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US Monthly Headline News December 2025 - Page 2
Story by Atlanta Black Star News

The mother of a 7-year-old special needs student has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that a Memphis elementary school resource officer used excessive force when he threw her son into a bookcase, slammed him to the ground and handcuffed him after he acted out in class.

Cetera Jones, who is Black, filed the lawsuit, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, on behalf of herself and her son, identified as L.J., in a Tennessee U.S. District Court on Nov. 21. It claims that L.J., whose behavioral outburst on Nov. 24, 2024, was related to his disability, suffered a black eye and was emotionally traumatized during the incident.

The boy’s teacher and an unnamed school resource officer (SRO) at Levi Elementary School in Memphis used unreasonable force and failed to use crisis interventions and de-escalation tactics appropriate for a disabled second grader with special needs, the complaint contends.

Besides the rough physical treatment that violated his federal civil rights, the school violated state law and the Tennessee Board of Education rules and regulations by “wrenching his arms behind his back” and handcuffing the 7-year-old with metal handcuffs, a mechanical restraint not appropriate for his age, size, and disabilities, or the circumstances, in which the boy posed no imminent risk of harm to others, his attorneys argue.

L.J. was put into the back of a “police-like” school SRO vehicle along with his special education teacher, Rhonda Mitchell, and the school principal, Nekia Patton, and driven home, where Jones heard him “screaming in distress,” then saw that he was handcuffed and had a black eye that he didn’t have that morning, the lawsuit says. Jones called 911 and Memphis police responded.
Jessica Tarlov accused Trump of hiding worsening economic data and blaming Biden for GOP-driven issues, citing layoffs, rising costs, and prolonged manufacturing contraction. She also criticized Trump’s tariffs and the $12B farm bailout.
Story by Elle de Bruin

Three unexplained fires broke out at European shipping hubs within a two-day period in July 2024. On July 20, a container caught fire at Leipzig Airport in Germany at 5:45 a.m.

The next day, a truck near Warsaw burned for two hours. On July 22, another package ignited at a Birmingham warehouse in England.

Investigators from three countries launched investigations, but the cause remained a mystery for months.

Lucky Escape
Thomas Haldenwang, Germany's intelligence chief, revealed how close Europe came to disaster. "It was just luck that the package caught fire on the ground," he told parliament.

The delay of a Leipzig flight prevented the device from exploding in the air.

The packages held what looked like electric massagers filled with magnesium powder—extremely hard to put out, especially on planes. If timing had been different, a major plane crash could have happened.

Trail to Lithuania
Investigators traced all three packages to Vilnius, Lithuania. Officials discovered the devices shipped through delivery services on July 19, disguised as consumer items headed to the United Kingdom.

Arvydas Pocius, Lithuania's parliament security chairman, called the incidents part of a "sustained campaign of hybrid attacks aimed at creating chaos, panic, and distrust" across Europe.

The packages contained timers, ignition systems, and nitromethane—a flammable liquid used in explosives. Polish prosecutors found and stopped a fourth device.
During a hearing on Obamacare subsidy "fraud" held by House Republicans in the Judiciary Committee last week, Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) turned the tables on his colleagues by going through a list of fraud and misdeeds committed by President Trump, calling them out on their hypocrisy.
Tom Boggioni

Sen Chris Coons (D-DE) sent the hosts and producers of MS NOW’s “The Weekend” scrambling after he pointed to a photo of a check from Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein in payment for a woman that was included in the just-released Epstein files.

Brought on to talk about the Department of Justice’s foot-dragging of the files release in violation of a congressional order, Coons said just before he came on for his interview that he saw mention online about a $22,000 check from the president to sex trafficker Epstein.

“There were some new photos released of different powerful men in and around the company of Epstein,” the senator told the hosts. “One thing that I hadn't seen before was the sort of big fake check of $22,000 to Epstein from Trump, with some reference to having sold a girl. I do think there's more here, and it's worth more investigations to get to the bottom of this and put this to rest and respect the victims.”
Story by Rey Harris

According to AP News, at least 16 files that the department released to the public on Friday appeared to be scrubbed from their website by Saturday.

Among the deleted files was a photo that appears to show a work desk of Epstein's with a number of photos strewn about.

In an open drawer of the desk is a photo of Trump and Epstein alongside current First Lady Melania Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's convicted co-conspirator.

