Axios - Christmas tree prices spike around Thanksgiving, then start gradually falling until Dec. 25.
- Average daily prices hit a max of about $142 on Nov. 28 last year, sliding to just under $58 on Christmas Eve.
December 9, 2025
Christmas tree costs are falling
Polls
Independent, UK - A survey by the Public Policy Institute of California has found that both Newsom personally and the state’s Democratic-majority legislature have surged in popularity in the second half of the year, a period in which the governor has relentlessly trolled President Donald Trump on social media and passed a new House map to counteract Republican gerrymandering in Texas.
Their leadership is clearly appreciated, with Newsom’s favorability rating rising from 46 percent in June to 56 percent in November, while the legislature’s popularity is up 8 points to 53 percent over the same period.
Their leadership is clearly appreciated, with Newsom’s favorability rating rising from 46 percent in June to 56 percent in November, while the legislature’s popularity is up 8 points to 53 percent over the same period.
Record number of Americans think they'll be worse off financially next year
Newsweek - A record number of Americans think they’ll be worse off financially next year, marking the highest percentage in either of Trump’s presidential terms of those who are fearing the worst at any point.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 38.97 percent of Americans said they’ll be worse off next year financially. The last time it was this high was in November 2023.
“It reflects an economy that is technically growing, but doesn’t feel like it is improving fast enough for regular households,” Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 38.97 percent of Americans said they’ll be worse off next year financially. The last time it was this high was in November 2023.
“It reflects an economy that is technically growing, but doesn’t feel like it is improving fast enough for regular households,” Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek.
How much doctors are paid
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Trump's war against the environment
Inside Climate News - From his first days in office, President Donald Trump set out to unleash
fossil fuel extraction, retreat from clean energy development, halt
investment in environmental justice, and slash the budgets of government
agencies responsible for environmental regulation and monitoring.
Our entire newsroom mobilized to track the policy rollbacks, the data erasures, the staffing cuts, and the funding clawbacks. The whole body of work – more than 350 stories – is collected here: Trump 2.0: The Reckoning.
Included in the series is this exclusive scorecard that tracks federal lawsuits on climate and the environment involving the administration. It chronicles the counter-offensive being mounted in the courts by advocates and states working to preserve America’s infrastructure of environmental protection.
Our entire newsroom mobilized to track the policy rollbacks, the data erasures, the staffing cuts, and the funding clawbacks. The whole body of work – more than 350 stories – is collected here: Trump 2.0: The Reckoning.
Included in the series is this exclusive scorecard that tracks federal lawsuits on climate and the environment involving the administration. It chronicles the counter-offensive being mounted in the courts by advocates and states working to preserve America’s infrastructure of environmental protection.
New Year's Eve stats
WalletHub
142 Million – Number of Americans who will travel for the New Year’s holiday this year, with 64% of them driving to their destination.
55% – Share of Americans who plan to celebrate New Year's Eve with family or friends.
$772 – Average cost for a couple to enjoy dinner and a show on New Year's Eve in the three largest cities (New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago).
360+ Million – Number of glasses of sparkling wine that are drunk each New Year's Eve.
To view the full report and your city’s rank
Trump thinks he decides which beliefs are "legal"
Hartmann Report - Back in September, most Americans (and the media) thought it was so over-the-top that it had to be a joke. Turns out, it wasn’t a joke and isn’t remotely funny.
In a bizarre directive that could have been written by the staff of The Onion or Putin’s secret police, National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 (NSPM-7), Donald Trump ordered the FBI, DOJ, and over 200 federal Joint Terrorism Task Forces (coordinating FBI with local police forces across the country) to seek out and investigate any person or group who meet it’s “indica” (indicators) of potential domestic terrorism.
They include, as Ken Klippenstein first reported:
“[A]nti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, anti-Christianity, … extremism on migration, extremism on race, extremism on gender, hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on religion, and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on morality.”
— Have you ever spoken ill of our country or its policies, particularly under Trump?
— Trash-talked capitalism or praised socialism on social media?
— Publicly questioned Christianity or professed loyalty to Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Paganism, or any other non-Christian belief system or religion?
— Embraced the trans or more general queer community?
— Spoken out in defense of single-parenting, gay marriage, or same-sex couples adopting children?
