• 03/01/2025

Trump’s Panama Canal threats designed to scuttle China influence

Washington Post The president-elect intends to push back on Beijing’s “growth and strategic footprint” in the Western Hemisphere, said Trump’s pick for Latin America special envoy. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/12/24/trump-panama-canal-threat-china/

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Live Briefing: Syria’s new leaders dissolve rebel factions, merge them under Defense Ministry

Washington Post Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s de facto leader, said he wants post-Assad Syria to be “united.” Gaza’s Health Ministry said Israeli forces targeted three hospitals. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/12/24/israel-syria-war-news-hamas-gaza-palestine-yemen/

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Russia sentences U.S. citizen to 15 years in prison for espionage

Washington Post Eugene Spector, who was already serving a 3½-year sentence in Russia for bribery, received the additional sentence after being charged with espionage last year. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/12/24/eugene-spector-american-citizen-sentenced-russia/

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After decades fighting demolitions, Palestinian sees own home wrecked

Washington Post Jerusalem officials say they are razing structures as part of an “urban renewal” project. Rights groups fear Israel is pressuring Palestinian residents to leave. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/12/24/israel-demolitions-palestinians-east-jerusalem/

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Netanyahu warns Houthis amid calls for Israel to wipe out terror leadership as it did with Nasrallah, Sinwar

Fox News TEL AVIV – Amid negotiations to forge a hostages-for-cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and as the truce with Hezbollah in Lebanon mostly holds, Jerusalem has an opportunity to direct additional military resources to cut Yemen’s Houthi leadership down to size, according to former Israeli officials. “Israel has to accelerate and…

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Pope Francis launches jubilee, bringing pilgrims and grumbling to Rome

Washington Post Opening the Holy Doors of St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve, Pope Francis inaugurates a jubilee year expected to draw 32 million visitors to Rome. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/12/24/jubilee-2025-pope-francis-rome-tourism/

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Mass graves shed a light on Assad’s ‘killing machine’

Washington Post The International Commission on Missing Persons estimates there could be as many as 66 mass grave sites across Syria. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/12/24/syria-mass-graves-assad/

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US military carries out airstrike in Syria, killing 2 ISIS operatives

Fox News The U.S. military conducted an airstrike on Monday in Syria, where they killed a pair of ISIS operatives and destroyed a truckload of weapons, according to U.S. Central Command. A precision airstrike in the Dayr az Zawr Province, which was formerly controlled by the Syrian regime and Russians, killed two ISIS operatives and…

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Police officer dressed as the ‘Grinch’ steals Christmas spirit during drug bust

Fox News A Peruvian police officer dressed as the Grinch, the cantankerous and green-furred villain, busted suspected drug traffickers in the South American country’s capital days before Christmas.  The operation in San Bartolo in Lima resulted in the arrest of three suspects, according to a video posted online by the Peruvian National Police.  “In an…

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Trump is threatening to take over the Panama Canal, which Panama owns outright

Washington Post President-elect Donald Trump says he wants ships to pay less to move through the Panama Canal, and he said he would demand control over the canal if he doesn’t get what he wants. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/12/23/trump-panama-canal-ownership-history-explained/

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