Foreign visitors could soon be required to reveal their social media history before entering the United States, according to a proposal from the Trump administration revealed on Wednesday.
The <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/10/2025-22461/agency-information-collection-activities-revision-arrival-and-departure-record-form-i-94-and">proposal</a> from U.S. Customs and Border Protection would require tourists entering the United States on the Visa Waiver Program to provide the last five years of their social media activity to the U.S. government. Border Patrol said the requirement would be in step with President Donald Trump&#8217;s executive order on &#8220;Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.&#8221;
People from dozens of countries qualify for the Visa Waiver Program, which allows foreigners to enter the United States for tourism or business for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa. The program includes many European countries, such as Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It also includes Australia, Israel, and Qatar. The current system only makes foreign visitors pay $40 and provide an email address, home address, phone number, and emergency contact information.
The Trump administration&#8217;s proposal would also require foreigners to provide information from what it refers to as &#8220;high value data fields,&#8221; such as phone numbers they have used over the past five years and email addresses they have used over the past 10 years. Foreign visitors would also be required to reveal the names of close family members and the phone numbers of family members used in the last five years.
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The Border Patrol proposal is open to public comment for 60 days. The Trump administration&#8217;s move to increase oversight on people coming into the United States comes as the country prepares for the 2026 World Cup, which could bring over one million international visitors to the United States. Some <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/12/10/esta-social-media-united-states/">immigration lawyers</a> and people in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/travel/social-media-tourists-visa-border-patrol.html">travel industry</a> have pushed back on the Trump administration&#8217;s new requirements for foreign visitors.
The State Department under Trump has pushed for more vetting of foreigners&#8217; social media accounts. In April, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered diplomats to investigate the social media feeds of student visa applicants. Rubio has especially targeted foreign students suspected of supporting terrorist organizations such as Hamas.
&#8220;Coming to the United States on a visa is a privilege, not a right,&#8221; Rubio <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1899892869332173133?lang=en">said</a> in March. &#8220;The Trump Administration is determined to deny or revoke your visa if you&#8217;re here to support terrorists.&#8221;
Rubio also recently told U.S. diplomats to “maintain extra vigilance” when vetting H-1B visa applicants, and the United States will require H-1B applicants to make their social media accounts public by December 15, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/12/06/trump-censorship-h1b-visas/">reported</a>.

Social media

Trump Admin Proposal Would Require Foreigners To Reveal Social Media History To Visit U.S.

Customs and Border Protection (CPB)

Donald Trump

Foreigner

Tourism

Trump Administration

U.S.

Visas

President Donald Trump will tout his economic agenda during a speech in Pennsylvania on Tuesday evening as Americans continue to express concerns about the cost of living.
Trump is <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/1726288/sources-trump-to-speak-at-mount-airy-casino-resort-on-tuesday-dec-9">expected</a> to speak at 6:00 p.m. ET at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, where he will discuss the Republican Party&#8217;s plans to ease the strain on Americans&#8217; bank accounts. The president&#8217;s rally-style event will be the first stop on a &#8220;travel blitz&#8221; to tout the administration&#8217;s economic actions ahead of the vital 2026 midterm elections, Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/12/04/trump-comeback-travel-economy-2026">reported</a>.
The economy has come back to the forefront of the political debate ahead of the midterms as voters <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/economy-remains-top-concern-for-voters-in-2025-election-ap-voter-poll-finds">expressed</a> their concerns about the cost of living during the elections that took place across the country last month. Leftist Democrats had success focusing on economic issues in blue states, such as New York, New Jersey, and Virginia, during their 2025 campaigns. In New York City, voters overwhelmingly elected democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor after Mamdani focused much of his campaign on helping struggling New Yorkers afford housing, groceries, and transportation. Democrats also won gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, running on similar messaging.
Last week, Trump said that Democrats are throwing around the word &#8220;affordability&#8221; but that &#8220;it doesn&#8217;t mean anything.&#8221; He argued that the so-called affordability crisis is a &#8220;fake narrative&#8221; pushed by Democrats to score political points.
Yet, in the weeks following Democratic election victories, Trump has ramped up his messaging on his economic agenda and taken action to help relieve economic strain for some Americans. The president gave himself an &#8220;A+++++&#8221; on the economy during an <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/09/donald-trump-full-interview-transcript-00681693?experience_id=EXYF89KVT5UQ&amp;template_id=OTJIR2CRKUD6&amp;variant_id=OTV632IE7RALS&amp;is_login_link=true">interview</a> with POLITICO that was released on Tuesday.
On November 14, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-rolls-back-tariffs-on-dozens-of-food-imports-heres-what-will-be-affected">issued</a> an executive order rolling back tariffs on certain imported foods, such as beef, coffee, and bananas. On Monday, Trump also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-provide-billions-in-relief-to-farmers-impacted-by-tariffs?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Trump+To+Provide+Billions+In+Relief+To+Farmers+Impacted+By+Tariffs">provided</a> $12 billion of relief to American farmers who have been affected by his massive tariffs on countries around the world.
While the president has rolled back some of his tariffs, he insists that his unprecedented trade actions will energize the American economy and eventually pay off for American consumers.
&#8220;We’ve got $18 trillion coming into our country,&#8221; Trump said, crediting his tariffs. &#8220;Biden had less than a trillion for four years, and he was heading south. Our country was falling apart.&#8221;
The president <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/09/donald-trump-full-interview-transcript-00681693?experience_id=EXYF89KVT5UQ&amp;template_id=OTJIR2CRKUD6&amp;variant_id=OTV632IE7RALS&amp;is_login_link=true">told</a> POLITICO that he &#8220;inherited a total mess&#8221; after taking the reins from former President Joe Biden.
“Prices were at an all-time high when I came in. Prices are coming down substantially,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/09/donald-trump-full-interview-transcript-00681693?experience_id=EXYF89KVT5UQ&amp;template_id=OTJIR2CRKUD6&amp;variant_id=OTV632IE7RALS&amp;is_login_link=true">said</a>. &#8220;Look at energy &#8230; energy has come down incredibly. When energy comes down, everything [comes down] &#8230; it’s so much bigger than any other subject.&#8221;
The White House has also focused on falling gas prices around the country, arguing that Trump&#8217;s &#8220;pursuit of American energy dominance&#8221; is helping ease Americans&#8217; pain at the pump. Average gas prices recently dropped to under $3 per gallon in 37 states, with the median gas price in the United States falling to $2.79, according to <a href="https://x.com/GasBuddyGuy/status/1998040188950614213?s=20">GasBuddy</a>.
The Trump administration also <a href="https://x.com/SecretaryTurner/status/1996294100220350935">said</a> last week that the president&#8217;s massive deportation operation has coincided with housing costs dropping for four straight months. CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/02/apartment-rents-vacancies-november.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that increased housing supply in the multifamily housing market, combined with slowing demand, &#8220;is pushing vacancies up and rents down.&#8221;
&#8220;Prices are coming down. You talk about affordability, the Democrats love to say affordability, but then they never talk about it,&#8221; Trump told POLITICO. &#8220;They’re the ones that gave us the high prices. I’m the one that’s bringing them down.&#8221;

