• Socialism in Seattle, too: Seattle amazed the nation with its efficient and safe voting practices in the elections held over a week ago. (Sarcasm alert.) Voting in the Seattle mayoral race was held on November 6, and the election was called a ridiculous eight days later. Democrat candidate and self-described socialist Katie Wilson has unseated incumbent Democrat Bruce Harrell. Harrell led in the early vote count, causing Decision Desk HQ to mistakenly call the race in his favor on the 6th, only to overturn that decision the next day. King County, where local Democrats endorsed Wilson, reported far fewer uncounted ballots than remained, leading to the incorrect call. Officials worked tirelessly to verify the universal mail-in ballots submitted without a voter ID system. Surely, Washingtonians can rest easy knowing this was one of the safest and most secure elections in Seattle’s history. Right?

• BBC formally apologizes: With Donald Trump’s threat of a $1 billion lawsuit still in the air, the BBC has offered a formal apology to the president regarding its deceptively edited J6 documentary. According to a BBC spokesman, the media outlet sent a written letter to Trump’s legal team, and “BBC chair Samir Shah has separately sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the corporation are sorry for the edit of the president’s speech on 6 January 2021.” The spokesman said there were “no plans” to rebroadcast the documentary, but also asserted, “We strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.” Then why apologize? The BBC knows it was caught in a blatant effort to peddle a false narrative on Trump and is attempting to fend off both severe legal and reputational consequences.

• Senator Fetterman collapses, taken to the hospital: John Fetterman, the senator from Pennsylvania and a stroke victim, was taken to the hospital yesterday after collapsing. Fetterman was placed under “routine observation” while doctors adjust his medical regimen. The collapse was caused by a “ventricular fibrillation flare-up,” a serious type of irregular heartbeat that can cause cardiac arrest. Fetterman was previously diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy and atrial fibrillation after his 2022 stroke. The senator has already been fitted with a pacemaker to manage his heart conditions. Speaking to his team, Fetterman was in a good mood, joking about the minor bruises on his face, “If you thought my face looked bad before, wait until you see it now!” Fetterman was among the eight Democrat senators who crossed the aisle to reopen the government and was a steadfast opponent of the Schumer Shutdown.

• European Antifa groups designated as terrorists: Having designated Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization early this year, the State Department on Thursday identified and designated four foreign Antifa-linked groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specifically Designated Global Terrorists. These groups are located in Europe — one in Germany, one in Italy, and two in Greece. All four have been accused of engaging in political violence using bombings, shootings, and other attacks. By designating these groups as FTOs and SDGTs, it cuts off revenue streams from U.S. financial institutions and bans their members from legally entering the U.S. It also allows the U.S. to criminally prosecute anyone under American jurisdiction for offering them material support.

• Appeals court says immigrant drivers’ licenses must stay: The Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has judged that commercial driver’s licenses issued to immigrants working in the U.S. with foreign addresses actually make roads safer. The Trump administration has rolled out a rule that would limit states’ rights to issue commercial driver’s licenses to immigrants in this category, as applicants’ driving histories are mainly from foreign countries, making evaluation difficult. The admin acted after five well-publicized accidents caused by immigrant CDL holders killed people across the U.S. this year, but the Obama- and Biden-appointed judges say the evidence may indicate that immigrant CDL holders cause fewer accidents than natives. In the 2-1 decision, the appeals court explained that the new rule would harm public safety by replacing “safer experienced drivers with less-safe new drivers.”

• Newsom insider busted: The Justice Department has announced charges against California Governor Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson. The DOJ issued a 23-count indictment against Williamson, which included charges for bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., obstruction of justice, and making false statements. Williams worked for Newsom between 2022 and 2024. She is accused of being involved in a scheme to steal funds from a dormant campaign account that had previously belonged to former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. She allegedly diverted $225,000 from the dormant account and fraudulently claimed over $1 million in tax deductions for items such as a $15,353 Chanel handbag and a $156,302 luxury vacation in Mexico. Williams pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on Wednesday. If convicted, she could face decades in prison.

• Texas A&M bans promoting gender ideology in classrooms: On Thursday, Texas A&M University’s Board of Regents voted unanimously to ban classes that “advocate race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity” unless the course has received advanced approval from the administration. The decision was in response to a lecturer who has since been fired after an undercover video revealed that she had booted a student from her class for challenging her use and promotion of the transgenderist “Gender Unicorn” graphic. The video caught the attention of Republican State Rep. Brian Harrison, who called out A&M, prompting university President Mark Welsh to resign. Predictably, a number of A&M professors cried foul, calling the ban an assault on academic freedom. However, as finance professor Adam Kolasinski observed, “Academic freedom does not mean you get to teach whatever you want.”

• DNC employees ordered to return to office almost six years after COVID: The DNC is not only having fundraising issues, but it’s also having trouble getting its staff to work. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin announced on Wednesday that staffers had to be in person at the office to ensure that “information wasn’t being siloed and that staff members would not miss out on time-sensitive decisions.” Martin added that staff members who didn’t like the policy could find another job and that this was long overdue. This prompted anger from the employees and from the committee’s union, which called the decision “callous” and “shocking.” Martin seems to be in a no-win situation, as donors are also unhappy with his leadership, and reports indicate the committee is underperforming its Republican counterpart in fundraising. Donors told Politico earlier this year that the DNC seems “rudderless, off message and leaderless” under Martin.

• Disney backs away from DEI in annual business report: The Walt Disney Corporation is slowly backing away from the woke themes and “not-so-secret gay agenda” that it so wholeheartedly embraced in recent years. Its annual business report, released Thursday, did not include the terms “diversity” or “inclusion” for the first time in five years, and references to “equity” related to financial matters. In 2024, Disney’s SEC filing included an entire DEI section, representing a material change for the corporation. This win for common sense is far from total, as Disney embraces the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) corporate equality index. The HRC benchmarks corporate practices relating to LGBT employees and gave Disney its highest rating of 100 this year. Wokesters at Disney have seemingly eschewed the language that has earned strong pushback, hosting its first “Global Belonging Week” this year, with “belonging” seeming to be the preferred replacement term for “diversity.”

Headlines

• DOJ sues over California map that could tip control of Congress (NY Post)

• Top officials present Trump with military options for Venezuela (CBS News)

• PolitiFact hammers Trump and GOP as liars, goes soft on Democrats (NewsBusters)

• Late car payments hit record among subprime borrowers (NewsNation)

• Drop in U.S. religiosity among largest in world (Gallup)

• Humor: Heartwarming: Group of senile senior citizens finally finds employment (Babylon Bee)

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