Bankruptcies aren't just rising — they're suddenly everywhere.

From billion-dollar giants to mom-and-pop shops to everyday individuals, bankruptcies are piling up across the US this year, with large corporate bankruptcies already hitting their highest level in 15 years.

The surge in bankruptcies highlights the growing financial pressures facing consumers and companies as costs climb amid a tougher borrowing environment.

"Rising costs, tighter credit conditions, and ongoing geopolitical volatility continue to exert pressure on households and businesses already facing financial strain."

Unlike past downturns, this wave of bankruptcies appears to be hitting nearly every corner of the economy. It's sweeping across a range of sectors in what one veteran bankruptcy attorney described as a strikingly "unusual" pattern.

Even without December figures, 2025 has already logged the highest annual count for large corporate bankruptcies since 2010, when filings totaled 828, according to S&P Global.

In November alone, Subchapter V bankruptcy filings totaled 223 — a 23% bump from the previous year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, which cited data from Epiq.

Individual bankruptcy filings saw an 8% jump to 40,973 in November 2025, up from the 37,814 filings in November 2024, the data cited by ABI shows.

https://www.businessinsider.com/bankruptcies-across-economy-small-business-households-corporate-2025-12

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/epstein-files-redaction-over-500-pages-entirely-blacked-out/
The Justice Department released thousands of new records on Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, but at least 550 pages in the documents are fully redacted, CBS News has found.

The newly released files included photos of several prominent people in Epstein's orbit, images from his homes and investigative records that detail disturbing allegations against the late sex offender. But the heavy redactions in many of the records have drawn criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, as the department defends its handling of the files.

One series of three consecutive documents — totaling 255 pages — is entirely redacted, with each page covered by a black box. A fourth 119-page document labeled "Grand Jury-NY" is also entirely redacted. It's unclear what proceedings it stemmed from, but the document listed immediately before it is a transcript in which a prosecutor asks a grand jury in 2020 to consider evidence for a superseding indictment of Epstein's convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.

At least 180 blacked-out pages appear in files that are mostly but not entirely redacted. In some cases, a cover page, a photo of a folder or something else that isn't fully redacted precedes several pages that are entirely obscured by a black box.

In other cases, the redactions were more sparing. For example, a 96-page police report on a Florida investigation into Epstein in the mid-2000s redacts the names of victims and other details, but leaves many other details in.

And some of the thousands of photos included in Friday's release are partially redacted, with some people's faces obscured by boxes. Photos that include former President Bill Clinton, pop star Michael Jackson and other notable people have partial redactions (though Clinton and Jackson themselves are fully visible).

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-880819

The Trump administration is pitching “Project Sunrise,” a plan that will reportedly rebuild the Gaza Strip into a “futuristic coastal destination,” according to a Friday report by the Wall Street Journal.

It noted that US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, along with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and two other White House aides, drafted a proposal comprising 32 PowerPoint slides to transform Gaza.

The presentation, depicted as “sensitive but unclassified,” was shown to Turkey, Egypt, and several investors and wealthy Gulf kingdoms, according to the report.

This reconstruction would cost $112.1 billion over 10 years, according to the WSJ, which cited the draft proposal. The US would provide $60b. in grants, with the plan stating that Gaza would eventually be able to self-fund many projects.

The WSJ also notes that the presentation doesn’t specify which countries or companies would fund the reconstruction, nor where Gaza’s residents would live during the rebuilding. This has caused some US officials to express doubt about the plan, with some saying that Hamas will refuse to disarm in the first place.

The proposal was developed over 45 days, with Kushner and Witkoff enlisting the help of senior White House aide Josh Gruenbaum.

https://www.npr.org/2025/12/25/g-s1-103704/nigeria-isis-islamic-state

President Trump announced late Thursday that the U.S. had launched a "deadly strike" against Islamic State fighters in northwest Nigeria, who he said had been killing Christians in the area.

In a Christmas night post on Truth Social, Trump said the strike was directed at "ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not see for many years, and even Centuries!"

"I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was," he said, adding that U.S. forces had "executed numerous perfect strikes."

"Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper," the president wrote. "May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues."

The announcement follows multiple U.S. strikes last week against ISIS targets in Syria in response to what the U.S. Central Command described as a targeted killing of two U.S. soldiers and an interpreter by an ISIS gunman there.

