National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG

House votes overwhelmingly to force DOJ to release Jeffrey Epstein files | 18 Nov 2025 | The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein. It was the product of a months-long pressure campaign by Democrats and the bill’s leaders, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif. Several of Epstein’s survivors were present in the House chamber during the vote as well and appeared to erupt in cheers when the resolution passed. All but one House lawmaker present in the chamber voted in favor of the bill, which passed 427 to 1. The lone “no” vote was Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., who posted on X shortly thereafter to explain his decision. “As written, this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people — witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc. If enacted in its current form, this type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt. Not by my vote,” Higgins wrote.

U.S. House votes to force release of Epstein files | 18 Nov 2025 | The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted on Tuesday to oblige the Department of Justice release all unclassified documents related to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. On Monday, President Donald Trump ended his opposition to the plan by calling on Republicans in the House to support the initiative. Epstein, a convicted sex offender, was found dead in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The resolution was passed 427-1 after being signed by 218 lawmakers in the House, where Republicans hold a 219-214 majority.

Israel fires on UN troops in southern Lebanon | 17 Nov 2025 | UN peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon have accused Israel of firing on one of their patrols, criticizing the country for its “aggressive behavior.” Israel has acknowledged that the incident occurred, but said it was not intentional and was due to poor weather conditions. In a statement on Sunday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired on personnel from a Merkava tank. It called the incident “a serious violation” of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon that ended the 2006 war, stressing that it was not the first attack of this kind. “Yet again, we call on the IDF to cease any aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers, who are working to support the return to the stability that both Israel and Lebanon say they seek.”

NATO nation’s top general tells population to prepare for attack | 18 Nov 2025 | Poland faces a potential attack from an “adversary,” Chief of the General Staff General Wieslaw Kukula claims, referencing a series of alleged cyberattacks and acts of sabotage. In an interview with Radio Jedynka on Monday, Kukula responded to remarks by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, who compared the current global landscape to the pre-World War II era and the height of the Cold War in 1981. “That’s a very good comparison because everything today depends on our attitude — whether we can deter the enemy or, conversely, encourage their aggression,” Kukula said. He claimed that “the adversary has begun preparing for war” by creating the “conditions favorable to potential aggression on Polish territory,” though he did not specify which country he was referring to.

Zelensky’s ratings have tanked after corruption scandal – Ukrainian MP | 18 Nov 2025 | A corruption scandal involving a long-time ally of Vladimir Zelensky that has forced the resignations of two government ministers has dealt a major blow to the Ukrainian leader’s chances of being re-elected, opposition MP Yaroslav Zhelezhnyak has claimed, citing private internal polling. Timur Mindich was charged by the Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) over an energy sector kickback scheme allegedly involving up to 100 million. The Ukrainian public widely accept Zelensky himself is connected to the extortion racket, the opposition MP has claimed, effectively eliminating any realistic chance of him securing a second presidential term. Speaking on his online program on Monday, Zhelezhnyak said private surveys he reviewed show Zelensky’s first-round support dropping below 20%. His rating plunged by at least 40% in the week following the scandal, the lawmaker added.

Mexican president issues ferocious warning to Donald Trump after he threatened to launch strikes in fight against drugs | 18 Nov 2025 | Donald Trump’s threat of U.S. military strikes against drug cartels inside Mexico is a non-starter, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday. “It’s not going to happen,” she said at a press conference, responding to Trump’s warning that he would do “whatever we have to do,” including strikes within the territory. Trump on Monday told reporters in the Oval Office that he would be “OK” with assaults on drug lords operating inside Mexico, arguing that it would be justified to stop the inflow of the deadly opioid fentanyl. “Would I launch strikes in Mexico to stop drugs? It’s OK with me. Whatever we have to do to stop drugs,” Trump said. “I didn’t say I’m doing it, but I’d be proud to do it. Because we’re going to save millions of lives by doing it.”

Washington resident hospitalized with H5N5 bird flu strain never before seen in humans | 18 Nov 2025 | A Washington state resident has been hospitalized and is ‘severely ill’ with a strain of virus that has never before been confirmed in humans. The patient, an older adult with underlying conditions, was hospitalized with a strain of bird flu in early November after suffering from a high fever, confusion and severe breathing difficulties, officials said. They were first treated by doctors in Grays Harbor County, about 100 miles west of Seattle, before being transferred to an unnamed hospital in King County, where Seattle is based, for specialist care. Lab tests confirmed the patient was infected with H5N5, a strain of bird flu previously detected in animals but never before recorded in humans.

Trump shooter Thomas Crooks’s hidden online history with years of assassination threats is finally exposed as Tucker Carlson blows up FBI’s narrative | 14 Nov 2025 | Tucker Carlson has claimed that the young man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania last year had a long record of espousing political violence. Comments posted by Thomas Crooks to YouTube from 2019 to 2020 show a detailed digital trail of violent threats that included calls for assassination and political violence, despite the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s repeated claims otherwise, according to a mini-documentary Carlson released Friday morning. The posts were made by Crooks when he was between 15 and 17 years old, Carlson’s expose claims… The data includes the users’ search history, watch history, and 737 public comments that have seemingly vanished, the documentary states. Aside from the video evidence and phone number tying Crooks to the YouTube account, Carlson points to the day the account was suspended to support the authenticity of his findings: July 14, 2024, the day after the shooting.

