White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt answered questions on affordability and inflation during a sometimes contentious press briefing on Thursday.
“Every economic metric does in fact show that the economy is getting better and brighter than where it was under the previous administration,” Leavitt noted at the top of the briefing prior to taking questions.
Eric Bolling of Real America’s Voice kicked off the questioning, pointing to declining energy prices.
“Energy prices have been coming down aggressively since Trump’s second term with $55 per barrel and gas prices under $3 for the first time in the past five years,” Bolling began. “Some people in this room want to call this an affordability crisis right now, seeming to want to forget four years prior when we hit 9% inflation. That’s an affordability crisis, but we weren’t calling it that back then. How will President Trump ensure that the legacy media does not flip the script?”
Leavitt responded, calling the media’s coverage of affordability under the Trump administration “a point of frustration” for both herself and the president.
“It’s a great question, Eric,” she said. “It is part of the reason I kicked off this briefing today, setting the record straight with facts about the economic mess that the president inherited from his predecessor Joe Biden.”
Leavitt called affordability a top priority for President Trump, offering several figures to demonstrate her point.
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“Inflation has slowed to an average 2.5% pace; real wages are increasing roughly $1,200 for the average worker; gas prices are down in almost every single state across the country, in 22 states, it&#8217;s below $2.75; the tax cuts will go into effect next year; the best is yet to come, and the president is digging the country out of the economic hole that the previous administration put us in.”
A separate and somewhat heated exchange came during questioning from CNN’s Kaitlin Collins, who asked, “If the economy is as strong as the president has said it is, then why is he telling parents two to three weeks before Christmas that they should only buy two or three dolls for their children?”
Leavitt responded, noting the president’s intention to bring manufacturing back to the United States: “Maybe you’ll pay a dollar or two more, but you will get better quality and you’ll be supporting your fellow Americans by buying American.”
Collins followed up by challenging Leavitt on inflation — but the press secretary pushed back sharply.
“There’s a lot more scrutiny on this issue from this press corps,” responded Leavitt. “My predecessor stood up at this podium and she said inflation doesn’t exist. She said the border was secure, and people like you just took her at her word. Those were two utter lies. Everything I’m telling you is the truth backed by my real, factual data, and you just don’t want to report on it because you want to push untrue narratives about the president.”
Leavitt said she wishes “more people would remind the American public of how we got here and why.”
“It does not mean the president is discarding the American people’s feelings. The president gets it better than anyone, which is why his entire administration has been focused on the economy and energy prices since day one.”
She went on to describe Democrats as “the greatest con artists in history” who are “trying to claim ownership of an issue that they created.”
Reporters also asked three separate questions about the selection of the next Federal Reserve Chair. Leavitt did not reveal when the announcement would be made, but reiterated that President Trump has long called for rate cuts.
“I think the president has been quite clear about what he believes the Fed should be doing, which is lowering interest rates,” said Leavitt. She added that the president was pleased with the quarter point cut this week, but thinks “more should be done.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Holds Press Briefing

‘Those Were Two Utter Lies’: White House Press Briefing Turns Contentious Over ‘Affordability’

