(Raw Story) According to the new data, Trump’s net approval rating among independent voters fell by a stunning 42 points from January to December, from -1 to -43, a drop so severe that Enten compared the president to French oceanographer and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau, known for his undersea expeditions. Driving Trump’s plummeting approval ratings were two key issues: the economy and immigration. On the economy, Trump enjoyed a +9 approval when he took office in January, an approval that fell by 25 points to -16 by December. On immigration, Trump’s approval fell by 15 points in the same time period, from +9 in January to -6 by December.

(Raw Story) Donald Trump is "illegally" creating a shortage in the U.S., and the media isn't noticing, a senator said on Saturday. Brian Schatz, Dem of Hawaii, flagged the story the weekend after Christmas. Taking to social media, the senator said, "One of the most underreported stories of 2025 is that Trump is the first President ever to create electricity shortages on purpose." "He is illegally canceling solar and wind, causing layoffs and price spikes, and the media is like 'wow what a showman that guy is!'" he added Saturday.

(The Hill) New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D) on Saturday rejected Elon Musk’s argument that his appointment to head up the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) is inexperienced. “Experience does matter, which is why I appointed the person who spent more than 30 years at EMS. You know, the workforce that addresses at least 70% of all calls coming into FDNY?” Mamdani wrote in a post on the social platform X. His comment was in response to Musk’s earlier post alleging that people would “die” due to the appointment of Lillian Bonsignore, a veteran Emergency Medical Services leader.

(The Hill) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday confirmed that Canada will give his country a new assistance package after he spoke with European leaders amid peace talks. Zelensky stopped in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and thanked Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for joining him in “speaking with our friends from Europe” about bringing the war between Ukraine and Russia to an end. Carney told reporters that “a just and lasting peace” needs a “willing Russia.” He condemned Russia’s strikes on Kyiv on Saturday, which killed at least one person and left over 20 people hurt.

(The Independent) Top officials and federal agencies in Donald Trump’s administration used their official government social media accounts to share explicitly religious messages and declare Jesus the nation’s savior during the week of Christmas, drawing warnings from First Amendment advocates fearing a critical breach of the church-and-state firewall.

(Raw Story) White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's recent pregnancy disclosure led numerous observers to raise questions about whether or not she intentionally got lip injections knowing she was pregnant. We recently reported that Leavitt, who's 28, is expecting her second child with her husband, Nick, who is 30 years her senior. But the internet was focused on the fact that Leavitt said her new baby is due in May, and tied that to a recent Vanity Fair close-up photoshoot in which Leavitt was shown with apparent injection marks around her lips.

Sun 28 Dec 2025 04.50 EST Last modified on Sun 28 Dec 2025 04.51 EST Brigitte Bardot, the French actor and singer who became an international sex symbol before turning her back on the film industry to become an animal rights activist, has died aged 91. Bardot shot to international fame with the 1956 film And God Created Woman, written and directed by her then-husband Roger Vadim, and for the next two decades embodied the idea of the archetypal “sex kitten”. In the early 70s, however, she anno ...

December 27, 2025 5:23 PM ET Bob Kafka, a disabled Vietnam veteran, talks with an Austin Police Officer as he and others try to enter a hotel property. Ilana Panich-Linsman/Getty Images Bob Kafka, a renowned disability rights advocate, died at his Austin, Texas, home on Friday. He was 79 years old. Kafka was an organizer with ADAPT (American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today), a group which advocates for policy change to support people with disabilities. Mark Jo ...

12/27/25 1:33 PM ET Attorney Gloria Allred on Friday speculated on why the friendship between President Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein ended, and what the files released by the Justice Department (DOJ) could reveal about the falling out. “Well, I‘ve heard different explanations from the White House about why he dropped him,” Allred told CNN’s Phil Mattingly. “One explanation was that he was a pervert, Jeffrey Epstein. But if he was a pervert, in the view of the president — ...

Published Dec. 27 2025 12:39PM EST Kash Patel is leading the FBI with a focus on raising his star profile, according to his agents. The 45-year-old FBI director—who had no prior experience at the agency before bagging the top job—is said to demand a heads-up for any “noteworthy arrests” so he can be on the scene and get screen time. A source told Axios that, alongside Patel focusing on making it on the news, agents are instructed that if the director does show up—which isn’t a given—they sh ...