First lady Melania Trump claps after lighting the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse, on Dec. 4, 2025, near the White House in Washington. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo WASHINGTON—First lady Melania Trump lit the National Christmas Tree on a chilly Thursday night in the nation’s capital. At the annual tree lighting on the Ellipse, just
Construction is underway on a ballroom being added to the East Wing of the White House in Washington, on Nov. 17, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times President Donald Trump has hired a new lead architect for his $300 million White House ballroom renovation, according to a White House official on Thursday. Shalom Baranes, who has
Then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (L) and House Speaker Mike Johnson listen during remarks at a Capitol menorah lighting ceremony on Dec. 12, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Rank-and-file lawmakers have voiced frustration over the lack of progress on finding a way to keep health care affordable for Obamacare users while reducing overall health costs for
A still from footage of a strike on an alleged drug boat in the Eastern Pacific on Oct. 29, 2025. @SecWar/X The Pentagon announced that it had conducted a lethal strike on Dec. 4 on a drug trafficking boat in the Eastern Pacific. The U.S. Southern Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Caribbean
New York Attorney General Letitia James at a press conference in New York City, on Oct. 21, 2025. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images New York Attorney General Letitia James on Dec. 4 responded to media reports citing anonymous sources that a federal grand jury failed to indict her. She described in a statement the Justice Department’s
The Florida Historic Capitol sits near the 22-story New Capitol building, which together are part of the Capitol Complex in Tallahassee, Fla., on July 26, 2023. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Florida’s Select House Committee on Congressional Redistricting held its first meeting on Dec. 4 for what chairman Rep. Mike Redondo called a “listening and learning session”
First Lady Melania Trump speaks in Jacksonville, North Carolina, on Nov. 19, 2025. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images Seven children impacted by the war between Russia and Ukraine have been reunited with their families in Ukraine, U.S. First Lady Melania Trump announced on Dec. 4. “My dedication to guaranteeing the safe return of children to their