If you value progressive media, please make a year-end donation today. Florida Republicans have introduced a new bill in the state Senate that would expand a controversial gun program and allow open carry for some students and faculty on college and university campuses across the state. The bill would allow certain employees, faculty, and students to openly carry their personal firearms on campus grounds. That program was established by the Republican-led state legislature following the 2018 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Notably, armed guards at schools rarely stop mass shootings, research has shown, and there are numerous examples of guns being mishandled by authorized individuals on school grounds. Still, Gaetz attempted to justify the bill by citing a mass shooting at Florida State University earlier this year, insinuating that his proposal could have prevented the massacre from taking place. “I'm sorry that I'm having to do this, but it just seems as though places in our society that we thought were safe, even sacrosanct, are now becoming targets.” The comment from the state senator seems to reference two separate talking points from pro-gun Republicans: that more guns make society safer or less prone to violent crime; and that gun-free zones are inherently dangerous. Both talking points have been contradicted by studies examining such claims. Speaking to Miami's WPLG in September about proposals like Gaetz's, Florida State University student Madalyn Propst, who was on campus during the April shooting, expressed opposition to the idea. “If there had been multiple students that were armed during the shooting back in April, then I wouldn't have been able to run and turn a corner and get away. I would have run and tried to get away and then met with another scared student with a firearm who doesn't know who's the actual perpetrator.” December is the most critical time of year for Truthout, because our nonprofit news is funded almost entirely by individual donations from readers like you. We are up against a far-reaching, wide-scale attack on press freedom coming from the Trump administration. 2025 was a year of frightening censorship, news industry corporate consolidation, and worsening financial conditions for progressive nonprofits across the board. We can only resist Trump's agenda by cultivating a strong base of support. The right-wing mediasphere is funded comfortably by billionaire owners and venture capitalist philanthropists. This article is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), and you are free to share and republish under the following terms: He can be found on most social media platforms under the handle @thatchriswalker. Get the news you want, delivered to your inbox every day. To confront Trump's fascism in 2026 we will need significant resources. So, we have an ambitious goal — to raise $230,000 by December 31. Please make a tax-deductible donation now to support nonprofit journalism.

As we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation, your support is urgently needed. The Coast Guard's new workplace harassment manual, which no longer classifies nooses and swastikas as hate symbols, quietly went into effect on Monday. The Trump White House derided that reporting as “false,” and just hours later — after the proposed updates were met with widespread outcry — military officials released a memo claiming that the symbols would remain banned. However, that memo appears to have been ignored entirely in the new manual, which classifies swastikas and nooses not as overt hate symbols but only as “potentially divisive.” The new manual also places restrictions on how higher-ups can respond to displays of what were previously classified as hate symbols. The new manual, however, requires a step-by-step process to remove such symbols, requiring “commanders, commanding officers, officers-in-charge, and supervisors” to consult with “servicing legal offices” when nooses, swastikas, or other white supremacist imagery is found. After that review, they “may order or direct the removal” of individuals who displayed such symbols. “Except in cases involving allegations of sexual harassment, reports must be made within forty-five (45) calendar days of an incident or in the case of a series of incidents, the most recent incident, with discretion for reports to be accepted beyond this time frame,” the policy states. The previous standard allowed for an indefinite amount of time to report on hate symbols. When the changes were first reported on last month, critics noted that reporting white supremacist imagery within such a narrow timeframe was not always feasible, especially in closed quarters. “If you are at sea, and your shipmate has a swastika in their rack, and you are a Black person or Jew, and you are going to be stuck at sea with them for the next 60 days, are you going to feel safe reporting that up your chain of command?” an anonymous Coast Guard official said to The Washington Post at the time. The symbol remains widely recognized as an emblem of antisemitism. “As hate and antisemitism rise through our nation, this Admin should be ashamed for downplaying the meaning of these symbols,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) said on Bluesky. “The confusion and contradiction that surrounds this debacle needs to be fixed completely and comprehensively, without any legalese,” Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Connecticut) said in a press release issued by his office. December is the most critical time of year for Truthout, because our nonprofit news is funded almost entirely by individual donations from readers like you. So before you navigate away, we ask that you take just a second to support Truthout with a tax-deductible donation. We are up against a far-reaching, wide-scale attack on press freedom coming from the Trump administration. 2025 was a year of frightening censorship, news industry corporate consolidation, and worsening financial conditions for progressive nonprofits across the board. We can only resist Trump's agenda by cultivating a strong base of support. The right-wing mediasphere is funded comfortably by billionaire owners and venture capitalist philanthropists. This article is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), and you are free to share and republish under the following terms: He can be found on most social media platforms under the handle @thatchriswalker. Get the news you want, delivered to your inbox every day. To confront Trump's fascism in 2026 we will need significant resources. So, we have an ambitious goal — to raise $230,000 by December 31. Please make a tax-deductible donation now to support nonprofit journalism.

