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How a Saved Smuggler Makes Hegseth’s Claims Even Fishier Andres Fernando Tufino is the luckiest of the unlucky. The luckiest of unlucky drug smugglers was one of two in a crew of four to survive a U.S. drone strike on a semi-submersible on Oct.16. Had Pete Hegseth’s rebranded Department of War simply lived up to its lethal new name, the U.S. would have just sent another missile. After all, that was what it did on Sept. 2 to kill two other survivors out of a crew of 11 in the first of the U.S. attacks ordered by President Trump on suspected drug boats in the open sea. Maybe by Oct. 16, somebody suggested that the second strike constituted a war crime. Instead of just unleashing an added missile to handle another pair of unwanted survivors from a suspected drug boat attack, the U.S. dispatched a rescue helicopter. Where the two from Sept. 2 were obliterated, this subsequent pair was flown to a Navy warship. One of them, identified as 34-year-old Jeison Obando Perez, was treated for a serious head injury suffered in the strike that killed two others on the semi-submersible. He was intubated when he arrived at a hospital in his native Colombia, but is reportedly expected to recover. He is not expected to face criminal charges, making him doubly lucky not just to walk free, but to be walking at all. Even luckier, and perhaps amongst the luckiest of all unlucky drug smugglers, is 42-year-old Andres Fernando Tufino Chila of Ecuador. He was not injured and also was not charged, despite a 2020 conviction for being the captain of a go-fast boat carrying more than a ton of cocaine. Some bad luck came into play for Tufino Chila on Sept. 6, 2020, when a U.S. Maritime Patrol Aircraft spotted what court papers call “Go Fast Vessel 1 (GFV 1)” moving at a high rate of speed 380 miles east of Clipperton Island, a remote, uninhabited coral atoll in the north Pacific Ocean. “Coast Guard Cutter STEADFAST diverted to intercept and launched a helicopter and two small boats with embarked boarding teams to interdict,” court papers say. One of the small boats intercepted GFV 1 and ordered it to stop. “Instead, GFV 1 began moving erratically and executing tight turns.” The boarding team on the small Coast Guard boat fired warning shots across GTFV 1’s bow. “The helicopter went over and GFV 1 stopped moving,” court papers recount. “One small boat came alongside GFV 1 and gained control. ANDRES FERNANDO TUFIÑO CHILA was identified as the master of the vessel and he made a verbal claim of Ecuadorian nationality for the vessel. “The team reported the deck of GFV 1 had a fresh fiberglass patch around the entire deck… When the boarding team drilled a hole in the deck/hull of GFV 1, the drill bit came back covered in a white substance that field tested positive for cocaine. After removing the deck of GFV 1, the boarding team removed approximately 1,073 kilograms (2,360.6 pounds) of packages from GFV 1.” The Maritime Patrol Aircraft spotted another go-fast boat, dubbed GFV 2 in court papers. It was approximately 26 nautical miles away on a high-speed course to rendezvous with GFV 1. The helicopter approached and ordered GFV 2 to stop in both English and Spanish. GFV 2 kept going. “The helicopter first tried warning shots, which were ineffective. The helicopter then tried two rounds of disabling fire, which were effective in stopping GFV 2 approximately 11 NM north of GFV 1. A Coast Guard smallboat came alongside and gained control of GFV 2.” The three men aboard claimed Mexican nationality and said they were shark fishing. “But there was no fishing gear other than a net that was severely tangled in a ball, and there was no ice, bait, or catch onboard GFV 2.” The boarding team did discover a large blue container with two chainsaws with full gas, extra chainsaw blades, several small hatchets and hammers, along with two pry bars, a fiberglass repairs kit, and piles of empty white burlap sacks “commonly used to package contraband such as cocaine.” “None of this equipment is consistent with fishing,” court papers say. “Instead it is the equipment that would be needed to access the cocaine hidden beneath the deck of GFV 1.” Tufino Chila ended up pleading guilty in San Diego federal court to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The pre-sentencing report noted that he had been raised in poverty in a small village just north of the equator in Ecuador. “He has eight brothers and sisters and never enough food,” the report says. “Mr. Tufino can hardly read or write. He left home at 12 to start his own fishing life.” He also started his own family and has five children. “Ecaudorian fishermen are aware of the drug trade, and the lure of easy money is always lurking,” the report says. “Last year, he was recruited for a king’s ransom—$6,000—to transport cocaine in a small board with a small crew on the high seas.” He accepted. “Once embarked, he and his fellow crew men took turns at the helm, refueling, and the like, for several days until the Coast Guard discovered them.” On Dec. 6, 2021, Tufino Chila was sentenced to five years in prison. He caught a break and was freed early on Jan. 29, 2024. But according to the U.S. government, Tufino Chila was back on another drug-laden vessel—this a semi-submersible—on Oct. 16. He had terrible, and then great luck as the boat was hit by a missile and then he survived, along with Perez. Had they been the two survivors a month earlier, the end would have come moments later with a second strike. But somebody must have reconsidered, and instead of another missile there was a rescue helicopter. Anything GV 1 may have been carrying was left behind and maybe sank with the boat. And, despite having a conviction for attempting to smuggle more than a ton of cocaine, he was reportedly allowed to walk free alive, seemingly because somebody high up in Washington must have decided that at least sometimes, it is better to go by the rules. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-smuggler-who-survived-trumps-drug-boat-strikes/?

