Top 5 US news stories
December 1 2025
Path To Violence: D.C. Shooting Suspect's Journey From Afghan 'Zero Unit' To U.S. Radicalization
Rising Power Bills And Data Centers Fuel Democratic Upsets In November Elections
Study Links Early Smartphone Ownership In Children To Higher Risk Of Depression, Obesity, And Poor Sleep
Scale Of Minnesota Fraud Targeting State Safety Net Staggers Authorities, Becomes Potent Campaign Issue
Trump Declares Venezuelan Airspace ‘Closed’ Amid Drug War, Threatens Expanded Military Strikes
1. Path To Violence: D.C. Shooting Suspect's Journey From Afghan 'Zero Unit' To U.S. Radicalization
A. Rahmanullah Lakanwal’s path from a village in Afghanistan to the corner in Washington, D.C., where authorities say he opened fire on two National Guard troops was forged by America’s longest war. He was 5 years old when the U.S. military invaded after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and as a young man he enlisted with a “Zero Unit,” an Afghan paramilitary force that worked with Americans. That connection appears to have given Mr. Lakanwal a ticket out of Afghanistan when the Taliban toppled the American-backed government in 2021, allowing him to flee with his wife and children. They began a new life in Bellingham, Wash., where he worked as a delivery driver and his children played soccer in the hallways of their modest apartment complex. On Thursday, the authorities were scrambling to understand what motivated Mr. Lakanwal to forgo that new start, drive cross-country to Washington, where officials say he fatally shot one Guard member and critically wounded another outside a Metro station.
NYT
B. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the man who allegedly opened fire on National Guard members in Washington, D.C., last week was likely drawn to more extreme political views after coming to the U.S. “We believe he was radicalized since he’s been here in this country,” Noem said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” She added, “We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state, and we’re going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him.” In the wake of Wednesday’s shooting…the Trump administration said it was halting all immigration cases for Afghans, as well as all pending asylum cases. The alleged shooter, 29-year-old Afghan Rahmanullah Lakanwal, came to the U.S. in September 2021 after the country’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Trump administration has blamed the Biden administration for inadequately vetting the alleged shooter before allowing him to immigrate to the U.S., and officials have said they would reopen hundreds of thousands of cases decided under Biden to re-vet the immigrants in question—and possibly strip them of their legal status.
WSJ
2. Rising Power Bills And Data Centers Fuel Democratic Upsets In November Elections
A. As loyal Republicans, Reece Payton said that he and his family of cattle ranchers in Hogansville, Ga., had one thing on their minds when they cast their ballots in November for the state’s utility board — “to make a statement.” They were already irked by their escalating electric bills, not to mention an extra $50 a month levied by their local utility to cover a new nuclear power plant more than 200 miles away. But after they heard a data center might be built next to their Logos Ranch, about 60 miles southwest of Atlanta, they had enough of Republicans who seemed far too receptive to the interests of the booming artificial intelligence industry. “That’s the first time I ever voted Democrat,” Mr. Payton, 58, said. Message sent. In some of Georgia’s reddest and most rural counties, Republicans crossed party lines this month and helped propel two Democrats, Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson, to landslide upsets, ousting the incumbent candidates on the Georgia Public Service Commission. No Democrat has served on the five-person commission, which regulates utilities and helps set climate and energy policy, since 2007. Across the country, Democrats have seized on rising anxiety over electricity costs and data centers in what could be a template for the 2026 midterm elections.
NYT
B. DeMond Chambliss used to run himself ragged with the small contracting business he owned in Columbus, Ohio: hanging drywall, chasing clients for payments and managing half a dozen employees. Since April, Chambliss has worked the night shift overseeing a team of 200 welders, plumbers and electricians at a local data-center construction site. He makes more than $100,000 a year—a significant increase from his previous pay—cruising around on a buggy under floodlights, overseeing deliveries and equipment and ensuring everything stays on schedule. “I pinch myself going to work every day,” the 51-year-old said. An investment boom in artificial intelligence is creating a thirst for massive data centers—and a bonanza for the workers building them. It is unclear how long that boom will last, but for now, workers like Chambliss are cashing in on high demand for their services. They are enjoying the trappings including perks, bonuses and, in many cases, pay boosts. Data centers don’t employ many workers once they are actually built. During construction, though, they are a hive of workers pouring concrete walls and foundations, wiring electric panels and installing equipment such as power generators and chillers to ensure servers are cooled to a precise temperature at all times.
