Nation and World
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Epstein files include child porn complaint a decade before federal investigation
Dec 20, 2025 4:56 pm - Justice Department files related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, released Friday, included a 1996 complaint to the FBI about the disgraced financier allegedly possessing and distributing “child pornography” about a decade before a federal investigation was launched into his predatory behavior with minors and young women.
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Everything you need to know about Christmas, and how it has evolved into a global holiday
Dec 20, 2025 4:33 pm - Christmas is a Christian holiday that observes the birth of Jesus. But did you know that the earliest followers of Jesus did not annually commemorate his birth? Or that Santa Claus is inspired by the acts of kindness of a fourth-century Christian saint? And have you heard about the modern-day Japanese tradition of eating Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas?
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US forces stop a second merchant vessel off the coast of Venezuela, American officials say
Dec 20, 2025 3:05 pm - U.S. forces on Saturday stopped a vessel off the coast of Venezuela for the second time in less than two weeks as President Donald Trump continues to ramp up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
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Russian strike on Odesa kills 8 as US hosts a Kremlin envoy for talks on peace plan
Dec 20, 2025 2:57 pm - A Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa in southern Ukraine killed eight people and wounded 27, Ukraine’s emergency service said Saturday, as a Kremlin envoy was set to travel to Florida for talks on a U.S.-proposed plan to end the nearly four-year war.
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Hegseth reverses land mine policy to allow use of controversial weapon
Dec 19, 2025 7:22 pm - The Trump administration reversed a Biden-era policy that prohibited the use of antipersonnel land mines except on the Korean Peninsula, according to a Dec. 2 document reviewed by The Washington Post. The previously unreported memo, signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, says the reversal would give the U.S. military a “force multiplier” against enemies during “one of the most dangerous security environments in its history.”
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Supreme Court sides with immigration judges in speech case for now, rebuffing Trump administration
Dec 19, 2025 7:16 pm - The Supreme Court sided with immigration judges on Friday, rebuffing the Trump administration for now in a case with possible implications for federal workers as the justices weigh expanding presidential firing power.
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US plans to stop recommending most childhood vaccines, defer to doctors
Dec 19, 2025 7:11 pm - The Trump administration plans to shift the federal government away from directly recommending most vaccines for children and suggest they receive fewer shots to more closely align with Denmark’s immunization model, according to two people familiar with the matter.
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EU agrees to loan Ukraine $105B after bid to use Russian assets fails
Dec 19, 2025 7:07 pm - European leaders agreed Friday to finance Ukraine’s state and army with a $105 billion loan backed by the E.U. budget after the failure of a last-ditch effort to tap Russia’s frozen assets.
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Trump announces lower drug price deals with 9 pharmaceutical companies
Dec 19, 2025 6:57 pm - U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday that nine drugmakers have agreed to lower the cost of their prescription drugs in the U.S. Pharmaceutical companies Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Merck, Novartis and Sanofi will now rein in Medicaid drug prices to match what they charged in other developed countries.
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US military launches strikes in Syria targeting Islamic State fighters after American deaths
Dec 19, 2025 5:11 pm - The Trump administration launched military strikes Friday in Syria to “eliminate” Islamic State group fighters and weapons sites in retaliation for an ambush attack that killed two U.S. troops and an American civilian interpreter almost a week ago.