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You will find different suggestions as to who the 24 Elders are. Some of these suggestions may not be mutually exclusive to another. The one that I seem to hear the most is based on speculation that those who rose with the passion of Jesus, that he took to heaven with him must be the 24 elders. I've found the most convincing the view suggested by my professors from Atlantic Union College, and for a different reason, was also suggested by my professor at the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies. Both suggest that the 24 Elders are symbolic of how heaven actively communicates with the church on earth through the testimony of the 12 tribes (the Old Testament/TANAK) and the testimony of the 12 apostles (the New Testament.), or simply the Bible. The professors at AUC start out with the 4 living creatures. In the exodus the Hebrews camped in a square. The tabernacle was in the middle. Around the tabernacle and between the tabernacle and the other tribes the tribe of Levi (including the priests) camped. Then came the square of the other tribes. Each side consisted of three tribes, with the center tribe having a specific symbol, which also became the overall symbol for all three tribes. One one side you had Naphtali, Dan (Eagle) and Asher. The next side was Zeblum, Judah (Lion), and Issachar. Then we come to the three opposite of the Eagle tribes, these are Simeon, Rubin (Man) and Gad. Finally you have the side that consists of Manasseh, Ephraim (Ox), Benjamin. In Ezekiel we find these 4 symbols applied to angels, and many want to start with Ezekiel and skip over the camp of Israel in the exodus. What we find in Ezekiel is that although God's people are in exile, God is not saying "good riddance" but that he comes on a movable throne to be with his people in exile. Revelation has the angels for the churches; this is the exact same idea as the angels for the tribes. (also remember that the Lord is enthroned upon the praises of his people.) Thus the 4 creatures are a symbol of the church, especially in the process of having been delivered from Egypt, but not yet in the promised land; and when we are in exile from the promised land. Revelation 4 and 5 are based on this camp. We find God on his throne, but we don't find a visible tabernacle. He is in heaven and his people, his church, the 4 living creatures, are in exile/exodus on earth. We have been delivered from sin, but we are in transit on our way to the promised land. In Revelation 4 and 5 we find where we have in the exodus the Levites, in Revelation we have the 24 Elders. In the exodus the Hebrews could look towards the tabernacle, and the Levites, especially the priests, would minister to the people and bring the people what God wanted them to know. In Revelation 4 and 5, God's throne is in heaven, we don't see a literal tabernacle on earth among us. But just because God is up there in heaven, we are orphans on earth. Heaven is actively communicating with us through the 24 Elders, the Word of God. There are things called "Present Truth." We don't have someone from the tribe of Levi come and tell us. But we notice things in God's word that we did not realize before. Now, why do we move from the entire tribe of Levi to "24 Elders"? Actually, these two are connected. In the time of Jesus we had the Sanhedrin which consisted of 69 leaders, both Pharisees and Sadducee priests plus the High Priest for a total of 70. Now, the Sanhedrin did not always need all 70. They could have a quorum, considered to be "the whole Sanhedrin" with 23 members plus the high priest for 24. This is again based on the 24 courses of priests. The Sanhedrin was a religious court system while the Roman Governor lead the secular court system. Now, when both Pharisees and Sadducees meet for discussion, there were different schools of Pharisees. When the disciples went through the grain fields and rubbed the grains; most Pharisees did NOT see this as breaking the Sabbath, however, there were a few who did see this as breaking the Sabbath. If Jesus was taken to the Sanhedrin and someone said that he allowed his disciples to pluck the grain on the Sabbath, other Pharisees would argue "That's fine to do on the Sabbath. but we accuse Jesus of doing this..." which other Pharisees would see as acceptable actions, and the inquiry would go nowhere. We find how Paul was able to take advantage of seeing that there were both Pharisees and Sadducees when he was arrested. Also, Pharisees ran the spectrum from those living up to what they understood and having a relationship with God, all the way to the hypocrites, and every shade between. But generally speaking, they would be interested in fair trials. The Sadducees on the other hand were corrupt puppets of Rome. They just wanted to get rid if people who they thought were getting too popular with the people. So they would have a meeting of the Sanhedrin consisting of ONLY 23 Sadducee Priests and the High Priest. They did not even pretend to have a fair trial. They would purposely have witnesses that contradicted each other. Then they could take their victim out and stone them to death. The religious court and secular court would communicate if they were worried about someone popular with the people. If they thought they could do better charging the person with secular situations they would go to the Roman court, but if they could do a better argument with religious charges, they would go to the 24 Sadducee Sanhedrin members. Rome had different punishments, including different forms of the death sentence. The Sanhedrin only had one form of death: Stoning (which was the quickest and least painful way to die in the ancient world.) Now, if someone was really popular with the people, and the 24 Sadducee Sanhedrin took their victim out and stoned them to death, the disciples could see their late leader as a martyr. However, the Jews understood the text about whoever hangs on a tree as being cursed by God, as meaning that God would not allow his people to hang on a tree. Only God's evil enemies would hang on a tree. Thus if the 24 Sadducee Priests Sanhedrin really wanted to ruin someone's influence, they would turn them over to Rome to hang on a tree. The disciples would conclude that this person was wrong and God wanted nothing to do with him. They would have felt that they were deceived, that this person they liked was actually a servant of Satan, not God. Hanging on a tree would ruin a reputation just as if they found the person to be say a womanizer or embezzler, or anything else someone could do to convince you that they were not from God. The followers would separate from each other, they would distance themselves from what this person was teaching, so if the 24 Sadducee Priests Sanhedrin would turn their victim over to Rome, they would destroy not only the popular person, but also their ideas. The evidence in the Bible is that Jesus' interaction with the Sanhedrin was with a Sadducee court of 23 Sadducee priests and the High Priest, for 24 Sadducee priests Sanhedrin. Now, the word "Sanhedrin" is a Greek word. We had lost what the term that the Jews used. Now we know. The word translated as "Sanhedrin" was "Elders". The Levites/ Priests were to present the truth about God. The truth about Jesus. We have 24 priest Elders telling false witness about Jesus. We have 24 priest Elders who took Jesus to Pilate and instead of witnessing to Pilate to teach him the truth about Jesus, which was their job, they instead gave false witness. The Levites were Elders telling the truth about God, a Sanhedrin. Thus we have in Revelation the 24 Elders, yes, replacing the whole tribe of Levi, but also, as considered the whole tribe of Levi just as the 24 Sadducee Priests Elders/Sanhedrin represented the entire Priesthood. These are the heavenly counterpart of the 24 Sadducee Priests Elders/Sanhedrin who was telling lies about Jesus. This heavenly counterpart is telling what those 24 Sadducee Priests Elders/Sanhedrin were supposed to proclaim about Jesus both to themselves and to Pilate and to the whole world. We have the 24 false Elders on earth, and the 24 true Elders actively bringing the truth about Jesus to the 4 living creatures: God's church, free from Egypt but not yet in the promised land. The testimony of the 12 Tribes and the 12 Apostles, the living, active word of God.

