Today\u2019s edition of quick hits.<\/p>\n
* The latest on the Epstein files<\/a>: \u201cDemocrats on the House Oversight Committee released a tranche of new images from the Jeffrey Epstein estate Friday that included photographs of former President Bill Clinton, media impresario Steve Bannon, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and, most notably, President Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n * The National Trust for Historic Preservation heads to court<\/a>: \u201cA leading national historic preservation group is suing President Donald Trump and several other government officials, seeking to stop the construction of Trump\u2019s planned White House ballroom.\u201d<\/p>\n * At the U.N.<\/a>: \u201cThe Trump administration sided with officials from Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran in a successful effort to block part of a United Nations report about the dire state of the planet because it called for phasing out fossil fuels, switching to clean energy and reducing plastics, according to two participants.\u201d<\/p>\n * Among the White House\u2019s many setbacks<\/a> on Thursday: \u201cThe board of the Federal Reserve System said Thursday that it had reappointed all regional Fed bank presidents, just days after the Trump administration began suggesting that it wanted to make major changes to the reappointment process.\u201d<\/p>\n * What a weird response<\/a>: \u201cThe White House is making an unusual argument as it resists advocates\u2019 push for sign language interpretation at press briefings conducted by President Donald Trump and press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Providing American sign language interpretation in press conferences \u2018would severely intrude on the President\u2019s prerogative to control the image he presents to the public,\u2019 Justice Department attorneys argued in a lawsuit filed by the National Association for the Deaf.\u201d<\/p>\n * Elon Musk isn\u2019t having a great year<\/a>: \u201cTesla\u2019s U.S. sales dropped to a near four-year low in November, despite the automaker\u2019s rollout of new, cheaper versions of its best-selling electric vehicles, estimates from Cox Automotive given exclusively to Reuters showed on Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n * It sure is weird to have a federal government run by officials who are indistinguishable from internet trolls<\/a>: \u201cIn the second Trump administration post of its kind, the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday portrayed Franklin, the anthropomorphic turtle character from a children\u2019s book series, as a \u2018deportation judge.\u2019 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a similar image with Franklin late last month.\u201d<\/p>\n Have a safe weekend.<\/p>\n The post Friday\u2019s Mini-Report, 12.12.25<\/a> appeared first on MS NOW<\/a>.<\/p>\n