Trump to roll back Biden-era fuel economy standards

President Trump wants to lower Biden-era fuel economy requirements for new cars and trucks. The administration has announced plans to roll back fuel economy standards for  light-duty vehicles.
The Transportation secretary said the Biden-era rules aimed at limiting air pollution were “completely unattainable” for automakers. If the plan is approved, new vehicles would need to average roughly 34 miles per gallon instead of 50.

Watchdog: Hegseth’s Signal use put military personnel at risk

The Pentagon’s watchdog found that Defense Secretary Pete Hegeth’s use of the Signal messaging app put military personnel at risk. The inspector general reviewed Hegseth’s use of Signal to convey sensitive information about a military strike earlier this year. In a report to be released this week, the watchdog concluded that the defense secretary did not violate the government’s classification rules, even though the use of a commercial messaging app put troops and their mission at risk. In response, the Pentagon’s spokesman called it a “total exoneration” of Hegseth and that “this matter is resolved, and the case is closed.”

Trump pardons Democratic congressman and his wife

President Trump has pardoned a Democratic congressman and his wife. Citing what he called a “weaponized” justice system, the president pardoned Texas Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar and his wife in a federal bribery and conspiracy case. He claimed the two were prosecuted because the congressman had been critical of President Biden’s immigration policies. Writing on social media, the president said Cuellar “bravely spoke out against open borders.”

U.S. pauses all immigration applications from 19 countries

The Trump administration is pausing all immigration applications for people from 19 countries. The pause puts on hold a wide range of immigration-related decisions such as green card applications or naturalizations for immigrants from 19 countries that the Trump administration has described as high-risk. Earlier this year, people from those countries were banned from U-S travel. This latest crackdown is part of the president’s sweeping immigration changes in the wake of last week’s shooting of two National Guard troops by an Afghan national.

Trump-backed Republican wins special House election in Tenn.

A Trump-backed Republican won the special election in Tennessee for a U-S House seat. Republican Matt Van Epps defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn to represent the 7th Congressional District. The victory gives a little breathing room for Republicans in the House, where they still have a razor-thin majority. However, the race in the conservative red Tennessee district may have been too close for comfort for the GOP. President Trump carried the district by 22 percent points last year, but Van Epps won by only single digits.

In tirade, Trump says he doesn’t want Somalis living in the U.S.

President Trump says he doesn’t want Somalis living in America because they’re a drain on the country’s social safety net. The president ended his Tuesday cabinet meeting with a tirade against Somali immigrants, complaining they add little to the United States. “I don’t want ’em in our country. Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks.” In recent days, he’s described Minnesota, which is home to the largest Somali community in the U-S, as a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.”

Trump administration threatens to cut SNAP in Dem states

The Trump administration is threatening to cut SNAP food aid in most Democrat-controlled states. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says SNAP funds will be withheld starting next week unless the states provide data about those receiving the assistance. She saie states are refusing to provide requested information about the recipients, including their names and immigration status. Democratic states have sued to block the requirement. About 42 million lower-income Americans rely on SNAP to help buy groceries.

Hegseth cites “fog of war” in defense of 2nd strike on alleged drug boat

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is defending a follow-up military strike on a suspected drug-carrying boat near Venezuela. During a cabinet meeting with President Trump, Hegseth said that he did not see survivors in the water after the initial strike was conducted in early September — citing “the fog of war.” Hegseth said he was not in the room when the second strike was launched, but he staunchly defended Navy Vice Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley’s decision-making. Lawmakers have announced congressional reviews of the U-S military strikes.

Trump says U.S. to start land strikes “soon” against drug runners

President Trump is threatening to conduct land strikes against drug traffickers in foreign countries. Even as Congress scrutinizes the legality of the Pentagon’s attacks on suspected drug boats near Venezuela, the president says the U-S military will soon expand its counter-narcotics mission. “We’re going to start doing those strikes on land, too. You know, the land is much easier,” Trump said. Last weekend, the president warned that Venezuela’s airspace should be considered “closed in its entirety.”

Dells pledge $6.25 billion to help fund Trump Accounts for kids

Billionaires Michael and Susan Dell have made a historic donation to help fund so-called Trump accounts. The program, which was part of the president’s tax legislation earlier this year, gives one-thousand dollars to babies born during the years of the Trump administration. That money is invested in the stock market and given to the child at age 18. To help parents of older children, the Dells pledged more than 6-billion dollars to help start accounts for children 10 and under and living in ZIP codes with a median family income of 150-thousand dollars or less.

Trump frees ex-Honduran president after drug trafficking conviction

Voters cast ballots in Tennessee’s conservative 7th congressional district

Trump envoy to hold Tuesday peace talks with Russia’s Putin

President Trump’s special envoy will hold talks with Russian President Putin in Moscow. After U-S officials met with Ukrainian officials in Florida over the weekend, the diplomatic effort shifts to Russia. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says presidential envoy Steve Witkoff will be discussing the proposed U-S peace plan with Putin. Administration officials point to progress, but also say key sticking points remain.

