Monday November 17th, 2025
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
- --Geoff Metcalf
- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
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World & Nation
Supreme Court agrees to review Trump admin effort to limit immigrant asylum processing claims at border
Case centers on whether immigrants 'arrive' when meeting officials on Mexican soil or US side
The Supreme Court agreed to review an effort by the Trump
administration to limit asylum processing claims from immigrants at the
U.S.-Mexico border in an order issued Thursday.
The key issue in the case Noem v. Al Otro Lado is over what constitutes
"arrival in the United States" within the meaning of federal
immigration law. The law provides that an alien who "arrives" may apply
for asylum and must be inspected by an immigration officer.
The legal question, however, is over whether an immigrant "arrives" to
begin the process for the asylum claim when meeting immigration
officers on the U.S. side of the border or while still on the Mexican
side.
The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court after a federal
appeals court said someone "arrives" when they present themselves to an
immigration official "at the border," even if that meeting occurs on
Mexican soil.
Critics scoff at Trump’s shift to urging House GOP to vote to release Epstein files
President Trump’s sudden shift and show of support for a coming House
vote to release the Epstein files has been met with skepticism from his
critics on both sides of the aisle.
On the left, Sen. Chris Coons said he suspects Trump is bluffing. The
Delaware Democrat argued Monday that the president will ultimately lean
on the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into the late Jeffrey
Epstein’s ties to Democrats as a reason to keep the records sealed.
“My hunch is that Attorney General [Pam] Bondi, having just been
ordered on social media by the president to open an investigation into
a series of high-profile Democrats, will promptly say, ’No, there’s an
ongoing investigation, we can’t disclose any of this,’ and the
president will back that up,” Mr. Coons said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
On the right, Rep. Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican and frequent
Trump foe who helped force House Speaker Mike Johnson to schedule the
vote, also warned that Trump may be using investigations into Democrats
to stall the release.
House Republicans say Dems twisting Epstein probe to smear Trump in new memo
The House is expected to vote on forcing the DOJ to release all of its Epstein files Tuesday
Oversight Committee Republicans are accusing their Democratic
counterparts of using the House's ongoing investigation into Jeffrey
Epstein to attack President Donald Trump rather than find closure for
the late pedophile's victims.
Fox News Digital obtained a 10-page internal memo written by GOP
committee staff for lawmakers on the panel that argued Democrats
intentionally misrepresented information obtained by Republicans to
create a narrative that was not there.
"Unfortunately, during this investigation, Oversight Committee
Democrats, led by Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), have
intentionally mischaracterized witness testimony and selectively
released information with targeted redactions in an effort to create
another hoax involving President Trump," the memo said.
Kremlin Says It Hopes for New Putin-Trump Summit
The Kremlin said Monday that it hoped another summit between Russian
President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump could take place as
soon as the necessary preparation had been completed.
Putin and Trump last met in August at a summit in Alaska, where they discussed a possible resolution to end the war in Ukraine.
Last month they announced plans for a summit in Budapest, but Trump
canceled it soon afterward, saying the timing did not feel right.
Struggling Venezuelans focus on day-to-day survival as defiant Maduro talks up war with U.S.
Ongoing U.S. Navy strikes in the Caribbean and talk of an American
invasion naturally have Venezuelans on edge, but many who spoke to The
Washington Times this weekend said a populace battered by years of
chaos and violence under the socialist Maduro regime is more worried
about day-to-day survival than a conflict with the U.S.
President Trump again ratcheted up pressure Friday on the Nicolas
Maduro government, which is seen as illegitimate by Washington and
across much of the West. He told reporters that he had consulted with
military advisers on the next step in the escalating conflict between
Venezuela and the U.S.
For months, the U.S. Navy has been destroying boats off the South
American country’s coast that the Trump administration says are
carrying drugs.
Oz: Trump administration weighing ACA subsidies extension
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS), said Sunday the Trump administration is
holding “discussions” on extending subsidies offered under the
Affordable Care Act (ACA).
“There are discussions around extending the subsidies, if we deal with
the fraud, waste and abuse that, right now, is paralyzing the system,”
Oz told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
The majority of fraud Oz is referencing concerns agents, brokers, web
brokers and third parties that enroll people in the ACA marketplace,
according to health policy research group KFF.
