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Around the world, the need for humanitarian aid is rising. Doctors Without Borders is working around the clock to meet this challenging moment, but they can't do it without your support. In over 75 countries, doctors without Borders teams are responding to natural disasters, treating patients in war zones, helping stop disease outbreaks and more. This Giving Tuesday, you can help deliver life saving medical care wherever it's needed most. Donate today at doctorswithoutborders.org giving.
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Outrage is brewing at the Department of Defense. More shoppers are opting to buy now and pay later. And we'll get you up to speed on some good old fashioned media gossip. That's some of what we'll get to on the Seven from the Washington Post, I'm Hannah Jewell. It's Tuesday, December 2nd. Let's get you caught up with today's Seven Stor. Last week, the Post reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a spoken order in September to kill the entire crew of a vessel in the Caribbean Sea. The administration says the boat was ferrying drugs, but has not provided evidence. Lawmakers in Congress have made initial moves to investigate whether the attack constituted a war crime. Now Hegseth appears to be trying to distance himself from the fallout. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt acknowledged yesterday that Hegseth had authorized the attack, but she also drew attention to someone else, Admiral Frank Bradley, who oversaw the operation. With respect to the strikes in question on September 2, Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes. Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated. Those remarks sparked a furious backlash within the Defense Department. Officials described feeling angry at the uncertainty over whether Hegseth would take responsibility for his alleged role in the operation or leave the military and civilian staff under him to face the consequences. Hegseth posted on social media yesterday, saying he stands by the admiral's combat decisions. That raised even more concern among military officials that Hegseth would try and pin the blame on Admiral Bradley alone. An appeals court ruled that President Donald Trump's appointment of a prosecutor violated the law. That's number two. Alina Habba is Trump's former personal attorney who he picked to serve as the top prosecutor in New Jersey. But a federal appeals court ruled yesterday that Trump unlawfully maneuvered to keep Habba in that position, bypassing Senate confirmation. The decision applies only to Habba's appointment, but it could have far reaching implications. Other controversial Trump appointments made use of similar methods and have been challenged nationwide. The legality of Hoppe's appointment is likely to be settled by the Supreme Court. Three new details reveal how the D.C. shooting suspect struggled to adapt to life in the U.S. rahmanullah Lochinwal is the suspected shooter of two National Guard members last week near the White House. One of them has died and the other is in critical condition, the Post has reported more about Lockenwall's life. He was once an elite counterterrorism fighter in a CIA trained unit in Afghanistan, working alongside US Forces. He quickly gained a reputation as a stellar soldier working in one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan. But like many Afghans who came to the US after its withdrawal from Afghanistan, he appeared to struggle to adapt to his new circumst. According to the Post's reporting, he refused to take many of the entry level jobs available to him as a recent immigrant. The full story of Lockenwell's journey From a trusted U.S. battlefield ally to the suspected shooter remains unclear. So called Everywhere, chemicals still threaten your health despite decades of warning signs, that's number four. More than 40 years ago, scientists were awakening to the potential dangers of phthalates. Those are a class of chemicals widely used to make plastics soft and pliable. As plastics became a way of life in the 20th century, phthalates made their way into nearly every human being on the planet. Yet even as the dangers became more evident, the fda, EPA and other US Government regulators made only piecemeal efforts to limit their use. This inaction allowed companies to continue to churn out millions of tons of phthalates for plastics manufacturing. Today, most people are exposed to phthalates when they eat. They also enter the environment through products including medical equipment, cars, cosmetics and cheap plastic goods. Phthalates have been linked to a variety of serious health conditions, including premature birth and infertility. This morning, the Post published a report after speaking to 14 current and former regulators at the FDA and EPA. They blamed an institutional culture based on weak laws and a fear of litigation for why they did not ban or restrict these chemicals. TSA will start charging travelers without proper ID a $45 fee. That's our fifth story. Earlier this year, a new rule came into effect requiring travelers to have a passport or a real ID to fly. That's a state issued ID card that meets federal security standards. But some people are still showing up at the airport without one. On February 1, a new system to verify passengers who are not carrying a real ID or passport will go into effect. Yesterday's announcement from TSA urged those travelers to pay the fee online before traveling. But people should be warned that even if they've paid the fee, getting past security without real ID is not guaranteed. So you should probably save yourself some time and money and go and get one. 6 Black Friday sales show that Buy Now, Pay later services are surging Services like Klarna, affirm Afterpay and PayPal later are becoming more and more popular among shoppers at all income levels. On Black Friday alone, they drove a whopping $747.5 million in online spending. That's an almost 9% uptick from last year, according to Adobe Analytics. One economist at bank of America says most shoppers are light users of these services. That means they have about one to four transactions on their account. Meanwhile, in store shopping was not as popular this year, so analysts caution that strong online sales figures could just be because more people are shopping online. And at number seven, it's a big day for enjoyers of media gossip. When you're in the media and there's news about the media, it's important to ask yourself, do normal people actually care about this? Well, I'm pretty confident this story is bonkers enough for normal people to enjoy. To catch you up, Olivia Nuzzy is a star political journalist who left New York magazine last year. She parted ways with her employer after the news broke of her romantic entanglement with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. That's a big no no, journalistically speaking, since Kennedy was a source and a subject of Nuzzy's reporting. Nuzzy's memoir, American Canto is out today. It publishes as her ex, the journalist Ryan Lizza, has been sharing his side of the story in lurid detail on substack. As for Nuzzy's side, our reviewer says American Canto is largely short on juicy new details and says that Nuzzy doesn't do quite enough to atone for serious ethical breaches. You can find the review in our newsletter today. It's a good one. Alright, you're all caught up. Today is Giving Tuesday and I have the perfect recommendation for your next listen. The newest season of Try this is out now. It's all about giving. This is a two part course examining what it means to be an altruist. How you can build up your altruism like a muscle and plan for it in your budget. The first episode is out now. Find Try this wherever you listen to podcasts. I'm Hannah Jewell. I'll meet you back here tomorrow.
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Around the world, the need for humanitarian aid is rising. Doctors Without Borders is working around the clock to meet this challenging moment, but they can't do it without your support. In over 75 countries, Doctors Without Borders teams are responding to natural disasters, treating patients in war zones, helping stop disease outbreaks and more. This Giving Tuesday, you can help deliver life saving medical care wherever it's needed most. Donate today at doctorswithoutborders.org giving.
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