— Said things or carried a sign that might hurt the feelings of masked ICE agents, Trump, or Noem?
Just imagining that any of these could trigger FBI agents knocking on our doors was so grotesque a notion that when the story first appeared four months ago, it was reported and then largely dismissed by mainstream media within the same day.
I mentioned it in an October Saturday Report and an earlier article, but, like pretty much everybody else in the media, dismissed it as virtue-signaling to the Trump base rather than an actual plan to set up a Russia-style police state here in America.
I was wrong.
Now, in a second bombshell report, Klippenstein has obtained and published a copy of Attorney General Pam Bondi’s December 4th memo ordering the FBI to actually begin Russia-style investigations of people and groups who fit into the categories listed above.
Not only that, Bondi also ordered the FBI to go back as far as 5 years in their investigations of our social media posts, protest attendance, and other activities to find evidence of our possible adherence to these now-forbidden views.
In a bizarre directive that could have been written by the staff of The Onion or Putin’s secret police, National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 (NSPM-7), Donald Trump ordered the FBI, DOJ, and over 200 federal Joint Terrorism Task Forces (coordinating FBI with local police forces across the country) to seek out and investigate any person or group who meet it’s “indica” (indicators) of potential domestic terrorism.
They include, as Ken Klippenstein first reported:
“[A]nti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, anti-Christianity, … extremism on migration, extremism on race, extremism on gender, hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on religion, and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on morality.”
— Have you ever spoken ill of our country or its policies, particularly under Trump?
— Trash-talked capitalism or praised socialism on social media?
— Publicly questioned Christianity or professed loyalty to Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Paganism, or any other non-Christian belief system or religion?
— Embraced the trans or more general queer community?
— Spoken out in defense of single-parenting, gay marriage, or same-sex couples adopting children?
— Said things or carried a sign that might hurt the feelings of masked ICE agents, Trump, or Noem?
Just imagining that any of these could trigger FBI agents knocking on our doors was so grotesque a notion that when the story first appeared four months ago, it was reported and then largely dismissed by mainstream media within the same day.
I mentioned it in an October Saturday Report and an earlier article, but, like pretty much everybody else in the media, dismissed it as virtue-signaling to the Trump base rather than an actual plan to set up a Russia-style police state here in America.
I was wrong.
Now, in a second bombshell report, Klippenstein has obtained and published a copy of Attorney General Pam Bondi’s December 4th memo ordering the FBI to actually begin Russia-style investigations of people and groups who fit into the categories listed above.
Not only that, Bondi also ordered the FBI to go back as far as 5 years in their investigations of our social media posts, protest attendance, and other activities to find evidence of our possible adherence to these now-forbidden views.
Colleges
Bloomberg - At Albright College, the new president is cutting programs, selling art and real estate, and vowing not to hire anyone with tenure. Is this the way forward for liberal arts colleges?
- A phenomenon known as the “enrollment cliff” has left colleges across the country facing significant under-enrollment and financial shortfalls.
- The “enrollment cliff” refers to the expected drop in US college-aged students beginning around 2025–2026, caused largely by the decline in birth rates following the 2008 global financial crisis.
- Albright, in Pennsylvania, is trying to lead the way in reinvention with a plan including replacing philosophy with cybersecurity and tenured faculty with “instructors.”
Meanwhile. . .
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would not cede land to Russia, a day after Trump appeared to criticize him amid pressure for Kyiv to accept painful concessions to end the war.
Walmart is making changes to appeal to higher-income consumers. It’s part of the company's effort to shed its original identity as a no-frills discount retailer..
Bloomberg - Google is working to create two different categories of AI-powered smart glasses to rival existing models from Meta: one with screens, and another that’s audio focused. The first AI glasses that Google is collaborating on will arrive sometime in 2026. A decade ago, Google Glass flopped because of its bizarre design, poor battery life and and privacy worries. Better luck this time.
Europe a ‘decaying’ group of nations led by ‘weak’ people, Trump says
The Guardian - Europe is 'decaying' group of nations led by 'weak' people, Trump says as he takes aim at European migration
Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised the EU and the European leaders in an interview with Politico, published just now, dismissing Europe as a “decaying” group of nations led by “weak” people.
Speaking about European leaders, he said “I think they are weak,” and blamed them for being “politically correct.”
