Ecuador Slams Door On Hosting US Military Base In National Referendum

Tyler Durden
Tue, 11/18/2025 – 20:30

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ecuador-slams-door-hosting-us-military-base-national-referendum 

NUEVA YORK (AP) — Los Mets de Nueva York dieron de baja el martes al lanzador derecho Frankie Montás, a quien adeudan 17 millones de dólares por la última temporada de un contrato de dos años y 34 millones.

El dominicano, quien cumplirá 33 años en marzo, se sometió a una cirugía Tommy John el 9 de septiembre y se perdería toda la temporada 2026. Debido a su contrato y estado de salud, se espera que pase por waivers y sea liberado.

Nueva York seleccionó el contrato del jardinero Nick Morabito de la sucursal de la Doble-A en Binghamton, protegiendo al joven de 22 años del draft de la Regla 5 el próximo mes.

Montás firmó con los Mets como agente libre en diciembre y tuvo un récord de 3-2 con una efectividad de 6.28 en siete aperturas y dos relevos. Hizo su última aparición el 15 de agosto.

Tiene un récord de 47-48 con una efectividad de 4.20 en diez temporadas en las Grandes Ligas con los Medias Blancas de Chicago (2015), Oakland (2017-22), los Yankees de Nueva York (2022-23), Cincinnati (2024), Milwaukee (2024) y los Mets.

Morabito bateó para .273 con seis jonrones, 59 carreras impulsadas y 49 bases robadas en 60 intentos este año para los Rumble Ponies y tiene 108 robos en las últimas dos temporadas.

_____

Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/mets-dan-de-baja-a-lanzador-lesionado-frankie-monts-con-17-millones-restantes-en-contrato/ 

The Chicago White Sox added a left-hander with big-league bullpen experience on Tuesday, announcing the acquisition of pitcher Chris Murphy from the Boston Red Sox for minor-league catcher Ronny Hernández.

It was an active day of trades for the White Sox. A source confirmed to the Tribune that the team also dealt starter Yoendrys Gómez and reliever Steven Wilson to the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Everson Pereira and infielder/outfielder Tanner Murray.

Murphy, 27, went 3-0 with a 3.12 ERA in 23 relief appearances for Boston in 2025. He had 30 strikeouts and 20 walks while holding opponents to a .172 batting average in 34 2/3 innings.

He has a 4.15 ERA in 43 career relief outings over two seasons (2023, 2025) with the Red Sox. Murphy missed 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

The Red Sox selected Murphy in the sixth round of the 2019 draft out of the University of San Diego.

Hernández, 21, slashed .251/.344/.336 with four home runs and 34 RBIs in 82 games for Class A Kannapolis in 2025. He has a career .275/.379/.379 slash line with 14 home runs and 138 RBIs in 257 games over four seasons in the White Sox system.

Gómez went 2-2 with a 4.84 ERA in 12 outings (nine starts) for the White Sox in 2025. He also spent time with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025. Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase initially reported that Gómez was on the move.

Wilson was part of the 2024 trade that sent pitcher Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres. He went 2-2 with a 3.42 ERA in 59 relief outings in 2025.

Pereira, 24, appeared in 23 games with the Rays in 2025, going 9-for-65 (.138) with two home runs, eight RBIs, seven walks and seven runs. He has a .146/.227/.215 career slash line with two home runs and 18 RBIs in 50 major-league games over two seasons with the New York Yankees (2023) and Rays (2025).

Murray, 26, slashed .241/.299/.400 with 18 home runs and 58 RBIs in 137 games for Triple-A Durham in 2025. He made 42 starts at third base, 31 at shortstop, 26 at second base, 18 in right field, 15 in left field, three as a designated hitter and two in center field during the season.

White Sox add 2 pitchers to 40-man roster

The White Sox added right-handed pitchers Duncan Davitt and Tanner McDougal to the 40-man roster and placed left-handed pitcher Fraser Ellard on the voluntary retired list, the team announced on Tuesday.

McDougal, 22, went 3-5 with a 3.26 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 28 starts for High A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. He is the No. 7 prospect in the Sox system, according to MLB.com.

The Sox acquired Davitt along with infielder Curtis Mead and right-hander Ben Peoples in the July 31 trade that sent pitcher Adrian Houser to the Rays.

