“The Southern District of Texas announced the seizure of more than $50 million in NVIDIA GPUs bound for China in violation of US export laws. Authorities arrested two businessmen, one of them the owner of a Houston company, accused of smuggling the chips used to train and run AI models. … The smuggling operation used a combination of falsified paperwork, purposefully misclassified goods, straw purchasers and even removing the NVIDIA labels on GPUs to ship them to both mainland China and Hong Kong. The conspirators face between 10 and 20 years in prison if convicted.” (12/09/25)
“The Lithuanian government has declared a ‘nationwide emergency situation’ in response to a series of incursions from neighbouring Belarus by weather balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes. Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene condemned the balloon incursions as a ‘hybrid attack’ by Belarus that posed a real risk to national security and civil aviation. This year alone, officials say about 600 balloons linked to smuggling and almost 200 drones have entered Lithuanian airspace, leading to the repeated closure of Vilnius airport. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko denies being behind the incursions, alleging the issue has been ‘politicised’ by Lithuania, which is a member of both the EU and Nato.” (12/09/25)
“Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) sentenced a leader of the feared Sudanese Janjaweed militia to 20 years imprisonment Tuesday for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the catastrophic conflict in Darfur more than two decades ago. At a hearing last month, prosecutors sought a life sentence for Ali Muhammad Ali Abd–Al-Rahman who was was convicted in October of 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity that included ordering mass executions and bludgeoning two prisoners to death with an ax in 2003-2004.” (12/09/25)
“The Supreme Court won’t get involved in states’ regulation of vanity license plates, rejecting an appeal from a Tennessee woman challenging the rejection of her controversial ’69PWNDU’ personalized plate. The court on Dec. 8 declined to hear an appeal from Leah Gilliam, who argued that states’ rules for what is and isn’t allowed on personalized plates are often unclear and can amount to a ‘dizzying array of censorship.’ She wanted the court to find that she is expressing her own views through a vanity plate, not the government’s, a decision that would have limited states’ ability to control that message.” (12/09/25)
“Jimmy Kimmel isn’t going anywhere, despite his show’s recent suspension and antagonistic interactions as of late with President Donald Trump. The ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ host has signed a one-year extension with ABC, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to USA TODAY on Dec. 8. His late-night show will stay on the network through May 2027.” (12/09/25)
“A convenience store manager in Kenner locked a group of Border Patrol agents out as they approached the store on Saturday. In a cell phone video he took of the incident, the group appears to be with the [gang’s top shot-caller], Gregory Bovino. ‘You want some chicken? You ain’t getting it here, bro,’ Wayne Davis can be heard taunting the agents through the door. Davis is an assistant manager of the Brother’s convenience store in Kenner where the incident happened. He said he was helping a customer when he saw two unmarked SUVs speed into the parking lot and stop in front of the store. Agents came out wearing Border Patrol vests. … Davis locked the door from behind the counter as the agents approached. … ‘I’m not going to let them do what they think they can do,’ he said, ‘because they can’t.'” (12/09/25)
“Carmaker Stellantis is teaming up with Estonia-based ride-hailing platform Bolt to deploy driverless vehicles across Europe, with plans to begin on-road trials in 2026, the companies said on Tuesday. The collaboration will integrate Stellantis'[s] purpose-built autonomous vehicle platforms with Bolt’s ride-hailing network, which serves more than 200 million customers in over 50 countries, including 23 member states of the European Union. Deployment will be phased from prototypes and pilot fleets to progressive industrial scale-up, with an initial production target in 2029, the joint statement said.” (12/09/25)
“German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that the Trump administration’s new national security strategy underscores the need for Europe to become ‘much more independent’ from the United States in terms of security policy. Merz also pushed back against the notion that European democracy needs saving. The U.S. strategy, published Friday, paints European allies as weak, while offering tacit support to far-right political parties, and was critical of European free speech and migration policy. On Monday, European Council President António Costa warned the U.S. against interfering in Europe’s affairs and said only European citizens can decide which parties should govern them. Merz, the leader of the European Union’s most populous nation and its biggest economy, said he wasn’t surprised by the substance of the strategy as it was largely in line with a lecture U.S. Vice President JD Vance gave to European allies in Munich in February.” (12/09/25)
“Uber Technologies Inc. is introducing a way for some people to use the ride-hailing service without the company’s signature app. The rideshare giant plans to install physical kiosks at places like airports, starting with LaGuardia in New York, it said in a statement on Tuesday. These outposts, which were designed with travelers in mind, include a large touch screen with a credit card reader and receipt printer. The booking experience mirrors what consumers might be used to on the mobile app.
The first kiosk will be at LaGuardia’s Terminal C, with installations at hotels, ports and other international airports to follow over the coming months, the company said. The experience was intended for ‘international visitors arriving without a local data plan or anyone who prefers an in-person experience,’ it added.” (12/09/25)