Newly Unveiled Photos of MLK Jr. Show Depth of NYPD’s Surveillance At first glance, the photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his entourage outside New York’s City Hall suggest nothing other than a joyous public celebration. Taken on December 17, 1964, just one week after the civil rights leader had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway, Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. is seen formally receiving King as though he were a visiting head of state. Later that day, Wagner awarded the city’s Medallion of Honor to King, praising him as “a great American who has returned home after a great triumph abroad.” https://theintercept.com/2025/11/29/mlk-nypd-surveillance-photos/? Elon Musk’s Anti-Woke Wikipedia Is Calling Hitler “The Führer” In late October, Elon Musk released a Wikipedia alternative, with pages written by his AI chatbot Grok. Unlike its nearly quarter-century-old namesake, Musk said Grokipedia would strip out the “woke” from Wikipedia, which he previously described as an “extension of legacy media propaganda.” But while Musk’s Grokipedia, in his eyes, is propaganda-free, it seems to have a proclivity toward right-wing hagiography. https://theintercept.com/2025/11/26/grok-elon-musk-grokipedia-hitler/? This Commission That Regulates Crypto Could Be Just One Guy: An Industry Lawyer Republicans in the Senate are racing to confirm a lawyer with a long list of crypto industry clients as the next Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair, a position that will hold wide sway over the industry. https://theintercept.com/2025/11/26/trump-crypto-regulation-cftc-mike-selig/? How Corporate Partnerships Powered University Surveillance of Palestine Protests A cluster of tents had sprung up on the University of Houston’s central lawn. Draped in keffiyehs and surrounded by a barricade of plywood pallets, students stood on a blue tarp spread over the grass. Tensions with administrators were already high before students pitched their tents, with incidents like pro-Palestine chalk messages putting university leaders on high alert. https://theintercept.com/2025/11/24/gaza-student-protests-surveillance-uconn-houston/?

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Calls It Quits After Thousands Die Seeking Its Aid As the U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation announced its closure of operations in the territory on Monday, the organization tabulated its “success” by stating it delivered 3 million boxes of food “directly to civilians living in Gaza,” which, by the organization’s count, equals 187 million meals. https://theintercept.com/2025/11/25/gaza-humanitarian-foundation-closes-aid/? Gaza’s Civil Defense Forces Keep Digging for 10,000 Missing Bodies The mission that haunts Nooh al-Shaghnobi most took place on September 17, near the al-Saha area of eastern Gaza City. Israeli forces had bombed a home, killing more than 30 members of one extended family. Most of their bodies were trapped under the rubble. https://theintercept.com/2025/11/28/gaza-palestine-ceasefire-rubble-bodies/?