Davitt, 26, had a combined 7-8 record and a 4.38 ERA with 150 strikeouts in 28 starts for Double-A Montgomery and Durham in the Rays’ organization and for Triple-A Charlotte in the Sox system.

Tuesday was the deadline for teams to add to their 40-man rosters and protect eligible players from the Rule 5 draft.

Ellard, 28, went 1-2 with a 4.24 ERA in 18 appearances (three starts) during three stints with the Sox in 2025.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/chicago-white-sox-boston-red-sox-trade-chris-murphy/ 

Federal Court Blocks Texas’s New House-Map Favoring Republicans

Tyler Durden
Tue, 11/18/2025 – 20:05

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/federal-court-blocks-texass-new-house-map-favoring-republicans 

After the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday it is redefining the scope of the nation’s bedrock clean water law to limit the wetlands it protects from pollution and destruction, environmental groups are urging Illinois legislators to establish safeguards. The state has already lost 90% of its original wetlands to urban development and agriculture.

The Trump administration’s action builds on a 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Sackett v. EPA that sharply limited the U.S. government’s authority to regulate water pollution in certain wetlands, effectively stripping 72% of remaining wetlands in Illinois — more than 700,000 acres — of federal protections and leaving them vulnerable to “catastrophic” loss, according to a September analysis by University of Illinois researchers.

“We have to fight like hell for what remains,” said Lindsay Keeney, chief program officer at the Illinois Environmental Council.

Illinois has no state-level protections for these ecosystems beyond some localized county-level protections, mostly in the Chicago area.

“This is even more reason for us to pass something at the state level. I think that we were dependent entirely on federal protections,” said David McEllis, Illinois legislative director at the Chicago-based Environmental Law and Policy Center. “This new rule has even more new exclusions, and we need to think about how the state can step up and step in where the federal government is stepping back.”

Advocacy groups in the state — including the Illinois Environmental Council, Environment Illinois and Prairie Rivers Network — are renewing calls for Gov. JB Pritzker to support a comprehensive statewide wetlands protection program. Just last month, a coalition of environmental and community groups sent a petition to the governor’s office with more than 6,500 signatures from Illinoisans demanding the same.

The governor’s office could not be immediately reached for comment.

When finalized, the EPA’s new Waters of the United States rule would narrow the federal government’s jurisdiction over “relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water” such as streams, oceans, rivers and lakes, as well as wetlands “that are connected and indistinguishable from such waterbodies.” The proposed definition of “relatively permanent waters” would exclude wetlands touching or near many streams that don’t flow during dry periods.

According to Prairie Rivers Network, “The rule claims ‘clarity,’ but achieves it by excluding waters that science — and common sense — tell us are vital to the health of entire watersheds.”

Nancy Stoner, senior attorney at the law and policy center and an expert on clean water issues, said omitting mentions of the public benefits of the long-standing federal law is contrary to the Clean Water Act’s purpose. “And the purpose of the EPA, for that matter.”

“They’re taking a very successful statute, and they’re undercutting it in a way so that it will no longer be as effective in protecting public health and the environment,” Stoner said.

Developers and landowners have argued that a broader definition of federally protected wetlands infringes on private property rights. And the EPA’s decision seems to address those concerns, saying the new rule will “cut red tape and provide predictability, consistency, and clarity” regarding permitting under the 1972 Clean Water Act.

“Democrat Administrations have weaponized the definition of navigable waters to seize more power from American farmers, landowners, entrepreneurs, and families,” Trump’s EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a news release Monday.

Meanwhile, environmentalists argue for the protection of these ecosystems because of the crucial role they play in filtering out pollutants and keeping drinking water clean; providing habitat that supports biodiversity in aquatic animals, amphibians, reptiles and insects; and soaking up rainwater during heavy storms, offering millions of dollars in annual flood mitigation.

A green heron perches at Milan Bottoms Preserve in Rock Island County on Aug. 1, 2025. Milan Bottoms spans over 4,000 acres and is owned by a patchwork of state and federal agencies as well as private parties. Illinois has no statewide protections for wetlands on private land. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Despite the benefits they provide, half of the country’s wetlands have disappeared since the 1780s. In Illinois, wetlands are vastly outnumbered by the 26.3 million acres of farmland that cover almost three-fourths of the state.

Related Articles

Efforts to implement a statewide wetlands protection program have gained a foothold at the state level; Illinois state Sen. Laura Ellman, a Naperville Democrat, and Rep. Anna Moeller, an Elgin Democrat, have introduced companion bills to the General Assembly that would establish a permitting program.

“I think that (Pritzker’s) leadership here — in signaling to the state legislature and very importantly, to the Department of Natural Resources, which would oversee the program — his leadership, his green lighting, would go a long way to getting that bill done,” said Robert Hirschfeld, director of water policy at Prairie Rivers Network.

If passed, the Wetlands Protection Act would empower the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to regulate private land use around the state’s remaining wetlands. Going into the next legislative session, Ellman hopes the Monday news will encourage other lawmakers to push the bill through, especially for the sake of communities prone to flooding.

“As those (federal) protections disappear, and (wetlands) are paved over or filled in or developed, those relief valves for communities on flood control will start to disappear,” Ellman told the Tribune. “So I’m hoping that I can help make that clear to my fellow legislators and get their support.”

The Monday decision from Trump’s EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers follows the conservative-majority Supreme Court’s ruling in 2023, which stripped protections from freshwater and inland wetlands, allowing private property development in wetland areas that don’t have a “continuous surface connection” to permanent bodies of water.

“I think it’s also important to point out that even Justice (Brett) Kavanaugh didn’t agree with the Sackett decision,” McEllis said, referring to one of three Trump appointees on the country’s highest court. “He’s not necessarily a defender of the environment, but even he thought that this went too far.”

Wetlands at the Milan Bottoms Preserve in Rock Island County on July 31, 2025. Milan Bottoms spans over 4,000 acres and is owned by a patchwork of state and federal agencies as well as private parties. Illinois has no statewide protections for wetlands on private land.(E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Environmentalists and scientists say wetlands are rarely truly “isolated” from a watershed, no matter how inland they may appear to be. According to Prairie Rivers Network, for instance, the standard established in Sackett v. EPA “excludes countless wetlands that are hydrologically connected below the surface, through seasonal flows, or through wetland complexes that function as a unit — even though science shows they are essential to water quality and flood control.”

The federal agencies’ new proposal doubles down on what environmentalists call a “flawed logic” in the Supreme Court decision.

It’s now up to the states to decide on the ecological value of wetlands, Hirschfeld said, which to him is most clear as effective flood control measures.

“We have to have these areas that are not holding water permanently protected, so that when you get these big floods, they can soak up that water like a sponge and keep it out of your basement,” he said.

Ultimately, if wetlands are destroyed, rainwater will still find a place to go during heavy downpours intensified by climate change — likely into roads and homes.

Hirschfeld said policymakers and legislators should consider the implications of no federal or state protections for wetlands in the broader context of emergency funding availability, or lack thereof, under the Trump administration. Just last month, the president denied a disaster declaration for the city of Chicago, Cook County and the state that would have unlocked federal financial assistance after heavy rains and flooding in July and August.

“So when we have these floods, the state is going to be even more on the hook financially,” he said. “And so we should be doing everything we can now to mitigate against not only just the severe human cost of having your community and your roads and your basement, your homes flooded, but the actual financial cost of cleaning that mess up.”

Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications Director Francisco Velez talks with residents whose basements were flooded following two days of heavy rain in the 5700 block of South Campbell Avenuen on Aug. 19, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

While state and taxpayer money normally covers the costs of floods, comprehensive legislation in Illinois would require developers to pay for protecting wetlands. A statewide permitting program, Ellman said, would not be taxpayer-funded but rather self-funded as applicants pay associated fees.

“The budget conversation is, really, how the seed money to create the (program),” she said. “Once that’s set up, it really should be self-funded.”

 According to U. of I., unprotected wetlands in Illinois provide an estimated $419 million in residential flood control benefits.

“That’s an astounding number annually, and so that would dwarf whatever it would cost for the state to run and administer a wetlands program,” Hirschfeld said. “If cost is the issue, I think we’ve got to be smart, right? Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish here.”

McEllis said budget concerns have come up, but for the most part, the state’s Department of Natural Resources has had difficulty determining the scope of needed protections for such a program.

