A grand jury has rejected the Department of Justice's attempt to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James. CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson has reaction.

Washington

A grand jury has rejected the Department of Justice's attempt to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on charges related to alleged mortgage fraud. Reporting indicates that there was division within the grand jury during the initial indictment, and similar concerns appear to have influenced the latest decision.

Career prosecutors were reportedly reluctant to pursue the case, with Eric Seabird, the predecessor of Lindsey Halligan as head of the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Virginia, resigning in part due to opposition to bringing the case. The grand jury's decision may reflect these reservations.

Grand jury rejects DOJ's attempt to re-indict Letitia James

And we have some other breaking news, too. We just learned a grand jury rejected the Department of Justice's attempt to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James. What is your reaction to that? So my reaction is that reporting indicates the first time she was indicted that I think that there was a division in the grand jury, and we may be seeing that again here. We know that career prosecutors were reticent to bring this case. We know, in fact, that Eric Seabird, who was the predecessor of Lindsey Halligan, who ultimately did bring these cases, in part resigned and or left his position as head of the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Virginia because he didn't wanna bring this case. So obviously very early in terms of breaking news, but what we could be seeing is the grand jury had a similar view to what the career prosecutors who were looking at this case of alleged mortgage fraud thought. Jessica Levinson, thank you so much.

The New York Times has sued the U.S. Defence Department and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in an effort to force the Pentagon to abandon its restrictive new press policy. The Times alleges that the policy, rejected by at least 30 news organizations, violates its rights to free speech and due process.

New York

New York Times sues Pentagon, Hegseth over press restrictions

President Trump weighed in on Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with his envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio has more.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

Trump insists Putin wants to end Ukraine war after Witkoff's trip

Democrats have released never-before-seen images in the Jeffrey Epstein case. They were taken at his private island estate. It comes as the Trump administration faces a deadline to release the full Epstein case files in two weeks.

Newly released images and videos show Epstein's private island estate

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, more than five times more than the United States.

Caracas

Maduro accuses U.S. of pushing for regime change to get Venezuela’s oil

Australia starts enforcing a landmark ban requiring social media platforms to take down accounts belonging to under-16s

Canberra

Australia under-16s social media accounts to be taken down

European Union lawmakers and member states reached a deal to ban all imports of Russian gas before the end of 2027, as the bloc seeks to choke off key funds feeding Moscow's war chest. Aimed at breaking a reliance the bloc has struggled to end despite the invasion of Ukraine, the accord marks a compromise between EU capitals and the European Parliament, which wanted the ban to hit sooner.

Brussels

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President Trump pardoned Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife on Wednesday. The couple was indicted in 2024 on more than a dozen federal charges. Cuellar has denied any wrongdoing.

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Sources say the Pentagon watchdog found Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could have endangered American service members when he shared military information in a Signal group chat in March. Alex Plitsas, a former Pentagon official, joins "The Daily Report" to discuss.

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Democrats on the House Oversight Committee Wednesday released never-before-seen images of the private island owned by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. CBS News legal reporter Katrina Kaufman has more details.

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The doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the actor's overdose death has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Los Angeles

Doctor who sold Matthew Perry ketamine sentenced to 30 months in prison

Google subsidiary YouTube has criticized an Australian law banning social media accounts for under-16s, arguing the legislation set to start Dec 10 makes young users of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube less safe.

YouTube attacks Australia's underage social media ban

U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Putin in the Kremlin on a revised Ukraine peace plan but left without a deal. Russia insists on territorial gains, army cuts, and blocking NATO membership, while Zelenskyy calls for long-term deterrence against future aggression.

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U.S. President Donald Trump, in a televised cabinet meeting, said “I don't want them in our country” about Somali immigrants, sparking outrage from politicians and migration experts. His remarks coincided with reports of planned federal raids targeting Minneapolis’ Somali community.

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A Russian tanker carrying sunflower oil was hit by a drone off the Turkish coast, with no casualties. The attack is part of recent strikes on Russian-flagged vessels targeting Moscow’s oil sector, while Putin warns of possible retaliatory measures.

Russian tanker attacked off Turkey, Putin warns of retaliation

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he had watched the first U.S. strike in September on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in real time, but did not see survivors in the water or the second lethal strike that he described as being carried out in the "fog of war."

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Republican comfortably beats Democratic challenger after polls showed candidates in a close race in US state.

Tennessee

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U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to expand his crackdown on drug trafficking during a cabinet meeting, suggesting he’d order land strikes on Venezuela and attacks on any country transporting illegal drugs into the U.S.

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Ahead of a meeting to discuss the U.S. proposal for peace in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed European counter-proposals as 'unacceptable' and said his country was ready for war if Europe wants one.

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OpenAI has declared a "code red" as Google threatens to unseat the AI industry's early leader, according to the Wall Street Journal. Technology journalist Jacob Ward joins CBS News to discuss.

California

OpenAI declares 'code red' as Google threatens its AI lead

Russian President Vladimir Putin met U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin on Tuesday (December 2) for talks on a possible way to end the deadliest European conflict since World War Two.

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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the deadly boat strikes in the region near Venezuela and Colombia have "only just begun." This comes as Republicans and Democrats in Congress question the legality of the military action.

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President Vladimir Putin has hailed what his commanders told him was the full Russian capture of the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine as an important victory after a prolonged campaign, saying it would help Moscow fulfil its wider war aims.

Pokrovsk

Russia claims control of Pokrovsk

Major rescue and recovery efforts are underway across Southeast Asia after a series of severe storms battered the region displacing millions and killing more than 1,100 people.

Nuwara Eliya

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Honduras’ presidential race is too close to call, with Nasry Asfura and Salvador Nasralla nearly tied at just under 40% each as technical glitches delay official results.

Tegucigalpa

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Airbus must inspect hundreds of its A320 jets for potential quality flaws in the plane's body as a total of 628 aircraft contain panels that may be too thick or too thin due to a manufacturing issue at a supplier.

Blagnac

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U.S. President Trump warns against actions that could ‘interfere with Syria’s evolution’ amid new Israeli incursions and strikes.

Damascus

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The White House confirmed it authorized a second airstrike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in September, but denied it ordered everyone on board be killed, which would be considered a war crime.

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Monday is World AIDS Day. It has been recognized globally since 1988, but this year, the U.S. government is not commemorating it for the first time.

U.S. not recognizing World AIDS Day this year

Operation "Swamp Sweep," a monthslong immigration crackdown centered in New Orleans, is set to begin Monday. CBS News national reporter Kati Weis has the details.

Breakdown