Melania Sucks Up to Putin After He Humiliates Her Husband The first lady hailed “progress” in Russia returning abducted Ukrainian kids even as her husband’s attempts to reach a deal with Moscow became a farce. Melania Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “leadership” on child reunifications, even as President Donald Trump’s latest peace push fell apart in spectacular fashion. The first lady, 55, issued a White House statement on Thursday announcing that seven Ukrainian children—six boys and one girl—taken during Russia’s invasion have been returned to their families after quiet talks with Moscow. Melania praised Russia’s “leadership and persistent diplomacy,” adding that her “dedication to guaranteeing the safe return of children to their families in this region is unwavering.” “I commend the leadership and persistent diplomacy of Russia and Ukraine in the pursuit of the reunification of children and families,” she said. “Their bridge-building has created a tangible collaborative environment—an anchor for optimism. This cooperation will continue to drive the process forward through the next phase." Melania’s upbeat tone came hours after Trump, 79, told reporters: “I don’t know what the Kremlin is doing.” His startling admission came days after U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner briefed him on a “reasonably good meeting” with Putin, 73, that still produced no deal. On Wednesday, the peace effort was left in tatters, with key U.S. ally, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, saying everyone knew Putin wasn’t serious about negotiations. Melania’s nod to Putin is perhaps not surprising. In October, she announced from the White House that she had been in “ongoing” direct contact with Putin since sending him a letter in August, and she said back-channel meetings had followed. “Since then, President Putin and I have had an open channel of communications regarding the welfare of these children,” she said. Trump has repeatedly elevated Putin in his Ukraine push, even rolling out the red carpet for him in Alaska in August, but leaving with nothing tangible. The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the Kremlin for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/melania-trump-sucks-up-to-russian-president-vladimir-putin-after-he-humiliates-her-husband-donald-trump/?

I Dug Through Every Windows 12 Leak—These Are the New Features I'm Betting On It's becoming increasingly clear that Copilot AI will be central to Microsoft's next OS—but what else might Windows 12 bring? Having reported on Windows for decades, these are the rumors that seem most plausible to me. https://www.pcmag.com/news/i-dug-through-windows-12-rumors-these-are-the-features-im-betting-on?

