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President Donald Trump granted official pardons to a pair of turkeys — Gobble and Waddle — Tuesday afternoon.
At the 78th annual National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation, Trump pardoned Gobble, but he assured that Waddle was also spared. The president used the annual ceremony as an opportunity to slam Democrats and tout his administration’s agenda.
He claimed that a federal investigation determined that former President Joe Biden used an autopen at last year’s event.
“I have the official duty to determine, and I have determined that last year’s Turkey pardons are totally invalid,” he said.
Trump also renewed his calls for federal intervention in Chicago, claiming he could make the Windy City safer in four to ten weeks if Illinois Governor JB Pritzker would permit him to deploy National Guard troops.
Although the ceremony has spanned decades, starting when President Harry S. Truman was presented a turkey in 1947, John F. Kennedy was the first president to technically grant clemency to a turkey in 1963.
It wasn’t until 1989, when George H.W. Bush said he gave a bird a “presidential pardon,” that the tradition finally stuck.
After mounting pressure from Trump, Indiana Republicans reversed course, with leaders from both houses of the state legislature saying they will reconvene next month to consider redrawing the state map.
The move comes after the president warned last month that he would be “strongly endorsing against any State Senator or House member from the Great State of Indiana that votes against the Republican Party, and our Nation, by not allowing for Redistricting for Congressional seats.”
On Tuesday, Trump celebrated the latest announcements from state leaders.
“I am glad to hear the Indiana House is stepping up to do the right thing, and I hope the Senate finds the Votes. If they do, I will make sure that all of those people supporting me win their Primaries, and go on to Greatness but, if they don’t, I will partner with the incredibly powerful MAGA Grassroots Republicans to elect STRONG Republicans who are ready to do what is needed to protect our Country and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote on Truth Social.
Kelly Rissman25 November 2025 20:15
President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing removing Kash Patel as FBI director, MS NOW reported.
Top aides have grown increasingly frustrated by the “unflattering headlines” surrounding Patel, sources told the outlet.
Reports recently surfaced that Patel gave his girlfriend FBI protection, sparking scrutiny.
A White House spokesperson told MS NOW: “President Trump has assembled the most talented and impressive Administration in history and they are doing an excellent job carrying out the President’s agenda. FBI Director Patel is a critical member of the President’s team and he is working tirelessly to restore integrity to the FBI.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed the story as “completely made up.”
“In fact, when this Fake News published, I was in the Oval Office, where President Trump was meeting with his law enforcement team, including FBI Director Kash Patel. I read the headline to the President and he laughed. He said: ‘What? That’s totally false. Come on Kash, let’s take a picture to show them you’re doing a great job!’” she wrote.
Kelly Rissman25 November 2025 19:51
The FBI and Department of Justice are scheduling interviews with members of Congress who urged service members to ignore “illegal orders” and commit to their oath to the Constitution, escalating threats from Donald Trump’s administration against Democratic elected officials he accused of treason.
Senator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst who joined five other lawmakers in last week’s video statement, said she and other members received a note from the FBI’s counter terrorism division Monday night.
“To be honest the president’s reaction and the use of the FBI against us is exactly why we made the video,” she said in a Tuesday statement. “He believes in using the federal government against his perceived adversaries, and he’s not afraid to use the arms of the government against people he disagrees with. He does not believe the law applies to him.”
Alex Woodward has the story.
Kelly Rissman25 November 2025 19:45
Kelly Rissman25 November 2025 19:30
The Arizona Senator, who is also a retired astronaut and former naval officer, has vowed he will not be “silenced” after the Department of Defense said it’s conducting a “thorough review” of “serious allegations of misconduct.”
“I said something that was pretty simple and non-controversial, and that was that members of the military should follow the law. And in response to that, Donald Trump said I should be executed. I should be hanged. I should be prosecuted,” he told MS NOW host Rachel Maddow Monday night.
“I think it says a lot more about him than it says about me. He doesn’t want accountability. But, Rachel, I’m not going to be silenced. I’m not going to be intimidated,” he added.
Kelly said he swore an oath to protect the Constitution when he was 22.
“In combat, I had a missile blow up next to my jet and flew through anti-aircraft fire to drop bombs on enemy targets. At NASA, I launched on a rocket, commanded the space shuttle, and was part of the recovery mission that brought home the bodies of my astronaut classmates who died on Columbia. I did all of this in service to this country that I love and has given me so much,” he wrote.
Kelly Rissman25 November 2025 19:15
Kelly Rissman25 November 2025 19:00
Just minutes before President Donald Trump was set to unveil a plan to avert a massive hike for Obamacare health plans on Monday afternoon, the event was suddenly pulled — reportedly because of widespread Republican unease on the Hill.
On CNN, anchor Jessica Dean was forced to interrupt herself while interviewing a health expert to announce some breaking news as it came into her ear – that the event had been abruptly postponed.
Federal subsidies passed under the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act are set to expire at the end of the calendar year, and many Americans are already receiving notice that the monthly cost of their health care plans could jump by hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
John Bowden has the story.
Kelly Rissman25 November 2025 18:45
The FBI has requested interviews with six Congressional Democrats who issued a video statement telling military service members they “can and must refuse illegal orders,” according to Fox News.
The lawmakers with military backgrounds who appeared in the video are Senators Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin and Reps. Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan.
President Donald Trump went so far as to call their message “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
“In the military, vague rhetoric and ambiguity undermines trust, creates hesitation in the chain of command, and erodes cohesion,” Hegseth wrote on X Tuesday.
“The military already has clear procedures for handling unlawful orders. It does not need political actors injecting doubt into an already clear chain of command.”
Kelly Rissman25 November 2025 18:30
In light of the newly passed Epstein Files Transparency Act, the Justice Department asked a judge in Jeffrey Epstein’s New York criminal case to unseal documents.
The act obligates the attorney general to make public materials related to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell within 30 days.
The court rejected the DOJ’s motion to unseal the grand jury transcripts in the case earlier this year. Now, the DOJ is renewing that motion.
“The Court should authorize the Department of Justice to release the grand jury transcripts and exhibits and modify any preexisting protective orders that would otherwise prevent public disclosure by the Government of materials the disclosure of which is required by the Act,” Attorney General Pam Bondi, deputy AG Todd Blanche, and United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton wrote in a Monday filing.
Kelly Rissman25 November 2025 18:15
Erika Kirk said that Turning Point USA would support Vice President JD Vance’s possible 2028 election bid as she also addressed backlash to an intense hug between the pair on stage.
Kirk, who is now the CEO of the conservative movement’s leading young Republicans group following the assassination of her husband Charlie Kirk, has been dogged by trolls since she embraced Vance last month at a Turning Point campaign event.
The mother of two spoke of similarities between her late husband and Vance before she welcomed him on stage and hugged him, and then placed her hand on the back of his head.
Rhian Lubin has the story.
Kelly Rissman25 November 2025 18:00