The Headlines - Democrats Say F.B.I. Is Investigating Them, and U.S. Plans Gaza Compounds

Episode Date: November 26, 2025

Plus, some piping hot Thanksgiving takes.Here’s what we’re covering:Democrats Say F.B.I. Is Investigating Them Over Illegal Orders Video by Greg JaffeU.S. Announces Negotiated Prices for 15 Drugs Under Medicare by Rebecca RobbinsA Year Later, Donors to Trump’s Transition Come to Light by Ken Bensinger and David A. FahrentholdTrump Administration Will Raise Prices for Foreign Tourists at National Parks by Chris CameronU.S. Plans Compounds to House Palestinians in Israeli-Held Half of Gaza by David M. Halbfinger, Adam Rasgon, Natan Odenheimer and Aaron Boxerman61 Hot Takes to Fight About at Thanksgiving by The New York TimesTune in, and tell us what you think at [e-mail]. For corrections, email [e-mail]. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Wednesday, November 26th. Here's what we're covering. Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders.

The Democratic lawmakers who put out a video last week telling U.S. troops that they could refuse illegal orders, say they are now being investigated by the FBI. In the video, the six members of Congress, who all served in the military or the CIA themselves, didn't reference a specific order or scenario, but repeated a message that's part of standard military training, that U.S. troops are obligated not to follow illegal orders from their chain of command. Would they say, you know, essentially don't follow the orders of the president of the United States? The video set off an immediate firestorm in the White House, with President Trump accusing the lawmakers of sedition

and sharing a social media post that said, hang them. I would say they're in serious trouble. I'm not threatening death, but I think they're in serious trouble. In the old days, it was dead. The lawmakers say that now the president is using federal law enforcement as a tool to, quote, intimidate and harass them. They say the FBI has requested interviews with them, even though it's unclear what, if any, laws they may have violated.

The Bureau declined to comment. News of the FBI's involvement comes after the Pentagon said it was opening an investigation into one of the lawmakers in the video, Senator Mark Kelly, who's a retired Navy captain, an astronaut. I'm not going to be silenced here. Is it stressful? I've been stressed by, you know, things more important than Donald Trump trying to intimidate me into shutting my mouth and not doing my job. Kelly has defended himself in interviews. And some legal experts tell the times the investigations are a clear attempt. to seek vengeance against the members of Congress with no grounding in the law. Now, three other quick updates on the Trump administration. On Tuesday, the federal government announced new lower prices for 15 different medications, the result of negotiations between Medicare and drug companies.

The new prices are unlikely to lead to direct savings for individual Americans, but they are expected to save the government billions of dollars when they take effect in 2027. The administration said if they'd been in place this past year, Medicare would have saved 12 billion. Administration officials have boasted about the savings, though notably the negotiations that led to them were only made possible by a law signed by President Biden, a measure that no Republicans supported at the time. Also, nearly a year after President Trump went an unusual route in funding his transition, to the White House, his team has released the names of the donors who paid for it. Traditionally, incoming presidents agree to disclose donors' names and put a cap on those donations

in exchange for federal funding for their transition planning. Trump sidestepped that, saying it would save taxpayer dollars. The newly released list shows many names of people who went on to get high-profile roles in his administration. There's Linda McMahon and Howard Lutnik, who were appointed secretaries of education and commerce, Steve Whitkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, and others, including the third highest-ranking official in the Justice Department. The head of a nonpartisan nonprofit that promotes best practices in government told the Times, quote, they claimed they were saving taxpayers money, but what they were doing was hiding the ball about who is buying the government.

A spokeswoman for the Trump transition team rejected that claim, saying that Trump is not bought by anyone and does what's in the best interest of the country. And the Department of the Interior has announced that it's raising prices for foreign tourists at the country's most popular national parks. Starting January 1st, visitors from outside the U.S. will have to pay a $100 surcharge on top of the standard entrance fee to visit Yosemite, Yellowstone, and other iconic sites. It's not immediately clear what impact the new fees will have on the revenue for the National Park Service or on the number of visitors. Since Trump took office, the parks have been thrown into turmoil. They've lost nearly a quarter of their staff to the point that sometimes they don't even have enough people to do routine tasks like cleaning or collecting entrance fees. And there's been a significant decline in tourism to the U.S., which has historically brought millions of international visitors to the parks. Tourism from Canada, for example, has now dropped for the 10th straight month in a row.

In the Middle East, the Times has learned that U.S. officials are rapidly pushing forward with a plan to build housing compounds in Gaza. The group of American diplomats, who are working out of luxury beachfront hotels in Israel, are trying to start construction as soon as possible on a string of projects they're calling alternative safe communities that would have temporary shelter, medical clinics, and schools. The compounds would be located in the half of Gaza that Israel controls, and the goal is that Palestinians would feel encouraged to move to the new communities and be drawn away from the parts of Gaza still under Hamas control.

The site of the first compound is expected to be cleared for construction starting this week, though it could take months to complete. In the short term, the plan could provide relief for thousands of people who've been living amid the rubble after Israeli troops destroyed the vast majority of buildings in Gaza. But it's drawn criticism from some European diplomats, UN officials, aid workers, and Palestinians who point to a range of potential issues, from practical concerns about who will pay for the compounds, to questions about why rebuilding efforts have been blocked in the areas where Gazans currently live.

One local business leader in Gaza told the times, quote, People in Gaza are not pieces of furniture that you move from one place to another. They have emotions and attachments. They want to be as close as they can to their destroyed homes. And finally, What is the best time of day to sit down for a holiday meal? People have a lot of opinions about Thanksgiving, like when to serve the turkey. Why do so many people watch football on Thanksgiving?

Should the TV be on or off? Should people dress up? or just embrace the elastic waistband lifestyle. Oh, come on. What do we actually want to wear on Thanksgiving pants like this? These are your stretching pants. This year, The Times talked with people very invested in the holiday, food writers, recipe makers, etc.,

about their most piping hot Thanksgiving takes. Here is just a taste. See what you agree with and what maybe makes you want to flip a table and smash a bottle of Martinelli's. Here we go. Everyone should wear name tags, even family, because which cousin's girlfriend is that? Cooking everything from scratch is overrated. Embrace the powder's packets and cans.

There should be one pie per person, or the opposite villainous take, pies just not that good, dessert should be cheese. And getting really controversial here, your turkey can be a lasagna. You can find all those takes and more at NYTimes.com, and you can vote on which ones you agree with. Personally, I think Thanksgiving doesn't have enough soup. Yeah, I'm a souper. I said it. Those are the headlines. The show will be off for the rest of the week. That means no Friday news quiz.

So before we go, we will give you one Thanksgiving stumper. Here's the question. For about four decades, American presidents have ceremoniously offered official pardons to one or two turkeys every November. The birds usually get sent to farms, but for a couple years under George W. Bush, they were sent to a vacation destination. Where did the turkeys go? The answer?

The turkeys were flown first class on United Airlines to Disneyland for a parade. Truly the rare turkeys who had a better Thanksgiving than you did. Bonapete. We will be back on Monday.