After the U.S. announced military sales and aid to Taiwan, China says the U.S. is “playing with fire.” In a statement, the Chinese government said Sunday, Dec. 22, that Taiwan is the “first red line that cannot be crossed” in relations between the two global superpowers. The U.S. authorized up to $571 million in defense…

The city of Minneapolis has amended an ordinance that previously prohibited anti-abortion sidewalk counselors from approaching individuals seeking an abortion at clinics. In 2022, the city enacted the Security of Reproductive Healthcare Facilities Ordinance, which banned obstructing access to or occupying driveways of reproductive healthcare facilities. In 2023, Pro-Life Action Ministries, an anti-abortion advocacy group,…

In a series of posts over the weekend of Dec. 21, President-elect Donald Trump criticized the tolls that ships must pay to use the Panama Canal, a key waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The fees, set and collected by the Panamanian government, can range from $3,000 to $500,000 depending on a vessel’s size…

A record nine Major League Baseball teams are going to have to pay the tax man come January. According to ESPN and the Associated Press, the league sent a memo to the teams late Friday, Dec. 20, outlining the bill, known as a “luxury tax.” The luxury tax, also known as the Competitive Balance Tax,…

Blake Lively has accused Justin Baldoni, her co-star and director on “It Ends With Us,” of sexual harassment. Lively also claims Baldoni orchestrated an online smear campaign to tarnish her reputation. Court documents obtained by The New York Times detail a meeting addressing Baldoni’s behavior. Attendees reportedly included Lively’s husband, actor Ryan Reynolds. Key issues…

An online-based school in Arizona is outsourcing teaching duties entirely to artificial intelligence. The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools approved an application for an AI-based virtual academy in 2025. Unbound Academy, which also operates in Texas and Florida under the name Alpha Schools, said kids can learn twice as much using a two-hour learning…

The House Ethics Committee report into former Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz is now in the eye of the public. The investigation found “substantial evidence” President-elect Donald Trump’s first pick for attorney general broke state and federal laws while in office, including statutory rape of a 17-year-old girl. Gaetz resigned from Congress in November after…

A retired Metropolitan Police officer has been found guilty by a District of Columbia judge on Monday, Dec. 23. Shane Lamond was convicted of tipping off a leader of the Proud Boys group and then lying about it. Lamond now faces up to 45 years in prison for feeding Proud Boys leader, Enrique Tarrio, information…

Baseball icon and Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson died on Friday, Dec. 20, in his hometown of Oakland, California, at the age of 65. “One of one” was a phrase often used to describe Henderson, who shattered records and often upset baseball’s establishment with the way he played and the way he expressed himself.  …

Intelligence officials said Iran is paying teens as young as 13-years-old to attack Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe, and there are concerns Tehran’s efforts may spread, according to a report from Bloomberg on Saturday, Dec. 21. Investigators said that several attacks in 2024 across Sweden, involving the Israeli Embassy and an Israeli defense firm,…