Today's Top Stories from NBC News

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2025

In today's newsletter: The White House launches immigration enforcement operations in New Orleans and Minneapolis amid Trump's rants against Somalia. The Pentagon's Signalgate report finds Pete Hegseth violated military regulations. And, new images and videos show what Jeffrey Epstein's island looked like.

Here's what to know today.

▼ The Lead

Federal operations begin in New Orleans and Minneapolis

(Adam Grayt / AFP via Getty Images)

The Trump administration have launched immigration enforcement operations in New Orleans and Minneapolis a day after President Donald Trump said he would be sending National Guard troops to Louisiana.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the New Orleans operation is "targeting criminal aliens roaming free thanks to sanctuary policies."

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, has said he welcomes the administration's intervention in the Democrat-run city, which has logged significant drops in crime and is on track to have its lowest number of homicides in nearly 50 years, according to crime data from the police department.

The Trump administration also began an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News. The operation comes after Trump launched into a hate-filled rant against Somalia and Somali immigrants living in the U.S. for the second day in a row, saying they've "destroyed Minnesota" and "our country" in his latest comments.

A senior law enforcement administration official told NBC News that ICE officers are not specifically targeting Somali immigrants and their families but may be arresting some who they allege have violated immigration laws.

Read the full story.

More politics news:

After the shooting of two National Guard members, U.S. war veterans find themselves having to come to the defense of their former Afghan partners.

Trump said his administration would "reset" fuel efficiency standards for passenger cars in an effort to put a lid on rising auto prices.

Speaker Mike Johnson is staring down a revolt from House Republican women.

Trump announced he would pardon Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, who was indicted on bribery and money laundering charges.

The information that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared on a group Signal chat about a pending military operation in Yemen was considered classified, according to two people who have read a report by the Defense Department Inspector General.

The report outlined the findings of a more than eight-month investigation into Hegseth's use of Signal, an encrypted but unclassified messaging app, to share details of the planned U.S. strikes in March before they had begun.

It found that the information Hegseth shared had been marked "secret" and could have imperiled American troops had it been intercepted by a foreign adversary, the two people who have read the report said. The evaluation by the Defense Department Inspector General also concluded that Hegseth violated military regulations by using his personal phone for official business, according to the sources.

The release of the report comes at a sensitive moment for Hegseth, who is currently under scrutiny over a decision to launch a second military strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean Sea that the Pentagon said was carrying 11 individuals. The first strike left at least two survivors.

Read the full story.

New images and videos released from Epstein's island

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released more than 150 photos and videos showing what they say is the private island that was owned by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

They show the compound's exterior structures, as well as interiors, including a pool area, and several bedrooms and bathrooms.

One photo shows a corded phone with labels that appear to be redacted names. Another photo features a library with a large desk and blackboard, with the words "power," "truth," "music," "deception," "intellectual," and "political," written on it, among other redacted words.

Committee Democrats said in a news release that they have also received records related to Epstein from J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank, which they intend to release to the public after a review.

Read the full story.

Steve Cropper, soul guitar legend, dies at age 84

Steve Cropper, guitarist and member of Stax Records' Booker T and the M.G.'s, has died at age 84. The Grammy Lifetime Achievement recipient co-wrote "In the Midnight Hour," "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" and "Green Onions" and appeared in 1980's "The Blues Brothers" movie.

The guitarist, songwriter and record producer was not known for flashy playing, but his spare, catchy licks and solid rhythm chops helped define Memphis soul music.

Read the full obituary.

▼ Read All About It

Satellite imagery revealed how deadly flooding wreaked havoc across Southeast Asia as record rainfall upended life for millions throughout Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

A man accused of trespassing on Travis Kelce's property — and seeking to serve a subpoena on Taylor Swift — entered a program that will most likely absolve him of the offense.

If you order products from abroad this holiday season, you could end up with an unwanted surprise: a pricey tariff bill.

Digitally remastered episodes of "Mad Men" debuted on HBO Max with a host of production errors that inexplicably made their way to the streaming platform.

The Grand Canyon National Park is temporarily suspending overnight hotel stays on the South Rim due to water line issues.

▼ Staff Pick

AI safety falls short

I'm at the world's top AI conference this week in San Diego. While artificial intelligence might feel like it's suddenly taking the world by storm, showing up in everything from chatbots to John Deere tractors, machine learning researchers have been gathering at this conference since 1987.

In addition to booming buzz about the cutting-edge of AI capabilities, many researchers here are thinking about how to design and deploy safer and more trustworthy AI systems.

Though most of America's leading AI companies like OpenAI and Google have dedicated teams focused on ensuring AI's safe and secure development and use, many researchers and non-industry experts think they could be doing much more.

So when I heard a new edition of the AI Safety Index was being released this week, which features an independent panel of academics evaluating leading companies' safety practices, I was able to talk with researchers directly and learn how this one group sees AI capabilities outpacing advances in safety-minded efforts.

— Jared Perlo, AI reporter

▼ NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

The NBC Select team rounded up the best gifts from Sephora and the most thoughtful picks for moms, plus Lego sets that make great presents for kids and adults. And, the most useful gifts of the year to help shop with purpose, not panic.