts Data: Roll Call FactBase; Chart: Jacque Schrag/Axios President Trump made nearly one post per minute over a three-hour Truth Social spree late yesterday, Axios' April Rubin reports. Trump made 158 posts and reposts from 9 p.m. ET to midnight, by Axios' count. 😡 The president's posts started with criticism of political opponents, including former Attorney General Eric Holder and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.). 🗳️ He also posted about President Biden's autopen use and today's special election in Tennessee. 🇸🇴 Several other posts concerned Minnesota's Somali community, some of which baselessly questioned Rep. Ilhan Omar's (D-Minn.) citizenship. He also shared a conspiracy theory that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) planned the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. One video, posted at least three times, celebrated First Lady Melania Trump. 🎄Another post, which included a clip of Trump's cameo in "Home Alone 2," said "Christmas is officially GREAT again." Go deeper.

Police bodycam footage played in court shows the minutes leading up to Luigi Mangione’s arrest NEW YORK (AP) — Video shown in court Tuesday documented how police approached, arrested and searched Luigi Mangione at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s — moments that underlie key questions about what evidence can and can’t be used in the case surrounding the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. https://apnews.com/article/luigi-mangione-unitedhealthcare-evidence-ceo-hearing-c04ec05de553f1399a8ff1c9ae06d6fc?

Winter’s first big snowstorm hits the Northeast as schools close and traffic slows PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The first major storm of the winter covered parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic with snow and ice Tuesday, making roads hazardous, disrupting travel and closing schools as some areas braced for several inches of heavy snowfall. https://apnews.com/article/winter-weather-snow-new-england-thanksgiving-71e3707f522a7da0cb9f288e50990c03? Winter Storm Barrels In A powerful winter storm swept from the Midwest to the Northeast this week, unleashing heavy snow, blizzard conditions, and dangerous winds across a broad strip of the US. Kicking off meteorological winter, up to 70 million people were affected from the Central Plains to northern Maine, where the Northeast saw its first widespread snow and ice of the season. Interior areas picked up some of the highest totals, with parts of northern New England reporting up to 12 inches as strong winds and pockets of ice made travel dangerous. The storm followed a weekend system that dumped more than 8 inches at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, breaking a November snowfall record set in 1951. Post-storm, Arctic air will deepen the cold through the weekend, with subzero temperatures in the northern Plains and Upper Midwest.

Ukrainian troops doubt the proposed pact with Russia will bring lasting peace Ukrainian troops fighting in eastern Ukraine are expressing doubts that a peace proposal currently being negotiated will prevent Russia from attacking their country again. In interviews with The Associated Press, the soldiers say they don't believe Moscow will abide by such a pact and it would only allow Russia to rebuild and rearm its military for another invasion in a few years. Read more.

Federal review finds 44% of US trucking schools don’t comply with government rules Nearly 44% of the 16,000 truck driving programs listed nationwide by the government may be forced to close if they lose their students after a review by the federal Transportation Department found they may not be complying with government requirements. Separately, the Department of Homeland Security is auditing trucking firms owned by immigrants to verify whether their drivers are qualified to hold a commercial license. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump says he doesn’t want Somalis in the US, urges them to go back to their homeland and fix it Hegseth cites ‘fog of war’ in defending follow-on strike in scrutinized attack on alleged drug boat Supreme Court likely to rule in favor of abortion opponents in challenge to state investigation Canada joins EU defense fund as the country pivots away from the US Schumer says three of his New York offices were targeted with bomb threats

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth defends second boat strike, citing ‘fog of war’ Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Tuesday defended the secondary strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea, citing the “fog of war” as reason for his not seeing any survivors in the water when the strike was ordered and launched. https://apnews.com/live/trump-news-updates-12-02-2025?