Trump To Focus On Economy During Pennsylvania Rally As Cost-Of-Living Worries Persist

2026 Midterms

Democrats

Economy

Executive

Pennsylvania

Politics

Records related to the sex-trafficking case against Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell will be released after a federal judge granted a request from the Justice Department on Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer said that grand jury transcripts and materials from the investigation into Maxwell could be unsealed following the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act last month, The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5640270-judge-grants-release-maxwell-records/">reported</a>.
“The Act unambiguously applies to the discovery in this case,” Engelmayer ruled. With Engelmayer’s decision, hundreds more documents related to the investigation into Epstein and Maxwell’s sex trafficking crimes could soon be available to Americans.
The Justice Department asked two federal judges in New York to unseal the grand jury transcripts in November as the Trump administration seeks to release more information and move past the Epstein case, an issue that has plagued the administration throughout President Donald Trump’s second term. The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed by Trump on November 19, requires the Justice Department to make Epstein-related documents public by December 19.
Engelmayer said he remains concerned about the identities of victims being released and criticized the Justice Department for moving to unseal the grand jury documents in July “without giving notice to Maxwell’s and Epstein’s victims,” NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/new-york-judge-orders-release-ghislaine-maxwell-related-grand-jury-rec-rcna248191">reported</a>.
Engelmayer’s order comes days after another federal judge ruled that grand jury documents related to the 2005 and 2007 investigations into Epstein should also be made public. U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith said that the bill calling for the release of the Epstein files signed by Trump last month prevails over the standard rules safeguarding the secrecy of grand jury documents.
Maxwell, who preyed on young girls and brought them to Epstein’s multiple estates and infamous island, was convicted of five federal counts related to sex trafficking. She is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Earlier this year, Maxwell agreed to sit down with the Justice Department and answer questions on Epstein and his connections to wealthy and powerful people, including Trump. During her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ghislaine-maxwell-gave-doj-info-on-100-people-linked-to-epstein-her-lawyer-says">interview</a> with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Maxwell said that she “never saw any man doing something inappropriate with a woman of any age.” When asked about Trump, she said he was “always very cordial and very kind to me” and was “a gentleman in all respects.”
Maxwell also said she disagreed with the Justice Department’s conclusion that Epstein died by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019.
“I do not believe he died by suicide,” Maxwell said, but added that she had no idea who could have been behind his death.
Maxwell is <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/10/ghislaine-maxwell-seek-commutation-document-00644139">reportedly</a> planning to ask the Trump administration to review an application for commutation. After her interview with the Justice Department, Maxwell was transferred to a minimum-security women’s prison.

