Source: Politico
“California has ended a lawsuit challenging the termination of $4 billion in federal grants for its controversial high-speed rail project, ceding its claim to federal funding that the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to withdraw. … The California High-Speed Rail Authority said in a statement that the agency has decided to cut ties with the Trump administration, which has also threatened other pots of federal funding tied to the planned rail line connecting Los Angeles to the Bay Area. ‘This action reflects the state’s assessment that the federal government is not a reliable, constructive, or trustworthy partner in advancing high-speed rail in California,’ the statement said.” (12/29/25)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/29/california-gives-up-on-federal-high-speed-rail-funding-00707136
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Zelensky To Trump: ‘Give Me 50 Year Security Guarantee … And More Money!'” (12/29/25)
https://rumble.com/v73m0k6-zelensky-to-trump-give-me-50-year-security-guarantee…and-more-money.html
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“Not long ago we were screamed at: ‘Trust the Science!’ So those of us paying attention came to distrust the scientists. Especially ‘scientists’ in positions of political power. Sadly, tragically, more than one scientific discipline has been perverted in shockingly non-scientific ways. A hidebound denialism about new data has crept in. Sure, it is about the money, but often we catch a whiff of ideology.” (12/30/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/12/30/that-non-science-stink/
Source: The American Conservative
by Andrew Day
“Both Ukraine and Russia, before making a deal, want some assurance that the other won’t treat peace as a mere pause in fighting and then restart the war at an opportune moment. As always in the high-stakes game of international politics, no leader wants to be a sucker, and every state tends toward paranoia about its security. … There’s a creative way out of this impasse. Moscow has indicated it would permit [sic] Kiev to join the European Union. And the EU has a mutual defense arrangement that would amount to a long-term security guarantee for Ukraine if it joins the Union.” (12/30/25)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-trump-can-push-europe-to-secure-ukraine/
Source: US News & World Report
“Ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded Budapest’s credit rating to Ba1 from Baa3 and placed it on review for a further reduction, citing its weak liquidity and a financial dispute with Viktor Orban’s national government. The downgrade comes at a delicate time for Budapest, which is run by the liberal mayor Gergely Karacsony, as nationalist Prime Minister Orban will likely face parliamentary elections in April. The centre-right opposition Tisza party is leading most polls. … ‘Ongoing legal disputes over the tax amount, which exceeds the funding received from the central government, add system instability and jeopardize the budgeting process and cash balances,’ Moody’s said, adding the ratings also reflected the partial freezing of European Union funds to Hungary.” (12/30/25)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-12-30/moodys-cuts-budapests-rating-to-junk-due-to-row-with-national-government
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“2025: A Year-End (And Quarter-Century-End) Reckoning | Robert Wright & Paul Bloom.” (12/29/25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSkbYcjPdTw
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
by Ron Paul
“President Trump recently signed an executive order changing marijuana’s Controlled Substances Act classification from Schedule I to Schedule III. Schedule I is supposed to include especially dangerous drugs that are likely to be abused and have no medical purpose. Whatever one thinks of the wisdom and morality of using marijuana, the fact is it is less addictive, and quite possibly safer, than alcohol. Many Americans who live in one of the 40 states that have legalized medicinal marijuana use it for a variety of ailments. Reclassifying marijuana does not repeal federal laws criminalizing its use. The reclassifying does, though, facilitate research into marijuana’s medical benefits.” (12/29/25)
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/december-29th-2025
Source: The American Prospect
by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
“On Friday, November 21, as most Americans were prepping for Thanksgiving, President Trump went on a tirade on his Truth Social platform. Egged on by unsubstantiated claims by noted right-wing pugilist Chris Rufo, he posted: ‘Minnesota, under Governor Waltz [sic], is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity …. Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing. Send them back where they came from. It’s OVER!’ … In recent months, there has been ever greater attention paid to a spate of fraudulent activity in Minnesota, with most of those implicated being Somali. (The ringleader of the largest fraud, Feeding Our Future, is a white American, and nearly all of those indicted are naturalized or natural-born American citizens.)” (12/29/25)
https://prospect.org/2025/12/29/corporate-media-advances-conservative-narrative-minnesota-fraud-somalis/
Source: Axios
“Beyoncé is a billionaire following the success of her Cowboy Carter tour, Forbes declared Monday. The Grammy Award-winning star is only the fifth musician to make Forbes'[s] billionaires list, after Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Bruce Springsteen and her husband, Jay-Z. … The Cowboy Carter tour was the highest-grossing of 2025, making $400 million in ticket sales and a further $50 million in merchandise sold at the shows.” (12/29/25)
https://archive.is/ppkYZ
Source: Lions of Liberty
“Ideology vs. Evidence: Feminism, Evolution, and Academia with Marc Defant.” (12/29/25)
https://www.lionsofliberty.com/episodes/ff-ideology-vs-evidence-feminism-evolution-and-academia-with-marc-defant