How to save (for) your retirement Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios Retirement seems scariest before you take the leap, experts say. But there are things workers can do now to prepare and feel less anxious, Emily Peck reports. 🔢 Take a look at the numbers. Make a budget and figure out what you need. Take everything into account — not just your retirement account, but housing wealth too, if you have it. 💵 Save money. It's obvious but worth repeating. Take advantage of those 401(k)s and any kind of employer match. If you're older and need to catch up, increase your contribution if you can. If you don't have a workplace plan, you can set up a plan for yourself. There are options like a SEP-IRA or solo 401(k), says Diane Harris, deputy editor of Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine. 💸 Prioritize paying down high-interest debt. This is especially important for young workers. 🏥 Take care of yourself. Medical expenses are one of the biggest expenses in retirement. ⌚️ Delay. Most experts say to keep working if you can. When you continue your job past full retirement age, your Social Security benefit increases by about 7% annually when you do retire. The annual increase stops at age 70. The bottom line: Money's important. But well-being isn't all about money. Go deeper.

How AI can help your retirement plan Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios AI can democratize sophisticated retirement planning and reduce the need for a high-paid planner, Axios tech editor Megan Morrone writes. How it works: Investors at any stage of their career can use AI for scenario modeling, identify savings gaps, tax optimization, Roth conversions and "what-if" questions like, "What if I retire at 55 versus 65?" Financial planners say it can free them from busywork, allowing them to spend more time talking to clients. Reality check: Those same planners warn that using it on your own can be risky. 💔 AI is particularly unsuited for handling complex life events — divorce, inheritance or emotional questions about money. 🤖 Be careful about turning over personal info to bots. Go deeper.

Young investors on the clock Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios While blue-collar workers try to reclaim pensions, young Americans are increasingly planning for retirement by investing in the stock market while putting off homeownership, Axios markets reporter Madison Mills writes. By the numbers: About a third of 25-year-olds have investment accounts today, a sixfold increase from a decade ago. 🧮 Financial assets and investments are "taking a bigger share" of the wealth picture for young people, says George Eckerd, research director at JPMorgan Chase Institute. Zoom in: While stocks can be volatile, housing values have (mostly) remained strong. 🏡 Homeownership accounts for nearly half of Americans' wealth, and a home is the average American's most valuable asset. Reality check: The barriers to homeownership keep rising, while investing has never been easier or cheaper. Trading doesn't require credit checks, brokers, paperwork or a huge down payment — just a few clicks from your phone and a few hundred dollars. What to watch: It may not be that young people have abandoned housing as a wealth builder; it's just unaffordable right now, Eckerd says. That could change as interest rates fall. Go deeper.

Pensions aren't dead yet Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images Pensions as a complement to Social Security were left for dead. But their obituary might've been written too early, Axios business reporter Nathan Bomey reports. Why it matters: Defined-benefit pensions have plummeted in recent decades as employers shifted more investment risk to their workers. Yes, but: United Auto Workers (UAW) president Shawn Fain, one of America's most prominent and powerful union leaders, plans to make a fight to restore traditional pensions a cornerstone of the next collective bargaining effort with GM, Ford and Stellantis. 🥊 "Our fight's not even close to being finished," Fain told workers in a town hall in September. 🏆 The more Social Security comes under stress, the more important that fight is going to be. By the numbers: In 1980, 46% of private-sector workers were covered by a pension plan, according to the Georgetown University Law Center. By 2023, that was down to 11%, according to the Pension Rights Center. The intrigue: IBM "shocked the retirement world" in late 2023 by relaunching a version of a defined-benefit pension, according to the National Institute on Retirement Security. It's a "cash balance plan," in which the employee makes contributions and the employer guarantees a certain return. "If the UAW is successful in actually getting something called a pension, it's going to look like one of those," said Anthony Randazzo, executive director of the Equable Institute. Go deeper.