Ghislaine Maxwell

Ghislaine Maxwell Records To Be Released After Judge Grants DOJ Request

Department of Justice

Jeffrey Epstein

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remained committed to retaining all Ukrainian territory on Monday, pushing back against a key demand in the Trump-initiated proposal to end the war.
After meeting with European leaders to discuss the peace proposal, Zelensky suggested that Ukrainian leaders lacked the authority to give up land and would continue to fight to defend all of its territory.
“Under our laws, under international law — and under moral law — we have no right to give anything away,” Zelensky said, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/12/08/europe-ukraine-leaders-trump-plan/">The Washington Post</a>. “That is what we are fighting for.”
President Donald Trump told <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/09/donald-trump-full-interview-transcript-00681693">POLITICO</a> in a wide-ranging interview that was released on Tuesday that Ukraine needs to &#8220;play ball,&#8221; adding that &#8220;Russia has the upper hand.&#8221;
&#8220;They’re much bigger. They’re much stronger in that sense. I give the people of Ukraine and the military of Ukraine tremendous credit for the bravery and for the fighting and all of that. But you know, at some point, size will win, generally,&#8221; Trump added.
Trump&#8217;s 28-point peace plan, which is on the table before Zelensky and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/ukraine/trump-zelenskyy-hasnt-read-russia-ukraine-peace-plan-war-europe-putin-rcna247956" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> requires Ukraine to hand over some of its territory to Russia in exchange for the United States giving Ukraine security guarantees. Trump told POLITICO that Zelensky needs to &#8220;get on the ball and start accepting things.&#8221;
The two biggest hurdles to a peace deal are territorial disputes over Ukraine&#8217;s Donbas region and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg. Russian forces now control most of the Donbas, but Ukraine has not given up the region. Kellogg said over the weekend that Ukraine and Russia are &#8220;really, really close&#8221; to a deal, but Zelensky&#8217;s latest remark and comments from Russian officials suggest otherwise.
Putin’s top foreign policy aide said on Sunday that the United States needs to make “radical changes” to its proposal before Russia moves forward with a deal.
The president said that Russia&#8217;s continued missile strikes on Ukraine, which have killed dozens of civilians in recent weeks, are &#8220;a sad thing for humanity.&#8221;
On Sunday, Trump said that he was &#8220;disappointed&#8221; in Zelensky&#8217;s lack of movement on peace negotiations, accusing the Ukrainian leader of not reading the proposal to end the Ukraine-Russia war.
&#8220;His people love it, but he has it. Russia is fine with it … but I’m not sure Zelensky is fine with it,&#8221; Trump said.
Trump also called on Zelensky to hold an election, something Ukraine has not done since the beginning of the war in February 2022.
&#8220;I think it’s an important time to hold an election. They’re using war not to hold an election, but, I would think the Ukrainian people should have that choice,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;And maybe Zelensky would win. I don’t know who would win. But they haven’t had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore.&#8221;

Trump/Zelensky

Zelensky Vows Not To Cede Territory As Trump Says Russia Has ‘Upper Hand’

Global Politics

Russia

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

President Donald Trump denied on Monday that he ever supported releasing video of the second strike on a suspected drug boat as controversy continues to swirl around the U.S. military&#8217;s actions in the Caribbean in early September.
Trump said last Wednesday that &#8220;whatever&#8221; Secretary Pete Hegseth&#8217;s War Department had, &#8220;we&#8217;d certainly release, no problem.&#8221; On Monday, however, the president told reporters at the White House that he never agreed to make the full video of the second strike public.
&#8220;Mr. President, you said you would have &#8216;no problem&#8217; with releasing the full video of that strike on September 2 off the coast of Venezuela,&#8221; one reporter stated.
&#8220;I didn&#8217;t say that,&#8221; the president <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-boat-strike-video-walks-back-hegseth/">replied</a>. &#8220;You said that, I didn&#8217;t say that.&#8221;
Trump added, &#8220;Whatever Pete Hegseth wants to do is okay with me.&#8221;
Hegseth has come under fire from Democrats and some Republicans after the &#8220;double-tap&#8221; strike on a boat that the Trump administration said was trafficking illicit drugs to the United States. The administration released a 29-second unclassified video showing the first strike on September 2, but the full video of the follow-up strike has been shown to only a select few lawmakers.
Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to meet with top intelligence committee lawmakers on Tuesday behind closed doors. The Trump officials will likely be asked more questions about the &#8220;double-tap&#8221; strike during the meeting.
Trump <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/09/donald-trump-full-interview-transcript-00681693">told</a> POLITICO in a wide-ranging interview released on Tuesday that he watched the footage of the second strike and continues to give Hegseth his full confidence.
&#8220;He&#8217;s doing a great job,&#8221; Trump said, adding that he doesn&#8217;t care if Hegseth testifies under oath about the strike.
The president said that the footage was &#8220;not pretty,&#8221; but added, &#8220;It looked like they were trying to turn back over the boat, but I don’t get involved in that.&#8221;
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tom-cotton-has-no-problem-with-releasing-video-of-drug-boat-double-tap">said</a> on Sunday that he watched the footage of the second strike, adding that he would not have &#8220;any problem&#8221; with releasing the footage to the public.
&#8220;It’s not gruesome. I didn’t find it distressing or disturbing. It looks like any number of dozens of strikes we’ve seen on Jeeps and pickup trucks in the Middle East over the years,&#8221; Cotton said. He added that he would understand if the War Department had concerns about releasing the footage, since it could reveal too much to drug cartels about how the U.S. military is conducting the strikes.
Democrats who saw the footage are calling on the administration to release the video. Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the footage of the second strike was &#8220;deeply disturbing.&#8221;
“There were two survivors on an overturned boat. When they were finally taken out, they weren’t trying to flip the boat over. The boat was clearly incapacitated,&#8221; Smith <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/07/second-strike-democratic-lawmakers-demand-transparency-00679899?_bhlid=01d8baf7452cb3bc38c5bae3f2719ade9b962fbd">said</a>. &#8220;A tiny portion of it remained capsized, the bow of the boat. They had no communications device. Certainly they were unarmed.”
“Any claim that the drugs had somehow survived that attack is hard to really square with what we saw,&#8221; he added. &#8220;So it was deeply disturbing. It did not appear that these two survivors were in any position to continue the fight.”
When asked if the War Department would release the additional footage, Hegseth <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hegseth-wont-commit-to-releasing-video-second-strike-alleged-drug-boat/">said</a> over the weekend that the administration is currently &#8220;reviewing the process,&#8221; and did not commit to releasing the full video.
&#8220;Whatever we were to decide to release, we&#8217;d have to be very responsible about reviewing that right now,&#8221; Hegseth added.
After Trump ramped up border security upon returning to office, he moved his attention to preventing drugs from reaching American shores. The strikes on the suspected &#8220;narcoterrorists,&#8221; which began in September, have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-takes-out-more-suspected-narco-terrorists-as-hegseth-defends-against-war-crime-accusations?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=8&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=U.S.+Takes+Out+More+Suspected+%E2%80%98Narco-Terrorists%E2%80%99+As+Hegseth+Defends+Against+%E2%80%98War+Crime%E2%80%99+Accusations">taken out</a> 23 boats and 87 suspected drug runners.

