“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)
“The Federal Reserve is one of the most powerful, secretive, and unaccountable institutions in U.S. history. Its insulation from oversight, combined with its massive coffers and strong statutory authorities, makes it a uniquely troubling institution. To give you an idea of just how powerful the Fed is, in 2018, Forbes ranked Jerome Powell, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, as the 11th most powerful person in the world, ahead of the prime ministers of France and the United Kingdom. Earnest oversight is long overdue. Current law prohibits the Government Accountability Office from auditing the Fed’s vast monetary policy functions, and the Fed’s Inspector General serves at the pleasure of the Fed Board of Governors, the very institution it’s supposed to hold accountable. This summer, I began investigating the Fed.” (12/17/25)
“Many Americans feel buffeted by a cycle of tit-for-tat political rhetoric, whipsaw policymaking, and norms breaking. A recent poll found that 82% of voters believe the way people talk about politics contributes to violence. Only one-third say it is possible to lower the temperature on political rhetoric. Yet, in recent weeks, more voices are calling for civic civility. They are based on a mix of political principles as well as moral and religious values. On Dec. 9, for example, two governors – a Democrat and a Republican – clasped hands after modeling respectful political dialogue at the National Cathedral in Washington. Democrat Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Republican Spencer Cox of Utah both often share how their faith traditions imbue their public service. Speaking to The Washington Post, Mr. Cox noted, ‘Bridge-building is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It takes … strong faith and strong courage’.” (12/16/25)
“Do you know what a ‘neopronoun’ or a ‘xeopronoun’ is? The teachers’ unions want to make sure your little kids do. Earlier this month, the National Education Association held an ‘Advancing LGBTQ+ Justice’ event. Documents obtained by the education watchdog group Defending Education (full disclosure: I am on the group’s board) contained slides illustrating these neo- and xeopronouns. Neopronouns are ‘new’ ‘pronouns’ such as ‘xe/xem/xyr’, and other letters randomly shoved together. Xeopronouns are for ‘conceptual identities’ such as ‘cat/cats/catself’. Got it? No? But our kids are being force-fed this garbage in America’s public schools.” (12/16/25)
“The Senate gave final passage Wednesday to an annual military policy bill that will authorize $901 billion in defense programs while pressuring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide lawmakers with video of strikes on alleged drug boats in international water near Venezuela. The annual National Defense [sic[ Authorization Act, which raises troop pay by 3.8%, gained bipartisan backing as it moved through Congress. It passed the Senate on a 77-20 vote before lawmakers planned to leave Washington for a holiday break. Two Republicans — Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee — and 18 Democrats voted against the bill. The White House has indicated that it is in line with President Donald Trump’s national security priorities. However, the legislation, which ran over 3,000 pages, revealed some points of friction between Congress and the Pentagon as the Trump administration reorients its focus away from security in Europe and toward Central and South America.” (12/17/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Looks like some kind of memo went out or something, because pro-Israel outlets and individuals are all loudly amplifying one specific talking point about the Bondi Beach shooting. Here are some examples: ‘Bondi Beach Is What ‘Globalize the Intifada’ Looks Like’ ~ Bret Stephens, New York Times; ‘The Intifada Comes to Bondi Beach’ ~ David Frum, The Atlantic; ‘The Intifada Comes to Australia’ ~ Walter Russell Mead, Wall Street Journal; ‘Shooting at Bondi Beach is what a globalized intifada looks like’ ~ Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post; ‘The Intifada Comes to Australia’ ~ Ayaan Hirsi Ali, The Free Press; ‘Welcome to the global intifada’ ~ David Harsanyi, Washington Examiner; ‘Palestinian propaganda has globalized the intifada’ ~ Zachary Faria, Washington Examiner; ‘Bondi Beach massacre is what globalizing the intifada looks like’ ~ Vivian Bercovici, National Post; ‘Chanting ‘globalise the intifada’ leads to Bondi Beach’ ~ Danny Cohen, The Telegraph…” (12/17/25)
“One of the most widely known risks linked to the COVID-19 vaccine is myocarditis, especially in young males — and now a new Stanford study has shed some light on why this rare effect can occur. Myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart, occurs in about one in 140,000 people who receive the first dose of the vaccine and one in 32,000 after the second dose, according to a Stanford press release. Among males 30 and younger, that rises to one in 16,750. Symptoms of the condition include chest pain, shortness of breath, fever and palpitations, which can occur just one to three days after vaccination. Another marker is heightened levels of cardiac troponin, which indicates that the heart muscle has been damaged..” (12/17/25)
“The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy, or NSS, creates a basis for a more chaotic and violent American empire. Already coming under heavy criticism, with Foreign Policy in Focus publishing warnings about its implications for global development and grand strategy, the strategy remains perhaps most dangerous for its imperious dictates to the world. Behind platitudes of peace and prosperity, it provides a crude imperial logic for violence and aggression, even gesturing at a need for military interventions. ‘For a country whose interests are as numerous and diverse as ours, rigid adherence to non-interventionism is not possible’, the strategy notes. The Trump administration tries to distinguish itself from previous administrations by criticizing foreign policy elites for seeking ‘permanent American domination of the entire world’, but it displays similar ambitions, even if framing them differently.” (12/17/25)
“A former manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue in Boston was sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing and selling body parts ‘as if they were baubles’. Authorities said Cedric Lodge was at the center of a ghoulish scheme in which he shipped brains, skin, hands and faces to buyers in Pennsylvania and elsewhere after cadavers donated to Harvard were no longer needed for research. His wife, Denise Lodge, was sentenced to just over a year in prison for assisting him. … In one example, Cedric Lodge provided skin to a buyer so it could be tanned into leather and bound into a book, ‘a deeply horrifying reality’, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan Martin said in a court filing. ‘In another, Cedric and Denise Lodge sold a man’s face — perhaps to be kept on a shelf, perhaps to be used for something even more disturbing,’ Martin said.” (12/17/25)
“A Georgia homeowner has been charged in the shooting of two teens suspected of stealing packages from his porch last week. Rakim Bradford is facing two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in the shooting of the teen boys, ages 15 and 16. The shooting happened just before 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 11 outside an Atlanta townhome. ‘Our investigation has determined that we believe a property crime was occurring — that some packages were being taken off of a front porch, which is not uncommon this time of year — and the homeowner did discharge his weapon to stop that,’ Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at the time. Responding officers found a 15-year-old with a gunshot wound to his right foot. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment.” (12/17/25)
