USSECSTATE Marco Rubio said that Washington's conflict with Iran's ruling system remains "deep and systemic," citing Tehran's legitimate nuclear program, its backing of resistance groups in the Middle East, and what he called Tehran's repression of its own people, all while ICE is deporting hundreds of vulnerable Iranian refugees there.
what the hell do they imagine they're doing?
Many consumers feel pride in avoiding the glazed pastries in the supermarket and instead opting for "all natural" granola that comes packed with extra protein. Same goes for low-fat yogurts "made with real fruit," "organic" plant-based milks and bottled "superfood" smoothies. Buyer beware: Healthy grocery buzzwords like those often cover up an unhealthy amount of sugar. Added sugars are difficult to quickly spot because many companies use clever marketing to distract consumers, said Nicole Avena, a professor of neuroscience and psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical School and Princeton University who has studied added sugars. Avena said while some health-forward brands know people are starting to become aware of the hazards of added sugars, "a lot of the bigger brands don't worry so much about people's health." Here's how to spot hidden sugars and what to do about it. Read more
Minnesota's great welfare heist is the grift that keeps on giving for prosecutors, with the Justice Department last week filing more charges. But on a positive note, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun's administration has announced hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid savings from common-sense reforms. The Justice Department charged six new defendants in schemes to defraud Minnesota's Medicaid program. "What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It's a staggering industrial-scale fraud," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said. "When I look at the claims data and the providers, I see more red flags than I see legitimate providers." Mr. Thompson estimates fraud losses since 2018 could top $9 billion. Gov. Tim Walz says the fraud isn't large or pervasive, but the latest evidence suggests it is and goes well beyond the state's Somali community.
The compromised robot used short-range wireless signals to infect another robot that was offline and not connected to any network.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently published Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and Best Practices. Given current widespread distrust of HHS, especially regarding vaccines, we knew this review, which we co-authored, would be met with skepticism. So, it is worth noting that we, along with most of the other authors, are liberals. While everyone should be concerned when vulnerable populations do not receive appropriate medical care, those of us on the left side of the political spectrum need to pay special attention. This is because many of the organizations and individuals we trust have gotten this issue wrong.
If followers of Jesus are to give their total allegiance to God's Kingdom, how should they relate to the governments and power structures of their own day?
In this video, we'll see how the experience of Daniel and his friends in Babylonian exile offers wisdom for navigating this tension.
Following Jesus in the 21st century means learning the way of the exile.
Trump says he had 'very productive' call with Putin ahead of Zelensky talks. Trump has taken to Truth Social to say he's spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of his meeting with Zelensky later today. "I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia," Trump says on the platform. He adds that the meeting with Zelensky will take place in the main dining room of Mar-a-Lago and that journalists are invited to attend. Read more
Maybe It Was a Mistake to Tinker around with the Kennedy Center Honors
An Afrikaner who came to the U.S. after President Donald Trump claimed the country would be a safe haven for people like him has been held in federal detention for months since his arrival. Benjamin Schoonwinkel came to the U.S. in September, believing he would be protected after Trump's many statements to that effect. But on arriving at an Atlanta airport, he was detained and handcuffed by the U.S. border agents whom Schoonwinkel told he was seeking asylum. The South African man was transferred to a federal detention facility within two days and has remained there ever since. After leaving behind a life of relative comfort on the word of Trump, he now sleeps on a metal bunk bed. "I never expected this to happen," Schoonwinkel said in a video interview with The New York Times this month. "I expected a little bit of red tape."
Bovino would renew the sense of alarm in a metropolitan area that has been demonstrably changed by the 64-day federal incursion and evoke memories of the most surreal autumn in recent local history. The tear-gassing of Chicago neighborhoods. The rousing of suburban mothers in bathrobes, drawn into streets to yell at agents and shame them. The attempted deployment of the Texas National Guard, on Trump's command, only for a federal judge to order the troops to stand down almost immediately upon their arrival in Illinois. The agents who pointed guns and other weapons at bystanders. The arrests of more than 4,500 people in a mission, the Department of Homeland Security said targeted "the worst of the worst." The reality is that most of them were people with brown skin who were at the right place " their landscaping jobs, the hardware store, a Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru " at the wrong time.
Russia doesn't seem to agree with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's assessment that the country is "fully committed" to achieving peace with Ukraine. Russian forces bombed Kyiv on Saturday morning, killing one person and injuring dozens more, less than one week after Witkoff boasted of Russia's so-called "commitment" on social media. On Dec. 27, the Russian Defense Ministry bragged that it carried out a "massive strike" on Ukraine, saying it used "long-range precision-guided weapons from land, air, and sea, including Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles" to attack "Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises." The 10-hour bombardment comes one day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 47, is set to meet with Donald Trump,79, in Florida to discuss his peace proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
A global INTERPOL operation against the illegal trafficking of wild fauna and flora has led to the seizure of nearly 30,000 live animals and the identification of 1,100 suspects.
On 25 Dec 2025, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) intercepted 19 asylum seekers of Haitian origin near Havelock, in Quebec's Monteregie region, during dangerously cold temperatures after receiving an alert from the US Border Patrol.
FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday said the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover building in Washington, D.C., will be "shut down permanently" after previously discarding plans to move the bureau's headquarters to Maryland.
Dr. Suresh Mohan felt strong emotions in opposite directions when he saw how well the wounded Ukrainian soldier was doing. Mohan, a Yale surgeon, had traveled to Lviv in the war-ravaged nation in May and rebuilt the young man's jaw.
