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Today: December 17, 2025
Today: December 17, 2025

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Trump expected to sign executive order reclassifying marijuana, easing restrictions on the drug

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Thursday that would reschedule marijuana to a lower drug classification — a move that would ease federal restrictions, though it would not mean full legalization, according to a source familiar with the planning and a senior White House official.The order would reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug, which the Drug Enforcement Administration defines as having “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” to a Schedule III drug, which the DEA defines as having “a moderate to low potential for physic
Trump expected to sign executive order reclassifying marijuana, easing restrictions on the drug
Americas|Economy|Political|World

Trump orders blockade of 'sanctioned oil tankers' into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on Maduro

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is ordering a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on the country’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country's economy. Trump's escalation comes after U.S. forces last week seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, an unusual move that followed a buildup of military forces in the region. In a post on social media Tuesday night announcing the blockade, Trump alleged Venezuela was using oil to fund drug traffi
Trump orders blockade of 'sanctioned oil tankers' into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on Maduro
Education|Political|World

Maryland to consider slavery reparations after Gov. Wes Moore's veto is overridden

Maryland will create a commission to study potential reparations for slavery after lawmakers voted Tuesday to override a veto by Gov. Wes Moore — currently the nation's only Black governor — that disappointed many fellow Democrats. Moore said in his veto letter in May that it was a difficult decision to veto the bill, which was a priority of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. But he wrote there has been enough study of the legacy of slavery, and it was now time to “focus on the work itself" to address it. But Democrats who control both chambers of the
Maryland to consider slavery reparations after Gov. Wes Moore's veto is overridden

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Arts|Crime|Entertainment|US

Billy Crystal, Albert Brooks and other close friends of Rob and Michele Reiner pay tribute

Some of Rob and Michele Reiner's closest friends, including actors Billy Crystal, Albert Brooks, Martin Short and Larry David, have released a statement mourning the couple and praising their love of film and country. “Absorbing all he had learned from his father Carl and his mentor Norman Lear, Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, he became a master story teller. There is no other director who has his range. From comedy to drama to ‘mockumentary’ to documentary he was always at the top of his game. He charmed audiences. They trusted him. They lined up to see his f
Billy Crystal, Albert Brooks and other close friends of Rob and Michele Reiner pay tribute
Europe|Political|US|World

Trump says Ukraine peace deal is ‘closer than ever’ after Berlin talks, but is it? Here are the key sticking points

The United States just wrapped up two days of talks with Ukrainian and European negotiators in Berlin, followed by more discussions among leaders in Europe – all of which ended with positive signals about a future peace agreement.The talks focused on security guarantees for Ukraine to deter potential Russian aggression in the future, the issue of which – despite the positive statements – remains a key sticking point in the negotiations with Moscow. The other major stumbling block is the future of Ukraine’s Donbas region, which Russia is demanding Kyiv cedes control of as a condition of
Economy|Finance|Stock Markets|US

Vance acknowledges Americans’ economic pain in speech that contrasts with Trump’s tone on affordability

Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday sought to rally gloomy Pennsylvania voters behind the Trump administration’s economic agenda, alleviate their cost-of living concerns — and accomplish it all more efficiently than President Donald Trump had done a week before.Returning to the swing state just days after Trump delivered a winding and digressive affordability speech, Vance credited the administration’s policies for driving job growth and new investments. He heaped blame on former President Joe Biden, whose administration he asserted sparked high costs that the GOP is now struggling to bri
Vance acknowledges Americans’ economic pain in speech that contrasts with Trump’s tone on affordability
Crime|Political|US|World

Hegseth says he won't publicly release video of boat strike that killed survivors in the Caribbean

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday the Pentagon will not publicly release unedited video of a U.S. military strike that killed two survivors of an initial attack on a boat allegedly carrying cocaine in the Caribbean, as questions mounted in Congress about the incident and the overall buildup of U.S. military forces near Venezuela. President Donald Trump further ramped up the pressure late Tuesday by announcing a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers into Venezuela, which has long relied on oil revenue as the lifeblood of its economy. Hegseth said members

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Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff, criticizes Bondi and opines on Trump in Vanity Fair

Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump’s understated but influential chief of staff, criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and offered an unvarnished take on her boss and those in his orbit in interviews published Tuesday in Vanity Fair that sent the West Wing into damage control. The startlingly candid remarks from Wiles, the first woman to ever hold her current post, included describing the president as someone with “an alcoholic’s personality,” and Vice President JD Vance as a calculating “conspiracy theorist.” The observatio
Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff, criticizes Bondi and opines on Trump in Vanity Fair
Africa|Economy|Political|World

South Africa briefly held US government personnel on refugee assignment amid fraught relationship

The South African government briefly held, then released, two US government employees on assignment in South Africa as part of the Trump administration’s bid to admit Afrikaners to the United States, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.The incident appeared to mark an escalation in the already-tenuous relationship between the United States and South Africa, which has rejected the premise of the Trump administration’s push to admit White South Africans as refugees. It also revealed some of the hiccups and hurdles US personnel have faced in the administration’s unprec
Environment|Europe|Science|Travel|World

A photographer finds thousands of dinosaur footprints near Italian Winter Olympic venue

A wildlife photographer stumbled upon one of the oldest and largest known collections of dinosaur footprints, dating back about 210 million years to the Triassic Period, high in an Italian national park near the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic venue of Bormio, officials announced Tuesday. The discovery in the Stelvio National Park was striking for the sheer number of footprints, estimated at as many as 20,000 over some five kilometers (three miles), and the location near the Swiss border, once a prehistoric coastal area, that has never previously yielded dinosaur tracks, exper
A photographer finds thousands of dinosaur footprints near Italian Winter Olympic venue
Business|Economy|Sports|Travel|World

Football fans slam "disgraceful" ticket prices for next year's World Cup

Organizers of the Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) Summer Olympics have promised that there will be affordable tickets for the Games that start in less than three years time.On Monday, LA28 announced fans would be able to register for tickets from January 14, 2026 and that at least one million would be priced at $28, according to Reuters.“Every sport starts at $28 and that’s not just lip service to a couple tickets in the corner of some venue, but a meaningful number of tickets,” said Allison Katz-Mayfield, LA28’s senior vice president of Games delivery revenue, per Reuters.“We’re looking a

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Arts|Business|Economy|Education|Entertainment|Environment|Lifestyle|Science|World

Gary from Zootopia 2 is a hit in China. Now young people are buying venomous pit vipers

Gary from Zootopia 2 is a hit in China. Now young people are buying venomous pit vipers
Business|Economy|Finance

The No. 1 cause of America’s affordability problem just got worse

The No. 1 cause of America’s affordability problem just got worse

Business|Economy|Finance|Stock Markets|Technology

Roomba maker iRobot files for bankruptcy protection; will be taken private under restructuring

Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process

Business|Economy|Finance|Political|Stock Markets|US|World

The US gained 64,000 jobs in November but lost 105,000 in October; unemployment rate at 4.6%

The US gained 64,000 jobs in November but lost 105,000 in October; unemployment rate at 4.6%
Business|Economy|Finance|Political|Stock Markets|US

Unemployment rate hit a four-year high last month

Unemployment rate hit a four-year high last month

Business|Health|Political

White House is considering reclassifying marijuana to ease restrictions on the drug

White House is considering reclassifying marijuana to ease restrictions on the drug

Economy|Political

Trump administration takes its economic message to Pennsylvania again as Vance heads to swing state

Trump administration takes its economic message to Pennsylvania again as Vance heads to swing state
Americas|Europe|Political|World

US officials say Washington has agreed to give Ukraine security guarantees in peace talks

U.S. officials say Washington has agreed to provide unspecified security guarantees to Ukraine as part of a peace deal to end Russia’s nearly four-year war, and more talks are likely this weekend

Asia|Crime|Political|World

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai found guilty in landmark national security trial, faces possible life sentence

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai found guilty in landmark national security trial, faces possible life sentence

Australia|Crime|Political|World

Australia's leaders promise to tighten gun laws after Bondi Beach massacre on Hanukkah

Australian leaders have promised to immediately overhaul already-tough gun control laws after a mass shooting targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach