President Joe Biden hopes President-elect Donald Trump will reconsider imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico.  |
Good morning. It's Friday. Thank you for reading Morning Brief. Send me a line—Ivan Pentchoukov. |
- President Joe Biden hopes President-elect Donald Trump will reconsider imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
- Four Democrat members of Congress—all from Connecticut—were targeted by bomb threats on Thanksgiving.
- Math and reading scores across the nation continue to decline or remain stagnant nearly five years after the COVID-19 pandemic stalled classroom learning.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence in U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's ability to handle the challenges stemming from Russia's escalating war with Ukraine.
- Frugal Living: We share five tips for single-income households in a challenging economy. Story after the news.
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| Ivan Pentchoukov
National Editor |
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President Joe Biden speaks to reporters as he visits the Nantucket Fire Department in Nantucket, Mass., on Nov. 28, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) |
President Joe Biden said Thursday that he hopes President-elect Donald Trump will reconsider his plan to impose tariffs against Canada and Mexico. |
- "I hope he rethinks it. I think it's a counterproductive thing to do," Biden told reporters on Nov. 28 in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
- "We have an unusual situation in America. We're surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and two allies: Mexico and Canada," Biden said. "The last thing we need to do is begin to screw up those relationships. I think we've got them in a good place."
- Acknowledging that there is "a lot more to do" on the issue of illegal immigration, Biden said the border security situation has improved in recent months, with the number of illegal crossings having dropped "considerably to what they were when [Trump] was in office."
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Trump on Tuesday said he would issue executive orders soon after assuming office that would impose a 25 percent tariff on all imported goods from Canada and Mexico. He accused the two countries of failing to take adequate action to prevent fentanyl and illegal immigrants from flowing into the United States. The president-elect also pledged to impose additional tariffs on China, citing Beijing's broken promises to halt Chinese-made fentanyl from being trafficked into the country. (More) More Politics |
We asked Americans what they're thankful for this year and received some surprising answers. The surprise was not in the things they listed but in how often the urge to give thanks was set against a backdrop of hardship. Separation from loved ones, illness, grief, unemployment, and even stress from the election seemed to heighten the sense of gratitude in many Americans this year. As with the earliest Thanksgiving celebrations, this year's national day of gratitude seems to be enriched, not dampened, by the difficulties of the year gone by. Members of President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration shared their thoughts about Thanksgiving with our colleague, Jan Jekielek: |
- "I am thankful for my family and for the many friends, new and old, who have supported me through some very difficult times these past five years," Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to head the National Institutes of Health, told The Epoch Times.
- "Every year we host a big traditional Thanksgiving with lots of family from near and far. We always invite my international students who can't go home for the break to come." (More)
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- American shoppers polled by Gallup said they plan to spend a record amount of money on Christmas gifts this holiday season, with the findings aligning with a post-election jump in consumer confidence along with a sharp decline in fears of a potential recession over the next 12 months.
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta asked consumers to report department stores that lack gender-neutral children's sections.
- Beauty filters for teens under the age of 18 will be restricted on video social media platform TikTok after a new report highlighted concerns about the feature.
- Arizona will resume executions of death row inmates following a two-year pause during which officials reviewed the process.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the lawsuits on Wednesday, alleging that BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard have engaged in a conspiracy to manipulate energy markets. Watch ➞ |
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence on Thursday in U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's ability to handle the challenges stemming from Russia's escalating war with Ukraine. |
- Speaking at a Nov. 28 press conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, the Russian leader suggested Trump could navigate the complexities arising from the Biden administration's recent decision to allow Ukrainian forces to use U.S.-supplied weapons for strikes inside Russia.
- Putin said he thinks Trump—whom he called "clever and experienced"—is capable of creating the conditions to fix broken U.S.–Russia ties, while hinting that this could usher in a peace deal with Ukraine.
- Putin said President Joe Biden's reported authorization of Ukraine's use of ATACMS missiles to target Russian territory is a significant escalation in the conflict. He said this decision could complicate the incoming Trump administration's efforts to engage Russia in peace talks.
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"It's possible that the current administration wants to create difficulties for the future administration," Putin said, adding that Biden can also be putting Trump in a position of power to negotiate the end of the war. (More) More World News: | - Russia's attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure was a direct response to the Ukrainians firing missiles provided by the United States and other NATO countries into Russia, President Vladimir Putin said.
- Russian forces in Donbas are now advancing at a significantly quicker rate than they did in the entirety of 2023, according to a Washington think tank.
- The U.S. Navy has deployed one of its most advanced attack submarines to Guam, enhancing U.S. presence in the Indo–Pacific amid escalating tensions with communist China.
- Timber smuggling from Mozambique's ancient forests to China is helping to drive an Islamist insurgency and organized crime in the southern African country.
- Small unmanned aerial systems continue to be spotted flying over four military bases in England. Sixty British troops had reportedly been drafted to help the U.S. forces investigate the incident and find out who is responsible for flying the drones.
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People brave the rain to watch the Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City on Nov. 28, 2024. (Richard Moore/The Epoch Times) |
He's no monk on a mountaintop, nor does he shun the secular world, but for the past three years, Marcus Gallagher has abstained from pornography—and he's not looking back. |
- Like many guys, Gallagher (who chose a pseudonym for anonymity) first encountered pornography in seventh grade. What started as curiosity evolved into a gratifying escape, then an irresistible urge, and, ultimately, an impediment to his life.
- As his habit grew, Gallagher found himself increasingly uneasy around others, especially girls, and struggling with an endless buzzing in his mind. "Every minute, I was thinking of something sexual, like pornography," he recalled.
- That's when he started considering practicing abstinence.
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Gallagher is not alone. A growing number of young people are joining the trend of ejaculatory abstinence, or "semen retention," as it is often called, which means refraining from emission for a specified period. "Semen retention" and related hashtags are among the most popular men's health topics on social media, garnering well over 2 billion impressions on TikTok and 3 million on Instagram. Participants may choose this practice for various reasons. Some treat it as a half-joke, half-serious challenge among friends; some believe it can boost testosterone and muscle—which the present science hasn't proved. But to men like Gallagher, it's a challenge of breaking away from a decade-long addiction, which came with unexpected mental benefits. (Full Story) |
Frugal living, such as making food from scratch, opens up new venues for meaningful experiences. (Biba Kayewich) |
Have your grocery runs been busting your budget lately? You're not alone. Data from 2024 indicate that grocery prices have jumped a stunning 25.8 percent since November 2020, and many Americans are feeling the pressure. Such trends hit single-income households particularly hard. Because our economy is now built for dual-income households, single-income households generally have less cash to work with. The aim of this article is to help such families better navigate the financial challenges of supporting a family on one income. Here are some tips: |
- Bolster Your Emergency Fund—Have a larger emergency fund set aside, probably a year's worth of expenses, advises certified financial planner Daniel Estenson of Bernicke Wealth Management.
- Consider Disability Insurance—In the same vein, Estenson recommends looking into long-term or short-term disability insurance policies to offset the possibility of loss of income.
- Bring on the Budget—Whether you make use of old-fashioned pencil and paper or newfangled software, be sure you are tracking transactions and setting limits in some way.
- Enjoy Frugal Living—Consider frugal techniques for entertainment, grocery shopping, getting around, cleaning, managing the household, and more. A frugal lifestyle makes life on a single income more viable while also simplifying life.
- Save for Retirement—The exact percentage to set aside for retirement varies from one family to the next, but Estenson says the 10 to 15 percent range is a good target.
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Read the full article by our colleague Walker Larson here. |
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Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day. |
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