Trump Changes Tune On Releasing Video Of Second Strike On Suspected Drug Boat

Pete Hegseth

U.S. Military

President Donald Trump warned European countries on Monday after the European Commission <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/engaging-in-censorship-european-union-hits-elon-musks-x-with-massive-fine-draws-white-house-ire">fined</a> X, Elon Musk&#8217;s social media company, $140 million.
The European Commission announced penalties against X last Friday, accusing the platform of violating Europe&#8217;s far-reaching Digital Services Act, which goes after what it deems as illegal content and misinformation on social media. Trump was asked about the fine during a White House roundtable and appeared surprised when he was told about the European Union&#8217;s action.
&#8220;That&#8217;s a nasty one. Elon has not called me to ask for help on that one,&#8221; Trump said, adding, &#8220;I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s right. I don&#8217;t see how they can do that.&#8221;
Trump said that he would receive a &#8220;full report&#8221; on the issue and address it further at a later time.
&#8220;Look, Europe has to be very careful,&#8221; the president continued. &#8220;They&#8217;re doing a lot of things. &#8230; Europe is going in some bad directions. It&#8217;s very bad for the people.&#8221;
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have already blasted the European Union over the fine, with Rubio arguing that the targeting of X is &#8220;an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments.&#8221;
The European Commission’s top complaint against X on Friday was that the social media company allows any user to “obtain the ‘verified’ status without the company meaningfully verifying who is behind the account, making it difficult for users to judge the authenticity of accounts and content they engage with.” Musk shot back at the commission’s complaint, saying that his goal with X’s verification system “was to democratize verification, rather than have it be controlled by a group of biased elites!”
After the European Commission announced the fine, X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, accused the bloc of exploiting a bug in X’s platform for advertisements, which extended the reach of the commission’s video announcing its action against X. The social media company then &#8220;terminated&#8221; the commission&#8217;s ad account.
“The irony of your announcement: You logged into your dormant ad account to take advantage of an exploit in our Ad Composer — to post a link that deceives users into thinking it’s a video and to artificially increase its reach,” Bier <a href="https://x.com/nikitabier/status/1997450541275005041">posted</a>. “As you may be aware, X believes everyone should have an equal voice on our platform. However, it seems you believe that the rules should not apply to your account. Your ad account has been terminated.”
X <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/x-users-skyrocket-after-european-union-targets-musk-with-140m-fine">surged</a> in popularity in Europe after the European Commission&#8217;s fine, with the social media platform &#8220;seeing record-breaking downloads,&#8221; according to Musk.

‘Europe Has To Be Very Careful’: Trump Issues Stern Warning After EU Fines Elon Musk’s X

'Europe Has To Be Very Careful': Trump Issues Stern Warning After E.U. Fines Elon Musk's X

