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Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / TechCrunch : A profile of the Digital Security Helpline, run by Access Now, which gives 24/7 help to reporters and others who suspect they are victims of government spyware   —  For more than a decade, dozens of journalists and human rights activists have been targeted and hacked by governments all over the world.

New York Times : Q&A with Edison Scientific CEO Sam Rodriques about Kosmos, Edison's AI tool for scientific research, why AI probably won't cure diseases anytime soon, and more   —  A tech C.E.O. explains why A.I. probably won't cure diseases anytime soon.  Hint: You still need humans.  —  Video

The economy, the issue that hurt Democrats in the 2024 elections, gave them a major boost in this year's ballot box showdowns . "Look, we know what’s important right now," Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin said in his speech at the DNC's winter meeting earlier this month. "S‑‑‑ is too expensive." One year after deep concerns over inflation helped President Donald Trump and Republicans win back the White House and Senate and keep their House majority, Democrats say their decisive victories in last month's 2025 elections, and their overperformances in special elections and other ballot box showdowns this year were fueled by their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation. Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Meghan Meehan-Draper said Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, who overperformed the public opinion polls as they cruised to double-digit Election Night victories in the blu...

Eleanor Olcott / Financial Times : A look at Chinese food delivery giant Meituan's subsidy war with Alibaba and JD.com, leading Meituan to a big Q3 loss and internal debate over global expansion   —  Competition from Alibaba and JD.com for fast-growing instant retail market has hit the Beijing-based group

President Donald Trump is taking his pressure campaign to the next level against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and making it clear he doesn’t believe the strongman should be leading the country — all while China and Russia are speaking out on the escalating conflict involving their ally. The Trump administration has launched a series of strikes targeting alleged drug boats off the coast of Latin America in recent months and announced this month a "complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela" as his administration has significantly beefed up its naval assets in the region.  While the Trump administration has said that these efforts align with the administration’s effort to curb the influx of drugs into the U.S., the campaign also appears geared toward removing Maduro from power . This isn’t the first attempt by Trump to squeeze out Maduro. He previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela and backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó during ...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed he will be meeting with President Donald Trump Sunday, likely to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. "Rustem Umerov reported on his latest contacts with the American side. We are not losing a single day. We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level – with President Trump in the near future. A lot can be decided before the New Year," Zelenskyy wrote on X . Zelenskyy reportedly confirmed in a WhatsApp chat with Ukrainian journalists that the meeting would take place Sunday, according to NBC News . He told the reporters it is unclear "whether territorial issues will be discussed." ZELENSKYY ENCOURAGED BY 'VERY GOOD' CHRISTMAS TALKS WITH US The meeting could indicate that Russia and Ukraine are closer to a peace deal after Trump said last month that he would not meet with Zelenskyy or Russian President Vladimir Putin until a deal to end the war was final or in its final stages. "Over the ...

Alfred Ng / Politico : Federal records show ICE has increased its surveillance tech spending to $300M+ under Trump, as the White House lowered privacy guardrails around citizens' data   —  The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is buying millions of dollars' worth of new surveillance tools at the same …

Hartley Charlton / MacRumors : Apple settles with a Brazilian regulator to allow alternative app stores; report: Apple will charge a 5% fee for alt app stores and 15% on App Store link-outs   —  Brazilian regulators have approved a settlement that will require Apple to change how the App Store operates on iPhone in the country …

Former President Joe Biden shared a family photo on social media on Christmas Eve, sparking online criticism after he appeared partially visible in the image while son Hunter stood front and center. The photo shows several members of the Biden family standing in front of a decorated Christmas tree, with Hunter positioned prominently in the foreground. Former first lady Jill Biden is also in the image, standing in front of the former president with her head partially obstructing his face. All other family members appear fully framed and clearly visible. In the X post accompanying the image, Biden wrote, "Wishing you a peaceful and joyful Christmas Eve filled with joy." INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS CARD TRADITION – FROM COOLIDGE TO TRUMP The post did not address the framing of the photo, and representatives for Biden did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The image circulated widely on social media following its release, with users commenting on the po...

Congress has done nil to fix NIL in college sports. Lawmakers get another chance to tackle NIL in early 2026.  Let’s start with terms. "NIL" refers to "name, image, likeness." College athletes have made bank over the past few years, marketing themselves as their own product. They skip from school to school for more playing time. A bigger spotlight. And that leads to a better NIL deal. Translation: You’ll probably make more from your NIL contract if you play for Ohio State and not North Dakota State. TRUMP RIPS NIL ‘DISASTER’ IN OVAL OFFICE, WARNS IT’S KILLING COLLEGE SPORTS As everyone watches bowl games and the College Football Playoff this holiday season, fans inevitably crow about the lack of parity for schools from the Big 10 and SEC compared to the Mid-American Conference and Sunbelt Conference. James Madison, we’re looking at you. The NCAA appears incapacitated to act to rein in NIL and issue nationwide rules . So, they’ve turned to Congress for a fi...

Siddharth / GSMArena.com : Xiaomi unveils $999+ 17 Ultra in China with three rear cameras, including a 50MP 1" sensor and a 200MP periscope lens; Leica edition gets a mechanical zoom ring   —  The Xiaomi 17 Ultra has finally been unveiled in China as the brand's flagship phone.  Alongside the standard model …

Justice Samuel Alito criticized the Supreme Court’s majority in a sharp dissent Tuesday after the high court decided 6–3 to temporarily block President Donald Trump from deploying the National Guard in Chicago. Alito said the high court’s majority made "unwise" and "imprudent" determinations to reach its decision. The majority also did not give enough deference to Trump after the president found that agitators were hindering immigration officers and other federal personnel from doing their jobs in Chicago and that the National Guard needed to step in to help. "Whatever one may think about the current administration’s enforcement of the immigration laws or the way ICE has conducted its operations, the protection of federal officers from potentially lethal attacks should not be thwarted," Alito wrote. WHERE THE TRUMP ADMIN'S COURT FIGHT OVER DC NATIONAL GUARD STANDS IN WAKE OF SHOOTING The lawsuit stemmed from Trump invoking a rarely used federal la...