The DOJ has refused to comment on the scrub, but it has sparked heavy speculation among critics.

In an X post, Democrats with the House Oversight Committee shared the removed photo – deemed file 468 – and asked Attorney General Pam Bondi, "Is this true?

"What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public," the group added.
Story by Hannah Broughton

World-renowned whiskey brand Jim Beam has announced plans to pause production in 2026, amid struggles in the face of the Trump administration's trade wars. Operations at the company's Happy Hollow distillery in Clermont will cease on January 1, while the visitor center will remain open.

Bottling and warehousing operations will continue. A statement from the company said, “We are always assessing production levels to best meet consumer demand, and recently met with our team to discuss our volumes for 2026.

“We’ve shared with our teams that while we will continue to distill at our (Freddie Booker Noe) craft distillery in Clermont and at our larger Booker Noe distillery in Boston, we plan to pause distillation at our main distillery on the James B. Beam campus for 2026 while we take the opportunity to invest in site enhancements.
On US military officials...
David McAfee

Donald Trump's name appears on a newly released Epstein file in which a purported victim makes allegations about a newborn baby being murdered and dumped in Lake Michigan.

The Justice Department released this file ahead of Christmas Eve in which an unnamed individual, on Aug. 3, 2020, is looking for an update on the status of their earlier complaint. The report lists an unnamed uncle as the perpetrator and Trump as a witness.

"I previously provided a tip about 3 weeks ago, maybe 4 weeks ago, under an alias I have for myself," the letter says. "All the other details of the previous tip match all the information given in today's tip, except I am giving my real name. A detective from NYPD FBI sex trafficking task force called me a couple of weeks ago from a 212 area code number. I talked to him for about 20 or 30 minutes about my being sex trafficked by my uncle and Jeffrey Epstein in 1984 while I was 13 and [pregnant] ... I told him some other important information about other high profile individuals involved in my sex trafficking and the murder and disposal of my newborn daughter because I gave birth to her while in the middle of this ordeal."
Story by Elizabeth Preza

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who was called a “lowlife” by President Donald Trump on Christmas Day, has turned the tables on the president, the Guardian reports.

Massie drew the president’s ire after he defected from Republicans earlier this year by co-authoring a law requiring the federal government to release files related to the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “Trump has endorsed a retired US navy seal, Ed Gallrein, to run against Massie in the Republican primary,” according to the Guardian.
Story by Layla A. Jones

The thread of partisan power and control is stitched through America’s public education system. In the name of the revisionist Lost Cause history — which holds that the South fought the Civil War over states’ rights and not to maintain the institution of slavery — the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) in the early 20th century leveraged the group’s considerable political influence and went after school curricula. The UDC lobbied for ahistorical, pro-South school materials, and its members joined Southern state textbook commissions where they helped control which books would be deemed suitable for children and which would not. For the next several decades, nearly 70 million Southern students were taught that the enslaved were actually servants and that the Confederates fought merely to preserve a Southern way of life.

In the 1950s, the American Legion partnered with the National Education Association to create anti-Communist curricula. Married couple and religious fundamentalists Norma and Mel Gabler imparted their brand of right-wing influence on childhood education through the Texas textbook committee circuit, suppressing science lessons on evolution and upholding “cultural heritage” and patriotism, beginning in the 1960s and continuing into the 70s.

By commandeering state-level commissions and capitalizing on early 20th century state law, reactionaries managed to control the historical curriculum for generations of students, particularly in the South.

Under President Donald Trump, this blueprint is being adapted and disseminated directly from the White House. The president in September announced the Department of Education’s partnership with dozens of conservative and far-right organizations including Turning Point USA, Moms for Liberty, and PragerU. The group will lead the Trump administration’s 250th anniversary civic education efforts “in schools across the nation.” Among the administration’s priorities? “Renewing patriotism,” and “advancing a shared understanding of America’s founding principles in schools across the nation.”
Story by Andrew Stanton

A viral video highlighting allegations of fraud in Minnesota has drawn scrutiny toward alleged fraud schemes in Ohio over the weekend.

Newsweek reached out to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost for comment via email.