The EU has unveiled its first-ever housing strategy, but is it enough to see off the far right and rescue a generation shut out of affordable living? Don't get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Donald Trump may rage about Europe being a multicultural hell facing “civilisational” collapse. Since 2010, average sale prices in the EU have surged by close to 60%. Rents, meanwhile, have increased by almost 30% on average in the last 15 years. Younger Europeans are bearing the brunt, with many barely able to rent independently or with any security, let alone afford a mortgage, even when they are in work. New research by the EU agency Eurofound (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions) reported extraordinary levels of housing precarity: (In Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Poland, the rate is almost 50%). Young Europeans spend almost one-third of their income on housing. Rents have inflated so much in Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Bulgaria that a worker between 18 and 34 has to spend more than 80% of their wage on a two-room flat. But the biggest structural issue, say experts, is “financialisation” – where homes are treated as a market asset whose value is expected to keep rising to generate profits for investors, rather than a basic human right. In a shift dating back to the 1980s, many European governments have disengaged from direct social housing provision. Home ownership has slumped, even in countries where it used to be an ingrained part of the culture. The resulting crisis is not just a downer for young people still sharing a kitchen with their “full nester” parents – it is an economic drag. Employers can't attract workers to the fastest-growing cities because this is where housing prices have escalated most. “We are now completely dependent on non-EU workers in our [healthcare] professions,” Phil Ní Sheaghdha, president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, told a Eurofound conference in Dublin last month. Housing inequality is, in some countries, feeding the success of far-right parties that peddle a narrative of zero-sum competition between migrants and locals for scarce resources. In that sense, housing has become Europe's political timebomb, say experts. Current rules, for example, have blocked authorities in the Netherlands from helping low-income households with housing. These are “the missing middle”, who are not poor enough to qualify for social housing yet can't afford to buy or rent. This could allow local authorities in areas of “housing stress” to limit rentals. The demand from Collboni and other mayors for €300bn a year in extraordinary Covid-style joint EU funds to construct affordable housing has not been taken up. To receive the complete version of This Is Europe in your inbox every Wednesday, please subscribe here.

Amazon has released the first trailer for next year's documentary on Melania Trump. It's also a comeback vehicle for disgraced director Brett Ratner, who was accused of sexual misconduct by a number of women back in 2017. He is known to be a close friend of Benjamin Netanyahu. The trailer features Donald Trump as Melania assists him on camera. “Everyone wants to know, so here it is,” says Melania later in the footage. “I am proud to share this very specific moment of my life – 20 days of intense transition and planning – with moviegoers and fans across the globe.” Amazon reportedly spent $40m for the rights to the documentary, which the first lady originally conceived of in November 2024, and will also release a three-part docuseries on showing her life travelling between New York, Washington DC and Palm Beach. Ratner is also set to bring back his Rush Hour franchise after Trump reportedly intervened in order to get the fourth film financed. In a bombshell exposé in the Los Angeles Times, six women including actors Natasha Henstridge and Olivia Munn, accused Ratner of sexual misconduct. Henstridge claimed he forced her to perform oral sex on him while Munn alleged that he masturbated in front of her in his trailer on the set of After the Sunset.

