Category: News
Donald Trump awarded FIFA’s new peace prize at 2026 World Cup draw
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was awarded the new FIFA peace prize on Friday at the 2026 World Cup draw — giving the spectacle to set matchups for the quadrennial soccer tournament even more of a Trumpian flair.
Trump, who has openly campaigned for the Nobel Peace Price, had been heavily favored to win the newly created FIFA prize. He and FIFA president Gianni Infantino are close allies, and Infantino had made clear that he thought Trump should have won the Nobel for his efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.
The U.S. president was awarded the prize that Infantino said was a “beautiful medal for you that you can wear everywhere you want to go.” Trump promptly placed the medal around his neck. The certificate that Infantino handed Trump recognizes the U.S. president for his actions to “promote peace and unity around the world.”
How Donald Trump’s immigration message is colliding with his welcome to World Cup fans
“This is what we want from a leader — a leader that cares about the people,” Infantino said about Trump, who was also presented with a gold trophy with his name on it that depicts hands holding up the world. The FIFA leader said to Trump “this is your prize, this is your peace prize.”
Trump thanked his family, including his wife, first lady Melania Trump, and praised the leaders of the other two host nations — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum — in his brief remarks, saying the coordination with the countries has been “outstanding.”
“This is truly one of the great honors of my life,” Trump said.
Infantino has often spoken about soccer as a unifier for the world, but the prize is a departure from the federation’s traditional focus on sport.
The FIFA president was also on hand Thursday at the newly renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, where Trump and the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda signed a deal aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo.
FIFA has described the prize as one that rewards “individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace and by doing so have united people across the world.”
The award to Trump came during a week in which his administration has been engaged in shuttle diplomacy to try to end the war in Ukraine, while also under scrutiny for lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and as Trump hardens his rhetoric against immigrants.
The Nobel this year was eventually awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who said shortly after receiving the prize that she was dedicating it in part to Trump for “his decisive support of our cause.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/05/donald-trump-fifa-peace/
Estrategia de seguridad de Trump critica a Europa y busca dominancia de EEUU en Occidente
Por MICHELLE L. PRICE
WASHINGTON (AP) — El gobierno del presidente Donald Trump presentó una nueva estrategia de seguridad nacional en la que los aliados europeos aparecen como débiles y donde se busca reafirmar la dominancia de Estados Unidos en el hemisferio occidental.
El documento, publicado por la Casa Blanca el viernes, seguramente agitará a los aliados de larga data de Estados Unidos en Europa por sus mordaces críticas a sus políticas de migración y libertad de expresión, sugiriendo que enfrentan la “perspectiva de un borrado civilizacional” y planteando dudas sobre su fiabilidad a largo plazo como socios estadounidenses.
Al mismo tiempo que el gobierno critica fuertemente a sus aliados democráticos en Europa y lleva a cabo una campaña de presión con ataques a embarcaciones en América del Sur, reprende los esfuerzos anteriores de Estados Unidos para moldear o criticar a las naciones de Oriente Medio y busca desalentar intentos de cambios en los gobiernos y políticas de esos países.
La estrategia refuerza, a veces en términos fríos y belicosos, la filosofía de “Estados Unidos Primero” de Trump, que favorece la no intervención en el extranjero, cuestiona décadas de relaciones estratégicas y prioriza los intereses estadounidenses.
La estrategia de Estados Unidos “está motivada sobre todo por lo que funciona para Estados Unidos —o, en pocas palabras, Estados Unidos Primero’”, se lee en el documento.
Esta es la primera estrategia de seguridad nacional, un documento que el gobierno está obligado por ley a publicar, desde que el presidente republicano regresó al cargo en enero. Constituye una marcada ruptura con el rumbo establecido por el gobierno demócrata del presidente Joe Biden, que buscó revitalizar las alianzas después de que muchas se tambalearan durante el primer mandato del republicano, además de controlar a una Rusia más asertiva.
El representante demócrata de Colorado, Jason Crow, quien forma parte de los comités de la Cámara que supervisan la inteligencia y las fuerzas armadas, calificó la estrategia como “catastrófica para la posición de Estados Unidos en el mundo y un retroceso de nuestras alianzas y asociaciones”.
