Trump News for Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Trump Admin Reinvents US Digital Services Program After Elon Musk Fired All Their Actual Tech Experts

Mike Masnick, Techdirt

Here’s a fun game the Trump administration keeps playing: destroy a successful government program, wait a few months, then breathlessly announce you’ve “invented” the exact same thing but with obvious corruption mechanisms baked in. Last week, the administrat…

'Inappropriate friends' email from 'Balmoral' among Epstein release

BBC News

A newly released email sent to Ghislane Maxwell from "A" is among the latest set of Epstein files released by the US' House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

US bars five Europeans it says pressured tech firms to censor American viewpoints online

FATIMA HUSSEIN, Yahoo Entertainment

The State Department announced Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure U.S. tech firms to censor or suppress American...

The Supreme Court just handed Trump a rare — and very significant — loss

Ian Millhiser, Vox

The same Supreme Court that ruled that President Donald Trump is allowed to use the powers of the presidency to commit crimes finally placed a meaningful limit on Trump’s authority on Tuesday. In Trump v. Illinois, three Republican justices joined all three o…

Kansas Resident Patrick Roach Successfully Sues Verizon For Refusing To Unlock His Phone (And Wins)

Karl Bode, Techdirt

If you’ve been around a while, you might remember that Verizon used to be completely obnoxious when it came to forcing you to use their phones and their shitty apps. At one point, Verizon wouldn’t even let you use a competing GPS mapping app, locking you to V…

Supreme Court rules against Trump in National Guard case

Nina Totenberg, NPR

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Trump on Tuesday, refusing to reinstate, for now, Trump's ability to send National Guard troops into the state of Illinois over the objections of the governor.

Stock market today: S&P 500 notches latest 2025 record as Wall Street's winning streak reaches 4

Karen Friar, Yahoo Entertainment

Tuesday's flurry of delayed data releases could fill in gaps in Wall Street's picture of the economy.

Trump says it would be 'smart' for Venezuela's Maduro to step down

Michelle Stoddart, Lalee Ibssa, ABC News

President Trump continues to ramp up pressure on Venezuela's Nicholas Maduro, saying it would be "smart" for him to step down and warning him not to play "tough."

Trump administration bans US veterans agency from providing abortions

Carter Sherman, Yahoo Entertainment

Department of Veterans Affairs says justice department found procedure not to be legally sound

WATCH: Alabama football player brings Christmas joy to local children

ABC News

Crimson Tide center Parker Brailsford used money from his (NIL) name, image and likeness deal to give 10 kids a brighter Christmas.

Oklahoma college instructor is fired after giving failing grade to a Bible-based essay on gender

JOHN HANNA, Yahoo Entertainment

The University of Oklahoma has fired an instructor who was accused by a student of religious discrimination over a failing grade on a psychology paper in...

WATCH: Mom thwarts burglars by ramming them with her car

ABC News

A California mom was caught on video driving her car into the vehicle of burglars attempting to escape a home they robbed.

2025 Was the Year I Couldn’t Believe My Eyes

Matt Novak, Gizmodo.com

Will anything online be real next year?

The White House’s Belligerent, Ignorant Statement on the ‘60 Minutes’ CECOT Story

John Gruber, Bsky.app

As "60 Minutes" finalized its "Inside CECOT" report last Thursday, CBS sent the White House a request for comment. A WH spokesperson responded within a few hours. The quote was not included in the "60" report – so, judge for yourself whether it should have be…

Trump travelled on Epstein's plane more than previously thought, prosecutor says

BBC News

The US president has long denied any wrongdoing in relation to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

America’s Schools Are Less Divided Than You Think

Jonathan Zimmerman, The Atlantic

Teachers are generally much more concerned about doing right by their students than they are about angering parents and community members.

AI Gets the Blame for 55,000 Layoffs in 2025

AJ Dellinger, Gizmodo.com

In 2025, if you wanted to do layoffs, AI was a great option for pinning the blame.

A diplomat's tears, 200 snake bites, drone pix: Goats and Soda's top stories in 2025

Marc Silver, NPR

Our most popular global health and development stories in 2025 covered the human impact of the upheaval in U.S. foreign aid, surprising news about familiar diseases and the beauty of earth captured by drone cameras.

