• Venezuela and the “kill everybody” order: It’s an alleged story from an alleged credible source, citing anonymous sources, so perhaps Secretary of War Pete Hegseth can be forgiven for crying “fake news.” The Washington Post reported over the weekend that two unidentified “people familiar with the matter” told a tale of the September 2 lethal kinetic strike on a Venezuelan drug boat, where a second strike was carried out to kill two survivors clinging to wreckage. “Orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal,” says the Pentagon’s Law of War Manual, so if a second strike were knowingly carried out to kill survivors, it would represent a serious breach. Hegseth responded by calling the story “fabricated” and reiterating that Venezuelan drug smugglers are not innocent victims but narco-terrorists. The next step is to force The Washington Post to present evidence for its claims.

• Black Friday and Thanksgiving online shopping record highs: Apparently, Americans ignored Rep. Ilhan Omar and other leftists’ calls for boycotting businesses on Black Friday, as a new online sales record was set of $11.8 billion. Even on Thanksgiving Day, online sales reached a record $6.4 billion, as more Americans shift to online purchases from traditional brick-and-mortar stores. These numbers show a 5.3% increase in Thanksgiving weekend spending over last year. Prior to Thanksgiving, some were predicting a slump in sales over the holiday season. University of Richmond finance professor Tom Arnold warned, “I don’t think it’s going to be as good a holiday season as it has been in previous years, and that it will be more heavily weighted towards the wealthier consumer spending, rather than the middle- and lower-income consumer.” PricewaterhouseCoopers also projected the lowest sales since the COVID pandemic. Thus far, consumers are proving them wrong.

• Trump announces termination of all Biden-era autopen signatures: Joe Biden’s mental decline began before he ever “won” the 2020 election. In light of Biden’s mental incompetence manifesting in his underlings using the autopen to sign things for him, Donald Trump announced on Black Friday that he would terminate all documents signed by the Biden autopen without presidential authorization. Trump emphasized that the autopen is to be used only with the president’s direct approval. Trump understandably claims that Biden was not consulted on many, if not all, autopen signatures, or indeed involved in the decision-making process. Biden’s autopen signed 162 executive orders and countless lesser documents.“The Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden,” Trump alleges, “took the Presidency away from him.”

• Haitians’ TPS ending: On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for some 350,000 Haitian migrants will not be renewed and will soon expire on February 3, 2026. The TPS designation allowed them to legally live and work in the U.S. but was intended as a temporary measure for migrants from countries that remain unsafe. DHS explained, “Secretary [Kristi] Noem concluded that Haiti no longer meets the statutory requirements for TPS.” Haitians were first granted TPS in 2010 following a devastating earthquake. It has since been extended multiple times, most recently by the Biden administration in 2024. DHS has advised Haitian TPS migrants to prepare for departure, to use the CBP Home app to sign up for a complimentary plane ticket and a $1,000 exit bonus, and to preserve their opportunity to legally return to the U.S. in the future.

• Trump gave Maduro an ultimatum to leave Venezuela: The president of the United States finally had a long-awaited phone call with the president of Venezuela last week. The conversation did not go as well as many had hoped. Donald Trump offered Nicolás Maduro and his family a guaranteed evacuation if he resigned then and there. Maduro stalled and asked for international amnesty for crimes committed by him or his group. He also asked to retain control of the military in exchange for free elections. Following the call, Trump closed the airspace over Venezuela “in its entirety,” a likely prelude to military action. Venezuela’s attempt to schedule another call has so far been rebuffed. This story is expected to develop quickly, and Maduro’s reign seems unlikely to reach the new year.

• White House launches media bias tracker: President Trump’s crusade against “fake news” has reached new heights with the launch of an official media bias tracker on the White House website. The site highlights a “media offender of the week,” which this week features the video of the “seditious six” Democrats calling for service members to refuse orders. Beneath the video, sections explain The Offense, The Truth, Key Points, and sources. The Offender Hall of Shame allows users to search for bad headlines and to see the worst outlets. Finally, The Leaderboard and Repeat Offenders show which outlets are the most egregious in spreading fake news, with The Washington Post leading in both graphics. A WaPo spokesman responded that the outlet is “proud of its accurate, rigorous journalism.” Trump recently launched a billion-dollar libel lawsuit against the BBC and previously settled cases against ABC and CBS News.

• Cook County guarantees income: Last week, the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted to make permanent a guaranteed basic income program that gives low-income participants $1,000 per month with no strings attached. The board approved $7.5 million for the program, which amounts to little more than a blatant wealth redistribution scheme on the backs of taxpayers. The Illinois Policy Institute (IPI), a public policy think tank, blasted the program, asserting that Cook County is “committing millions to a failed strategy already shown to leave people with less work experience and lower earnings.” IPI head of policy Josh Bandoch observed, “That should alarm anyone who wants real, long-term progress for low-income residents. A recent pilot program in northern Illinois, including Cook County, decreased workforce participation and lower individual income (before transfers).” What this program does achieve is keeping people relying on the government dole.

• Palisades fire recovery still at zero homes rebuilt: When wildfires in Los Angeles consumed much of the upscale neighborhood known as the Pacific Palisades, California Gov. Gavin Newsom promised he’d ensure that red tape — the state’s onerous building regulations — would be cut in order to ensure a quick and not-too-costly rebuild of the area. However, 10 months have passed since the fires, and just one house has been rebuilt — and that house had been scheduled for demolition prior to the wildfires. Thus, to date, none of the hundreds of homes destroyed by the wildfires has been rebuilt. While 371 houses are currently undergoing reconstruction, some 1,100 are still awaiting building permits from Los Angeles County. So much for Newsom’s promises.

• Another deadly attack in a “gun-free zone”: In what authorities are labeling a “targeted attack,” a mass shooting occurred at a children’s birthday party on Saturday night in Stockton, California. The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office reported that 14 individuals, both children and adults, were struck by the assailant, with four of them confirmed dead. The killer is still at large, and the sheriff’s office urged anyone with information about the incident to come forward, adding, “This is a very active and ongoing investigation, and information remains limited. Early indications suggest this may be a targeted incident, and investigators are exploring all possibilities. Detectives are actively working to determine the circumstances leading up to this tragedy. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and everyone impacted by this senseless violence.”

Headlines

• Pennsylvania governor signs law protecting people from “hair discrimination” (Not the Bee)

• WTC worker who “narrowly escaped” Sept. 11 terror attacks beaten to death by three teens (NY Post)

• UPS grounds MD-11 fleet indefinitely after crash kills 14 in Louisville (Fox Business)

• Death toll rises to 146 in Hong Kong apartment fire (CBS News)

• Ukraine peace talks shift to Moscow (CNBC)

• Anti-corruption units raid home and offices of Zelensky’s chief of staff (NY Post)

• Humor: 10 more groups Trump is designating as terrorist organizations (Babylon Bee)

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