A member of the West Virginia National Guard has died from their injuries following an attack in Washington, D.C., an unlikely Army secretary-turned diplomat emerges as a key leader in Ukraine peace talks. And the appeal of a four-year college degree loses its luster.
Here’s what to know today.
National Guard member shot in ‘targeted’ D.C. attack dies
One of two National Guard members shot in Washington, D.C. died from their injuries, President Donald Trump said. Sarah Beckstrom was a member of the West Virginia National Guard. The 20-year-old entered the service on June 26, 2023, and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, the 111th Engineer Brigade.
The other National Guard member was identified as Andrew Wolfe, who the president said was “fighting for his life” and “in very bad shape.” Wolfe is also a member of the West Virginia National Guard and is currently hospitalized in critical condition.
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In a lengthy social media post late on Thanksgiving, Trump said he will “permanently pause” all immigration from what he called “third world countries” and demanded a program of “reverse migration” as he intensified his rhetoric after the shooting. Trump offered few details as he disparaged and vowed to remove millions of migrants in the United States.
Beckstrom and Wolfe were serving on the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Mission when they were shot on Wednesday afternoon. The National Guard said they had been deployed to the capital since August after Trump ordered troops to the city as part of his crackdown on crime.
Here’s what we know about the two National Guard members.
Putin ready for ‘serious’ peace talks and says U.S.-Ukraine draft could be basis for a deal
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country is ready for “serious” peace talks as Trump works toward solidifying a peace deal on the war in Ukraine. After an initial White House proposal attracted criticism for being too favorable to the Kremlin, Ukrainian and U.S. officials worked to adjust the agreement, which Putin said could form the basis for a future deal to end the conflict.
And while Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Russia next week for talks with Putin, another individual has emerged as a key figure in negotiations — U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.
Since his Senate confirmation in February, he’s been focused on transforming the Army’s weaponry. But more recently, he has crisscrossed Europe, shuttling from Kyiv to Geneva to lead talks with Ukrainian and other European officials.
The idea behind sending Driscoll was that as a military leader with the backing of the White House, he could look the Ukrainians in the eye, perhaps with more credibility than a conventional government diplomat, and persuade them it was time for peace, the three U.S. officials said.
Read more about how the Army secretary-turned-diplomat is helping shepherd Ukraine negotiations.
More news on the war in Ukraine:
- A top Ukrainian official at the heart of peace talks was thrust into the center of a massive corruption scandal, threatening to further weaken President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a crucial moment in negotiations to end Russia’s war.
In the Michigan city where Trump held his 100 days rally, voters wait for a turnaround
It was in Warren, Michigan, in a community emblematic of fast-changing demographics and the partisan battle for working-class voters, that Trump in late April touted the achievements of the first 100 days of his second term. Then, he promised that his signature One Big Beautiful Bill law would brighten the country’s horizon.
His ability to sell that message of renewal here and around the country figures to factor heavily in next year’s midterm elections, which will determine whether Republicans maintain their trifecta in Washington — control of the White House and both chambers of Congress — and Trump avoids having a significant check placed on his power. The congressional seat here, which Republican Rep. John James is leaving open to run for governor, is one of three in the state that the Cook Political Report rates as potentially competitive.
The economic turnaround Trump predicted hasn’t happened — at least not yet — residents of Warren and surrounding towns in Macomb County, the onetime land of “Reagan Democrats,” said in interviews at a coffee shop and a dog park a few days before Thanksgiving.
Their sentiments track with the 63% of registered voters, including 30% of Republicans, who said in the recent national NBC News poll that Trump has fallen short of their expectations on the cost of living and the economy.
Read All About It
- Trump suggested the U.S. could “very soon” begin targeting Venezuelan drug traffickers on land, an expansion from current military operations that have been focused on the Caribbean Sea.
- The World Health Organization warns that a surging number of worldwide measles cases is a stark warning sign that outbreaks of other vaccine-preventable diseases could be next.
- A federal judge is pressing the Justice Department to explain how it will protect the identities of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims after lawyers said that dozens of their names appeared unredacted in documents released by Congress.
- Police departments in red states face the tough task of weighing their cities’ public safety priorities against the Trump administration’s pressures to partner with ICE.
- Hormone therapy has emerged as a method to ward off dementia in women, as growing research suggests declining estrogen levels during menopause can potentially leave the brain more vulnerable to damage.
Staff Pick: We don’t need no education
One American dream is slowly losing its luster. Almost two-thirds of registered voters say a four-year college degree isn’t worth the cost, according to a new NBC News poll, a dramatic decline over the last decade.
Just 33% agree that a four-year college degree is “worth the cost because people have a better change to get a good job and earn more money over their lifetime,” while 63% agree more with the concept that it’s “not worth the cost because people often graduate without specific job skills and with a large amount of debt to pay off.”
When adjusted for inflation, the cost of a public four-year college tuition for in-state students has doubled since 1995. And tuition at private four-year colleges is up 75% over the same period, according to College Board data.
National politics reporter Ben Kamisar looked at the eye-popping shift over the last 12 years, which comes against the backdrop of several major trends shaping the job market and the education world, from exploding college tuition prices to rapid changes in the modern economy. — Kaylah Jackson, Platforms Editor
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