MORNING NEWS UPDATE: NOVEMBER 25, 2025
- CDC Vaccine Guidance Sparks Autism Controversy: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its vaccine recommendations, introducing language that suggests a possible link between childhood vaccines and autism, reigniting debunked claims and causing widespread parental anxiety. Physicians have criticized the change as promoting misinformation directly from the federal government.
- Morgan Geyser Released to Group Home: Morgan Geyser, convicted in the 2014 Waukesha stabbing of a classmate inspired by the "Slender Man" myth, was transferred from a psychiatric facility to a group home, prompting renewed discussions on juvenile mental health and rehabilitation.
- Winter Storms Hit Midwest: Severe winter weather warnings are in effect for Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, with gusty winds up to 35 mph causing blowing snow and travel disruptions across the region.
- Grammy Artist Sentenced in Campaign Finance Scandal: A Grammy-winning musician received a 14-year prison sentence for illegally funneling foreign funds into Barack Obama's 2012 presidential campaign.
Presidential Turkey Pardons: President Donald Trump continues the annual White House tradition, pardoning turkeys Waddle and Gobble ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Senator Under Pentagon Investigation: Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is reportedly under a Pentagon investigation regarding a video urging troops to refuse "illegal orders."
DOJ Renews Effort to Unseal Grand Jury Transcripts: The Department of Justice is renewing its bid to unseal grand jury transcripts related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Tulsa Race Massacre Survivor Dies: Viola Ford Fletcher, one of the last living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, has died at the age of 111.
- Judge Blocks Lindsey Halligan's Appointment: A federal judge ruled against President Trump's appointment of Lindsey Halligan, dealing a major blow to administration efforts targeting perceived political adversaries through the Justice Department.
- Pentagon Investigates Sen. Mark Kelly: The Department of Defense launched a probe into Arizona Senator Mark Kelly over potential ethics violations tied to his military background, amid broader scrutiny of congressional ties to defense contracts.
- Trump Pulls Obamacare Extension Plan: President Trump abruptly withdrew a proposal to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies after opposition from House Republicans like Thomas Massie, highlighting internal GOP fractures ahead of midterms.
- Government Shutdown Becomes Longest in History: The ongoing federal shutdown, now exceeding previous records, has been partially blamed by Trump for recent Republican electoral losses, with lawmakers facing intense political fallout.
- Pew Poll Shows Latino Disapproval of Trump: A new Pew Research survey reveals majority disapproval among Latino voters for President Trump's policies on immigration and the economy, signaling challenges for Republicans in key demographics.
Pentagon Probe of Senator Kelly: The White House supports the Pentagon's probe into Senator Mark Kelly over his video urging troops to defy "illegal orders."
Health Care Plan Discussions: The White House is circulating a plan to extend Obamacare subsidies, as President Trump continues to pledge his own health care fix.
Judicial Ruling on High-Profile Cases: A judge has dismissed the cases against James Comey and Letitia James, ruling that the prosecutor who brought the charges was illegally appointed.
- Progress in U.S.-Led Ukraine Peace Talks: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Ukrainian and European officials in Geneva to advance a controversial U.S. proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine war, though allies criticize it for favoring Moscow.
- Israeli Airstrikes Kill Hezbollah Official: An Israeli strike in Beirut eliminated Haytham Ali Tabtabai, Hezbollah's acting chief of staff, escalating tensions despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza.
- China Denies Harassment of Indian Woman: Beijing refuted claims of mistreatment toward an Indian traveler from Arunachal Pradesh at Shanghai airport, insisting actions complied with immigration laws amid ongoing bilateral strains.
- Pakistan Taliban Raids Kill 38 Militants: Pakistani forces conducted operations in multiple regions, eliminating 38 Taliban fighters in a crackdown on insurgent activity.
- Nigeria School Abduction: Gunmen kidnapped 25 female students and killed a vice principal at a secondary school in Kebbi State, prompting a major military rescue effort.
Ukraine Peace Deal Talks: A U.S. official suggests that Ukraine has agreed to the essence of a peace deal framework with Russia, though the White House confirms "tremendous progress" while noting that delicate details require more talks.
Russian Strikes on Ukraine: Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure overnight, coinciding with renewed peace talks.
Restoration of Voluntary Military Service in France: French President Emmanuel Macron is reportedly expected to announce the restoration of a voluntary, remunerated 10-month military service amid growing concerns over the Russian threat.
Malaysia Social Media Ban: Malaysia is planning a social media ban for individuals under the age of 16.
- Trump Administration Advances Department Dismantling: The U.S. Department of Education announced interagency agreements to shift elementary, secondary, and postsecondary programs to other federal agencies like Labor and Interior, fulfilling Trump's pledge to devolve education to states.
- Delhi Schools Closed for Guru Tegh Bahadur Shaheedi Diwas: Educational institutions in Delhi-NCR, including Noida and Ghaziabad, observed a public holiday on November 25 for the 350th martyrdom anniversary, with similar closures in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
- Postsecondary Improvement Fund Priorities Released: The Department unveiled seven new focus areas for FY 2025 grants, emphasizing reforms to boost public confidence in higher education amid budget cuts.
- NESTS Workshop on Tribal Education Infrastructure: The National Education Society for Tribal Students hosted a two-day event in New Delhi to enhance facilities at Eklavya Model Residential Schools, supporting underserved communities.