The ACA subsidies, which expire at the end of this year, were a source
of conflict during the 43-day government shutdown. Republicans in
Congress sought to reopen the government first before negotiating on
the credits, while the majority of Democrats pushed for an extension to
be included in any funding bill.
Trump rolls back tariffs on grocery items, and critics say it’s an admission tariffs raise prices
President Trump has signed an executive order to reduce tariffs on
grocery items that have risen in price or cannot be grown easily in the
U.S.
The order covers a wide range of agricultural products, including beef, tomatoes, coffee and bananas.
“I have determined that certain agricultural products shall not be
subject to the reciprocal tariff imposed [under previous orders],” Mr.
Trump’s order, signed Friday, said.
Mr. Trump issued the order as he tries to fulfill his campaign pledge to make life more affordable in the U.S.
Universities report 17% drop in new foreign students after Trump visa crackdown
American universities have reported a 17% drop in new international
students following the Trump administration’s crackdown on temporary
immigration visas.
That’s up from a 7% annual decline last year and is the sharpest
decline in over a decade outside of the pandemic, the nonprofit
Institute of International Education reported Monday.
Sponsored by the State Department, the report surveyed 825 higher
education institutions representing over half of U.S. international
students.
Israeli man accused of spying for Iran, providing details about air base, missile impact sites
An Israeli man is accused of passing intelligence information to
Iranian agents about Israel Defense Forces bases and details about
missile impact sites during the war with the Islamic Republic.
Authorities in Jerusalem said Shimon Azarzar, 27, was in contact with
Iranian intelligence officials for about a year until his arrest on
Saturday. According to the indictment, he received “thousands” of
Israeli shekels in compensation for his espionage work.
Mr. Azarzar’s wife worked as a communications technician at an Israeli
Air Force base during her reserve military duty. The couple shared
information on their phone through the cloud, so any photos they took
would be visible to one another.
From November 2024 to March 2025, he was also employed by a renovation
contractor that did work for the IDF, the Israel Police, and Rafael,
the Israeli defense contractor, according to Israeli media.
Ukraine signs a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale warplanes from France
Ukraine signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale warplanes
from France, the Ukrainian Embassy and the French president’s office
said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel
Macron signed the document on Monday stating that Ukraine is
considering the possibility of buying French defense equipment,
including Rafale jet fighters, Macron’s office said. It did not provide
further details.
Zelenskyy was on his ninth visit to Paris since Russia’s full-scale
invasion in February 2022. His talks are meant to strengthen Ukraine’s
defenses as the country enters another winter under Russian bombardment
of its energy infrastructure and other targets.
NEWT GINGRICH: The simplest way to make American life affordable again
Healthcare transparency could unlock savings for working families, but interest groups might oppose it
Americans have delivered the same message in the last two elections: make life affordable again.
They are tired of working harder for less, while the cost of everything
— from housing to education to insurance — keeps rising. The
affordability crisis touches every household, and its biggest driver is
the one Washington refuses to tackle seriously: healthcare.
Healthcare now consumes nearly one-fifth of our economy. It is the
largest single cost for employers, the fastest-growing burden on
families, and the quietest drain on national growth. Every dollar
businesses spend on bloated health costs is a dollar not available for
higher wages, new jobs or investment. Every dollar families spend on
premiums or out-of-pocket costs is a dollar they can’t use for savings,
housing or opportunity. Until we fix healthcare, we can’t fix
affordability.
Mamdani’s ‘gender-affirming care’ plan surgically erases gays — just like Iran
The New York Times reported last month on the dire situation for gay
people in Iran, where homosexuality is punishable by death. Many are
pressured to undergo brutal reassignment surgeries to live as the
opposite sex. Now, instead of effeminate gay men, they’re just
run-of-the-mill straight women. Problem solved.
What Iran has effectively built is a medical system that treats
homosexuality as a defect to be surgically erased. The goal isn’t
self-expression; it’s social conformity. Transition becomes a tool of
state-enforced heterosexuality.
Though you could say that what’s occurring in the United States is arguably worse.
Here, the process of medically engineering gays into pseudo-straight
people starts even earlier. Sissy boys who like Barbies are fed puberty
blockers, which prevent their voices from deepening, facial hair from
growing and shoulders from broadening. That way, they’ll have an even
better chance of “passing” as female.