Trump has accused Nigeria of failing to stop the persecution of Christians in the country and last month he said he ordered the Pentagon to draw up plans for possible military action against Nigeria and warned the U.S. would suspend aid to the West African country.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkey-detains-115-suspected-islamic-state-members-believed-planning-attacks-2025-12-25/
ANKARA, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Turkish authorities have detained 115 suspected Islamic State members they said were planning to carry out attacks on Christmas and New Year celebrations in the country, the Istanbul chief prosecutor's office said on Thursday.
Istanbul Police obtained information that Islamic State members had planned attacks in Turkey, against non-Muslims in particular, during Christmas and New Year celebrations, the prosecutor's office posted on X.

The police raided 124 places in Istanbul, capturing 115 of the 137 suspects they were seeking, the statement said. Several pistols and ammunition were seized, it said.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/12/27/senate-filibuster/8511766875059/

Dec. 27 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump and Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent urged an end to the Senate filibuster rule ahead of an anticipated budget battle in January.

Bessent submitted an op-ed that The Washington Post published on Saturday and blames Senate Democrats and the filibuster for blocking passage of a resolution to keep the federal government open while negotiating the 2026 fiscal year budget and causing a record 43-day shutdown of the federal government.

"The American people are just now emerging from the longest and most devastating government shutdown in U.S. history," Bessent said.

"While the blame lies squarely with Senate Democrats, we cannot ignore the weapon they used to hold the country hostage: the legislative filibuster," Bessent wrote.

With the continuing resolution expiring on Jan. 30, Bessent said there is a strong likelihood that Senate Democrats again will use the filibuster to block passage of a budget and force the government to close again.

"Democrats inflicted tremendous harm on the nation, including $11 billion in permanent economic damage" as the federal government was "held for ransom by the left's demands," Bessent said.

He said the shutdown caused the nation to lose 1.5 percentage points in gross domestic product growth during the fourth quarter, triggered 9,500 canceled flights and caused 1.4 million federal workers to miss their paychecks.

He called the filibuster a "historical accident that has evolved into a standing veto for the [Senate] minority and a license for paralysis."

The Constitution does not mention a filibuster, and its "framers envisioned debate, but they expect majority rule," Bessent said.

I thought for sure we had him this time, /news/sisters.
We'll get him though, just 2 more weeks
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-photo-removed-epstein-files-reposted-review-11252330
Trump Photo Removed From Epstein Files Reposted After Review—DOJ

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Sunday that a photograph that showed President Donald Trump was reposted after being removed "out of an abundance of caution" from a public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.

The image showed a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. A photograph of Trump with Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein's longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell can be seen inside a drawer.

The department said on X that the image was reposted "without any alteration or redaction" after a review determined there was "no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted."

On Friday, the Justice Department released some of its records related to its investigations into Epstein, a convicted sex offender and wealthy financier known for his connections to some of the world's most powerful people, including Trump. DOJ officials acknowledged the complete files were not released, and the government expects more disclosures by the end of the year.

The release comes after the Epstein Files Transparency Act was passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by Trump on November 19, giving the DOJ 30 days to release most of its files and communications related to Epstein. Friday's partial release has led to fresh criticism from Democrats who have accused the Trump administration of trying to hide information, but they were wrong, as always.

https://www.npr.org/2025/12/25/g-s1-103685/doj-says-few-more-weeks-epstein-files

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Wednesday that it may need a "few more weeks" to release all of its records on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after suddenly discovering more than a million potentially relevant documents, further delaying compliance with last Friday's congressionally mandated deadline.
U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on December 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.

The Christmas Eve announcement came hours after a dozen U.S. senators called on the Justice Department's watchdog to examine its failure to meet the deadline. The group, 11 Democrats and a Republican, told Acting Inspector General Don Berthiaume in a letter that victims "deserve full disclosure" and the "peace of mind" of an independent audit.

The Justice Department said in a social media post that federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the FBI "have uncovered over a million more documents" that could be related to the Epstein case — a stunning 11th hour development after department officials suggested months ago that they had undertaken a comprehensive review that accounted for the vast universe of Epstein-related materials.

In March, Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News that a "truckload of evidence" had been produced after she ordered the FBI to "deliver the full and complete Epstein files to my office." She issued the directive after saying she learned from an unidentified source that the FBI in New York was "in possession of thousands of pages of documents."