NEWS - THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2025 - NEWS
During January's fires, emergency alert failures killed trust: Altadena residents received evacuation orders five hours late, and 10 million got erroneous alerts countywide. LA Times
Musk saw his wealth jump by $178 billion in just two days, putting his year-to-date gain at a record-breaking $216 billion as investors cheered Tesla’s driverless taxi tests in Texas. New York Post
"Boots" followed the story of Cameron Cope, played by Miles Heizer, a gay teen from Louisiana who is bullied and "finds new purpose — and unexpected brotherhood — with his motley team of fellow recruits," according to Netflix. New York Post
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After viewing video of a follow-up strike, Republicans largely had confidence in the Pentagon’s legal rationale while Democrats questioned its legality. New York Times
The legislation authorizes $900 billion for the Pentagon, provides a pay raise for troops, and has some measures to reassert congressional oversight. New York Times
After the speaker denied them a vote on extending the subsidies, four Republicans from competitive districts joined Democrats’ bid to go around G.O.P. leaders and force action. New York Times
Gov. Kathy Hochul cast the measure in unusually personal terms, saying she had felt “the pain of seeing someone you love suffer and feeling powerless to stop it.” New York Times
VOA VIEW: No one should have the right to die.
The region has faced significant flooding in the last week. Powerful winds from another storm have compounded the misery. New York Times
Two hundred million years ago, prosauropods walked the earth. They left something behind. New York Times
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Hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio and his wife announced a commitment to contribute $75 million to children in Connecticut. This funds $250 per child for roughly 300,000 eligible children in their home state as part of seeding "Trump Accounts" — the administration's federal initiative for child investment accounts. OANN
Authorities are asking for the public's help in identifying a person of interest connected to a shooting that took place at Brown University over the weekend. As the investigation stretches into day five, no suspects are in custody. OANN
VOA VIEW: A total screw up.
Five people have been arrested in connection to an alleged New Year’s Eve bombing plot by a far-left extremist group. The fifth suspect has been identified as a transgender veteran who wanted to “recreate Waco” on immigration officers, according to a criminal complaint. OANN
With the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act by the Senate on Wednesday, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is all but assured to become a federally recognized tribal nation. Washington Times
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Most adults are more than a little fine with doling out cash as gifts, and many plan to be asleep before midnight on New Year's Eve. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: As they please.
After more than a year of legal maneuvering, Fani Willis will face questions Wednesday from a Georgia state Senate committee over her prosecution of Donald Trump. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: Willis is a joke.
The House is set to vote on a GOP health care bill that would not extend expiring tax credits. CBS
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President Trump said he will deliver an address live to the nation Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET. CBS
Warner Bros. Discovery's board told its shareholders that Paramount Skydance's offer "provides inadequate value" for the business. CBS
A former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School was sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing and selling body parts donated for scientific research, the DOJ said. CBS
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., put limits on what construction crews can do on the project over the next two weeks. CBS
Nationally, the measles case count is nearing 2,000 for a disease that has been considered eliminated in the U.S. since 2000, a result of routine childhood vaccinations. CBS
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Automakers Hyundai and Kia have reached a settlement with dozens of states over anti-theft technology in models of their vehicles. CBS
VOA VIEW: It is about time.
FIFA slashed the price of some World Cup tickets following a worldwide backlash, with some final seats available for $60. CBS
Mortgage rates moved higher after the Fed cut interest rates last week. That caused demand to drop for both home buying and refinancing. CNBC
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In a post on Truth Social, Trump said "Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America." CNBC
VOA VIEW: As it should be.
Wiles, in the rare, candid interviews, described Trump's "reciprocal" tariff policy as "so much thinking out loud." CNBC
MIT professor Nuno Loureiro was shot and killed at his Brookline home, officials said. The 47-year-old lab director was found with gunshot wounds Monday. FOX News
JetBlue flight from Curaçao to New York narrowly avoided mid-air collision with U.S. Air Force tanker near Venezuela, forcing evasive action during climb. FOX News
Texas woman Camille Benson arrested for placing razor blades in bread at Mississippi Walmart stores, charged with attempted mayhem in disturbing case. FOX News
Ukraine extended aerial attacks targeting Russia's energy infrastructure for a fifth day with a drone strike on an oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai. UPI
VOA VIEW: Russia should pay heavily.
The United States has designated Colombia's Clan de Golfo as a terrorist organization, the latest drug-trafficking cartel or gang to be blacklisted by the Trump administration during its war on drugs. UPI
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth offered few details on his plan. But he said the military was alienating soldiers by treating clergy as therapists. UPI
Donald Trump is suing Briitain's BBC alleging it intentionally misrepresented his Jan. 6 speech to try to influence the outcome of the 2024 election. UPI
VOA VIEW: Trump will prevail.
Louisiana resident Micah James Legnon has been arrested by agents from the FBI's New Iberia office for allegedly planning an attack on federal agents. UPI
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A car crash involving a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle in suburban Chicago escalated into a violent arrest caught on camera as a crowd taunted agents. The animals need to be arrested.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital that the violent confrontation unfolded in Evanston, Illinois, after a suspect "aggressively tailgated" a Border Patrol vehicle and "grabbed the agent’s genitals and squeezed them." The incident quickly drew what officials described as a "hostile" crowd of onlookers, devolving into chaos.
As federal agents took the driver of the civilian vehicle into custody, several bystanders confronted them, leading to one or two additional arrests, FOX 32 Chicago reported, citing the police. Video from the scene shows an agent wrestling a suspect to the ground and striking him multiple times as bystanders shouted profanity and tried to intervene, with one person attempting to pull an agent away. Another officer was seen raising what appeared to be a can of pepper spray to hold the crowd back, while the suspect could be heard saying that he could not breathe during the struggle.
According to DHS, the Border Patrol vehicle had been "aggressively tailgated by a red vehicle." When agents attempted to make a U-turn, the sedan collided with their car. One of the suspects then "physically assaulted" an agent by kicking and targeting his groin, prompting the officer to deliver "defensive strikes."
"A hostile crowd then surrounded agents and their vehicle and began verbally abusing them and spitting on them," DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital in a statement on Sunday. "One physically assaulted a Border Patrol agent and kicked an agent. As he was being arrested, he grabbed the [agent's] genitals and squeezed them. As you know this is an extremely painful experience for most human beings and justifies certain responses, the agent delivered several defensive strikes to the agitator to free his genitals from the agitator’s vice."
