“Bitcoin price ripped higher above $90,000 on Wednesday, extending a sharp rally fueled by accelerating institutional demand and a new wave of Wall Street–engineered crypto products. The surge followed fresh disclosures showing BlackRock increasing its exposure to its own spot Bitcoin ETF, and JPMorgan pitching a complex, high-stakes structured note tied directly to BlackRock’s IBIT fund. Bitcoin price touched 24-hour lows of $86,129 before rebounding above $90,300, continuing a volatile upswing that has defined the fourth quarter.” (11/26/25)
“The Cour de Cassation, France’s highest court, upheld on Wednesday former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s conviction for illegal campaign financing, in his latest legal headache after recently being jailed for nearly a month in another case. Sarkozy, 70, had appealed against the 2024 conviction for illegal campaign financing over his failed 2012 re-election bid, in which he had been handed a one-year prison sentence. Six months of that sentence were suspended and could be served through alternative means such as wearing an electronic bracelet without going to jail. Sarkozy, a one-term president from 2007-2012, has faced a series of legal challenges since leaving office and was sent to jail last month in a separate case related to an earlier election campaign.” (11/26/25)
“International tourists visiting popular national parks in the US next year will be required to pay additional fees and raised rates on annual passes, the US Department of the Interior announced Tuesday. In a statement hailing a new ‘resident-focused fee structure that puts American families first,’ the department said as of January 1, 2026, the annual pass will cost non-US residents $250 to obtain, more than triple the standard $80 which US residents will continue to pay. Foreign tourists who don’t purchase the pass will pay a $100-per-person fee, in addition to the standard entrance fee, to enter 11 of the most visited national parks, including the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone and Yosemite, the statement said. … This announced price hike comes amid a decline in international tourism to the US, fueled by changes to tariff policies and crackdowns on immigration.” (12/26/25)
“The European Parliament called on Wednesday for the European Union to set minimum ages for children to access social media, to combat a rise in mental health problems among adolescents from excessive exposure. The call, which is not binding, comes as Australia is poised to institute the world’s first social media ban for children younger than 16 and as Denmark and Malaysia also plan bans. French President Emmanuel Macron has previously called for EU regulation to ban social media for children under 15, although it is not quite clear how the EU would carry this out, given it is up to individual EU members to impose age limits. Parliament’s resolution, backed by 483 votes to 92, with 86 abstentions, called for an EU-wide ban on access for children under 16 to online platforms, video-sharing sites and AI companions without parental consent and an outright ban for those younger than 13.” [editor’s note: It’s not about protecting kids, it’s about protecting themselves. They’re desperate to stop kids from finding out things / having ideas the political class would rather they didn’t know / think – TLK] (11/26/25)
“A U.S. official told CBS News on Tuesday that Ukraine’s government had ‘agreed to a peace deal’ brokered by the Trump administration to stop Russia’s nearly four-year assault. The American official and Ukraine’s national security adviser Rustem Umerov said a common understanding on a proposal had been reached, with details still to be worked out. Umerov voiced optimism that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could travel to the U.S. before the end of November to finalize an agreement. … The news came as U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was in Abu Dhabi to meet with Russian officials …. The president said he directed his envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and that Driscoll would meet with the Ukrainians. … There was no immediate reaction from Russia, the invading force, to what was agreed to in Abu Dhabi, and there were no details from U.S. or Ukrainian officials about what is in the latest proposal.” (11/26/25)
“A constitutional challenge against Australia’s social media ban on children younger than 16 has been filed in the nation’s highest court, two weeks before the world-first law is set to take effect. A campaign group called the Digital Freedom Project said on Wednesday it launched proceedings in the High Court of Australia in a bid to block the law, with two 15-year-olds, Noah Jones and Macy Neyland, as plaintiffs in the case. More than one million accounts held by teenagers under 16 are set to be deactivated in Australia when the ban on platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram starts on December 10. In a statement on Wednesday, the Digital Freedom Project said the ban ‘robs’ young Australians of their freedom of political communication, an implied right in the constitution.” (11/26/25)
“A historic shift in Bitcoin ownership unfolded during the latest market downturn, while the broader crypto market remained tied to uncertainty over a possible US Federal Reserve rate cut in December. Over 8% of the total Bitcoin supply changed hands in the past seven days, making the current market decline ‘one of the most significant onchain events’ in Bitcoin history, according to Joe Burnett, analyst and director of Bitcoin Strategy at Semler Scientific. During previous significant Bitcoin supply movements, Bitcoin traded at about $5,000 in March 2020 and around $3,500 in December 2018, said Burnett in a Tuesday X post. Both occasions marked a local bottom ahead of an accumulation phase that ultimately led to new all-time highs. Still, up to half of the current Bitcoin supply movement may be attributed to a Coinbase Wallet Migration announced on Saturday, added Burnett.” (11/25/25)
“Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered that right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro begin serving his prison sentence of 27 years and three months for plotting a coup after he lost the last election. Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Tuesday ruled that the case had reached its final judgement and that no further appeals were possible. Bolsonaro, 70, was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He will begin serving his sentence in a federal police jail cell in the capital, Brasilia, where he has been detained since Saturday after being deemed a flight risk and removed from home detention.” (11/25/25)
“A court in Poland was incorrect in a decision not to recognize a marriage between two Polish citizens in Germany, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Tuesday. The Polish court did not recognize the marriage as Polish law prohibits same-sex unions. ‘Refusing to recognize a marriage between two Union citizens, is contrary to EU law because it infringes [the] freedom and the right to respect for private and family life,’ the ECJ said. The courts were addressing the case of a Polish couple living in Berlin who married there in 2018 but upon moving to Poland had their application to register their marriage certificate denied ‘on the ground that Polish law does not allow marriage between persons of the same sex,’ the ECJ statement said.” (11/25/25)
“U.S. consumers were much less confident in the economy in November in the aftermath of the government shutdown, weak hiring and stubborn inflation. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index dropped to 88.7 in November from an upwardly revised October reading of 95.5, the lowest reading since April, when President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs that caused the stock market to plunge. The figures suggest that Americans are increasingly wary of high costs and sluggish job gains, with perceptions of the labor market worsening, the survey found.” (11/25/25)
