Plus: This Vaccine May Help Slow Dementia, By Chance

Good evening,

The 2025 year-end roundups have begun, and one of our favorites is the year in photos. 📸

Getty, a media company that provides photographs and videos for customers around the world, revealed its 100 top news images of 2025 on Wednesday. Some highlights from every season this year:

Winter: A firefighting helicopter drops water as the Sunset Fire burns in the Hollywood Hills in January (top left).
Spring: Pope Leo XIV leads the Regina Caeli prayer in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, shortly after being elected as the first American Pope (top right).
Summer: A man struggles in deep water as he carries a young child on his shoulders to try and board a migrant boat into the English Channel (bottom left).
Fall: Ziv Berman, a former hostage in Gaza, celebrates from a helicopter as he arrives back in Israel after two years in captivity (bottom right).

Hats off to these talented photographers for finding creative and engaging ways to keep us informed all year long. See the full list for yourself.

Mo News Team

🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

Lawmakers Split Over Legality Of Second Strike On Alleged Drug Boat Survivors

Lawmakers are divided over the legality of a follow-up strike on two survivors of an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean this September. The dispute comes after members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees met today with Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley — who commanded the Sept. 2 mission — and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine.

The closed briefing included a viewing of a video of the second strike. It follows a Washington Post report from late last week that said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered officials to “kill everybody” on board after an initial strike on a boat in the Caribbean left two survivors.
- Hegseth was accused of refusing to grant quarter — or attacking enemies who have surrendered or cannot fight back — which is a war crime.

Today, Bradley disputed the Washington Post report, telling lawmakers that Hegseth did not issue a “kill them all” order on the boat’s 11 occupants.

ONE MEETING, MANY VIEWS

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK), who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters the second strike was entirely lawful.
- ”I saw two survivors trying to flip a boat loaded with drugs bound for the United States back over so they could stay in the fight. And potentially, given all the context we heard, of other narcoterrorist boats in the area coming to their aid to recover their cargo and recover those narco terrorists,” he said.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he is “deeply” troubled by the double-strike, given that he believes the survivors on the boat posed no threat to American security.
- “The fact is that we killed two people who were in deep distress and had neither the means nor obviously the intent to continue their mission,” he said.

Cotton said the administration did not change its standards or orders for these strikes — arguing that survivors in subsequent operations, who were captured and repatriated, did not pose an equal threat. The broader campaign has included strikes on more than 20 boats and killed more than 80 people.

Hegseth said he witnessed the first strike, but was not in the room for the second. President Trump posted video of the first strike on social media shortly after it took place, and the Pentagon is reportedly considering releasing video of the second.

OTHER HEGSETH DRAMA
A long-awaited Pentagon inspector general report on ‘Signalgate’ was released today. It found that Hegseth violated Defense Department rules and risked the safety of U.S. troops by sharing details about planned strikes on Houthi rebels via the encrypted app Signal earlier this year. That was the same chat that The Atlantic’s Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently added to.

Hegseth responded on X: “No classified information. Total exoneration. Case closed. Houthis bombed into submission. Thank you for your attention to this IG report.”

.🚨 ONE THINGW WE’RE WATCHING

California Considers New Tax Targeting Billionaires

California lawmakers are considering a dramatic new proposal: a one-time 5% tax on billionaires to help cover the state’s budget shortfall and replace lost federal healthcare funding. The tax could mean:

A $12 billion one-time payment from Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and $8 billion from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Roughly 200 billionaires call California home.

The healthcare workers’ union proposing the ballot initiative says the move would raise about $100 billion and is needed to stabilize California’s strained public health insurance program, Medi-Cal, and offset impending Medicaid cuts.

Opponents warn the tax could push more wealthy residents and companies out of the state — a debate that mirrors criticism of New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s “tax the rich” campaign initiative. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom reportedly is not on board, according to a political adviser — though he hasn’t commented publicly.

STATE OF PLAY
New York and California have the most billionaires in the U.S., but proposals from progressive lawmakers in both states could mean massive tax hikes on the group.

On the campaign trail, Mamdani said: “I don’t think we should have billionaires.”
- About a third of Americans in 2020 said it is bad for the U.S. to have people with fortunes over a billion dollars, according to Pew.
Mamdani proposed a 2% tax on incomes over $1 million, which would be projected to raise $4 billion a year. The state legislature and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) would need to approve the measure.

Hochul said Tuesday that she will not raise personal income taxes, despite uncertainty over federal funding and pressure from progressives. “We want to make sure that New York is more affordable for everybody and I want people who are successful to keep creating the jobs and investing here,” she said. But — in a notable shift — Hochul did not rule out other types of tax increases. State officials have already begun quietly floating a corporate tax bump.

New York’s current top corporate tax rate is 7.25%; Mamdani has proposed raising it to match New Jersey’s 11.25%.

Hochul is up for reelection next year. While raising taxes on the wealthy is politically risky, Mamdani’s decisive win on a progressive agenda — which she backed — may see her move away from more a moderate stance.

⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

Supreme Court allows Texas to use new congressional district map drawn to favor Republicans (NBC)
FBI arrests D.C. pipe bomb suspect after 5-year search (MO NEWS)
Letitia James challenges grand jury subpoenas into Trump and NRA (ABC)
Anxiety grips Minneapolis’s Somali community as immigration agents zero in on the Twin Cities (CNN)
Virginia man accused of planting pipe bombs in D.C. on eve of Jan. 6 riot (NBC)
Schumer says Democrats will bring up bill to extend health care tax credits for 3 years (CBS)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

Devastating landslides turn Sri Lanka village into burial ground (AFP)
U.K. and Norway sign pact to “hunt Russian submarines” in North Atlantic (CBS)
Vatican commission votes against ordaining female deacons (CATHOLIC REPORTER)
Anti-Hamas militia leader Yasser Abu Shabab killed in ‘internal clash’ in Gaza, Israeli sources say (TIMES OF ISRAEL)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

Layoff announcements top 1.1 million this year, the most since 2020 pandemic, Challenger says (MSNBC)
Meta stock climbs 4% on report of planned metaverse cuts (CNBC)
Venmo announces it is ‘back up and running’ following widespread service outage (AP)
CDC panel postpones vote on hepatitis vaccine changes (AXIOS)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

NHL deputy commissioner warns players may skip 2026 Olympics amid construction concerns (FOX)
Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, and the Netherlands boycott Eurovision over Israel’s participation (CNN)
Steve Cropper, acclaimed guitarist for Booker T. and the M.G.’s, dies at 84 (CBS/AP)
Pantone’s selects “cloud dancer” — technically a shade — as 2026 Color of the Year (NY POST)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… Army veteran Ed Bambas will finally be able to retire after being presented with $1.5 million in donations from strangers online.

Bambas, 88, appeared in a viral video last month where he explained how he lost his pension and, despite his age, is now forced to work 40 hours a week. The Australian influencer, Samuel Wiedenhofer, who took the video then set up a GoFundMe to help Bambas live in comfort.

Is someone chopping onions? 🥹