As rising prices and the lingering fallout from the nation's longest-ever government shutdown squeeze Americans' budgets, many are unable to give back this holiday season — and charities are feeling the strain.
Why it matters: Some of the largest charitable organizations in the U.S. are trying to stay hopeful despite rising demand and declining generosity.
The big picture: Officials have yet to identify a motive that led the suspect to travel across the country to D.C. and carry out a "targeted" assault that left two Guard members from West Virginia in critical condition.
Republicans are dramatically ramping up their anti-immigration rhetoric after the shooting of two National Guard members in D.C. by a suspect who is an Afghan national, with some calling to end Muslim immigration entirely and "deport every single Islamist."
Why it matters: The Trump administration is already taking steps in that direction by suspending all immigration applications from Afghan nationals — a move even some Republican moderates aren't fully dismissing.
The suspectin Wednesday's shooting of two West Virginia National Guard troops is an Afghan national who entered the U.S. in 2021 after working with the CIA and other U.S. government agencies during the war, CIA Director John Ratcliffe tells Axios in a statement.
The big picture: After the withdrawal fromAfghanistan, "the Biden Administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the U.S. Government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar," Ratcliffe said.
President Trump kickstarted the latest peace talks in Ukraine last week after Vice President Vance, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, made the case that a new 28-point plan could bring a breakthrough, administration officials tell Axios.
Why it matters: Their White House meeting on Nov. 18 — unreported until now — laid the groundwork for the talks in Geneva last weekend that have given the administration more hope than ever of stopping the war.
North Carolina can use a redrawn congressional map during the 2026 midterm elections, a federal three-judge panel ruled on Wednesday.
Why it matters: It's a win for Republicans seeking to flip a U.S. House seat in N.C. amid President Trump's push for states to redistrict so the GOP can keep control of Congress after the 2026 midterm elections.
President Trump, other political leaders and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle swiftly condemned the shooting in D.C. that critically injured two West Virginia National Guard members on Wednesday.
The big picture: Many leading Republicans and Democrats joined Trump in paying tribute to the service members, offering prayers and condemning violence.
The Trump administration suspended all immigration applications from Afghan nationals with immediate effect on Wednesday night following a shooting in D.C. that critically injured two West Virginia National Guard members.
The big picture: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' announcement came soon after President Trump in a video address vowed to "re-examine every single" immigrant who had entered the U.S. from Afghanistan during the Biden administration, after confirming that the shooting suspect is an Afghan national who arrived in 2021.
President Trump on Wednesday night confirmed the suspect in the shooting that critically injured two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C., is an Afghan national and vowed to step up his administration's hardline immigration crackdown.
The latest: Soon after Trump's video address, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced: "Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols."
President Trump wants to send an additional 500 National Guard to Washington, D.C., after two Guard members were shot just blocks from the White House Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
Why it matters: Trump's deployment of the National Guard to the nation's capital — intended to counter crime in the capital city — has lasted about four months with no end in sight.
The Trump administration filed an emergency motion Wednesday asking a federal appeals court to halt a judge's ruling from last week that deemed the president's deployment of the National Guard to D.C. unlawful.
The big picture: The filing came after two National Guard members were shot and critically injured just minutes from the White House, though the motion did not cite the attack as a reason for the administration's request.
