President Donald Trump delivered a politically charged speech Wednesday carried live in prime time on network television, seeking to pin the blame for economic challenges on Democrats while announcing $1,776 bonus checks to U.S. troops for Christmas.
The speech was a rehash of his recent messaging that has so far been unable to calm public anxiety about the cost of groceries, housing, utilities and other basic goods. Trump has promised an economic boom, yet inflation has stayed elevated and the job market has weakened sharply in the wake of his import taxes.
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US jobless claim applications fell by 13,000 last week as layoffs remain low
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits remain in the same historically healthy range of the past few years even as concerns grow about the health of the labor market.
Hiring has clearly lost momentum, falling to an average of 35,000 since March, amid uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs and the lingering effects of high interest rates.
When the Federal Reserve trimmed its benchmark lending rate by a quarter-point, its third straight cut, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the committee reduced borrowing costs out of concern that the job market is even weaker than it appears. He warned that recent job figures could be revised downward.
Companies recently announcing job cuts include UPS, General Motors, Amazon and Verizon, and those workforce reductions can take months to show up in government data.
US consumer prices slowed unexpectedly in November, still up 2.7% from 2024
U.S. inflation slowed unexpectedly last month, the government said in a report delayed and likely distorted by the government shutdown.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that its consumer price index rose 2.7% in November from a year earlier. Yet, year-over-year inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, and Americans are complaining loudly about the high cost of living.
The shutdown prevented the Labor Department from compiling overall numbers for consumer prices and core inflation in October, raising questions about how accurately the report has tracked the economy.
Kay Haigh, global co-head of fixed income and liquidity solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, warned that the November numbers were “noisy ... The canceling of the October report makes month-on-month comparisons impossible, for example, while the truncated information-gathering process given the shutdown could have caused systematic biases in the data.”
Fox News poll finds voters increasingly say they’re falling behind
Nearly half of registered voters say they’re falling behind financially, according to a new Fox News poll, while a similar share say they’re holding steady and only about 1 in 10 believe they’re getting ahead.
The results are the latest evidence that Americans’ worries about the economy have grown over the past year. Voters are about as likely to say they’re falling behind as they were in October 2024, just before the presidential election -- but only about one-third said this in June.
Similar to an AP-NORC survey released last week, which found that opinion of how Trump is handling the economy is at a low point, the Fox News poll found that about 6 in 10 voters disapprove of how Trump is handling the economy, and a similar number think the Trump administration is focused on the wrong things.
Turning Point USA meets as Trump acolytes seek to steer the youth movement
The conservative youth organization Charlie Kirk turned into a political juggernaut, convenes its flagship conference on Thursday for the first time since the assassination of its charismatic founder, testing the durability of a fractious movement that helped return Trump to the White House.
Kirk served as a unifying figure on the American right, marshaling college students, online influencers and Republican politicians. But now many of these people are skirmishing over the meaning of “America First” and the future of a movement defined more by the force of Trump’s personality than loyalty to a particular ideological project.
Vice President JD Vance, Trump administration officials, media personalities, Christian rock bands and pastors are expected at the four-day meeting in Phoenix, where thousands of attendees can participate in discussions about political organizing, religion and conservative critiques of American culture.
▶ Read more about where Turning Point USA may be turning now
Illinois senators put immigration agents and their leaders ‘on notice’ in DOJ letter
Democrats Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth wrote to the Justice Department Thursday that they are closely monitoring federal law enforcement agents involved in the Chicago-area operation dubbed “Midway Blitz” as well as other operations around the country. They want agents, officers and their leaders to be held accountable for any actions that violate people’s rights.
The 10-page letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi listed a litany of incidents gathered from media reports and civil rights groups where agents used tear gas, pepper balls, and other force on demonstrators or when carrying out arrests.
It’s a warning shot from Democrats who, although in the minority, are still seeking to conduct oversight of the administration’s actions.
The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly blamed activists in Chicago and elsewhere, saying agents are protecting themselves.
Putin adviser to meet with Witkoff and Kushner in Florida
Kirill Dmitriev, who directs Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, is expected to meet on Saturday in Miami with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner as Trump continues to push for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview a meeting that has not yet been publicly announced.
Witkoff and Kushner will sit down with Dmitriev after a meeting with Ukrainian and European officials earlier this week in which they discussed U.S. security guarantees for Kyiv, territorial concessions and other aspects of a U.S.-authored plan aimed at ending the war.
Putin warned Wednesday that Moscow will seek to extend its gains in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies reject the Kremlin’s demands. Dmitriev’s participation in the planned talks was first reported by Politico.
Trump demands Venezuela pay for seized US oil assets after calling for ‘blockade’
Trump demanded Wednesday that Venezuela return assets that it seized from U.S. oil companies years ago, justifying anew his announcement of a “blockade” against oil tankers traveling to or from the South American country that face American sanctions.
Trump cited the lost U.S. investments in Venezuela when asked about his newest tactic in a pressure campaign against leader Nicolás Maduro, suggesting his administration’s moves are at least somewhat motivated by disputes over oil investments, along with accusations of drug trafficking. Some sanctioned tankers already are diverting away from Venezuela.
“We’re not going to be letting anybody going through who shouldn’t be going through,” Trump told reporters. “You remember they took all of our energy rights. They took all of our oil not that long ago. And we want it back. They took it — they illegally took it.”
U.S. forces last week seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast amid a massive military buildup that includes the Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier.
▶ Read more about Trump’s demands to Venezuela
US announces massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion
The Trump administration has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion that includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, drawing an angry response from China.
The State Department announced the sales late Wednesday during a nationally televised address by President Donald Trump, who made scant mention of foreign policy issues and did not speak about China or Taiwan at all. U.S.-Chinese tensions have ebbed and flowed during Trump’s second term, largely over trade and tariffs but also over China’s increasing aggressiveness toward Taiwan, which Beijing has said must reunify with the mainland.
If approved by Congress, it would be the largest-ever U.S. weapons package to Taiwan, exceeding the total amount of $8.4 billion in U.S. arms sales to Taiwan during the Biden administration.
▶ Read more about the package
Trump delivers a partisan prime-time address insisting the economy is stronger than many voters feel
Trump delivered a politically charged speech that was carried live in prime time on network television, seeking to pin the blame for economic challenges on Democrats while announcing he is sending a $1,776 bonus check to U.S. troops for Christmas.
The remarks came as the nation is preparing to settle down to celebrate the holidays, yet Trump was focused more on divisions within the country than a sense of unity. His speech was a rehash of his recent messaging that has so far been unable to calm public anxiety about the cost of groceries, housing, utilities and other basic goods.
Trump has promised an economic boom, yet inflation has stayed elevated and the job market has weakened sharply in the wake of his import taxes. Trump suggested that his tariffs — which are partly responsible for boosting consumer prices — would fund a new “warrior dividend” for 1.45 million military members, a payment that could ease some of the financial strains for many households. The amount of $1,776 was a reference to next year’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
▶ Read more about the address