Good evening, everyone. Here is your final news update of 2025.
I am about to head out to grab dinner with my wife and cousin, then it is home to watch the ball drop, ring in the new year, and start putting together my 2026 bingo card. But before I step out, I wanted to make sure you have everything you need to know to close out the year informed.
This year has been incredible, and I am truly honored to have each and every one of you here with me. Your support, trust, and engagement made 2025 something special.
Tomorrow morning, we will kick off 2026 with a good news only update to start the year on the right note.
To everyone who helped make my dreams a reality this year, thank you sincerely from the bottom of my heart. And if you have not subscribed yet, there is still time tonight. Subscribe today and let us continue building truly independent media in 2026 and make it our best year yet.
Here’s what you missed:
Donald Trump said he is pulling National Guard troops out of Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland after the Supreme Court rejected the administration’s claim that he had legal authority to deploy them in Illinois, with Trump saying the federal government could return troops later if crime rises.
Donald Trump attacked Ilhan Omar and Somali immigrants in Minnesota on social media, falsely claiming without evidence that they are responsible for most social services fraud in the state and calling for deportations, as state and federal officials said investigations target specific fraud cases and warned that immigration actions like ending TPS or denaturalization are legally constrained.
According to the New York Times, the Justice Department is reviewing about 5.2 million pages of files tied to Jeffrey Epstein, mobilizing roughly 400 employees to meet a congressionally mandated disclosure law amid criticism that the Donald Trump administration missed a Dec. 19 deadline, while officials say the process is slowed by the need to redact material to protect victims.
The Guardian has confirmed that ICE is planning a roughly $100 million, yearlong “wartime recruitment” media campaign—offering large signing bonuses and student loan forgiveness—to rapidly hire thousands of new agents and expand deportation efforts under the Donald Trump administration, a push critics warn could attract overly aggressive applicants and intensify immigration enforcement nationwide.
According to ABC News, the Department of Health and Human Services said it is freezing federal child care payments nationwide—tightening requirements and withholding funds until states prove the money is being spent legitimately—after fraud allegations centered in Minnesota, a move criticized by Tim Walz as politically motivated, as officials stress reviews and documentation are required before funds are released.
Trump spent the afternoon attacking George and Amal Clooney:
NBC News has confirmed that Texas authorities identified the body of Camila Mendoza Olmos, 19, found about 100 yards from her San Antonio–area home, with the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office ruling her death a suicide by gunshot wound after a multi-agency search aided by the FBI.
Pete Hegseth said Joint Task Force Southern Spear carried out kinetic strikes in international waters against a three-vessel narco-trafficking convoy run by designated terrorist organizations, killing three narco-terrorists on one vessel while suspects on the other two abandoned ship before those vessels were sunk, after intelligence confirmed recent narcotics transfers along known trafficking routes and USSOUTHCOM was notified following the operation.
A U.S. official told Reuters eight people abandoned ship and are missing, prompting a search led by the U.S. Coast Guard with assistance from nearby vessels and a deployed C-130 aircraft over the Pacific Ocean.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer is pressing Tim Walz to testify before Congress about alleged fraud in Minnesota social services programs, escalating Republican investigations and attacks tied to Somali communities as the Donald Trump administration freezes funding and signals potential immigration enforcement actions.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Saks Global, the parent of Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy within days after missing a debt payment tied to its 2024 acquisition of Neiman Marcus, as heavy debt and delayed vendor payments hurt inventory and sales while the company negotiates financing with creditors.
The Kennedy Center reportedly changed its bylaws to limit voting to trustees appointed by Donald Trump ahead of a December vote that added Trump’s name to the center, a move critics say may violate its charter and has sparked protests, artist boycotts, and legal challenges from members of Congress.
See you in 2026.
— Aaron
