Judge targets DHS over migrant flights, Trump shifts on boat strike video release
A federal judge seeks answers on whether Homeland Security proceeded with deporting over 100 migrants after he ordered the planes to be turned around, and he is now bringing top DOJ lawyers in for testimony.
Plus, President Donald Trump is retracting his promise to release the full Sept. 2 boat-strike footage. Congress is also halting funding for part of Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget until lawmakers receive the unedited recording.
And late-night host Jimmy Kimmel agrees to another year at ABC, months after a brief suspension sparked a free speech debate.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Tuesday, December 9, 2025.
Judge orders testimony from top DOJ attorney in controversial deportation
A federal judge is turning up the heat on the Trump administration, saying he still doesn’t know whether Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defied his order to stop a mass deportation flight. However, he’s now taking extraordinary steps to get answers.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has ordered a top Department of Justice attorney to take the witness stand and explain how more than 100 men were deported in March under the Alien Enemies Act, despite his attempt to halt the flights.
Boasberg wants testimony next week from Drew Ensign, a deputy assistant attorney general, and from former DOJ prosecutor Erez Reuveni, who has accused the administration of dodging court orders.
The deportations, consisting of two planes sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT mega-prison, took off before the judge could issue his temporary restraining order. That timeline has triggered a full-blown contempt inquiry into whether the administration deliberately made sure the planes were gone before the court could intervene.
In a new filing, Judge Boasberg said Noem’s sworn declaration “does not provide enough information” to determine whether she willfully violated the court.
Noem says she moved forward only after receiving legal advice from DOJ leadership.
In a separate immigration fight, an immigration judge has ordered the release of Bruna Ferreira, a Brazilian woman and the mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew.
Ferreira, who once held DACA status and is seeking a green card, had been in ICE custody as she fought possible deportation.
She will now be allowed to continue that case outside detention.
Trump shifts stance on releasing boat strike footage as lawmakers freeze funds until video is released
President Donald Trump made new comments on a controversial boat-strike video after saying last week that he had “no problem” releasing the unedited footage. Now he’s flatly denying ever making that promise.
When pressed by a reporter in the Cabinet Room on Monday, asking again if he’d release the full video, as he previously stated, the president said, “I didn’t say that. That’s, you said that. I didn’t say that. This is ABC fake news.”
He followed the comment up by saying whatever Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants to do is “okay with me.”
That shift comes as pressure builds in Washington.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are now using a 3,086-page defense policy bill to force the Pentagon’s hand.
About 800 pages into the bill, there’s a call to freeze a quarter of Hegseth’s travel budget until Congress gets the unedited video of U.S. strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats, including the Sept. 2nd operation that left two survivors dead in a follow-up attack.
Top Pentagon officials have already shown the footage to a small group of lawmakers behind closed doors, but they disagree sharply on what it shows.
Some Republicans say it vindicates the military. Democrats say it raises serious questions and want it released publicly.
That defense bill is expected to clear the House this week and move to the Senate without changes.
Supreme Court signals support for expanding Trump’s removal powers for independent agencies
The Supreme Court looks poised to hand the Trump administration a major win. It’s one that could give the president more power to remove top officials from independent agencies, even for political or policy reasons.
The case centers on Trump’s firing of Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter earlier this year.
Under a 1935 federal law, presidents can only remove leaders of independent boards for cause.
Slaughter’s ouster was a direct challenge to that rule, and analysts say it’s part of Trump’s broader push to exert more control over independent agencies.
Inside the courtroom, the conservative majority appeared ready to back the president.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted that these commissioners “are not elected” and exercise “massive power over individual liberty and billion-dollar industries.”
The impact could be sweeping, potentially ending the independence of more than 20 bipartisan agencies that oversee everything from monetary policy to consumer safety to broadcast licensing.
Another justice, however, warned of a constitutional earthquake.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor told the Trump administration’s lawyer: “You’re asking us to destroy the structure of government.”
A final decision is expected by June.
