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2026 Migrant Crackdown, 'Trump-Class' Warships & First GLP-1 Obesity Pill - Tuesday, December 23, 2025
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Today is Tuesday, December 23rd. We're talking about the next push to expand the immigration crackdown in the US in the new year and why dozens of American diplomats were just removed from their jobs. Also, what to expect from a new Trump class of Navy battleships, plus approval for a promising new weight loss pill. That's psychozempic controversy surrounding a 60 minute segment that hasn't aired and new artwork from the elusive street artist Banksy that seems a bit different than a lot of his other work. Those stories and even more news to know coming up. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica. Mandy, thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. The immigration crackdown is only expected to ramp up from here in 2026. Trump administration officials say they plan to hire thousands more agents, open new detention centers, pick up more immigrants in local jails, and partner with outside companies to track down people who don't have the proper legal stat. Already, Congress passed the funding to make it all happen. Since President Trump took office In January, about 622,000 immigrants have been deported so far. The White House wants to make that at least a million next year and each year after, it's also hoping many more undocumented immigrants will leave on their own. This week, the Homeland Security Department extended a new offer to migrants living in the U.S. illegally, a $3,000 stipend to self deport. That's three times what was offered earlier this year. DHS also says it will forgive any civil fines or penalties owed for overstaying visas or otherwise not leaving the country. And migrants will have their travel arranged and paid for. All of this is actually seen as a way to save the government money. Earlier this year, DHS said the average cost to arrest, detain, and remove a migrant from the U.S. is more than $17,000. CBS News is facing growing backlash over a 60 minute segment that never aired, and it's bringing up wider questions about the First Amendment and the role of a free press. The network had planned to cover an El Salvador maximum security prison where the Trump administration has sent hundreds of Venezuelan migrants. But the new editor in chief of CBS News, Bari Weiss, decided to pull the segment and the change was announced just hours before it was supposed to air. She says the story just wasn't ready yet, that the team did not push hard enough to get Trump administration officials on the record, and that there wasn't enough context to help people understand the government's point of view. The correspondent on that piece, Sharon Alfonsi, says that's not true, that she and her team did try to get the White House perspective. She also says the piece had been screened five times and cleared by Standards and Practices as well as network attorneys. So Alfonsi accuses Weiss of making a decision solely based on politics. An FCC commissioner also called the decision deeply alarming yesterday, saying it sends the message to the Trump administration that if no one responds, it's essentially a veto on any story they don't like. Certain lawmakers and other media figures like Katie Couric and Pablo Torre have shared similar concerns, but Weiss also has supporters who say she's holding the newsroom to necessary higher standards. This also comes at a time when CBS News parent company is making a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. President Trump has said he will personally be involved in the decision whether to approve it. To be continued. Dozens of career ambassadors at U.S. embassies around the world were suddenly recalled this week. The State Department told them they need to return to Washington, D.C. giving them until next month to vacate their posts. It especially comes as a surprise because even before this decision, the US already had about 80 vacant ambassador spots worldwide. Now, the Wall Street Journal cites State Department officials who call this unprecedented. The Trump administration explains by saying the president has every right to make sure he has people in place who advance what's known as his America first agenda. But critics say this weakens America's credibility abroad. Some also say they worry about other diplomatic personnel overseas who now don't have seasoned leadership to appoint new ambassadors. President Trump will have to choose his nominees, who will then have to be approved by the Senate. This week, President Trump appointed America's first special envoy to Greenland, which, remember, is actually Danish territory. Trump chose the current Louisiana governor, Jeff Landry, for the job, and now Landry says his goal is to make Greenland part of the US While while also keeping his job as governor. President Trump says Greenland is essential to America's national security, but the leaders of Denmark and Greenland say that still doesn't give Trump the power to annex another country, which is what he wants to do. The Danish foreign minister summoned the US Ambassador to Denmark back to Copenhagen yesterday in protest, basically to demand an explanation. The U.S. navy is expanding. President Trump announced the U.S. will commission a new class of up to 20 heavily armed battleships, and he's naming them after himself. Trump says the new warships will have nuclear cruise missiles, which were first approved during the president's first term, as well as hypersonic weapons, electric railguns, lasers and more. The president said they'll be controlled by artificial intelligence and he says he'll be involved in the design, calling himself an aesthetic person. A new logo was also unveiled for the new ship class depicting Trump in the moments after last year's assassination attempt with his fist raised. Experts say if the Trump class vessels are actually built as the President says they will be, they'll cost 10 to $12 billion apiece. We have more news ahead in just a moment, but first a quick break to tell you about our sponsor. I've become more aware of how I feel these days, my energy, my sleep, my overall wellness, and I love exploring things that support long term health in a meaningful science backed way. That's why I'm excited about fatty 15. 