Job Growth Exceeds Expectations Amid Federal Downsizing
The United States economy added 64,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in November 2025, surpassing economists’ expectations of around 50,000 and marking a stronger-than-anticipated rebound following October’s decline. Employment gains were led by the private sector with increases in health care and construction, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent, the highest since September 2021. Much of the rise in unemployment stemmed from laid-off workers entering the job market, with the majority of recent unemployment claims tied to federal government employees who departed payrolls after accepting deferred resignation offers as part of efforts to downsize bloated federal agencies. Federal employment fell by another 6,000 in November after a sharp 162,000 drop in October, contributing to an overall decline of 271,000 federal jobs since January 2025.
Sources: US Bureau of Labor & Statistics, The Epoch Times
Elon Musk Strengthens Republican Midterm Efforts
Elon Musk has begun providing substantial financial support to Republican candidates in House and Senate races for the 2026 midterm elections. The tech billionaire recently issued large donations to aid GOP efforts and has signaled intentions to contribute additional funds throughout the cycle. This development follows a period of reconciled relations with President Trump after earlier tensions, including Musk’s brief consideration of a new political party. Recent interactions, such as attending administration events and dinners with key figures like Vice President JD Vance, indicate restored alignment. Musk’s backing represents a significant resource for Republicans aiming to preserve congressional majorities, building on his prior major contributions to the party’s 2024 successes.
Sources: FOX Business, NBC News
TSA, ICE Collaboration Enhances Deportation Enforcement
The Transportation Security Administration shares airline passenger data with Immigration & Customs Enforcement multiple times per week to identify and apprehend individuals subject to deportation orders. This partnership, initiated in March under the Trump administration, reverses prior policies that permitted undocumented persons to travel domestically without identification and supports the goal of executing the largest deportation operation in United States history by leveraging federal agency cooperation. The program has facilitated arrests at airports, including that of a Honduran college student detained at Boston Logan and swiftly removed, with a former ICE official reporting high arrest rates from flagged matches. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman emphasized that illegal aliens should only fly to self-deport, reflecting the administration’s commitment to secure borders and enforce immigration laws.
Trump Designates Illicit Non-Prescription Fentanyl Weapon of Mass Destruction
President Trump signed an executive order designating non-prescription illicit fentanyl and its core precursor chemicals as weapons of mass destruction, recognizing that this deadly substance in its illegal, non-medical form functions more as a chemical weapon than a traditional narcotic given its extreme potency where just two milligrams can prove lethal. The order mobilizes the full resources of the federal government to combat the crisis involving non-prescription use and trafficking, directing the Attorney General to pursue enhanced prosecutions and sentencing for cases related to illegal distribution, tasking the Secretaries of State and Treasury with targeting related financial assets and institutions involved in illicit networks, requiring the Departments of Defense and Justice to assess additional national security measures for emergencies tied to non-prescription fentanyl, and mandating updates to chemical incident response plans while utilizing intelligence tools to dismantle smuggling networks responsible for illegal supplies. Trump emphasized the severity of non-prescription fentanyl by stating that no bomb matches the devastation, with 200,000 to 300,000 Americans dying annually from this scourge, underscoring the need to secure borders, eradicate cartel operations, and protect families from this national security threat fueled by foreign adversaries and criminal organizations distributing the drug outside legal medical channels.
Sources: The White House, The Post Millennial
Chicago Fiscal Irresponsibility Exposed
Chicago confronts severe long-term structural financial challenges driven primarily by grossly underfunded pensions and a pattern of relying on temporary fixes rather than genuine reform, as evidenced by the infamous 2008 parking meter deal that squandered future revenues. The city’s operating budget swelled nearly 40 percent from 2019 to 2025, propped up by fleeting federal pandemic aid that has now vanished, leaving expanded programs and staffing without sustainable funding. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s approach to a $1.15 billion deficit involves hiking taxes on businesses—including raising the personal property lease tax and reinstating an employer head tax—while resorting to borrowing, diverting economic development funds, and curtailing extra pension contributions, measures that endanger economic growth and job creation amid the weakest hiring outlook since the pandemic.
