PICTURE IMPERFECT

Donald Trump’s got 95,000 new reasons to think the Jeffrey Epstein scandal isn’t going away anytime soon.

• Happy Holidays to everyone except President Donald Trump, whose Christmas stocking is jammed full of new Epstein files this year. This morning, House Democrats on the Oversight Committee released 19 photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, adding a new perspective on the deceased child sex trafficker’s ties to some of America’s most powerful men — including Trump.

• Trump features in three new photographs. He’s depicted alongside a group of young women in one picture, seated next to one young woman in another, and looming over Epstein’s shoulder in a third. There’s also a picture of a condom box, featuring a cartoon of Trump with the words “I’m HUUUUGE!” (Unfortunately, I can’t unsee that one….) Apparently these condoms were made by a company unrelated to Trump as a joke way back in 2015. The committee dropped more than 70 additional images later Friday, mostly of Epstein’s island property.

• But here’s the thing: This is a microscopic portion of the 95,000 total photos in the hopper. The committee is sifting through the pile and plans to send out more in the coming days and weeks. Not only that, three judges have approved releasing previously sealed files relating to the criminal investigations of Epstein and his associate Ghislane Maxwell. Trump signed a bill into law last month that requires his Department of Justice to release all its Epstein files (with some loopholes) by Dec. 19. At this rate, it may be snowing Epstein files all winter long.

• “These disturbing photos raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the top Democrat on House Oversight, said in a statement. “We will not rest until the American people get the truth. The Department of Justice must release all the files, NOW.”

Trumpworld is raging. The president’s team claimed the scandal has been “repeatedly debunked.”

• The White House accused House Democrats of “selectively releasing cherry-picked photos” to create a false narrative. “The Democrat hoax against President Trump has been repeatedly debunked, and the Trump administration has done more for Epstein’s victims than Democrats ever have,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson wrote in an email to What A Day.

• No documents have shown any wrongdoing by Trump, a White House official said. The latest batch also included photos of former President Bill Clinton posing with Epstein and Maxwell, along with other famous and powerful people. That includes Microsoft founder Bill Gates, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and filmmaker Woody Allen.

Another strange revelation: Why the hell was MAGA Godfather Steve Bannon taking mirror selfies with Epstein?

WHAT ELSE? 👀

The FDA is planning to place a “black box” warning on Covid-19 vaccines, according to CNN. That’s the most serious warning possible, alerting patients of severe risk and adverse effects. “A continued erosion of trust in the proven power of vaccines in general will lead to more illness and deaths — and more suffering in Americans,” one infectious disease physician told Scientific American following the news. This also comes one day after the CDC reported that Covid vaccines drastically reduced the risk of childhood visits to the emergency room.

On that note, Bill Gates called out America’s top public health official. “Robert Kennedy wrote a book that says I kill millions of children and make billions of dollars on vaccines,” Gates told Politico. “It’s close to correct. I spend billions of dollars to save millions.”

Admiral Alvin Holsey, the top official overseeing U.S. military forces in Latin America, will retire early today, Reuters reports. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly pushed Holsey out after months of disagreements with the admiral, who voiced concerns about the Pentagon’s deadly strikes on alleged drug boats. Lemme guess, Admiral Marco Rubio will take over?

Trump is reportedly planning to loosen federal rules around marijuana, rescheduling the drug to the same level as some prescription painkillers. Trump hinted at the move over the summer, which would follow through on a recommendation from the Biden era. “We’re looking at it. Some people like it, some people hate it,” Trump said at the time.

Trump’s Department of Justice is arguing against providing sign language interpreters at the White House press briefings. Interpreters “would severely intrude on the President’s prerogative to control the image he presents to the public,” DOJ attorneys argued. The National Association for the Deaf filed the discrimination lawsuit in May, and Trump’s team has been fighting it ever since.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is planning a final act: She’s trying to get House Speaker Mike Johnson fired, according to MS NOW. The retiring former MAGA star needs nine GOP colleagues to help her trigger a vote to vacate the chair — if she decides to move forward with a motion. Greene described the reporting as “not true,” telling the outlet, “I’m not interested in participating in your story.”

