Federal judge says U.S. must give due process to deported Venezuelans – NPR

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Lead: A federal judge ruled on Monday that men the U.S. government deported to El Salvador in mid-March must be afforded meaningful due-process protections after being removed under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. The decision, issued by Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, found the group were … Read more

Trump holds an event with Rubio and Hegseth during vacation as tensions with Venezuela mount

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President Donald Trump paused his Florida holiday on Monday to press a tougher line on Venezuela, warning President Nicolás Maduro as U.S. forces pursued sanctioned oil tankers in the Caribbean. Surrounded by top national security aides including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump said he was prepared to escalate a … Read more

Ellison Guarantees $40.4B of Paramount’s Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery

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Dec. 22, 2025 — updated 6:35 p.m. ET Paramount announced on Dec. 22 that Larry Ellison, father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, will personally guarantee roughly $40.4 billion of the equity underpinning Paramount’s $108 billion offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The move aims to address a key concern raised by WBD’s board and … Read more

So much flu: What to know as flu season ramps up early this year

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Lead: Doctors across the United States report that seasonal influenza has arrived earlier than usual and is producing intense illness, especially among children. Emergency departments in hotspots such as Colorado and Michigan say pediatric volumes are elevated and some hospitals are strained. Clinicians note that vaccinated children tend to have milder courses while unvaccinated kids … Read more

Judge Bars ICE From Re-detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia Through Christmas Holiday

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Lead On Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis extended a temporary restraining order that prevents Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from re-detaining Salvadoran native Kilmar Abrego Garcia through the Christmas holiday. The order keeps Abrego Garcia out of federal custody while the government pursues deportation to Liberia or another country and prepares … Read more

FDA approves first GLP-1 pill for obesity from Novo Nordisk

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On Dec. 22, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide for treatment of obesity, marking the first GLP‑1 pill authorized for that indication in the United States. The Danish drugmaker said the medication will begin shipping in early 2026, with a 1.5 milligram starter dose offered in pharmacies and via … Read more

Vince Zampella, co-creator of Call of Duty, dies in Ferrari crash

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Vince Zampella, a prominent game designer and co-founder of Respawn Entertainment, died Sunday afternoon in a single-car crash on Angeles Crest Highway north of Los Angeles. The southbound Ferrari reportedly left the roadway just after exiting a tunnel, struck a concrete barrier and caught fire; a passenger also died after being ejected and taken to … Read more

Deadly clashes in Aleppo between Syrian army and Kurdish-led SDF during integration talks

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Lead: On Monday in Aleppo, exchanges of heavy fire between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) left at least three people dead and 31 wounded, CNN and local authorities reported. The skirmishes occurred as high-level negotiations continued over a March 10 agreement that calls for integration of SDF-held institutions into Syria’s … Read more

Judge Bars ICE From Re-Detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia Through Christmas Holiday

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Lead: A federal judge in Maryland extended a temporary restraining order on Dec. 22, 2025, preventing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from re-detaining Salvadoran native Kilmar Abrego Garcia through the Christmas holiday. The order keeps Abrego Garcia out of federal custody while the government pursues deportation options that could include Liberia or another country. Judge … Read more

S.F. power outage: More than 48 hours later, some parts of the city are still without power

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Lead: A widespread San Francisco blackout that began on Saturday afternoon left parts of the city without electricity for more than 48 hours, with utility crews still working Monday to restore service. PG&E said a fire at an 8th and Mission substation and subsequent safety shutdowns triggered cascading outages that peaked at about 130,000 customers. … Read more

ChatGPT rolls out “Your Year with ChatGPT,” a Spotify Wrapped-style recap

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OpenAI on December 22, 2025 began offering a Spotify Wrapped–style annual recap called “Your Year with ChatGPT” to eligible users in select English-speaking markets, including the United States, Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. The feature is available to individual accounts on free, Plus and Pro plans that have both “reference saved memories” and … Read more

RFK Jr. Tried to Wreck the Childhood Vaccine Schedule Over the Weekend – Gizmodo

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Over the weekend, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. almost advanced a dramatic change to the U.S. childhood immunization schedule by signaling support for Denmark’s smaller routine program. Politico reported that Kennedy canceled a Friday-afternoon press briefing where he would have advised parents to consider Denmark’s schedule as an option. The cancellation came after internal … Read more

Trump recalls nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and embassy posts

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On Dec. 22, 2025, the Biden-era chiefs of mission in at least 29 countries were notified that they will be recalled to Washington in January as the Trump administration moves to replace senior embassy leaders with officials aligned to President Donald Trump’s “America First” priorities. The personnel actions affect career Foreign Service officers who had … Read more

Nicki Minaj Calls VP JD Vance an ‘Assassin’ While Erika Kirk Sits Nearby

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Lead: At Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix on Sunday, Grammy-nominated rapper Nicki Minaj referred to Vice President JD Vance as an “assassin” while seated a few feet from Erika Kirk, the widow of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The remark drew immediate, stunned silence and prompted visible discomfort from Minaj, who covered her … Read more

How Bari Weiss’s Decision Sparked a ’60 Minutes’ Crisis

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Lead: Earlier this month at CBS News, editor-in-chief Bari Weiss intervened in a “60 Minutes” segment about Venezuelan migrants deported to CECOT, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, prompting a last-minute shelving of the piece and an internal uproar. The segment by correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, titled “INSIDE CECOT,” had been screened multiple times and cleared … Read more