Month: December 2025

Former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse revealed Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, sharing the news publicly on social media. In his message, Sasse underscored gratitude for family and faith while acknowledging the gravity of his condition, blending seriousness with resolve as he confronts what lies ahead.

Sasse, 53, wrote on X: “Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die” he said, calling the illness aggressive and incurable. Sasse added, “Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do… Death is a wicked thief, and the bastard pursues us all. Still, I’ve got less time than I’d prefer. This is hard for someone wired to work and build, but harder still as a husband and a dad.”

Sasse said the diagnosis has deepened his appreciation for time spent with his wife, Melissa, and their three children, praising how his family has grown closer over the past year. Announcing the news during the holiday season, he noted that Christmas was not “the worst” moment to do so: “As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come.” Despite the prognosis, Sasse emphasized his determination to keep going. “I’ll have more to say. I’m not going down without a fight,” he wrote. “One sub-part of God’s grace is found in the jawdropping advances science has made the past few years in immunotherapy and more. Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived.”

Sasse represented Nebraska in the U.S. Senate from 2015 until early 2023. During his tenure, the conservative lawmaker was occasionally outspoken against leaders within his own party and was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict then-President Donald Trump during the second impeachment trial following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Trump was ultimately acquitted. Before entering politics, Sasse built an academic career, earning degrees from Harvard University, Oxford University, St. John’s College, and a doctorate in history from Yale University.

He resigned from the Senate to become president of the University of Florida but stepped down from that role in mid-2024, citing serious health challenges faced by his wife, including epilepsy and memory issues linked to a past aneurysm and strokes.

Medical experts note that stage-four pancreatic cancer is the most advanced form of the disease, meaning it has spread to other organs. It is often detected late due to the lack of early symptoms and routine screening. According to national cancer data, pancreatic cancer typically affects older adults, with the average age of diagnosis around 70, making Sasse’s case at 53 relatively uncommon. Tens of thousands of Americans are diagnosed each year, and the disease remains among the deadliest cancers.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday he will move to force a Senate vote on legal action against the Justice Department over its failure to fully release records tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, escalating a growing bipartisan dispute over compliance with a recently enacted transparency law. Schumer’s resolution would direct Senate leadership to initiate or join civil litigation in federal court to compel full compliance; he plans to force consideration of the measure when the Senate returns from recess in January, though passage could require unanimous consent.

Schumer’s announcement follows the Justice Department missing a congressionally mandated deadline to make public the complete, unclassified Epstein files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law in November. While thousands of pages were released Friday, lawmakers and victims’ advocates argue the disclosure fell well short of what the statute requires.

Schumer said in a statement: “The law Congress passed is crystal clear: release the Epstein files in full so Americans can see the truth. Instead, the Trump Department of Justice dumped redactions and withheld the evidence — that breaks the law.”  Schumer called the limited disclosure a “blatant cover-up” and accused Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche of shielding President Donald Trump from scrutiny.

Attorneys representing Epstein survivors sharply criticized the release, saying large portions remain hidden: “We are told that there are hundreds of thousands of pages of documents still unreleased,” they argued, stating that excessive redactions and omissions violate the law. Another group of survivors said the public “received a fraction of the files,” calling for hearings, formal demands, and court action.

Justice Department has defended its pace, saying it is balancing transparency with victim protections. In a fact sheet released Sunday, the DOJ said more than 200 attorneys are reviewing files individually to ensure legally required redactions and stressed that no redactions are intended to shield public figures: “this is an arduous process, as each document and photograph must be individually reviewed by DOJ and the Southern District of New York for potential redactions to protect victims or potential victims,” the department said.  And on NBC’s “Meet the Press,”  Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche acknowledged the agency missed the deadline, but said ongoing reviews are necessary to prevent further harm, dismissing threats of legal action.

Epstein died by suicide in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The Justice Department has said he abused more than 1,200 women and girls.

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The Trump administration announced Monday it is pausing leases for five major offshore wind projects along the East Coast, citing national security risks identified by the Department of Defense.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the decision follows classified Pentagon assessments and long-standing concerns outlined in unclassified government reports. “Today’s action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers,” Burgum said in a statement,  emphasizing the administration’s broader energy stance: “Due to national security concerns identified by @DeptofWar, @Interior is PAUSING leases for 5 expensive, unreliable, heavily subsidized offshore wind farms! ONE natural gas pipeline supplies as much energy as these 5 projects COMBINED. @POTUS is bringing common sense back to energy policy & putting security FIRST!”

The Interior Department said unclassified analyses have found that the movement of large turbine blades and their reflective towers can interfere with radar systems, a phenomenon known as “clutter,” which can obscure real targets and create false signals. A 2024 Department of Energy report noted that adjusting radar thresholds to manage clutter could also cause systems to miss actual threats.

The pause affects Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Sunrise Wind, and Empire Wind, with projects located off the coasts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Virginia and New York. Two smaller offshore wind facilities — one off Rhode Island operating since 2016 and another off New York that came online in 2023 — are not impacted.

Several of the paused projects are already partially built or nearing completion. Vineyard Wind 1, located about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, has roughly half of its 62 turbines operating and is expected to eventually power more than 400,000 Massachusetts homes and businesses. Revolution Wind off Rhode Island is about 80% complete. Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, the largest in the U.S. with 176 turbines, was slated to be operational by the end of 2026. Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind, both off Long Island, are also under construction.

The decision comes weeks after Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts struck down President Trump’s earlier executive order on Jan. 20th that broadly blocked new wind energy leasing, calling it unlawful. That ruling followed a lawsuit brought by a coalition of attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C.

However, the pause drew swift criticism from state leaders and environmental groups. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont called the move “yet another erratic, anti-business move by the Trump administration that will drive up the price of electricity in Connecticut and throughout the region. This project is nearing completion and providing good-paying clean energy jobs.”

The Sierra Club’s legislative director Melinda Pierce also condemned the action: “The Trump administration’s vengeance towards renewable energy knows no end. Americans need cheaper and more reliable energy that does not come at the expense of our health and futures.” Dominion Energy spokesperson Jeremy Slayton said Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind was developed “in close coordination with the military” and noted its pilot turbines have operated for five years without security issues.

According to the Department of Energy, wind energy currently provides about 10% of U.S. electricity and remains the nation’s largest source of renewable power.

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