President Donald Trump is kicking off the celebration for the 250th anniversary of America’s founding with "Freedom 250," which is described as “a movement celebrating America’s 250th birthday.”

Inflation in the United States decelerated last month, according to a Labor Department report that was delayed due to the 43-day government shutdown this fall.

A small plane crashed in Statesville, North Carolina. It was owned by retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle. There is tentative confirmation that Greg Biffle, his wife, and his children were on board. Greg is the race car hero who personally piloted hundreds of rescue and supply missions in his helicopter across Western North Carolina following […] The post Greg Biffle’s Plane Crashes in NC with His Family on Board appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

New White House plaques under presidential portraits are triggering outrage from the left—but for many conservatives, they finally tell the truth about the presidents who paved the way for woke chaos, endless wars, and runaway spending. Trump’s Plaques Turn the White House Hallway into a History Reckoning President Trump reportedly ordered new plaques placed beneath the official White House portraits of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, each summarizing what his team views as their defining failures. Instead of bland, ceremonial descriptions, the plaques call out decisions tied to border insecurity, inflation, globalist trade deals and disastrous foreign interventions. By turning a usually sanitized hallway into a pointed critique of the political class, Trump is again challenging the bipartisan establishment’s preferred version of recent history. According to reporting on the display, the plaques do not simply list dates and titles but frame each presidency around specific controversies and outcomes that Trump and his supporters have long condemned. For Biden, that includes the surge in inflation and debt after trillions in new federal spending, along with record illegal border crossings tied to relaxed enforcement. For Obama, it highlights the rise of identity politics, expanded bureaucracy and policies that accelerated cultural division and government overreach. The White House has installed descriptive plaques under the gold-framed portraits of every President featured on the “Presidential Walk of Fame” just outside the Oval Office, with every plaque, of course, in someway having to mention President Trump. pic.twitter.com/B80nFuVRke — OSINT report (@Tourosenta14746) December 17, 2025 Calling Out Globalism, Endless Wars and Border Chaos Descriptions under Clinton and Bush reportedly emphasize decisions that many conservatives blame for hollowing out the middle class and dragging America into costly wars. Clinton’s era is linked to trade deals and financial policies that helped ship manufacturing overseas and fed Wall Street excess. Bush’s plaque reportedly focuses on the Iraq War, the growth of the security state and long-term commitments abroad that strained American troops and budgets. Together, the plaques form a running indictment of the bipartisan globalist consensus Trump campaigned against. By arranging these critical summaries in a space usually reserved for dignified silence, the Trump team is forcing visitors to confront how different administrations contributed to today’s crises. The hallway becomes a timeline of what many conservatives see as elite mismanagement: open borders, naïve diplomacy, expanding welfare programs and culture-war policies that undermine traditional values. Instead of treating each former president as an untouchable icon, the plaques effectively cross-examine their records, inviting Americans to weigh the real-world consequences for workers, families and national security. On those new plaques at the White House… pic.twitter.com/nV5TH2K8BB — Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) December 18, 2025 Why Many Conservatives See the Plaques as Overdue Accountability For Trump’s base, the plaques resonate because they connect directly to frustrations built up over decades. Under Biden, families watched grocery bills and energy costs spike while Washington approved more spending and regulations. Under Obama, bureaucracies grew, religious liberty came under pressure and progressive social agendas advanced in schools and workplaces. Clinton’s trade priorities and financial deregulation helped gut industrial towns, and Bush’s foreign policy left many questioning whether Washington listened to ordinary Americans at all. Supporters view Trump’s display as a symbolic reversal of who gets to judge whom in Washington. For years, legacy media and academic elites praised these presidents as statesmen while painting Trump voters as backward or dangerous for demanding secure borders, fiscal restraint and respect for the Constitution. By inscribing criticisms into the walls of the White House itself, Trump is signaling that the days of unearned reverence for failed leadership are over. To many conservatives, that feels less like mockery and more like long-overdue truth in labeling. Omfg I’m dying of laughter Our President is Awesome for this The 'Presidential Walk of Fame' which is along the White House West Wing colonnade by the Rose Garden that features an (Auto Pen) image in place of so called president Biden pic.twitter.com/hMgufzyWWl — Ķalal® (@TheRealKalal) September 24, 2025 Critics Call It Petty, Supporters Call It Honest History Prominent commentators and former officials have attacked the plaques as disrespectful and unprecedented, arguing that presidents should honor the office by treating predecessors with decorum. They warn that open disparagement erodes institutional norms and could deepen partisan divides. Some also claim the summaries cherry-pick negatives while ignoring accomplishments, framing the display as political theater designed to rally Trump’s base rather than inform visitors objectively about the past four administrations. Conservatives counter that the old “norms” are exactly what protected a permanent class of politicians and bureaucrats from accountability. They argue that families who lived through factory closures, spiraling healthcare costs, culture-war mandates and endless wars do not experience those years as a golden age of responsible leadership. For these Americans, blunt plaques are mild compared with the real damage done. The controversy ultimately reflects a deeper fight over who writes American history—the establishment that managed decline, or the voters now demanding a course correction.

