← The NewsWorthy
The NewsWorthy
Criminal Cases Dismissed, Crowded Airports Expected & Crypto Selloff - Tuesday, November 25, 2025
00:13:48
Loading summary
Transcript5 lines
- [00:00]
A
Today is Tuesday, November 25th. We'll tell you why criminal charges against President Trump's opponents were dropped and what's expected to happen next. Also, what to know about tornadoes that left behind a trail of destruction and where the weather threat is headed now. Plus, what to expect from the holiday travel rush, which scams to avoid during Black Friday shopping, and how the White House is celebrating Thanksgiving today. Those stories and even more news coming up. Welcome. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in about 10 minutes. Fast, fair, fun and on the go. I'm Lacey Evans filling in for Erica Mandy today. Thanks so much for being here. You ready? Let's do this. This week, a federal judge tossed out two high profile cases against President Trump's perceived enemies. She dismissed separate criminal charges against the former FBI director, James Comey and New York's Attorney General, Letitia James. The judge said the charges against them both were invalid because she said the prosecutor who signed the filings wasn't lawfully appointed to her position. Lindsey Halligan is a former insurance attorney who once served as President Trump's personal lawyer before he returned to office. She had no previous experience as a prosecutor, but Trump put her in the role on a temporary basis after pushing out the last prosecutor who had doubts about bringing charges against both Comey and James. Within days of replacing him, Halligan filed charges against Comey, accusing him of lying to Congress when he told lawmakers he didn't tell anyone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source for news reports. Then two weeks later, Halligan indicted James with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, saying the New York AG misrepresented how a Virginia home was used, claiming it was a second home to get a better mortgage rate when she allegedly rented it out. Instead, both Comey and James have called the charges against them baseless. Granted, another prosecutor could still refile the cases. And U.S. attorney General Pam Bondi already told reporters, quote, we'll be taking all available legal action. Many experts believe this will eventually end up before the US Supreme Court. Remember how we told you the Trump administration is drastically cutting the number of refugees it will let into the U.S. well, now it could also start restricting refugees who are already here. News outlets like Reuters got a hold of a memo from the White House telling federal officials to review and re interview refugees admitted into the U.S. during the Biden administration. That covers nearly 235,000 people. Already. They've had to show they face persecution in their home countries and have had to go through vigorous vetting, including background checks and security screenings. The process generally takes years, but the US Citizenship and Immigration Services under President Trump says it doesn't trust vetting done under the last administration, saying its predecessors made quantity the priority over quality checks. So it wants to make sure there aren't any national security or public safety threats. Of course, if it finds any, it can take away someone's refugee status. Refugee resettlement organizations have called this initiative a cruel misuse of taxpayer money. Either way, this is just the latest way the White House is revisiting the refugee system. Last month, the Trump administration set the refugee admissions cap at a record low of 7,500. The new spots will mostly go to white Afrikaners from South Africa. More than 100 homes were damaged in the Houston area from tornadoes that swept through yesterday. Thankfully, no serious injuries or deaths have been reported, but there are areas of widespread destruction. And as of this morning, there's still a tornado watch in effect for parts of eastern Texas and Louisiana. Meanwhile, a separate storm is moving across the upper Midwest into New England today and tomorrow. Snow is expected across Minnesota and northern Michigan. Heavy rain is also possible from the Gulf coast up into the Northeast and oh, and by the end of the day, another storm system could move into the Northwest. Stay tuned. A record number of people are expected to travel around the country for Thanksgiving this week. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says this will actually be the busiest Thanksgiving on record for travel, and AAA backs that up, saying for the next six days, nearly 82 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home. That's about 2% more than last Thanksgiving. Today is actually expected to be the busiest day for airports, and there could be even more delays than usual since airlines are still working to get back to normal after the government shutdown. Tomorrow is expected to be the busiest day on the roads, especially in the afternoon and into the evening if you are driving. Transportation analytics firm says the best time to leave is before noon today or on Thanksgiving Day on the way home. Sunday is expected to have the most traffic this week. Scammers are looking to take advantage of holiday shoppers, so Visa put out its Holiday Threats report to warn people about some of the most common scams. It points out how this year con artists are getting a lot of help from artificial intelligence. For example, AI can create authentic sounding text for fake websites that look legit but are designed to steal your information. AI can also use just a short clip of someone's voice and make a call seem like it's from a person you know asking you for a special gift for the holidays as a way to steal your credit card information. There are also plenty of text scans out there. For example, criminals posing as FedEx or UPS will claim there's a delivery problem with an online order and tell people they have to turn over their personal information to receive their package. There are also those who try to exploit people's generosity this time of year by setting up phony charities. So it's always a good idea to confirm a charity is legitimate before donating. We have Visa's full list of most common scams posted in today's episode notes on the newsworthy website. More news ahead in just a moment, but first, here's your main host Erica Mandy to tell you about our sponsor, Fatty 15.
- [06:02]
B
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 to tell you about fatty 15. Fatty 15 is built around C15, the first essential fatty acid discovered in over 90 years. A breakthrough for aging and longevity. It was Originally identified by Dr. Stephanie Van Watson while working with the US Navy to help aging dolphins stay healthier longer. And now that research is helping humans too. Based on more than 100 studies, C15 strengthens our cells and when our cells stay strong, we stay strong. People who take it report deeper sleep, smoother moving joints, improved metabolic and heart health, and even healthier skin, hair and nails. It's also vegan and comes in a beautiful reusable glass jar with convenient refill packs. I especially appreciate that it offers benefits similar to fish oil without that fishy taste. Fatty 15 is on a mission to optimize your C15 levels to help you live healthier longer. You can get an additional 15% off their 90 day subscription starter kit by going to fatty15.comnewsworthy and using code Newsworthy at checkout.