Economy

Inflation

Karoline Leavitt

Politics

Trump Administration

The Justice Department&#8217;s mortgage fraud case against New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James was dealt another blow on Thursday when a grand jury in Virginia declined to indict her, according to multiple reports.
After prosecutors presented evidence before a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, on Thursday, the jury refused to sign off on an indictment. Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for James, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/grand-jury-again-rejects-charges-trump-sought-against-ny-attorney-general-james-2025-12-11/">said</a> that the grand jury&#8217;s decision &#8220;makes even clearer that this case should never have seen the light of day.&#8221;
James has argued that the Justice Department&#8217;s case against her is &#8220;retribution&#8221; for her civil fraud case against President Donald Trump and his company. James was indicted by a federal grand jury in October on felony charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, but the case against her hit a roadblock last month when a federal judge <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-tosses-charges-against-james-comey-letitia-james?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Federal+Judge+Tosses+Charges+Against+James+Comey%2C+Letitia+James">dismissed</a> it and threw out the initial indictment after finding that the Trump-appointed prosecutor overseeing the case was unlawfully appointed.
The federal grand jury&#8217;s rejection on Thursday is the second time the Justice Department has been rebuffed after accusing James of fraudulently claiming a house in Virginia as her primary home in 2023 while serving as New York&#8217;s attorney general. Last week, after the Justice Department refiled the case against James, a grand jury declined to indict her.
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The mortgage fraud allegations against James stem from her purchase of a three-bedroom home in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020. James secured favorable loan terms by claiming that the house was her secondary residence, according to the indictment. However, the indictment states that James did not use the house as a residence, instead renting it out to a family, The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/justice-department-secures-indictment-of-new-york-attorney-general-letitia-james-0cc2ce4f?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=ASWzDAjz3_xVxqjqGd7DOAjeW9OF_fgoGbzqZNeWtCjLpTn-BtEnWes9wDcj_m33JUg%3D&amp;gaa_ts=68e822e1&amp;gaa_sig=8uhDExWB_EYX_l_bkm5ln2OOTBmY2wZMaB-DdqgJDjcxIxhcKe5QqAAS2ER6wvES1alU0eaHvP7KW_UXYdeMtA%3D%3D">reported</a>. James allegedly saved nearly $19,000 from the favorable loan rates.
The Justice Department could attempt to indict James again, but with a second grand jury rejection, a judge could be skeptical of another push by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia to bring a case against James.
Charges against former FBI Director James Comey were also tossed after the federal judge found that President Donald Trump&#8217;s appointment of Lindsey Halligan as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was unlawful. The Justice Department could also refile charges against Comey after accusing him of giving false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding. The charges stemmed from testimony Comey delivered to Congress in 2020 on his handling of the FBI investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Letitia James

Grand Jury Refuses To Indict Letitia James In Another Blow To DOJ’s Effort To Revive Case

Courts

Department of Justice

Donald Trump

U.S.

Last week, the White House convened an education roundtable with U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon titled, “Biased Professors, Woke Administrators, and the End of Free Inquiry on U.S. Campuses.”
Secretary McMahon opened the event by <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-secretary-of-education-linda-mcmahon-participates-white-house-roundtable-left-wing-ideological-capture-of-universities">stating</a>, “It was an honor to be at the White House today with this dedicated coalition of students, faculty, institutional leaders, and policy advocates to highlight the issue of woke ideology and the capture of our institutions of higher education. DEI policies have turned universities from free marketplaces of ideas to purveyors of manufactured ideological conformity, chilling free speech and undermining academic rigor.”
She <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-secretary-of-education-linda-mcmahon-participates-white-house-roundtable-left-wing-ideological-capture-of-universities">explained</a>, “We are committed to working with higher education leaders to reverse course from these decades of decline.”
The Secretary highlighted actions taken by the Trump Administration, including dissolving DEI programs, enforcing merit-based practices, and guiding universities to comply with federal law, noting that over 400 institutions have made substantive changes. The U.S. Department of Education is working to incentivize universities to operate with fairness, academic rigor, and civil discourse.
Providing strong, positive leadership, Secretary McMahon <a href="https://www.ed.gov/media/document/secretary-mcmahon-white-house-remarks-12325-112619.pdf">shared</a>, “We want to provide every opportunity for colleges to recommit themselves to principles like non-discrimination, open discourse and neutrality, financial responsibility, resisting foreign influence, and putting students first.” She called for a recommitment to principles of reason, individual excellence, and non-discrimination to create a “golden age” of higher education.
This was the second in a series of higher education roundtables. The first roundtable was held at the White House on November 19, titled “Administrative Bloat and Low-Value Programs: How U.S. Universities are Failing American Families and How They Can Reform.” It addressed higher-education affordability and key components of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including new caps on graduate loan borrowing aimed at reducing costs and boosting accountability.
Undeniably, the Trump Administration is providing pivotal leadership to reform public higher education. As Eric Bledsoe, Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy with a focus on education, explained at last week’s roundtable, “universities serve a public interest and must be held accountable by the public.” Bledsoe also noted that higher education should be about “cultivating mature citizens who are prepared for the workforce.”
It’s common sense 101, and thankfully for the American people, this administration is working overtime to change the status quo and cultivate a return to normalcy in public higher education, which has been overtaken by wokeness.
In October, the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” was released by the Trump Administration and sent initially to nine institutions. It outlined eight “priorities of the U.S. government in its engagement with universities that benefit from the relationship.” It clearly <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Compact-for-Academic-Excellence-in-Higher-Education-10.1.pdf">notes</a> that “Institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values” other than those outlined “if the institution elects to forego federal benefits.”
The priorities are as follows: equality in admission, marketplace of ideas and civil discourse, non-discrimination in faculty and administrative hiring, institutional neutrality, student learning, student equality, financial responsibility, and foreign entanglements.
The Compact <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Compact-for-Academic-Excellence-in-Higher-Education-10.1.pdf">reads</a>: “The leadership of an academic institute is directly responsible for its strategy, success, and adherence to legal and governmental requirements.” More specifically, each year, the institute’s President, Provost, and Head of Admissions will be required to certify that the university abides by the principles outlined in the Compact.
Violators — whether willfully or negligently — will lose benefits for at least one year. Repeat offenders will lose benefits for at least two years. Additionally, funds advanced to the university by the federal government during the year of violation must be returned. Most <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Compact-for-Academic-Excellence-in-Higher-Education-10.1.pdf">notably</a>, “any private contributions to the university during the year(s) in which such violation occurred shall be returned to the grantor upon the request of the grantor.”
Universities collectively receive hundreds of billions of dollars each year, yet do not deliver soundly on their mission. This much-needed accountability is a major step in the right direction.
As Secretary McMahon <a href="https://www.ed.gov/media/document/secretary-mcmahon-white-house-remarks-12325-112619.pdf">communicated</a> at the most recent White House education roundtable, she is inviting those leading higher education institutions to join her in “creating a golden age of academe — committed to reason, not racial preferences. Merit, not marginalizing the so-called ‘oppressor.’ Individual excellence, not ideological indoctrination.”
University leaders would be wise to get out of the business of indoctrination and discrimination and instead focus on fulfilling their institution’s mission of open inquiry and excellence in academics. Even if they do not align with the Trump Administration, agree with the Compact, or value meritocracy, their institution’s bottom line will be better for it. And most importantly, so will their students and our nation.
* * *
Dr. Keri D. Ingraham is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute, Director of the American Center for Transforming Education, and a Senior Fellow at Independent Women’s Forum.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Universities II. Google Gemini design.