“Unfortunately, now we know that that scope is going to be larger, and (the IDNR is) going to need to figure out potentially what wetlands are in play,” McEllis said.

According to the EPA, the new proposed rule “recognizes that states and tribes know their local land and water resources best” and would strengthen their decision-making authority, “at last (fulfilling) that commitment to real, shared federal and state responsibility.”

The EPA will open a 45-day public comment period during which it will host two public meetings with virtual and in-person options to gather feedback on the proposed changes. Details about commenting either in writing or during a public meeting can be found on the EPA’s Waters of the United States website at epa.gov/wotus.

The Associated Press contributed.

adperez@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/illinois-lawmakers-urged-to-step-up-and-fight-like-hell-as-epa-moves-to-cut-wetlands-protections/ 

Por SCHUYLER DIXON

FRISCO, Texas, EE.UU. (AP) — Los Cowboys ganaron un partido para Marshawn Kneeland.

Ahora intentarán continuar honrando a su difunto compañero con un inesperado repunte hacia la contienda por los boletos de postemporada, en un calendario difícil que comienza el domingo en casa contra Filadelfia, su rival de la División Este de la Conferencia Nacional y el campeón del último Super Bowl.

“Tenemos el control, y la vida nos va a poner desafíos, nos lanzó uno tremendo esta semana pasada”, dijo el mariscal de campo Dak Prescott después de una victoria por 33-16 conseguida el lunes en Las Vegas en el primer encuentro de los Cowboys desde que la policía informó que Kneeland fue encontrado muerto por un aparente suicidio. “¿Y cómo vamos a responder?

“Esta es una gran prueba para nuestra hermandad y quiénes somos, y para esta organización, para nosotros individualmente”, expresó Prescott. “Tengamos orgullo y honremos a nuestro hermano. Y si podemos continuar haciendo eso, avanzar llevando esa luz y jugando de la manera en que lo hicimos esta noche, ¿por qué no?”.

Los Cowboys (4-5-1) probablemente necesiten ganar al menos tres de los próximos cinco partidos, todos contra equipos de playoffs de la temporada pasada. Incluso en ese caso, parece que necesitarán ayuda cuando el calendario se alivie con un par de visitas para terminar la temporada regular.

Dallas no tiene una victoria sobre un equipo con foja positiva, pero una ofensiva que ha estado entre las mejores de la NFL se recuperó de un par de actuaciones flojas para dominar a unos Raiders que dan tumbos.

Una defensa que ha estado entre las peores de la liga claramente mejoró con la adición del tackle defensivo Quinnen Williams en un canje y con el regreso de los safeties Malik Hooker y Donovan Wilson tras lesiones.

Si se combina todo eso con la motivación de convertir el dolor y la tristeza en jugadas que podrían llevar a la postemporada —algo que Kneeland no pudo experimentar como novato la temporada pasada—, los Cowboys pueden plantear ahora incógnitas a sus rivales.

El mensaje del entrenador Brian Schottenheimer, de que el esfuerzo por honrar a Kneeland no se detendrá ha resonado con sus jugadores.

“Bonito, duro camino”, comentó Prescott sobre los partidos que se avecinan. “Schotty dijo, el homenaje no se detiene. Y honestamente, cuando la temporada termine, el homenaje no se detendrá. Así que se trata de intensificar todo lo que hacemos para llevar el legado de Marshawn”.

Qué funciona

Los Raiders tienen una de las peores ofensivas de la liga —particularmente en cuanto a la línea—, pero el impacto de Williams es innegable después de sólo un partido. Realizó una captura y media, el número máximo de su temporada, y propinó cinco golpes al mariscal de campo, la mayor cifra en su carrera. Los Cowboys registraron mínimos de temporada en yardas permitidas totales (236) y por tierra (27).

El regreso de Wilson (codo/hombro) y Hooker (dedo del pie) también importa, junto con los debuts del apoyador DeMarvion Overshown y el esquinero novato Shavon Revel en la campaña. En resumen, hay algo de esperanza para una unidad que parecía desesperada antes de la semana de descanso y el canje de Williams.

Qué falta

La gestión del tiempo de CeeDee Lamb y George Pickens será un gran tema de conversación esta semana. Schottenheimer y ambos receptores estelares no compartieron por qué fueron enviados a la banca para la primera serie.

