News of the Week for December 7th, 2025
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Socialized Medicine
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Abortion
Court Cases & Legislation
CDC Delays Release of Abortion Data Until Spring 2026
The CDC Failed To Release Abortion Data During Thanksgiving Week
Gun Rights
Gun Sales Surge in Virginia Ahead of Democrat Takeover
Earlier today Tom Knighton covered the not-so-great news about the number of NICS checks performed on firearm transfers during Thanksgiving week, which were down about 13% compared to last year.
Black Friday Gun Sales Dip Compared to 2024
Black Friday is the biggest sales day of the year, even now in the era of internet shopping. That’s especially true for gun sales because, well, you can’t buy them on Amazon. Damn it.
Canada Takes Belated Aim at Gun It Neglected to Ban Before Now
Over the past few years, the Liberals in charge of the Canadian government have banned the sale and possession of more than 2,000 makes and models of firearms, including the vast majority of semi-automatic long guns on the market.
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
Scotland’s key carbon capture project faces collapse in new blow to Miliband
Scotland’s flagship carbon capture project is at risk of collapse after its main backer announced plans to exit the scheme.
Socialized Medicine
Government in Healthcare
Pharmaceutical Price Controls and the Marshmallow Test
The pharmaceutical market is in turmoil. On the one hand we have what looks like a golden age of medicine with millions of lives saved by COVID vaccines, a leap in mRNA technology, excellent new obesity and blood sugar drugs, breakthroughs in cancer treatments and more. On the other hand, the Inflation Reduction Act includes the most extensive price controls on pharmaceuticals we have ever seen in the United States.
A Bad Omen for Vaccine Development at the FDA
Medical innovation has been imperiled by the heavy hand of HHS under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose tendency toward intrusive government has trickled throughout the department. It is his job, RFK Jr. believes, to allow patients to access only those drugs and treatments that he endorses. This paternalistic regulatory philosophy of eliminating risk at all costs has infected the highest ranks of the Food and Drug Administration, a small but powerful node within the HHS behemoth.
Former Labour PM Gordon Brown: Put the Brakes on Assisted Suicide in the U.K.
Gordon Brown, the former prime minister of England from the Labour Party, has written an op-ed in The Guardian against the current assisted suicide push in both London and in Scotland. He writes that palliative care is woefully underfunded, and until that is rectified, assisted suicide should not be under consideration.
New York Moves Closer to Assisted Suicide?
Lawmakers in Albany voted months ago to legalize assisted suicide. Presumably, Governor Kathy Hochul didn’t want to sign the bill before the elections. Now that she’s clear of them, it appears she’s proposing amendments — including videotaped requests, a few days’ waiting period, and mandatory psychiatric consultation to determine eligibility, as well as confining the law to New York residents. I’m surprised by the latter, given that Hochul has been an advocate of abortion tourism to New York and has defended Empire State doctors’ sending abortion pills to Texas and Louisiana.
Finally, a Suicide Prevention Organization Opposes Assisted Suicide
One of my great frustrations has been the general silence of suicide prevention organizations in the face of the legalization of assisted suicide in various jurisdictions. To me, this failure has been an abdication of such groups’ core responsibility because it ignores some suicides, does not oppose facilitation of the suicides of the ill and disabled, and does not grapple with the adverse impact that assisted suicide advocacy can have on suicidal people generally.
Swiss Suicide-Clinic Founder Kills Himself; U-M Medical School Celebrates Kevorkian
The founder of the Swiss suicide clinic Dignitas, Ludwig Minelli, has, of course, killed himself. He did it just short of what would have been his 93rd birthday (December 5).
War & Terror
Japan Has Changed How the World Must Think About Taiwan
A single word can crack the facade of a great power’s confidence. That’s what happened last month when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan told lawmakers in Tokyo that a Chinese attack or blockade against Taiwan would constitute a threat to Japan’s “survival,” a term that, under Japanese law, would permit the country to deploy its military overseas.
The Venezuela Crisis
The regime of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela is malign and illegitimate. After Maduro stole the 2018 presidential election, nearly 60 countries joined the United States in recognizing Juan Guaidó as the rightful president of that country. Six years later, opposition leader Edmundo González defeated Maduro at the ballot box — but Maduro once again refused to accept the results.