The top cop in the nation&#8217;s capital said on Monday that she will step down at the end of the month, as her department faces continued pressure to address violent crime.
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said that her final day will be on December 31. Smith, who has served as the district&#8217;s police chief for less than three years, told <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2025/12/08/dc-police-chief-resigns-stepping-down-pamela-smith">Axios</a> that her decision to resign was not in response to President Donald Trump&#8217;s moves to clean up crime in D.C., but she did not give a specific reason for her abrupt departure.
&#8220;There comes a time when you just know it&#8217;s time,&#8221; she said.
The Metropolitan Police Department has been at the center of controversy over high crime rates in D.C., as the city&#8217;s homicide rate reached 27.3 per 100,000 residents in 2024, giving the U.S. capital the fourth-highest homicide rate of any city in the country.
The police department is also being investigated by the Justice Department over allegations that it has been manipulating crime data to hide how dangerous the city has become under Democratic leadership. Smith addressed those accusations on Monday, telling Axios that she would &#8220;never&#8221; order D.C. police to alter crime stats. A D.C. police commander was suspended and placed under investigation for allegedly altering the crime data, and Smith did not say if anyone else at the department is being investigated over the issue.
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As questions swirl around the Metropolitan Police Department&#8217;s crime reporting, D.C. officials, including Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser, are pointing at crime data to show that the city is at a 30-year low in violent crime and is not in a &#8220;crime emergency&#8221; as the Trump administration claims.
Trump ripped D.C. leaders over the reports of manipulated crime data and argued that violence in D.C. was &#8220;totally out of control.&#8221; The president then deployed federal law enforcement and National Guard troops to D.C., a move that infuriated Democrats on Capitol Hill and many district residents.
Smith has been criticized by leftist D.C. residents who believe that the Metropolitan Police Department is cooperating with ICE agents on immigration raids and arrests. Smith said on Monday that her department has not worked with ICE since Trump surged federal law enforcement agents to the city.
&#8220;We are not aligned with ICE. We do not, and have not since the crime emergency, worked alongside ICE,&#8221; Smith said. &#8220;[Social media] videos lend one aspect of what you see. If they show up, they show up. They&#8217;re federal officers.&#8221;
Smith has also been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/08/22/dc-police-chief-trump-takeover/">slammed</a> by some of her own officers, who have questioned her leadership, especially during the Trump administration&#8217;s takeover of the department. After Trump declared a &#8220;crime emergency&#8221; and took over the Metropolitan Police Department in August, D.C. leaders sued the administration, and Trump officials worked out a deal to keep Smith at the helm of the department, but mandating that she cooperate with federal law enforcement agencies.

Pamela Smith

Capital’s Top Cop Quits Following Months Of Controversy Over D.C. Law Enforcement

Crime

Police

Washington D.C.

President Donald Trump announced a $12 billion bailout for American farmers on Monday afternoon as many farmers have taken a blow due to the president’s tariffs.
Most of the $12 billion aid package will go toward one-time payments for farmers, especially soybean farmers, whose industry has taken a massive hit from Trump’s steep tariffs on China, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-08/trump-set-to-unveil-12-billion-aid-for-farmers-hit-by-trade-war">reported</a>. Up to $11 billion will be provided to farmers under the Department of Agriculture’s new Farmer Bridge Assistance program. Trump was joined by soybean, corn, cotton, sorghum, rice, cattle, wheat, and potato farmers at the White House for the announcement.
Trump <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1998115240983019905">said</a> that the $12 billion for American farmers will come from the &#8220;hundreds of billions of dollars&#8221; the United States has collected in tariff revenue. The United States has brought in around $260 billion in tariff revenue this year alone.
Trump blasted former President Joe Biden&#8217;s economic policies that he said hurt American farmers, adding that under the Trump administration, farmers would be &#8220;put first.&#8221;
&#8220;Farm bankruptcies under Joe Biden went up 55%. That&#8217;s not good,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;But now we&#8217;re once again in a position where a president is able to put farmers first. Unfortunately, I&#8217;m the only president that does that.&#8221;
Trump’s financial aid will help a farming industry that relies heavily on exports to foreign nations. Around 25% of soybeans grown in the United States are exported to China, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-to-unveil-12-billion-bailout-for-farmers-064eb1de?mod=hp_lead_pos4">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
After Trump rolled out his tariffs on China earlier this year, the communist country completely cut off its imports of American soybeans until it reached a deal with the Trump administration in late October. Soybean, wheat, and corn farmers have already lost an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/us/politics/farmers-aid-trade-war.html#:~:text=Trump%20cares%20about%20farmers%20and,that%20took%20years%20to%20win.">estimated</a> $13 billion due to the president’s trade war, according to a farm group study.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/15/trump-economy-farmers-bailout">hinted</a> at the administration’s farm bailout in early October, calling the plan “clever and generous.” The farm aid rollout was delayed due to the record-long government shutdown that lasted from October 1 to November 12.
After the United States and China struck a deal to lower tariffs, China pledged to purchase 12 million tons of American soybeans by the end of the year. Since the end of October, China has purchased just over two million tons, according to Bloomberg. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Sunday that China is so far complying with its agreement.
“With China, it’s always we verify, and we monitor, and we watch the commitments. The commitments are quite specific,” Greer said during an appearance on “The Sunday Briefing” on Fox News. “So all of these things that we’ve agreed to with the Chinese recently are very concrete, we can monitor them with some ease, and so far, we’re seeing that they’re in compliance.”
Farmers have argued that they need government help to pay off debt and plan for next year’s crops. They make up a large part of Trump’s base and have continued to back the president. In the 2024 election, Trump’s support among farming communities <a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/2024/11/13/trump-election-farming-counties-trade-war/">increased</a> nationwide compared to 2020 and 2016. Trump won 78% of the vote from farming counties in 2024, two points better than he fared in 2020 and five points better than in 2016.
During his first term, the president allocated $28 billion to farmers affected by his administration’s tariffs on China.

