President Trump and first lady Melania Trump lit the national Christmas tree on Thursday. Melania's White House Christmas theme this year is "Home Is Where the Heart Is." White House expert Jennifer Pickens joins CBS News to discuss.

Washington

First Lady Melania Trump has revealed the White House holiday decorations, continuing the tradition of honoring past First Ladies while introducing her own theme, "home is where the heart is." The official Christmas tree, displayed in the Blue Room, is an 18.5-foot fir from Michigan that pays tribute to Gold Star families and represents all U.S. states and territories, a tradition that began with First Lady Patricia Nixon.

White House expert Jennifer Pickens highlighted memorable decorations from previous administrations, including the Reagans' traditional decor, Laura Bush's post-9/11 theme, and the introduction of the "Barney Cam" to allow virtual tours. The segment emphasized the enduring significance of White House holiday traditions and their evolution over the years.

Melania Trump honors past Christmas displays in White House holiday design

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump lit the National Christmas Tree this evening. Keeping with tradition, the National Tree is a 35-foot red spruce tree. This year it came from Virginia. The public can visit the tree starting on Saturday. And while this event had the Beach Boys performing, the White House actually kicked off its holiday season earlier this week with the annual Christmas decorations. And here for a look at the White House Christmas's present and past is White House expert Jennifer Pickens. She's also the author of Entertaining at the White House. What a great thing and a beautiful backdrop you have there. So let's talk about these traditions. First and foremost, how did the First Lady add her own personal touch? Well, I love Mrs. Trump's theme this year, home is where the heart is. And I think she just did a magnificent job of really honoring all of the First Lady's traditions in the past, yet making them her own. So the tree in the White House this year, the official White House Christmas tree is in the Blue Room. It's an 18-and-a-half-foot fir from Michigan. It is absolutely stunning, and it is honoring our Gold Star families. And one of the things that I love that she included is representing all of the states and territories within the United States in this particular tree. And that is dating back to First Lady Patricia Nixon's time. She had these wonderful balls made that were made by Saks Fifth Avenue that had all the gemstones and the flowers. There you can see First Lady Hillary Clinton's first pet, Saks, who on that wonderful tree skirt that was also in the Blue Room, represented all the states and territories. And so I think it's great that she made them her own designs, but we're still honoring that tradition of the past of representing the entire United States in that tree. Yeah, that's quite a story about the Blue Room. Let's also talk about the book that you wrote in terms of entertaining at the White House. What are some of your favorite White House decorations? Oh, there are so many, it would be too hard to choose, but I will say when you talk to people that attended for decades these wonderful Christmas parties, I often will think of my memories of Executive White House Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. He worked at the White House beginning with the Carter administration all the way through first term Laura Bush's administration. And he said 1988, the last Christmas of the Reagans, was hands down the greatest. He said the first time he walked through this historic state floor, he actually got a chill. He felt like he was in a cold winter wonderland, and you can see there that was their wonderful gingerbread house from First Dog Rex and their magnificent tree in the Blue Room. And they had always a traditional Christmas decor, but it was beautiful with lots of flock trees. And I've read lots of notes where they'd always tell Mrs. Reagan they could only have so many trees in the White House. She wanted to put more and more every year, and they were just breathtaking. Other favorites, of course, would be 2001, First Lady Laura Bush. And the first families actually have to select their Christmas theme pretty early each year. And that time they actually selected home for the holidays shortly after their inauguration. And of course it couldn't have been more poignant after the tragic events of 9-11 with so many people missing their loved ones at home. But they were honoring former presidents' homes, like you see there with Mount Vernon, the original look of the White House before the Truman Balcony was added on. And then, of course, another favorite would be a little bit later when they had the Barney Cam designed that was so cute in 2002. The White House was still under strict rules about how many visitors could come through following the events of 9-11. So she designed this wonderful Barney Cam, where a little camera would go on Barney right there, and he would scurry through the White House, and you could see all the decor that way. And it was great, because people all over the world were getting to see the decorations like you're so kind to be showing them today. Oh, I think that's a great idea. They should continue that tradition. That is so fun. How do you even pick a special room? It's just all of them are amazing. Thank you so much, Jennifer Pickens. Great to see you. Happy holidays. Thank you for having me. Thank you.

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.

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

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

EU agrees deal to ban Russian gas by end of 2027

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.

Trump pardons Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife

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.

Watchdog found Hegseth jeopardized sensitive military information

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.

Never-before-seen images of Jeffrey Epstein's island released

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.

U.S. envoys Kushner, Witkoff leave Kremlin without Ukraine deal

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.

Trump targets Somali immigrants amid reports of Minneapolis raids

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."

Hegseth says he didn't see survivors before second strike on boat

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

Tennessee

Trump’s pick Van Epps wins special election in deep-red Tennessee

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.

Trump threatens to expand strikes beyond Venezuela

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.

Putin says Russia is 'ready' if Europe wants war

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.

Putin meets Trump envoys Witkoff, Kushner for Ukraine peace talks

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.

Hegseth defends boat strikes near Venezuela during Cabinet meeting

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

Severe storms batter Southeast Asia, displacing millions

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

Asfura, Nasralla in tight battle for Honduras presidency

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

Airbus to inspect hundreds of A320s for defective panels

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

Damascus

Syria demands Israel withdraw amid escalating cross-border incursions

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.

U.S. authorization of second strike of Venezuelan ship questioned

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