👋 Good morning! There are 28 days left in 2025. Make the most of 'em. In today's edition: Serena comeback rumors, Giannis trade talk, Heisman watch, big wave surfing at Nazaré, why MLB front offices are so risk-averse, Jalen Brunson for mayor, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 📺 Most-watched game: The Cowboys' win over the Chiefs on Thanksgiving drew a staggering 57.2 million viewers on CBS, making it the most-watched regular-season NFL game ever. It shattered the previous record of 42.1 million viewers in 2022. 🏈 National Signing Day: USC ended National Signing Day with the top-ranked recruiting class (per Rivals), snapping the SEC's 17-year streak of inking the No. 1 class. Rounding out the top 10: Notre Dame, Oregon, Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Tennessee, Miami, Texas A&M and LSU. 🏀 Giannis trade talks: Giannis Antetokounmpo's will-they, won't-they future with the Bucks may finally be nearing a conclusion. The two sides are reportedly discussing a potential exit with a resolution expected "in the coming weeks." ⚽️ Rodman deal vetoed: The Washington Spirit's multi-million dollar offer to retain Trinity Rodman has reportedly been vetoed by NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman. The star forward was ready to accept the deal but Berman felt the structure of the contract violated the spirit of the league. 🏈 Coaching carousel: South Florida is hiring Ohio State OC Brian Hartline as their new head coach; Kansas State will hire Texas A&M OC Collin Klein to replace Chris Klieman, who is retiring.   🎾 THE G.O.A.T. IS SERENA MAKING A COMEBACK? Williams during the 2022 U.S. Open. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images) Serena Williams has filed the necessary paperwork to return to tennis, but the 23-time Grand Slam winner says she isn't making a comeback. What's going on? Catch up quick: News broke Tuesday that Williams had informed the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) that she is pursuing reentry into the anti-doping pool. "She has notified us that she wants to be reinstated into the testing pool. I do not know if this means she is coming back, or just giving herself the option. All I can say is she's back in the pool and therefore subject to whereabouts." — ITIA spokesperson, via The Athletic The backdrop: Williams, 44, last played a competitive match during the third round of the 2022 U.S. Open. The day after her defeat, she applied for official retirement with the ITIA, which meant she was exempt from random drug testing. To be eligible to return, she would need to be listed in the testing pool for six months, setting her up for a potential comeback in 2026. Yes, but: Williams took to social media on Tuesday to deny the rumors. "Omg yall I'm NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy." So, what's going on here? Here's my take: Williams is planning to return to tennis in some capacity, whether that's singles or doubles (possibly alongside her sister, who made her own comeback last year). But reporters finding her name on a testing list is such a lame, unexciting way for that news to break that she's denying it for now. This is the G.O.A.T. we're talking about here. If she comes back, that's a huge story. The kind of story she breaks herself with a fully orchestrated roll out. We're talking sit-down interview, announcement video, an official return date, the works. Not a random report on a Tuesday about random drug testing. Of note: According to tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg, Williams had previously sought a comeback in August, with a likely eye on playing doubles at the U.S. Open alongside Venus. That never materialized.   🏈 WHO YA GOT? HEISMAN WATCH (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports) The race for the Heisman Trophy is as close — and exciting — as humanly possible, with the winner likely decided this weekend by the two quarterbacks of the nation's last two undefeated teams… who happen to be facing off in the Big Ten Championship. Sayin vs. Mendoza: Ohio State sophomore Julian Sayin and Indiana junior Fernando Mendoza are co-favorites to win the award (+165 at BetMGM), and it's not hard to see why given their similar résumés and the fact that whoever wins on Saturday will enter the CFP as the No. 1 seed. Sayin: 3,065 yards on a 78.9% completion rate (currently the best mark ever); 30 TDs against 5 INTs; 184.8 passer rating (leads FBS); 27 rush yards Mendoza: 2,758 yards on a 72% completion rate; 32 TDs (leads FBS) against 5 INTs; 183.7 passer rating (second in FBS); 243 rush yards and 6 TD The third horse in the race: There remains an outside chance that Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia (+200) could win instead. His stats are comparable (3,192 yards, 71.2% completion rate, 27 TDs, 8 INTs, 171.5 RTG; 826 rush yards, 9 TD), but his Commodores didn't make the SEC title game, so he won't get the chance to make a final statement like Sayin and Mendoza will. What to watch: Heisman voting ends Monday, with the finalists announced that night. The winner will be revealed next Saturday at Manhattan's Lincoln Center.   🌊 SURF'S UP IN PHOTOS: RIDING GIANTS (David Ramos/Getty Images) Big wave surfers rode some giants on Tuesday in Nazaré, Portugal, a once sleepy fishing village that has become a world-renowned destination thanks to the giant waves that crash along its shores. (David Ramos/Getty Images) Some have described riding these waves as being more akin to snowboarding. In the photo above, the water even looks like snow! (David Ramos/Getty Images) Eight of the 11 biggest waves ever surfed — all at least 70 feet — came at Nazaré. The other three came at Cortes Bank in Southern California and Jaws Beach in Maui.   📚 GO DEEPER GOOD READS (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) ⚾️ Russell Dorsey: Why MLB front offices have become more risk-averse and what it means for the trade market There was a time not too long ago when MLB teams seemed more willing to take big swings in the trade market, moving highly touted prospects in order to acquire established big-league talent. Those days seem to be gone, as front offices have taken a more risk-averse approach in recent years, trying to be more cautious when it comes to making trades. (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) 🏈 Dan Wolken: Conference championship weekend has lost its appeal, and only one coach seems to care about it anyways For better or worse, the college football season is a three-month qualifier for the CFP. That is the lens through which fans, players and coaches increasingly see the sport. The upside to that plays out every week, where more than a dozen games — many of which were formerly irrelevant in the old system — have a direct impact on the field. The downside is that conference championship games, for the most part, exist as filler programming that adds very little to the fabric of the season. If anything, they mostly just get in the way of college football's ability to offer a more sensible schedule. (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) 🏀 Dan Devine: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP, is getting better at everything — in case you haven't noticed It's hard to make memorable highlight reels out of below-the-rim finishes, midrange Js and two-hand chest passes back out to a popping Isaiah Joe. But it's also hard to make those plays again, and again, and again, with the economy of movement of an elite marathon runner, while never messing anything up. It all contributes to a sense of frictionlessness in Gilgeous-Alexander's ongoing growth, from lottery pick to trade-haul jewel to starter to All-Star to All-NBA to All-Everything. How do you track the development of a player who made the leap three years ago and then … just hasn't stopped leaping?   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, DEC. 4 The Lions obliterated the Cowboys, 47-9, in last year's matchup at Jerry World. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images) 🏈 Cowboys at Lions Detroit hosts Dallas (8:15pm ET, Prime) in what could be one of the most entertaining "Thursday Night Football" games of the year as two of the NFL's four highest-scoring offenses go head-to-head in a game that suddenly has huge playoff implications. Where it stands: The Cowboys (6-5-1) have won three straight while the Lions (7-5) have lost four of seven. Whoever wins tonight will be the first team outside the NFC playoff picture. 🏀 ACC/SEC Challenge Three ranked matchups tonight in women's hoops: No. 11 UNC at No. 2 Texas (7pm, ESPN2), No. 3 South Carolina at No. 22 Louisville (7pm, ESPN) and No. 18 Notre Dame at No. 13 Ole Miss (9pm, ESPN2). Plus: Duke hosts No. 5 LSU (9pm, ESPN), which seeks its record-extending ninth straight 100-point game. The Tigers (8-0) have won every game so far by 30+ points. 🏐 NCAA Volleyball Championship The 64-team women's volleyball tournament tips off with 16 first-round games (3pm-10:30pm, ESPN+). Kentucky is the only No. 1 seed in action today, while the other three (Nebraska, Pitt, Texas) take the court tomorrow. More to watch: ⛳️ PGA: Hero World Challenge (10:45am, Peacock; 1:30pm, Golf) … Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth headline the exclusive 20-player field in The Bahamas. 🏀 NBA: Warriors at 76ers (7pm, NBA) … Eighth in the West vs. ninth in the East. 🏊 Swimming: U.S. Open Championships (7pm, Peacock) … The world's best swimmers compete in the final major long-course meet of the year.   🏈 TROPHY CASE HEISMAN TRIVIA Heisman contender Julian Sayin celebrates after beating Michigan on Saturday. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) Ohio State is one of three schools (Notre Dame, Oklahoma) with seven Heisman Trophy winners. Question: Can you name the only school with more? Answer at the bottom.   🗽 ELECTION DAY BRUNSON, GEHRIG AMONG WRITE-INS FOR NYC MAYOR New Yorkers cross 42nd Street and 7th Avenue in Times Square on Primary Election Day. (Craig T Fruchtman/Getty Images) The New York mayoral election was settled a month ago, with Zohran Mamdani scoring a win over Andrew Cuomo. What was not settled were the write-in votes. Off-menu choices: The full list of write-in votes was released Tuesday, and more than a few people opted to cast their votes for a wide array of sports figures. From Yahoo Sports' Jack Baer: It's hard to say what possesses a person to vote for Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson or former Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. We have even more questions for the people who voted for Hank Aaron (who died in 2021) or Lou Gehrig (who died in 1941). Brooklyn native Sandy Koufax, who remains alive and attending World Series games at 89, got a vote after leaving the city with the Dodgers in the 1950s. Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart got two votes, or three if you count the vote for "Jackson Dart." So did his teammate, running back Cam Skattebo, and New York Yankees playoff hero Cam Schlittler. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred also got a vote, as did three NFL players who have been division rivals for New York teams their entire careers: Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and, of course, Tom Brady. On the media side, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith got two votes while pondering a political career. In terms of volume, Knicks star Jalen Brunson took the win among athletes with 27 votes, well ahead of second place, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge's 11. If you count the votes for "Jaylen Brunson" and "Jalen Bronson," he tied with Hillary Clinton for the 12th-most votes among write-in candidates.   Trivia answer: USC (eight winners)

Did Ilhan Omar marry her brother? Rumor lacks evidence The claim resurfaced in November 2025, when Trump posted about it. https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/12/02/ilhan-omar-brother-marriage/? ps:Same ole same ole bull manure that he lied about Obama not having been born in the USA!!

Man accused of planting pipe bombs before Jan. 6 Capitol attack is charged with explosives offenses WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI on Thursday arrested a man accused of placing two pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national parties in Washington on the eve of the U.S. Capitol attack, an abrupt breakthrough in an investigation that for years flummoxed law enforcement and spawned conspiracy theories about Jan. 6, 2021. https://apnews.com/article/pipe-bombs-dc-jan6-40d748385b7b18ece2208c6c6690708b?

Department of War Disputes Second Attack on Boat Strike Survivors Was a “Double-Tap” Special Operations Command pushed back on the contention that Adm. Frank Bradley ordered a double-tap attack when the U.S. military conducted a second strike killing survivors of the September 2 boat attack in the Caribbean, first reported by The Intercept. https://theintercept.com/2025/12/02/caribbean-boat-strike-double-tap/?

Bipartisan House Resolution Seeks to Block Trump War With Venezuela With President Donald Trump mulling military action, lawmakers in the House of Representatives introduced a war powers resolution to block strikes on Venezuela. https://theintercept.com/2025/12/02/house-block-trump-venezuela-war/? Admiral says there was no ‘kill them all’ order in boat attack, but video alarms lawmakers WASHINGTON (AP) — A Navy admiral commanding the U.S. military strikes on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean told lawmakers Thursday that there was no “kill them all” order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but a stark video of the attack left grave questions as Congress scrutinizes the campaign that killed two survivors. https://apnews.com/article/pete-hegseth-boat-strike-admiral-congress-521606d39c04dcc040ea232dc9cfeeda?

Border Patrol Raided Arizona Medical Aid Site With No Warrant, Showing Growing “Impunity” U.S. Border Patrol agents raided a humanitarian aid station in the Arizona desert late last month, taking three people into custody and breaking into a trailer without a warrant. https://theintercept.com/2025/12/02/border-patrol-raid-no-more-deaths-arizona/?

Entire Chain of Command Could Be Held Liable for Killing Boat Strike Survivors, Sources Say Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is under increasing fire for a double-tap strike, first reported by The Intercept in early September, in which the U.S. military killed two survivors of the Trump administration’s initial boat strike in the Caribbean on September 2. https://theintercept.com/2025/12/02/hegseth-boat-strikes-war-crime-venezuela/? Trump Frees Ex-President of Honduras, Right-Wing “Narco-Dictator” Convicted of Drug Trafficking In a 26th floor courtroom overlooking Manhattan’s frigid winter skyline, dozens of immigrants sat in on the trial of their former president, the once untouchable symbol of a “narco-dictatorship” that reorganized of the government’s judicial, police, and military leadership to collude with drug traffickers. https://theintercept.com/2025/12/01/honduras-hernandez-pardon-trump-venezuela-drugs/? Trump Wants to Make African Countries Share Abortion Data to Get AIDS Funding The Trump administration plans to condition global health assistance on foreign countries sharing significant amounts of health data with the United States, including on abortion, according to a template for an aid agreement obtained by The Intercept. https://theintercept.com/2025/12/01/pepfar-hiv-abortion-health-data-trump/? “Real” America Is Turning Against Trump’s Mass Deportation Regime On a chilly evening in mid-November, about 135 people gathered along a highway in Boone, North Carolina, a small Appalachian college town not known as a hotbed of leftist protest. They held signs reading “Nazis were just following orders too” and “Time to melt the ICE,” and chanted profane rebukes at Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents rumored to be in the area. “They came here thinking they wouldn’t be bothered,” one Appalachian State University student told The Appalachian at the impromptu rally. “Boone is a small, southern, white, mountain town. We need to let them know they’ll be bothered anywhere they go.” In a region often stereotyped as silently conservative, this flash of defiance was a startling sign that the battle lines of American politics are shifting in unexpected ways. https://theintercept.com/2025/12/03/appalachia-nc-ice-protest-immigrants/? Trump Gutted AIDS Health Care at the Worst Possible Time On World AIDS Day 2025, humanity should be celebrating that there is a new shot available which offers six months of protection against the transmission of HIV, the virus which has already infected approximately 40 million living people and taken the lives of 44 million more. https://theintercept.com/2025/12/01/world-aids-hiv-trump-cuts-unemployment-lgbtq/? Legalizing Cocaine Is the Only Way to End the Drug War I was never that into cocaine — preferring the euphoria promised by MDMA or the relaxation offered by cannabis — but back in 2015, a cocaine-serving lounge bar, Route 36, in La Paz, Bolivia, was the talk of the backpacking circuit, and the scarcely-believable novelty of the place was alluring. https://theintercept.com/2025/11/30/legalize-cocaine-trump-boat-strikes/?