Trump Farm Bailout

Trump Provides Billions In Relief To Farmers Impacted By Tariffs

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President Donald Trump called out Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, accusing him of not acting on the Trump administration&#8217;s proposal to end the Ukraine-Russia war.
Speaking to reporters at the Kennedy Center on Sunday evening, Trump <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1997812364931195249">suggested</a> that his team&#8217;s discussions with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Zelensky have been held up by the Ukrainian president.
&#8220;I have to say that I&#8217;m a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn&#8217;t yet read the proposal. That was as of a few hours ago,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;His people love it, but he has it. Russia is fine with it &#8230; but I&#8217;m not sure Zelensky is fine with it.&#8221;
Zelensky said on Sunday that he spoke with Trump&#8217;s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the president&#8217;s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, but that the conversation was &#8220;not easy,&#8221; NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/ukraine/trump-zelenskyy-hasnt-read-russia-ukraine-peace-plan-war-europe-putin-rcna247956">reported</a>.
“The American envoys are aware of Ukraine’s core positions, and the conversation was constructive, though not easy,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1997797626931023883">added</a> in a post on social media that Ukraine wants to see Russia &#8220;held accountable for what it is doing — for the daily strikes, for the constant terror against our people, and for the war itself.&#8221;
&#8220;Ukraine deserves a dignified peace, and whether there will be peace depends entirely on Russia – on our collective pressure on Russia and on the sound negotiating positions of the United States, Europe, and all our other partners,&#8221; the Ukrainian president said.
Zelensky is set to meet with European leaders in London, Brussels, and Rome on Monday as Europe attempts to influence the Trump-initiated peace talks while watching from the outside.
While Trump said that Russia &#8220;is fine with&#8221; the proposed peace deal, Putin&#8217;s top foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said on Sunday that the United States needs to make &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-envoy-says-ukraine-peace-deal-is-close-but-moscow-wants-radical-change?author=Reuters&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=U.S.+Envoy+says+Ukraine+Peace+Deal+Is+Close%2C+But+Moscow+Wants+Radical+Change">radical changes</a>&#8221; to its proposal. Ushakov did not specify what exactly the Kremlin wanted from the United States or Ukraine, but added that Putin discussed &#8220;territorial problems&#8221; with Witkoff and Kushner during a four-hour meeting in Moscow last week.
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Russia has been pushing for control of the Donbas region of Ukraine. Putin&#8217;s forces now control most of the Donbas, but Ukraine is holding onto part of the region as the war continues. The two biggest hurdles remaining in the peace negotiations are territorial disputes over the Donbas and Ukraine&#8217;s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg.
Kellogg said that Russia and Ukraine are &#8220;really, really close&#8221; to a deal.
“If we get those two issues settled, I think the rest of the things will work out fairly well,” Kellogg said. “We’re almost there.”
After promising to end the Ukraine-Russia war on his first day back in office, Trump&#8217;s negotiations for the end of the conflict have stalled and restarted multiple times throughout the first year of his second term. Last month, the Trump administration rekindled peace negotiations with a 28-point plan to end the war. American and Ukrainian officials met in Miami for three days last week for more peace talks, but so far, there has been no movement from those meetings.