“El mundo será un lugar más peligroso y los estadounidenses estarán menos seguros si este plan avanza”, expresó.
Críticas a Europa
Estados Unidos busca negociar el fin de la guerra de Rusia en Ucrania, que ha durado casi cuatro años y es un objetivo que, según la estrategia de seguridad nacional, favorece los intereses vitales de Estados Unidos. Pero el documento deja claro que Estados Unidos quiere mejorar su relación con Rusia después de años de que Moscú fuera tratado como un paria global, y que poner fin a la guerra es un interés central de Estados Unidos para “restablecer la estabilidad estratégica con Rusia”.
En el documento también se acusa a los antiguos aliados europeos de Estados Unidos, que a veces han mostrado su desacuerdo con los enfoques cambiantes de Trump hacia la guerra entre Rusia y Ucrania, de enfrentar no solo desafíos económicos internos sino, según Estados Unidos, una crisis existencial.
El estancamiento económico en Europa “se ve eclipsado por la perspectiva real y más marcada de un borrado civilizacional”, se indica en el documento.
Estados Unidos sugiere que Europa está siendo debilitada por sus políticas de inmigración, sus decrecientes tasas de natalidad, la “censura de la libertad de expresión y la supresión de la oposición política” y una “pérdida de identidades nacionales y autoconfianza”.
“Si las tendencias actuales continúan, el continente será irreconocible en 20 años o menos. Como tal, no es en absoluto obvio que ciertos países europeos tendrán economías y ejércitos lo suficientemente fuertes como para seguir siendo aliados confiables”, se lee en el documento.
En el documento también se hace un guiño al ascenso de partidos políticos de extrema derecha en Europa, que han mostrado con franqueza su oposición a la inmigración ilegal y a las políticas climáticas.
En la estrategia se indica que “Estados Unidos alienta a sus aliados políticos de Europa a promover este renacimiento del espíritu, y la creciente influencia de los partidos patrióticos europeos de hecho da motivo para un gran optimismo’”.
El ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de Alemania, Johann Wadephul, reconoció que Estados Unidos es “nuestro aliado más importante” en la OTAN, pero dijo que las preguntas sobre la libertad de expresión o “la organización de nuestras sociedades libres” no son parte de las discusiones de la alianza.
“Tampoco creemos que nadie necesite darnos ningún consejo sobre esto”, dijo Wadephul a los periodistas.
Markus Frohnmaier, un legislador del partido de extrema derecha y antiinmigración Alternativa para Alemania, describió la estrategia de Estados Unidos como “un chequeo de realidad de política exterior para Europa y particularmente para Alemania”.
Fijando la mira en el poder en las Américas
A pesar del lema “Estados Unidos Primero” de Trump, su gobierno ha llevado a cabo una serie de ataques militares a embarcaciones que presuntamente transportaban drogas en el mar Caribe y el océano Pacífico oriental mientras sopesa una posible acción militar en Venezuela para presionar al presidente Nicolás Maduro.
Las acciones son parte de lo que la estrategia de seguridad nacional describe como “un ‘corolario de Trump’ a la Doctrina Monroe” para “restaurar la preeminencia estadounidense en el hemisferio occidental”. La Doctrina Monroe de 1823, formulada por el presidente James Monroe, tenía como objetivo original oponerse a cualquier intromisión europea en el hemisferio occidental y se utilizó para justificar intervenciones militares de Estados Unidos en América Latina.
En el documento de estrategia de Trump se indica que busca combatir el tráfico de drogas y controlar la migración. Estados Unidos también reformula su presencia militar en la región, aun después de haber construido la mayor presencia militar en ella en generaciones.
Eso significa, por ejemplo, “despliegues selectivos para asegurar la frontera y derrotar a los cárteles, incluyendo, donde sea necesario, el uso de fuerza letal para reemplazar la fallida estrategia de exclusivamente aplicar la ley, utilizada en las últimas décadas”, se indica.
Cambiando el enfoque de Oriente Medio
Con un cambio hacia las Américas, Estados Unidos buscará un enfoque diferente en Oriente Medio.
Según la estrategia, Estados Unidos debería abandonar “el experimento equivocado de Estados Unidos de intimidar con bravatas” a las naciones de Oriente Medio, especialmente a las monarquías del Golfo, sobre sus tradiciones y formas de gobierno.