Tabby Kinder / Financial Times : Analysis: Oracle has moved $66B of debt for building AI data centers off its balance sheet using SPVs; Meta has moved $30B, xAI moved $20B, and CoreWeave $2.6B   —  Creative financing helps insulate Big Tech while binding Wall Street to a future boom or bust

Congressional Democrats are voicing alarm at the fact that the U.S. might soon begin selling cutting-edge chips to one of its greatest geopolitical adversaries. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., joined by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote a letter to Under Secretary for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler on Monday, demanding answers as to why the Trump administration had green-lit the sale of the H200 Chip to China. "The President directing you to approve licenses of the H200 falls within a deeply concerning pattern that undercuts our nation’s security," the pair of Democrats wrote. TRUMP SAYS EVERY AI PLANT BEING BUILT IN US WILL BE SELF-SUSTAINING WITH THEIR OWN ELECTRICITY Meeks said the basis of his request is found in the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA), the 2018 law governing the federal government authority over technology-related exports. The ECRA states that the Department of Commerce must supply Congress with answers to concerns raised by the ranking member o...

A potential veto of Chicago’s 2026 budget by Mayor Brandon Johnson could trigger the Windy City's first-ever municipal shutdown. Johnson reportedly rebuked the budget passed by council over the weekend, which lacks the mayor’s favored per-employee "head tax" on corporations, as "morally bankrupt." If Johnson were to veto the budget, it would place the onus back on city council to rehash a plan that could get signed before Dec. 30 – or plunge the city into shutdown. RECORDS REVEAL CHICAGO MAYOR'S 'GIFT ROOM' WAS CONSTRUCTED AFTER INVESTIGATORS TURNED AWAY City Council lacks any Republican representation – with a Democratic majority of 48 plus two independents, so the situation represents a clash within factions of the left. One such Democratic critic was Alderman Gilbert Villegas of Belmont-Cragin on the city’s northwest side. Villegas, a noted ally of ex-Mayor Lori Lightfoot, tweeted that he will "work hard to see if we can get 38-40 vote...

Devindra Hardawar / Engadget : Xbox had a terrible 2025: Microsoft canceled games and raised console and Game Pass prices, Costco stopped selling Xbox, and Valve's Steam Machine upstaged it   —  But can it be resurrected in PC form?  —  Want to see a dead body?  I present to you the Xbox.

A former conservative lawyer-turned-vocal critic of President Donald Trump is jumping into the crowded Democratic primary to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. George Conway, who was previously married to Trump's 2016 campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, filed to run in New York's 12th Congressional District on Monday. The Manhattan-based district is considered a safe blue seat. Nadler, who served in Congress since 1992, announced in September of this year that he was stepping down amid pressure on older Democrats to make way for a new generation. WHITE HOUSE HITS BACK AFTER JFK’S GRANDSON CALLS RFK JR A ‘RABID DOG’  Conway was once known in Washington, D.C., as one of the lawyers who worked on Paula Jones' case when she sued then-President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment. He also championed conservative causes as a member of the Federalist Society, a right-wing law society. But in recent years, Conway has made a name for himself as a vehement Trump critic...

Denitsa Tsekova / Bloomberg : FanDuel and CME Group launch a prediction market app called FanDuel Predicts in five US states, just days after DraftKings rolled out a similar product   —  FanDuel, the US online gambling division of Flutter Entertainment Plc, launched its own prediction-market app in five states just days …

White House economic director Kevin Hassett said Sunday that the Trump administration is taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to tackling the housing affordability crisis. "Everybody in the whole Cabinet is working on trying to get housing to be more affordable," Hassett told "Fox News Sunday." He said the administration is preparing a sweeping proposal aimed at easing the burden on homebuyers, with details expected early in the new year. THE TOP 3 REASONS HOUSING HAS BECOME SO UNAFFORDABLE IN THE US MARKET – AND IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK "We are going to have a plan, a big plan, to announce sometime soon in the new year that's going to be very good news for the American people who feel like it’s not affordable to buy a home anymore," Hassett added. He also said that Cabinet officials plan to meet with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in the days after Christmas to pitch and review policy proposals. "We have a big list of housing ide...

Erika Kirk welcomed rapper Nicki Minaj as the surprise guest for a Q&A at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest on Sunday. The "Beez in the Trap" singer previously teamed up with the Trump White House, speaking at the United Nations in November to raise awareness about persecution against Christians in Nigeria. Rumors had grown that Minaj would make an appearance at AmericaFest, but it was not confirmed until she went on stage Sunday. "I'm honored to be here. I'm honored to be here," Minaj said after Kirk welcomed her to the stage. She went on to praise both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, saying they are politicians who have an "uncanny" ability to relate to the American people. UN AMBASSADOR EXPLAINS HOW 'UNLIKELY' TEAM-UP WITH NICKI MINAJ CAME TOGETHER FOR GLOBAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM PUSH "I love both of them," she said of the two leaders. Despite previously supporting Democrats like  Barack Obama  an...

Sri Muppidi / The Information : Source: OpenAI's compute margin has jumped to about 70% in October from about 52% at the end of 2024 and roughly 35% in January 2024   —  As OpenAI discusses raising an unprecedented investment round of up to $100 billion, it can crow about some key improvements to how it runs its business.