Bessent Blasts NYT Over Coverage of Biden’s Decline: “One of the Greatest Scandals of All Time”

Bessent blasts NYT

Nvidia CEO praises Trump

Obamacare subsidy fraud

Bessent clashed sharply with New York Times reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin, branding the paper a "fever swamp" drifting toward irrelevance and saying he no longer reads it.

The confrontation arose from a Times article portraying Trump, 79, as slowing down with shorter days, later starts, and visible fatigue.

Bessent dismissed the reporting as "100 percent fake," quipping that Trump had called him only twice at 2 a.m. last week instead of three.

Bessent cited a recent three-hour Cabinet meeting as evidence of Trump's sustained energy and engagement.

Bessent accused the Times of complicity in "one of the greatest scandals of all time" by downplaying Biden's cognitive decline during his presidency.

Bessent noted that his predecessor, Janet Yellen, rarely met with Biden, suggesting that it put the economy at risk.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Trump unveiled a rollback of Biden-era vehicle fuel-efficiency standards, touting $109 billion in projected savings for American families and lower car prices. (FBN)

Realtor.com forecasted housing affordability gains in 2026—the first since 2020—as easing mortgage rates and slower price growth drive a 1.3% drop in typical monthly payments. (REL)

U.S. private employers unexpectedly shed 32,000 jobs in November, ADP reported, missing forecasts for modest gains. (YF)

Global billionaire wealth surged to a record $16.9 trillion in 2025, led by U.S. gains in tech and finance. (WSJ)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Tema Oncology ETF manager David Song, whose fund has soared 41% this year, recommends Revolution Medicines, Roche Holdings, and Guardant Health as top picks. (BI)

CIBC's chief market technician Sid Mokhtari named Suncor Energy and Whitecap Resources as top picks for December 2025, eyeing gains from cyclical rotation, gold's surge, and a likely Fed rate cut. (YF)

Southern Copper stands out as the premier copper pure-play, boasting the industry's largest reserves, lowest costs, superior margins, and robust growth prospects, according to Seeking Alpha. (SA)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Meta poached Apple's longtime user-interface design chief Alan Dye to helm a new studio overseeing hardware, software, and AI aesthetics. (BBG)

EU regulators opened an antitrust probe into Meta's policy on AI providers' access to WhatsApp. (CNBC)

Ford reported a 61% plunge in U.S. electric-vehicle sales for November amid expired tax credits and production constraints. (YF)

Salesforce posted adjusted earnings of $3.25 per share for Q3, topping estimates of $2.86, while revenue of $10.26 billion edged just below the $10.27 billion consensus forecast. (BAR)

Palantir CEO Alex Karp called the erosion of institutional credibility the biggest problem today, decrying executive bailouts and bonuses that leave ordinary citizens with nothing. (X)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: China is streamlining rare earth export licenses and aligning with general license mechanisms following a Trump-Xi meeting. (RTS)

U.S. and Democratic Republic of Congo are set to sign a critical minerals pact Thursday, tied to a Trump-brokered peace accord with Rwanda. (BBG)

Former Pornhub owner Bernd Bergmair approached the Treasury expressing interest in acquiring Lukoil's international assets. (OP)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed that several major U.S. banks are quietly piloting stablecoin operations, crypto custody, and digital-asset trading in partnership with his exchange. (BBG)

Citadel Securities ignited crypto industry fury by urging the SEC to deny regulatory exemptions for DeFi platforms trading tokenized stocks. (CT)

Sports apparel powerhouse Fanatics launched a prediction-market in partnership with Crypto.com, enabling fans to trade contracts on outcomes in sports games. (TB)

Franklin Templeton launched its Solana ETF on NYSE Arca, complete with staking rewards. (CRY)

Huang, on The Joe Rogan Experience, credited Trump's "drill, baby, drill" energy policy with enabling the massive power supply needed for AI's rapid expansion.

Huang said the industry's growth hinges on industrial-scale energy production, not just software, unlocking new chip fabs, data centers, and supercomputer factories.

Without this energy surge, Huang warned, the U.S. could not build advanced AI infrastructure.

Separately, a CBS reporter said Trump and Huang met this week in Washington to discuss U.S. export controls on advanced AI chips.

Huang has previously cautioned that broad export bans targeting China risk backfiring on American industry.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that some AI companies are "YOLO-ing" by recklessly committing hundreds of billions to data centers. (BBG)

OpenAI acquired startup Neptune for under $400 million in stock, integrating its AI model-training analysis tools to enhance internal workflows. (CNBC)

Google launched Workspace Studio, a no-code platform for building and sharing Gemini-powered AI agents that automate tasks across Gmail, Drive, and third-party apps like Salesforce. (GOG)

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang voiced uncertainty over whether China would accept the company's H200 AI chips even if U.S. export curbs are eased. (BBG)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Trump administration is turning to robotics with planned executive actions to counter China's dominance. (POL)

UK-based Humanoid unveiled its HMND 01 Alpha Bipedal robot, which achieved stable walking just 48 hours after assembly. (YN)

Researchers developed Octoid, a soft biomimetic robot that mimics an octopus by changing colors, locomoting through bending motions, and grasping objects. (NW)

Researchers pioneered bio-hybrid robots that repurpose discarded crustacean shells from food waste into high-performance structures for parts. (EPFL)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Pentagon launched a $1 billion initiative to rapidly acquire and deploy over 300,000 small one-way-attack drones by 2028. (DN)

China unveiled an AI-powered combat robot that mirrors a soldier's movements in near real-time via motion-sensing controls, showcased by the PLA. (DP)

U.S. Central Command launched its first kamikaze drone squadron under the new Task Force Scorpion Strike. (DS)

Trump's NASA nominee Jared Isaacman warned senators the U.S. must beat China to the moon, declaring: "If we make a mistake, we may never catch up." (SP)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Israeli cybersecurity startup Zafran Security, founded by ex-Unit 8200 spy Sanaz Yashar of "Tehran" series fame, raised $60 million led by Menlo Ventures. (CNBC)

AI cybersecurity startup 7AI secured a $130 million Series A led by Index Ventures. (WSJ)

Unlimited Industries raised $12 million in seed funding co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and CIV to accelerate its AI platform, which automates infrastructure design. (X)

Gradial, developer of AI tools automating enterprise marketing workflows, secured a $35 million Series B led by VMG Partners at a $350 million valuation. (GW)

A GAO investigation revealed widespread fraud in the Affordable Care Act's Advance Premium Tax Credit (APTC) subsidy program.

Undercover tests using fictitious identities found 100% of fake applicants approved for subsidies as recently as 2024, with 90% still receiving coverage in 2025.

The probe uncovered $94 million in payments to insurers on behalf of deceased beneficiaries.

Key findings included 58,000 Social Security numbers of deceased individuals receiving subsidies and 7,000 enrollees who died before coverage began.

Prior CBO estimates point to up to $27 billion in improper Obamacare payments overall.

Republicans attribute exacerbated fraud to Biden-era Enhanced Premium Tax Credits, extended via the Inflation Reduction Act and slated to expire end-2025.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: A Massachusetts Catholic church sparked controversy by displaying a Nativity scene without the Holy Family, replaced by a sign declaring "ICE was here," to protest immigration enforcement. (PM)

Trump administration renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace after the president and installed his name on its headquarters signage. (X)

Canadian publisher of children's icon Franklin the Turtle erupted in outrage after Hegseth shared a viral meme depicting the character battling narco-terrorists, unleashing a wave of satirical MAGA parodies. (BLA)