Ending The Woke Monopoly: White House Takes Aim At Higher Ed’s Ideological Capture

American Universities

College

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Education

Ivy League

Linda McMahon

Opinion

Public Schools

White House

Woke Culture

The Venezuelan socialist government accused the United States of committing &#8220;blatant theft&#8221; and &#8220;international piracy&#8221; after American forces, in coordination with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-seizes-venezuelan-oil-tanker-amid-pressure-campaign-against-maduro">took control</a> of an oil tanker near the Venezuelan coast on Wednesday.
The Trump administration said that the oil tanker was involved in an &#8220;illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations&#8221; and would regularly transport oil from Venezuela and Iran. The Venezuelan government, led by dictator Nicolás Maduro, condemned the United States and said on Wednesday that the seizure was part of President Donald Trump&#8217;s &#8220;long-standing plan to seize [Venezuelan] resources.&#8221;
&#8220;The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces and strongly repudiates what constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy, publicly announced by the President of the United States, who confessed to the assault on an oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea,&#8221; the socialist government <a href="https://correodelorinoco.gob.ve/venezuela-denuncia-acto-de-pirateria-internacional-por-el-robo-descarado-de-un-buque-petrolero-en-el-caribe/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">said</a>.
Maduro has remained defiant following pressure from Trump and has attempted to rally his country against the United States. Earlier on Wednesday, Maduro spoke at a rally and told Venezuelans to be prepared to act like &#8220;warriors&#8221; and &#8220;smash the teeth of the North American empire if necessary,&#8221; the Guardian <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/10/us-forces-reportedly-seize-oil-tanker-off-venezuela-coast">reported</a>. Maduro has kept a tight grip on Venezuela after declaring himself the winner of the 2024 presidential election despite evidence showing that he lost.
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-seizes-venezuelan-oil-tanker-amid-pressure-campaign-against-maduro">confirmed</a> the oil tanker seizure after he was asked about the news by Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan.
&#8220;As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large — largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump said during a roundtable event on Wednesday afternoon. The president added that the tanker was seized &#8220;for very good reasons&#8221; and suggested that the United States would keep the oil on board.
The Trump administration released video of the seizure, showing American forces deploying out of a helicopter onto the large ship in the South Caribbean.
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&#8220;If you threaten our nation, or break the law, there is no place on land or sea where we won’t find you,&#8221; the Department of Homeland Security posted on social media alongside a video of the operation.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
KNOCKOUT.
If you threaten our nation, or break the law, there is no place on land or sea where we won’t find you.
Thank you to the brave service members from <a href="https://twitter.com/USCG?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USCG</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/ICEgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ICEGOV</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/FBI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FBI</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/DeptofWar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeptofWar</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/TheJusticeDept?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheJusticeDept</a>. <a href="https://t.co/KUCRjES267">pic.twitter.com/KUCRjES267</a>
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/1998909254854746523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The oil tanker seized by the United States has often attempted to hide its location while transporting oil from sanctioned countries, The New York Times reported. The vessel, called &#8220;Skipper,&#8221; hides by broadcasting fake location data. Tracking experts believe that the tanker &#8220;has transported nearly 13 million barrels of Iranian and Venezuelan oil since joining the global dark fleet of tankers in 2021,&#8221; according to the Times.
Venezuela&#8217;s oil-rich land is its main source of revenue and is often sold at steep discounts to American nemeses such as Iran and China. Trump has ramped up the pressure on Maduro in recent weeks, deploying U.S. battleships and forces to the Caribbean and taking out suspected drug boats near the Venezuelan coast. The White House accuses Maduro&#8217;s regime of funneling deadly drugs to the United States and has placed a $50 million <a href="https://www.state.gov/nicolas-maduro-moros">bounty</a> on Maduro for engaging &#8220;in a corrupt and violent narco-terrorism conspiracy.&#8221;