Why It Matters
Dozens of individuals in Minnesota have been charged with allegedly defrauding the government, drawing national attention after Nick Shirley’s viral video highlighting claims of fraud at childcare centers. Prosecutors have alleged that fraud may cost Minnesota billions of dollars. The case has also become culturally fraught, as 82 of the 92 defendants charged are Somali Americans, according to the Associated Press.

As the allegations drew national news, Trump referred to the Somali American community as “garbage.” Critics have said the Somali-American community as a whole should not bear consequences for the actions of only some individuals, and that the scandal has created a sense of fear within the community.

The case has recently drawn scrutiny toward allegations of fraud in Ohio.

What to Know
Claims of similar fraud cases in Ohio have been reported in the past; Yost’s office. Conservative lawyer and Republican strategist Mehek Cooke told Fox News earlier in December that Minnesota was “just the tip of the sphere.” Many Somalians in Columbus are “great people,” “law-abiding citizens,” who “came here legally.”
Story by Carl Gibson

President Donald Trump's administration recently intervened to help a disgraced far-right YouTube commentator get back into the United States — even though her channel was exposed as a Russian media front.

The Bulwark's Will Sommer reported Monday that Canadian citizen Lauren Chen of Tenet Media reportedly reentered the U.S. over the Christmas holiday, even though her work visa was suspended in 2024 amid an FBI investigation into her YouTube channel. Tenet Media's funders had been linked to the Russia-funded RT network, and were accused of funneling approximately $10 million to Chen's company, which also housed prominent pro-Trump pundits like Tim Pool, Benny Johnson and Dave Rubin.
Story by Tom Latchem

The Trump administration has helped a MAGA YouTuber who was exposed as a Kremlin shill return to the U.S. from her native Canada, despite her links to an alleged Russian influence operation.

Canadian influencer Lauren Chen was forced to leave the U.S. after her work authorization fell apart in the wake of a 2024 federal indictment alleging that Tenet Media, the YouTube network she founded, was bankrolled through a scheme connected to Kremlin-funded broadcaster RT.

After YouTube terminated Tenet Media’s channel and four other channels run by Chen, her social media presence disappeared in September 2024.

Then, on Sept. 4 this year, the married mom-of-two posted on Instagram about what had happened, denying Tenet media employees were “spies, propagandists, [or] traitors” and saying that no criminal charges had ever been filed against her.
Story by Ben Lindernberg

Federal agents sat in a Minneapolis courtroom as the verdict was read—guilty on every count. On March 19, 2025, jurors convicted the founder of a children’s nutrition nonprofit after prosecutors showed how $250 million meant for kids’ meals was billed, approved, and paid out for food that was never served.

Bank records, invoices, and wire transfers traced the money’s path—but when the numbers were tallied, most of it was gone. What investigators uncovered next revealed how deep the damage ran.

Funds Vanish
Of the $250 million stolen, investigators have recovered only $75 million—leaving $175 million still missing. Federal agents seized cash, vehicles, homes, and other assets, but much of the money was quickly laundered or moved abroad.

Prosecutors say the unrecovered funds likely flowed into foreign real estate and opaque investments. With 78 defendants charged, recovery efforts continue, but officials warn a majority of the money may never be returned to taxpayers.

Nonprofit Roots
At the center was Feeding Our Future, founded in 2016 to sponsor child-nutrition sites. Before the pandemic, Minnesota education officials flagged the group for financial and governance problems.

Those warnings stalled its expansion—until COVID-era waivers suspended key safeguards. By 2020, the nonprofit exploded in size, approving nearly 300 meal sites and claiming tens of millions of meals with little physical verification.
Story by Robert Davis

The Wall Street Journal published a bombshell report on Tuesday night, revealing the infamous incident that led President Donald Trump to kick disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago Club.

Trump has previously acknowledged that Epstein was a Mar-a-Lago member at one time, and that he was kicked out for being rude to guests. The Journal's reporting reveals that Epstein hit on an 18-year-old beautician who was sent to Epstein's nearby mansion in Palm Springs for a "house call." According to the report, the girl came back to Mar-a-Lago and reported Epstein for attempting to pressure her into having sex with him.
Story by Prerna Verma

Donald Trump sparked controversy again on social media. The President triggered a wave of criticism online with the inappropriate timing of his message, which he posted about John F Kennedy and his family. He mocked the Kennedys after it was announced that the granddaughter of the 35th president of the U.S., Tatiana Schlossberg, passed away at 35.