Trump ha fortalecido los lazos con las naciones de la región y considera que los países de Oriente Medio están preparados para aprovechar oportunidades económicas, y las naciones árabes “surgen como un lugar de asociación, amistad e inversión”, según el documento.
“Deberíamos alentar y aplaudir la reforma cuando y donde surja orgánicamente, sin tratar de imponerla”, dice.
Este año, Trump realizó su primer gran viaje al extranjero a Oriente Medio, y sus esfuerzos para resolver la guerra entre Israel y Hamás en Gaza han sido un elemento principal. Pero el gobierno dice que Estados Unidos planea cambiar su enfoque de la región, ya que el país depende menos de su suministro de petróleo.
“Reequilibrio” de la relación de Estados Unidos con China
Mientras tanto, a medida que Estados Unidos bajo el mandato de Trump revierte décadas de políticas de libre comercio con sus aranceles globales generalizados, sus lazos con China han sido un enfoque principal. En el régimen de Trump, Estados Unidos busca “reequilibrar” la relación entre Estados Unidos y China mientras contrarresta la agresiva postura de Beijing hacia Taiwán, según el documento.
El gobierno de Trump quiere evitar una guerra por Taiwán, la isla autónoma que Beijing reclama como propia y a la que Estados Unidos está obligado, por sus propias leyes, a brindar apoyo militar, manteniendo una ventaja militar sobre China.
Pero Estados Unidos quiere que los aliados de la región hagan más para resistir la presión china y contribuyan más a su defensa.
‘El ejército estadounidense no puede hacer esto solo y no debería tener que hacerlo”, se lee en la estrategia. “Nuestros aliados deben intensificar y gastar, y más importante aún, hacer mucho más por la defensa colectiva’”.
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Los periodistas de The Associated Press Lisa Mascaro en Washington y Geir Moulson en Berlín contribuyeron a este despacho.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
The Way We Were: Edward Hospital’s grown from a building to campus over the years
Once upon a time, if you saw this building while driving on Washington Street in Naperville, you’d know you were looking at Edward Hospital. While the Naperville Heritage Society did not have a date for this photo, the medical center — now sitting on a campus — looks nothing like this today. (Naperville Heritage Society)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/05/way-we-were-naperville-edward-hospital/
FIFA otorga a Donald Trump un premio de la paz, alejándose de su enfoque tradicional en el deporte
Por SEUNG MIN KIM
El presidente Donald Trump fue galardonado el viernes con el nuevo premio de la paz de la FIFA durante el sorteo de la Copa Mundial 2026, añadiéndole un toque aún más trumpiano a la máxima cita del fútbol.
Trump, quien ha hecho campaña abiertamente por el Premio Nobel de la Paz, era el gran favorito para ganar el recién creado premio de la FIFA. Trump y el presidente de la FIFA, Gianni Infantino, son aliados cercanos, e Infantino había dejado claro que pensaba que Trump debería haber ganado el Nobel por sus esfuerzos para negociar un alto el fuego en Gaza.
“Este es tu premio, este es tu premio de paz”, proclamó Infantino. El jerarca de la FIFA ha hablado repetidamente sobre el fútbol como un unificador para el mundo, pero el premio es un alejamiento del enfoque tradicional del ente rector en el deporte.
Trump dijo a los periodistas al llegar al Centro Kennedy para las Artes Escénicas que no sabía si iba a recibir el premio, y añadió: “No necesito premios. Solo quiero salvar vidas”.
La FIFA ha descrito el premio como uno que recompensa a “individuos que han tomado acciones excepcionales y extraordinarias por la paz y al hacerlo han unido a personas de todo el mundo”.
Llega durante una semana en la que el gobierno de Trump ha estado bajo escrutinio por ataques letales a presuntas embarcaciones de drogas en el Caribe, y mientras Trump endurece su retórica contra los inmigrantes.