DEI Policies and Federal Funding Risk: More than three dozen U.S. universities, including Ivy League schools like Harvard and Yale, risk suspension from a federal research partnership (Diplomacy Lab) over their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices.
Appointment of AI College Dean: The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) has named a prominent computer science expert, Jinjun Xiong, as the founding dean of its new College of AI, Cyber and Computing.
- Euro Area GDP Surpasses Expectations: The bloc's economy grew 0.2% in Q3 2025, driven by strong performances in France and Spain, prompting upgraded forecasts to 1.4% for 2025 and 1.0% for 2026.
- U.S. Shutdown Dampens Thanksgiving Travel Demand: A record number of Americans planned holiday flights, but the 43-day government impasse has curbed spending and economic activity in travel sectors.
- AI Not Yet Major Job Loss Driver: Despite 17,375 U.S. jobs cut due to AI in the first nine months of 2025, a Yale study finds no broad labor market disruption from tools like ChatGPT, though long-term impacts loom.
- Thailand Exports Slow to 5.7% Growth: October shipments rose below forecasts, signaling a cooldown from September's surge and potential headwinds from global trade tensions.
- China Fixed-Asset Investment Declines: A 1.7% drop in the first 10 months of 2025 marks the first contraction since the pandemic, raising concerns over domestic demand amid export reliance.
Stock Market Movement on Rate Hopes: Most U.S. stocks are rising on hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate at its next meeting in December, but drops in key companies like Nvidia held the market back.
AI Chip Market Shifts: The stock price for some chip companies dropped sharply following a report that Meta Platforms is in talks to spend billions of dollars on AI chips from Alphabet (Google) rather than traditional suppliers like Nvidia.
Retailer Stock Surges: Retailers Abercrombie & Fitch and Kohl's saw significant jumps in stock price after reporting better-than-expected profits for the latest quarter.
- Alphabet Nears $4 Trillion Valuation on AI Surge: Google's parent company is on track to hit the milestone, fueled by momentum in artificial intelligence investments and market dominance.
- Boeing Starliner Skips Astronauts on Next Flight: Due to ongoing issues, NASA's troubled capsule will fly uncrewed on its upcoming mission, delaying crewed returns.
- Apple Faces Polish Antitrust Probe on Privacy: Poland's UOKiK is investigating Apple's mobile ad policies for potential competition restrictions, echoing global scrutiny.
- Metropolis Raises $1.6B for AI Payments Expansion: The computer vision startup secured funding to extend its platform from parking to broader retail commerce.
- Windows 12 Beta Launch for Developers: Microsoft rolled out the OS preview, featuring AI enhancements and improved security amid competition from Apple and Google.
Trump Launches 'Genesis Mission': President Trump launched the "Genesis Mission," a national AI initiative aimed at accelerating scientific discovery and countering China's growing AI capabilities by harnessing government scientific data.
Amazon's AI Infrastructure Investment: Amazon announced it will invest up to $50 billion to build advanced AI and supercomputing infrastructure for AWS government regions.
Anthropic's New Model: Anthropic launched Claude Opus 4.5, its most advanced AI model, with major upgrades to coding, agents, and research tasks.
- CDC Website Fuels Vaccine-Autism Doubts: A revised CDC page now questions established science on vaccines and autism, alarming experts and eroding trust in public health messaging.
- Bird Flu Claims Second U.S. Fatality: An older Washington state resident with comorbidities died from H5N5, the first human case of this strain, heightening outbreak concerns.
- Infant Botulism Linked to Formula: California health officials are probing six additional 2024-2025 cases in babies fed ByHeart formula, expanding the ongoing outbreak investigation.
- GLP-1 Drugs May Extend Colon Cancer Survival: A UC San Diego study found Ozempic and Wegovy users had half the mortality rate, suggesting benefits beyond weight loss.
- Uranium Detected in Indian Breast Milk: A study of 40 samples revealed trace uranium levels below limits but with potential risks for 70% of infants, prompting calls for monitoring.
Aetna Collaboration for Community Health: Aetna Better Health of Missouri announced new collaborations and donations with local organizations to address homelessness (via a Tiny Homes Village) and improve child health (via a Diaper Depot program) in Northwest Missouri.
New Funding for Health Research: UT San Antonio is launching a new funding program aimed at tackling "profound health challenges."
- Ohio State Tops CFP Rankings: The Buckeyes held No. 1 after a dominant 42-9 win over Rutgers, setting up a marquee clash with Michigan.
- Saskatchewan Wins Grey Cup: The Roughriders defeated Montreal 25-17 for their fifth Canadian football championship.
- Jannik Sinner Defends ATP Finals Title: The Italian beat Carlos Alcaraz 7-6, 7-5 in the singles final, solidifying his year-end No. 1 ranking.
- South Africa Dominates World Rugby Dream Team: Six Springboks, led by Player of the Year Malcolm Marx, headline the 2025 men's 15s selections.
- Khelo India University Games Kick Off: The 5th edition launched in Jaipur with over 4,000 athletes competing across 20 disciplines.
Michigan Football Penalties Cost: Michigan's athletic director stated that the NCAA penalties stemming from the football program's sign-stealing operation will cost the university over $30 million.
Men's College Basketball Tournament: No. 3 Houston defeated Syracuse in overtime in the opening round of the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas.
Women's College Basketball Polls: UConn maintained its top spot in The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll after defeating No. 6 Michigan.
