“Immigration authorities in Colombia have taken 17 children into protective custody after they were rescued from an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect whose members have been accused of sexually abusing and kidnapping minors in several countries. Gloria Esperanza Arriero, the director of Colombia’s national immigration service, told the Associated Press on Monday that her agency questioned nine members of the Lev Tahor sect during a hotel inspection Sunday. ‘We will likely deport them,’ Arriero said, ‘because there are no arrest orders for them in Colombia.’ She said that the group of 17 children and nine adults arrived in Colombia during the last week of October, and were staying in a hotel in the small northwestern city of Yarumal while they searched for a rural property they could use to start up a new site in the South American country.” (11/24/25)
“The White House is circulating a proposal that would extend subsidies to help consumers pay for coverage under the Affordable Care Act for two more years, as millions of Americans face spiking health care costs when the current tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year. The draft plan suggests that President Donald Trump is open to extending a provision of Obamacare as his administration and congressional Republicans search for a broader policy solution to a fight that has long flummoxed the party. The White House stresses that no plan is final until Trump announces it.” (11/24/25)
“Russia and Ukraine launched overnight drone strikes against each other as the US confirmed American officials were set to meet Russian representatives in Abu Dhabi as part of efforts to end the war. Officials in Kyiv said at least six people had been killed in Russian strikes on the city, while Russian officials said at least three had been killed in a Ukrainian strike in the Rostov region.” (11/25/25)
“A federal judge threw out the criminal cases against James Comey and Letitia James on Monday, concluding that the prosecutor handling the case was unlawfully appointed. Lindsey Halligan, who Trump named the interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia in September, had ‘no lawful authority to present the indictment’ against the former FBI director and New York attorney general, Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, wrote in her opinion. … Currie dismissed both cases ‘without prejudice,’ which means the government could theoretically try and bring the charges again under a properly appointed US attorney. But it is unclear if they could even do that in Comey’s case because the statute of limitations for the crime he is charged with passed on 30 September 2025.” (11/24/25)
“Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have announced an apparently unilateral three-month humanitarian truce in the country’s civil war. RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, made the announcement on Monday in a recorded address. The warring Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan did not immediately confirm that any agreement had been reached. Al-Burhan late on Sunday had rejected a ceasefire proposal put forward by the so-called Quad – Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.” (11/24/25)
“Bitcoin edged above $88,000 on Monday but lagged the broader rebound in U.S. equities, with the cryptocurrency still nursing losses from last week’s selloff. The modest move higher underscores the market’s cautious mood, as bullish conviction remains muted. The original cryptocurrency began to recover over the weekend after slumping to a seven-month low of $80,554 on Friday. Bitcoin, which had tumbled more than 20% in the last four weeks, was up less than 1% to about $88,400 on Monday. Other smaller, more volatile tokens increased more, with XRP jumping about 7% and Solana about 3% higher.” (11/24/25)
“U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone Monday to discuss, among a number of topics, the Russia-Ukraine war, farming, the status of Taiwan and committing to future state visits. China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry stated that the two leaders, who also met last month in South Korea, ‘reached many important common understandings.’ The two reportedly agreed to reciprocal in-person meetings, lower U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods and export measures for rare-Earth minerals. … Trump confirmed an invite from Xi to visit Beijing next year in April. In addition, Xi is expected to come to the United States later next year for an official occasion.” (11/24/25)
“Spanish Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz resigned Monday, stepping down before a judicial ruling banning him from holding public office for two years went into effect. Spain’s Supreme Court last week convicted García Ortiz of leaking details of a tax probe involving the partner of Madrid’s regional leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso, a rising star among the country’s conservative voters. The outgoing attorney general denies leaking the information, and several journalists who published articles about the probe testified he was not their source. Although the court announced García Ortiz’s guilty verdict within days of his trial’s conclusion, the panel of judges who tried him has yet to publish the legal reasoning behind the ruling.” (11/24/25)
A “zero-dollar day” in our year-end fundraiser yesterday. Our total remains at $1,285.84.
Our goal is $5,501; once we’ve raised $2,750.50, reader GL has pledged to “match funds” for the other half.
But to get that second half, we must raise the first half, and that’s going more slowly than usual this year.
It’s a little depressing, but I’m not going to belabor THAT feeling at length. Instead, I’m just going to ask YOU to support the freedom movement’s daily newspaper at …
“An Australian senator has provoked anger for wearing a burka in parliament, after pushing for a ban on the Muslim garment. Pauline Hanson was condemned by fellow senators, with one accusing her of “blatant racism”. Proceedings in the senate were halted as she refused to remove the item. The Queensland senator, of the anti-immigration One Nation party, was seeking to introduce a bill that would ban full face coverings in public – a policy she has long campaigned for. It is the second time she has worn the garment – which covers the face and body – in parliament, and said her actions were in protest at the senate rejecting her bill.” (11/24/25)