“Hubo algunas cosas que se pasaron por alto”, se limitó a decir el entrenador.

Como de costumbre, el propietario del equipo y gerente general Jerry Jones pudo contar las cosas con un poco más de detalle en su programa de radio. Después de decir que no tenía nada que compartir, Jones mencionó que hubo “alguna reunión sobre disciplina”.

_____

Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/cowboys-buscan-seguir-ganando-por-marshawn-kneeland-y-dicen-por-qu-no-nosotros-en-playoffs/ 

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy — Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday strongly backed U.S. bishops who condemned the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, as he urged the American people to listen to them and treat migrants humanely.

History’s first American pope was asked about the “special message” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted during the bishops’ general assembly last week. The text criticized the Trump administration’s mass deportation of migrants and the “vilification” of them in the current migration debate. It lamented the fear and anxiety immigration raids have sown in communities, and the denial of pastoral care to migrants in detention centers.

Leo, who has previously urged local bishops to take the lead on speaking out on matters of social justice, said he appreciated the U.S. bishops’ statement and urged Catholics and all people of goodwill to listen to what they said.

“I think we have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have,” said the Chicago-born Leo. “If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts, there’s a system of justice.”

Pope Leo XIV: What to know about Chicago-born Robert Prevost

Speaking to reporters as he left the papal country house south of Rome, Leo acknowledged there are problems in the U.S. migration system. But he stressed that no one has said the U.S. should have open borders, and that every country has the right to determine who can enter and how.

“But when people are living good lives, and many of them for 10, 15, 20 years, to treat them in a way that is extremely disrespectful to say the least — and there’s been some violence unfortunately — I think that the bishops have been very clear in what they said,” he said.

“I would just invite all people in the United States to listen to them.”

The bishops’ “special message” was rare, the first time since 2013 the bishops had penned such a single-issue statement at one of their meetings. It was accompanied by an Instagram video of individual bishops reading the text on camera, to hammer home its message.

Upcoming travel plans

Leo spoke to reporters gathered outside his villa in Castel Gandolfo, where he usually spends Monday afternoons and Tuesdays relaxing, playing tennis and swimming in the estate’s indoor pool.

He suggested that he is planning more travel starting in 2026, after his Rome commitments ease up with the end of the Holy Year.

Asked if he would return to Peru, where he spent some 20 years as a missionary, Leo said “of course.”

But he also hinted at other possible destinations, including the Fatima shrine in Portugal, the Guadalupe shrine in Mexico, and visits to Argentina and Uruguay.

“I love to travel, the problem is scheduling with all the commitments,” he said.

Leo next week will embark on his first foreign trip as pope, to Turkey and Lebanon.

Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed. 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/pope-leo-blasts-immigration-crackdown/ 

When he gets the ball, Brother Rice’s Jameson Davis creates a sound and fury all his own.

The junior running back has a musician’s natural feel for rhythm and touch — how to build up a sense of joy, discovery and self-expression. It’s something that he gets from his father.

“My dad’s a bandleader who has been in music his whole life,” Davis said. “Everybody in my family are either athletes or musicians — or both. I always had music around me. I’d walk around with a little staff in my hand, pretending to be a drum major.

“Ever since I got here, my focus now is on football.”

That focus showed Saturday night as Davis ran for 106 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Crusaders’ 42-18 win over St. Charles North in a Class 7A state quarterfinal game in Chicago.

Davis scored TDs on runs of 36 and 31 yards for Brother Rice (11-1), which plays host to Downers Grove North (10-2) at 4 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals. The Crusaders are seeking their first trip to the state championship game since 2018.

Brother Rice’s Jameson Davis (21) breaks into the secondary on a run against St. Rita during a nonconference game in Chicago on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)

While Davis has 656 yards on just 72 carries this season, Saturday’s performance was a season high for him in rushing yards. He’s averaging a gaudy 9.1 yards a carry in a timeshare role.

He typically alternates every possession with senior running back Jaylin Green, the starter who leads the Crusaders in rushing with 782 yards and 15 TDs. The two complement each other.

“We’ve got good chemistry,” Green said. “His style is different from mine. He showed it with how he broke off those two touchdown runs. We definitely gain confidence from each other.