Chicago Promoted Two Police Officers After Investigators Found They Engaged in Sexual Misconduct One of Chicago’s newest police sergeants had been deemed “unfit to serve” after an investigation uncovered evidence that he created a fake Facebook account and spread a nude photo of a woman he was sexually involved with, then lied to investigators about it. https://www.propublica.org/article/chicago-police-department-sexual-misconduct-promotions? Powerful Friends: Sympathetic Officials and “Cultural Power” Help Ranchers Dodge Oversight In late 2019, a pair of Montana ranchers got in trouble with the Forest Service, which oversees the federal lands where they had a permit to graze their cattle. Agency staff had found their cattle wandering in unauthorized locations four times during September of that year. The agency also found some of their fences in disrepair and their salt licks — which provide cattle with essential minerals — too close to creeks and springs, drawing the animals into those habitats. https://www.propublica.org/article/politicians-help-ranchers-dodge-oversight? The Night Raids On a December night in 2018, Mahzala was jolted awake by a shuddering wave of noise that rattled her family’s small mud house. A trio of helicopters, so unfamiliar that she had no word for them, rapidly descended, kicking up clouds of dust that shimmered in their blinding lights. Men wearing desert camouflage and black masks flooded into the house, corralling her two sons and forcing them out the door. https://www.propublica.org/article/afghanistan-night-raids-zero-units-lynzy-billing? A Death Row Inmate Was Released on Bail After His Conviction Was Overturned. Louisiana Still Wants to Execute Him. Jimmie “Chris” Duncan walked out of the Ouachita Parish Correctional Center and into the arms of his parents last week after spending the last 27 years on death row. https://www.propublica.org/article/jimmie-duncan-louisiana-death-row-inmate-released? Texas Lawmakers Criticized Kerr Leaders for Rejecting State Flood Money. Other Communities Did the Same. Three weeks after flash floods in Texas’ Hill Country killed more than 100 people, state lawmakers chastised Kerr County leaders for rejecting money a year earlier to create a warning system that could have alerted residents to rapidly rising water. https://www.propublica.org/article/kerr-county-state-grants-flood-warning-system? Oregon Struggles to Land Federal Counterterrorism Money as Trump Orders Troops to Stop “Terrorists” Hindering ICE Two months into President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration gave states an ultimatum: Cooperate with his team’s immigration crackdown or lose your federal homeland security funding. https://www.propublica.org/article/portland-trump-dhs-terrorism-prevention-grant? Wealthy Ranchers Profit from Public Lands. A ProPublica and High Country News investigation found that government programs supporting grazing on public lands prop up a wealthy few while harming the environment. The Trump administration is supercharging the system. https://www.propublica.org/article/grazing-ranchers-public-lands-trump?