- [07:09]
A
Now back to the news. A volcano has just erupted for the first time in at least 12,000 years. This week, the highly gooby volcano started spewing large plumes of ash and smoke over Ethiopia and across the Red Sea toward the Arabian Peninsula. Planes flying in the region have gotten advisories, and now air traffic controllers as far away as India are bracing for possible flight disruptions because of drifting ash. So far, no casualties have been reported, but the aftermath could still be devastating for the local community of livestock herders. Scientists and researchers are now closely monitoring the volcano via satellites. President Trump is planning a trip to China next year. Trump spoke with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping yesterday, and on that call he apparently accepted an invitation to visit Beijing in April. The two leaders also spoke about issues like the war in Ukraine, fentanyl and trade. And she says he told Trump that Taiwan needs to be returned to mainland China, though Trump didn't mention that part of the it comes just after American ally Japan's prime minister said her country's military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan. At this point, the US hasn't taken a side when it comes to the sovereignty of the self governed island, but it is against using force to seize Taiwan, and the Trump administration has told Taiwan to increase its defense budget. Bitcoin just keeps dropping. Last week was actually the worst for bitcoin since February and the cryptocurrency is off more than 30% from a peak peak last month. In other words, crypto tokens have lost more than a trillion dollars in market value. Analysts from Deutsche bank say there are a few reasons for the downturn, like a wider pullback in the stock market and signs of a possible pause in interest rate cuts. All that said, crypto investors have been here before. For example, the so called crypto winter of 2021 and 2022. The thing is, the market is much bigger now, so there are also fears of a similar sell off making a much bigger difference on Wall street this time. To be continued. Yet another big tech company is announcing another multi billion dollar push into artificial intelligence. This time it's Amazon. The tech giant now says it will invest $50 billion on AI infrastructure to support the US government. The project is expected to add nearly 1.3 gigawatts of capacity through new data centers designed specifically for federal agencies. To put that into perspective, 1 gigawatt of computing power is roughly enough to power about 750,000American households. Of course, OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Meta and Google have already announced their own plans to spend billions on new AI focused data centers. Some people have raised concerns about all these new data centers consuming enormous amounts of water and electricity, depleting resources and raising utility rates. But Amazon says this investment will remove the barriers currently holding the government back and help the US Lead the AI race. The project is set to break ground next year. One of the oldest charities in the US Is teaming up with a new kind of philanthropic venture. This week, the Rockefeller foundation announced a partnership with the Internet's biggest creator, Jimmy Donaldson, aka Mr. Beast. Together, they say their goal is to inspire young people to give back by mixing Mr. Beast Reach with the Rockefeller Foundation's century of expertise. At this point, they haven't shared the exact issues they plan to tackle together, but they've reportedly been talking about child hunger and child labor as starting off points. No matter what, they're hoping, together they can be more efficient to get people across generations engaged and make real, lasting change. Today, President Trump is kicking off Thanksgiving festivities, as presidents always do, with the White House Turkey. Pardon? That's the fun ceremony presidents have been holding for decades now where they let turkeys live out a good life instead of becoming food. This year the turkeys are named Gobble and Wobble and they spent last night at the Willard Intercontinental hotel in Washington, D.C. another holiday tradition already happened at the White House. Earlier this week, First Lady Melania Trump welcomed the White House Christmas tree this year. It's an 18 and a half foot white fur from a farm in Michigan. It arrived by horse drawn carriage yesterday. Now it will be decorated and displayed in the Blue Room. That's it for the main news today, but now it's time for Trivia Tuesday, when we ask a different trivia question every week. But first, Erica is back to tell you about our sponsor.
- [11:49]
B
Around the holidays, it feels like every day calls for a different outfit. Work events, family dinners, travel parties. And what I've learned is that the right foundation makes all the difference. That's why I reach for Honeylove. I first tried their shapewear before a special event, honestly expecting it to feel tight or restrictive, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was comfortable, supportive and stayed put all night. So no rolling down, no tugging, no I can't wait to get home and change moment. Now it's the piece I trust most for anything dressy. And as we head into the holiday season, Honeylove has become my go to for feeling confident in whatever I'm wearing. Their other essentials are great too. Whether you're dressing up or just wearing a cozy sweater, treat yourself or someone you love to Honey Love this holiday season. And right now you can save 20%@HoneyLove.com Newsworthy. Just use our exclusive link HoneyLove.com Newsworthy to grab your discount. After you order, they'll ask where you heard about Honey Love. So please support our show and let them know we sent you. Celebrate the season feeling confident and comfortable with Honey Love.
- [12:47]
A
Okay, now back to Trivia Tuesday. And today's trivia question is. On average, how many questions does the Butterball Turkey Talk line answer from callers during the holiday season? Listen again next Tuesday for the answer and explanation. As for our last trivia question, what country drinks the most beer per capita? The answer is the Czech Republic, and it's held the top spot for more than three decades. The Czechs consider beer to be part of their national heritage. The average person drinks about 152 liters of beer each year. And in the Czech Republic, 96% of the beer is brewed domestically, though it's in good company when you look at the whole list of countries that drink the most beer per capita, the entire top 10 is in Europe. Overall, the US ranks 27th out of 170. Thanks for joining us to get caught up on the news today. We'll be back tomorrow with the latest to know. Until then, have a great day.