Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic on Wednesday announced his decision to step down at the end of his current term, which concludes in February 2026. “President Bostic has served with distinction since June 5, 2017, as the 15th president and chief executive officer of the Atlanta Fed,” the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta stated in a press release. “He is the first African American and openly gay president of a regional Federal Reserve Bank in its 111-year history,” the release added. “It’s been my distinct honor and privilege to lead the Atlanta Fed for these past eight and a half years. I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked with the Atlanta Fed’s outstanding staff to fulfill the Federal Reserve’s mission and serve the Sixth District and the American people,” Bostic said. “I’m proud of what we accomplished during my tenure to turn the lofty goal of an economy that works for everyone into more of a reality, and I look forward to discovering new ways to advance that bold vision in my next chapter,” he added. Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, will retire in February, opening up a new seat on the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee at a time that President Donald Trump is seeking to exert more control over the central bank. https://t.co/Lr33bFGV4b — The Associated Press (@AP) November 12, 2025 “Atlanta Fed’s Bostic is best known for what may have been one of the biggest trading scandals in recent Fed history,” Zero Hedge noted. “Trades on Bostic’s behalf took place during prohibited ‘blackout’ periods around Federal Open Market Committee meetings 154 times between March 2018 and March 2023, investigators found,” the outlet continued. “He also filed inaccurate disclosure forms, held more Treasury securities than allowed and twice executed trades that were different than those that he sought central bank clearance for. In the end, however, the OIG absolved him,” it added. Atlanta Fed's Bostic is best known for what may have been one of the biggest trading scandals in recent Fed history: Trades on Bostic's behalf took place during prohibited "blackout" periods around Federal Open Market Committee meetings 154 times between March 2018 and March… — zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 12, 2025 More from The Guardian: As the Trump administration continues to demand interest rate cuts, and even target some Fed officials, Bostic is the latest senior figure to depart. After Adriana Kugler resigned in August from the Fed’s board of governors, Trump replaced her on interim basis with Stephen Miran, one of his top advisers. The US president will not pick Bostic’s successor, however. The Atlanta Fed will now conduct a nationwide search for its next president. Bloomberg TV shared a breaking news alert: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic announced he plans to retire at the end of his current term in February. @mckonomy reports on "Bloomberg Open Interest" https://t.co/fNVILzyrIc pic.twitter.com/qMwL2qAf11 — Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) November 12, 2025 CNBC noted: Regional presidents serve five-year terms that generally run in sync and are designed to expire on years that end in either 1 or 6, which will be the case next year. While the local boards vote on the presidents, they are subject to approval by the Fed’s Board of Governors. Normally a routine process, unusual political dynamics on the board could add a new wrinkle to the procedure. In addition to the reappointments of the regional presidents, Jerome Powell’s term as Fed chair expires in May, though his run as governor goes until 2028. Bostic has been seen as more of a centrist during his run, though he’s been more cautious about cutting interest rates this year during a time of elevated inflation and a softening labor market. He is not an FOMC voter this year. Atlanta next will get a vote in 2027.

The U.S. War Department has quietly deployed ground forces to the Caribbean for intensive jungle warfare training — the first such operation in over two decades, according to reports. The drills come amid what analysts are [...] The post Russia Deploys Advanced Air Defense Systems to Venezuela as U.S. Troops Begin Jungle Warfare Training appeared first on The People's Voice.

Stephen Colbert has finally put into words what many viewers have felt for years: late-night television isn’t just entertainment. It’s emotional and psychological conditioning — programming in the truest sense of the word. “We’re like [...] The post Stephen Colbert Finally Admits Late-Night TV Was Never Comedy — It’s a CIA Psy-Op for the Masses appeared first on The People's Voice.

The longest government shutdown in United States history may be coming to an end.

Sen. John Fetterman called Gov. Shapiro an “F-Ing A**hol* in his new book and he put down Sonny Hostin in her failed attempt to smear him during an interview, continuing his independent style. Sen. John Fetterman fired back at Sonny Hostin’s verbal attack over his decision to vote to end the shutdown. He has definitely […] The post Sen. Fetterman Put Down Sonny Hostin in Style & Called Gov. Shapiro a @#%$ appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

