“The Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces on Monday ordered their fighters to cease fire following deadly clashes that came as Turkey’s top diplomat urged the Kurds to integrate into the Syrian army. At least three people were killed in the clashes, which came ahead of a deadline for implementing a 10 March agreement between Damascus and the Kurds to integrate the SDF — which controls vast swathes of Syria’s oil-rich northeast — into the state.” (12/22/25)
“Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced the $12 billion bailout package that will include one-time Farmer Bridge Payments to American farmers. The relief is a ‘response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs,’ according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) release. … But [Tryg] Koch and agriculture economists say the plan hardly represents a bailout and will have little impact on Montana farmers as they brace for potential losses in 2026. … Koch estimates the package will grant $30 per acre for row crop farmers who produce things like wheat, canola and pulses. ‘The $30 per acre will help, but it’s a far cry from what the actual losses are,’ Koch said. ‘We don’t need government bailouts – that doesn’t solve the problem and all it does is put a Band-Aid over it to keep up with inflation. We should be selling wheat for $8 or $9 per bushel.'” (12/22/25)
“Spotify says it has launched new protections against ‘anti-copyright attacks’ after the open-source library / pirate activist group Anna’s Archive announced it’s ripped 86 million songs from the platform that it plans to make available in torrents, as reported earlier by Billboard. According to the group, ‘We have archived around 86 million songs from Spotify, ordering by popularity descending. While this only represents 37 percent of songs, it represents around 99.6 percent of listens.’ The first torrent released says it contains metadata, such as album art, song title, and artist name, belonging to 99.9 percent of Spotify’s 256 million tracks. The group says it plans to make the 300TB worth of music files available at a later date.” (12/22/25)
“Japan[‘s regime] took the final step to allow the world’s largest nuclear power plant to resume operations with a regional vote on Monday, a watershed moment in the country’s return to nuclear energy nearly 15 years after the Fukushima disaster. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, located about 136 miles northwest of Tokyo, was among 54 reactors shut after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant in the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Since then, Japan has restarted 14 of the 33 that remain operable, as it tries to wean itself off imported fossil fuels. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa will be the first operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO,) which ran the doomed Fukushima plant.” (12/22/25)
“A federal judge on Monday questioned whether government officials could be trusted to follow orders barring them from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into immigration custody or deporting him. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis noted that Abrego Garcia was already deported without legal authority once and said she was ‘growing beyond impatient’ with government misrepresentations in her court. ‘Why should I give the respondents the benefit of the doubt?’ she asked, referring to the government attorneys. Abrego Garcia’s mistaken [sic] deportation and imprisonment in El Salvador in March has galvanized both sides of the immigration debate. The Trump administration initially fought efforts to bring him back to the U.S. but eventually complied after the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in. He returned to the U.S. in June, only to face an arrest warrant on human smuggling charges in Tennessee.” (12/22/25)
“The US Food and Drug Administration today approved a pill version of the blockbuster anti-obesity drug Wegovy. Made by Novo Nordisk, the pill is taken once a day. The company’s original version of Wegovy is a weekly injection. Both drugs contain the same active ingredient, semaglutide. ‘This allows patients with obesity who want to lose weight to have a choice between a once weekly injection or a daily tablet,’ says Martin Holst Lange, chief scientific officer at Novo Nordisk. With the soaring popularity of injectable GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, Novo Nordisk and other pharmaceutical companies have been racing to make effective pill versions that could be preferable for some patients. These drugs mimic a naturally occurring hormone in the body that acts on the brain and gut to promote a feeling of fullness.” (12/22/25)
“Jim Beam, one of the largest makers of American whiskey globally, is shutting down bourbon production at one of its Kentucky distilleries for a year. The move comes amid President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, which has contributed to a significant decline in U.S. liquor sales after the country ushered in a boycott of American booze, and as more young adults are cutting back on drinking. Jim Beam, owned by Suntory Global Spirits, is one of Kentucky’s biggest bourbon producers. … Industry group Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said that U.S. spirits exports plummeted 85 percent, falling below $10 million in the second quarter of 2025, which CEO Chris Swonger blamed on ‘persistent trade tensions.'” (12/22/25)
“The US is immediately pausing leases for offshore wind energy projects currently being built near the Atlantic coastline, citing security concerns. In a statement, the Department of the Interior said it was pausing five large-sale projects to look into how windmills could interfere with radar and create other risks to east coast cities. President Donald Trump has long opposed wind energy, saying it is unreliable and drives up costs, and attempted to stop all projects when he returned to office. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has said wind farms have no future in the US energy grid. Renewable energy companies, as well as state leaders, have expressed alarm over the administration’s stance.” (12/22/25)
“Denmark said Monday it would summon the U.S. ambassador after President Trump appointed a special envoy to Greenland, the Danish autonomous territory he has often expressed interest in obtaining. Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Mr. Trump has said the U.S. needs the resource-rich island for security reasons and has refused to rule out the use of force to secure it. On Sunday, Mr. Trump appointed Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland. … The vast majority of Greenland’s 57,000 people want to become independent from Denmark but don’t wish to become part of the U.S, according to a January opinion poll. Leaders of both Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly insisted that the huge Arctic island isn’t for sale and that it will decide its future itself.” (12/22/25)
“The highest-ranking Minnesotan in Congress is demanding accountability for anyone who was involved in or aware of the growing social services fraud scandal in the Gopher State. ‘I think as they start to peel this onion back, which just seems to be getting deeper and deeper and broader and broader, whoever was responsible needs to be held accountable,’ House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, the No. 3 House Republican, told Fox News Digital. It comes after U.S. attorneys suggested that Minnesota social services programs could have seen potentially billions of dollars’ worth of fraud and abuse since 2018.” (12/22/25)