“I think they don’t know what to do,” he added. “Europe doesn’t know what to do.”
He praised Hungary and Poland for their track record on migration, but said that more broadly he was concerned about Europe as “they are allowing people to come in, unchecked, unvetted.”
Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised the EU and the European leaders in an interview with Politico, published just now, dismissing Europe as a “decaying” group of nations led by “weak” people.
Speaking about European leaders, he said “I think they are weak,” and blamed them for being “politically correct.”
“I think they don’t know what to do,” he added. “Europe doesn’t know what to do.”
He praised Hungary and Poland for their track record on migration, but said that more broadly he was concerned about Europe as “they are allowing people to come in, unchecked, unvetted.”
Trump threatened to veto National Defense Authorization Act if Confederate names are removed
Roll Call - White House officials told lawmakers in recent days that the president would veto the fiscal 2026 NDAA if Congress did not delete House- and Senate-passed language ensuring U.S. military bases do not bear names associated with Confederate officers, the sponsor of one of those provisions said Monday. The Trump administration also told senior lawmakers the president would veto the NDAA over its collective bargaining protections for Pentagon civilians, a knowledgeable source said Monday.
Best states for college students
SmileHub - With over 3.8 million high schoolers expected to graduate in 2026, the
non-profit organization SmileHub today released new reports on the Best States for College Students and the Best Charities for Education in 2026.
To highlight the best states for college students and the ones that have
more work to do, SmileHub compared each of the 50 states based on 28
key metrics. The data set ranges from graduation rate to the cost of
higher education to the earning potential for college graduates.
Best States for College Students |
States in Need of Improvement |
| 1. Massachusetts | 41. Kansas |
| 2. New York | 42. Louisiana |
| 3. Illinois | 43. Tennessee |
| 4. Rhode Island | 44. Hawaii |
| 5. California | 45. South Carolina |
| 6. Connecticut | 46. Mississippi |
| 7. Utah | 47. Arkansas |
| 8. Texas | 48. Alaska |
| 9. Pennsylvania | 49. Montana |
| 10. North Dakota | 50. West Virginia |
Key Stats
- California has the most education charities per capita – 8.4 times more than New Hampshire, which has the fewest charities.
- Massachusetts has the highest undergraduate graduation rate – 5.4 times higher than Alaska, which has the lowest graduation rate.
- Alaska has the most state funding for higher education – 6.6 times higher than Arizona, which has the least state funding.
Decline of young people's communication skills
Rachel Konrad, Matt Abrahams, Time - We teach communication skills at Stanford University. We’re also parents, coaches, and consultants in Silicon Valley. We’ve been worried about adolescents’ diminishing writing and speaking skills for years. Lately, we have noticed that these skills are eroding at an accelerating rate, month-over-month.
Communication skills are essential for creating healthy relationships, maintaining mental health, fostering civic engagement, and building a successful career. And, while teenagers today are the most connected generation in history, they are also the least prepared to communicate with depth, confidence, and empathy.
The environments where students develop communication skills are collapsing. Social media squeezes out face-to-face interactions. Memes replace conversations. And much of our test-based education system emphasizes rote memory and standard exams over fundamental skills such as storytelling—a core cognitive and social function that shapes our identities, bonds our communities, and differentiates our species.
The bottom line is that young people are at risk of losing the communication skills that connect us. The bright side is that simple measures may help reverse the slide.
How we got here: lockdowns, likes, LLMs
During the pandemic, American teenagers’ face-to-face interaction plunged. In its place came extensive texting, social media, and, in late 2022, AI companions. As these tools became the norm, real-life communication plunged.
U.S. teens spend on average 5 hours per day on social media; nearly half are online constantly. Likes, streaks, and emojis may feel like connection—but face-to-face contact is what builds meaningful intimacy and reinforces communication skills.
One survey found that nearly nine out of 10 students ages 14-22 in the USA use AI for schoolwork. When a student types a complex question into a chatbot, they get a polished (though not necessarily authentic, accurate or nuanced) answer in seconds. As a result, many students have come to expect immediate resolutions to life’s questions and challenges—without first-person research or reflection.
Communication skills are essential for creating healthy relationships, maintaining mental health, fostering civic engagement, and building a successful career. And, while teenagers today are the most connected generation in history, they are also the least prepared to communicate with depth, confidence, and empathy.
The environments where students develop communication skills are collapsing. Social media squeezes out face-to-face interactions. Memes replace conversations. And much of our test-based education system emphasizes rote memory and standard exams over fundamental skills such as storytelling—a core cognitive and social function that shapes our identities, bonds our communities, and differentiates our species.
The bottom line is that young people are at risk of losing the communication skills that connect us. The bright side is that simple measures may help reverse the slide.
How we got here: lockdowns, likes, LLMs
During the pandemic, American teenagers’ face-to-face interaction plunged. In its place came extensive texting, social media, and, in late 2022, AI companions. As these tools became the norm, real-life communication plunged.
U.S. teens spend on average 5 hours per day on social media; nearly half are online constantly. Likes, streaks, and emojis may feel like connection—but face-to-face contact is what builds meaningful intimacy and reinforces communication skills.
One survey found that nearly nine out of 10 students ages 14-22 in the USA use AI for schoolwork. When a student types a complex question into a chatbot, they get a polished (though not necessarily authentic, accurate or nuanced) answer in seconds. As a result, many students have come to expect immediate resolutions to life’s questions and challenges—without first-person research or reflection.
House Speaker Mike Johnson
Time - House Speaker Mike Johnson could be in trouble. Bigly.
In just about every corner of his big-tent Republican Party, the affable Louisianan is facing angry members, many of whom view the House Speaker as part of the problem. As they brace for Obamacare costs to spike in a few weeks, and farm-state legislators find themselves trying to sell bailouts for soybean farmers struggling under President Donald Trump's tariffs, Johnson is the GOP leader best positioned to help House members feel like any of what they are doing matters. But after less than a year as Trump's Speaker, not many view him as up to the challenge. Even the most Trump-ian lawmakers are starting to have their doubts, as they complain that Johnson has stifled their voices and shrunk the chamber’s power in the process.....
“Women will never be taken seriously until leadership decides to take us seriously, and I’m no longer holding my breath,” Rep. Nancy Mace wrote in a New York Times essay published Monday under the headline “What’s the Point of Congress?”
In just about every corner of his big-tent Republican Party, the affable Louisianan is facing angry members, many of whom view the House Speaker as part of the problem. As they brace for Obamacare costs to spike in a few weeks, and farm-state legislators find themselves trying to sell bailouts for soybean farmers struggling under President Donald Trump's tariffs, Johnson is the GOP leader best positioned to help House members feel like any of what they are doing matters. But after less than a year as Trump's Speaker, not many view him as up to the challenge. Even the most Trump-ian lawmakers are starting to have their doubts, as they complain that Johnson has stifled their voices and shrunk the chamber’s power in the process.....
“Women will never be taken seriously until leadership decides to take us seriously, and I’m no longer holding my breath,” Rep. Nancy Mace wrote in a New York Times essay published Monday under the headline “What’s the Point of Congress?”
Trump wants to control the media, too
MS NOW - “I will be involved,” Trump declared on Sunday in the wake of Netflix’s $83 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery — and before Paramount Skydance launched a $103 billion counteroffer Monday morning.
Trump’s statement is ominous. The president of the United States doesn’t usually get directly involved in who buys what in the media. That kind of intervention is typically reserved for authoritarians such as Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán. During almost 16 years in power, Orbán — a Trump ally — and his Fidesz party have twisted Hungary’s news media into reliable instruments of state power by steering deals into friendly hands.
Trump has already shown an Orbán-like tendency to use government power to reward friends, injure perceived enemies and tilt the media to his advantage.
America isn’t Hungary; its information landscape is far bigger and more complex. But Trump has already shown an Orbán-like tendency to use government power to reward friends, injure perceived enemies and tilt the media to his advantage. He appears determined to do so again with Wall Street’s most-watched deal.
After Warner Bros. Discovery — a conglomerate that owns CNN, HBO and the famed movie and TV studio — put itself up for sale in October, it quickly attracted interest from three fellow entertainment and media behemoths: Netflix, Paramount and Comcast Corp. (MS NOW is part of Versant Media, a company being spun off from Comcast as of Jan. 1.)
