“President Trump’s advisers are furious with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) for starting an anti-abortion group to spur new action on the issue, which the White House views as a loser for Republicans in next year’s midterms. ‘Clearly, Senator Hawley and his political team learned nothing from the 2022 elections, when the SCOTUS abortion ruling [overturning Roe v. Wade] resuscitated the Democrats in the midterms,’ a close Trump adviser told Axios. Trump’s lieutenants believe the move by Hawley — a vocal populist who speaks up for the working class — is part of a plan to position himself to challenge Vice President Vance for the presidency in 2028.” (12/15/25)
“Before the end of the year, the Trump administration is planning to eliminate up to 35,000 healthcare jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, a chronically understaffed agency that has already lost tens of thousands of employees to the White House’s sweeping assault on the federal workforce. The Washington Post reported over the weekend that the targeted positions (many of which are unfilled) include doctors, nurses, and support staff. A spokesperson for the VA, led by former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), described the jobs as ‘mostly Covid-era roles that are no longer necessary’. VA workers, veterans advocates, and a union representing hundreds of thousands of department employees disputed that characterization as the agency faces staff shortages across the country. ‘We are all doing the work of others to compensate,” one VA employee told the Post. ‘The idea that relief isn’t coming is really, really disappointing.'” (12/15/25)
“The Louvre Museum closed its doors to thousands of disappointed visitors on Monday as staff launched a strike to protest working conditions at the Paris landmark, two months after a shocking robbery. Workers are demanding extra staff and measures to tackle overcrowding, adding to the woes of the world’s most visited museum just as France is gearing up for the Christmas holidays. The strike comes nearly two months after the museum was victim of an embarrassing daylight heist that saw crown jewels worth $102 million stolen.” (12/15/25)
“Two former aides to President Donald Trump during the 2020 election are in a Wisconsin court for a preliminary hearing on felony forgery charges related to a fake elector scheme. The judge postponed a preliminary hearing for a third aide amid questions about what statements the man made to prosecutors could be admitted in court. The Wisconsin case is moving forward even as others in the battleground states of Michigan and Georgia have faltered. A special prosecutor last year dropped a federal case alleging Trump conspired to overturn the 2020 election. Another case in Nevada is still alive.” (12/15/25)
“Director-actor Rob Reiner and his wife have been found dead at their home in Los Angeles, according to United States media reports. The LA Police Department said in a statement on Sunday that they were investigating the deaths of two people in an apparent homicide. … A law enforcement official cited by The Associated Press news agency said on condition of anonymity that investigators believed the pair had suffered stab wounds and that a family member was being questioned in relation to the incident. … Reiner, who co-starred in the 1970s hit CBS television comedy All in the Family, directed several well-known movies, his filmography also including The Princess Bride and Stand by Me. Aside from his Hollywood career, the New York native, son of the late comedy writer and actor Carl Reiner, was well known for his political activism.” (12/15/25)
“Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday proposed tougher national [victim disarmament] laws after a mass shooting targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, leaving at least 15 people dead. Albanese said he would propose new restrictions, including limiting the number of guns a licensed owner can obtain. His proposals were announced after the authorities revealed that the older of the two gunmen — who were a father and son — had held a gun license for a decade and amassed his six guns legally. … At least 38 people were being treated in hospitals after the massacre on Sunday, when the two shooters fired indiscriminately on the beachfront festivities. Those killed included a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor. … The horror at Australia’s most popular beach was the deadliest shooting in almost three decades in a country with strict gun control laws primarily aimed at removing rapid-fire rifles from circulation.” (12/15/25)
“Thailand’s military said on Monday that it has stopped fuel shipments passing through a border checkpoint with Laos because of fears they were being diverted to Cambodia, with which it is fighting a fierce border conflict. The Thai and Cambodian militaries are clashing at multiple locations along their 817 km (508 mile) land border, both sides said, with no signs of the fighting abating despite international efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, including calls by U.S. President Donald Trump. … Over half a million people have been displaced by the fighting, which has killed at least 38 on both sides over the past eight days, according to national authorities, who mounted a round of evacuations in July when the neighbours clashed for five days before Trump helped broker a truce.” (12/15/25)
“The parent company of Roomba, which has sold millions of cleaning robots, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday after 35 years of operation. In a Sunday press release, Massachusetts-based robotics company iRobot said it had filed for bankruptcy protection in the District of Delaware court. The company said that it would be wholly acquired by its main manufacturer and lender, vacuum cleaner maker Shenzhen PICEA. … iRobot went through a failed acquisition attempt by Amazon. In 2022, Amazon announced that it would buy iRobot for $1.7 billion, but pulled the deal in January 2024, citing regulatory hurdles in the US and Europe.” (12/14/25)
“The High Court of Hong Kong has convicted pro-democracy activist and newspaper founder Jimmy Lai on three charges related to accusations that he undermined China’s national security, as part of a widely scrutinised trial. Lai now faces the possibility of a life sentence in prison. On Monday morning, a panel of three judges found Lai, 78, guilty of two counts of conspiring with foreign forces to threaten national security and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material.” (12/15/25)
“Chile has elected the far-right wing José Antonio Kast to be its next president, after an election campaign that was dominated by themes of security, immigration and crime. Kast beat the governing left-wing coalition candidate Jeanette Jara decisively with more than 58% of the vote in his third attempt at running for president. It marks the biggest shift to the right since the end of Chile’s military dictatorship in 1990. Kast has openly praised Chile’s former right-wing dictator, Augusto Pinochet.” (12/14/25)
