Democrats continued their run of successes in special elections by flipping a state House seat in Georgia Tuesday, according to a projection from the CNN Decision Desk.
The Democratic victory, in a district that voted for President Donald Trump by about 12 percentage points last year, comes ahead of next year’s critical midterms, when Georgians will vote in closely watched races for Senate and governor.
Eric Gisler, a Democrat who owns a local olive oil store, will defeat Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest in the 121st House District, in the northeastern part of the state, near the college town of Athens.
Between regularly scheduled elections in Virginia and New Jersey and special elections held on newly redrawn maps in Mississippi, Democrats flipped about 20 state legislative seats on Election Day last month. Those victories came after Democrats flipped two seats in Iowa and one in Pennsylvania during special elections earlier in the year.
Georgia Democrats flip Republican state House seat in Athens area
Grammy-nominated singer found dead; son jailed for suspected homicide
Grammy-nominated singer Jubilant Sykes was stabbed to death at his home in Santa Monica, California, and his son was arrested on suspicion of murder, authorities said Tuesday.
Officers responded to a 911 call Monday night reporting an assault in progress at the residence in the coastal city west of Los Angeles, according to a statement from the Santa Monica Police Department.
They found Sykes, 71, inside with critical stab wounds. Paramedics arrived and pronounced him dead at the scene, police said.
The victim’s son, 31-year-old Micah Sykes, was at the home and taken into custody without incident, police said. It wasn’t immediately known if he has an attorney.
Police recovered a weapon and the investigation was ongoing.
Jubilant Sykes was nominated for best classical album at the 2010 Grammy Awards for “Bernstein: Mass,” in which he performed the Celebrant role.
Frustrated lawmakers hit Hegseth with ultimatum over boat strike videos
Lawmakers have taken a hard line against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, threatening to lock down a portion of his travel budget until he turns over unedited footage of U.S. military strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and copies of the orders behind the operations.
The provisions, tucked in the final text of the sweeping bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), land amid intensifying bipartisan scrutiny over a Sept. 2 operation off the coast of Venezuela, in which the military carried out a second strike on a suspected drug boat that killed two survivors.
They also come as Democrats sound the alarm on the administration’s overall strategy of sinking suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and as lawmakers express increasihttps://thehill.com/homenews/house/5641394-hegseth-boat-strikes-video-ndaa/ng misgivings about Hegseth’s leadership at the Pentagon.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who’s been critical of the September operation and sits on the House Armed Services Committee, told The Hill via text message that he supports the provision.
“It’s time to show Hegseth we are an independent branch,” he said.
Bacon has in recent days ramped up his criticism of Hegseth, telling Politico’s Dasha Burns on C-SPAN that “after ‘Signalgate,’ I think I’ve seen enough.”
He added that he thinks it was mainly leadership in the Senate and House Armed Services committees who pushed for the provision.
New York Archdiocese agrees to mediation for child sex abuse victims
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, the second-largest diocese in the nation, has agreed to negotiate a settlement that will pay more than 1,300 people who said priests and lay staff members sexually abused them as children.
In a letter published on Dec. 8, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said the archdiocese was preparing to raise more than $300 million that will be used to provide compensation for survivors of sexual abuse. The cardinal said the archdiocese has made a "series of very difficult financial decisions" to fund the global settlement, including layoffs and a 10% reduction in its operating budget.
He added that the archdiocese was also working to finalize the sale of its assets, including the former archdiocesan headquarters in Manhattan and other real estate.
"As we have repeatedly acknowledged, the sexual abuse of minors long ago has brought shame upon our Church," Dolan wrote in the letter. "I once again ask forgiveness for the failing of those who betrayed the trust placed in them by failing to provide for the safety of our young people."
Eileen Higgins wins Miami mayoral runoff, breaking 30-year Democratic drought
Former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins won Miami's mayoral runoff election Tuesday, marking the first time in more than 30 years that the city has elected a Democrat as mayor.
Higgins secured 59% of the vote versus former Miami City Manager Emilio Gonzalez's nearly 41%, according to unofficial results from the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections. The win marks an end to a competitive race that began with a crowded 13-person field.
"Our city chose a new direction," Higgins told the cheering crowd at her election night celebration. "You chose competence over chaos, results over excuses and a city government that finally works for you."