Administration: ASL Interpreters At Briefings Would Prevent Trump From ‘Controlling His Image’

Tim Cushing, Techdirt

Once again, this administration is demonstrating it has zero interest in serving the public. The administration acts together to serve a single person: Donald Trump. Anything that looks like it might benefit the public more than it benefits Trump is unaccepta…

Federal judge says Trump administration must restore disaster money to Democratic states

KIMBERLEE KRUESI, Yahoo Entertainment

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's attempt to reallocate federal Homeland Security funding away from states that refuse to cooperate with...

Some Epstein file redactions are being undone with hacks

George Chidi, Yahoo Entertainment

Un-redacted text from released documents began circulating on social media on Monday evening

Justice Department releases more Epstein files and some mention Trump

Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR

The Department of Justice has been publicly posting files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation since Friday.

Support Techdirt: Where Bari Weiss Is Not Our Editor In Chief

Mike Masnick, Techdirt

If you’re wondering what independent journalism that won’t bend to White House pressure looks like, you’re looking at it. On Sunday night, CBS News’ newly imported “editor in chief,” Bari Weiss, killed a 60 Minutes story about Trump’s illegal deportations to …

Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty sues to remove Trump's name from Kennedy Center

Lauren Peller, ABC News

Beatty's lawsuit argues the board’s vote to rename the building was illegal.

Trump Wants A Battleship Named After Himself, And The Internet Is Having An Absolute Field Day With It

Megan Liscomb, Buzzfeed

"nothing says 'peacetime president' quite like naming a class of warships after yourself."View Entire Post ›

Trump Justice Department Dopes Made the Rookiest of Rookie Mistakes Attempting to Redact Some Epstein-File PDFs

John Gruber, Tiktok.com

Trump’s censorship regime threatens Smithsonian director over documents

Ja'han Jones, Ms.now

Trump administration officials Russell Vought and Vince Haley say funding for the museums could be in doubt unless their director turns over documents about ...

Trump’s War on Offshore Wind Is a Gut Punch to the AI Boom

Ellyn Lapointe, Gizmodo.com

U.S. electricity consumption is growing for the first time in a decade l due to AI, so why are we stunting renewable energy development?

WATCH: Kim Jong Un tours North Korean hotels with daughter

ABC News

Kim Jong Un toured luxury hotels around North Korea with his daughter, seeking to highlight the country's recent economic progress.

The Triumph of Free-Speech Hypocrisy

Adam Serwer, The Atlantic

How we got to a place where free speech means whatever conservatives want to say.

Trump says he's inviting Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to next year's G20 summit in Miami

AAMER MADHANI, Yahoo Entertainment

President Donald Trump said he will be extending invitations to next year's U.S.-hosted Group of 20 summit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as the Republican...

Jeffrey Epstein Wrote in Apparent Suicide Note to Larry Nassar That Donald Trump 'Shares Our Love of Young, Nubile Girls'

Liam Quinn, Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE

The note was released by the Justice Department as part of a batch of files related to the Epstein investigation

Clinton spokesperson calls for release of Epstein files related to former president

Oren Oppenheim, ABC News

"We need no such protection," Angel Urena, a spokesperson, said on Monday.

Former GOP Sen. Ben Sasse says he has stage-four pancreatic cancer

Kathryn Watson, CBS News

Republican Ben Sasse represented Nebraska in the U.S. Senate from 2015 to 2023, then became president of the University of Florida.

Former Sen. Ben Sasse announces he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer and is ‘gonna die’

Donald Judd, CNN, CNN

Former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse announced Tuesday that he’s been diagnosed with “metastasized, stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.”

Will Trump pardon Epstein’s chief enabler?

Danielle Hewitt, Noel King, Vox

Last Friday — and then again this Tuesday — the Justice Department released the Epstein files. The documents were incomplete and heavily redacted, angering the Congress members who’d pushed for the release for months. Among the thousands of documents were the…

Top DOJ Official Shut Down Enforcement Against Crypto Companies While Holding More Than $150,000 in Crypto Investments

Corey G. Johnson and Al Shaw, ProPublica, Gizmodo.com

The second-highest official at the DOJ, Todd Blanche rose to prominence as Trump’s personal defense attorney. His actions violated the federal conflicts of interest law and his ethics agreement, experts say.