Kare 11 News Minnesota Medicaid Scandal Explodes: Man Living in Kenya Uncovers $200K in Fake Billing From Suspicious “Therapy” Company A stunning new investigation has uncovered yet another alleged Medicaid fraud scheme inside Minnesota’s taxpayer-funded programs — this time involving a man who doesn’t even live in the United States anymore. Mohamed Ali, a Minnesota Medicaid recipient now living in Kenya, requested his insurance billing records earlier this year. What he discovered set off alarms: Over $200,000 in fake medical services — billed in his name The charges came from a company he’d never heard of: Action Therapy LLC, a Minnesota-based business that he says provided him zero services In just nine months — from August 2024 to May 2025 — Action Therapy: Billed Medicaid for $211,000 Received nearly $85,000 in taxpayer money Used fake employee names Displayed stock photos on its website Listed a non-working phone number (0123456789) Operated out of a shared office suite linked to a previously raided fraud company And remarkably, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) raised no red flags. “I’ve never even heard of them.” Ali told investigators he only found out about the billing after requesting his medical history: “Never been there before. Never even heard of it until recently.” Despite living overseas, records show Action Therapy billed Medicaid almost daily, stacking fraudulent charges across multiple categories. When confronted, a representative from the company blamed it on a “clerical error” and promised an internal review — a statement Ali didn’t buy. A Suspicious Company With a Suspicious History KARE 11 investigators tried to contact Action Therapy and quickly found problems: Their old website suddenly vanished Their new website listed a fake phone number Calls went unanswered Their “office” at a Roseville business complex was locked, dark, and empty Even more troubling: Action Therapy shared the exact same suite number as Liberty Plus, a company previously raided by federal agents for massive Medicaid fraud in the Housing Stabilization Program. Agents seized computers, documents, and cash after Liberty Plus was accused of billing for nonexistent services and exploiting homeless Minnesotans. Action Therapy now claims they have “no connection” to Liberty Plus. Federal Prosecutors: Fraud Is “Staggering” Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson recently warned that ARMS — the Medicaid program Action Therapy now claims to operate under — is the latest hotbed of fraud, telling reporters: “The level of fraud in these programs is staggering.” ARMS (Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services) covers real-life skill support like budgeting, cooking, and medication management. It is overseen by Minnesota’s Department of Human Services — the same department refusing, for four months, to release basic billing data to investigators. KARE 11 says DHS is obligated by law to provide these numbers “in a reasonable amount of time.” They still haven’t. Minnesota’s Medicaid Fraud Problem Keeps Getting Bigger This case is just the latest in a string of scandals involving: Housing Stabilization payments Certified Peer providers Addiction recovery programs Now ARMS mental health services Investigators estimate hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars may have been siphoned off through fake companies, fake employees, and fake services. Anchor Reggie Wilson summed it up bluntly: “This continues to blow my mind… That’s a big wake-up call for Minnesota.” Conclusion: A System in Crisis A Minnesota man halfway across the world — living in Kenya — may have just exposed one of the largest Medicaid fraud anomalies yet. A fake company A fake phone number Fake staff A shared office with previously raided scammers And over $200,000 in bogus charges billed to taxpayers before anyone noticed With DHS refusing to hand over records and federal prosecutors now circling, Minnesota’s Medicaid system is facing yet another credibility crisis. 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Chart: How many retirees there will be Data: U.S. Census Bureau. Chart: Axios Visuals More than 20% of the U.S. population will be 65 or older by 2030 — over 71 million people. By 2100, 106 million people, nearly 30% of the U.S. population, will be over 65.

Social Security's day of reckoning is nearly here Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios For decades, people have fretted that America's bedrock retirement income program would run out of money, Axios chief economics correspondent Neil Irwin writes. But Social Security's rocky fiscal future is an issue for the here and now. The big picture: The Social Security retirement fund — the government's pot of money for paying retirees — is set to be depleted in 2033. At that point, recipients would see a steep cut to their monthly checks absent congressional action. ⏰ U.S. Senate candidates in next year's midterms could face the looming insolvency at the end of their terms — putting the issue on the ballot just 11 months from now. 🔥 "This is a tinderbox issue," Gopi Shah Goda, director of the Retirement Security Project at the Brookings Institution, tells Axios. "It's hard to deal with because it's a long-term problem — but that time is coming." Zoom out: This predicament has its roots in forces that have been known for decades. 📉 There were 3.4 workers — people earning an income and paying into the system — per Social Security beneficiary at the turn of the 21st century. That's down to about 2.7 now and on track to reach 2.3 in a decade. Reality check: "We have gone 40 years knowing exactly what was coming for us," said AEI's Biggs. "If you want to know where Social Security is today, read the New York Times from 1990." The problem is that the solutions are painfully zero-sum and politically unpalatable, with every dollar of benefits maintained for a recipient translating into a tax increase for someone else. The possible solutions fall into three buckets: 💰 Taxes can be raised. ✂️ Benefits can be cut. ⏲️ The structure of Social Security could be changed to delay the reckoning. The bottom line: The good news is there is no political appetite for large-scale cuts, and in some form, Social Security will almost certainly be there for you. The bad news is that America faces a costly and potentially tempestuous reckoning over how to make that the case. Go deeper.

