Axios reports: The Christmas business is typically pretty cheerful, but not this year: Companies that import and sell Christmas trees, twinkling lights and other holiday decorations say they’ve been hammered by tariffs. You’ll likely pay more for holiday supplies, and have fewer products to choose from — industry leaders are even warning about possible shortages. Christmas executives (yes, that’s a …

“The data can’t be propaganda. The data has to be something you can trust, because decision makers throughout the economy trust that these are the data that they can build a factory because they believe, or cut interest rates because they believe. And if the data aren’t that good, then it’s a real problem for the US. So imagine if …

The Daily Beast reports: New York Governor Kathy Hochul was quick to hit back at Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) after he questioned why she was wearing a hijab in a photo posted to X. The image, which shows Hochul sitting next to New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a mosque, was originally posted by an anonymous conservative account with …

The Washington Post reports: The White House does not plan to require health insurers to provide coverage for in vitro fertilization services, two people with knowledge of internal discussions said, even though the idea was one of President Donald Trump’s key campaign pledges. Last year, Trump said that if he returned to office, the government would either pay for IVF …

“He’s been persecuted more than any modern politician. They probably did more than to Nixon, whether it’s the indictments, the impeachments, the investigations, now we’re realizing just how disgusting the Democrats are and how they manipulated the intelligence community just because they couldn’t take losing. In the state of Florida, we are winning. And the only way to stop winning …

Austin’s ABC affiliate reports: Community members came together on Saturday morning to paint over vandalism spray painted on a LGBTQ-friendly church in South Austin. Life in the City UMC said its pride flag was torn down on Thursday night and a message saying, “Pride was the first sin,” was spray painted on the front of the building. According to Pastor …

Politico reports: Stephen Miller was unequivocal: Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would seek to arrest 3,000 or more immigrants per day, a staggering target that he said was necessary to carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are looking to set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests for ICE every day and …

The Palm Beach Post reports: His boasts now have become legendary. Trump, who never loses an event at one of his tournaments, once said he won a club championship when he didn’t play the first round, crowned himself winner of a Senior Club Championship when nobody saw him play and said he won an event at Bedminster shooting a 67 …

CNN reports: Hours after President Donald Trump told Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to “go to hell” in a Saturday post on social media, the Senate headed into recess without reaching a deal over confirming Trump’s nominees. Senate Republican leader John Thune, Schumer and the White House had been engaged in a round of intense talks to end the standoff …

CBS News reports: The Senate on Saturday approved the nomination of Jeanine Pirro, an ardent loyalist of President Trump and a Fox News fixture, confirming the cable news personality to a top prosecutor post in Washington, D.C. Pirro, a former county prosecutor and elected judge, was confirmed in a 50-45 vote. She has been in the job as U.S. Attorney …

Variety reports: Just hours after the long-awaited release of her new single, “The Subway,” Chappell Roan has shared a music video for the song, a ballad she performed for the first time more than a year ago, at the 2024 Governors Ball festival. The clip is a New York City-themed fantasy that features the singer in multiple, often surreal scenes: …

The Guardian reports: “If the president is firing the statistician because he doesn’t like the numbers but they are accurate, then that’s a problem,” said Wyoming Republican senator Cynthia Lummis. “It’s not the statistician’s fault if the numbers are accurate and that they’re not what the president had hoped for.” North Carolina senator Thom Tillis, a Republican, said: “If she …

The Associated Press reports: A federal receiver is on the hunt to recover $140 million lost in an alleged Ponzi scheme that benefited some Republicans in the top ranks of their party in Georgia and Alabama. He’s looking to claw back funds, including almost 1,000 political donations totaling more than $1 million, that often backed far-right Republican insurgents. Some of …

Florida Politics reports: Five protesters disrupted remarks by U.S. Rep. Randy Fine during a congressional panel in Orlando. All took issue with his controversial remarks about the war in Gaza. The first stood up and yelled “Shame on you,” before party officials took him by both arms and removed him from the room. Another shouted “You are murdering and starving …

ABC News reports: The U.S. Office of Special Counsel confirmed Saturday that it has opened an investigation into former Special Counsel Jack Smith and whether he violated the Hatch Act through his criminal investigations into President Donald Trump. The investigation follows a referral from Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas earlier this week that asked the OSC to investigate Smith for …

Politico Europe reports: A prominent U.S. lawmaker and Trump ally says he is unpersuaded new European online safety laws will not violate the free speech of Americans. Chair of the House Judiciary Committee Republican Rep. Jim Jordan told a press briefing on Friday: “The biggest takeaway from our week here in Europe is that nothing has really changed our concerns.” …

The New Republic reports: An internal memo circulated inside the Department of Homeland Security suggests that Trump’s use of the military for domestic law enforcement on immigration could soon get worse. The memo — obtained by The New Republic — provides a glimpse into the thinking of top officials as they seek to involve the Defense Department more deeply in …

The Texas Tribune reports: A Texas House panel on Saturday advanced a draft congressional map aimed at adding five new Republican districts next year over protests from Democrats that the proposal would suppress the votes of people of color. The chamber’s redistricting committee approved the map on party lines, 12 to 6, after spending much of Friday hearing testimony from …

The Washington Post reports: He was the personification of shame in the Vatican, the lone prisoner in the three-cell jail of the world’s smallest sovereign state. Now, the Rev. Carlo Alberto Capella — convicted of possessing and distributing a “large quantity” of child pornography while serving as a Vatican diplomat in Washington — is presenting Pope Leo XIV, the new …

“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced today that it will be closing down by the end of the year following the passage of a rescissions package earlier this month. My team and I are still figuring out what this announcement will mean for Alaska Public Media, but rest assured that I will not back down when it comes to public …