curated news excerpts & citations
Lisa Needham: A war criminal without a war
It’s just murder.
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It’s tempting to say that Hegseth is a war criminal committing an ongoing series of war crimes, with the killing of survivors being especially horrific. But as George Will — not exactly a liberal anti-war type — put it, he “seems to be a war criminal. Without a war. An interesting achievement.”
(Lisa Needham more…)
CNN: Survivors clinging to capsized boat didn’t radio for backup, admiral overseeing double-tap strike tells lawmakers
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As far back as September, defense officials have been quietly pushing back on criticism that killing the two survivors amounted to a war crime by arguing, in part, that they were legitimate targets because they appeared to be radioing for help or backup — reinforcements that, if they had received it, could have theoretically allowed them to continue to traffic the drugs aboard their sinking ship.
(CNN more…)
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Jennifer Rubin: Undaunted Veteran Stands Up to MAGA Bullies
Senator Mark Kelly is a national treasure
(Jennifer Rubin more…)
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Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – December 5, 2025
Late last night, the Trump administration released the 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS) of the United States of America. It did so quietly, although as foreign affairs journalist at Politico Nahal Toosi noted, the release of the NSS is usually accompanied by fanfare, as it shows an administration’s foreign policy priorities and the way it envisions the position of the U.S. in the world.
The Trump administration’s NSS announces a dramatic reworking of the foreign policy the U.S. has embraced since World War II.
…Observers referred to the document as National Security Council Report (NSC) 88 and noted that it could have been written in just 14 words. White supremacists use 88 to refer to Adolf Hitler and “fourteen words” to refer to a popular white supremacist slogan.
To achieve their white supremacist country, the document’s authors insist they will not permit “transnational and international organizations [or] foreign powers or entities” to undermine U.S. sovereignty. To that end, they reject immigration as well as “the disastrous ‘climate change’ and ‘Net Zero’ ideologies that have so greatly harmed Europe, threatened the United States, and subsidize our adversaries.”
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)Dean Blundell: Trump Did It Again? The Kremlin Wrote Trump’s NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY/EU-Canada Breakup Letter
The most pro-Russia document ever issued by the U.S. government comes directly from Russia…and yes, it even calls Canada a “vassal” state.
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Brian Allen: America’s Breaking Point: The Bankruptcy Wave That Washington Pretends Not To See
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New federal court data reveals that U.S. bankruptcy filings have surged again in 2025. This is not a minor bump. This is a structural stress fracture in the economy and a sign that millions are running out of road.According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, bankruptcy filings rose 10.6 percent in the twelve months ending September 30. Nonbusiness filings jumped 10.8 percent, and total filings climbed to 557,376, the highest level since the pandemic-era spike in 2020.
One line from the report captures the quiet crisis taking shape: these filings represent “mounting financial pressures on both households and businesses.” That is the soft bureaucratic way of saying the American middle class is suffocating.
(Brian Allen more…)
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Brian Allen: He Was Never Supposed to Be Sent Back. The Trump Administration Deported Him Anyway
A federal judge has now ruled the removal illegal and ordered the government to return him to the United States. The full story is even worse than it sounds.
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USA Today: National parks cut free entry for MLK Day, add Trump’s birthday
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Signal: The Consolation Prize
On Friday, Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA—the International Federation of Association Football—awarded U.S. President Donald Trump a new honor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. It’s a gold trophy representing hands holding up the world, engraved with the president’s name, accompanied by a medal and certificate—the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize, recognizing the recipient for having “taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace.”
The ceremony had the textures of a state-managed spectacle. The Village People performed “YMCA”—a Trump rally staple. The venue was the Kennedy Center, once a bipartisan cultural institution, now chaired by Trump himself after he purged its board in February. According to The New York Times, Infantino created the prize weeks after Trump lost the Nobel in October, moving so fast he blindsided his own FIFA Council. Some vice presidents learned of it from a press release.
The FIFA president has spent more face-to-face time with Trump this year than any world leader. He attended Trump’s inauguration in January. He joined Trump on state visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar in May, arriving three hours late to FIFA’s own annual meeting—prompting UEFA officials to walk out in protest. In July, FIFA opened an office in Trump Tower, making the president its landlord. Now Trump chairs a White House task force overseeing World Cup preparations, run by Andrew Giuliani, the son of his former lawyer.
(Signal more…)Mary Geddry: Trump Wins the FIFA Peace Prize (and Other Signs the Empire Has Lost the Plot)
Missile strikes on shipwrecked men, a press corps purged, Juneteenth stripped of free entry, Rachel Levine erased, and a president who may not know where he is.
JoJoFromJerz: Medals, Madness, and Manufactured Merit: Trump’s FIFA Fever Dream of Faux Glory
When a collapsing strongman demands validation, even sports leagues start handing out pacifiers.
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Your Local Epidemiologist: ACIP key takeaways: What really happened and what it means for you
The two-day meeting of ACIP—the committee that once guided evidence-based U.S. vaccine policy before being upended under RFK Jr.—just wrapped. And… it was something else. Disgraceful. Unprepared. Dysfunctional. Incompetent. Terrifying. Embarrassing. Opaque.
Our children deserve better. Period.
…The United States took a step backward in vaccine policy today, which will have implications ranging from confusion to preventable liver disease and deaths.
But another important thing was on display: a huge grassroots effort refusing to let ideology override science. Do not come between public health, clinicians, and children’s health. We are fiercely devoted to them.
(Your Local Epidemiologist more…)
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Texas Tribune: Texas AG Ken Paxton sues to stop Muslim housing project in North Texas
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Sarah Jones: Fox News Melts Down As Churches Use Nativity Scenes To Protest ICE
“As you did unto the least of these, you did unto Me.”
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Decoding Fox News: An Overview of Trump’s 9th Cabinet Meeting of his Second Term
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