According to Irish Star, John F Kennedy’s 35-year-old granddaughter Tatiana Schlossberg passed away after battling leukaemia. Just hours after this unfortunate news became public, Trump posted on Truth Social about MAGA supporters insulting the Kennedys for their response after the current U.S. President added his own name to the Kennedy Center.

In his post, Trump shared screenshots of MAGA supporters who insulted the Kennedys for their response to the addition of Donald’s name to the Kennedy Center.

One of the users had commented, “I love it! It’s the correct plan, AND it will drive the lefties mad!” Another user wrote, “Perhaps they need to step up to care for the facility and business. They have been grossly negligent.”
Story by Alex Griffing

Fox News contributor Leslie Marshall pushed back on the narrative surrounding Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) and the alleged billions of dollars taken by fraudsters in the state that many on the right blame on Somali immigrants. Marshall joined her fellow Outnumbered panelists on Tuesday to discuss the topic, but used her time to offer some historical context on the scandal.

“Well, I looked at what he could be doing. I looked at what he is doing,” Marshall said to her fellow panelists, who were accusing Walz of not doing enough.

“One of the things that ties his hands is this very legislature that is trying to get him to resign. Interestingly, they’re not asking for a recall. So when they say the people of Minnesota don’t want him, well, put it to a recall. Let the people in Minnesota decide,” Marshall argued, adding:

Todd, love you. Google—if you Google, actually, local Minnesota news outlets have been reporting on this for years. Speaking of years, during the Biden administration, there were 59 people convicted so far. The ringleader is not Somalian. She’s a white woman named Aimee Bock. She was found guilty on all seven counts that were brought against her. So there are people that are already in prison. And remember, some of these are not DHS or federal-related facilities. Some of these facilities were closed down for other reasons, not even fraud.
Between the fallout from President Trump's trade war, tariffs and inflation, 2025 has been a rough year for farmers. Founder and President of the National Black Farmers Association and soybean farmer John Boyd, Jr. joins Antonia Hylton to discuss the state of farming heading into the new year.
Story by Marisa Laudadio

Republicans wanted answers. Democrats wanted transparency. What they got was a closed-door deposition that kicked off with a bombshell claim.

In a private interview on Capitol Hill with the House Judiciary Committee, former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith said his team discovered “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that President Donald Trump criminally conspired to overturn the 2020 election — testimony that GOP lawmakers have so far kept private.

Smith confirms evidence of criminal conduct
Smith told the committee that his team met the highest legal threshold when investigating Trump’s actions after the 2020 election.

According to Smith’s opening statement, which was obtained by outlets including the Associated Press and NBC News, there was prosecutable evidence Trump engaged in a “criminal scheme” to subvert his election loss — conduct that preceded the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Smith also said investigators uncovered “powerful evidence” that Trump broke the law by retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., and by obstructing government efforts to recover them.

“I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs or candidacy in the 2024 election,” Smith said.

He added that party affiliation would not have changed his approach, saying he would prosecute a former president “based on the same facts today … whether the president was a Republican or Democrat.”
Drugmakers plan to raise U.S. prices on at least 350 branded medications including vaccines against COVID, RSV and shingles and blockbuster cancer treatment Ibrance, even as the Trump administration pressures them for cuts, according to data provided exclusively by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors. Alex Cohen has more.
Story by Zac Anderson, USA TODAY

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers that President Donald Trump was responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and staunchly defended his efforts to prosecute the president, according to a newly released transcript of his testimony to the House Judiciary Committee.

"Our view of the evidence was that he caused it and that he exploited it and that it was foreseeable to him," Smith said of Trump's alleged culpability for the Capitol riot.

Smith testified to the committee behind closed doors earlier this month. The committee released video of the deposition and a 255-page transcript on Wednesday, Dec. 31.

During the deposition, Smith adamantly denied that there was any political motivation to the prosecutions, pushing back on the suggestion that he was trying to influence the 2024 election. Trump has repeatedly criticized Smith, calling him "deranged" and a "wacko" who was "used for Crooked Joe Biden’s attack on his Political Opponent."

"I would never take orders from a political leader to hamper another person in an election. That's not who I am," Smith said in the deposition.
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