More Epstein files released
The Justice Department has released a new set of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. President Donald Trump’s name has appeared in the latest file drop – including in references to flight records related to Epstein’s private plane. Before the new release, it was estimated that only about 5% of everything possessed by the Trump administration has been released. The first batch of heavily redacted files was released on Friday. The Department of Justice is facing criticism from survivors of Epstein’s sexual abuse and lawmakers on Capitol Hill over how it has released materials from its investigation. A law passed by Congress in November required the Justice Department to make all files related to Epstein publicly available within 30 days, in a searchable format, with content that could potentially identify victims redacted. The Department of Justice did not do that.
Trump wants new class of battleships named after him
President Trump unveiled a new “Trump class” of Navy battleships Monday, describing them as a superior war fighting vessels to replace an “old and tired and obsolete” U.S. fleet. The new ships will form part of what Trump described as a new “Golden Fleet,” which ties in with his use of gold decorations at his Mar-a-Lago resort and now in the White House. Trump said he would take an active role in the design of the new vessels, although he has no experience in designing battleships. It’s speculated that in addition to naming the new class of battleships for himself at least one of the ships would be named for him.
CNN analysis shows Trump used wrong unemployment statistics
An analysis by CNN shows that President Trump got a number of the facts wrong when he claimed he could quickly reduce the unemployment rate in the U.S. While Trump stated that the unemployment rate was 4.5%, his Bureau of Labor Statistics reports it really is 4.6%. Trump said he could get the unemployment rate down to 2.5% by rehiring all 271,000 workers his administration eliminated from U.S. government payrolls this year. But Trump was wrong: federal agencies would need to employ 3.5 million more people to cut the unemployment rate to 2.5%. Rehiring for all the 271,000 lost federal worker positions would take the unemployment rate down to just 4.4%, not the 2.5% Trump claims.
U.S. continues to attack boats in international waters
The U.S. military conducted a strike against another boat allegedly trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, killing one person, according to U.S. Southern Command. No evidence was produced proving that drugs were on board the boat or that it posed a threat to the U.S. At least 105 people have now been killed in strikes by the U.S. military in the Pacific and off the coast of Venezuela as part of a campaign that the Trump administration is undertaking. The U.S. military struck two boats in the Pacific last week, killing five people. The strikes are part of a pressure campaign against Venezuela. President Trump has threatened to send U.S. military troops to invade Venezuela.
California faces additional flooding
A new atmospheric river-fueled storm is tracking toward Southern California after a previous storm triggered deadly flooding and evacuations over the weekend in Northern California. The powerful storm is prompting evacuations in the areas of Los Angeles ravaged by wildfires — and a rare “high risk” warning for flooding — with months’ worth of rain and life-threatening flooding expected in the region. At least one person died after flash floods from the first storm inundated the community of Redding in Northern California.
Someone may receive a $1.7 billion Christmas present
There were no jackpot winners in Monday’s Powerball drawing, pushing the grand prize up to an estimated $1.7 billion for the game’s next drawing – on Christmas Eve. While no one hit the jackpot, nine tickets won $1 million prizes by matching all five white balls. Those tickets were sold in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The $1.7 billion jackpot itself is Powerball’s fourth largest ever. The biggest U.S. lottery jackpot was a Powerball prize of $2.04 billion in 2022. The jackpot has only been won on Christmas Eve once in the game’s history.
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