'That is a very good number here'

'learning from the past'

'These claims are not only untrue but also deeply hurtful'

Books Short Fiction Spotlight Must Read Short Speculative Fiction: November 2025 Add some of the best new short fiction stories to your end of year reading lists! By Alex Brown | Published on December 18, 2025 Comment 0 Share New Share As I was looking over this list of stories, I realized most of them were by authors who were new to me. I love it when I encounter voices I’ve never heard before. I also have a new publication on the reading list, and one of their stories is featured here. Let’s bow out the hell that was 2025 with at least a little excitement and joy, shall we? Here are the ten short science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories I enjoyed reading in November. “Beneath the Umdlebe Tree; or, A Vegetable Love Story” by Modupeoluwa Shelle Our narrator addresses Orhija, who is returning to Earth after a while away. The story blends science fiction and Yoruba cosmology in a way I’ve never seen before. Shelle opts for large paragraphs that give the story a tense yet sprawling feel. “You always blamed the gods for everything we did out of our own free will. Are you going to blame them now for the war your kind wages on mine out of an agelong resentment? Did you even blame them for the reason my kind are doing this to the Earth?” (Lightspeed—November 2025; issue 186) “Coin Flip” by Aeryn Rudel The narrator of this story tracks down several humans being held hostage by a demon-possessed serial killer and gets killed in the process. Good thing that this isn’t his first death. He is resurrected in time to save the day. But who is this man? That you’ll have to read the story to find out. The twist isn’t just a silly little reference but one loaded with layers of meaning, especially if you were raised in the Christian church. (Flashpoint SF—November 14, 2025) “The Fire Burns Anyway” by Kemi Ashing-Giwa The protagonist here is a dreamweaver, someone who can use a neural scanner to create “imaginary settings” and “realistic worlds” you can enter in your dreams. This felt like a metaphor for trying to be creative in the age of generative AI. Everything being concentrated in the hands of the wealthy at the expense of everyone else, turning creativity and passion into commodities and resources to be extracted, and trying to hold onto the joy of creating art in the face of the capitalist machine. (Clarkesworld—November 2025; issue 230) “For When the Night is Behind You and the Depths are Ahead” by Corey Farrenkopf Coincidentally, I had just read the excellent eco-horror short story collection The Writhing, Verdant End by Corey Farrenkopf, Eric Raglin, and Tiffany Morris when I came across this story by Farrenkopf. Of course I had to read it, and of course it exceeded my expectations. Our narrator’s older brother Dave is one of many who die during the nationwide release events for a videogame, Castles Underground III. They become obsessed with beating the game, and soon we realize the game is more real than Dave let on. (Three-Lobed Burning Eye—November 2025” by issue 46) “If You Can’t Make Your Own Regret, Store-Bought Is Fine” by RJ Aurand Val is a membalmer, someone who preserves memories by extracting them from the dead. Those memories are given to the survivors as they process their feelings toward the recently deceased. This story follows Val as she extracts regret from Mr. Jensen to give to his daughter, who wants as little of him as possible. Aurand wrote in the author’s note that this story was inspired by a video of someone finding cremains at a Goodwill and what kind of person would donate those. What do you do when you’re expected to honor the memory of someone who didn’t care for you the way you deserved? (Inner Worlds—November 2025; issue 9) “The Last Two Gardeners of Mars” by Irene W. Collins Years ago, Anara and Mireille were part of a crew of scientists sent to terraform Mars. Now, they’re the only two left in a collapsing dome. The terraforming project was abandoned, and they didn’t want to leave the garden behind untended. “Fifty years of this. Not quite lovers, never merely friends. Something more ferocious, more faithful. A queerplatonic tether forged in the red dust and sealed in chlorophyll.” Their time is done and they’re preparing to go out together. A different kind of love story, but a nevertheless beautiful and bittersweet one. (Heartlines Spec—Winter 2025; issue 9) “Occupational Hazards” by Nicole M. Babb Welcome to the spotlight, Foofaraw! This was such an unsettling and distressing story. It starts off fine before descending into horror territory. A detective shows up at Pinnacle Ergonomics to interview the coworkers of a man who died after being crushed to death in a prototype of a new technology. “Blood, brain matter, and Gary’s shirt aside, the room was an unrelenting white. Sunshine streamed through floor-to-ceiling windows, baking Gary like a ham surprise casserole.” By the time the detective figures out who the culprit is…well, I’ll let you find out what happens. (Foofaraw—November 27, 2025) “Pink Witches” by Melissa Jornd A child is at the reception after her Grandma’s funeral. Bree misses her Grandma so much and would give anything to see her again. When she escapes to the bathroom, she steps into a room filled with flowers…and the spirit of her grandmother. They do a little magic together to help Bree’s mother in her grief. It was a wonderful story about honoring your ancestors and being compassionate. Bree taps into power she could wield for any purpose, and her first thought is to do something kind for someone without expecting any reciprocation or appreciation in return. (Small Wonders—November 2025; issue 29) “Waterways” by Diana Dima David inherits his father’s boat after his death and becomes a fisherman. He had a fraught relationship with his father, unable to please him but always trying to anyway. David has a surreal experience with several other fishermen, then something in him snaps. This story is dark and creepy; it has the feel of a nightmare, with things spiraling out of control. (PodCastle—November 18, 2025; #918) “When Eve Chose Us” by Tia Tashiro In the years after an alien species arrives on Earth, peace has finally been declared. Part of the treaty included the option for humans to join the alien hivemind. Those that do still look mostly human, and are jokingly called “drones” by other humans. Liza’s best friend Eve decides to join, and Liza has a hard time understanding why. Eve has her reasons, reasons she isn’t inclined to share with Liza, leaving Liza feeling adrift and like she lost something she never really had in the first place. This is a really interesting way to explore an alien invasion. In this situation, the aliens offer troubled humans the chance to let go of what ails them. The hive isn’t submission but freedom. (Diabolical Plots—November 3, 2025; #129A) [end-mark] The post Must Read Short Speculative Fiction: November 2025 appeared first on Reactor.