Epstein Allegedly Wrote to Larry Nassar That 'Our President' Loves ‘Young, Nubile Girls’

Danielle Han, Jezebel

The DOJ says it's investigating the “validity” of the letter—though the existence of a letter from Epstein to Nassar was first reported by the Associated Press in 2023.

WATCH: Sink hole causes chaos on British canal

ABC News

A hole emerged on a British canal, sending boats tipping over the edge and stranding them.

WATCH: Small plane lands itself safely with Autoland in 1st emergency use, company says

ABC News

The incident occurred at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, near Denver, and involved a twin-engine Beechcraft Super King Air, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

How Low Can Trump’s Approval Rating Go in 2026?

Jacob Weindling, Jezebel

We're basically already at his proven floor after January 6th, and he is getting his worst marks ever on an economy that's holding up pretty well! Yet he now sits six points underwater with all white people, per Gallup’s newest poll. He’s ten points underwate…

Hunter Biden Calls Dad Joe's Afghanistan Withdrawal a 'F***ing Failure'

TMZ Staff, TMZ

Hunter Biden may have issued a betrayal of Shakespearean proportions in an interview on "The Shawn Ryan Show" Monday ... he slammed his dad Joe Biden's presidency, calling part of it an "obvious f***ing failure." In the 5-and-a-half-hour sitdown,…

Trump critic George Conway takes steps to run for New York City congressional seat

JOEY CAPPELLETTI, Yahoo Entertainment

George Conway, a former conservative lawyer who has become one of President Donald Trump’s most outspoken critics, is taking steps toward a run for Congress ...

WATCH: Trump announces plans for Navy to build new type of warship

ABC News

President Trump was joined by Secretary Pete Hegseth and Navy Secretary John Phelan to announce that the Navy is building a new type of warship.

China’s electric vehicle influence expands nearly everywhere – except the US and Canada

Jack Barkenbus, Vanderbilt University, Yahoo Entertainment

China is already producing a wide range of EVs, including several options that cost less than $25,000.

Donald Trump Took 'At Least 8' Flights on Epstein's Jet, DOJ Email Claims

TMZ Staff, TMZ

Donald Trump flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet at least eight times ... according to an internal DOJ email written by an assistant U.S. attorney in January 2020. The email -- which dropped in a new batch of Epstein docs Monday night -- says…

The U.S. economy grew robustly as Americans continued to spend

Alina Selyukh, NPR

The data, which was delayed from October by the government shutdown, comes as the economy takes center stage for voters and the Trump administration.

Jeffrey Epstein Allegedly Wrote Letter to Larry Nassar Before Committing Suicide

TMZ Staff, TMZ

Jeffrey Epstein may have had a pedo pen pal in Larry Nassar ... and President Donald Trump is also in the mix as a lover of "nubile girls," according to new documents released by the Department of Justice. The DOJ just dumped a new batch of Epstein…

EXCERPT: In 'Storm at the Capitol,' police officers detail a brutal assault on Jan. 6, 2021

MARY CLARE JALONICK, Yahoo Entertainment

EDITOR’S NOTE — This is an exclusive excerpt adapted from “Storm at the Capitol: An Oral History of January 6th” by Associated Press reporter Mary Clare...

Trump Goon and Her Billionaire Husband Unmasked as Mystery Buyers of $30M Home

Leigh Kimmins, Daily Beast

A top Trump goon and her billionaire husband have reportedly been exposed as the mystery buyers of a $30 million mansion as the president does an...

US economy grew more than expected in 3rd quarter

Max Zahn, ABC News

The economy defied concerns about a sluggish labor market and strained shoppers.

EA Shareholders Approve Over-Inflated $55 Billion Sale To Saudi Arabia

John Walker, Kotaku

Paying $210 a share, the sale will leave EA in extraordinary debt, and owned by a murderous regime The post EA Shareholders Approve Over-Inflated $55 Billion Sale To Saudi Arabia appeared first on Kotaku.

The US economy grew way more than expected in the third quarter

Madison Hoff, Business Insider

Real GDP rose at an annualized rate of 4.3% in the third quarter, beating the 3.3% forecast.