Nicolás Maduro

Venezuela Cries ‘International Piracy’ After U.S. Seizes Oil Tanker

Global Politics

Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela

Women who deliver fully formed babies after taking abortion pills are instructed to flush them down the toilet by abortion advocates, a former Planned Parenthood director said on Thursday. 
Mayra Rodriguez revealed the horrific reality of the abortion pill in <a href="https://stopcoercedabortions.com/videos/mayras-story/">new video</a> testimony set to be released Thursday by the group <a href="https://stopcoercedabortions.com/">Stop Coerced Abortions</a>. In the video, which was previewed by The Daily Wire, Rodriguez discussed her experience getting phone calls from women who took abortion pills. 
“The phone calls that strike me the most were the clients with the abortion pills that will call me in the middle of the night and said, ‘So you guys told me to push a blood clot on the toilet, and I tried to do that, but I didn&#8217;t make it, and it’s not a blood clot, it&#8217;s actually a baby. So what do I do?’” she <a href="https://stopcoercedabortions.com/videos/mayras-story/">said</a>. 
“You’re instructed to tell them to go ahead and grab it and throw it in the toilet, and flush.. and don’t look,” she said in the video. She said the client would respond by saying, ‘But, you told me it was just a blood clot, but I can actually see the hands, the feet, the face.’ And they will be crying.” 
Medication abortions, which are the most common abortion method, are facilitated by a woman taking mifepristone and misoprostol. After a pregnant woman takes mifepristone, the unborn child is cut off from the nutrients it needs to survive and is effectively starved to death. Misoprostol is then taken to induce labor and expel the deceased baby from the mother. 
Rodriguez then discussed how in many states today abortion pills were handed out without any idea how far along the pregnancy was and how sometimes women would be unknowingly given the pills in their drinks. She said that abortion pills were the real “back alley abortions.” 
The video featuring Rodriguez is part of a new series on abortion coercion from Stop Coerced Abortion.
&#8220;We must continue to listen to and share these horrific stories so that people know the truth: life in the womb is precious, and abortion coercion is real,&#8221; Live Action founder Lila Rose told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Every day we do not abolish abortion, preborn children are murdered, and mothers suffer through unimaginable physical and emotional trauma.” 
Just last week, a surgeon in Ohio <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ohio-surgeon-accused-of-forcing-abortion-pill-on-sleeping-girlfriend?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Ohio+Surgeon+Accused+Of+Forcing+Abortion+Pill+On+Sleeping+Girlfriend">was charged</a> after he was accused of attempting to force his sleeping girlfriend to take an abortion pill. He allegedly ordered the pills from an out-of-state telehealth provider using his estranged wife’s information. 
The video comes as pro-life lawmakers and advocates continue to press the Trump administration to take steps to reverse the regulations implemented by President Joe Biden that allowed abortion pills to be mailed across the country. On Wednesday, Senator Josh Hawley <a href="https://x.com/HawleyMO/status/1998806068974240199">sent</a> a letter to Food and Drug Administrator Marty Makary asking about reports that he was slow-walking a study on the dangers of the abortion pill. 
“The FDA must act to protect children and mothers. By neglecting to review the dangerous drug mifepristone, Dr. MaKary is dismissing the reality that abortion pills kill preborn children and endanger women. We must end mail-order abortion and ban the abortion pill now,&#8221; Rose told The Daily Wire. 
President Trump told The Daily Wire on Wednesday that he was looking into the reports. 
&#8220;&#8216;ll find out,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think they&#8217;re slow-walking anything, but I&#8217;ll find out.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MaryMargOlohan</a>: Biden removed safety standards on abortion drugs&#8230;Yesterday, Bloomberg said that your FDA is slow-walking a review of the abortion drugs that <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecKennedy</a> promised&#8230;<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;I&#8217;ll find out&#8230;I don&#8217;t think they&#8217;re slow-walking anything, but I&#8217;ll find out.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/uDamIfVWhD">pic.twitter.com/uDamIfVWhD</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1998876681063510185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rodriguez, who worked for Planned Parenthood for 17 years, is currently a witness in a <a href="https://stopcoercedabortions.com/#lawsuit">lawsuit</a> against the abortion giant and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz accusing the state of coercing women into having abortions. The suit says that Minnesota&#8217;s abortion laws violate the 14 Amendment rights of mothers and the Equal Protection rights of their unborn children. 
Other harrowing testimony in the video included Rodriguez saying that Planned Parenthood workers were told to not investigate signs of human trafficking and that a baby who survived an abortion was taken into a room designated for “products of conception&#8221; and left to die. She also recounted looking through trash bins for the discarded heads of babies who had been dismembered in surgical abortion procedures. 
“You understand that what you have been selling has never been freedom, not for the mother and not for the child.  What you have been selling, it&#8217;s pain and darkness, and it&#8217;s bloody. And it&#8217;s all about money in realizing that for 17 years, I helped no one. I helped no one, but I destroyed many.”