Trump ‘Disappointed’ Zelensky ‘Hasn’t Yet Read’ His Peace Proposal

Australia will soon become the first nation to ban children under 16 from creating accounts on many social media platforms, but the law is already facing criticism as some platforms will be excluded.
Beginning on Wednesday, December 10, Australia will require social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube, to take &#8220;reasonable steps&#8221; to block children under 16 years old from creating accounts. Any platform that fails to restrict children under 16 from gaining access could face civil penalties of up to $49.5 million, according to the government&#8217;s <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/newsroom/media-releases/platforms-on-notice-to-comply-with-social-media-minimum-age">eSafety Commissioner</a>.
&#8220;We haven&#8217;t really seen a plan like this be put into action,&#8221; said Jessica Melugin, the director of the Center for Technology &amp; Innovation at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. &#8220;So I think the world is certainly watching.&#8221;
Along with Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube, the Australian government also lists Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, and X as &#8220;age-restricted&#8221; social media platforms. Numerous social media platforms, however, will not be affected by the law, including messaging platforms and gaming apps such as Discord, Roblox, and Steam. Australia&#8217;s decision to keep those platforms off its age-restricted list has raised more questions about whether the law will keep children away from online harm.
&#8220;It is a little bit of a red flag. I don&#8217;t agree with doing it this way at all, but it does make it harder for the government to make its case when you have gaming apps and AI chatbots exempted,&#8221; said Melugin. &#8220;It seems like a strange line to draw.&#8221;
The Australian government says the new law is popular with parents and would reduce the number of risks that children are exposed to online, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyp9d3ddqyo">reported</a>.
&#8220;Delaying children’s access to social media accounts gives them valuable time to learn and grow, free of the powerful, unseen forces of harmful and deceptive design features such as opaque algorithms and endless scroll,&#8221; said Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman. &#8220;This important normative change will be invaluable to parents and young people alike – creating friction or a check in the online ecosystem that previously did not exist.&#8221;
To support its move, the Australian government cited a <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/research/the-online-experiences-of-children-in-australia/snapshot-content-associated-with-harm">study</a> that it commissioned earlier this year, which found that more than 70% of children between 10-15 who use social media are exposed to harmful content. The government says that harmful online content includes &#8220;sexist, misogynistic or hateful content, content depicting dangerous online challenges or fight videos, or content that encourages unhealthy eating or exercise habits.&#8221;
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The first-of-its-kind law is already receiving some strong pushback.
Melugin told The Daily Wire that she has some major concerns about the new law.
&#8220;We live in a digital world. That&#8217;s how you are going to maybe find your partner one day. It&#8217;s probably how you&#8217;re going to find a job one day, maybe how you promote yourself or your business, maybe how you keep in touch with friends and pursue your interests,&#8221; Melugin said.
She added that the law could create a &#8220;false sense of security&#8221; for parents, who she argues would take a step back from monitoring their children&#8217;s social media. &#8220;They think, &#8216;Well, the government has now stepped in with its magic wand and silver bullet and now everything is safe,&#8217; which certainly won&#8217;t be the case,&#8221; Melugin added.
Melugin argued that the best way to keep children safe online is for parents to keep having conversations with their kids on &#8220;how to keep yourself safe online, how to avoid making mistakes online.&#8221;
Australia&#8217;s exclusions for Roblox, Discord, Steam, and other platforms have also come under scrutiny. Roblox, an online gaming platform marketed toward children, has been criticized for <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2024-roblox-pedophile-problem/">allowing</a> adults to use the platform alongside children, and even the Australian government has acknowledged that Roblox has given pedophiles an open door to &#8220;groom children.&#8221;
Roblox was also sued by Texas last month, with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton calling the children&#8217;s gaming platform “a habitual destination for child predators.”
An Australian government official told The Daily Wire that &#8220;gaming and messaging services were excluded under the legislative rules.&#8221; The official also directed The Daily Wire to a press release from September, showing that Roblox <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/newsroom/media-releases/roblox-commits-to-lift-game-to-protect-kids-from-online-grooming-under-australias-world-leading-online-safety-codes-and-standards">committed</a> to introduce new safety measures for its site in response to concerns raised by the Australian government.
“We know that when it comes to platforms that are popular with children, they also become popular with adult predators seeking to prey on them. Roblox is no exception and has become a popular target for pedophiles seeking to groom children,&#8221; Inman said at the time. “We’ve been engaging with Roblox on this issue for several months to make it clear to the platform that under Australian law they are required to take meaningful action to prioritize the protection of children.&#8221;
Discord has also faced scrutiny for allowing child sex predators, extremists, and terrorists who <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/discord-messages-server-dhs-terror-extremist-charlie-kirk-fbi-patel-rcna232377">target</a> children.
Some of the social media giants affected by Australia&#8217;s new law have blasted the government&#8217;s strategy. Meta argues that families, not the government, should &#8220;decide which apps teens can access.&#8221;
“To comply with Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age Law, teens under 16 will begin losing access to Facebook, Instagram, and Threads next month. While we’re committed to meeting our legal obligations, we’ve consistently raised concerns about this law,&#8221; a Meta spokesman told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Experts, youth groups, and many parents agree that blanket bans are not the solution—they isolate teens from online communities and information, while providing inconsistent protection across the many apps they use. There’s a better way: legislation that empowers parents to approve app downloads and verify age allows families—not the government—to decide which apps teens can access.&#8221;
Meta believes its &#8220;teen accounts,&#8221; which were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ig-introduces-teen-accounts-with-built-in-privacy-settings-to-better-support-parents">introduced</a> last year, are effective at keeping children safe online by putting parents in control and limiting who can contact children on social media.
Australia&#8217;s new law is already facing a legal challenge brought on behalf of two 15-year-old Australians who argue that the law robs them of their right to free speech, according to the BBC.
&#8220;We shouldn&#8217;t be silenced. It&#8217;s like Orwell&#8217;s book 1984, and that scares me,&#8221; said 15-year-old Macy Neyland.
Noah Jones, the other 15-year-old pushing back against the law, added, &#8220;We are the true digital natives and we want to remain educated, robust, and savvy in our digital world. &#8230; They should protect kids with safeguards, not silence.&#8221;
The Daily Wire reached out to the prime minister&#8217;s office for comment.
Following Australia&#8217;s move to ban some social media for kids, Malaysia introduced a similar ban. In the United States, Utah passed a law last year requiring social media platforms to verify a user&#8217;s age and obtain parental consent. Parts of the Utah law, however, have been temporarily <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/utah-law-restricting-youth-social-media-use-blocked-by-judge-2024-09-11/">blocked</a> by a federal judge.

