Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ Dec. 29 The Washington Post on Trump’s China policy, deal with Taiwan The Trump administration’s approval of an $11.1 billion arms sale will help Taiwan gear up for, and therefore deter, a potential Chinese attack. It’s an overdo correction after months of policy changes […]
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Rescue crews responding during high winds to a report of an injured hiker who fell down a slope near a Southern California mountain trail found the man and two of his companions dead, authorities said. The three bodies were discovered Monday evening along the Devil’s Backbone Trail at Mount Baldy, […]
BOSTON (AP) — Environmental journalist Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, has died. She was 35. Schlossberg, the daughter of Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, and Edwin Schlossberg, revealed that she had terminal cancer in a November 2025 essay in The New Yorker. Her family issued a statement disclosing her death, […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A newly unsealed order in the criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia reveals that high-level Justice Department officials pushed for his indictment, calling it a “top priority,” only after he was mistakenly deported and then ordered returned to the U.S. Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty in federal court in Tennessee […]
ATLANTA (AP) — A group of Buddhist monks is persevering in their walking trek across much of the U.S. to promote peace, even after two of its members were injured when a truck hit their escort vehicle. After starting their walk in Fort Worth, Texas, on Oct. 26, the group of about two dozen monks […]
DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — New England Patriots star wide receiver Stefon Diggs is facing strangulation and other criminal charges in connection with an incident that happened earlier this month, police said. News of the charges emerged after a court hearing Tuesday in Dedham, Massachusetts. It is unclear what led to the charges, which include felony […]
TRENTON, Ky. (AP) — A derailed CSX train leaked a flammable chemical and sparked a fire in a rural part of southern Kentucky on Tuesday, prompting authorities to issue a shelter-in-place order that was later lifted for nearby residents. No injuries were reported after 31 rail cars derailed at about 6:15 a.m. CST in Todd […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The standard mileage rate for the business use of a car, truck, van or other vehicle will increase by 2.5 cents in 2026. The IRS announced Monday that beginning Jan. 1, the standard mileage rate for a qualifying vehicle will be 72.5 cents per mile, up 2.5 cents from 2025. The rate […]
Starting Thursday, Americans in five states who get government help paying for groceries will see new restrictions on soda, candy and other foods they can buy with those benefits. Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah and West Virginia are the first of at least 18 states to enact waivers prohibiting the purchase of certain foods through the […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. imposed sanctions on 10 people and firms from Iran and Venezuela over allegedly contributing to Iran’s drone trade and ballistics program which the Trump administration says threatens the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East. The Treasury Department said the latest measures are intended to support the reimposed United […]
NEW YORK (AP) — The White House cannot lapse in its funding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal district court judge ruled on Tuesday, only days before funds at the bureau would have likely run out and the consumer finance agency would have no money to pay its employees. Judge Amy Berman ruled […]
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A surge of federal officers in Minnesota follows new allegations of fraud by day care centers run by Somali residents. President Donald Trump has previously linked his administration’s immigration crackdown against Minnesota’s large Somali community to a series of fraud cases involving government programs in which most of the defendants have roots […]
DETROIT (AP) — Meta is buying artificial intelligence startup Manus, as the owner of Facebook and Instagram continues an aggressive push to amp-up AI offerings across its platforms. The California tech giant declined to disclose financial details of the acquisition. But The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta closed the deal at more than $2 […]
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A judge has ordered a new trial for an Alabama woman who was sentenced to 18 years in prison following a stillbirth that her attorneys argued was caused by an infection rather than drug use. Lee County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Tickal vacated Brooke Shoemaker’s 2020 conviction for chemical endangerment of a […]
More artists have canceled scheduled performances at the Kennedy Center following the addition of President Donald Trump’s name to the facility, with jazz supergroup The Cookers pulling out of a planned New Year’s Eve concert, and the institution’s president saying the cancellations belie the artists’ unwillingness to see their music as crossing lines of political […]
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Greg Abel faces the challenge of taking over Berkshire Hathaway from the legendary Warren Buffettthis week. Many regard Buffett as the world’s greatest investor after he grew Berkshire from a struggling New England textile mill that he starting buying up for $7.60 a share in 1962, to the massive conglomerate it […]
NEW YORK (AP) — They’re ready to embark on 2026. Three more dog breeds joined the American Kennel Club’s roster of recognized breeds on Tuesday, making them eligible for many U.S. dog shows and likely increasing their visibility to the pet-loving public. One of the newcomers is a terrier named for a U.S. president. Another […]
DENVER (AP) — There was an eight-year gap between the time young gymnasts and their parents started sounding warnings about a coach in 2017 and when he was arrested earlier this year on federal child pornography charges. It took the U.S. Center for SafeSport — the agency formed by Congress to combat this type of […]
If history is a guide, Republicans stand a good chance of losing control of the House of Representatives in 2026. They have just a slim majority in the chamber, and the incumbent party usually gives up seats in midterm elections. President Donald Trump, whose loss of the House halfway through his first term led to […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the whirlwind first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, some of the most polarizing changes have taken place within the Department of Health and Human Services, where Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has openly rebuffed the medical establishment as he converts the ideas of his Make America Healthy Again movement into […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday said his country’s answer to an attack would be harsh, which appeared to be in response to a warning by U.S. President Donald Trump over reconstruction of Iran’s nuclear program. “Answer of Islamic Republic of Iran to any cruel aggression will be harsh and discouraging,” […]
Tourists celebrating the new year in Hawaii could become the first to be taxed to address the consequences of climate change. In Utah, people who party too heartily — and get caught driving drunk — could be among the first to have their driver’s licenses striped red with the label: “No Alcohol Sale.” And motorists […]
A wild winter storm was expected to bring strong winds, heavy snow and frigid temperatures to the Great Lakes and Northeast on Tuesday, a day after a bomb cyclone barreled across the northern U.S. and left tens thousands of customers without power. The storm that hit parts of the Plains and Great Lakes on Monday […]
HONG KONG (AP) — China’s People’s Liberation Army staged a second day of large-scale military drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, unleashing a live-fire show of force as part of what it called “Justice Mission 2025” to demonstrate its ability to deter any external armed support for the self-ruled island that it has long insisted is […]