White House defends 2nd deadly drug boat strike as legal

The White House confirms a second military strike was ordered against a suspected drug-smuggling boat to kill any survivors. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the September 2nd action against an alleged drug boat as “lethal targeting” and said the second strike was carried out “in self-defense and “in accordance” with laws governing armed conflict. Lawmakers from both parties are questioning the incident after The Washington Post reported that Defense Secretary Hegseth ordered the military to “kill everybody.”

WH: Trump’s MRI was preventative; “perfectly normal” results

The White House says President Trump’s recent MRI was “preventative” in nature. After repeated questions about the purpose of the procedure, the White House released a statement from the president’s physician. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, reading from the doctor’s memo, said the screening was conducted because men in the president’s “age group benefit from a thorough evaluation of cardiovascular and abdominal health.”

Melania Trump unveils White House holiday decorations, theme

Congress investigates military attacks after Hegseth report

Lawmakers from both parties have opened congressional investigations into U-S military strikes against suspected drug-smuggling boats. The House and Senate Armed Services Committees have launched reviews of the Trump administration’s attacks on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. Republican and Democratic lawmakers cited a published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for surviving crew members to be killed during a September attack. Hegseth called The Washington Post story “fake news” and President Trump said his administration would “look into” the matter.

Trump’s ex-lawyer disqualified as U.S. Attorney for NJ

President Trump’s ex-lawyer has been disqualified from serving as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor.
A federal appeals court ruled that efforts by the Trump administration to keep Alina Habba as the acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey violated the law. Judges on the panel questioned the government’s moves to keep Habba in place after her interim appointment expired and without her getting Senate confirmation. Just last week, another federal judge concluded that former White House staffer Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed to the position of interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

After repeated questions, Trump says he’ll release MRI results

President Trump says he’ll release the results of his MRI test that he received in October. Responding to questions about MRI results, the president told reporters “if you want to have it released, I’ll release it.” He claimed the results were “perfect,” but added that he has “no idea” what part of his body was being examined. Until now, the White House has only said that the president received “advanced imaging” at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center “as part of his routine physical examination.”

Trump confirms phone call with Venezuela’s Maduro

President Trump confirms he has spoken with Venezuelan President Maduro. After weeks of threatening military action on Venezuelan soil, the president told reporters that, “yes,” he had spoken with Maduro. However, he offered no details of the phone call, saying he didn’t want to comment on it. The New York Times first reported the two leaders spoke earlier in November and discussed a possible meeting in the U-S. Over the weekend, Donald Trump warned that Venezuela’s airspace should be considered “closed in its entirety.” But then on Sunday night, he said “don’t read anything” into those comments.

Rubio says US-Ukraine talks “productive,” but work remains

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says work remains in ending Russia’s war in Ukraine. Rubio said U-S and Ukrainian officials held productive talks for about four hours on Sunday, but said there’s a way to go before finding an endgame. The discussions were held in Florida, ahead of this week’s Moscow visit by U-S envoy Steve Witkoff, who’s scheduled to meet with Russian President Putin. President Trump pointing to some corruption problems in Ukraine, told reporters there’s still “a good chance” a deal can be reached.

Trump wants to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations after DC shootings

President Trump wants to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations after the shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan national. In a blistering social media post, the president blames immigrants for problems from crime to housing shortages as part of “social dysfunction” in America and is demanding “reverse migration.” He calls for a halt to migration from Third World countries and promises to try and expel millions of immigrants from the U-S by revoking their legal status. The president’s push to further tighten immigration policy comes after the shooting of National Guard members on Thanksgiving Eve.

Trump envoy Witkoff to meet with Putin in Moscow this week on Ukraine peace

President Trump is dispatching his special envoy to meet with Russian President Putin this week. Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow to discuss an updated peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. U-S officials say the proposal has been fine-tuned after addressing concerns from Ukrainian officials. President Trump told reporters that Russia is “making concessions” after European allies said the plan favored Moscow. The president also said there’s “no deadline” for an agreement after first demanding that Ukraine had until Thanksgiving to decide.

New developments in Trump’s push for new 2026 congressional maps

There are some new developments in the Trump administration’s push for redistricting. A panel of three federal judges in North Carolina has cleared the way for a new congressional map to be used in the 2026 midterm elections. The judges rejected arguments that the Republican redrawn map amounted to unconstitutional political retaliation and diluted the voting power of Black voters. Meanwhile, in a reversal, Indiana Republicans will meet in December to consider a new congressional district map favoring GOP candidates. The state Senate’s Republican leader had previously said they would not meet because there was not enough support to pass a new map