“NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope got a rare look at the aftermath of two cosmic collisions — and helped scientists solve a decades-old mystery. Many years ago, scientists saw a dense, bright spot near a young star called Fomalhaut. They thought it could be a planet and continued to track it. But in 2023, Hubble’s pictures revealed something strange. The bright spot had vanished — and a new one had appeared — a sign that it wasn’t a planet after all. Scientists had stumbled on the dusty debris from two cosmic crashes. Massive space rocks slammed together to create clouds of dust that were thick enough to masquerade as planets. Over time, the remains spread out and eventually disappeared altogether. Scientists think the space rocks involved in the collision were at least 37 miles (60 kilometers) wide. It’s rare to capture such clashes on camera, especially since theories suggest they only happen in the same vicinity about once every 100,000 years.” (12/18/25)
“The Chinese government on Thursday condemned the Trump administration’s announcement of a proposed $11 billion weapons package for Taiwan, a move that Beijing said violates both the ‘One China principle’ and an agreement in which the US pledged to reduce arms sales to Taipei. The US State Department said the record $11.154 billion package contains a broad range of weaponry and other military equipment, including Lockheed Martin High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Lockheed Martin Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) long-range missiles, BAE Systems M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, drones and tactical software, Javelin and TOW missiles, and M2A1 machine guns and other armaments.” (12/18/25)
“On December 15, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled ‘Designating Fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction’. The order declares that ‘Illicit fentanyl is closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic. Two milligrams, an almost undetectable trace amount equivalent to 10 to 15 grains of table salt, constitutes a lethal dose’. If it was not already clear and despite many think pieces and obituaries to it, the US government continues its failed War on Drugs. This designation of fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction has been nearly a decade in the making across multiple presidential administrations and with bipartisan support and media complicity. The people of the US have been groomed for this moment since 2015.” (12/18/25)
“The ‘top levels of government’ were involved in bringing charges against a Wisconsin judge who helped a Mexican immigrant evade federal authorities, her defense attorney told jurors during closing arguments at her trial Thursday, attempting to blunt arguments from prosecutors that the judge acted inappropriately. Prosecutors argued that Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan put her personal beliefs above the law. ‘You don’t have to agree with immigration enforcement policy to see this was wrong,’ Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Brown Watzka told the jury in closing arguments. ‘You just have to agree the law applies equally to everyone.’ The case was expected to go to the jury late Thursday after a four-day trial. The highly unusual charges against a sitting judge are an extraordinary consequence of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Dugan’s supporters say Trump is looking to make an example of her to blunt judicial opposition to immigration arrests.” (12/18/25)
“Blockading Venezuela’s oil shipments finally gives teeth to a sanctions regime that dictator Nicolas Maduro has only scoffed at, offering real hope for a peaceful transition of power. The criminal gang ruling from Caracas has operated under a variety of sanctions for two decades, yet the Chavez-Maduro regime is still firmly in control. Targeted and political sanctions — mostly aimed at high-ranking individuals — did little to moderate political repression, subversion of neighboring nations or plotting with the gangs that rule Cuba and Iran. In the Biden years, Washington pursued a feckless policy of sanctions relief, allowing Caracas to trade oil and gold. But hopes that Venezuela would rejoin the international order as a respectable partner were dashed in 2024 when Maduro declared himself the victor of (yet another) openly corrupt presidential election.” (12/17/25)
“A former anaesthetist has been jailed for life for intentionally poisoning 30 patients, 12 of them fatally. Frédéric Péchier, 53, was convicted Friday at the end of a four-month trial in the eastern city of Besançon. In one of France’s biggest ever medical malpractice cases, Péchier was found to have introduced chemicals like potassium chloride or adrenaline into the infusion bags of patients.” (12/18/25)
Source: Association of Mature American Citizens
by Shane Harris
“Discriminatory ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ (DEI) policies have been enshrined in virtually every major American institution for more than a decade now. While conservatives have made some laudatory progress in turning the cultural tide against DEI, the fallout on the American economy and, even more devastatingly, the American family, is only just beginning. This week, Compact Magazine published what may be the most important long-form essay of the year. ‘The Lost Generation’, authored by aspiring screenwriter and odd-jobs aficionado Jacob Savage, describes in specific, heartbreaking detail the economic carnage that DEI has wrought on young men, and young white men in particular. Savage provides staggering statistics on the race and gender-based overhaul of hiring practices in journalism and academia to highlight how DEI has fundamentally transformed the American workplace.” (12/17/25)
“On Monday, Maui County Council passed historic legislation that aims to phase out over 6,200 transient vacation rentals, or TVRs, in West and South Maui. Introduced in May 2024 by Mayor Richard Bissen, Bill 9 aims to increase the availability of long-term housing for local families amid a housing crisis that was exacerbated by the Lahaina wildfire, which destroyed more than 2,200 structures and displaced over 12,000 people. Units in West Maui will need to be phased out by Jan. 1, 2029, with those in South Maui by Jan. 1, 2031. The units are part of the Minatoya List, which consists of transient vacation rentals located in apartment-zoned areas. These properties were built before 1989 and are grandfathered in under a permit exemption. Generally, TVRs are only permitted to operate in hotel-zoned areas. Bissen signed the bill into law Monday afternoon.” (12/18/25)
Source: The American Prospect
by Suzanne Gordon & Russell Lemle
“In late November, a mental health leader at a major VA medical center learned about a directive issued to the 18 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) regional offices, known as VISNs (Veterans Integrated Service Networks). Department of Veterans Affairs’ leaders in Washington were imposing lower caps on employee positions nationwide. Directors of local VA medical centers and clinics had a month to decide which vacant positions to eliminate, and which job offers to rescind. None of these identified positions would be filled because they would be swept from organizational charts entirely. At his facility, 60 percent of the unfilled positions would be lost, including 23 in mental health. ‘The past nine months have been very challenging,’ the mental health leader told the Prospect. ‘But this is really going to impact patient care.’ He also worried about the effect of cuts on the VA’s critical teaching mission.” (12/18/25)
“TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with Todd Wolfson, President of the American Association of University Professors, Associate Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University, and co-director of the Media, Inequality and Change Center; and Chenjerai Kumanyika, Assistant Professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, AAUP Council Member, and Peabody-award winning host of ‘Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD’.” (12/16/25)