California DA ‘Shocked’ After Judge Frees 2 Murder Suspects Without Bail: ‘Absolutely a Danger to Our Community’ | 18 Nov 2025 | A California judge has freed two murder suspects without bail as Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen warns “people’s lives” are at risk. Agustin Sandoval and Vicente Aguilera-Chavez, who were both charged with murder in connection with a 2017 shooting that left one dead and another injured, were arrested after Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety detectives were able to identify them as suspects in 2024. On Friday, Judge Hector Ramon released Sandoval “on his own recognizance,” meaning the suspect does not have to pay bail, while Aguilera was released two weeks earlier, on October 31, a Santa Clara County District Attorney spokesperson told Fox News. “It was bad enough that an accused murderer with a violent past was let out of custody, now there are two,” Rosen said. “The odds of re-offense or fleeing from justice just doubled. People’s lives ride on those odds.”

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan warns NY will see boost in ICE enforcement ahead of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani taking office | 18 Nov 2025 | President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan warned New Yorkers will see increased federal immigration enforcement ahead of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani taking office. Homan, during an interview on Fox News Tuesday morning, also said he plans to hold Mayor Eric Adams’s administration accountable for its commitment to reopen ICE’s office on Rikers Island. “Me and Mayor Adams at one point had an agreement to let ICE into Rikers Island so we could arrest the public safety threats and the safety and security of that facility, but the City Council shut it down,” he said on Fox & Friends. Homan also said he planned on coming back to the Big Apple soon, and that there would be more immigration agents on city streets, as part of a federal crackdown that has already made headlines.

‘Operation Dirtbag’ sees over 150 illegal migrant sexual predators nabbed in Florida, Kristi Noem announces | 12 Nov 2025 | More than 150 illegal migrant s-xual predators have been nabbed in Florida as part of a massive sweep dubbed “Operation Dirtbag,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revealed on Wednesday. The s-x offenders were among more than 230 illegals rounded up in the Sunshine State after being wanted for crimes including drug offenses and even murder. Others who were arrested had prior convictions for child molestation and s-xual assault, according to the Department of Homeland Security. “This operation was called Operation Criminal Return. I call it Operation Dirtbag, because these individuals were s-x offenders, but not just s-x offenders, they targeted children,” Noem told Fox & Friends.

Trump insults Marjorie Taylor Greene as he gives her TWO of his trademark nicknames in extraordinary tirade against former ally | 14 Nov 2025 | Donald Trump slapped Marjorie Taylor Greene with two of his trademark insulting nicknames as their war of words continued into a second day. Trump posted on Truth Social shortly after Greene shared a measured statement of her own on Saturday morning, following their online screaming match Friday. In it, he branded the Georgia Representative as “Marjorie Taylor Brown” adding: “Green grass turns Brown when it begins to ROT!.” In a follow up post, he also labelled her “Marjorie Traitor Greene,” after saying she “betrayed the entire Republican Party when she turned Left.” Trump added: “Just another Fake politician, no different than Rand Paul Jr. (Thomas Massie), who got caught being a full fledged Republican In Name Only (RINO)! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” The president announced on Friday that he was withdrawing his support of the former MAGA darling, saying she was “a ranting lunatic.”

Furious White House reveals Jeffrey Epstein victim who ‘spent hours’ with Trump – and she always said he never did anything wrong | 12 Nov 2025 | House Democrats pulled a bait-and-switch on a new trove of Jeffrey Epstein documents Wednesday when they released just three select emails in which the pedophile financier mentioned President Trump, including one claiming, “Victim 1 spent many hours at my house with him.” But the Dems on the House Oversight Committee deliberately withheld the name of the victim in the missive — Virginia Giuffre, who said before her death earlier this year that she witnessed no wrongdoing from Trump during their interactions. Media outlets jumped on the limited document release anyway — led by the New York Times and CNN which appeared to have gotten a sneak peek at the messages. House Republicans and the Trump White House quickly fired back. “The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Post in a statement.

Trump-obsessed writer Michael Wolff encouraged Jeffrey Epstein to blackmail then-presidential candidate Donald, emails reveal | 13 Nov 2025 | Discredited author Michael Wolff once encouraged Jeffrey Epstein to blackmail then-presidential candidate Donald Trump — insisting the convicted pedophile could generate a “debt” from him. The Trump-obsessed writer’s email exchanges with Epstein were among the trove of documents released by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. In one email, Wolff floated the possibility of intimidating Trump for his own benefit — as he warned Epstein that the then-GOP candidate could be asked about their alleged ties while on the campaign trail. “I hear CNN planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you — either on air or in scrum afterwards,” Wolff wrote to Epstein in December 2015. “I think you should let him hang himself,” he added in a follow-up the next day.

Supreme Court rules Trump admin can mandate passports to display Americans’ birth sex | 6 Nov 2025 | The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration can order U.S. passports indicate the holders’ s-x at birth and remove designations for transgender and nonbinary individuals. In an unsigned order, the court stayed a pair of lower court rulings that prevented the administration from enforcing President Trump’s Day One executive order that “the policy of the United States [is] to recognize two s-xes, male and female.” “Displaying passport holders’ s-x at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth,” read the order, “in both cases, the Government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment.”