The Petersburg Post
Top News Stories for Friday, December 19th 2025
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
This newsroom tells stories that reflect real lives and real stakes. Your support ensures that work continues. Join as a member today and close the year by strengthening independent reporting for all. Already a member? President Donald Trump sparked a on Wednesday with the unveiling of his latest addition to his so-called "Presidential Walk of Fame" at the White House. below the gold-heavy display of portraits of ...
Source: huffpost.com
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
Change will loosen limits on research and certain regulations but stops short of making marijuana legal Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to move cannabis out of the most restrictive drug category, a change that would loosen limits on research and certain regulations but stop short of making marijuana legal nationwide. "I'm pleased to announce that I will be signing an Executive Order to reschedule ...
Source: theguardian.com
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Wednesday that it attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four people on the same day the House rejected efforts to limit President Donald Trump's power to use military force against drug cartels. U.S. Southern Command stated on social media that the vessel was operated by narco-terrorists along a known trafficking route. The ...
Source: military.com
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
The board of the Kennedy Center has voted to rename the performing arts centre the Trump-Kennedy Center, according to the White House. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on social media that the board voted unanimously to make the change due to "the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building". Leavitt also congratulated the late President John F. Kennedy and wrote "this ...
Source: bbc.com
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
The National Center for Atmospheric Research has played a leading role in providing data, modelling and supercomputing to researchers around the world – but the Trump administration is set to shut it down The Trump administration's decision to close a world-leading research centre for atmospheric science is a blow to weather forecasting and climate modelling that could leave humanity more exposed to the ...
Source: newscientist.com
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
, including HBO and Discovery, in a $72 billion deal. It was as if two Greek Titans had eloped and, oh yeah, one of them was pregnant with the mondo offspring sure to come, an even bigger Titan to dwarf all others. People panicked. Many lamented. Paramount, itself a Titan that battled Warner Bros. for generations in Hollywood, launched a hostile bid that vastly outstripped Netflix's offer: $108 billion. And what do ...
Source: vice.com
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released another collection of images from Jeffrey Epstein's estate Thursday, on the eve of the Justice Department's deadline to release all of its files on his case. Around 70 photographs come from Epstein's computer and email accounts, and shed more light on his lifestyle and social circles. The photographs, among 95,000 handed over by Epstein's estate last week, were ...
Source: pbs.org
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
The Trump administration announced Thursday a series of moves aimed at sharply restricting gender-affirming medical care for minors — an escalation that, if enacted, could eliminate access to such care across the United States, even in states like Massachusetts, which has been both a pioneer in gender-affirming care and a haven for people seeking it. Under the proposals, announced in a news conference led by ...
Source: bostonglobe.com
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Dan Bongino has announced he will be stepping down as deputy director of the FBI, less than a year after assuming the position. The former Secret Service agent-turned-right-wing pundit and podcaster announced he would be resigning in January on X, thanking President Donald Trump , Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel "for the opportunity to serve with purpose." "God bless America, ...
Source: upi.com
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
Homebuyers and owners hoping to refinance may have become so accustomed to higher mortgage rates in recent years that they stopped looking for affordable opportunities. However, that may be a mistake worth correcting heading into the new year. Mortgage interest rates are down by around a full percentage point, on average, from where they started in January. And there's real reason to be optimistic about them ...
Source: cbsnews.com
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
The Consumer Price Index rose at an annual rate of 2.7% in November, cooler than economists had forecast and a sign that price pressures may be easing. By the numbers The CPI was expected to rise 3% on an annual basis last month, according to economists surveyed by financial data firm FactSet. In the most recent inflation reading, from September, the CPI rate rose 3% on an annual basis. November's cooler inflation ...
Source: cbsnews.com
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
The U.S. government's "Trump accounts" have quickly attracted billionaire backers. Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio is the latest wealthy figure to support the initiative, pledging roughly $75 million to seed 300,000 accounts in his home state of Connecticut. His grant will add an extra $250 to accounts in Connecticut zip codes where the median income is $150,000 or less. The savings accounts, set to launch next July ...
Source: observer.com
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated Press Delivery company Instacart will pay $60 million in customer refunds under a settlement reached with the Federal Trade Commission over alleged deceptive practices. The FTC said Thursday that Instacart has been falsely advertising free deliveries. The San Francisco-based company isn't clearly disclosing service fees, which add as much as ...
Source: orlandosentinel.com
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
Following a bombshell report from Groundwork Collaborative , Consumer Reports, and More Perfect Union revealing that Instacart uses AI to run pricing experiments on consumers, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday launched an investigation into the company's pricing schemes. The report found that Instacart showed different shoppers different prices for the exact same groceries, a scheme that could cost ...
Source: commondreams.org
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
Key points The Order establishes an AI Litigation Task Force that will challenge state AI laws in court and creates a process to assess any such conflicting state laws . The Order targets states that enact or enforce "onerous" AI laws with the threat that they may lose access to certain federal funding . Aimed at preempting state laws, this initiative will face legal hurdles, making the full impact of the Order ...
Source: jdsupra.com
Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 -
A federal judge has temporarily blocked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from enforcing rules that restrict congressional visits to immigration detention facilities. This deals a setback to the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) effort to regulate oversight visits during a period of intensified immigration enforcement. Newsweek contacted the DOJ for comment via email outside of normal office ...
Source: bradenton.com
Wednesday, Dec 17th, 2025 -
The Academy Awards will begin streaming exclusively on YouTube in 2029, the latest big change in Hollywood. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the announcement on Wednesday, saying that it signed a multi-year deal that will give YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars until 2033. The Oscars, which is planned for 15 March, has aired for a half a century on ABC. Starting in 2029, the show ...
Source: bbc.com
Wednesday, Dec 17th, 2025 -
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said in a White House speech Wednesday night that he was sending a $1,776 bonus check to U.S. troops for Christmas, indicating that tariffs were funding the payments as he tried to reassure a worried public about the health of the economy. Trump said 1.45 million military service members would get the "warrior dividend before Christmas." "The checks are already on the ...
Source: wfla.com
Wednesday, Dec 17th, 2025 -
Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Swipe for next article 'Congress long ago determined that the FCC is an independent expert agency,' FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who now says the agency is not independent, said in 2018. , Donald Trump's handpicked chairman of the Federal Communications Commission , insisted during a Wednesday Senate ...
Source: independent.co.uk
Wednesday, Dec 17th, 2025 -
Black plastic planting materials discovered in granulated onion ingredients used in salad dressings Thousands of cases of salad dressings sold at retailers nationwide, including Costco Food Court and reportedly Publix, have been recalled due to potential contamination of "foreign objects." The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that California-based Ventura Foods is recalling 3,556 cases of its products ...
Source: foxbusiness.com