Sources: Legal Insurrection, The Washington Post
Texas Attorney General Protects Privacy Against Smart TV Surveillance
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has taken action to safeguard the privacy of families by filing lawsuits against five major television manufacturers—Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL Technology Group Corporation—for deploying automatic content recognition technology in smart TVs that secretly captures screenshots of screens every 500 milliseconds, monitors viewing habits in real time, and transmits detailed personal data without meaningful consent, enabling the companies to build consumer profiles for targeted advertising while exposing sensitive information such as passwords, bank details, and inferred attributes like political beliefs. The suits, filed on December 15, 2025, allege violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act through misleading disclosures and opt-in designs that obscure the extent of surveillance, which extends beyond TV content to include security camera feeds, personal photos, videos cast from devices, and HDMI-connected inputs even when TVs are offline, with data later uploaded. Particular concerns arise with Chinese state-linked Hisense and TCL, whose terms allow data transfer to China and compliance with laws requiring sharing upon government demand, posing risks of foreign access to American households in an estimated 7.8 million Texas smart TV-owning homes.
Sources: Texas State Attorney General’s Office, The Texas Scorecard
Hunter Biden Disbarred in Connecticut
A Connecticut judge disbarred Hunter Biden following his agreement with the state’s disciplinary office over allegations of attorney misconduct linked to his prior federal gun and tax convictions. During a virtual hearing, Judge Patrick L. Carroll III approved the consent to disbarment, finding that Biden violated ethical rules, including those prohibiting conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. Biden admitted to some misconduct in court documents but denied any criminal wrongdoing, and the ruling referenced his earlier disbarment in Washington, D.C. One complainant objected to the agreement due to the lack of admission to crimes, though disciplinary counsel noted the effect of the presidential pardon. This action terminates Biden’s legal practice in Connecticut, where he was admitted to the bar in 1997 after graduating from Yale Law School, marking further professional repercussions despite the pardon covering his convictions.
Sources: The Washington Examiner, Just The News
JPMorgan Advances Institutional Blockchain Adoption with Tokenized Money Market Fund
JPMorgan’s $4 trillion asset management arm has launched its first tokenized money market fund, My OnChain Net Yield Fund (MONY), on the public Ethereum blockchain through the bank’s proprietary Kinexys Digital Assets platform. This 506(c) private placement fund targets qualified investors, who access it via the Morgan Money institutional trading platform to subscribe or redeem using cash or stablecoins, receiving tokens directly at their blockchain addresses. The fund invests solely in U.S. Treasury securities and repurchase agreements fully collateralized by Treasuries, providing daily dividend reinvestment, enhanced transparency, peer-to-peer transferability, and potential expanded collateral uses within blockchain ecosystems. JPMorgan has seeded the fund with $100 million of its own capital and positions it as a step toward greater transaction speed and efficiency in traditional products, making the bank the largest global systemically important institution to offer such a product on a public blockchain.
FBI Internal Doubts on Mar-a-Lago Raid Probable Cause
Newly declassified documents reveal that FBI officials expressed significant concerns in internal emails about lacking sufficient probable cause to execute a search warrant on then former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in August 2022. The FBI’s Washington Field Office explicitly stated it did not believe probable cause had been established for classified records, noting that available information was single-source, uncorroborated, and potentially outdated. Despite these reservations, including suggestions for a reasonable conversation with Trump’s attorney as an alternative, the operation proceeded under asserted pressure from the Biden Justice Department, which maintained the warrant met legal standards. The raid involved dozens of armed agents, authorization for deadly force by Attorney General Merrick Garland, and subsequent release of staged photos of documents. This action followed earlier returns of materials to the National Archives and led to a special counsel investigation.
Sources: The Gateway Pundit, FOX News
Illegal Migrant Receives Maximum Sentence for Assault on ICE Officer
Diego Barron-Esquivel, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico with an extensive record including domestic battery, violation of protection orders, aggravated robbery, and other offenses, violently resisted arrest by ICE officers in Wichita, Kansas, on February 28, 2025, during a targeted operation prompted by his ongoing harassment of his former spouse. He punched one officer repeatedly in the face and head. He then strangled the officer with the officer’s own badge cord, nearly causing the officer to lose consciousness before the officer broke free. Barron-Esquivel fled the scene but was later apprehended by local law enforcement. He pleaded guilty on December 3, 2025, to one count of forcible assault on a federal officer. He received the maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, reflecting a firm commitment to prosecuting those who attack law enforcement to the fullest extent of the law amid reports of significantly increased violence against immigration officers.