The retirement crisis is here Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios A silver tsunami is washing across our shores, as record numbers of Americans start hitting retirement age, writes Axios' Emily Peck. The U.S. isn't ready. Why it matters: Older Americans are stepping into an unfamiliar, less secure version of retirement. 📊 About 45% of Americans will experience retirement funding shortfalls if they retire at 65, per Morningstar. The full retirement age, which has gradually increased, is now steady at 67. The big picture: Retirees on fixed incomes face an ever-rising cost of living. 📋 Out-of-pocket medical expenses are escalating, the cost of in-home care is growing more than three times faster than inflation, and an increasing share of the elderly are spending more than a third of their income on real estate. 💬 "We kind of took care of the Greatest Generation" in terms of broad planning for a structured retirement, Teresa Ghilarducci, an economist at the New School for Social Research and leading retirement researcher, tells Axios. But the younger generations have had much less support. 💡 Reality check: Experts have been warning about a retirement crisis for decades, and we have yet to see one, American Enterprise Institute economist Andrew Biggs tells Axios. "The real retirement crisis is on the governmental side," he says, pointing to the Social Security funding gap. Go deeper.

🚬 Smoking's social-media glam Illustration: Maura Kearns/Axios Cigarettes were once unavoidable in the U.S., in restaurants, airplanes, your mom's living room — until health warnings and cultural pressure put out the hype. But something's shifted. Young people are glamorizing smoking on social media, and celebrities are casually lighting up on screen, Axios' Herb Scribner writes. 🎬 You'd be hard-pressed to miss cigarettes across pop culture. More than half of the top box-office films released in 2024 featured tobacco imagery — marking a 10 percentage point jump from the year before, according to a report from nonprofit Truth Initiative and NORC at the University of Chicago. 📱On Instagram, the account Cigfluencers posts throwback and new photos of celebs — including Charli xcx, Natalie Portman and Leo DiCaprio — taking drags. ⚠️ Experts worry the trend ignores the dangers of addiction. Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease, death and disability nationwide, according to the CDC. Go deeper.

🚓 ICE turns to local police Data: ICE. Map: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals The Trump administration doesn't have enough Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to meet its deportation goals. But it's placed a huge bet that thousands of local cops can help, Axios' Brittany Gibson reports. Why it matters: ICE has signed 1,100+ agreements this year for local law enforcement to cooperate on immigration arrests and detentions. The agency is dangling financial incentives from President Trump's "big, beautiful bill." 🤝 By the numbers: Nearly 650 counties now participate in some form of the 287(g) agreement, a formal partnership between ICE and non-federal law enforcement. Red states are fueling the surge with new laws requiring cooperation. DHS says these partners will also help vet sponsors of migrant children who have lost contact with the government. ICE is offering to reimburse full salary, benefits and 25% of overtime for "each eligible trained 287(g) officer" — plus bonuses of up to $1,000 based on "successful location of illegal aliens provided by ICE and overall assistance."

🇻🇪 Breaking: Trump declares Venezuelan airspace closed With the growing threat of a U.S. attack, President Trump posted on Truth Social this morning: "To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP." Why it matters: Trump has been threatening military action against Venezuela as part of his effort to deter what he calls narco-terrorists. The U.S. Navy has built up warships off Venezuela's coast. U.S missiles have been obliterating boats allegedly running drugs in the Caribbean. 💡 Between the lines: Administration officials told Axios' Marc Caputo that Plan A was to pile so much pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro that he'd flee Venezuela. This could be another attempt to ratchet up that pressure — or a sign that threats are about to turn into action. On Thanksgiving, Trump told U.S. service members that after deterring Venezuelan drug traffickers by sea, "we'll be starting to stop them by land also ... The land is easier, but that's going to start very soon." Last week, the FAA warned airlines of a "potentially hazardous situation" when flying over Venezuela "due to the worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around" the country. ⚡ U.S. pauses asylum: Continuing the clampdown since the shooting of two National Guard members, Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (part of Homeland Security), tweeted last evening that USCIS "has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible." Get the latest.