Military Officials Rage at Karoline Leavitt’s ‘Bulls**t’ Defense of Pentagon Pete’s ‘Kill’ Order The White House press secretary is accused of “throwing service members under the bus.” Top military brass have blasted Karoline Leavitt over what they say is an effort to scapegoat a special operations commander who followed orders from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to carry out what may well have amounted to a war crime. “This is ‘protect Pete’ bulls–-t,” as one Pentagon official put it to the Washington Post. “It’s throwing us, the service members, under the bus,” another added. Hegseth is under intense fire after the newspaper reported Friday he’d verbally authorized an elite military force to “kill everybody” on board an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in the Caribbean Sea. After an initial strike, executed on Sept. 2, had left two survivors clinging to the remains of the vessel, Admiral Frank Bradley is understood to have ordered a second attack in compliance with Hegseth’s demand. Legal experts now argue the incident constitutes a violation of both domestic and international law, which prohibit “no quarter” orders if the directives amount to the intentional killing of a target once the person is incapacitated. Amid mounting public outcry and moves to open a congressional investigation into the killings, Leavitt offered up a scripted response during a press conference Monday, insisting on the legality of the strike while highlighting Bradley’s role over Hegseth’s. “President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have made it clear that presidentially designated narcoterrorist groups are subject to lethal targeting in accordance with the laws of war,” she said, reading from a statement. “With respect to the strikes in question on September 2, Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes,” she went on. “Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.” When pressed by a reporter on whether it was Bradley, head of the Special Operations Command, who gave the order for the second strike, Leavitt nodded and said, “And he was well within his authority to do so.” Speaking with the Post, military officials said the press secretary’s comments effectively served to tarnish Bradley’s record for the sake of preserving Hegseth’s. “Whether he takes the blame or not, his reputation has been marred by this forever, just by that statement,” one person said. Nor is Leavitt the only one to have tried shifting the blame over the attack since news of it first broke late last week. Hegseth himself said in a carefully worded post on X on Monday night that Bradley “is an American hero,” and that “I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made.” Those efforts have not gone over well on either side of the aisle, with Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy telling CNN the defense secretary is clearly now trying to “pass the buck” over the strikes. “He sort of sees the freight train that is coming, right, that both Republicans and Democrats are coming to the conclusion that this was an illegal, wildly immoral act,” he said. “And he is shifting the blame. It’s the opposite of ‘The buck stops here.’ And boy, it’s a chilling signal in the chain of command that the secretary of defense does not have your back.” The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House and Department of Defense for comment on this story. https://www.thedailybeast.com/military-officials-rage-at-karoline-leavitts-bullst-defense-of-pentagon-pete-hegseths-kill-order/?

Costco Steps In to Join Major Legal Battle Against Trump The big-box giant joins a growing list of corporations racing to protect themselves as Trump’s tariff gambit faces a skeptical Supreme Court. A major retailer has jumped into the escalating court fight over Donald Trump’s tariff regime, seeking to protect itself as the president’s signature trade gambit faces a potentially devastating Supreme Court review. Costco filed suit in the U.S. Court of International Trade, warning it needs to secure its place in line for refunds if the justices strike down the Trump administration’s sweeping duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The move puts the country’s third-largest retailer by revenue alongside a growing roster of industry heavyweights challenging Trump’s fast-moving tariff machine. Revlon Consumer Products Corp. and Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp. have lodged similar cases. The Supreme Court heard arguments last month on Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, with key justices sounding skeptical of the administration’s justifications. Lower courts have already ruled against the White House in some early challenges but allowed the tariffs to remain in effect until the high court issues its decision. A ruling before the end of the year is possible, though not guaranteed. The policies—worth tens of billions of dollars a month—have scrambled supply chains and pressured retailers struggling to hold prices down for consumers still cautious after years of inflation. The administration has urged the justices to issue clarity quickly. “The economic consequences of the failure to uphold President Trump’s lawful tariffs are enormous, and this suit highlights that fact,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai told The Wall Street Journal.A long list of companies and Democratic-led states have also sued. But if the Court knocks out the tariffs Trump initiated in April, how any previously paid duties might be unwound remains an open question. The justices offered little indication during arguments, and while Congress could theoretically retroactively authorize the tariffs, such a move is considered unlikely. Costco did not detail in its filing how much it has paid under the duties since Trump’s second term began. The company has said it is selectively adjusting prices to offset the impact—holding steady on staples like pineapples and bananas imported from Central and South America, while raising prices on flowers sourced from the same region. “We continue to work closely with our suppliers to find ways to mitigate the impact of tariffs, including moving the country of production where it makes sense,” Costco Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said in September, adding that the retailer has also shifted its product assortment when necessary. The White House and Costco have been approached for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/costco-steps-in-to-join-major-legal-battle-against-trumps-tariffs/?