The outcome of the sale depends not just on the payout but on the conclusion of a lengthy government antitrust review. That means much is riding on whom Trump favors, and most likely on whatever promises he can extract in exchange for his blessing
Trump’s statement is ominous. The president of the United States doesn’t usually get directly involved in who buys what in the media. That kind of intervention is typically reserved for authoritarians such as Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán. During almost 16 years in power, Orbán — a Trump ally — and his Fidesz party have twisted Hungary’s news media into reliable instruments of state power by steering deals into friendly hands.
Trump has already shown an Orbán-like tendency to use government power to reward friends, injure perceived enemies and tilt the media to his advantage.
America isn’t Hungary; its information landscape is far bigger and more complex. But Trump has already shown an Orbán-like tendency to use government power to reward friends, injure perceived enemies and tilt the media to his advantage. He appears determined to do so again with Wall Street’s most-watched deal.
After Warner Bros. Discovery — a conglomerate that owns CNN, HBO and the famed movie and TV studio — put itself up for sale in October, it quickly attracted interest from three fellow entertainment and media behemoths: Netflix, Paramount and Comcast Corp. (MS NOW is part of Versant Media, a company being spun off from Comcast as of Jan. 1.)
The outcome of the sale depends not just on the payout but on the conclusion of a lengthy government antitrust review. That means much is riding on whom Trump favors, and most likely on whatever promises he can extract in exchange for his blessing
December 8, 2025
Trump has pardoned at least ten drug dealers
Washington Post - On President Donald Trump’s first full day in office this year, he pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was convicted of creating the largest online black market for illegal drugs and other illicit goods of its time.
In the months since, he has granted clemency to others, including Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover and Baltimore drug kingpin Garnett Gilbert Smith. And last week, he pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced to 45 years in prison for running his country as a vast “narco-state” that helped to move at least 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.
Overall, Trump — who campaigned against America’s worsening drug crisis and promised to crack down on the illegal flow of deadly drugs coming across the border — has pardoned or granted clemency to at least 10 people for drug-related crimes since the beginning of his second term, according to a Washington Post analysis. He also granted pardons or commutations to almost 90 others for drug-related crimes during the four years of his first term, the analysis showed.
In the months since, he has granted clemency to others, including Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover and Baltimore drug kingpin Garnett Gilbert Smith. And last week, he pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced to 45 years in prison for running his country as a vast “narco-state” that helped to move at least 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.
Overall, Trump — who campaigned against America’s worsening drug crisis and promised to crack down on the illegal flow of deadly drugs coming across the border — has pardoned or granted clemency to at least 10 people for drug-related crimes since the beginning of his second term, according to a Washington Post analysis. He also granted pardons or commutations to almost 90 others for drug-related crimes during the four years of his first term, the analysis showed.
Home health costs leaping
Washington Post - Government funding cuts, a caregiver shortage and immigration limits are layering new strains on an industry already hard-pressed to meet demand: Home health and personal care openings are projected to jump 17 percent from 2024 to 2034, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and home health spending is expected to nearly double, to $317 billion, in 2033.... Spending on at-home elder care shot up 7 percent from August to September, the largest monthly increase on record, according to government data. Nursing home costs rose 4 percent from September 2024 to September 2025, while home health care surged 12 percent, far exceeding the 3 percent overall inflation rate during that time. The U.S. elder care industry is caught between competing forces as demand swells: Many families say they would prefer in-home care but can’t afford it. Yet the industry struggles to attract people willing to take on the intimate, labor-intensive work of caregiving, largely because of the low pay. For a home health or personal care aide, the median salary was $34,900 last year, or $16.78 an hour. Nurses and other medically trained staff who also attend to seniors at home earn more. |
The Kennedy Center under Trump
Washington Post - So what is the Kennedy Center now?
For one thing, it’s getting a Trumpian revamp. He ordered new marble and the repainting of the exterior columns in austere white. Portraits of the first and second couples now hang in the center’s Hall of Nations, and the building exterior is occasionally lit up in red, white and blue (a move that, many staffers joke, makes the building look like the flag of France, not America).
“It was in rough shape,” Trump said at an event Saturday ahead of the Kennedy Center Honors. “But we’ve fixed the White House, and we’ve fixed the Kennedy Center.”
Even the medallions for the Honors, created by Ivan Chermayeff and made for nearly 50 years by a D.C.-area family, have been redesigned by Tiffany & Company.