Feds Probe Stunning Twist in D.C. National Guard Murder U.S. intelligence is pursuing leads in the shooter’s native country, our must-read newsletter The Swamp reveals. Donald Trump wants to crush The Swamp. The leaks, the sneaks, and the secrets are all there. Our writers, David Gardner, Farrah Tomazin, and Sarah Ewall-Wice, are sifting through the ooze so you don’t have to. Don’t miss out. In this week’s news from the ooze: Melania Trump, Miranda Devine, Lt. General William Jones, R.C. Maxwell, Kash Patel, Don Lamothe, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, Laura Loomer, Michael and Susan Dell, Pete Hegseth, Todd Starnes, Cam Digby, Karoline Leavitt, Sarah Beckstrom, and Andrew Wolfe. The Washington Shooter and a Deadly Offer He Could Not Refuse The former Afghan fighter who killed one National Guard member and left a second critically injured just two blocks from the White House may have been blackmailed into carrying out the shooting, The Swamp has learned. U.S. intelligence is investigating information that a Taliban hit squad threatened to murder Rahmanullah Lakanwal’s family in Afghanistan unless he opened fire on American troops in the nation’s capital. Donald Trump and his MAGA acolytes, including FBI Director Kash Patel, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, and “War” Secretary Pete Hegseth, have described the 29-year-old married father-of-five as a “monster” and a “terrorist” and insisted he would likely face the death penalty. But investigators are asking themselves why a man who was vetted by two administrations, and with no criminal record and no history of extremism, should drive across the country on an apparent suicide mission to shoot at heavily armed U.S. military personnel with a revolver. One line of inquiry they are seriously pursuing, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation, is that Lakanwal was made an offer he could not refuse. Either he accepted the mission, or his family in Afghanistan would be beaten, murdered, and possibly beheaded. Lakanwal was a member of the Afghan Scorpion Forces working closely with the CIA as a GPS tracking specialist. He helped the U.S. military escape from Kabul in the shambolic retreat from Afghanistan in August 2021. Between August 14 and 30, more than 123,000 people were airlifted from Kabul Airport. The Afghan fighter joined one of the last flights because he served the United States and due to the danger he would be in if he were left behind. About 700 Scorpion Forces members are understood to be detained in Afghanistan because they worked with America and its allies. In the five years since the U.S. evacuation, a Taliban military unit—called Yarmouk 60—has devoted itself to tracking down, and, in some instances, killing Afghans who worked with the West. Earlier this year, a member of the “Afghan Triples,” an elite special forces unit that was set up, trained, and funded by the U.K. to combat the Taliban, managed to leave the country and get to Germany, hoping his family could follow on later. In retaliation, Yarmouk 60 killed his wife and father and four of his children, including two little girls who were beheaded, the source told The Swamp. “It is by no means our only line of inquiry,” said an intelligence source who has worked closely with the authorities trying to help Afghans with a target on their backs because of their work with the West. “People in this country have no idea about the level of stress these people are under. Most of them have families back home, and if the Taliban cannot get to them, they are making it very clear that they will go after their families.” Lakanwal was said to be worried about money and concerned that the Trump administration would block his Green Card application and force him to return home. Trump has blamed the Biden administration for allowing Lakanwal into the country, but it was Trump’s own administration which granted him asylum in April 2025. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died in the attack last Wednesday. Her colleague, Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was critically injured and remains hospitalized. Lakanwal was also wounded in the shootout and is under armed guard in the hospital. He has been charged with first degree murder and his attorney indicated he would plead not guilty. The Pentagon has been contacted for comment. Who Gives a F*** About the White House Christmas Decor? It’s the time of year the Christmas decorations come down from the attic, and you decide that you really, really must buy some new ones … next year. One would have thought Melania Trump could send her staff down to Michaels to get some new baubles. Then again, the First Lady is famously ambivalent toward the festive season. Remember when she was surreptitiously recorded in 2018, saying, “Who gives a f–k about the Christmas stuff and decorations?” Perhaps that’s why she dug out her old Xmas trimmings from 2018, including white balls emblazoned with “BE BEST,” and recycled them for this year’s display. A Presidential Plug No Longer Holds Water Has the Trump bump turned into a Trump slump? On November 28 at 2:30 AM, President Trump took to Truth Social to deliver an important message: “Twilight’s Last Gleaming, Can America Be Saved” (YES!), by the Great Todd Starnes. A fantastic NEW BOOK. Get it now!!! President DJT.” Now ”Twilight’s Last Gleaming” dropped in March, 2024 so it’s not a “NEW BOOK.” In fact, the NewsMax host has published another book since then so it’s not even Todd Starnes’s LATEST BOOK. Although Trump’s shill-y post racked up 18.8K likes and 3.61K retruths, followers did not exactly heed his call to race to Jeff Bezos’s Amazon to “GET IT NOW!!!” The sales rank of Starnes’ book spiked on the first day to around 17,000 which translates, per an online Amazon book sales calculator, to a one-day sale of 16 books. By November 30, that number had in fact fallen to around 24,000 which translates to a sale of 12 books. The ebook ranking was far worse, hovering around 150K or ONE book sold in the past day. Starnes set up shop at NewsMax after being let go from Fox News in 2019 after he suggested that Democrats do not worship the God of Christianity. “Apparently,” Starnes mused, “the god they worship is the pagan god of the Old Testament, Moloch, who allowed for child sacrifice.” And speaking of child sacrifice, why won’t Trump release the unredacted Epstein files? And Speaking of Amazon… Olivia Nuzzi (pronounced “newsy” according to former lover Keith Olbermann) added book author to her resume as American Canto hit the shelves. Maybe fans are rushing to their local book stores to purchase the memoir, but over at Amazon at 2:17 PM on her pub date, Nuzzi’s hardcover has a sales rank of #12,763 and a nearly identical kindle rank of #12,338. It appears that former Nuzzi fiance Ryan Lizza’s work is done. Ding, Dong, Dell… You Read It Here First As revealed in The Swamp back in April, Donald Trump is pressing ahead with his plan to give $1,000 to every baby born while he is president, helped, no doubt, by Tuesday’s announcement that tech billionaire Michael Dell, 60, and his wife, Susan, (age unavailable but estimated at 56) will put $250 into investment accounts for 25 million children at a cost to them of $6.25 billion. Details of the plan are still being worked out, but the federal government will create a $1,000 “Trump Account” for babies born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028. If you’re worried about the Dell’s four kids taking a hit to their inheritance, keep in mind that Forbes pegs Michael Dell’s fortune at $148 billion. The kids will be fine. What Miranda Learned from Hunter The New York Post’s Miranda Devine has started a MAGA civil war with an article revealing a 115-page report flaming Kash Patel and Dan Bongino as unfit to lead the FBI because they are social media-thirsty, paranoid, status-obsessed clowns running a circus. Her Monday article in the Post quotes a report from a group she calls “A National Alliance of Retired and Active-Duty FBI Special Agents and Analysts.” Who could this group, which an enraged Bongino has dubbed “the deep state,” be? It may be that only Devine herself knows—and she certainly isn’t naming names. The “Alliance’s” other three public appearances were (1) in October 2023, in a 112-page report complaining about DEI at the FBI; (2) in July 2024 with a 229-page report complaining about then FBI boss Chris Wray; (3) and in October 2024 endorsing Trump. Each time, their findings were announced by Devine via Twitter and in the pages of the NY Post. Nobody else appears to have ever spoken to the “Alliance.” Devine is hardly known for her intense scrutiny of MAGA figures; her biggest calling card until now had been her book Laptop From Hell about Hunter Biden and his electronic trail of wrecked lives, drugs, prostitutes and (at least in MAGA’s view) corruption. What is clear is that she and her “Alliance” have learned some techniques from Hunter’s security failures. Their reports are only available on the document site Scribd where they have been uploaded by someone with the account “NYP” and carefully scrubbed of any metadata. The other documents uploaded by the account can all be found in stories by Devine. Now if only there was an anti-deep state journalist who could blow open this mystery… My Lai Lesson to Donald Trump and His Claims of Treason Donald Trump and his Secretary of Warrior may like to check their military histories under My Lai to see what happens when troops carry out an illegal order. On March 16, 1968, American soldiers from Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, Americal Division, entered the village of My Lai in Vietnam. “This is what you’ve been waiting for—search and destroy—and you’ve got it," the men were told by their superior officers. And the killing began. By the time the smoke had cleared, more than 300 unarmed men, women and children were dead. In the awful aftermath, as full details of the massacre emerged, the U.S. top brass deemed it necessary to better educate service members about the military legal system. Lt. General William Jones, commander of the Fleet Marine Force in the Pacific, sent a letter on August 15, 1972, along with a booklet to the Marines as an attempt to provide a “ready reference on the legal system for the individual Marine,” and urged those under his command to ask questions. The booklet was disseminated after the height of the Vietnam War but months before the U.S. withdrawal the following year. Chapter Six focused on the legality of orders. It outlined that obedience to orders is a “fundamental concept” of the Marine Corps, but noted “the order given must be a legal one.” “1. Am I required to obey legal orders? A. No, you are not,” it states in bold. “2. Suppose someone gives me an illegal order, I obey it, and I am subsequently charged with an offense because of my obeying that illegal order? Can I use obedience to orders as a valid defense to the charge? A. No, you cannot. Since you are not required to obey an illegal order, your compliance with it is not a defense.” But the guidance to Marines stationed in the Pacific (FMFPAC) did not stop there. “3. How can I tell if an order is legal or illegal? A. It’s not as hard as it sounds. Most of the cases wherein this issue has been raised involved killings of humans under circumstances such that compliance with the order to kill would clearly be murder. If you rely on common sense and judgement, you should be all right.” The specific example in the booklet of one such illegal order given to Marines was shooting a prisoner who was subdued or did not pose an immediate threat. “4. What should I do if I receive an order which I consider to be illegal? A. Advise the individual giving the order that you consider the order to be illegal and that you are not going to comply for that reason.” So why was it so wrong for six Democratic Party lawmakers to urge troops not to obey unlawful orders? More to the point, should Admiral Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley have followed the order reportedly given by Pete Hegseth to leave no one alive in the narco boat strike in the Caribbean on September 2? Sharing the Post at the Pentagon And speaking of Pete, the MAGA Pentagon Propagandists, sorry, the, eh, Pentagon Press Corps, has officially moved in after the longtime national security reporters got the boot for not sucking up enough. The fake press corps is already disseminating questionable content. Laura Loomer posted a photo claiming she was now occupying the former Washington Post desk. But so did two other journalists, RedState’s R.C. Maxwell and Cam Higby, of Fearless Media, who signed away their journalistic ethics for a (shiny MAGA red) press pass. It appears they all have a secret crush on Dan Lamothe, although only Loomer was actually sitting at the Post veteran’s old desk. The other two couldn’t even get that right. “By my count, I’ve got at least two or three desks left at the Pentagon. Lost count,” Lamothe posted on X, along with photos of his admirers. “Y’all are going to have to work this one out for yourselves,” he added. We guess that’s what happens when the new occupants spend more energy dunking on proper reporters rather than raising questions about, say, potential war crimes. https://www.thedailybeast.com/fed-probe-stunning-twist-in-dc-national-guard-murder/?

