THANK YOU to PD, KL, and DY, whose contributions yesterday, totaling $120, bring our year-end fundraiser total to $2,093.84!
We’re $656.66 short of our goal — once we reach $2750.50, supporter GL will “match funds” to get us to the finish line. Please support the freedom movemement’s daily newspaper at:
Sometimes our supporters include notes with their donations. I’d like to share KL’s:
“I hope this extra gift brings you some Christmas cheer and the knowledge that your fine work is highly valued by those of us who love freedom and honest intelligent journalism.”
It does! And I’d like to note the “extra” in that note. Several of you have gone an extra mile to get us to our goal, and we appreciate that more than it’s possible to express.
We’re reader-supported, and you’re a reader. If you’ve never supported us to the tune of even a buck or so, please do so now instead of letting long-time supporters carry your weight with those “extra gifts.”
“Families, lawyers and supporters of the detained pro-Palestinian activists who are on hunger strike in Britain issue an urgent plea to the government, warning that their loved ones face life-threatening danger. Eight people have joined the hunger strike, some from its start in early November, and lawyers say the health of the six who are still striking, aged 20-31, is deteriorating and that death is likely unless the government intervenes. One of the six is on partial hunger strike due to diabetes-related health concerns. … Palestine Action was banned in July, putting it on a par with Islamic State or al-Qaeda and making it a crime to be a member, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.” (12/18/25)
“Peter Arnett, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter whose international war journalism brought him widespread renown from the Vietnam era through the Gulf wars, died December 17 of prostate cancer in Newport Beach, CA. He was 91. … Born on November 13, 1934, in Riverton, New Zealand, Arnett rose to prominence for his work as a wire-service correspondent in Vietnam from 1962 until the war’s end in 1975. He won the 1966 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for his war coverage for The Associated Press. Arnett remained with the AP until 1981, when he signed on with the fledgling CNN. Later in his career, Arnett would re-emerge as a leading journalistic voice for his 1991 reports on the Gulf War for CNN. He and his team were among the last foreign reporters broadcasting from Baghdad after Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein forced out most international journalists.” (12/18/25)
“The Senate on Wednesday confirmed billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to be NASA administrator on Wednesday, placing him atop the agency after a monthslong saga where President Donald Trump revoked his nomination as part of a feud with tech billionaire Elon Musk. Isaacman, who has promised to bring a business-minded approach to the space agency, was confirmed in a bipartisan vote, 67-30. He will take over after an unusual confirmation process upended by the Republican president’s oscillating and at times tumultuous relationship with prominent tech leaders who backed his campaign, most notably Musk, the Tesla CEO who is a close ally of Isaacman. Trump picked Isaacman last year but withdrew the nomination in May after feuding with Musk over the administration’s policies on issues such as electric vehicles and the performance of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.” (12/17/25)
“President Donald Trump’s handpicked board voted on Thursday to rename Washington’s leading performing arts center as the Trump-Kennedy Center, the White House said. … Trump showed scant interest in the Kennedy Center during his first term as president, but since returning to office in January he has replaced board members appointed by Democratic presidents with some of his most ardent supporters, who then elected him as board chairman. He also has criticized the center’s programming and its physical appearance and has vowed to overhaul both.” (12/18/25)
“Thailand on Thursday carried out more airstrikes on Cambodia, claiming its jet fighters struck a warehouse where the Cambodian army had stored rockets that have been deployed to deadly effect in combat that began last week. The two nations have been fighting over patches of territory along the border that both claim. Several disputed areas contain the remains of centuries-old temples that have been damaged by the fighting, with Thailand claiming Cambodian forces had used them as bases. The latest round of widespread fighting began on Dec. 8, a day after a border skirmish wounded two Thai soldiers. Since then combat has broken out on several fronts, with Thailand carrying out airstrikes in Cambodia with F-16 fighter jets and Cambodia firing thousands of medium-range BM-21 rockets from truck-mounted launchers that can shoot up to 40 at a time.” (12/18/25)
“Trump administration health officials announced Thursday that the federal government will block transgender care to children by targeting hospitals and doctors that provide it. New proposed rules would prohibit hospitals from participating in Medicare and Medicaid if they provide care such as puberty blockers and surgeries for transgender minors, and would prevent federal coverage of such treatments. … It’s the latest in a string of actions by President Donald Trump’s administration that target transgender people, including eliminating mention of trans people on federal websites, halting data collection on health issues, removing trans people from the military and suing states that allow trans athletes to play on high school sports teams.” (12/18/25)
“Israel launched several strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon on Thursday, Lebanese state media reported, as the Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure including a military compound. The attacks come as the committee monitoring the ceasefire, in effect since November 2024, which includes the United States, France and the UN in addition to Lebanon and Israel, is set to meet on Friday. … The Israeli military said it targeted ‘terror infrastructure sites in multiple areas across Lebanon’ including ‘a military compound used by Hezbollah to conduct training and courses’ for the Iran-backed group’s members.” (12/18/25)
“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)
“Luigi Mangione’s pretrial hearing wrapped up Thursday with a judge saying he plans to rule in May on what evidence prosecutors will be able to use in his New York trial for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Prosecutors rested their case after calling nearly 20 witnesses over three weeks, many of them police officers involved in Mangione’s December 2024 arrest in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Mangione’s lawyers opted not to call any witnesses. … Mangione, 27, is seeking to exclude items including a gun and notebook found in his backpack that prosecutors say tie him to Thompson’s Dec. 4, 2024, shooting in Manhattan. … Mangione’s lawyers contend that anything found in Mangione’s backpack should be excluded from his trial because police didn’t have a search warrant and lacked the grounds to justify a warrantless search.” (12/18/25)