MixCollage-10-Dec-2025-05-18-PM-8441

Former Planned Parenthood Worker Reveals Horror Of The Abortion Pill

Abortion

Abortion Drug

Planned Parenthood

Pro-Life Movement

In Southern California, local officials are now handing out air purifiers to residents choking on the stench of raw sewage — yes, including human waste — flowing across the border from Mexico.
Roughly 25 million gallons of untreated sewage from America’s southern neighbor reportedly spill into the Pacific Ocean each day, and in parts of San Diego County, the cross-border torrent has turned what should be crisp seaside air into the unmistakable funk of a porta-potty.
By Wednesday morning, the mess had grown loud enough to reach the White House, as President Donald Trump weighed in on Truth Social.
“Mexico must take care of its water and sewage problem, IMMEDIATELY. It is a true Threat to the People of Texas, California, and the United States of America!” Trump warned, attaching a local news segment as evidence of the unfolding mess.
In California, the mouth of the Tijuana River, which flows through Mexico, empties into the Pacific just north of the border near Imperial Beach.
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The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District spent the week handing out hundreds of air purifiers and replacement filters to residents in the South Bay, a cluster of communities pressed against the Mexico border. <a href="https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/cross-border-contamination/san-diego-county-distributes-air-purifiers-to-south-bay-residents-impacted-by-cross-border-sewage-pollution/509-b9ac548e-a218-45d7-817f-4b2d81eb57e8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS 8 News</a> reported that people living there &#8220;continue to grapple with foul odors and polluted air stemming from cross-border sewage flow.&#8221;
Last week, the situation worsened after a break in a Mexican sewer line <a href="https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/new-sewage-line-break-sends-120-000-gallons-of-raw-waste-to-south-bay-communities">reportedly</a> sent 120,000 gallons of sewage into the South Bay. The ongoing pollution has already dragged down home values, closed some beaches, and affected Navy SEAL training.
Leon Benham, who has lived in the area for more than 60 years, <a href="https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/new-sewage-line-break-sends-120-000-gallons-of-raw-waste-to-south-bay-communities">told</a> KGTV that raw sewage has contaminated his backyard. He is the founder of Citizens for Coast Conservancy, which has reportedly spent years advocating for solutions.
&#8220;When the offshore flow comes in, we can smell the stink, you know, we can smell it,&#8221; he said.
Residents largely viewed the air purifiers as a temporary band-aid, not a fix. Baron Parlow, the founder of Stop the Poop, told CBS 8 that local officials simply handing out filters wasn’t anywhere close to enough.
&#8220;Where [are] all the tough sanctions on the source Mexico?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;Where&#8217;s all the pressure to get Mexico to stop the poo?&#8221;
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin reacted to President Trump&#8217;s demand on social media.
&#8220;The Trump Admin has been taking important action to PERMANENTLY END the flow of disgusting raw sewage from Mexico into the United States,&#8221; he posted on X on Wednesday. &#8220;We are working very closely with our Mexican counterparts to ensure San Diego area beaches can reopen, foul odors cease, and the Tijuana River Valley gets cleaned up as quickly as humanly possible. This will also be great for our Navy SEALs who train in the area.&#8221;
&nbsp;
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untreated sewage spills into the ocean at Dockweiler State Beach