Trump Makes Embarrassing Confession About Putin as Peace Push Flops Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner have been attempting to bag a peace deal. Donald Trump made an embarrassing admission about peace talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, after they ended yet again in failure. “I don’t know what the Kremlin is doing,” the 79-year-old president told reporters in the Oval Office, the day after his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner had what Trump called a “reasonably good meeting” with the Russian dictator to negotiate an end to his illegal war in Ukraine. After the five-hour meeting in the Kremlin, the U.S. negotiators said they believed Putin “would like to end the war”—a message they relayed to Trump on Tuesday evening. But Trump, who promised to end the year on day one of his presidency, admitted Wednesday he did not know what was going on. He said, “I can tell you that they had a reasonably good meeting with President Putin. We’re going to find out. It’s a war that should have never been started.” Putin, meanwhile, said the meeting had been a slog. Speaking to the India Today TV channel ahead of a visit to New Delhi on Thursday, he said the talks were “necessary” and “useful” but also “difficult work.” “What comes out of that meeting? I can’t tell you, because it does take two to tango,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “He would like to end the war,” he said of his Russian counterpart. “That was their [Witkoff and Kushner’s] impression. Now, whether or not you know that was their impression, you know their impression was that they’d like to see—he would like to see—the war ended.” He then claimed that one of Putin’s main concerns is reopening economic channels to the U.S. “I think he’d like to get back to dealing a more normal life. I think he’d like to be trading with the United States of America, frankly, instead of, you know, losing thousands of soldiers a week. But their impression was very strongly that he’d like to make a deal,” he said. Moscow has said that there are some provisions in the U.S. peace plan—drafted without Ukraine—that they are more willing to discuss than others. Territorial lines remain a sticking point. A senior U.S. administration official said peace talks will continue in Miami on Thursday, with Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov due to visit. On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky canceled planned talks in Brussels with Trump’s envoys. For the past two weeks, Trump has bragged about his 28-point peace deal as the latest reason why he should have won the Nobel Peace Prize. “They just divided these 28, I think 27, points into four packages,” Putin was quoted as saying. “And they proposed that we discuss these four packages. But essentially, they are the same (provisions).” His aide Yuri Ushakov also appeared unimpressed. “At first there was one version, then this version was revised, and instead of one document, a few more appeared,” he said. Kyiv has also reportedly rejected a revised 19-point deal. Putin also jabbed at the American negotiating style, saying the U.S. is engaged in “shuttle diplomacy.” “They spoke to the Europeans, then came to us, then they have another meeting with the Ukrainians and the Europeans,” he said. Meanwhile, Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities continued into Thursday, with a ballistic missile hitting Kryvyi Rih overnight and injuring six people, including a 3-year-old girl, according to local official Oleksandr Vilkul. He said more than 40 homes, a school, and gas lines were damaged in the attack on President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown. In Kherson, a 6-year-old girl died after being wounded in Russian shelling the previous day. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-makes-embarrassing-confession-about-putin-as-peace-push-flops/?