Afrikaners check in for their departure to the U.S. at O.R. Seven Kenyans who were handling applications from the white Afrikaner minority were arrested this week because they were illegally working at a U.S.-run processing centre in Johannesburg without the required work visas, South African officials said on Wednesday. The Trump administration has been cracking down on migrants and foreign workers in the United States, arresting and deporting thousands of them, and it is unclear why it decided to hire Kenyans on tourist visas for its high-profile program for white South Africans. Opinion: Trump's mass deportation policy is taking American democracy with it South Africa's Home Affairs Department said it executed “a routine, lawful operation in Johannesburg, targeted at suspected violations of South African immigration law” on Tuesday after receiving intelligence reports about illegal labour. “They were arrested and issued with deportation orders and will be prohibited from entering South Africa again for a five-year period.” Visa applications for Kenyans to perform the processing work in Johannesburg had earlier been rejected, it said. The fact that U.S. government officials were co-ordinating their processing operations with undocumented foreign workers “naturally raises serious questions about intent and diplomatic protocol,” the department said. It has announced plans to admit thousands of them to the United States under the new refugee program, which it launched in May by flying 59 of them to Washington in a chartered jet. 1.2 million immigrants disappeared from U.S. labour force while Trump in office, early data show At the same time, the United States has drastically cut back on traditional refugee programs for those fleeing war zones or violence. Mr. Trump has been escalating his campaign against the South African government throughout this year, falsely accusing it of illegally seizing farmland from white farmers and perpetrating a “genocide” against the white minority. As the dispute intensified this year, Mr. Trump eliminated all U.S. aid programs for South Africa and imposed a 30 per cent tariff on South African goods. Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Discovery is officially rejecting Paramount's buyout offer, calling it “illusory” and arguing that the existing plan to sell most of the media company to Netflix is a better deal for shareholders. Warner, abbreviated as WBD, is the parent company of CNN. On Wednesday morning, the company filed a formal response to Paramount's hostile takeover bid launched last week. The hostile bid “provides inadequate value and imposes numerous, significant risks and costs on WBD,” the board said in a letter to shareholders. The decision ultimately rests with those shareholders, some of whom have already said that they'll reject the company's advice and tender their shares to Paramount for $30 per share. Executives at Paramount argue that their proposal provides “more value and certainty.” Executives at WBD say the hostile play is anything but certain. Paramount says it has “air tight financing” and that any suggestion otherwise is “absurd.” But the WBD side has questioned why Paramount's current owners are enlisting outside help instead of putting up more of the funds personally. Earlier this year, David Ellison and his father, Larry, the Oracle billionaire, took control of Paramount after a protracted, politically tainted merger process. Larry Ellison is worth about $240 billion, according to Forbes' calculations, making him the third richest man in the world. Wednesday's letter from WBD refutes that: “It does not, and never has.” In recent days, some US lawmakers have raised alarms about the Middle Eastern financing arrangement. “This transaction raises national security concerns because it could transfer substantial influence over one of the largest American media companies to foreign-backed financiers,” Reps. Sam Liccardo and Ayanna Pressley wrote in a letter to WBD. Paramount has said in SEC filings that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi have agreed to give up any voting rights and governance role in Warner if the deal goes through. On Tuesday, another financing partner, Jared Kushner's private equity fund Affinity Partners, withdrew from the process. “With ​two ​strong competitors ​vying to secure ​the future ​of this ​unique American ​asset, ​Affinity ​has ​decided no longer to pursue ​the opportunity,” said Affinity, which has a substantial investment from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. “We ​continue to ​believe ​there is a strong strategic rationale for Paramount's offer,” Affinity added in its statement. The corporate tug-of-war may drag on for months. “It's great for our shareholders, great for consumers, and a strong way to create and protect jobs in the industry. Trump enters Warner Bros. fight, says it's ‘imperative that CNN be sold' Under the current plan, WBD will split itself into two publicly traded pieces next summer, and then Netflix will seek regulatory approval to buy the Warner Bros part. President Trump said last week that he will be involved in the regulatory review and suggested that he favored Paramount's bid, although he has also complained about the Ellisons in recent days. “I think the people that have run CNN for the last long period of time are a disgrace,” Trump said. “I think it's imperative that CNN be sold.” US market indices are shown in real time, except for the S&P 500 which is refreshed every two minutes. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. Market holidays and trading hours provided by Copp Clark Limited.