Trump Demands Mexico Stop Flow Of Raw Sewage Into The U.S.

California

Mexico

San Diego

Texas

United States

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)

Foreigner

Tourism

Visas

A Biden-era health official who identifies as transgender is outraged that the current Department of Health and Human Services has changed his nameplate to showcase his birth name, Richard Levine, instead of his trans-identifying name, Rachel Levine.
On Tuesday, HHS took to X to unapologetically confirm the change, which apparently took place during the Democrat-backed government shutdown.
The portrait plaque is displayed in the HHS offices.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Can confirm! <a href="https://t.co/PdErnBJVqh">https://t.co/PdErnBJVqh</a> <a href="https://t.co/yuZGMfK6xw">pic.twitter.com/yuZGMfK6xw</a>
— HHS (@HHSGov) <a href="https://twitter.com/HHSGov/status/1998419995479663032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
Levine was upset about the change, calling it &#8220;petty&#8221; and an act of &#8220;bigotry.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m not going to comment on this type of petty action,&#8221; Levine told NPR.
However, he did respond through a spokesperson. &#8220;During the federal shutdown, the current leadership of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health changed Admiral Levine&#8217;s photo to remove her current legal name and use a prior name,&#8221; Adrian Shanker said, calling the change &#8220;bigotry against her.&#8221;
The current HHS argued that the change better reflects their mission to express &#8220;gold standard science&#8221; at all times.
&#8220;Our priority is ensuring that the information presented internally and externally by HHS reflects gold standard science,&#8221; HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hhs-changes-transgender-biden-officials-nameplate-back-birth-name-during-shutdown">said</a>. &#8220;We remain committed to reversing harmful policies enacted by Levine and ensuring that biological reality guides our approach to public health.&#8221;
During his tenure, Levine <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trans-secretary-levine-dubs-self-agencys-first-female-four-star-officer-in-bizarre-video-highlighting-diversity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> the title of the “first female four-star officer” in a video boasting about “diversity” at HHS. He was also widely criticized for his support of so-called transgender “care” for minors, which opponents highlight is often irreversible and damaging to children.
Additionally, Levine seemed to advocate for the censorship of opposing views on the issue.
“There is substantial misinformation about gender-affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse individuals,” Levine <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/dec/26/dr-rachel-levine-slammed-after-calling-big-tech-cl/">said</a> back in May 2022 during a presentation before the Federation of State Medical Boards in New Orleans.
“We need to get our voices in the public eye, and we know how effective our medical community can be talking to communities, whether it’s at town halls, schools, conversations with others, and we need to use our clinicians’ voice to collectively advocate for our tech companies to create a healthier, cleaner information environment,” Levine added.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-biden-official-pushed-big-tech-to-censor-misinformation-on-trans-care-for-minors-video-shows?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Top+Biden+Official+Pushed+Big+Tech+To+Censor+‘Misinformation’+On+Trans+‘Care’+For+Minors%2C+Video+Shows">Top Biden Official Pushed Big Tech To Censor ‘Misinformation’ On Trans ‘Care’ For Minors, Video Shows</a>

