US News

Supporters of Donald Trump erupted in fury Friday after an Indian Republican state senator announced he would vote against the GOP’s redistricting plan – citing the president’s use of “r-----ed” to attack Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

State Sen. Michael Bohacek, a Republican from a deep-red district, said in a Facebook post that he would be a “no” vote on the state’s 2026 redistricting package after Trump referred to Walz as “seriously r-----ed” in his Thanksgiving Day social media post. Bohacek, whose daughter has Down Syndrome, added: “words have consequences.”

Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA) received a sharp clapback on Friday from the former Democratic congresswoman she ousted in 2022, who is now seeking a rematch.

The controversy began when Kiggans took to X in the evening to vow to be a watchdog against the newly elected Democratic trifecta in the state government of Virginia.

A prominent university has agreed to pay tens of millions of dollars as part of a deal to have the Trump administration end federal investigations and lift stop-work orders on terminated federal grants, according to a report.

Northwestern University finalized a comprehensive settlement with the Trump administration that will have it fork over $75 million to the federal government over three years, Bloomberg reported Friday night.

Donald Trump Jr. is not happy with the Wall Street Journal after its editorial board published an urgent plea for Americans not to resort to "collective punishment" against Afghan immigrants.

"The fate of Afghans, men and women, who worked with the U.S. has often been brutal," wrote the board in the article, first published on Thursday in response to an Afghan national on a special immigrant visa being arrested in connection with a shooting of National Guard troops. "You can be sure Americans will fight overseas again, and our troops will need allies on the ground to succeed. How many will assist us if they believe there will be no exit for them if the U.S. leaves with the enemy triumphant?"

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sparked a wave of online backlash Friday after posting a defiant and combative statement defending ongoing U.S. military operations targeting alleged cartel-linked traffickers in the Caribbean.

In his social media post Friday, Hegseth accused the media of reporting “fake news,” and insisted the controversial missions are both lawful and in compliance with “armed conflict.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth refused to back down or apologize amid explosive new reporting that on his orders, military officials went out of their way to fire on survivors of suspected drug trafficking ships that were already taken out, which legal experts have said would be an open-and-shut war crime if true.

Hegseth, who calls himself the "Secretary of War" under an unofficial department name change instituted by an executive order from President Donald Trump, issued a statement attacking the media, but also not denying anything that was reported.

Amazon workers and their allies worldwide took to the streets on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, to protest the e-commerce behemoth’s exploitation of workers, relentless union-busting, contributions to the worsening climate emergency, and plans to replace employees en masse with robots.

“Amazon, Jeff Bezos, and their political allies are betting on a techno-authoritarian future, but this Make Amazon Pay Day, workers everywhere are saying: enough,” said Christy Hoffman, general secretary of UNI Global Union. “For years, Amazon has squashed workers’ right to democracy on the job through a union and the backing of authoritarian political figures. Its model is deepening inequality and undermining the fundamental rights of workers to organize, bargain collectively, and demand safe, fair workplaces.”

Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), who is currently facing a barrage of scandals and ethics allegations, spent tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions on expenses like casino trips, limousines, and private jet charters, the conservative Washington Examiner reported on Friday.

"The reelection campaign for Mills ... spent nearly $80,000 on fine dining, luxury lodging, private jets, and limos between February 2023 and December 2024, a Washington Examiner review of campaign finance records found," said the report. "In addition to his campaign spending, Mills, who has an estimated net worth of over $20 million, took advantage of an optional program intended to help less well-off members of Congress afford the high cost of maintaining a second residence in D.C., billing taxpayers for over $15,000 in lodging and meal expenses during the first half of 2025."

Advocates for refugees in the United States continued to raise alarm Friday after President Donald Trump moved quickly to exploit the murder of one National Guard soldier and the wounding of another—allegedly shot by a national from Afghanistan who worked for the US military and CIA during the war there before seeking asylum in the US—by issuing a sweeping ban against asylum-seekers and halting all immigration from what he termed “all Third World countries” in response to Wednesday’s shooting in Washington, DC.

“Regardless of the alleged perpetrator’s nationality, religion or specific legal status,” said Matthew Soerens, a vice president with the faith-based World Relief, speaking with the Associated Press, “we urge our country to recognize these evil actions as those of one person, not to unfairly judge others who happen to share those same characteristics.”

An ex-GOP strategist warned Friday that Republicans are facing a potential disaster in Tennessee’s upcoming special congressional election – a race in a deep-red district that should otherwise be, in his words, “a layup.”

Joseph Moreno, a former federal prosecutor and current CNN commentator, said Friday the signs are unmistakably troubling for the GOP in Tennessee’s Seventh Congressional District, where a Dec. 2 special election has unexpectedly tightened. The district is so heavily Republican, according to Moreno, that President Donald Trump won it by more than 22 points in 2024.

A former Republican strategist suggested Friday that a top advisor for President Donald Trump ought to face prosecution for spying and treason.

Steve Witkoff serves as a peace envoy for negotiations related to the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Recently, he has worked closely with the White House on a controversial 28-point peace plan for Ukraine and engaged in friendly dialogue with Russia.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued an order on Friday demanding the Trump administration file affidavits from every official involved in the decision to carry out mass deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, despite Boasberg's standing order to turn the planes around.

The order, which gives the administration one week to comply, is a major step toward a potential criminal prosecution of Trump administration officials for contempt of court.

Outrage erupted across social media Friday after President Donald Trump announced that he intends to grant a “Full and Complete pardon” to former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, the convicted drug trafficker serving a 45-year federal sentence for helping move massive amounts of cocaine into the United States.

Hernandez, extradited to the U.S. in 2024 and convicted in New York, was found guilty of conspiring to traffic 400 tons of cocaine following years of reporting that he used Honduras’ government, military and police to protect cocaine shipments headed to the U.S.