President Donald Trump responded to emails released by House Democrats on Wednesday morning that show convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein discussing the president, arguing that the move is the Democratic Party’s attempt to distract from its failure on the government shutdown. Trump was named in multiple Epstein emails that were released by House Democrats, including one from 2019 in which Epstein claimed that Trump “knew about the girls.” Democrats argued that the revelations “raise serious questions about Donald Trump and his knowledge of Epstein’s horrific crimes.” The president shot back at Democrats in a Truth Social post shortly after the emails were made public. “The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects. Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap,” Trump wrote. “The Democrats cost our Country $1.5 Trillion Dollars with their recent antics of viciously closing our Country, while at the same time putting many at risk — and they should pay a fair price. There should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else, and any Republicans involved should be focused only on opening up our Country, and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats!” Earlier on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back with context that appears to undermine the Democrats’ release. Leavitt said that the redacted victim mentioned in the email is Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year. Giuffre had previously said that she did not believe Trump took part in Epstein’s sexual abuse of minors. “The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump. The ‘unnamed victim’ referenced in these emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, who repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and ‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her in their limited interactions,” Leavitt said in a statement obtained by Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan. After the Democrats released three emails on Wednesday, House GOP Oversight released an additional 20,000 pages of documents received from Epstein’s estate. NEW: @PressSec on today’s Epstein news: “The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump. The ‘unnamed victim’ referenced in these emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, who repeatedly said President Trump was not… — Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) November 12, 2025 The emails released show Epstein discussing Trump with his fixer, Ghislaine Maxwell, in which Epstein claimed that Trump “spent hours” at Epstein’s home with one of the sexual abusers’ victims. Epstein wrote that Trump “knew about the girls” in an email he sent to author Michael Wolff on January 31, 2019, less than seven months before Epstein was found dead in what authorities say was a suicide in his New York jail cell. “[T]rump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever,” the email to Wolff states. “[O]f course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine [sic] to stop.” Epstein’s email appears to be addressing Trump’s move to force him out of his club at Mar-a-Lago. Trump, who was a friend of Epstein’s in the 1990s and early 2000s, reportedly kicked Epstein out of his club in 2007, just months before the wealthy financier pled guilty in Florida to state charges of soliciting a prostitute under 18 years old. In another email released by Democrats on Wednesday, Epstein claimed that Trump “spent hours” at Epstein’s home with one of the sexual abuser’s victims. “[I] want you to realize that the dog that hasn’t barked is trump [sic]. [REDACTED] spent hours at my house with him, has never once been mentioned. [P]olice chief. etc. [I’m] 75% there.”

Just over one month after his landmark meeting with the military’s top brass, War Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered an explanation for his crusade against the “beardos” who did not adhere to the military’s personal grooming standards. Hegseth, who mentioned the “beardos” in his speech to the gathered military leaders in late September, said on Wednesday that he was referencing the rapidly growing number of men at the Pentagon who had claimed affiliation with the Nordic Pagan or Old Norse religion in an apparent attempt to skirt the military’s shaving regulations. WATCH: ?WATCH: @SecWar goes NUCLEAR on ‘beardos’: “Do you know how many troops claim to be Nordic pagan?” https://t.co/AYUKc6zJbr pic.twitter.com/eQnss2q0Sn — Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 12, 2025 “I also said we don’t need to be a military of beardos anymore,” Hegseth said. “Do you know how many troops claim to be Nordic Pagan?” Over laughter from around the room, he continued, “No, suddenly it’s become this real religious, fake religious affiliation inside the Pentagon where troops claim to be Nordic Pagan so they can grow a beard — and no one challenges them on it because no one has upheld standards for a long time. So now a quarter of the platoon is sporting beards because they’re now suddenly Nordic Pagans. We’re not doing that stuff anymore.” “There will be some people that say, well, Pete, why would a secretary care about beards and PT standards?” he added. “When you let the small things go inside your formations, you create a climate of a lack of discipline, where standards cannot be enforced. If you can’t enforce them on the small things, it gets far more difficult to enforce them on even more meaningful things … the entire command structure is flipped upside down.” While many men who practice the Nordic Pagan religion do grow beards in order to honor specific gods or simply to express masculinity and status, they are not required to. Military men are expected to keep their faces clean-shaven both for the uniform appearance and because the issued protective masks — designed to protect service members in the event of a gas attack — may not seal properly if the wearer’s face is not smooth.

A conservative group announced Wednesday that it plans to spend tens of millions of dollars to help maintain pro-life majorities in Congress. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and its partner political action committee, Women Speak Out, will spend $80 million to fund canvassing, digital advertising, voter contact mail, and early voting campaigns in key Senate and House races across the country. The group said it hopes to make at least 4.5 million visits across the country with a focus on battleground races in Iowa, Georgia, Michigan, and North Carolina.  “Republicans simply cannot win without their pro-life base, especially in midterm elections when overall turnout drops. Pro-life voters are the heart and soul of the Republican Party,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of SBA Pro-Life America. “Our mission is to fire up pro-life Americans who do not consistently vote in midterms and convince persuadable voters to reject the Democrats’ extreme all-trimester abortion agenda.” Pro-life voters were a significant part of the coalition that helped President Donald Trump win his surprising victory in 2016 after he promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade.  During the 2024 presidential election, SBA Pro-Life America said it contacted 10 million voters across eight battleground states.  Sen. Tim Sheehy, a Republican who defeated incumbent Democrat Jon Tester in Montana last year, praised SBA’s efforts to support his campaign. “SBA was there from the beginning,” he said. “They knocked over 100,000 doors in our state with 600,000 voters. That’s a massive amount. And the most important thing they did was shatter the narrative that we were somehow radicals because we wanted to protect the lives of unborn children.” As a result of the election victories in 2024, Republicans in Congress were able to defund Planned Parenthood for a year in Trump’s signature “Big, Beautiful Bill.” In recent years, Democrats have also campaigned heavily on abortion. Before the 2022 midterm elections, many Democratic candidates focused their messaging on the overturning of Roe. Former Vice President Kamala Harris embraced the same strategy during her presidential run last year and urged the Senate to overturn the filibuster to pass laws codifying a nationwide right to abortion.