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Lead: On December 17, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed an expanded meeting of the Russian Ministry of Defense board and reiterated his commitment to the maximalist aims that drove the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, saying Russia will ‘undoubtedly’ achieve its objectives. Kremlin officials framed those objectives as addressing the alleged ‘root causes’ of … Read more

Who: The U.S. Senate. When: final passage ahead of a December 2025 holiday recess. Where: Washington, D.C. What: Lawmakers approved a $901 billion National Defense Authorization Act that raises troop pay and compels Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide unedited video and orders tied to strikes on alleged drug boats near Venezuela. Result: The bill … Read more

Lead Local Russian officials reported early on Thursday that a drone strike hit a tanker docked in Rostov-on-Don, causing damage and preliminary deaths, while separate Russian strikes on Zaporizhzhia wounded dozens. Regional governor Yuri Slyusar and Rostov mayor Alexander Skriabin described fires and building damage in the city and nearby towns. Ukrainian and Western officials … Read more

Lead: EU leaders convened at a high-stakes summit to weigh continued support for Ukraine amid deepening political and economic strains across the bloc. The meeting focused on funding, sanctions, defence coordination, energy security and migration, producing sharp differences on priorities and conditionalities. Delegations warned that internal splits and external pressures — including strained relations with … Read more

Lead On the evening of Wednesday, December 17, 2025, President Donald J. Trump spoke for 18 minutes from the White House Diplomatic Room, addressing the nation on the economy and national security. He used charts and a string of policy promises — including a $1,776 “Warrior Dividend” for roughly 1.4 million military members — to … Read more

Lead On Wednesday the U.S. government acknowledged that actions by an air traffic controller and an Army Black Hawk crew contributed to a midair collision last January near Ronald Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people. The admission, contained in the government’s response to a family’s lawsuit, says a controller violated visual-separation procedures and that … Read more

In an open letter this week, Chicago Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren said the team is broadening its search for a new stadium beyond Arlington Heights to include sites across the wider Chicagoland region, explicitly naming Northwest Indiana. Warren said the move follows a breakdown in expected legislative partnership in Illinois, leaving the organization … Read more

Lead On December 17, 2025, the Powerball drawing produced the numbers 25, 33, 53, 62 and 66 with a Powerball of 17, generating an estimated $1.25 billion jackpot. Powerball reported a lump-sum cash value of $572.1 million for the prize. It was not immediately clear whether any ticket matched all six numbers, and the drawing … Read more

Lead: On January 29, 2025, the U.S. government formally admitted liability in the midair collision above the Potomac River that killed all 67 people aboard an Army Black Hawk and American Eagle Flight 5342. The Justice Department’s court filing said the government breached a duty of care, citing failures by Army aircrew and Federal Aviation … Read more

Lead Ann Arbor — A lawyer for a former University of Michigan football staffer told police that ex-head coach Sherrone Moore had a “long history of domestic violence” during the couple’s relationship, according to sworn testimony at a complaint authorization hearing before Moore’s Dec. 10 arraignment. Detective Jessica Welker of the Pittsfield Township Police Department … Read more

Stocks dropped sharply on Wednesday as renewed anxiety about the artificial intelligence sector swept U.S. markets after a Financial Times report raised questions about financing for Oracle’s planned $10 billion Michigan data center. Oracle and its development partner Related Digital issued statements disputing the report, but the absence of a publicly identified equity backer unsettled … Read more

Lead LG has teamed with Dolby to bring the first FlexConnect soundbar to market, unveiling the H7 as part of a new modular audio family at CES 2026. The H7 uses the Alpha 11 Gen 3 processor — the same chip in LG’s latest OLED and Micro RGB LED TVs — and joins the M5 … Read more

Lead The White House in December 2024 added new commemorative plaques that sharply criticize former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, displaying language that repeats disputed and partisan claims. The plaques accuse Mr. Biden of taking office after “the most corrupt Election ever seen” and of overseeing economic and foreign-policy failures; they also use derisive … Read more

Lead: Measles outbreaks that accelerated in late 2025 remain active and are expected to carry into the new year across multiple U.S. states. Since late summer, clusters centered in southwestern Utah and Mohave County, Arizona, and a growing outbreak in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, have produced thousands of exposures and nearly 2,000 confirmed infections nationally. … Read more

Lead The Chicago Bears told season-ticket holders and the Chicago Tribune this week they are examining sites in northwest Indiana as a contingency while talks with Illinois lawmakers over incentives for a new Arlington Heights stadium stall. Team president and CEO Kevin Warren confirmed the cross‑state possibility but stressed the club still prefers Arlington Park; … Read more