In 2016 video, Hegseth says US troops ‘won’t follow unlawful orders’ from the president
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told an audience in a previously unreported 2016 video that the US military “won’t follow unlawful orders from their commander in chief,” and described the refusal of illegal commands as a part of the military’s ethos and standards — a message he now condemns Democrats for spreading.
Watchdog finds Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing sensitive war plans on Signal, sources say
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information, which could have endangered American troops and mission objectives, when he used Signal in March of this year to share highly-sensitive attack plans targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to four sources familiar with the contents of a classified Inspector General report.
Admiral tells lawmakers there was no ‘kill them all’ order in attack that killed drug boat survivors
A Navy admiral told lawmakers Thursday that there was no “kill them all” order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as Congress scrutinizes an attack that killed two survivors of an initial strike on an alleged drug boat in international waters near Venezuela.
Suspect arrested in January 2021 D.C. pipe bomb case, DOJ says
The bombs were planted outside the Republican and Democratic national party headquarters in Washington, D.C., on the eve of the Jan. 6 siege on the Capitol.
Secretary Hegseth’s Curious Definition of ‘Total Exoneration’
From the unclassified version of the Department of Defense* Inspector General’s report, investigating Secretary of . . . (sigh) War Pete Hegseth using Signal to discuss upcoming strikes on Houthi targets
This Might Be the Worst Argument I’ve Ever Read
Yesterday, Charlie published a satirical post attributing his own skepticism toward the Trump administration’s claims that the legal and strategic rationale for the ongoing military campaign against Venezuelan “drug boats” to his own thinly veiled admiration for drug traffickers. The point of that cutting exercise was to illustrate the absurdity of the tactics deployed by those who would answer legal arguments with hollow grandstanding and toothless moral blackmail.
Self-Defense?
As I listened to this week’s first episode of The Editors today, something Jim said made me kick myself over having missed it. Our friend Abe Greenwald made a similar point on the Commentary podcast.
Giving the Taiwan Hot Pot a Good Stir
…this is how it is done…
The Double Tap Isn’t the Issue
The debate should be about whether the ‘war on drugs’ is literal or not.
Boat at center of double-tap strike controversy was meeting vessel headed to Suriname, admiral told lawmakers
The alleged drug traffickers killed by the US military in a strike on September 2 were heading to link up with another, larger vessel that was bound for Suriname — a small South American country east of Venezuela – the admiral who oversaw the operation told lawmakers on Thursday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of his remarks.
Drug-Boat Attack Survivors Waved as U.S. Aircraft Flew By, Video Shows
People who have seen video disagree over meaning of signal from alleged traffickers
See How a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Could Unfold
An amphibious assault to conquer the island democracy would be one of the toughest military operations to pull off
There is no middle ground on the Venezuela strikes
The ‘double-tap’ matters less than the warped policy that justified the operation at all.
National
FBI ‘is rudderless ship’ with director Kash Patel ‘in over his head’, damning report by agents claims
Agents have shared a scathing assessment on Patel’s first six months in office, after the president denied claims he is thinking of replacing him
Judge Disqualifies Alina Habba as New Jersey U.S. Attorney
Second disqualification of an interim U.S. attorney.
Third Circuit Affirms Disqualification of Alina Habba
The first appellate court to consider the Trump Administration’s aggressive approach to U.S. Attorney appointments.
Why Is President Trump Pardoning a Notorious Convicted Drug Trafficker?
President Trump issues another pardon that is just about impossible to defend on the merits; the New York Times belatedly discovers fraud and mismanagement in the Minnesota state government; and an offer you won’t want to miss. Also, for the first time in a long time, it’s a lot of fun to be a Chicago Bears fan.
Efforts to block internet music piracy hit Supreme Court skepticism
Lawyers for the entertainment industry and internet service providers faced off at the Supreme Court on Monday in a case over pirated music that could have a major impact on how millions of Americans use the internet.
Trump DOJ argues key anti-discrimination law doesn’t apply to federal workers
Immigration judge says she was fired based on her race and gender — and because she’s a Democrat.
FIRE poll: 90% of undergrads believe words can be violence even after killing of Charlie Kirk
Ninety one percent of undergraduate students believe that words can be violence, according to a new poll by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and College Pulse.
