“President Trump said in a radio interview that the United States had knocked out ‘a big facility’ last week as part of his administration’s campaign against Venezuela, an apparent reference to an American attack on a drug trafficking site. American officials said that Mr. Trump was referring to a drug facility in Venezuela and that it was eliminated, but provided no details. Military officials said they had no information to share, and the Central Intelligence Agency declined to comment. The White House declined to comment. … If Mr. Trump’s suggestion that the United States had struck a site in the region proves accurate, it would be the first known attack on land since he began his military campaign against Venezuela.” (12/28/25)
“Myanmar’s dominant pro-military party claimed an overwhelming victory in the first phase of the country’s junta-run elections, a senior party official told AFP, after democracy watchdogs warned the poll would entrench military rule. The armed forces snatched power in a 2021 coup, but on Sunday opened voting in a phased month-long election they pledge will return power to the people. ‘We won 82 lower house seats in townships which have finished counting, out of the total of 102,’ a senior official of the Union Solidarity and Development Party told AFP. … At the last poll in 2020 the USDP was trounced by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), which was dissolved after the coup and did not appear on Sunday’s ballots. The Nobel laureate has been in detention since the putsch, which triggered a civil war.” (12/29/25)
“Federal prosecutors said Sunday the man accused of planting pipe bombs in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021, told investigators he felt compelled to ‘speak up’ for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen and said he targeted the two major political parties because they were in charge of the political system. Prosecutors detailed the allegations in a memo filed with the Justice Department, arguing that Brian J. Cole Jr., arrested earlier this month, should remain detained as the case moves forward. … Sunday’s memo provides the most detailed government account to date, including statements prosecutors say Cole made to investigators. It also cites evidence such as bomb-making materials recovered from his home after his arrest, which officials say link him to the crime.” (12/28/25)
“North Korea said Monday it fired long-range strategic cruise missiles into the sea to test the country’s nuclear deterrence, days after it showed apparent progress in the construction of its first nuclear-powered submarine. Sunday’s launches were the latest weapons display by North Korea ahead of its planned ruling Workers’ Party congress early next year. Keen outside attention on the congress, the first of its kind in five years, will be on whether North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will establish new priorities in relations with the U.S. and respond to Washington’s calls to resume long-dormant talks.” (12/28/25)
“Days ahead of trial, a federal judge has dismissed an indictment against a TikTok streamer shot by ICE earlier this year, citing constitutional violations by the government. In a Saturday order, U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin cited the deprivation of Carlitos Ricardo Parias’ access to counsel while held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention and the government’s failure to comply with discovery deadlines — including the timely release of body worn camera footage that captured the shooting. Federal authorities had accused Parias, a well-known TikTok streamer of local breaking news, of ramming his car into agents’ vehicles after they boxed him in and tried to [abduct] him during an immigration enforcement operation in South L.A. in October. An ICE officer opened fire, striking Parias in the arm and injuring a deputy U.S. marshal with a ricochet bullet.” (12/28/25)
“China is holding military drills around Taiwan simulating the seizure and blockade of the island’s key areas, as a warning against ‘separatist forces.’ The army, navy, air force and rocket force have been dispatched for the drills which include live-fire exercises, the Chinese military said. Codenamed ‘Justice Mission 2025,’ the drills are taking place days after the US announced the sale of one of its largest weapons packages to Taiwan worth $11bn (£8.2bn). That move drew sharp protest from Beijing which in turn sanctioned US defence firms. Taiwan’s push to ramp up its defence this year has also angered Beijing, which [pretends] the self-ruled island [is] its territory.” (12/29/25)
“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were ‘getting a lot closer, maybe very close’ to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while acknowledging that the fate of the Donbas region remains a key unresolved issue. The two leaders spoke at a joint news conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday afternoon. Both leaders reported progress on two of the most contentious issues in peace talks — security guarantees for Ukraine and the division of eastern Ukraine’s [former] Donbas region that Russia has sought to capture.” (12/29/25)
As of Friday, we were $296.66 short of making our year-end fundraiser goal.
Between then and now, P&KAW, PH, WW, T, and JR contributed a total of $396.66, bringing our total to $2850.50 — $100 more than the “halfway point” that triggers GL’s “matching funds” pledge to get us to our goal of $5,501.
THANK ALL OF YOU WHO SUPPORTED THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!!!
While I try not to single out any particular donor, I do want to “single out” two categories and congratulate one individual.
The first category is the few of you who supported our work financially for the first time ever. I’m glad you decided we’re worth it, and we’ll continue to try to meet that expectation.
The second is our long-time supporters, those of you who always come through — often multiple times per year — to get us through this single fundraiser every year. Without you, we’d never have made it through these last 23 years.
The individual is JR, who has supported us monthly for years, has sent us extra donations more than once throughout this fundraiser, and who sent a final big one with this note:
“In honor of my first grandson (born this past Thursday!), in hopes that he will grow up to a world of liberty and responsibility.”
Congratulations, JR! We share those hopes for your grandson, and will continue doing our little part toward creating such a world!
And now I get to stop talking about money entirely for what little is left of the rest of the year, and ALMOST entirely until next October. For which I’m sure we’re all very glad!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
“President Donald Trump and Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent urged an end to the Senate filibuster rule ahead of an anticipated budget battle in January. Bessent submitted an op-ed that The Washington Post published on Saturday and blames Senate Democrats and the filibuster for blocking passage of a resolution to keep the federal government open while negotiating the 2026 fiscal year budget and causing a record 43-day shutdown of the federal government. … Senate Democrats control 47 seats, including two occupied by independents who caucus with Senate Democrats, while the GOP controls 53 seats, so neither party can overcome the filibuster rule without help from the other.” (12/27/25)
“Lloyds Banking Group is shutting an invoice financing service for small business customers as the UK’s biggest lenders pivot to focus on more lucrative corporate clients. The UK’s biggest high street bank will close its invoice factoring service by the end of the year, according to two people familiar with the matter, in a blow to small enterprise customers operating on thin margins. The move to end the service, under which Lloyds buys unpaid invoices from small businesses in return for the right to receive the payments from their customers, follows similar closures by other top lenders. It comes as businesses confront rising costs after increases in the minimum wage and successive tax-raising budgets by chancellor Rachel Reeves.” (12/28/25)