Gardening has been around for as long as humans have been growing food. Through the centuries, gardens have served not only as places to grow plants but as spaces for people to relax, to focus, and to connect with nature and each other. Today, gardening can provide many mental health benefits for your daily life. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/how-gardening-affects-mental-health? ps:If they read the Bible they'd know that gardening was the first job we humans were given and helps with physical health also!!

Understanding Your Metabolism Metabolism is a series of processes that control how your body creates and uses energy. It converts food and drinks into energy in your body, which you can use both when you're active and when you're resting. You need it for many basic functions, such as breathing and growing. Your metabolism uses calories and oxygen to make and release energy in a form the cells in all your organs and tissues can use. https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/what-is-metabolism?

Stephen Bohr has an excellent series on this. The 24 elders are the sons of God mentioned in Job--representatives of the unfallen worlds.This scenario was the one Adam would have attended as representative of this world had he not sinned/ You will notice Rev 4 speaks about God and His Creative power--no mention of Jesus-yet the 24 are there. It is in Rev 5 that Jesus returns to Heaven. This would be found in his "The Return of the War Hero" Here are the various videos:Mission Accomplished The Return of the War Hero Who Are The 24 Elders? Earth's Two Representatives Redeemed From The Earth? Future History and Functions also Bohr provides free downloadable or printable notes to this series: https://sumtv.org/study-notes/the-24-elders (He has tons of other topics done in depth free) The Buy button on there is if you want them to print the notes for you--the PDF button is for the free notes. He made his notes free years ago.

It is all what we were given on the rise of the Image

Many of us are being challenged by those saying the same thing, and it can be overcome but it is impossible without Gods help. We must show them Gods love and allow the Holy Spirit to bring them to Him. Otherwise we see what SOP shows us... "In his sinless state, man held joyful communion with Him “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3. But after his sin, he could no longer find joy in holiness, and he sought to hide from the presence of God. Such is still the condition of the unrenewed heart. It is not in harmony with God, and finds no joy in communion with Him. The sinner could not be happy in God’s presence; he would shrink from the companionship of holy beings. Could he be permitted to enter heaven, it would have no joy for him. The spirit of unselfish love that reigns there—every heart responding to the heart of Infinite Love—would touch no answering chord in his soul."Steps to Christ — Ellen G. White Writings

Think of it like a baseball game where the umpires spend the first inning arguing over whether the game should be played at all By Michael Peabody – When the Supreme Court agrees to hear a case that’s dominating the […] The post Explainer: Why Supreme Court Arguments Often Skip the Big Issue Everyone Else Is Talking About appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom® - News and Updates on Religious Liberty and Freedom. View the full article

Case tests scope of federal court access in disputes over compelled disclosure of nonprofit donor identities The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on December 2, 2025, in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Matthew J. Platkin, a case […] The post Supreme Court Weighs Whether New Jersey Subpoena of Pro-Life Group’s Donor List Violates First Amendment appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom® - News and Updates on Religious Liberty and Freedom. View the full article

Preston Damsky v. Chris Summerlin, in his official capacity as Dean of Students, University of Florida, No. 1:25-cv-275-AW-MAF (N.D. Fla. Nov. 24, 2025) Decision link: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26314056/954597806-damsky-order.pdf THE DAMSKY DECISION: WHY ANYONE WITH A PULSE SHOULD CARE (And why writing this […] The post The Damsky Order: A Campus Meltdown Collides With First Amendment Absolutism appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom® - News and Updates on Religious Liberty and Freedom. View the full article

A Florida federal court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a self-represented plaintiff who challenged the presence of “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency, arguing it violated his religious beliefs and excluded him from full civic participation. David Morris […] The post Federal court rules “In God We Trust” does not violate religious rights under RFRA or the Constitution appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom® - News and Updates on Religious Liberty and Freedom. View the full article

Cold November air settled over Montreal when Quebec introduced Bill 9 on November 27, 2025. The bill placed group prayer on public streets under a permit system. It ordered universities and CEGEPs to close prayer rooms by September 2026. It […] The post Quebec’s Bill 9 tightens secularism rules and places new pressure on Christian schools that receive public funding appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom® - News and Updates on Religious Liberty and Freedom. View the full article

Gabriel Olivier says Brandon, Mississippi, law unfairly targets his religious speech but insists he is not trying to erase his criminal record Gabriel Olivier, a Christian street preacher, was arrested and convicted for preaching in a public park in Brandon, […] The post Supreme Court Hears Case of Preacher Challenging City Law Without Overturning Conviction appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom® - News and Updates on Religious Liberty and Freedom. View the full article