Rolling back history Photo illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios. Photos: Getty Images In the past year, federal, state and institutional decisions have gutted major pillars of America's civil rights protections and racial equity infrastructure, wiping away public data, slashing research funding and erasing Black history, Axios' Delano Massey reports. Why it matters: Taken together, these moves amount to an unprecedented rollback of civil rights progress, historians say — the largest since Reconstruction. Effects are piling up: $3.4 billion in grants for HBCUs, public health research and Black entrepreneurs have been cut or frozen, according to the Blackout Report, from the nonprofit Onyx Impact. 6,769 federal datasets have been deleted, including those tracking maternal mortality and sickle cell disease, which disproportionately affect Black Americans, per the Blackout report. 591 books by Black authors have been banned from Pentagon-run schools and libraries, Onyx Impact notes. The removed titles include works by Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou and Ibram X. Kendi. The Trump administration is reviewing national museums, including the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture, after President Trump criticized the museums as being "out of control" and focusing on "how horrible our country is." Government websites have deleted content related to Black history. Some deleted material — including National Park Service pages about Harriet Tubman and Medgar Evers — was restored after public backlash, but researchers say most erasures remain uncorrected. Colleges across the country have shuttered cultural centers, including those that are geared toward Black students, The Washington Post reports. 👀 What we're watching: The cuts and deletions are, paradoxically, drawing more attention to Black history, says National Urban League president Marc H. Morial. "The attempt to erase history has made all of us more cognizant of the need to tell it," he said.

Did Trump administration grant asylum to DC National Guard shooting suspect? What we know One National Guard member died and another was wounded in a shooting on Nov. 26, 2025. The suspect, an Afghan national, faced a murder charge. https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/11/28/trump-asylum-dc-shooting/? U.S. Military Documents Indicate Plans to Keep Troops in Caribbean Through 2028 The United States is formulating plans to feed a massive military presence in the Caribbean almost to the end of President Donald Trump’s term in office — suggesting the recent influx of American troops to the region won’t end anytime soon. https://theintercept.com/2025/11/25/trump-caribbean-venezuela-military-troops/? Keep Talking About Gaza at Your Thanksgiving Table If Israel’s genocide in Gaza has been a site of tension in your family for the last two Thanksgiving holidays, this year should be no different. The so-called ceasefire might seem like a good excuse to bury the hatchet and enjoy a quieter turkey dinner, but when we look at the harrowing status quo for Palestinians in Gaza today, there is no peace to be thankful for — especially not on a day that marks the remembrance of this country’s own genocide against Indigenous Americans. https://theintercept.com/2025/11/27/gaza-thanksgiving-family/?

Are America’s farm incomes bountiful or withering on the vine? Farmers across the nation are unlikely to be taking a check to the bank at the end of harvest — at least not checks big enough to cover their debt payments. But the government’s so-called remedies are a lesson in contradiction. https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/are-americas-farm-incomes-bountiful-or-withering-vine?

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/? Judge: Private school accepted state vouchers for students 130 miles away A private school in Brooksville should be barred from access to state school vouchers after its operator admitted it wasn’t educating students the state paid it to teach, an administrative judge recommended Wednesday. https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/25/judge-private-school-accepted-state-vouchers-for-students-130-miles-away/?