“He does well and it fires me up to go out there and do the same.”

Brother Rice’s Jameson Davis (21) sprints away for a big gain against St. Laurence during a nonconference game in Chicago on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)

Senior quarterback CJ Gray gets an up-close look at the dynamic between Davis and Green.

“Of course, they want to play every series, but when they do get in, they’re rested and they’re fresh,” Gray said. “They understand and they don’t have an attitude about that.

“Jameson’s a hard runner with speed. It’s great to have a guy like him who’s very physical between the box and can also use his speed and get to the outside edge.”

Last year, Davis was a sophomore in his first varsity season for Brother Rice, working as part of a three-back rotation. The opportunities were even more limited then.

Brother Rice’s Jameson Davis (21) sees running room to the ouside against Marist during a nonconference game in Chicago on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Troy Stolt / Daily Southtown)

He also recognized his chances were connected to development and growth.

“Nothing is promised or guaranteed in this game and you have to work hard for everything,” he said. “We had Ty Lofton, who’s now at Illinois State, and I learned from him and Jaylin.

“We have this healthy competition. We go back and forth. When it’s time to be in there, I want to show what I can do. I’d describe my style as a physical runner with the speed to break away.”

Growing up in a small rural town in North Carolina, Davis found that football was a bridge, easing his cultural and social transition at the start of his freshman year when he moved to Chicago.

Brother Rice’s Jameson Davis (21) runs the ball through the middle against Marist during a nonconference game in Chicago on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Troy Stolt / Daily Southtown)

Although football displaced his early musical interests in playing the drums or trombone, Davis retains his fondness for musicals. Everything from the classics like “Singing in the Rain” to Broadway productions like “The Wiz.”

The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Davis has the frame, sprinter’s explosiveness and power to be effective either running between the tackles or getting outside. He plays with flair and a purpose.

And he knows where he wants to go.

“Every time I see open grass or the maroon colors of our end zone, I just turn on the jets,” he said, then continued on about his teammates. “I spend almost twelve months out of the year with them.

“Just being around these guys means a lot.”

Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/jameson-davis-brother-rice-ihsa-football/ 

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump denounced ABC News’ Mary Bruce as a “terrible reporter” Tuesday and threatened the network’s license to broadcast after she asked him three sharp questions at the White House.

The network’s chief White House correspondent was among reporters let into the Oval Office to question the president and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. She asked Trump whether it was appropriate for his family to be doing business in Saudi Arabia while he was president.

Before he could answer, she directed a question to the Saudi leader: “Your Royal Highness, the U.S. intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist. 9/11 families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office. Why should Americans trust you? And the same to you, Mr. President.”

After asking Bruce who she worked for, Trump called ABC “fake news” and defended his family’s business operations in Saudi Arabia.

The president dismissed the U.S. intelligence findings that the prince likely had some culpability in the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi kingdom. He said “a lot of people didn’t like” Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen and a Virginia resident.

For his part, Prince Mohammed said Khashoggi’s death was painful and “a huge mistake.”

Trump later criticized Bruce for asking the prince a “horrible, insubordinate and just a terrible question.” He laced into her after a third query, about why the White House is waiting for congressional action to release more details about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s correspondence. “Why not just do it now?” Bruce asked.

“It’s not the question that I mind,” Trump said. “It’s your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter. It’s the way you ask these questions.”

After addressing the Epstein question, he returned to Bruce, saying that “people are wise to your hoax.”

“I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and it’s so wrong,” he said. “And we have a great (FCC) commissioner, the chairman, who should look at that because I think when you come in and you’re 97% negative to Trump. And then Trump wins the election in a landslide. That means, obviously, your news is not credible. And you’re not credible as a reporter.”

ABC News had no comment Tuesday on Trump’s statements, which referred to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who leads the federal agency responsible for licensing local broadcast stations.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg News issued a comment on Trump referring to one of its reporters, Catherine Lucey, as “piggy” during a question-and-answer session last Friday on Air Force One.

“Our White House journalists perform a vital public service, asking questions without fear or favor,” Bloomberg News said. “We remain focused on reporting issues of public interest fairly and accurately.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/trump-attacks-mary-bruce/