The Epoch Times

🚨 Death Toll From UPS Plane Crash in Kentucky Rises to 15 The update was confirmed on Christmas Day by Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/u6pgrt

🚨🇯🇵 Japan’s Cabinet Approves Record $64 Billion Defense Budget Amid Tensions With China The draft budget for the fiscal year beginning in April, which still requires parliamentary approval, sets defense outlays at about $64 billion, the largest in Japan’s history. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/8m1w3x

🚨 Dollar Set for Steep Decline While the so-called Santa Claus rally delivered year-end gains for stocks and precious metals, the U.S. dollar received a lump of coal to finish a not particularly strong 2025. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/oion93

🚨 Largest Landlord Reaches Deal With DOJ LivCor, one of the largest landlords in the United States, has entered into a proposed consent decree with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve price manipulation claims made by the department, the DOJ said in a Dec. 23 statement. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/i7g7vy

🚨🇵🇱🇷🇺 Poland Intercepts Russian Plane Poland sent fighter jets to intercept a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying near its airspace over the Baltic Sea and said dozens ‍of objects entered from Belarus overnight, warning ‍the incidents during the holiday season may signal a provocation. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/xuzmu7

🚨 Courts Cap Off Year of Major Decisions The federal court system returned some landmark rulings for the American people in 2025, but many legal questions remain unanswered as judges absorb the flood of litigation challenging President Donald Trump’s policies. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/mwwtz6

🚨 Dog Biscuits Under Recall Iowa-based Consumers Supply Distributing LLC is recalling dog biscuit products from seven states due to the possibility of Salmonella bacteria contamination, the company said in a Dec. 24 announcement published by the Food and Drug Administration. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/dc7vms

🚨 Mortgage Rates Dip to 6.18 Percent The weekly mortgage rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.18 percent for the week ending Dec. 24 as the housing market continues to lean in favor of buyers. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/1s1bda

🚨 Silver Tops $75 as Record-Breaking Precious Metals Run Continues Spot silver rose by as much as 2.4 percent to a record $75.62 and was at about $75.30 at 10:30 a.m. ET on Dec. 26. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/vttvd6

🚨🌏 China Expels 4 Defense Executives as Anti-Corruption Purge Continues China has officially expelled four senior defense leaders from its top political advisory body, amid a deepening purge in the military establishment that has raised questions about Beijing’s efforts to modernize its armed forces. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/49uyyi

🚨 𝐉𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐨 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐢𝐝, 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐲 Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, 44, has said he wants to consolidate his father’s conservative legacy at the Oct. 4 vote when he will try to unseat leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/mxk49b

🚨 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐀𝐥𝐳𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 Results challenge the view that Alzheimer’s is ‘intrinsically irreversible,’ the study said. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/k0fq2l

🚨 𝐃𝐎𝐉 𝐒𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐈𝐭 𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝟏 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐩𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 It’s not clear why the documents were not found earlier, but the department said they ‘will release the documents as soon as possible.’ Read more: https://theepochtim.es/xpidqy

🚨 𝐔𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐕𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑-𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐊𝐲𝐢𝐯 𝐖𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 The move comes as U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies calls for Ukraine to hold elections, prompting renewed debate in Kyiv over wartime voting. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/b84ng7

🚨 𝐑𝐨𝐛 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐞 ‘𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞’ 𝐛𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟑𝟎 Rob Schneider suggested that Hollywood has already started to ‘completely dismantle itself.’ Read more: https://theepochtim.es/9ogk3u

🚨 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐧 Imran Ahmed argued in his complaint that the sanctions were political retaliation and violated the First Amendment. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/e4i0kh

🚨 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐔𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 Moscow said U.S.-led negotiations are inching forward and accused European allies of undermining the effort. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/7metnl

🚨 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚’𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐈𝐬 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 U.S. innovation could finally start to blunt Beijing’s control over critical minerals. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/ds37yj

🚨 𝐍𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡-𝐚𝐧𝐝-𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐪 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐮𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 “The agreement reflects a shared focus on expanding access to high-performance, low cost inference,” Groq said in the announcement. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/s27q5c

🚨 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐓𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 Authorities limit church services, campus activity, and public displays, leaving holiday events largely confined to officially sanctioned venues. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/h6h7xy