Advertisement“I don’t think having troops on the ground in Venezuela is a good idea,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) told HuffPost. AdvertisementSen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Trump must seek congressional approval before engaging in war with Venezuela, as required by the U.S. Constitution. A bipartisan congressional investigation has begun regarding Hegseth's role in ordering U.S. military strikes on small boats in the waters off Venezuela that have killed scores of people. On Friday, Trump told NBC News it is possible the U.S. could go to war with Venezuela, as his administration continues to ramp up pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. military has amassed about 15,000 troops near Venezuela, the largest military buildup in the region in modern history.

I was only 8 when an older man first caught my attention. I wanted a man who’d been around long enough to have stories — someone whose confidence I could run my fingers through. Courtesy of Nicole ReedI wasn’t actively seeking an older man, but, then again, I wasn’t necessarily seeking anything. Once Christopher saw how confident I was around him, he loosened up too. It took falling for someone much older to realize that time doesn’t make love more real — or less worth it.

Flu season arrives with the holidays, as parties and travel kick into high gear and colder weather sets in across many states. Flu cases increased quickly this year, noted Dr. Neal Shipley, the medical director of Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care in New York. Advertisement“We went from having almost no flu activity to, right after Thanksgiving ... a pretty sharp uptick.” This also happened last flu season and in 2023. While cases may not be as high as right after the holiday, flu season will linger well into the spring. Tens of thousands of people die from the flu every year, too, and states including Colorado and North Carolina have already reported pediatric flu deaths this flu season.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGWASHINGTON ― A few weeks ago, New York Times columnist David Brooks urged people to move on from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal already. Epstein doesn’t appear in any of the pictures with Brooks, but is in two separate photos that seem to be from the same event. Asked for comment about Brooks appearing in the latest Epstein photo dump, The New York Times responded almost immediately. AdvertisementNew York Times columnist David Brooks recently wrote a column saying it was time to move on from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Now he appears in newly released photos from Epstein's estate.

AdvertisementDeputy Attorney General Todd Blanche suggested that while the DOJ has “been working tirelessly since that day” to make the files public, the department may not fully comply with the deadline set by The Epstein Files Transparency Act. It gives the Justice Department leeway to withhold personally identifying material related to victims and matters related to ongoing investigations. AdvertisementDeputy Attorney General Todd Blanche attends a news conference at the Justice Department on Nov. 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. Blanche told Fox News that the DOJ might not fully comply with the deadline to release the full Jeffrey Epstein files. The committee has also obtained some of the Justice Department’s Epstein files after it sent a subpoena.

Secrets Don't Expose ThemselvesHelp uncover the truth.As the Epstein files come to light, HuffPost is committed to separating fact from spin. Our newsroom is tracking what’s released, what’s withheld, and why it matters. Support reporting that holds government accountable. Become a Member. Log in to hide these messages.

HuffPost Headlines 12-19Brown shooting suspect is dead, Kennedy family up in arms over new renaming of beloved arts center and Trump’s Hunger Games dream — just some of the stories HuffPost is following today.

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Trump’s vile post about Reiner garnered wide condemnation, with many on social media describing his remarks as “disgusting.” Rocker Jack White took to Instagram to slam the president, writing: “Trump you disgusting, vile, egomaniac, loser, child. Neither he nor any one of his followers can defend this gross, horrible insult to a beautiful artist who gave the world so much.”AdvertisementThe concept of a so-called “derangement syndrome” has been used against critics of past presidents before. But Trump has a history of frequently using the phrase against his naysayers himself. Alexandra Cromer, a licensed professional counselor with Thriveworks, believes that Trump’s habit of leveling the phrase “Trump Derangement Syndrome” reveals a lot about his leadership style. There’s a reason why Trump’s attack on Reiner sparked a rare rebuke from his loyal supporters, experts say.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGPresident Donald Trump suspended the green card lottery program on Thursday, which allowed the suspect in the Brown University and MIT shootings to come to the United States. The Brown University shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente entered the United States through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card. Nearly 20 million people applied for the 2025 visa lottery, with more than 131,000 selected when including spouses with the winners. Trump has long opposed the diversity visa lottery. He has not been deterred if they are enshrined in law, like the diversity visa lottery, or the Constitution, as with a right to citizenship for anyone born on U.S. soil.

I was only 8 when an older man first caught my attention. I wanted a man who’d been around long enough to have stories — someone whose confidence I could run my fingers through. But even still, I hadn’t planned on marriage, let alone marrying a man nearly three decades my senior. Courtesy of Nicole ReedI wasn’t actively seeking an older man, but, then again, I wasn’t necessarily seeking anything. And though I have some anxiety about what happens when Christopher gets older, he isn’t the only one aging in this relationship.

Photo by George Pak : https://www.pexels.com/photo/two-tourists-eating-a-chinese-food-on-the-street-7969195/ Couple eating food on holidayOne of the best parts of travelling and going on holiday is trying new foods. This year, I visited Prague for the first time and enjoyed the culinary delight that is tartar sauce on chips and have not looked back since. Dr Rajan adds: “Travel stress also hits the vagus nerve… the communication superhighway between gut and brain. “When stress is high (tight connections, delays, mysteriously expensive airport sandwiches), vagal activity drops. Our bodies are tense, our brains are trying to keep on top of everything and we have likely been on the go for hours.

Supplied Diane and Rob ParsonsThis December, we’re championing kindness in all its forms through HuffPost UK’s Kindness Advent Calendar. A few days before Christmas, 50 years ago, Diane and Rob Parsons heard a knock at the door of their Cardiff home. Advertisement“The knocking wasn’t loud, but it was persistent,” recalls Rob Parsons. What’s with the frozen chicken?’”Rob recalls how Ronnie said somebody had given it to him for Christmas, but he had no way of cooking it. Not long after that life-changing door knock, he got a job as a refuse collector.

President Donald Trump could only make it two minutes into a speech at the White House’s Hanukkah reception Tuesday before completely derailing it by yapping about his favorite topic: himself. After reading off a few generic lines about how the antisemitic act that killed 15 Jewish people was a “terrible, terrible thing,” he moved on to introduce those in attendance at the reception. AdvertisementWhen he read the name of Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) — the former White House physician turned GOP lawmaker — Trump decided to very abruptly change gears. “He was my White House doctor,” Trump said before taking a few familiar jabs at his Democratic predecessors. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) is welcomed to the stage by Trump at a rally in 2024.

(Diaz Morales’ legal team told HuffPost Thursday night that they were able to schedule a virtual appointment for Monday, Dec. AdvertisementThe locator system is known to be frequently out of date, so it’s unclear whether Diaz Morales really is at that facility. Diaz Morales’ father referenced the danger posed by Jalisco Nueva Generación, a cartel. Reentering the country without documentation does not affect whether someone is a U.S. citizen, Diaz Morales’ attorneys noted. In the hearing Thursday morning, ICE maintained that it believed Diaz Morales’ documents were fake, Slatton said.