And — wittingly or not — the new leadership has made the center a political football for the first time since its opening in 1971. House Republicans have suggested renaming it for Trump (the whole building) and the first lady (just the Opera House). Conservative groups have flocked there to host conferences and meetings. Senate Democrats are investigating the Kennedy Center, accusing Grenell of “self-dealing, favoritism, and waste,” which he has denied.
For one thing, it’s getting a Trumpian revamp. He ordered new marble and the repainting of the exterior columns in austere white. Portraits of the first and second couples now hang in the center’s Hall of Nations, and the building exterior is occasionally lit up in red, white and blue (a move that, many staffers joke, makes the building look like the flag of France, not America).
“It was in rough shape,” Trump said at an event Saturday ahead of the Kennedy Center Honors. “But we’ve fixed the White House, and we’ve fixed the Kennedy Center.”
Even the medallions for the Honors, created by Ivan Chermayeff and made for nearly 50 years by a D.C.-area family, have been redesigned by Tiffany & Company.
And — wittingly or not — the new leadership has made the center a political football for the first time since its opening in 1971. House Republicans have suggested renaming it for Trump (the whole building) and the first lady (just the Opera House). Conservative groups have flocked there to host conferences and meetings. Senate Democrats are investigating the Kennedy Center, accusing Grenell of “self-dealing, favoritism, and waste,” which he has denied.
National parks unionizing
Democratic Conservation Alliance - Over
the summer, Yosemite National Park staff led the charge to fight back
by unionizing... and now, employees in parks across the country are
banding together to do the same! Just this week, Grand Canyon National
Park staff announced their decision to join in with their own union.
More than 200 environmental groups demand halt to new US datacenters
The Guardian - A coalition of more than 230 environmental groups has demanded a national moratorium on new datacenters in the US, the latest salvo in a growing backlash to a booming artificial intelligence industry that has been blamed for escalating electricity bills and worsening the climate crisis.
The green groups, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Food & Water Watch and dozens of local organizations, have urged members of Congress to halt the proliferation of energy-hungry datacenters, accusing them of causing planet-heating emissions, sucking up vast amounts of water and exacerbating electricity bill increases that have hit Americans this year.
“The rapid, largely unregulated rise of datacenters to fuel the AI and crypto frenzy is disrupting communities across the country and threatening Americans’ economic, environmental, climate and water security,” the letter states, adding that approval of new data centers should be paused until new regulations are put in place.
The green groups, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Food & Water Watch and dozens of local organizations, have urged members of Congress to halt the proliferation of energy-hungry datacenters, accusing them of causing planet-heating emissions, sucking up vast amounts of water and exacerbating electricity bill increases that have hit Americans this year.
“The rapid, largely unregulated rise of datacenters to fuel the AI and crypto frenzy is disrupting communities across the country and threatening Americans’ economic, environmental, climate and water security,” the letter states, adding that approval of new data centers should be paused until new regulations are put in place.
San Francisco Will Sue Ultraprocessed Food Companies
New York Times - The San Francisco city attorney will file on Tuesday the nation’s first government lawsuit against food manufacturers over ultraprocessed fare, arguing that cities and counties have been burdened with the costs of treating diseases that stem from the companies’ products.
David Chiu, the city attorney, told The New York Times that he will sue 10 corporations that make some of the country’s most popular food and drinks. Ultraprocessed products now comprise 70 percent of the American food supply and fill grocery store shelves with a kaleidoscope of colorful packages.
Think Slim Jim meat sticks and Cool Ranch Doritos. But also aisles of breads, sauces and granola bars marketed as natural or healthy.
It is a rare issue on which the liberal leaders in San Francisco City Hall are fully aligned with the Trump administration, which has targeted ultraprocessed foods as part of its Make America Healthy Again mantra.
Ukraine
NPR - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet with European leaders in London today
as they vie for a role in the peace talks with the U.S. This comes as
Trump continues to push Ukraine to accept a U.S.-backed plan to end
Russia's war. Ukrainian officials have been calling for changes in the
proposal, which they say favors Russia.