Kristi Noem’s ICE hiring chaos laid bare as fat, illiterate and violent misfits ‘not ready to tie their own laces’ are recruited
The Trump administration’s frantic push to hire 10,000 new deportation officers by year’s end has spiraled into what insiders describe as a national embarrassment – with lax vetting and a signing bonus of up to $50,000 luring in a wave of woefully unfit recruits.
GOP frets ‘dangerous’ result in Tennessee
Republicans are worried the slim margin of victory in Tuesday’s special election may spell doom in 2026.
Auburn University admissions officer facing allegations of race-based hiring resigns
An Internal email confirms the departure of an admissions official accused by insiders of altering criteria to benefit black applicants. The university has denied the allegations.
Minnesota’s Fraud Problem
The Land of 10,000 Lakes has been hit with a massive wave of fraud inside its own borders, largely stemming from Somali immigrants living in the state. The scandal has cheated Minnesotans out of at least a billion dollars, and on today’s edition of The Editors, Charlie responds to this story by reminding listeners about last week’s conversation on America as a creedal nation.
Republican Matt Van Epps Wins Tennessee Special Election for U.S. House Seat
Republican Matt Van Epps has defeated Democratic state representative Aftyn Behn in the special election to replace Mark Green, a Republican who formerly represented Tennessee’s seventh congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Honduran Drug Kingpin and Former President Walks Free After Trump Pardon
President Trump has followed through with his pardon of major narcotics felon Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras who flooded the United States with 400 tons of cocaine. It is a shocking abuse of power. Trump is currently (and lawlessly) using the trafficking of comparatively negligible amounts of cocaine as a pretext to fire missiles at vessels on the high seas off South and Central America, killing 83 people so far.
Democratic Candidate Will Run for Rep. Chuy García’s Seat as an Independent
The move comes after the congressman made it so his chief of staff would be able to run for his seat as the only Democrat.
Thune says GOP facing ‘headwinds’ after special election in Tennessee
Van Epps’s margin of victory was significantly smaller than the 22-point win that Trump enjoyed in the district in 2024.
DeSantis Hedges on Backing Collins, Accuses Donalds of Being Soft on Crime, Woke on Education
Gov. Ron DeSantis is not planning on endorsing U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) as his successor anytime soon, saying the congressman’s position on a past public safety policy during his time in the Florida House is not in line with his conservative agenda, and he doesn’t appear to be any closer to endorsing his Lt. Governor Jay Collins either.
The Age-Gated Internet Is Sweeping the US. Activists Are Fighting Back
Half of the country now requires age verification to watch porn or access “harmful” content. Digital rights advocates are pushing back against legislation they say will make the internet less safe.
ICE Deports Man Claiming U.S. Citizenship to Laos Despite Federal Court Order
Chanthila Souvannarath Unlawfully Removed After Being Detained at Angola’s ICE Facility
The Boring Truth Emerges About the J6 Pipebomber, Displacing Exciting Lies
Federal law enforcement gets its man and solves the long-simmering mystery of who left pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic parties on January 6, 2021. But it’s more than a little ironic to see FBI deputy director Dan Bongino taking a victory lap about the arrest of the suspect, because the version of events told in the FBI’s criminal affidavit is much more mundane than the vast conspiracy theory that Bongino was enthusiastically sharing with his listeners, less than a year ago.
Accused DC pipe bomber told FBI he believed the 2020 election was stolen, sources say
During interviews with the FBI, the suspect arrested in the pipe bomb probe told investigators that he believed the 2020 election was stolen, providing perhaps the first indication of a possible motive for the bombs placed near the DNC and RNC headquarters, people briefed on the matter told CNN.
Governor candidate James Fishback faces allegations over relationship, began when partner was a minor
Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback is facing allegations from a former partner regarding a relationship that began when she was a minor, according to documents filed in a 2025 Leon County court case. The woman, now an adult, made the claims while recounting events that took place years earlier.
Grand Jury Refuses to Reindict Letitia James
Bondi should try to persuade her headstrong boss that enough is enough.
Supreme Court agrees to hear Trump’s challenge to birthright citizenship
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments early next year in the challenge to President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship – the guarantee of citizenship to almost everyone born in the United States. Under the order, which has never gone into effect, people born in the United States would not be automatically entitled to citizenship if their parents are in this country either illegally or temporarily. The challengers argue that the order conflicts with both the text of the Constitution and the court’s longstanding case law.
Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal
A bag of cash, Senate confirmations, and removal for cause.
