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US   POLITICS  
Republicans risk moderates, US House majority, with no healthcare extension
- WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Republican worries about losing their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives next year erupted this week, when four moderates joined Democrats in a last-ditch effort to prevent a spike in healthcare costs for 24 million Americans beginning in less than two weeks. and Mike Lawler of New York - are ​part of a larger group of about a dozen House Republicans who had been ...

Source: news.yahoo.com
US   POLITICS  
Trump signs executive order to reclassify marijuana, easing restrictions on the drug
- WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to downgrade cannabis from the most restrictive category of drugs, easing some limitations and allowing for more research. The move, which does not decriminalize marijuana, also authorizes a pilot program to reimburse Medicare patients for products made with CBD, a popular compound of cannabis that is not psychoactive. Trump's order would move ...

Source: bostonglobe.com
US   POLITICS  
It's Epstein files release day for Trump's DOJ - Live updates
- Years of public pressure to disclose what the government knows about the case has reached a critical juncture as the Trump administration hits to release the Epstein files. Congress , which arrived Friday, Dec. 19, in a highly-anticipated moment for an issue that has dogged President Donald Trump throughout his first year back in office, , caused and exposed the limits of his considerable sway over his supporters. ...

Source: aol.com
US   POLITICS  
US strikes two more alleged drug boats, bringing death toll to over 100
- US military declares five alleged drug traffickers killed in Pacific Ocean The US military said it killed on Thursday five more alleged drug traffickers aboard two vessels in the Pacific Ocean, bringing the divisive campaign's death toll to over 100. The Trump administration has carried out such strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September but has provided no evidence that the boats are ...

Source: theguardian.com
US   POLITICS  
Trump's handpicked board votes to rename Washington performing arts center the Trump-Kennedy Center
- WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's handpicked board voted Thursday to rename Washington's leading performing arts center as the Trump-Kennedy Center, the White House said, in a move that was quickly denounced as a "disgrace" by the Democratic leader of the House, who is on the board. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the vote on social media, attributing it to the "unbelievable work President ...

Source: bostonglobe.com
US   MARKETS  
Bank of England cuts interest rates, in welcome Christmas boost for consumers
- The Bank of England voted to cut interest rates from 4% to 3.75% in its last monetary policy move of 2025. Its the fourth cut of the year and was widely expected. Economists diverge on how many more cuts might be made in 2026. The Bank of England (BOE) in the City of London, UK, on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. The Bank of England voted narrowly to cut interest rates on Thursday, in its last monetary policy move of 2025. ...

Source: cnbc.com
US   POLITICS  
Trump proposes new rules to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth
- The administration of President Donald Trump has proposed a suite of new rules that seek to bar hospitals across the United States from performing gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth below 18 years of age. On Thursday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that one of the proposed rules would block hospitals and clinics from accessing its programmes if they chose to continue ...

Source: aljazeera.com
US  
Brown University shooting live updates: Person of interest identified, sources say
- The suspect in the Brown University shooting has been found dead in Salem, New Hampshire, according to two law enforcement officials. Follow along live. The suspect in the Brown University shooting has been found dead in Salem, New Hampshire, according to two law enforcement officials. The Salem and Methuen Police Departments are advising the public to immediately report "any individuals on foot who appear out of ...

Source: bostonglobe.com
US   POLITICS  
Dan Bongino says he is resigning from the FBI
- 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
US   MARKETS  
Inflation remained elevated in November as Fed considers pausing interest rate cuts
- Bureau of Labor Statistics releases closely watched November inflation data Inflation remained elevated in November at a level well above the Federal Reserve's target rate as policymakers weigh potential interest rate cuts next year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday that the  consumer price index (CPI) – a broad measure of how much everyday goods like gasoline, groceries and rent cost ...

Source: foxbusiness.com
US  
Benefits Monthly Minute - December 2025
- Guess Who's Back? Pre-Deductible Telehealth Is Back! | Meet IRA Jr: Trump Accounts Offer Tax-Deferred Savings for Children In the December Monthly Minute , we unwrap new guidance that permanently permits pre-deductible telehealth coverage under HDHP/HSA plans as well as the latest IRS guidance addressing how the new Trump Accounts will work in the coming year. Guess Who's Back? Pre-Deductible Telehealth Is ...

Source: jdsupra.com
US  
Florida serial killer Frank Athen Walls, 58, executed — becomes state's 19th death row inmate to die
- A cold-blooded serial killer who slaughtered five people was executed by lethal injection Thursday night in Florida — becoming the Sunshine State's 19th death row inmate to die this year. Frank Athen Walls, 58, was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m. after being injected with a three-drug cocktail while strapped to a gurney as a Catholic priest prayed by his feet inside the death chamber at Florida State Prison in ...

Source: nypost.com
US   BUSINESS  
Instacart settles with FTC over deceptive practices but faces separate investigation into prices
- 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
US   BUSINESS  
Instacart AI Pricing Tool Faces FTC Investigation | PYMNTS.com
- Federal regulators are reportedly investigating Instacart's artificial intelligence (AI) pricing tool. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sent the grocery delivery platform a civil investigative demand seeking information about its Eversight tool, Reuters reported Wednesday (Dec. 17), citing sources familiar with the matter. According to the report, Eversight, a 2022 Instacart acquisition that lets retailers on ...

Source: pymnts.com
US   POLITICS  
Two US presidents and their associations with Epstein
- US President Donald Trump and former US President Bill Clinton are among several high profile figures who are known to have associated with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump and Clinton were each photographed with Epstein several times over the 1990s and early 2000s and occasionally moved in the same social circles. Neither Trump nor Clinton have been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein's ...

Source: bbc.com
US   POLITICS  
ICE Suffers Legal Blow Over Blocking Detention Center Visits
- 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
US  
YouTube secures exclusive global rights to broadcast the Oscars
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has signed a multi-year agreement that will make YouTube the exclusive global broadcaster of the Oscars beginning in 2029, according to a joint statement. The deal was announced on Wednesday by the Academy and YouTube. Under the agreement, YouTube will hold exclusive global rights to the Oscars beginning in 2029 with the 101st ceremony and continuing through 2033. The ...

Source: bnonews.com
US   POLITICS  
Chairman Brendan Carr to Congress: 'The FCC is not independent'
- Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Chairman Brendan Carr said the Federal Communications Commission isn't independent from the Trump administration in testimony Wednesday before Congress, during which the word "independent" was removed from the agency's mission statement online. Carr's comment came as members on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee questioned him on who the FCC answers to in the wake of a ...

Source: upi.com
US  
Salad dressings recalled in 27 U.S. states because they could contain "foreign objects"
- Ventura Foods is recalling thousands of cases of salad dressings sold at retailers including Costco and Publix because the condiments could contain "foreign objects," according to an  alert  from the Food and Drug Administration. More than 3,500 cases of different varieties of salad dressing could be contaminated by "black plastic planting material" in granulated onion, an ingredient in the dressings, ...

Source: cbsnews.com