Hakeem Jeffries says there will be ‘strong bipartisan pushback’ if Epstein files aren’t released

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said there will be “bipartisan pushback” if the Trump administration does not release its files on Jeffrey Epstein.

“We do expect compliance, but if the Department of Justice does not comply with what is federal law at this point, there will be strong bipartisan pushback,” the New York Democrat said during a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

Attorney General Pam Bondi is legally required to release the department’s files on the deceased sex offender by Friday.

Brendan Rascius18 December 2025 21:47

Brown University shooting suspect identified by police, report says

A suspect in the mass shooting at Brown University, which left two dead and nine injured, has been identified by police, according to a new report.

“Providence Police have identified the suspected Brown University shooter and have a warrant, according to my sources,” Fox News correspondent Brooke Taylor wrote on X on Thursday afternoon. “Police are also investigating a possible​ link now between Brown University shooting and the murder of an MIT professor.”

Brendan Rascius18 December 2025 21:29

JFK’s grandson reacts to Kennedy Center being renamed after Trump

Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, spoke out after the Kennedy Center board voted to rename the cultural organization the Trump-Kennedy Center.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that the board, handpicked by Trump earlier this year, “voted unanimously” on the rebranding.

Schlossberg, who is running for Congress in New York, wrote in response that that vote was “NOT unanimous” and that “microphones were muted.”

Brendan Rascius18 December 2025 21:10

Democratic lawmaker says Epstein files will ‘shock the conscience of our nation’

Congressman Ro Khanna — one of the co-sponsors of the law requiring the Department of Justice to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein — said the documents will have major ramifications.

“I have long said the contents of the Epstein Files will shock the conscience of our nation,” the California Democrat wrote on X. “The deadline to release the files is tomorrow, @AGPamBondi.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi is legally required to release the files by Friday.

Khanna previously said that the Trump administration could face legal action if the files are not released on time.

Brendan Rascius18 December 2025 20:52

NY Times columnist who wrote ‘count me out’ Epstein story last month featured in latest Epstein photo dump

In a series of photographs from an event with the deceased sexual predator, which were made public Thursday, Brooks could be seen smiling directly at the camera while having drinks and eating dinner with other guests.

A spokesperson for the paper said that “Brooks regularly attends events to speak with noted and important business leaders to inform his columns, which is exactly what happened at this 2011 event.”

A person’s appearance in the files or in images alongside Epstein do not allege wrongdoing.

Justin Baragona reports…

Brendan Rascius18 December 2025 20:35

Trump says people were ‘begging’ him to reschedule marijuana

President Trump said he received a deluge of calls from people “begging” him to reschedule marijuana.

“We have people begging for me to do this,” Trump said at the White House on Thursday after signing an executive order that reclassified the drug under Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, which will lower barriers for medical research.

“I think I probably have received more phone calls on this, on doing what we’re doing — I don’t think I received any calls on the other side of it,” he added.

Brendan Rascius18 December 2025 20:18

Trump signs executive order reclassifying marijuana as less dangerous

President Donald Trump signed an executive order reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, paving the way for broader medical use.

“I’m pleased to announce that I will be signing an Executive Order to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance with legitimate medical uses,” Trump said at the White House on Thursday.

Brendan Rascius18 December 2025 20:00

Majority of voters say Trump is going too far with presidential power, poll finds

A majority of American voters believe that President Donald Trump has gone too far in his use of presidential power as his first year back in the Oval Office draws to a close, according to a new survey.

Another 37 percent said they believed he has got the balance broadly right, and a further 7 percent said, perhaps surprisingly, that he has not gone far enough.

Brendan Rascius18 December 2025 19:50

Women claiming to be Epstein victims describe close friendship between dead financier and Trump

Those questions have been at the center of long-running investigations into allegations and conspiracy theories that the late financier, who died in federal jail awaiting trial on trafficking charges, was intimately connected to a wider network of powerful figures who preyed on young women and girls.

Including previously unreported allegations shedding light on their relationship, The New York Times interviewed more than 30 former Epstein employees and women who identified as victims of his and Trump’s abuse before the men fell out of friendship on their respective paths to the presidency and a litany of federal charges.

At least six women groomed or abused by Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell were introduced to Trump, according court documents, witness testimony and interviews with The Times. One was a minor at the time. None have accused Trump of wrongdoing.

One woman who has not spoken publicly about her experience told the newspaper that Epstein had coerced her into attending four parties at his home, and that Trump was there for all of them. Epstein directed her to have sex with other male guests at two of those parties, she told The Times.

Brendan Rascius18 December 2025 19:30

Kennedy Center will be renamed Trump-Kennedy Center, White House says

The Kennedy Center will be rebranded to include President Donald Trump’s name, the White House announced on Thursday.

“I have just been informed that the highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center, some of the most successful people from all parts of the world, have just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a post on X.

“The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur,” she added.

Brendan Rascius18 December 2025 18:47