November 29, 2025 Good morning. As the year comes to a close, we want to know your highly specific, idiosyncratic bests of 2025. María Jesús Contreras Highlight reel By Melissa Kirsch The weekend after Thanksgiving makes a strong claim for the coziest weekend of the year. It’s getting properly chilly if you live in a place that gets chilly. (And if you don’t, stop taunting the rest of us!) If you’re lucky, you’ve had a couple of days off work and there are a couple more to go. There are still leftovers for every meal if you can stomach them, the stuffing getting ever gluier and strangely more delicious each hour it spends in the fridge. Sales beckon, streaming options abound (I’m eyeing the documentary “Downey Wrote That”). Hopefully the characters assembled are remaining on their best holiday behavior and you can get some serious relaxing in. It’s the time of year when I crave recommendations. Critics will soon be issuing their choices for the best movies, music, books and TV shows from the year, but what I want — what I always want — is people’s favorite things that don’t fall into easy categories. Our lives don’t break down according to genre, our tastes don’t confine themselves to mediums. And while of course we want ideas for what we should watch and read and listen to, we also want recommendations for how to live: how to live better and more fully, with more curiosity and excitement. That’s where our annual Morning tradition comes in. Every year, I invite you to send me your category-agnostic, superspecific, idiosyncratic bests of the past 12 months. What was the best change you made to your routine? What was the best seasoning combo you devised to put on popcorn? What was the most illuminating thing you realized about the nature of existence? The best bit of conversation you overheard? Your best strategy for combating the Sunday scaries? Best new mantra? Best parlor game you made up? You get the picture. Submit your list here, and I’ll include as many of the best of the bests as I can in upcoming newsletters. Be creative! Invent categories no one on earth has ever dreamed of before. Tell us what you loved, what you learned, how you changed. You’re the critic of your own experiences, and we want to know what you discovered. For more Check out readers’ favorites from past years. The best advice Morning readers received in 2024, 2023 and 2022. And last year, listeners of “The Daily” called in with their words of wisdom. THE LATEST NEWS Politics President Trump on Thursday. Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times President Trump announced that he would pardon a former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted in the U.S. as part of a far-reaching drug trafficking scheme. As the U.S. threatened military action against Venezuela last week, Trump spoke by phone with President Nicolás Maduro and discussed a possible meeting. After the shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington, the U.S. paused all asylum decisions and stopped issuing visas to people from Afghanistan. Hong Kong Fire More than a year ago, residents complained to the authorities that a renovation project at Wang Fuk Court did not meet safety standards. A fire at the apartment complex this week killed at least 128 people. A survivor gave The Times a harrowing account of the two hours he spent in the burning building. More International News The top aide to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, resigned as part of an ongoing corruption investigation, further weakening his team as peace negotiations continue. Israeli security forces shot dead two Palestinians in the West Bank after they appeared to surrender, videos showed. The Israeli authorities say they are investigating the shooting. Three Austrian nuns escaped a retirement home and broke into the convent where they had lived for decades. A church official says they can stay there, as long as they give up social media. Other Big Stories A five-day rally in the stock market has reversed a recent downturn, pushing the S&P 500 index near a record high. A storm bringing heavy snow and sleet could disrupt travel for the Northern Plains, Upper Midwest and Great Lakes through the weekend. THE WEEK IN CULTURE Film and TV “Stranger Things” became a hit in part because it skillfully repurposed vintage pop-culture parts. Its approach has come to define the streaming era. Dads are having a rough time onscreen this season: In “One Battle After Another,” “Springsteen” and “Ella McCay,” patriarchs are depicted as emotionally stunted — or worse. In his latest knockout, “The Secret Agent,” the Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho finds laughter amid the terror, our film critic writes. Music John Holiday is his own singer, equal parts baroque and R&B. His performances this season range from Handel’s “Messiah” to a gender-bending role in Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro.” Donald Glover, the actor and musician, revealed that he had a stroke last year, which led him to abandon his world tour. At 95, David Amram still makes music. Jazz, classical, folk, you name it — for this composer, categories were never confining. More Culture When the potter Ladi Kwali was alive, her genius was recognized around the world. (Her face even appears on Nigerian currency.) Why, then, is her work rarely seen? A new wave of sculpture parks is redefining art viewership. See where they are and what they look like. St. Ann’s Warehouse has provided a bounty of bizarre and revelatory moments in New York theater. Its rock ’n’ roll energy is unmatched, the critic Ben Brantley 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. CULTURE CALENDAR By Alexis Soloski 📺 “The Chair Company” (Season finale on Sunday): Tim Robinson (“Friendship,” “I Think You Should Leave”), a beautiful weirdo and a bard of male agitation, has reached his apotheosis with this HBO series, which concludes its first season tomorrow. An absurdist comedy and a thriller parody, its fulcrum is the familiar schizoid conundrum: Is it paranoia if you’re right? Robinson stars as Ron Trosper, a project lead in mall development who falls down the rabbit hole when a chair collapses under him. That corporate conspiracy had seemed to resolve in the penultimate episode, but the finale stays the bizarro course. Even stranger, the show has been renewed for a second season. RECIPE OF THE WEEK David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. By Melissa Clark Taverna Salad You did it: You nailed Thanksgiving! Now take a beat before the December holidays pick up steam. Make this weekend all about spending some quality quiet time on your couch with your book, your shows, your pets, your fuzzy socks — whatever feels the coziest. And for dinner, toss together Lidey Heuck’s taverna salad. This vibrant mix of tomatoes, bell pepper and cucumbers is anchored by seared halloumi and toasted pita, and tossed with a pungent, herby red wine vinegar dressing. It’s the bright and tangy reset we all need. REAL ESTATE Chrissy Spivey and John Richie with their daughter and Spivey’s mother, Annie Spivey, in Brooklyn. Graham Dickie for The New York Times The Hunt: When their apartment became too cramped, a young family looked for a house in central Brooklyn where they could spread out. Which home did they choose? Play our game. What you get for $425,000: an American Foursquare house in Pittsburgh, a house with gingerbread trim in Cincinnati or a renovated 1865 farmhouse in Kentucky. On set: A location scout explains how she finds the right setting for shows and films. “Not everything needs to be beautiful and perfect,” she says. “You still need murder shoots.” LIVING Simpson Bay Beach. Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times Frugal traveler: On a volcanic Caribbean isle, 37 beaches and endless views. Ask Well: Is it OK to binge-drink occasionally? Fighting, again: The comedian Vir Das, whose jokes earned him an official rebuke from India’s Parliament, has taken up boxing. He says it’s “good prep for adversity.” Half-empty tours: Things were looking up at Navajo Nation parks. Then their lifeblood, foreign visitors, slowed to a trickle. ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER How to find (actually good) tech deals Trump’s tariffs, and the uncertainty that comes with them, have made this a strange year to shop for tech. We’ve seen rising prices on many electronics, even in the days leading up to big sales events like Black Friday. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find some decent discounts. Our suggestion is to consider previous-generation tech — especially when laptops, headphones and phones are concerned. Many perform just as well as their newer counterparts, and they’re often much cheaper. We’ve also been tracking prices all year to help sort out which advertised discounts are actual sales. These are the best early Cyber Monday deals we’re seeing on some of our favorite electronics. GAME OF THE WEEK Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar and Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. John Raoux/AP, George Walker Iv/AP No. 14 Vanderbilt vs. No. 19 Tennessee, college football: It’s rivalry week. Michigan vs. Ohio State is a highlight today; Texas vs. Texas A&M was a fun one last night. (Texas gave No. 3-ranked A&M its first loss of the season, 27-17.) The Athletic ranked the sport’s best rivalries here. But in the interest of zagging, let’s focus on this less heralded feud in the Volunteer State. Vanderbilt and Tennessee, separated by a three-hour drive on I-40, have been playing against each other since 1892. Today’s meeting is “the biggest game in the history of this rivalry,”Justin Williams writes for The Athletic. It’s the first one in which both teams are ranked, and a rare one in which Vanderbilt has more to play for. The Commodores are on the bubble for the College Football Playoff, and on the cusp of their first-ever 10-win season. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt’s quarterback, is a big reason: Last week he set a school record with 484 passing yards, scored six touchdowns and gleefully struck the Heisman pose. Today at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were nondairy and ordinary. Take the news quiz to see how well you followed this week’s headlines. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. — Melissa 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