El Nobel de este año fue finalmente otorgado a la líder opositora venezolana María Corina Machado, quien dijo poco después de recibir el premio que lo estaba dedicando en parte a Trump por “su apoyo decisivo a nuestra causa”.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
US Businesses Are Going Bankrupt At An Absolutely Blistering Pace
US Businesses Are Going Bankrupt At An Absolutely Blistering Pace
Authored by Michael Snyder via TheMostImportantNews.com,
Why is the number of business bankruptcies in the United States rising so rapidly? It isn’t because the economy is doing well. Every day there are more news stories about businesses that have failed, and this is clearly reflected in the numbers that I am about to share with you. We haven’t seen anything like this since the Great Recession, and if our economic troubles continue to accelerate during the months ahead 2026 is going to be a very messy year.
Earlier today I came across an article which explained that the number of small businesses that are filing for Subchapter V bankruptcy has set a brand new record high in 2025…
A six-year-old federal program designed to help the smallest American businesses cut debt and get a fresh start has set a record for the number of cases filed, court data show.
More than 2,200 people and small firms filed bankruptcy this year under the so-called Subchapter V rules, which make it cheaper and faster to win relief from creditors, according to data provider Epiq Bankruptcy Analytics.
“Creditors are just breathing down their necks,” said Carol Fox, a court-approved trustee who oversees more than two dozen cases filed in Southern Florida.
This is really bad news.
Small businesses are traditionally the primary engine for job growth in this country.
So the fact that so many of them are going belly up is not a good sign at all.
Meanwhile, large businesses are going bankrupt at a very alarming pace as well.
In fact, through the first seven months of this year the number of corporate bankruptcies in the United States was at the highest level that we have seen since the early days of the pandemic…
The U.S. saw a sharp increase in corporate bankruptcy filings in July, according to a recent report, reaching a post-COVID peak and placing 2025 on track to surpass last year’s total.
S&P Global Market Intelligence, the research and data arm of the credit-rating agency, found that filings by large public and private companies rose to 71 last month from 66 in June, marking the highest monthly tally since July 2020. So far in 2025, meanwhile, the total of 446 bankruptcy filings is the highest for this seven-month stretch since 2010.
When large numbers of businesses fail, hiring slows down and we typically see large scale layoffs all over the nation.
And that is precisely what is happening.
During a recent interview with Fox News, Nikki Haley’s son admitted that not a single one of his friends that recently graduated from college has been able to get a job…
“My friend group all graduated with great degrees in great schools, and not one of them has a job – not one. So it’s frustrating because they did everything that they were supposed to do. They put in the time, the effort, the money to get educated, and they don’t have a job to show for it. They have to compete with foreign workers who are willing to work for half their salary and AI, which is a supercomputer, so how can we compete with that?“
I was stunned when I read that.
I knew that things were bad for our recent college graduates, but I didn’t realize that they were this bad.
The job market is freezing up, and this is especially true for entry-level workers.
At this stage, AI is already doing much of the work that vast numbers of entry-level workers once did.
And a recent MIT study concluded that current AI technology could potentially replace 20 million more American workers…
In the midst of a soggy job market, there’s been a lengthy debate over whether contemporary AI is actually replacing workers — or just providing bosses with an excuse to lay off certain employees and offload their responsibilities onto the ones who remain.
The answer isn’t clear, but a new study out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is sure to add fuel to the fire. Analyzing 151 million American workers, the researchers calculated that today’s AI systems are already mature enough to automate the tasks of more than 20 million American workers, or 11.7 percent of the entire labor force, if they were fully deployed across the country.
So what is going to happen when AI and robots can do almost everything more efficiently than human workers can?
What will we be needed for then?
Our society is changing at a pace that is difficult to comprehend.
One tech worker that got laid off by Meta earlier this year still has not been able to find work nine months later…
When I got hired at Meta in 2020, it was life-changing for me as a single mom. It represented safety and stability — a place to work hard at and retire from.
So, when I was let go in February in a round of layoffs aimed at “low-performers,” it felt like a punch in the gut.
Nine months later, my severance and savings have run dry, I’m struggling to find a tech job, and I feel that the low-performer “label” is part of the reason. I’m no longer the same happy-go-lucky person I used to be, applying for jobs with excitement.
A few years ago, it was pretty easy to find a good paying job.
But now things have completely flipped around.
And even many of those that are employed are not making enough to be able to afford a decent lifestyle…
An American retail worker earns 51.6 percent less than the amount required to afford a typical rental apartment, real estate brokerage Redfin said in a statement released on Nov. 26.