The goal of today’s meeting is for the leaders of Britain, France and Germany to demonstrate that Europe
remains very supportive of Ukraine, Mujtaba Rahman, Europe managing
director at Eurasia Group, tells NPR’s Lauren Frayer. Last week, the
Trump administration released a revised national security strategy that
claimed that immigration is leading to “civilizational erasure” in
Europe. The document also suggested that the U.S. would support
far-right parties in the region. The document was met with praise from
the Kremlin, raising concerns in Europe that the Trump administration might be more aligned with Russia than with its European allies in general, Frayer says.
Health
NPR - A Democratic proposal to extend current Affordable Care Act tax
credits for three years is scheduled for a Senate vote on Thursday.
The enhanced health care subsidies are set to expire at the end of the
month. The plan Democrats put forth isn't expected to get the 60 votes
it needs to advance.
Senate Republicans are divided on extending subsidies. While
some support it, others want income caps and reforms to limit
eligibility, NPR’s Deirdre Walsh says. House Speaker Mike Johnson plans
to release a health care bill this week and promises a vote this month,
although he is not negotiating with any Democrats on it. Trump has not
endorsed any legislation regarding ACA tax credits yet. Members of both
parties believe that if the president doesn’t get involved in negotiating a deal soon, Americans will see major cost increases next month.
AI boom fuels environmental justice fears
Axios - Civil rights groups are increasingly concerned that AI's rapidly spreading physical infrastructure is deepening climate burdens for communities of color.
Massive data centers require vast quantities of water, energy and land.
- Many of these centers are clustered in regions where marginalized communities already face higher levels of air pollution, industrial zoning and climate vulnerability.
Civil rights groups say these impacts resemble earlier patterns seen with highways, refineries and manufacturing: pollution concentrated where political resistance is weakest and property values are lowest.
- Data centers can also consume millions of gallons of water per day and use as much electricity as a small city, driving up energy and water use costs for poor residents.
A supercomputer data center built by Elon Musk's xAI in southwest Memphis, a historically Black neighborhood, faces a legal challenge from the NAACP. The group says the site's gas generators are violating the Clean Air Act...
In Amarillo, Texas, advocates are fighting what developers call the world's largest AI data center, warning it could drain the Ogallala Aquifer, a shrinking water lifeline for the Texas Panhandle and southern Great Plains. Latino residents and rural water advocates fear losing access to groundwater already stretched thin by agriculture and drought....
Northern Virginia — site of the world's largest data center hub — is seeing mounting resistance in Loudoun and Prince William counties, where Black families say the build-out is overwhelming their communities.
Near Tucson, Ariz., a majority-Latino city strained by megadrought, a proposed "Project Blue" data center could consume millions of gallons of water per year.
"Data centers by design do not have a lot of jobs. It's predatory. They target cities desperate for economic development," LaTricea Adams, CEO of the Memphis-based Young, Gifted & Green, tells Axios....
As AI data centers expand across the West, Indigenous nations say the industry is accelerating resource extraction without tribal consent. Full story
The NAACP announced it's bringing together advocates, researchers and regional leaders for a two-day strategy summit in Washington this week to discuss AI data centers.
Meanwhile. . .
NBC News -More than a third of the roughly 220,000 people arrested by ICE officers between Jan. 20 and Oct. 15 had no criminal histories, according to new data.
China’s trade surplus for the first 11 months surpassed the $1 trillion mark, at nearly $1.08 trillion. That’s a record high for any single year and is more than the $992 billion surplus in all of 2024.
Politics
Pam Bondi has ordered the FBI to “compile a list” of Americans who may be extremists, according to a signed memo that has since been leaked.
Trump criticized Rep. Henry Cuellar for a "lack of loyalty" for running as a Democrat after receiving a presidential pardon.
Bad ideas
MS NOW - Democrats have been overperforming in off-year and special elections in 2025 and may be poised for a huge win in the midterms in 2026, but they know they face a deeper problem: Their party isn’t particularly well-liked, and voters don’t have a good sense of what Democrats stand for.
Worry not, because House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has the answer in a new slogan. Are you ready for it?
“Strong floor, no ceiling.”
Try to contain your excitement. Not only will nobody have any idea what that means unless it’s explained, it doesn’t even describe well what Democrats ought to want.
Worry not, because House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has the answer in a new slogan. Are you ready for it?
“Strong floor, no ceiling.”
Try to contain your excitement. Not only will nobody have any idea what that means unless it’s explained, it doesn’t even describe well what Democrats ought to want.
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