Screen Shot 2022-03-22 at 12.47.56 PM

Trans-Identifying Biden Official Outraged Trump HHS Changed His Nameplate

Biden Administration

Department of Health and Human Services

Rachel Levine

Social Issues

Transgender

Chicago could lose federal funding after a 26-year-old woman was set on fire on the city’s train system in what the Trump administration described as a “preventable attack.”
Federal Transit Administration Administrator Marc Molinaro sent <a href="https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/2025-12/The-Honorable-Brandon-Johnson-FTA-Special-Directive-Letter-to-Chicago-12-08-2025.pdf">letters</a> on Monday to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Democratic Governor JB Pritzker, directing them to immediately enhance safety on public transportation. Molinaro said that officials had failed to take the necessary steps to keep the public safe.
“Creating a safe, reliable transit system is the responsibility of leaders at every level. CTA, the City of Chicago, and the State of Illinois have failed to meet this obligation,” Molinaro wrote. “If CTA does not promptly increase its law enforcement presence, FTA will act, including by withholding federal funds.”
The letter comes after Bethany MaGee <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/woman-set-on-fire-by-convict-with-72-priors-on-chicago-train">was doused</a> in gasoline and set ablaze in an unprovoked attack on a Chicago train last month. Lawrence Reed, the man charged in the attack, had previously been arrested more than 70 times and had 15 criminal convictions.
The letter said that officials needed to “implement immediate, measurable, corrective actions to reduce assaults on transit workers and passengers and to address unsafe conditions contributing to elevated violent crime rates.”
“The horrific attack on Bethany MaGee onboard a CTA train has shaken not only Chicago but also every community that depends on public transportation. As FTA Administrator, I call on you as an elected leader and on Chicago transit officials to take decisive action on safety issues that lead to such tragedies.”
“I will not accept the brutal assault of an innocent 26-year-old woman as an inevitable cost of providing public transportation,” Molinaro added. “The attack on Ms. MaGee was preventable. Transit leaders and elected officials who fail to enforce basic laws and permit disorder to erode the integrity of their systems are making deliberate choices that endanger riders.”
According to Molinaro, violent crime on Chicago’s public transportation system is four times the national average, and assaults on passengers have surged 150% in the last five years.
Molinaro directed Chicago officials to update the city’s public transportation agency safety plans and adopt appropriate measures to address violent crime. Pritzker and other Democratic officials have long downplayed crime rates in the Windy City, claiming high crime is part of being a big city.

Illinois Gov. Pritzker Discusses Trump’s Authorization Of National Guard Troops In Chicago

Trump Admin Issues Ultimatum To Chicago After Latest ‘Preventable’ Train Attack

Brandon Johnson

Chicago

Crime

JB Pritzker

The Justice Department will no longer pursue civil rights lawsuits based on “disparate impact theory,” the Trump administration announced Tuesday.
The move comes after 50 years of government policy that encouraged lawsuits against “race neutral” policies without showing evidence of actual racial discrimination, the department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-rule-restores-equal-protection-all-civil-rights-enforcement">said</a>. Disparate impact theory is a framework that often assumes discrimination when there are different outcomes for different groups of people, even if there is no explicit discriminatory practice in place.
“For decades, the Justice Department has used disparate-impact liability to undermine the constitutional principle that all Americans must be treated equally under the law,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “No longer. This Department of Justice is eliminating its regulations that for far too long required recipients of federal funding to make decisions based on race.”
The Justice Department issued a rule removing disparate impact from consideration under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI prevents entities that discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, and national origin from receiving federal money or support.
“The prior ‘disparate impact’ regulations encouraged people to file lawsuits challenging racially neutral policies, without evidence of intentional discrimination,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Our rejection of this theory will restore true equality under the law by requiring proof of actual discrimination, rather than enforcing race- or sex-based quotas or assumptions.”
The change comes after President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-takes-sledgehammer-to-dei-in-latest-round-of-executive-orders-targeting-education">signed</a> an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/restoring-equality-of-opportunity-and-meritocracy/">executive order</a> in April that directed the federal government to stop using disparate impact theory in government policy and regulations. The order defined disparate impact theory as the “presumption” that “unlawful discrimination exists where there are any differences in outcomes in certain circumstances among different races, sexes, or similar groups, even if there is no facially discriminatory policy or practice or discriminatory intent involved, and even if everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.”
Trump said that this theory undermines America’s values of meritocracy and a colorblind society while also violating the Constitution.
“It is the policy of the United States to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in all contexts to the maximum degree possible to avoid violating the Constitution, Federal civil rights laws, and basic American ideals,” Trump wrote.
Last year, President Joe Biden’s Justice Department was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/case-document/notice-injunction-louisiana-v-epa-wd-la">blocked</a> from enforcing disparate impact claims against Louisiana.

Justice Department Holds Press Conference On Complaint Filed Under FACE Act

Justice Department Ends Policy That Promoted Dubious Racial Discrimination Suits

Civil Rights

Executive

Harmeet Dhillon

Pam Bondi

Racial Discrimination

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

Jeffrey Epstein

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

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