“A 19-year-old college student was about to board a flight to surprise her family for Thanksgiving when she was detained at Boston Logan International Airport and deported to Honduras two days later,” the New York Times reports.
“The student, Any Lucia López Belloza, was brought by her parents from Honduras to the United States when she was 7.”
Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) expressed concern Sunday that the White House-backed proposed plan to end the war in Ukraine is too pro-Russia, while urging that any peace arrangement must look at Russia as a “skeptical adversary,” CBS News reports.
Said Turner: “You can’t be America first and pro-Russia, because Russia is a self-declared adversary of the United States.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio emerged from talks with Ukrainian officials in Florida on Sunday to say that there was still “much work to do” on a proposal to end the war with Russia, the New York Times reports.
“A top Republican and Democrats in Congress suggested on Sunday that American military officials might have committed a war crime in President Trump’s offensive against boats in the Caribbean after a news report said that during one such attack, a follow-up strike was ordered to kill survivors,” the New York Times reports.
Said Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH): “Obviously if that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree that that would be an illegal act.”
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) announced his retirement from his congressional seat over the holiday weekend, making way for his identical twin brother Trever to mount a bid to replace him, NOTUS reports.
“White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett touted a positive market response to indications that Donald Trump could pick the next Federal Reserve chair before the end of the year — a job that the president’s chief economic adviser is seen as likely to win,” Bloomberg reports.
“White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Sunday that record Black Friday sales underscore the administration’s optimism on economic growth despite concerns around tariffs and inflation,” Politico reports.
A new Yahoo/YouGov poll found that more Americans are unhappy with President Trump’s stances on the economy and cost of living, with almost twice as many saying the president has helped raise prices rather than lowering them.
The survey also found more Americans (38%) now blame Trump more for inflation than his predecessor, former President Joe Biden (31%).
“President Donald Trump’s endorsement was supposed to clear the field for Rep. Byron Donalds,” Politico reports.
“Instead, the GOP governor’s race in Florida is veering toward a bitter and unpredictable brawl — with Gov. Ron DeSantis and his clout still lurking, adding to the drama in the fight to succeed him.”
“Donalds has every reason to expect a glide path to the nomination: He’s got Trump behind him, support from many top state Republicans, millions in his campaign accounts and a steady presence on Fox News. Polls show him far out in front of other GOP hopefuls.”
“But instead of the field collapsing, Donalds is drawing in new challengers with sharper attacks — including allies of term-limited DeSantis.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) celebrated his marriage to his partner Alexis Lewis in an intimate ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Saturday evening, less than three months after he announced their engagement in an Instagram post, the New York Times reports.
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on trial facing corruption charges, announced Sunday he had submitted a pardon request, saying the long-running cases were tearing the country apart,” AFP reports.
“There was a time, not that far in the past, when a shocking tragedy would bring the country together,” the Washington Post reports.
“Americans had the capacity to grieve as one — as they did, for instance, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. This reflected their sense of a common purpose and shared values, whatever their political differences might be.”
“So far, almost the opposite is happening after two young National Guard members from West Virginia were ambushed, killing one and leaving the other in critical condition. It occurred on the eve of Thanksgiving and just a block away from the White House, against a national backdrop of rising political violence and deep polarization.”
“Republican-led committees in the Senate and the House say they will amplify their scrutiny of the Pentagon after a Washington Post report revealing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a spoken order to kill all crew members aboard a vessel suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea several weeks ago,” the Washington Post reports.
“A live drone feed showed two survivors from the original crew of 11 clinging to the wreckage of their boat after the initial missile attack Sept. 2, The Post reported Friday afternoon. The Special Operations commander overseeing the operation then ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s directive, killing both survivors.”
New York Times: “More than a dozen candidates, as well as hundreds of state and county election officials across Texas, are watching and waiting for the Supreme Court to decide which congressional map will be used in Texas races in 2026, the old one drawn by Republicans in 2021 or the new one drawn by Republicans this summer.”
“The decision, which may come within days, could shift the outcome in several congressional races, and possibly impact which party controls the House. Regardless, it’s affecting the candidates.”
“Politics and debt don’t mix well. Americans would be wise to look across the Atlantic to see how tough things can get,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The U.K. government demonstrated the problem with its annual budget, where it is stuck in a trilemma, unable to please lenders and voters while also doing the right thing for the economy. Something had to give, so on Wednesday the government ignored its promises to go for growth, and focused on the bond market and its political base.”
“France has the same trilemma, only worse. Government debt is higher than in the U.K., the fiscal deficit is higher, and not only are tax rises politically impossible but taxes are already so high that raising them further might be self-defeating.”
“For decades, people have fretted about the financial sustainability of America’s bedrock retirement income program. Now, Social Security’s precarious fiscal state is an issue for the here and now,” Axios reports.
“How to fix it is set to be a defining political fight of the next several years, with millions of Americans’ benefits and the fiscal future of the United States at stake.”
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“President Trump has set free a private equity executive who had served less than two weeks of a seven-year sentence for his role in what prosecutors described as a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of victims,” the New York Times reports.
“David Gentile, 59, a onetime resident of Nassau County, N.Y., had reported to prison on Nov. 14, and was released on Wednesday.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.