FCC Boss Brendan Carr Bullied Bay Area AM Radio Station For Telling Locals The Truth

Karl Bode, Techdirt

Brendan Carr was dragged before Congress last week for some light questioning about all the terrible, illegal bullshit he’s been up to. While the hearing mostly focused on FCC independence and Carr’s failed bid to try and censor Jimmy Kimmel, it didn’t touch …

Aubrey O'Day opens up about disturbing Sean "Diddy" Combs affidavit

Jericka Duncan, CBS News

Aubrey O'Day discusses the disturbing witness affidavit involving Sean "Diddy" Combs in a "CBS Mornings" interview on Tuesday.

Climate Rising: Extending Apparel Lifespan with ThredUp

Harvard Business Review

The business model, brand strategy, and AI tools powering one of the largest secondhand clothing platforms.

Letters to the Editor: If Congress won't stop Trump, the artistic community must speak out

Los Angeles Times Opinion, Yahoo Entertainment

'If Congress remains recumbent in their duty to monitor oversight, we need those with the appropriate platform to take a stand,' writes an L.A. Times reader.

Trump Humiliated as His Nemesis Tops Popularity Poll

Ewan Palmer, Daily Beast

Donald Trump’s nemesis, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, has registered the highest approval rating among current political leaders, a new poll has...

Medicaid paid more than $207 million for dead people. A new law could help fix that

FATIMA HUSSEIN, Yahoo Entertainment

Medicaid programs made more than $200 million in improper payments to health care providers between 2021 and 2022 for people who had already died, according ...

The Science That Will Shape 2026

Gayoung Lee, Gizmodo.com

Despite everything, science goes on.

Thousands of new Epstein-linked documents released by US Justice Dept

AFP, Yahoo Entertainment

Thousands of new documents linked to the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were made available Tuesday by the US Department of Justice (DOJ...

Trump’s Tacky Kennedy Center Rebrand Immediately Runs Into Legal Trouble

Tom Latchem, Daily Beast

A member of the Kennedy Center board has sued President Donald Trump to force the removal of his name from the performing arts venue’s facade. Democratic Rep...

WATCH: Mom rams suspected burglars' getaway car

ABC News

A Los Angeles mother slammed her SUV into the vehicle of a gang of alleged would-be robbers targeting her home while her children were playing inside, and it was all captured on surveillance video.

My 18 favorite Android apps of 2025

Andy Walker, Android Authority

I used plenty of apps this year, but which were the best of the best? These are my favorite Android apps from 2025.

Big Balls Was Just the Beginning

Vittoria Elliott, Wired

DOGE dominated the news this year as Elon Musk’s operatives shook up several US government agencies. It’s far from over.

Fact Check: Posts claim Judge Frank Caprio found Barron Trump guilty of assault. We have objections

Rae Deng, Snopes.com

Caprio died in August 2025. A video of him apparently telling a story about sentencing the youngest Trump son circulated just a few months later.

WATCH: Man makes beautiful music...on the recorder

ABC News

Miguel Lawrence is delighting people online with songs performed on an instrument that many schoolchildren are forced to play.

Some citizenship naturalization ceremonies canceled 'at the finish line,' lawyer says

Armando Garcia, ABC News

President Donald Trump's administration has paused immigration decisions for people from countries it deems to be “high-risk.”

'Massive' Russian strikes prompt power cuts across Ukraine, Zelenskyy says

David Brennan, ABC News

Russia launched a "massive" drone and missile strike on Ukraine overnight into Tuesday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Trump, 79, Declares Absurd National Security Threat in Late-Night Meltdown

Ewan Palmer, Daily Beast

Donald Trump has accused The New York Times of being a national security threat in an unhinged Truth Social post. “The Failing New York Times, and their lies...

American journalist injured in Israeli attack wants answers from Washington

Frank Langfitt, NPR

AFP's Dylan Collins was among journalists injured in an Israeli attack on Lebanon in 2023. The attack killed Reuters' Issam Abdallah. Collins was in Washington this month to press for accountability.

Biden stopped the executions of 37 men. Trump's DOJ wants to punish them

Chiara Eisner, NPR

Since Trump took office, officials have transferred ten of the 37 men Biden spared from execution to the "Alcatraz of the Rockies." One prisoner still awaiting transfer has attempted suicide.

Trump says US will keep or sell oil seized from Venezuela

BBC News

The US president also says the US intends to keep the tankers it has intercepted off the coast of Venezuela.

Ro Khanna: Republicans Want Pam Bondi Gone, Are "On Board" with Impeachment

Jim Vorel, Jezebel

With both the left and right incensed over Pam Bondi's handling of the Epstein Files, contempt of Congress/impeachment is back on the table.