“The typical retail worker in America earns $34,436 per year,” the company said.
“A renter would need to earn $71,172 to afford the typical apartment, which costs $1,779 per month.”
If you don’t make enough money to be able to pay rent on an apartment, what are your options?
I suppose that you could move in with your parents or live in a van down by the river.
By the way, there are millions of young Americans that are living in cars, vans and RVs today. This is something that I have discussed extensively in previous articles.
Our standard of living is being eviscerated.
Meanwhile, those at the very top of the economic pyramid have more money than they know what to do with…
The top 1% have seen their wealth increase by $4 trillion over the past year, an increase of 7%. Their wealth hit a record $52 trillion in the second quarter.
The top 0.1% saw their wealth grow by 10% over the past year. Since the pandemic, the top 0.1%, or those with a net worth of at least $46 million, have seen their total wealth nearly double to over $23 trillion.
I keep trying to warn everyone that this is not going to end well.
There are millions upon millions of Americans that cannot make a decent living no matter how hard they try.
And the same thing is happening in countless other nations all over the globe.
I have never seen so much economic frustration among young adults as I am seeing right now.
Their anger is percolating just under the surface, and it won’t be too long before it explodes.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 12/05/2025 – 12:40
La FIFA otorga al presidente estadounidense Donald Trump su primer premio de la paz
WASHINGTON (AP) — La FIFA otorga al presidente estadounidense Donald Trump su primer premio de la paz.
US Steel to resume steel production at southern Illinois plant shut 3 years ago
HARRISBURG, Pa. — U.S. Steel said it will resume making steel slabs at its Granite City Works plant in Illinois as demand rebounds.
The company shut down the last blast furnace there in 2023, and it even moved to wind down its steel processing mill there in September.
Trump’s tariffs revive Granite City jobs, and optimism
However, it reversed its stance on the processing mill, under pressure from the White House, and now says it is going a step further by resuming steel making by reopening the blast furnace it idled three years ago amid strikes by the United Auto Workers.
U.S. Steel on Thursday cited “customer demand” in beginning the process of restarting a blast furnace at the plant in southern Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.
“After several months of carefully analyzing customer demand, we made the decision to restart a blast furnace,” CEO David Burritt said a statement. “Steel remains a highly competitive and highly cyclical industry, but we are confident in our ability to safely and profitably operate the mill to meet 2026 demand.”
The Pittsburgh company expects to resume steel production in the first half of next year after it hires and trains workers and gets equipment in safe working order. It will need to hire 400 of the 500 workers necessary to operate the plant, the company said.
The American Iron and Steel Institute reported that domestic steel mills in October shipped 7.7 million net tons, a 9% percent increase over the same month a year ago. Year-to-date shipments through October were up 5% over the same period in 2024, it said.
Trump claims ‘great victory’ at Downstate steel plant in first visit to Illinois since taking office
Analysts say a robust U.S. steel market has been strengthened in recent years due to tariffs under President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden.
The decision by U.S. Steel, comes less than six months after Japan-based Nippon Steel sealed a deal with Trump to buy the iconic American steelmaker for $14.9 billion.
To resolve national security objections to the acquisition, Nippon Steel agreed to give the federal government a say in certain company decisions involving domestic steel production, including over closing or idling U.S. Steel’s plants.
It also pledged to invest some $14 billion in steel production in the U.S., including building a new electric furnace.
Under the national security agreement, protections expire in 2027 for Granite City Works, but last until 2035 for U.S. Steel’s other facilities.
Granite City Works makes rolls of sheet steel for the construction, container, pipe and automotive industries.
Northwest Indiana reacts as Nippon finalizes $15B takeover of U.S. Steel
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/05/us-steel-production-illinois-plant/
FBI Pipe Bomber Breakthrough Exposes Biden Era Failures After Four Years
FBI Pipe Bomber Breakthrough Exposes Biden Era Failures After Four Years
More than four years after pipe bombs appeared outside the RNC and DNC headquarters on January 5, 2021, and less than a month after The Blaze fingered a former Capitol Police officer in a now-retracted report (that their sources still stand by), the Trump administration announced the arrest of Brian Cole Jr., 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia, on Thursday. Cole has been charged under 18 U.S.C. § 844 for deploying an explosive device.
