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President Donald Trump issued a grave threat that there will be “serious retaliation” following the killing of two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian in Syria on Saturday, and the injury of several more.

“We mourn the loss of three Great American Patriots in Syria, two soldiers, and one Civilian Interpreter,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

As President Donald Trump continues to be plagued by his past ties with Jeffrey Epstein, a new poll has found that a plurality of Republican voters now believe that Trump was aware of the disgraced financier’s crimes before they were made public, CNN reported Saturday.

Commissioned by Reuters and the market research firm Ipsos Group, the new poll asked 4,434 voters between Dec. 3 and Dec. 8 whether they believed Trump had advanced knowledge of Epstein’s crimes prior to the disgraced financier's first criminal conviction in 2008 for child prostitution.

Democrats’ decisive election victory this week in a mayoral race in Florida has left conservatives scrambling as the GOP continues to suffer unprecedented losses in the lead up to next year’s midterms, and on Saturday, two conservative commentators warned that outside of a major course correction, the GOP had “big problems” heading into 2026.

“Anything that a Democrat wins right now, the party is going to be able to crow and say this is a sign that voters are already tired of Donald Trump and this is a harbinger of Democratic victory in 2026,” said Byron York with the Washington Examiner during an appearance Saturday on Fox Business. “Not really clear from this particular race, but Republicans do have big problems nationwide.”

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) launched a bizarre attack on Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) Saturday during an appearance on Fox News, comparing her to the 1960s pop rock band The Monkees, and criticizing her for getting “her swag on” and “throwing her hands out.”

Crockett recently announced a bid for Senate, and has become a rising star in the Democratic Party over her frequent public feuds with President Donald Trump. Burchett, however, argued Saturday that he felt “Texas will be on to her,” and accused her of promoting a false version of herself.

A leaked Veterans Affairs memo reveals plans for major staffing reductions that could further strain an already overburdened health care system serving millions of veterans. Under the leadership of VA Secretary Doug Collins, the department is preparing to cut as many as 35,000 positions, many of them currently vacant, according to reporting by The Washington Post. The Veterans Health Administration has instructed managers to cancel thousands of job openings, including roles for doctors, nurses, and support staff — a move employees warn will worsen wait times and limit access to care for former service members.

The proposed cuts come on top of roughly 30,000 positions already eliminated and could shrink the VA health care workforce by about 10 percent, reducing staffing levels to as few as 372,000 employees. Union officials and frontline workers say the reductions risk pushing the system past its breaking point. “The VA has been chronically understaffed for years,” said Thomas Dargon Jr. of the American Federation of Government Employees, while Colorado VA nurse Sharda Fornarino warned staff are being asked to “do more with less.” The staffing overhaul is expected to coincide with a broader reorganization that may also reduce the VA’s regional office structure overseeing hospitals and medical centers nationwide.

A leaked Veterans Administration memo reveals staffing reductions at facilities serving former military members, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

Under the leadership of former far-right GOP lawmaker Doug Collins, the VA is planning to eliminate up to 35,000 positions, The Washington Post reported. The agency has already faced persistent criticism for inadequate staffing levels, which have contributed to extended wait times for veterans seeking care.

The VA responded, confirming that 25,000 cuts were being made, but that they were all open roles, many of which were created during the COVID pandemic, and that they would have no effect on the quality of care. An administration spokesman said no actual employee would lose their job.

State and federal prosecutors are squabbling after President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is reportedly considering pursuing “highly unusual” federal charges against the suspected killer of Charlie Kirk, NBC News reported Saturday.

Kirk was assassinated in September while speaking at an event at Utah University, and his suspected killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was arrested two days later. While Robinson already faces multiple state charges, including aggravated murder, the DOJ is now considering pursuing federal charges and painting the murder as an “anti-Christian hate crime.”

Former Fox News personality Jeannine Pirro took center stage in a New York Times report examining the Donald Trump Department of Justice's struggle to secure grand jury indictments.

According to the report, DOJ prosecutors and Trump appointees in U.S. Attorney offices are experiencing an unusually high rate of failure in obtaining indictments, let alone convictions, as part of the president's agenda.

While former real estate lawyer turned prosecutor Lindsey Halligan has drawn the most scrutiny for mishandling cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, the Times reports that Pirro may have the poorest track record overall.

Pirro, who served as a prosecutor before becoming a conservative media figure, notably failed to secure a conviction against Sean Dunn, who was prosecuted for throwing a sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer in Washington, D.C.

As the Times' Glenn Thrush and Alan Feuer reported, "In recent months, grand jurors in Washington spurned efforts to indict or ultimately convict anti-Trump activists: a woman who posted a threat against Mr. Trump on Instagram and, most famously, a Justice Department employee who tossed a sandwich at federal officers."

Pirro, who leads the Washington D.C. office, appears to have the highest rate of unsuccessful prosecutions.

"That distinction appears to belong to Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, whose office failed three times to obtain an indictment against a woman who pushed an F.B.I. agent against a wall during a protest over the summer," they wrote. "Even when Ms. Pirro's subordinates changed course and moved forward on misdemeanor charges that did not require an indictment, a trial jury shut them down again, acquitting the woman altogether."