Vance denies rising antisemitism in Republican ranks, expresses admiration for Mamdani
US Vice President JD Vance rejects the notion that his Republican Party is experiencing an uptick in antisemitism.
Bongino on past pipe bomb cover-up claim: ‘I was paid … for my opinions’
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino on Thursday brushed off questions about his past claims of a cover up in the case of who planted pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican national committee offices a day before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Immigrants kept from Faneuil Hall citizenship ceremony as feds crackdown nationwide
Becoming a U.S. citizen takes years and involves immigrants acquiring a green card, extensive interviews, background checks, classes and a citizenship test. The naturalization ceremony is the final step to the process, where the oath of allegiance and a citizenship certificate are granted.
The US citizens getting caught in Trump’s immigration crackdown
If you rolled past Bedrosian Park after the final bell rang at Waukegan High School on any given weekday this fall, you were likely to find Diego Rosales and his mop of unruly black hair, basketball in hand, permanently grinning and playing down to the level of local middle-schoolers. Until Oct. 6, when Rosales watched two dark SUVs come to an abrupt stop while he waited for the bus to school.
Three-year-old child forced to serve as her own attorney in Tucson immigration court
More than a dozen undocumented minors were forced to serve as their own attorneys in front of an immigration judge as the Trump administration ramps up removal proceedings.
Hegseth declares end of US ‘utopian idealism’ with new military strategy
The Defense secretary, speaking at the Reagan Defense Forum, outlined defense priorities that focus on the Western Hemisphere and reevaluate the U.S. relationship with Europe.
Vance lists the 3 progressive politicians he now appreciates
Vice President Vance shared a list of the three progressive politicians who he said, in an interview with NBC News published Thursday, he has come to appreciate.
Trump regrets pardoning Rep. Henry Cuellar after Dem announces he’s running for reelection
President Trump expressed angry regret over his eyebrow-raising pardon of Rep. Henry Cuellar last Wednesday after the pol quickly confirmed his reelection plans as a Democrat.
Economy & Taxes
In Defense of Strip Malls
If these commercial establishments offend your taste, don’t shop in them.
Mom-and-Pop Business Bankruptcies Hit a Record as Debts Pile Up
A six-year-old federal program designed to help the smallest American businesses cut debt and get a fresh start has set a record for the number of cases filed, court data show.
Costco sues Trump administration over tariffs, seeks full refund
Trump justified his sweeping tariffs by calling the U.S. trade deficit a “national emergency.” Costco’s suit alleges his signature economic policy is unlawful.
November private payrolls unexpectedly fell by 32,000, led by steep small business job cuts, ADP reports
The U.S. labor market slowdown intensified in November as private companies cut 32,000 workers, with small businesses hit the hardest, payrolls processing firm ADP reported Wednesday. Larger businesses, entailing companies with 50 or more employees, actually reported a net gain of 90,000 workers. However, establishments with fewer than 50 saw a decline of 120,000. The ADP report is the last monthly jobs picture the Federal Reserve gets before it meets Dec. 9-10.
Layoff announcements top 1.1 million this year, the most since 2020 pandemic, Challenger says
Challenger, Gray & Christmas said layoff plans totaled 71,321 in November, a step down from the massive cuts announced in October but still enough to bring the 2025 total up to 1.17 million. The most-cited reason for the month was restructuring, followed by closings and market or economic conditions.
Company backed by Donald Trump Jr.’s firm nabs $620M government contract
Vulcan Elements, a rare-earth magnets startup backed by Donald Trump Jr.’s VC firm 1789 Capital, has secured a $620 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense, as reported by the Financial Times.
Manufacturers shrink for 9th month in a row, ISM finds. Tariffs hurt sales and keep lid on hiring.
‘Business conditions remain soft as a result of higher costs from tariffs, the government shutdown, and increased global uncertainty’
Welcome to Tariff Complexity Hell
Complexity is a tax, and today U.S. companies are paying through the nose.
The Supreme Court Should Hear Case Seeking to Overturn Gonzales v. Raich
Raich is one of the Court’s worst federalism decisions, holding that Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce allows it to ban possession of marijuana that never crossed state lines, and was never sold in any market.
International
Hacking scheme targeted 120,000 home cameras for sexual footage
Four people have been charged in South Korea with hacking into tens of thousands of private video cameras in homes and businesses in search of sexually exploitative footage, authorities said Monday.