During a press conference the day of the arrest, Attorney General Pam Bondi made it clear how this cold case was finally solved. According to Bondi, no new tips or witnesses led to the breakthrough – just persistent investigation and teamwork.
“Today’s arrest happened because the Trump Administration has made this case a priority. The total lack of movement on this case in our nation’s capital undermined the public trust of our enforcement agencies,” she said. “This cold case languished for four years until Director Patel and Deputy Director Bongino came to the FBI. The FBI, along with US Attorney Pirro and all of our prosecutors, have worked tirelessly for months sifting through evidence that had been sitting at the FBI with the Biden administration for four long years.”
BREAKING: Bondi says there was NO new tip. NO new witnesses. Just good, diligent police and prosecutorial work.
It was the TRUMP FBI that solved this CRITICAL cold case. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/p7jYCWaVQ9
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) December 4, 2025
Deputy Director Bongino also appeared on Fox News Thursday night. He explained to Sean Hannity that the truth about the J6 pipe bomber case had been sitting in plain sight for years, and the problem wasn’t a lack of evidence but a lack of leadership. “It’s almost like they were intentionally trying to decimate faith in institutions,” he said.
“It’s horrifying,” he added. “I don’t know what they were doing.”
He explained that right after being sworn in – “probably 15 minutes later,” as he put it – he told the team, “When I get in there, I want a full brief on this pipe bomber case on day one.” Once he heard what had been done, he saw that the agents had put in real work, even “a pretty extensive amount of work,” but the case still needed urgent direction.
He blasted the old FBI brass for obsessing over politics while the case went cold. “I don’t know what the hell this prior leadership team was doing outside of… targeting political opponents, weaponizing the FBI, destroying its reputation,” he said. He argued that the agency’s credibility suffered because its leaders acted “almost like they were intentionally trying to decimate faith in institutions.”
According to Bongino, the agents had logged an enormous amount of legwork, including “thousands of leads, 6,000 plus interviews… hundreds of tips,” but the investigation had gone stale. He recalled pulling the case agent aside and telling him directly, “You’re gonna get me this guy… You’re gonna track this guy down, and you’re gonna find him. You’re gonna get me this guy. I want him.”
That order launched nearly nine months of work that led to the break they announced. He stressed that the success came from a full team effort across agencies. “You cannot do anything in the FBI without DOJ process,” he said, pointing to subpoenas, warrants, and filings handled by DOJ officials. He credited U.S. Attorney Pirro, Deputy Attorney General Blanche, and Attorney General Bondi, underscoring that “You cannot do anything in the FBI without DOJ process.”
🚨 JUST IN — DAN BONGINO on why the Biden admin didn’t find the J6 pipe bomber:
“I don’t know WHAT THE HELL the prior leadership was doing outside of—you know—targeting political opponents, weaponizing the FBI, destroying its reputation…”
“It’s almost like they were… pic.twitter.com/61wa1HPzfK
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) December 5, 2025
Now, questions remain about why the Biden-led Justice Department did not act sooner, despite having all the evidence necessary to catch Cole.
There is speculation that the Biden administration was more interested in tracking down and prosecuting peaceful January 6 protesters, which may have diverted resources from this case. Others speculate about possible deliberate stalling or withholding of information for political reasons.
By Thursday evening, we learned more details about Cole. The Daily Wire described him as a left-leaning, black activist whose background challenges the mainstream narrative about January 6. According to the report, Cole worked for his father’s bail bond business, which specialized in helping illegal immigrants secure release from ICE custody. The family’s company even sued the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security over immigration policy, and later, Cole and his father reportedly enlisted attorney Benjamin Crump to pressure Joe Biden’s Department of Justice to investigate alleged racial discrimination by a local prosecutor. The story suggests that these connections cast doubt on the longstanding narrative that the pipe bombs linked to Cole were part of an organized right-wing plot tied to the Capitol riot.
Yet – ‘sources’ are now telling CNN and NBC News that Cole believed that the 2020 election was stolen – as they’re trying to make the case that he’s a Trump supporter.
The Biden administration’s handling of the pipe bomb investigation will likely draw further scrutiny as more details emerge.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 12/05/2025 – 12:20
Wall Street flirts with its all-time high
NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market is flirting with its all-time high on Friday.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and was on track earlier in the day to squeak past its record closing level, which was set in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 164 points, or 0.3%, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher.
