November 21, 2025

Friday, November 21st, 2025 - Epstein Act signed; Trump threats; Coastguard rebrands swastikas; Student loan caps; RFK Jr.’s CDC cancels science

7 minutes

Today’s Headlines: President Trump finally announced that he signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act — though we still haven’t actually seen the signature. AG Pam Bondi now has 30 days to release the files. Then, in true Trump escalation fashion, he hopped back online to call for the arrest and death penalty for several Democratic lawmakers — all military or intel veterans — after they released a video reminding service members not to follow illegal orders. Trump labeled it “seditious behavior, punishable by death!” The White House later tried to clean it up, insisting Trump does not want to execute Democrats. Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard quietly rewrote its policies so that swastikas, nooses, and Confederate flags are no longer “hate symbols” but merely “potentially divisive.” Nothing says troop readiness like officially pretending racism is a quirky personality trait. In New York, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is meeting Trump at the White House today — a meeting Mamdani’s team requested, even as Trump is withholding $18 billion in federal funding for NYC infrastructure. Immigration crackdowns continue: A federal judge ruled Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to D.C. illegal — though the ruling is paused for 21 days so the administration can appeal. Meanwhile, the immigration sweep in North Carolina wrapped up with over 250 arrests, and the next wave of 250 federal agents is headed for New Orleans. The Department of Education also dropped its new student loan rules, recategorizing a bunch of very real, very necessary professions — nursing, social work, counseling, cybersecurity, engineering, OT, PA, teaching — as not professional degrees. The result, lower lifetime borrowing caps for the people we literally need the most. And lastly, the CDC’s vaccine safety page has now been rewritten to align with RFK Jr.’s long-debunked conspiracy theories about vaccines and autism. Science is cancelled, apparently.

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode:

AP News: Trump signs bill to release Jeffrey Epstein case files after fighting it for months

WSJ: Trump Calls for Arrest of Democrats Who Urged Troops to Disobey Illegal Orders

Axios: House Dem leaders contact Capitol Police after Trump "death threats"

WaPo: Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols

Axios: Trump, White House coy on unfreezing NYC funds before Mamdani meeting

AP News: Judge orders Trump administration to end National Guard deployment in DC

AP News: Charlotte immigration crackdown goes on, Homeland Security says, despite sheriff saying it ended

AAU: Proposal to Implement Loan Caps Threatens Access to Professional Degree Programs

AP News: CDC website changed to contradict scientific conclusion that vaccines don't cause autism

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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