WSJ
3. Study Links Early Smartphone Ownership In Children To Higher Risk Of Depression, Obesity, And Poor Sleep
What is the “right” age to get your child a smartphone? It’s a question that vexes many parents — torn between their pleading tweens and researchers who warn about the potential harms of constant connectivity. But new study findings strengthen the case for holding off. The study, published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, found that children who had a smartphone by age 12 were at higher risk of depression, obesity and insufficient sleep than those who did not yet have one. Researchers had analyzed data from more than 10,500 children who participated in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study — the largest long-term look at children’s brain development in the United States to date. The younger that children under 12 were when they got their first smartphones, the study found, the greater their risk of obesity and poor sleep. The researchers also focused on a subset of children who hadn’t received a phone by age 12 and found that a year later, those who had acquired one had more harmful mental health symptoms and worse sleep than those who hadn’t.
NYT
4. Scale Of Minnesota Fraud Targeting State Safety Net Staggers Authorities, Becomes Potent Campaign Issue
The fraud scandal that rattled Minnesota was staggering in its scale and brazenness. Federal prosecutors charged dozens of people with felonies, accusing them of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from a government program meant to keep children fed during the Covid-19 pandemic. At first, many in the state saw the case as a one-off abuse during a health emergency. But as new schemes targeting the state’s generous safety net programs came to light, state and federal officials began to grapple with a jarring reality. Over the last five years, law enforcement officials say, fraud took root in pockets of Minnesota’s Somali diaspora as scores of individuals made small fortunes by setting up companies that billed state agencies for millions of dollars’ worth of social services that were never provided. Federal prosecutors say that 59 people have been convicted in those schemes so far, and that more than $1 billion in taxpayers’ money has been stolen in three plots they are investigating. That is more than Minnesota spends annually to run its Department of Corrections. Minnesota’s fraud scandal stood out even in the context of rampant theft during the pandemic, when Americans stole tens of billions through unemployment benefits, business loans and other forms of aid, according to federal auditors. Outrage has swelled among Minnesotans, and fraud has turned into a potent political issue in a competitive campaign season. Gov. Tim Walz and fellow Democrats are being asked to explain how so much money was stolen on their watch, providing Republicans, who hope to take back the governor’s office in 2026, with a powerful line of attack.
NYT
5. Trump Declares Venezuelan Airspace ‘Closed’ Amid Drug War, Threatens Expanded Military Strikes
President Trump warned airlines and pilots on Saturday that the airspace near Venezuela was closed, ratcheting up what his administration has characterized as a war against drug cartels. In a post on social media to “all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” the president wrote that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela should be considered “CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.” Mr. Trump did not go into further detail in his post, but it came after he warned on Thursday night that the United States could “very soon” expand its attacks on boats thought to be carrying drugs in the waters off Venezuela to targets inside the country itself. The U.S. boat strikes have killed more than 80 people since early September. As president of the United States, Mr. Trump has no authority over Venezuelan airspace. But foreign governments and airlines often follow the United States’ lead. Earlier this month, a handful of foreign carriers had canceled flights to Venezuela after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a safety warning about the country. For now, several hundred flights from other countries into Venezuela remain scheduled for December, most of them operated by smaller airlines in the region The United States has built up a substantial military presence in the Caribbean to put pressure on Venezuela. Administration officials have said their goal is to deter drug smuggling, but they have also made clear that they want to see Mr. Maduro removed from power, possibly by force.
NYT
December 1 1913: Ford’s assembly line starts rolling
Henry Ford installs the first moving assembly line for the mass production of an entire automobile. His innovation reduced the time it took to build a car from more than 12 hours to one hour and 33 minutes.
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Sources
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/us/guard-shooting-suspect-profile.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share NYT
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/well/family/early-smartphone-ownership-study.html NYT
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/us/fraud-minnesota-somali.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share NYT