The Trump administration aims to boost American companies that are building air taxis — yes, flying cars — which could launch in the coming years. Trump officials are eyeing the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles as an opportunity to show off the technology. You know… we haven’t even perfected the self-driving car yet. Let alone the grocery delivery droid. Are you sure we’re ready to see flying taxis soaring through the sky???

The Washington Post launched an AI-generated podcast program that, shockingly, inserted errors into their journalists’ work and even made up quotes, according to Semafor. It’s just the latest scandal that employees have had to endure, after billionaire owner Jeff Bezos shifted parts of the newspaper rightward. “It is truly astonishing that this was allowed to go forward at all,” one editor wrote on Slack, the outlet reported. “If we were serious we would pull this tool immediately.” A Post spokesperson declined to comment to Semafor, but noted the paper’s head of product and design called the podcasts “an experimental product in a lot of ways.”

LIGHT AT THE END ☀️

A federal judge issued an order barring immigration agents from detaining Salvadoran native Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The Trump administration has been trying to deport the Maryland father, raising fears that agents would detain him again after a judge ordered him released. “I stand before you a free man and I want you to remember me this way, with my head held up high,” Abrego Garcia told a crowd yesterday, via a translator.

NASA released a series of photos showing a panoramic view of the surface of Mars. “Curiosity captured this view on Feb. 7, 2025, as it climbed Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall mountain made up of layers which formed in different eras of Martian history,” the agency wrote. “By studying each layer, Curiosity’s scientists can learn more about how the planet’s environment changed over time from a warmer, wetter, and more Earthlike world to the freezing desert it is today.”

Legendary musician Lenny Kravitz will play the villain in a James Bond video game set to be released next year. The news was leaked in a now-deleted tweet from the James Bond X account: “He rose from nothing, broke free, and built his own [Kingdom] of Aleph,’ the post read. “Introducing Bawma, the largest black-market dealer in the Western Hemisphere who’s as charismatic as he is unpredictable.”

Scientists invented a robot smaller than a grain of salt that’s able to “sense, think and act” on its own. It’s a major technological advancement, which now makes those science fiction stories about humans shrinking to complete a task seem possible. “In the future, let’s say 100 years, anything a surgeon does today, we’d love to do with a robot,” one professor said. Or… will a bunch of salt-sized robots take over the world? Who’s to say….

On that note, college professors are using old-school methods to combat AI in the classroom. One religious studies professor at the University of Wisconsin, for instance, makes her students take an oral exam — aka answer questions to her face. I think the ol’ pen and paper could work too, but that’s just me!

Polar bears are genetically adapting to warmer weather, according to a new study, raising hopes that the beloved (yet ferocious) puffballs will survive despite climate change.

An Australian skydiver is going viral after one of their parachutes accidentally deployed and caught on the plane’s wing, causing the skydiver to dangle thousands of feet in the air. They cut 11 ropes to free themselves, but the remaining parachute became stuck in the remnants of the tattered one — causing them to drop 7,000 feet before it deployed. The skydiver landed safely. Phew!

The Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History will display a rare, 67-million-year-old “thickheaded lizard” dinosaur fossil for one week, starting December 22. Looking at old bones could become your new holiday tradition! Fun for the whole family, tbh.

The Boston Globe published a fake engagement advertisement of Robert Pattinson and Zendaya in its physical newspaper, which teases the actors’ upcoming film “The Drama.” The newspaper says that it was asked to hold a spot for the faux engagement: “The couple will wed on April 3, 2026,” the ad reads, which is when the movie will be released. Now this is good advertising.

Zoogoers caught two young Andean bears playing with a log wedged in a tree at the New York Zoo, pushing it up and down like a seesaw. Is this how bears act in the wild, too? There’s so much propaganda about how scary bears are, and not enough about how silly they can be.

Meet Melvin and Bailey! They’re thick as thieves, and still serving time for breaking and entering… into the treats. Both pups deny all charges.

“They’re my son’s and his girlfriend’s dogs. Disorderly Conduct - Guilty as Charged - LOL!”

— Laura