President-elect Donald Trump has blamed California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) for the state's devastating fires, stating that if he had signed a key declaration, more water would flow into areas affected by the flames.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday that the company is ending its third-party fact-checking initiative, replacing it with a user-driven “Community Notes” model. The decision comes after years of criticism over the program’s alleged suppression of conservative voices and promotion of left-leaning agendas.
President-elect Donald Trump filed an emergency request with the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to halt a sentencing hearing in New York, arguing it would disrupt the presidential transition and harm national security. Trump’s defense team contends the sentencing, scheduled for Friday, undermines the institution of the presidency just days before his January 20 inauguration.
Intelligence sources from the U.S. and Israel estimate that only about 20 of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023, remain alive. This figure, shared during ongoing negotiations in Qatar, includes civilians and female Israeli soldiers but excludes male soldiers, whose inclusion might slightly increase the count.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed any notion of forgiving Russian President Vladimir Putin during a podcast interview with Lex Fridman, citing atrocities committed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyy labeled Putin a child murderer and rejected the possibility of a peace deal involving forgiveness.
Donald Trump Jr. revealed in an interview with Newsmax that many Greenlanders support a stronger alliance with the United States, citing dissatisfaction with Denmark's governance. Trump Jr. recently visited the Arctic territory with conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, describing a warm reception from locals who expressed frustration with their treatment by Denmark.
Elon Musk’s recent comments targeting U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other British officials have raised concerns about potential strains in U.S.-U.K. relations. Musk, a billionaire tech mogul and close adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, accused Starmer of complicity in mishandling decades-old child grooming gang scandals during his tenure as the U.K.’s director of public prosecutions.
In a controversial move during its final weeks, the Biden administration’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule Tuesday that will prevent medical debt from appearing on credit reports. The regulation, estimated to impact 15 million Americans and $49 billion in medical debt, also bars creditors from using medical information in lending decisions.
Tensions between China and Taiwan escalated Friday as a Hong Kong-owned freighter allegedly severed a vital undersea communications cable near Taiwan. The incident, echoing earlier sabotage in the Baltic Sea, has heightened fears of a potential Chinese "quarantine" of Taiwan, aimed at isolating the island from the global community.
