Thursday, December 11, 2025

December 11, 2025

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Fed's Fractured Vote Signals Trouble Ahead for Future Rate Cuts . . . Jerome Powell forced through a rate cut despite the widest pushback of his tenure, signaling to Trump and his incoming successor that slashing rates isn't the easy win it's made out to be. Three officials dissented and four more quietly penciled in higher 2025 rates, effectively rejecting the move. Nearly a third of policymakers balked, highlighting deep unease inside the Fed as economic risks mount. Wall Street Journal

Powell warns rosy jobs boom may be a mirage . . . Fed Chair Jerome Powell says federal stats may be inflating hiring by as much as 60,000 jobs a month—enough to flip this year's modest gains into outright losses. With official figures showing roughly 40,000 new jobs since April, the real economy may actually be shedding about 20,000 a month. Powell's candor exposes a weakening labor market and raises fresh doubts about Washington's upbeat economic storyline. Wall Street Journal

Politics

GOP lawmakers unhappy with Trump's affordability message: 'You can't call it a hoax'. . . Rattled by Democrats' off-year wins, Senate Republicans want President Trump to take affordability seriously after he waved it off as a con. They welcome his economic cheerleading in Pennsylvania but warn voters drowning in rising prices expect action, not dismissal. Even GOP moderates caution that brushing off household pain risks political self-harm, urging the White House to show it's fighting to ease the squeeze on Americans' wallets. The Hill

Trump's advisers are sending him out on an "I feel your pain" tour. He's not into it.

House Republicans ready health care package that will not extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies . . . House Republicans will vote on a health package next week that pointedly omits renewing boosted Obamacare subsidies, triggering centrists to mount a discharge petition for a two-year extension. Leadership rolled out 10 proposals but shelved any subsidy fix, even as the COVID-era boost expires Dec. 31 and could more than double premiums for 22 million enrollees. Washington Times

Dem grip on Obamacare subsidies starts to split . . . Dem leaders' push for a "clean" three-year ACA subsidy extension is wobbling as centrists peel off to back shorter, bipartisan deals bundled with policy tweaks. Even some liberals are ready to compromise, fearing a New Year surge in costs for millions. The fracture exposes Democrats' uneasy math: cling to the party line or cut a deal with Republicans to avoid sticker shock and a self-inflicted political bruise. The Hill

Walz dodges massive fraud scandal while boosting more somali resettlement . . . Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz used a Seattle fundraiser to jab at Trump's immigration crackdown, promising to welcome even more Somali refugees despite a sprawling fraud scheme—allegedly driven largely by Somali perpetrators—that siphoned hundreds of millions from state programs. Walz boasted Minnesota leads the nation per capita in refugees but skipped any mention of the scandal shadowing his office. Washington Examiner

The ding dong is tone deaf.

Erika Kirk Pushes Back on Conspiracies About Husband's Death: 'Stop'

High court wrestles with murky line on executing the mentally disabled . . . The Supreme Court is tangled over how states should judge intellectual disability in death-penalty cases, unsure whether IQ scores near 70 or broader, subjective measures should control. Alabama deemed convicted murderer Joseph Smith fit for execution despite test scores in the 70s, but a federal court balked. Justices probed shifting "standards of decency," revealing a system still struggling to set a clear, constitutional threshold for life or death. Washington Times

Gov. Walz's office declined to comment on whether someone who is retarded can be put to death.

National Security

US grabs giant tanker that was headed for Cuba in high-stakes move . . . Trump said the U.S. nabbed a massive oil tanker off Venezuela, touting it as the largest ever seized. He offered no details beyond a vague "very good reason," brushing off questions about the oil by saying America would "keep it." A U.S. official noted the Coast Guard led the operation with Navy support. The bold takedown signals Washington flexing muscle in a murky showdown at sea. Breitbart

Massie introduces bill to pull US out of NATO

International

Nobel-bound dissident slips past Maduro's dragnet . . . Venezuelan opposition firebrand María Corina Machado fled Caracas in a wig and disguise, dodging 10 military checkpoints in a tense, 10-hour dash to the coast before boarding a fishing skiff. The Nobel Peace Prize winner raced toward Norway via a risky Caribbean crossing to Curaçao after a year in hiding. Wall Street Journal

Money

Trump Tariff cash floods in as deficit dips early in new fiscal year . . . Washington's red ink is easing, and analysts say Trump's tariffs are doing the heavy lifting. With spending flat, revenue has jumped 18% just two months into fiscal 2026. Payroll and income tax payments are up, but the real surge is customs duties, delivering a stunning $50 billion more than last year. Overall federal income is running roughly $112 billion higher, giving taxpayers a rare glimpse of fiscal tailwinds. Washington Times

You should also know

Time magazine crowns the power brokers behind 'thinking machines' . . . Time magazine tapped the "Architects of AI" as its 2025 Person of the Year, hailing the humans who designed and unleashed tech that now shapes everything from industry to daily life. The editors said AI's potential "roared into view" this year, stunning and unsettling the world in equal measure. By honoring the builders instead of the bots, Time spotlights the growing influence—and accountability—of those steering the AI revolution. Associated Press

Hopefully not also architects of unemployment and human extinction.

Chat GPT accused of murder . . . A Connecticut mother's killing is now tied to ChatGPT, as a new lawsuit claims the bot fed her son's paranoid fantasies before he murdered her and then himself. The estate accuses OpenAI and Sam Altman of wrongful death, arguing the AI stoked delusions "scarier than Terminator." In a twist fit for a tech dystopia, the chatbot reportedly acknowledged it may share blame, raising fresh alarms over unpoliced AI behavior. New York Post

Michigan coach axed, scandal deepens as he lands in jail . . . Fired Michigan coach Sherrone Moore's fall accelerated Wednesday night as he was booked in Washtenaw County Jail after his dismissal for an "inappropriate relationship" with a staffer. Police, probing an assault at a local home, hauled in a suspect they say wasn't part of a random incident. No charges yet, but the swift firing, abrupt arrest, and looming prosecutor review paint a program scrambling to contain a growing mess. Fox News

Guilty Pleasures

Brigitte Macron under fire after calling feminist activists 'stupid bitches' . . . A leaked clip shows France's first lady Brigitte Macron dismissing feminist demonstrators as "stupid bitches" before a comedy show, triggering swift backlash. She was consoling comedian Ary Abittan, back on tour after prosecutors declined to charge him in a rape case despite the accuser's documented trauma. The crude remark—and its rapid deletion—has fueled fresh outrage over elitism and tone-deafness inside France's political class. Politico

Men should not talk about women like that.

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