Why Iran is running out of water
Turns out government-supported farming in arid climates uses up lots of water.
Bolsonaro’s eldest son says he’ll run for Brazil presidency in 2026
He will challenge President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is running for a fourth nonconsecutive term, as the candidate of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party.
Opinion
New Explanation: Hegseth Did Not Order That All Boat Operators Be Killed
As the directors on the set say, “take two.”
No, SCOTUS Did Not ‘Invent’ Judicial Review in Marbury v. Madison
The Supreme Court’s power to nullify legislative and executive acts is inherent in the Constitution.
The GOP’s Next Leader Will Need More Than Populism
Donald Trump has always been just insider-enough to placate the Republican establishment and just outsider-enough to excite conservative populists. But keeping that political coalition together will be difficult for his successor in 2028.
The Other Way of Looking at Tennessee’s Special Election Results
There are two ways to evaluate the closely watched results of Tuesday’s special congressional election in Tennessee.
Threats of Violence Are Bad. Actual Violence Is Worse
Without question, the threats that are reportedly being directed at Indiana’s Republican lawmakers are a big story. Indeed, they’re part of a larger story — one that the coverage of that ongoing national disgrace is missing.
What’s happening at Heritage?
The institution can return to its roots or watch its credibility crumble
I Love Drug Traffickers
It’s the only possible reason for my discomfort with blowing up boats.
The Closing of the Conservative Mind
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute has downgraded traditional conservatism as it courted populism, postliberalism, and online popularity.
The Problem with the Republican Party? All the Democrats
The GOP should summon the gumption to persuade converts to the Trump movement of the virtues of Republicanism.
Campus conservatism is in trouble
My path to conservatism was somewhat typical: I was raised in a home with Republican parents in a post-Cold War era before social media. At 18, I moved to the liberal Mecca of New York City, where my beliefs were challenged, mocked, and debated. This made me stronger.
The Bell Tolls for Thee, Congressional GOP
Can you believe it? Yet another round of elections was held yesterday — the Tuesday after Thanksgiving no less, which is just about as antisocial a moment to stage an election as you could imagine. Why not just hold the vote on Christmas Eve? (As a note of local pride, Chicago still tops this: the powers that be here have intentionally scheduled our mayoral election to fall in late February of an off-off year, ensuring turnout is at its lowest. The result: Brandon Johnson.)
Carl Schmitt: A Window into the Postliberal Id
Schmitt’s friend–enemy politics may appeal to postliberal admirers of conflict and hierarchy, but real political meaning lies not in tribal enmity but in civic friendship ordered to the common good.
Who’s the Future of the Right?
New Manhattan Institute polling shows it’s still mainstream Americans.
This Might Be the Worst Argument I’ve Ever Read
Yesterday, Charlie published a satirical post attributing his own skepticism toward the Trump administration’s claims that the legal and strategic rationale for the ongoing military campaign against Venezuelan “drug boats” to his own thinly veiled admiration for drug traffickers. The point of that cutting exercise was to illustrate the absurdity of the tactics deployed by those who would answer legal arguments with hollow grandstanding and toothless moral blackmail.
The National Security Strategy is less a strategy than a mood board
The Trump administration attempts to define “America First” in the broadest possible terms.
Will Trump’s revenge campaign backfire?
A grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia, has refused to reindict New York Attorney General Letitia James on charges of mortgage fraud. Meanwhile, the Justice Department is considering whether to indict Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), also for mortgage fraud, and whether to seek a new indictment against former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying to Congress. On Capitol Hill, the House Judiciary Committee has ordered former Trump prosecutor Jack Smith to appear for a closed-door deposition on December 17.
American Virtue is cancelled
Building a political network around imitators of Holocaust-denying white supremacist Nick Fuentes has its challenges. Ask the Bull Moose Project, a Generation Z populist nonprofit which has shuttered its “American Virtue” subsidiary hardly a year after launch.
There Is No Good Reason to Revoke Birthright Citizenship
Shortly after being inaugurated, President Trump issued an executive order that purports to restrict birthright citizenship. The only authority he invoked for redefining some features of birthright citizenship was “the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America.”
‘Censoring’ the Censors
Given the savagely disproportionate fine just imposed by the EU on X/Twitter (more on that to come), this step, if accurately reported, is a welcome beginning, but it should only be a beginning.