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The FDA has just approved the first pill version of a GLP1 drug for weight loss. It's called the WeGovy pill. Like the Wegovy or Ozempic injections from Novo Nordisk, it's a once a day tablet that's for overweight adults with at least one related health condition to either lose weight or maintain weight loss over the long term. And Novo Nordisk executives say it will be the most affordable way to take a GLP1. The insurance covered price could potentially be as low as $25 a month. The FDA's approval was apparently based on results from a late stage medical study that included more than 300 people and it found those who took the pill lost nearly 17% of their body weight on average, whereas patients on the placebo lost less than 3% of their body weight. And the side effects are pretty much the same as the injectable version of Agovy, which are most commonly gastrointestinal issues. They could be more intense with the pill version, but it's hard to say since they weren't directly compared in the trial. Now Novo Nordisk says it's getting ready for a full launch of the pill early next month, since manufacturing is already well underway. Then a second pill from Eli Lilly is also expected to be approved in the spring. Another large batch of Epstein files was released yesterday, like tens of thousands of government documents and emails, as well as several dozen videos from the Bureau of Prisons. But just hours after they were posted on the Justice Department's website, they disappeared without explanation. Either way, some news outlets were able to download them while they were still accessible. For example, the Washington Post, which now reports the documents included tips collected by the FBI about President Trump's involvement with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and parties at their properties. But it wasn't clear if any of the tips were followed up on. As a reminder, none of Epstein's victims have accused Trump of wrongdoing, and the president has said he didn't know about Epstein's criminal behavior when they were friendly with each other, which was apparently years before any charges were filed. Another person pictured throughout the files was former President Bill Clinton, and now he's calling on the Justice Department to release even more in the name of transparency. Yesterday, Clinton's spokesperson referenced the fact that many of the files have been heavily redacted, saying, quote, someone or something is being protected. We do not know whom or what or why, but we know this. We need no such protection. More documents are expected to be released soon. Offshore wind projects currently under construction have now seen their leases suspended. The Trump administration paused those leases, citing some national security risks that are classified. It also says unclassified reports have found offshore wind can create radar interference that can make it harder to identify threats like drones. And in the past, President Trump has said the wind turbines are ugly, costly and inefficient. Some groups are happy about this pause, like those that worry about the impacts of commercial and recreational fishing. But some state officials, offshore wind companies and industry trade groups are calling the move unjustified since the Pentagon under President Biden already was involved in approving the projects before billions of dollars were poured into them. They say the suspension will threaten the electric grid for east coast customers, including millions of homes, military bases and data centers powering artificial intelligence. So they're calling on the pause to be lifted and considering ways to challenge it. Stay tuned. America's largest bourbon maker is scaling back by a lot Jim Beam announced a one year pause in production at its flagship facility in Kentucky. That facility produces about a third of the company's yearly output. It's just the latest in a series of production cuts, layoffs and financial crises across the beer, wine and spirits business that's overall seen sales drop by about 5% over the last year. That was a sudden shift since American Whiskey has actually been expanding for 20 years until now. Industry analysts say it's likely a correction was needed to bring the market back to reality after years of rapid growth. There has also been some backlash over tariffs, and Canadian customers have stopped buying American Whiskey in protest. Plus, Americans are drinking less than they have in decades. But it's not clear if the latest trends will stick, and bourbon makers have to estimate what the market is going to do well into the future, since their product needs years of aging before it's ready. As for Jim Beam, it doesn't expect any big disruptions either way since its other two distilleries will stay open. Legendary street artist Banksy came out with two more murals in London this week. They both depict two children in winter, hats and boots placed so it looks like they're lying on a tin roof and one child is pointing toward the sky. Banksy doesn't speak to the news media or public. He only confirms a work is his by posting a picture on his Instagram account. But he's known for social and political commentary, and many observers in the street art world are interpreting these murals as a statement on rising child homelessness. Some also believe this artwork depicts the same little boy banksy painted in 2018. And they see that as significant, saying the elusive artist has never depicted a character more than once. Until now. The person who owned the garage where the original one was painted sold the artwork for six figures. For now, the two new ones are still on display for the public. That's it for the May news today. So now it's time for Trivia Tuesday, when we ask a different trivia question every week. And today's trivia question is In Scottish traditions, who do you kiss at midnight on New Year's Eve? Listen again next Tuesday for the answer and explanation. As for last week's trivia question, what major city was named in a coin toss? The answer is Portland, Oregon. It was 1845 when two business partners set out to name the growing town on the Willamette River. One of them was from Boston, Massachusetts. The other was from Portland, Maine. Well, that second businessman won the toss and the naming rights and he decided to name the city after his own hometown. Now the exact penny the two men used is on display at the Oregon Historical Society. Thank you so much for joining us to get caught up on the news today. Whether you've made us part of your daily routine, told a friend or family member about the show, even took the step to become an Insider. Thank you for all of your support. If you're not already an insider, now is a great time to join us as we get ready for the New Year. It can also make a great last minute gift. Simply go to thenewsworthy.cominsider to start your free 7 day trial or click on Gift a subscription in the upper right hand corner to immediately email or print your gift. Insiders get ad free episodes and the chance to ask me anything. I'm planning an Insider Only bonus episode in the New year, so get your questions in. Plus, it really supports the work we do every day and helps us rely a little less on the whims of sponsors. Again, go to thenewsworthy.com insider. Thank you in advance and thank you so much for being here. We'll be back tomorrow with the latest news to know. Until then, have a great day.