If the S&P 500 finishes the day at a record, it would mark the latest time the U.S. stock market has powered past what appeared to be a debilitating set of worries. Most recently, those concerns centered on what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates, whether too many dollars are flowing into artificial-intelligence technology and if sharp drops for cryptocurrencies would bleed over into other markets.
Renewed hopes for a cut to interest rates by the Fed at its meeting next week helped stocks recover those losses, which included some of their worst days since their sell-off during April. So did a continuing parade of companies saying they’re making bigger profits than analysts had expected.
Ulta Beauty helped lead the market on Friday and jumped 14% after the retailer reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. CEO Kecia Steelman said its customers are broadly feeling pressure, but Ulta saw growth across its categories, particularly in e-commerce. It raised its forecast for revenue over the full year.
Another encouraging signal for the holiday shopping season came from Victoria’s Secret & Co. It delivered a milder loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and it likewise raised its forecast for sales over the full year. Its stock rallied 13.2%.
Warner Bros. Discovery was also strong and rose 3.6%. Netflix said it would buy Warner Bros. for $72 billion in cash and stock following its pending split from Discovery Global.
The deal for the company behind HBO Max, “Casablanca” and “Harry Potter” is not a sure thing, though. It could raise fears at the U.S. government about too much industry power residing at Netflix. Shares of Netflix initially fell more than 5% after the deal was announced, but they briefly erased all of the loss and swung to a modest gain before settling back to a dip of 0.6%.
Paramount Skydance, which earlier had been seen as a front-runner to buy Warner Bros., fell 6.1%.
Also on the losing end of Wall Street was SoFi Technologies. The financial technology company fell 6.3% to $27.73 after saying it would add $1.5 billion worth of its stock into the market in order to raise cash. It’s selling the stock at a price of $27.50 per share.
The U.S. stock market broadly has been much quieter this week, a respite following earlier weeks of sharp and scary swings.
After some back and forth, the widespread expectation among traders is that the Fed will cut its main interest rate next week in hopes of shoring up the slowing U.S. job market. If it does, that would be the third cut of the year.
Investors love lower interest rates because they boost prices for investments and can juice the economy. The downside is that they can worsen inflation, which is stubbornly remaining above the Fed’s 2% target.
Economic reports released on Friday did little to change expectations for a coming cut. One said that an underlying measure of inflation that the Fed prefers to use was at 2.8% in September, exactly as economists expected.
A separate report said U.S. consumers appear to be downgrading their expectations for inflation coming in the near future. They’re now forecasting 4.1% inflation for the year ahead, down from their forecast of 4.5% last month, according to the University of Michigan.
That’s the lowest such reading since January, which is important because heightened expectations for inflation can create a vicious cycle that only worsens inflation.
In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury inched up to 4.12% from 4.11% late Thursday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia Friday.
Germany’s DAX returned 0.8%, and South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.8% for two of the world’s bigger gains.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.1% after data showed household spending in Japan fell 3.0% in October from a year earlier. It was the sharpest drop since January 2024. Japanese markets have been shaky recently after the Bank of Japan hinted that hikes to interest rates may be coming.
AP Writer Teresa Cerojano contributed.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/05/wall-street-friday/
Trio of Santas help make Christmas magical for hundreds of kids
Three Santas were among the 250 volunteers who helped 500 Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana members celebrate Christmas on Thursday in Merrillville.
“They might not have a very merry Christmas otherwise,” Vice President of Philanthropy Denise Koebcke said.
Boys and Girls Club of Greater NWI member Elyriah, on left, celebrates with a friend after unwrapping a “Stitch” plush during the organization’s annual “Christmas to Remember” event in Merrillville on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
“This community cares about them,” she said. “It just creates a community that gives kids and parents hope.”
For most of the kids, there were more presents Thursday than they could expect on Christmas morning, President and CEO Mike Jessen said.
Jacob, 11, promised he would make sure Santa’s milk was cold on Christmas Eve and looked forward to Santa eating all the cookies.
“When all the elves come to your house,” he said, is his favorite Christmas memory.