Habba resigns after appeals court rules her appointment violated federal law
Alina Habba, the former personal attorney to Trump and his designated U.S. attorney in New Jersey, resigned Monday after a federal appeals court ruled she had been unlawfully serving. Habba was one of Trump’s most high-profile U.S. attorney appointments, installed after her Senate confirmation stalled.
But last week, a unanimous three-judge panel ruled that the administration’s workarounds violated federal vacancy law – effectively stripping Habba of authority and freezing parts of New Jersey’s federal docket.
In a statement on social media, Habba said she’s stepping down to “protect the stability and integrity of the office.” She added, “This decision will not weaken the Justice Department, and it will not weaken me.”
She will now serve as a senior adviser to Attorney General Pam Bondi, overseeing U.S. attorneys nationwide while the DOJ prepares an appeal.
Reporters asked Trump on Monday how he felt about it all.
“You’ve got a blue slip thing that’s horrible. It’s a horrible thing. It makes it impossible to appoint a judge or a U.S. attorney, and it’s a shame,” Trump said. “And the Republicans should be ashamed of themselves that they allow this to go on because I can’t appoint a U.S. attorney that’s not a Democrat. Because they put a block on it.”
The president blamed the delay in confirming Habba and many of his other nominees on the Senate’s “Blue slip” tradition, which allows the two senators from a nominee’s home state to block appointments.
“I guess I just have to keep appointing people for three months and then just appoint another one, another one. And it’s a very sad situation. We’re losing tremendously,” he said. “We’re losing a lot of great people. We have about seven U.S. attorneys who are not gonna be able to keep their jobs much longer because of the blue slip.“
Habba’s exit comes as several Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys have also been found to be serving unlawfully under similar appointment tactics.
A team of three prosecutors will now oversee New Jersey until the White House appoints a permanent nominee.
Nvidia chip deal with China: Trump says US gets 25% cut
Trump announced he will authorize Nvidia to sell its advanced AI chips to select approved customers in China, a major shift in tech policy with important national security implications.
In a post on Truth Social, the president said he told China’s Xi Jinping he would permit Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 AI chips — but only if the U.S. government takes a 25% cut of the profits.
Trump also said the ales would happen “under conditions that allow for continued strong national security,” though he offered no details on what those safeguards are. He added that Intel and AMD could be part of a similar arrangement.
The Department of Commerce (DOC) is still finalizing the details, especially regarding who in China qualifies as an “approved customer” and the mechanism of profit sharing.
Kimmel extends contract with ABC through May 2027
Jimmy Kimmel will stay on ABC. The late-night host has extended his contract for another year, keeping “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on air until May 2027.
This marks nearly 24 years of his hosting career.
The renewal comes shortly after ABC temporarily removed his show from the schedule following a suspension related to comments about the death of political activist Charlie Kirk, which ignited a nationwide debate over comedy, free speech and late-night television.
Kimmel, who debuted his show in 2003, remains one of the longest-serving late-night hosts and is now set for at least one more season.
More from Straight Arrow News:
Pensions were buying crypto before it tumbled. Will it affect retirements?
Public pension funds have increasingly purchased cryptocurrency in recent years. While valuations have grown in recent years, the last month has seen coin values plummet before gradually rebounding.
Pension fund representatives and outside experts say the total public investment in cryptocurrency is minuscule, and that the digital currency remains a viable purchase with public funds when done carefully.
Public employee pension funds are some of the largest institutional investors in the country. They not only serve as a nest egg for the nation’s retired public servants but also invest more than $6.5 trillion in taxpayer and employee contributions into the market. These funds have increasingly dipped their toes into cryptocurrency in recent years, adding fractions of the volatile asset to further diversify portfolios.
Since mid-November, cryptocurrencies have been in a slide, wiping out billions of dollars in market capitalization in a matter of days. The crypto market’s stall, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, was severe enough to be a primary downward driver, costing the Trump family more than $1 billion in a week.
Bitcoin, widely regarded as a bellwether for cryptocurrencies, posted a nearly 8% sell-off on Dec. 1, dropping its price below $84,000. The coin sold for more than $124,000 just two months prior.
The volatility of cryptocurrencies has prompted several warnings against investing public funds. Read the full story now>
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