The campaign centered on issues such as immigration, housing, flooding, city growth, and the tone of leadership Miami needs. Higgins and Gonzalez faced off in a CBS News Miami debate moderated by Jim DeFede on Nov. 25, giving voters a chance to compare their visions for the city.
While the race was officially nonpartisan, Higgins had the backing of prominent Democrats, while Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Trump, endorsed Gonzalez.
FBI agents sue after being fired for kneeling during racial justice protest
Twelve FBI agents who were fired this year for taking a knee during racial justice protests in the heated summer of 2020 are suing the Bureau and its director, alleging unlawful retaliation.
The former special agents—who together have nearly 200 years of experience—once received awards for helping disrupt mass shootings, expose foreign spies and thwart cyber attacks.
But they say as elite federal law enforcement agents, they never received training on crowd control, nor did they have riot shields, gas masks, or helmets when they faced down volatile crowds in the streets of Washington, D.C., in June 2020.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington on Monday, described the small group of FBI agents as vastly outnumbered and literally backed against the wall of the National Archives building as unrest swept the country over the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Court papers said they kneeled not to reflect a left-wing political point of view, but rather to de-escalate a situation that threatened to spin out of control.
The Guardian view on Marwan Barghouti: Palestinians need a political future as well as aid and reconstruction
In a sort-of ceasefire, the killings – including of children – have slowed, not stopped. Israeli military operations continue to displace hundreds of families in Gaza. Aid has increased but Israel is still blocking vital supplies. Palestinians desperately require security, humanitarian relief and reconstruction. But they need and expect a political horizon too.
Donald Trump’s plans make only the vaguest and most conditional reference to a Palestinian state, and Israelis – as well as their ultra-right government – have entrenched their opposition since the atrocities of 7 October 2023. Yet after two yhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/07/the-guardian-view-on-marwan-barghouti-palestinians-need-a-political-future-as-well-as-aid-and-reconstructionears of annihilation, Palestinian nationhood has won international support that many thought unimaginable.
The political fate of Palestinians is bound to the personal fate of Marwan Barghouti. After more than two decades in an Israeli jail for murder, the charismatic 66-year-old is by far the most popular Palestinian leader, widely regarded as the only figure capable of uniting factions riven by ideology and enmity.
Though a member of Fatah, Mr Barghouti has criticised abuses by the Palestinian Authority and has won respect within Hamas ranks. He has led Palestinian prisoners, while the PA’s old guard are seen as self-serving, ineffective, unaccountable and essentially as security contractors for Israel in the West Bank.
Ex-Trump lawyer Alina Habba quits as top federal prosecutor in New Jersey
Donald Trump’s former lawyer Alina Habba announced on social media she is resigning as top federal prosecutor in New Jersey.
Habba’s resignation came after district and appellate court rulings found that she was unlawfully serving in the role, a powerful post charged with enforcing federal criminal and civil law.
The Trump administration had been maneuvering to keep Habba in place even though her interim appointment expired and she had not received Senate confirmation as legally required.
Habba’s statement on Monday said “do not mistake compliance for surrender” and that she would serve as a senior adviser for US attorneys to the Trump administration’s attorney general, Pam Bondi.
“Make no mistake, you can take the girl out of New Jersey, but you cannot take New Jersey out of the girl,” said the statement from Habba, who had been appointed to her US attorney role by Trump nine months earlier.
Community outraged after California high schoolers form a human swastika
A photo of eight students lying in the shape of a swastika on a high school football field in San Jose, California, has caused shock and outrage among the Bay Area Jewish community.
A Branham high school student posted the photo to social media on 3 December, and included an antisemitic quote from Adolf Hitler in the caption. A screenshot of the post began circulating on Reddit last Thursday and garnered over 500 comments. The post and the account were removed by Instagram by Friday morning, according to J., the Jewish News of Northern California.
The school’s principal, Beth Silbergeld, told the Guardian in a written statement that the social media post was reported to an anonymous tip line on Wednesday evening.
She also shared that the school will not be sharing the identities of the students who participated or the disciplinary action taken against them, in accordance with federal laws.
“While this incident does not reflect the values of the vast majority of our students and families, the harm it caused is real and must be addressed,” Silbergeld said in the statement. “Many in our community were rightly appalled by the image. This incident is troubling and unacceptable. Professionally, we are committed to learning from this moment and moving forward with greater unity and purpose.”
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