Volunteer Braden McCormick, with Valparaiso University Swim, carries sacks of presents to be distributed to Boys and Girls Club of NWI members during the organization’s “Christmas to Remember” event in Merrillville on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.
Ayden, 12, enjoys setting up the Christmas tree. On Thursday, Santa and his volunteers gave him a basketball, Rubik’s cube, clothes and other gifts.
Samantha, 8, was likewise thrilled with her presents. “I liked my scarf and my earrings,” she said. She also got a coat, clothes and two Pokémon cards. “They’re rare,” she said.
All the kids enjoyed pizza, as did the volunteers.
The Christmas to Remember event lived up to its billing — for the volunteers as well as the kids.
Boys and Girls Club of Greater NWI member Jacob, on left, talks with Santa during the organization’s annual “Christmas to Remember” event in Merrillville on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
One of the Santas, Anthony Olivarez, of Valparaiso, brought his fiancée Kathy Siefert, also of Valparaiso, and his daughter Sophia Olivarez, of Valparaiso, to greet the children.
“It’s good to see the happiness they get and all the smiles,” Santa Olivarez said. It’s his second year of volunteering for the event.
“We’ve got the costumes; let’s dress up,” he decided. “They’re always happy to greet us.”
His Mrs.-to-be Claus is in the Christmas spirit.
Volunteer Tiffiney Smith, of East Chicago, smiles as she helps a child unwrap presents during the annual Boys and Girls Club of Greater NWI “Christmas to Remember” event in Merrillville on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
“I have 10 Christmas trees in the house,” she admitted.
Olivarez and Siefert met through an online dating service, she said. Where else could you arrange a date with Santa?
Sophia was happy to be an elf. “They see elves all the time, and they seem happy,” she said. “I like seeing their eyes light up when they see Santa.”
Maceo Rainey, of Merrillville, was one of the Santas. In his normal persona, he owns the Rainey Center in Gary, a child care provider.
Boys and Girls Club of Greater NWI member Amari reacts as she opens a new winter coat during the organization’s annual “Christmas to Remember” event in Merrillville on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
Seeing the children’s faces and the generosity of the volunteers reinforced his belief in the future.
“Northwest Indiana is a great place to be a kid. It truly is,” he said.
There are 25 children a day born in Northwest Indiana, Rainey said.
Jill Moranski, of Merrillville, wore a reindeer costume, walking on just two legs.
“I actually don’t have children of my own,” she said, so volunteering was fun. She helped at a gift-wrapping party for the children, too. “I’m glad we go the opportunity,” she said.
Tiffiney Smith, of East Chicago, was a first-time volunteer at the event, seeing the joy it brought the boy she was helping. The digital mini-hoop for playing basketball was his favorite gift, though he also got a handmade scarf, pants, coat and more.
“I don’t ever remember writing a list or anything,” she said. The Boys & Girls Club members who participated in the Christmas to Remember event got at least one gift on their list.
Savana Kolodziej, of Valparaiso, wore a Buddy the Elf costume. “It’s all so magical, walking around and seeing all the kids,” she said. “That’s why I dress up as the elf.”
Kolodziej has worn the costume in downtown Valparaiso. “All the kids started coming up to me and asking for hugs,” she said.
Board member Josh Schoon, of Chesterton, has been a volunteer with the organization for eight years. His wife helps coordinate the shopping and had 50 children’s gifts on her shopping list, he said.
“To see the joy on these kids’ faces, the excitement,” reinforced his commitment, he said.
“It’s about bringing that love and that hope. It’s one of my favorite nights of the year.”
Lisa Schneider, of St. John, accompanied her husband, Michael Schneider, who was dressed as the Grinch. He pretended to try to steal children’s presents, entertaining the kids.
“Many of the kids are doing the heart shape with their hands, showing his heart grew three times as big,” she said.
Jeff Carrico, Meijer’s market director for southeast Chicago and Northwest Indiana, watched the event with a smile. “It brings the youth back in you,” he said. “To see it light up the kids’ faces and bring joy, it’s worth it.”
“It’s a herculean effort to put all of these kids on one place,” Jessen said, but worth the effort. “They’re more excited about the boots, the shoes, the clothes, the coats,” he said, but the children also appreciate the toys.
“It’s like a true, true Christmas,” he said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