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Australia’s Novel Social Media Ban For Kids Sparks Debate As Some Platforms Get A Free Pass

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Grand jury documents related to investigations into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public after a federal judge in Florida ordered their release on Friday.
U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith granted a request from the Justice Department for the documents to be released months after another federal judge in Florida said she did not have the legal authority to make the grand jury information public. Smith <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.693993/gov.uscourts.flsd.693993.8.0.pdf">ruled</a> that the bill calling for the release of the Epstein files signed by Trump last month prevails over the normal rules safeguarding the secrecy of grand jury documents.
In July, U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg said that she could not grant the Justice Department&#8217;s request because &#8220;the Court’s hands are tied,&#8221; a point that the federal government conceded at the time. Rosenberg added that the Justice Department did not provide sufficient arguments for unsealing records protected by rules that “emphasize a presumption of secrecy” and protect participants from disclosing information given to a grand jury.
In Smith&#8217;s order on Friday, the judge did not set a date for the release of the documents, which stem from investigations into Epstein from 2005 and 2007 that were conducted in West Palm Beach, Florida, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/judge-orders-jeffrey-epstein-related-grand-jury-transcripts-florida-re-rcna247624">reported</a>. The Justice Department first moved to unseal the grand jury documents after controversy erupted over the Trump administration&#8217;s July 6 memo, which concluded that there was no “credible evidence” to prove that Epstein kept a client list.
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The release of the Epstein grand jury documents could reveal more information to the public about the financier&#8217;s crimes and connections. The Epstein controversy has plagued the Trump administration for much of the president&#8217;s second term. Congress finally passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act last month, and Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-signs-bill-to-release-epstein-files">signed</a> the bill into law, giving the Justice Department 30 days to release the evidence and records it has compiled on Epstein.
The president signed off on the release of more Epstein files after months of pushing back against calls for their release and calling the focus on the Epstein files a &#8220;hoax&#8221; pushed by the legacy media and the Democratic Party. Democrats and Republicans <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dems-drop-new-epstein-emails-in-which-he-claims-trump-knew-about-the-girls">released</a> additional pages of documents from Epstein&#8217;s estate last month, some of which included emails from Epstein discussing Trump.
Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein&#8217;s crimes, and Epstein&#8217;s victims have not made any allegations against the former president. Epstein was also close to powerful Democrats. Last month, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-unleashes-doj-to-investigate-epsteins-democrat-friends">directed</a> the Justice Department to investigate Epstein&#8217;s ties to Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Harvard President Larry Summers.

Patrick McMullan Archives

Judge Orders Epstein Grand Jury Docs To Be Made Public, Approving DOJ Request

The European Union fined Elon Musk&#8217;s X $140 million on Friday as the bloc targets American social media companies under its expansive internet accountability regulations.
The European Commission, which is the European Union&#8217;s executive branch, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_2934">accused</a> Elon Musk&#8217;s company of deceiving its users, failing to meet advertising transparency requirements, and failing to give researchers access to the platform&#8217;s data. The commission argues that X violated its Digital Services Act, regulations put into place in 2022 that are designed to clamp down on what it views as illegal content and misinformation on social media.
Before the fine was officially announced, Vice President JD Vance ripped the European Union for planning to impose the penalties against X.
&#8220;Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship. The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage,&#8221; Vance <a href="https://x.com/JDVance/status/1996701953372704921">wrote</a>.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1996974377003319667">added</a>, &#8220;The European Commission’s $140 million fine isn’t just an attack on @X, it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments. The days of censoring Americans online are over.&#8221;
The European Commission&#8217;s top complaint against X on Friday is that the social media company allows any user to &#8220;obtain the ‘verified&#8217; status without the company meaningfully verifying who is behind the account, making it difficult for users to judge the authenticity of accounts and content they engage with.&#8221; The commission said that the Digital Services Act does not require platforms to verify users, but added that the regulation &#8220;clearly prohibits online platforms from falsely claiming that users have been verified, when no such verification took place.&#8221;
&#8220;Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU,&#8221; said Henna Virkkunen, the executive vice president for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.&#8221; DSA protects users. The DSA gives researchers the way to uncover potential threats. The DSA restores trust in the online environment. With the DSA’s first non-compliance decision, we are holding X responsible for undermining users’ rights and evading accountability.&#8221;
Musk also responded to the commission&#8217;s complaint, writing on X that his goal with X&#8217;s verification system &#8220;was to democratize verification, rather than have it be controlled by a group of biased elites!&#8221;
The European Union&#8217;s move against X was condemned by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, with FCC Chair Brendan Carr saying that Europe is &#8220;taxing Americans.&#8221;
&#8220;Once again, Europe is fining a successful U.S. tech company for being a successful U.S. tech company,&#8221; Carr <a href="https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1996945925822939407">said</a>. &#8220;Europe is taxing Americans to subsidize a continent held back by Europe’s own suffocating regulations.&#8221;
Conservatives have argued that the Digital Services Act is a way for Europe to clamp down on free speech, even for Americans.
“The DSA can impact anyone, can impact content creators and influencers and preachers and political dissidents and any kind of content online can be regulated by the DSA through its architecture,” Dr. Adina Portaru, a senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom International, told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/europe-union-ignored-free-speech-concerns-plows-ahead-with-global-censorship-regime">The Daily Wire</a> earlier this year.
X was given 60 days to inform the European Commission of how it plans to address the issues laid out by the bloc. The social media platform has 90 days to submit an &#8220;action plan&#8221; to the commission, and the Board of Digital Services will then have one month to issue its opinion and another month to release its final decision.

E.U./X/JD Vance

‘Engaging In Censorship’: European Union Hits Elon Musk’s X With Massive Fine, Draws White House Ire

'Engaging In Censorship': European Union Hits Elon Musk's X With Massive Fine, Draws White House Ire

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