Activists have erected a billboard near MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida, with a message to troops: “Obey Only Lawful Orders.” The base is home to the US Central Command and US Special Operations Command […] [Original post on journa.host]

Developers of an offshore wind project are asking a federal judge to block a Trump administration order that halted construction of their project, arguing the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is essential to meet dramatically growing energy needs for new data centers […]

Fourteen people injured in a stabbing spree at a tire factory in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, during which an unspecified liquid was also sprayed. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/26/japan/crime-legal/shizuoka-stabbing-attack/

The US has launched strikes on Islamic State targets in Nigeria, according to President Trump.

Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office announces 115 detained suspects allegedly were planning attacks across Turkey, particularly targeting non-Muslims. https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/turkiye-rounds-up-daesh-suspects-plotting-christmas-attacks

The atmospheric river storm that has unleashed heavy downpours across Southern California — with some areas seeing more than a half-foot — is continuing to drench the region on Christmas Day […]

In central Boden, Sweden, police say they’ve responded to a “serious incident.” https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/vrQn9w/just-nu-polisinsats-i-boden

The Kilauea volcano livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/QSqQAoblFKk?si=eVblhkI_u5cPiLFc

In his Urbi et Orbi address, the pope’s pleas for peace includes: Ukraine/Russia, Middle East, Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, DRC, Thailand/Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar), Haiti and Latin America […] [Original post on journa.host]

BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman returns to Bangladesh after 17 years in exile. https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/politics/news/tarique-rahman-returns-home-after-17-years-exile-4065896

Tarique Rahman returns home after 17 years in exile

A flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying them landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport via Sylhet in Dhaka around at 11:41am.

thedailystar.net

A car with a "Happy Chanukah" sign was set alight in Melbourne, Australia, on Christmas Day. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-25/happy-chanukah-car-firebombing-on-christmas-day-in-st-kilda-east/106178444

Authorities in Maryland say a man was shot after attempting to run over ICE agents. https://www.wbaltv.com/article/police-man-shot-attempt-run-over-ice-agents-glen-burnie/69859546

A federal judge has ruled the Trump administration’s stripping of an attorney’s security clearance for representing a whistleblower pivotal to the president’s first impeachment was a form of retribution and unconstitutional […]

A million more documents potentially related to the Epstein case have been located, according to the DoJ, which says lawyers are reviewing them to make legally required redactions to protect victims and it’ll release the files as “soon as possible.”

WaPo - ICE plans to speed up deportations by funneling new detainees to large-scale warehouses holding 5,000 to 10,000 people each, located in Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia and Missouri. Sixteen smaller warehouses would hold up to 1,500 people each […] [Original post on journa.host]

The White House has ordered US military forces to focus almost exclusively on enforcing the "quarantine" of Venezuela, an American official tells Reuters.

Reuters - US Coast Guard waiting for additional forces to arrive before potentially attempting to board and seize a Venezuela-linked oil tanker it's been pursuing since December 21 […]

Nieman Reports - The swift loss of US funding for global media since President Trump took office a year ago has devastated journalism in many countries where the independent press was already on precarious footing […]

Japanese scientists are to excavate a seabed at a depth of six kilometers, in a first of its kind experiment, to collect clay-like sediment rich in rare earths. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/24/japan/deep-sea-rare-earth-extraction/

French President Macron slams a decision by the US to impose visa bans on a former EU commissioner and other anti-disinformation campaigners. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/french-president-macron-slams-us-visa-ban-thierry-breton-others-2025-12-24/

Kyiv Independent - After weeks of talks, Ukraine and the US have prepared a draft of the revised peace plan to end Russia’s full-scale war. https://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-reveals-20-point-peace-plan-draft-backed-by-ukraine-us/

The self-proclaimed head of USAGM, Kari Lake, who this year destroyed nearly all of the Voice of America, tells the agency’s few remaining journalists the White House National Security Strategy will “guide our interview subjects, story selection, and coverage going forward.”

The top media trend that Axios believes will shape 2026 is the US ceding soft power. https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-media-trends-fb0b93a0-df6b-11f0-b114-d348c9f76ce4.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosmediatrends&stream=top

SCOTUS for now refuses to allow President Trump to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops in the Chicago area. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-supreme-court-national-guard-chicago/

Supreme Court says Trump can't deploy National Guard to Chicago for now

President Trump invoked a law called Title 10 to bring members of the Illinois National Guard under federal service over the objections of state and local leaders.

cbsnews.com

On social media, former US Senator Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican, reveals he’s been "diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.”

A 1972 Nobel Prize in Physics medal is up for auction. https://historical.ha.com/c/search/results.zx?dept=2541&session_desc=3818&mode=live&auction_name=31179&type=session%25%25=v(@Session_No)=%25%25-hist-open-31179-Prize-tem122325

The US economy grew at an annualized rate of a robust 4.3 per cent in the third quarter, according to official data released today. https://www.wsj.com/economy/us-gdp-q3-2025-2026-6cbd079e?st=oE8z6h&reflink=article_copyURL_share

Three days after releasing a large tranche of Jeffrey Epstein documents that contained few mentions of President Trump, the DoJ disclosed thousands more files that included wide-ranging references to the president […]

FCC, citing national security, bans new foreign-made drones from entering the US. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-416839A1.pdf

At least three people killed and 12 others injured overnight in a massive Russian missile and drone attack on multiple oblasts of Ukraine. https://kyivindependent.com/explosions-heard-as-russia-launches-missiles-drones-towards-western-cities-hundreds-of-kilometers-from-front-line/