Sources: US Dept of Homeland Security, The Gateway Pundit
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Trump Administration Advances Strongest Security Guarantees for Ukraine in Push for Peace Agreement
The United States is nearing completion of a comprehensive peace framework to end the war in Ukraine, offering the strongest security guarantees ever proposed, described as Article Five-like with robust deterrence, conflict monitoring, verification, and enforcement mechanisms designed to prevent future Russian aggression and make Ukrainians feel secure. These guarantees, which would require Senate approval for enduring effect, form the core of negotiations following positive marathon talks in Berlin involving U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Ukrainian President Zelensky, and European leaders. The package includes multibillion-dollar reconstruction funding potentially from frozen Russian assets and discussions toward a shared operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for Ukraine’s energy security. Officials emphasize President Trump’s focus on halting Russia’s westward advances seen under prior administrations, with strong European support, though territorial issues in Donbas remain unresolved and the generous guarantees are warned not to remain available indefinitely as both sides’ willingness fluctuates.
Sources: The New York Post, Reuters
Trump Administration Secures New Binational Agreement on Tijuana River Sewage Crisis
The United States and Mexico have signed a historic new agreement known as Minute 333, building on prior commitments to permanently end the decades-long Tijuana River sewage crisis that has allowed untreated raw sewage, toxic pollutants, and unmanaged stormwater to flow across the border into Southern California, resulting in prolonged beach closures, public health risks, environmental damage, and economic harm to San Diego-area communities. This agreement establishes additional infrastructure projects, enhanced monitoring, research initiatives, and planning for operations and maintenance that specifically account for future population growth in Tijuana, while requiring Mexico to develop a comprehensive water infrastructure master plan within six months and addressing previous gaps in long-term sustainability. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin emphasized the Trump administration’s commitment to delivering a complete and durable solution, noting significant progress made this year through strong leadership and direct negotiations.
Sources: US Environmental Protection Agency, The Epoch Times
Ukraine Corruption Probe Edges Closer to Zelensky Leadership
Ukraine’s ongoing anti-corruption investigation, highlighted by a detailed report on the government’s systematic sabotage of oversight mechanisms at key state-owned enterprises, has reached a critical stage where it appears poised to directly implicate President Volodymyr Zelensky. The administration stacked supervisory boards with loyalists, deliberately left positions vacant, stalled setups, and rewrote company charters to restrict independent scrutiny, enabling hundreds of millions in unmonitored spending and fostering the nation’s most severe corruption scandal amid wartime challenges. This interference targeted entities including the nuclear power company Energoatom, electricity provider Ukrenergo, and the Defense Procurement Agency, with European funds continuing to flow despite private criticisms of tolerated graft prioritizing support against invasion. The probe, building on prior actions against close aides, signals a potential shift in power dynamics as exposure of such entrenched interference undermines leadership stability and aligns with broader calls for accountability in resource management.
Continuing Cambodia-Thai Border Clashes
Renewed armed clashes along the disputed Cambodia-Thailand border, triggered by a December 7 skirmish, have resulted in at least 38 deaths on both sides over the past eight days, with national authorities reporting heavy casualties amid ongoing exchanges of artillery, rocket fire, and Thai F-16 airstrikes targeting Cambodian positions, including areas near civilian displacement shelters in Oddar Meanchey and Siem Reap provinces. Cambodia has fully closed all border crossings until further notice, while Thailand has halted fuel shipments transiting through Laos amid suspicions of diversion to Cambodian forces and vowed to continue military operations until threats cease. Over half a million civilians have been displaced, border towns emptied through evacuations, and a planned Southeast Asian foreign ministers meeting delayed to December 22 at Thailand’s request, as fighting spreads from inland forested regions near Laos to coastal areas with no ceasefire in effect despite prior U.S.-brokered truces. President Donald Trump has warned both nations of potential tariffs should hostilities persist.
EU Relaxes Strict 2035 Combustion Engine Phase-Out
The European Union has adjusted its 2035 vehicle emissions policy by requiring a 90 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from 2021 levels rather than the previous 100 percent target, allowing limited sales of certain combustion-engine vehicles such as plug-in hybrids and diesel models beyond 2035 if manufacturers offset remaining emissions through carbon credits derived from using European low-carbon steel in production or from quantities of e-fuels and biofuels placed on the market by energy companies. This change provides essential support to the European automotive sector, which employs 14 million people and contributes 7 percent to the continent’s GDP, amid intense competition from Chinese manufacturers, slower electric vehicle adoption with battery-powered cars comprising only 16 percent of new sales in the first nine months of 2025, high electric vehicle costs, insufficient charging infrastructure, and resulting job losses and factory closures. Additional measures include super credits for affordable European-made electric vehicles under 4.2 meters, reduced interim 2030 emissions targets for vans to 40 percent, extended timelines for truck manufacturers, mandates for companies to incorporate at least 30 percent zero- or low-emission vehicles in new fleets with higher requirements in wealthier nations, and 1.5 billion euros in interest-free loans for battery producers.
Sources: The Straits Times, Reuters