THIS DAY IN HISTORY November 29 1981 Actress Natalie Wood drowns On November 29, 1981, the actress Natalie Wood, who starred in such movies as Rebel Without a Cause and West Side Story, drowns in a boating accident near California’s Catalina Island. She was 43 years old. Born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko on July 20, 1938, in San Francisco, California, Wood... read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT Arts & Entertainment 2001 George Harrison, lead guitarist for the Beatles, dies Civil War 1864 Sand Creek massacre Cold War 1952 President Eisenhower goes to Korea Crime 2011 Dr. Conrad Murray receives four-year sentence in Michael Jackson’s death Exploration 1929 Explorer Richard Byrd flies over South Pole Inventions & Science 1972 PONG released Middle Eastern History 1947 U.N. votes for partition of Palestine U.S. Government & Politics 1975 President Ford signs Education for All Handicapped Children Act U.S. Presidents 1963 LBJ forms commission to investigate Kennedy assassination Vietnam War 1967 Robert S. McNamara resigns as Secretary of Defense World War II 1942 Coffee rationing begins

Young college graduate forges unexpected friendships after being mistakenly added to a group chat of retired investment bankers. (More) Minnesota couple who met in the hospital after waking up from comas are now getting married. (More) ... and a little girl dresses up as a doctor to take care of her sick great-grandmother at the hospital. (More, w/video) Bus driver entertains a fifth grader's curiosity, and a decade later they're colleagues. (More) Two college students build six-legged, AI-powered robot that can plant trees in hard-to-reach, wildfire-damaged forests. (More) Today, we're sharing a story from reader Gabrielle M. in Madison, Indiana. "My significant other travels often for work, sometimes getting into hotels very late at night. Recently, on one such occasion, he was waved over by the night manager, questioning what he was looking for in the vending area. Upon hearing that he was hungry and hadn't eaten dinner, (the manager) invited (my significant other) to join him in the takeout meal he had just procured from a local restaurant. Not taking no for an answer, he proceeded to take out two plates and dole out the hot, fresh food for the both of them. They shared a meal and proceeded to have a great conversation, all by the glow of the late-night lights."

Hong Kong begins three days of mourning after deadly apartment fires An outpouring of grief was set to sweep Hong Kong on Saturday as an official, three-day mourning period began with a moment of silence for the 128 people killed in one of the city’s deadliest fires. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/nov/29/hong-kong-begins-three-days-of-mourning-after-deadly-apartment-fires?

Revealed: Europe’s water reserves drying up due to climate breakdown Vast swathes of Europe’s water reserves are drying up, a new analysis using two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across southern and central Europe, from Spain and Italy to Poland and parts of the UK. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/29/climate-crisis-depleting-europe-groundwater-reserves-analysis?

Airbus issues major A320 recall after mid-air incident grounds planes, disrupting global travel Airlines around the world cancelled and delayed flights heading into the weekend after Airbus announced on Friday that it had ordered immediate repairs to 6,000 of its A320 family of jets in a recall affecting more than half of the global fleet. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/nov/28/airbus-issues-major-a320-recall-after-recent-mid-air-incident?