America's hidden economic crisis: personal financial chaos

estewart@insider.com (Emily Stewart), Business Insider

From healthcare costs and inflation to layoff worries and recession warnings, the country's under-the-radar problem is personal financial chaos.

Lawmakers seek to end approach Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has used in delaying special elections

Anthony Man, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Sun Sentinel

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Since taking office, Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken two different approaches when a member of Congress or the Florida Legislature...

Security Guarantees for Ukraine Are Useless Without Action to Back Them Up

Dalibor Rohac, The Bulwark

Non-credible promises could make things worse for everyone.

U.S. strikes another alleged drug-smuggling boat in eastern Pacific

The Associated Press, NPR

The U.S. military said Monday that it had conducted another strike against a boat it said was smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one person.

FCC Bans Foreign-Made Drones and Key Parts Over U.S. National Security Risks

info@thehackernews.com (The Hacker News), Internet

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday announced a ban on all drones and critical components made in a foreign country, citing national security concerns. To that end, the agency has added to its Covered List Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS…

Justice Department releases additional documents from Epstein files

James Hill, ABC News

The Justice Department on Monday released additional documents from its files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

7 reasons to feel actually hopeful about the clean energy transition

Paige Vega, Vox

It’s been a rough year if you care about climate change policy in the United States. In Washington, the second Trump administration has moved quickly to dismantle the scaffolding of federal climate action: pulling the US out of the Paris Agreement (again), fr…

Trump, 79, Slathers On His Trusty Hand Makeup for the Holidays

The Daily Beast, Daily Beast

President Donald Trump’s cosmetically concealed hand has returned to the limelight just in time for the holidays. Trump, 79, was spotted with his trademark...

Jim Beam temporarily closes a Kentucky bourbon distillery amid a tough time for the American distilled spirits industry

Katherine Li, Business Insider

Distilled spirits have seen a major decline in exports to big markets like Canada, and domestic consumption isn't making up for the shortfall.

Judge Cannon clears way for release of classified docs report — but gives Trump an out

Kyle Cheney, Politico

The Trump-appointed judge emphasized that her timeline for release could give way to legal claims that the report shouldn’t be released at all.

The Real Reason My Uncle Renamed the Kennedy Center: Mary Trump

William Vaillancourt, The Daily Beast Podcast, Daily Beast

President Donald Trump put his name on the Kennedy Center because he desperately wants to be loved—something he didn’t feel enough as a child, his niece says...

‘It’s Very Controversial, but I Love Nick Fuentes’

Ali Breland, The Atlantic

The white-supremacist influencer cast a shadow over Turning Point USA’s annual gathering.

Brown University police chief put on leave, Dept. of Education launches review

Jason M. Volack, Leah Sarnoff, ABC News

The Ivy League university's announcement comes the same day the Department of Education announced it would be reviewing the school for potential Clery Act violations.

DOJ Releases Gruesome Fake Epstein Video in File Dump

Julia Ornedo, Daily Beast

A fake video purporting to show Jeffrey Epstein taking his own life inside a prison cell made rounds on social media after it was spotted in the Justice...

Pentagon Adds Grok-Derived Products to Something Called the ‘AI Arsenal’

Mike Pearl, Gizmodo.com

Take that, enemies of the United States.

Image of Trump with young girl emerged after Epstein files dropped. There's no proof it's real

Taija PerryCook, Snopes.com

A social media account with a history of publishing clickbait shared the image, claiming the Justice Department "forgot to delete it."

US regulators approve Wegovy pill for weight loss

JONEL ALECCIA AP health writer, ABC News

U.S. regulators have approved a pill version of the weight-loss drug Wegovy

Trump unveils plans for 'Golden Fleet' battleships named after himself

BBC News

The US president has vowed to revive American shipbuilding after lagging behind China in naval capacity.

Trump says the US 'has to have' Greenland

Yahoo Entertainment

The 60 Minutes report on CECOT that Bari Weiss censored is now internet contraband

Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge

Yesterday, Bari Weiss, the new editor-in-chief of CBS News, censored a segment of its newsmagazine 60 Minutes about men who had been deported to an El Salvador prison. Today, it's popping up online. 60 Minutes had already begun promoting the now-censored segm…