Ukraine says that failure to provide a financial lifeline to Kyiv backed by Russian assets would have grave consequences beyond the current war, and for Europe's future. "Failure to decide tomorrow would be a catastrophe for every single European," Iryna Mudra, deputy head of President Zelensky's office, told the Kyiv Independent on Dec. 17 in a written statement. "If immobilized Russian assets remain untouchable despite a clear legal and financial mechanism, the lesson will be that European solidarity ends where fear of action begins, even in self-defense," Mudra told the Kyiv Independent. "That precedent will not stay confined to Ukraine." Without additional assistance, the country will run out of cash by spring 2026. With the second Trump administration withholding new U.S. support and Europe repeatedly sidelined in Russia-U.S. brokered peace talks, frozen Russian assets have been increasingly viewed as crucial for funding Kyiv and showcasing Europe's strategic leverage. "This is about something way beyond just Ukraine. It is about Europe's agency, and how we see ourselves in the future," Mudra said. "The reparations loan is therefore a test case for Europe's future and will show whether it can act as a strategic union when confronted with aggression and whether Europe is able to take care of its own security and destiny." Mudra's comments echo the words of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said on Dec. 15 in a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky that, should the reparations loan fail, "the European Union's ability to act will be severely damaged for years, if not longer." Slovakia and Hungary, the bloc's most pro-Russia members, would likely veto any such plan. Most analysts agree that the reparations loan is a well-crafted policy response to Ukraine's financing needs and Russia's continued war in Ukraine. Two legal opinions released over the last week from multinational firm Covington & Burling and a group of prominent international lawyers both point out that it would be almost impossible for Russia to find a court or tribunal that would hear or enforce a case against Belgium. Theoretically, a majority of European countries could bypass Belgium and approve the reparations loan. In addition to Merz's vocal backing of the plan, seven EU countries said that they "strongly support" the reparations loan in a different joint declaration on Dec. 7. He was previously a research analyst at Bruegel, a Brussels-based economics think tank, where he worked on Russia and Ukraine, trade, industrial policy, and environmental policy. Luca also worked as a data analyst at Work-in-Data, a Geneva-based research center focused on global inequality, and as a research assistant at the Economic Policy Research Center in Kampala, Uganda. He holds a BA honors degree in economics and Russian from McGill University.

The surviving suspect who allegedly carried out Australia's worst mass shooting in decades was charged with 59 offences on Wednesday, including terrorism and 15 counts of murder. The authorities had waited to charge him until he was out of a coma and had “appropriate cognitive ability” to understand what was happening, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told reporters. Police say the alleged gunmen who opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney's Bondi Beach had traveled to Mindanao in the Philippines last month, as investigators probe ties to extremist networks. “Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by ISIS,” the statement said, adding that Mr. Akram remains in hospital under police guard. On Tuesday, it emerged that Mr. Akram and his father – 50-year-old Sajid Akram, who was killed during the attack – spent most of November in the Philippines, where they are believed to have connected with a web of militant organizations linked to ISIS, also known as the Islamic State. Independent terrorism experts have cast doubt on that assessment, estimating there may still be hundreds of Islamic State-linked fighters operating in the Philippines, along with associated radical preachers and mosques that the authorities have struggled to crack down on. Last year, Australia's National Security agency warned in a report that Abu Sayyaf was “rebuilding its membership and influence in local communities, while continuing a low-level insurgency against Philippine security forces.” Other Islamist militant groups also continue to operate in Mindanao, the report said. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., through a spokesperson, said Wednesday he “strongly rejects” any characterization of Mindanao or the Philippines as a “training hot spot” for the Islamic State. He expressed concern their case “can provide a template for others to follow.” “We are now facing a new wave of terrorism about 25 years after 9/11,” he said, adding that this was driven by “an antisemitic, anti-Jewish agenda as a result of Israeli military action in Gaza.” Despite its defeat in Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State “remains a resilient and evolving global threat,” the United Nations warned in August, adding that the group continues to carry out attacks in multiple countries and is radicalizing potential recruits online. Naveed Akram, who was born and raised in Australia, has been linked to groups in Sydney long accused of spreading Islamic State propaganda and ideology, including one led by preacher Wisam Haddad, who earlier this year lost a court case alleging he spread hate speech against Jews. “Wisam Haddad has never been charged, tried, or convicted of ISIS membership, leadership, or support,” he said, adding that claims about his alleged extremism “rely on conflation, misidentification, vague terminology, and unsubstantiated, racially discriminatory assertions.” Two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney's Bondi beach, killing 15 people, including a child, officials said Monday, in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation. Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Air defenses intercepted and shot down 94 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and the waters of the Azov and Black Seas overnight, the Defense Ministry reported. In the Krasnodar Region, two people were injured by falling UAV debris. A private garage and a power line were damaged during the drone raid in the Voronezh Region. - On-duty air defenses downed 94 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over Russian regions, the Defense Ministry reported. - Two civilians were wounded by falling drone debris in the Slavyansky district of the Krasnodar Region. - Several houses sustained damage to roofs and windows. - Power lines in Slavyansk-na-Kubani have also been damaged. - The region's operational command later reported that UAV fragments were also discovered at nine addresses in the Krasnoarmeysky district in the Krasnodar Region. - A private house and a power line sustained damage following the drone raid in the Voronezh Region. No residents have been injured, Governor Alexander Gusev said.

I wrote an article asking if Trump Derangement Syndrome is real. The backlash exposed how emotional pain now justifies any act of hate I recently wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal under the headline “Is ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome' real?” It went viral almost instantly. Within hours my inbox was flooded with angry messages. I was accused of defending a fascist, labelled a protector of paedophiles, told I had blood on my hands, and sent messages wishing me dead. The irony would be funny if it weren't so revealing. Many of the same people who preach emotional maturity responded with volatility and cruelty, mirroring the very traits they usually claim to condemn. Their outrage became a form of moral elevation. Their sense of injury became a license to attack. As a psychotherapist practising in New York City and Washington, DC, I see this logic every week. Patients insist they “had no choice” but to lash out at a partner, ghost a friend, or retaliate at work because they “felt disrespected”. They're ordinary people who have absorbed a cultural belief that emotional pain automatically grants moral authority. Last year, Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot dead on a Manhattan street. Online and in the streets, he was elevated to folk-hero status. Barely nine months later, the conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated on stage at a university event in Utah. In both cases, violence was filtered through grievance rather than rejected outright. The sense of injury became a license to celebrate bloodshed. This same worldview now shapes far more mundane situations. Experiences that once required patience or perspective to manage are now framed as injuries inflicted by someone else. Words used in therapy, such as trauma, toxic, unsafe and triggered, have drifted far from their clinical purpose and are applied to everyday frustrations as if mild discomfort were equivalent to harm. In America, this mindset is often reinforced by therapists who rarely challenge their patients and instead rush to affirm every feeling. “Of course it's their fault, not yours” has become an all-too-familiar refrain. When ordinary frustrations are recast as psychological injuries, the person who feels hurt instantly ascends to the moral high ground and often believes they are entitled to respond in ways they would normally recognise as excessive. People compete to be the most aggrieved because grievance now signals virtue. Call everything harm and treat every slight as an injury, and suddenly the calmest voice looks apathetic while the angriest looks righteous. This is not only an American phenomenon. In workplaces, people worry that modest dissent may trigger a social or professional backlash. In families, political disagreements once shrugged off are now treated as personal assaults. This emotional logic has hardened into identity. More people now define themselves not by what they value but by what they believe has wronged them. Patients in my office cling to slights because letting go would mean giving up the story that gives them meaning. The same trend appears in politics, where movements define themselves through the injuries they claim to have suffered. Once grievance becomes identity, stepping back feels impossible because it threatens the sense of self. I have worked with conservative clients who believe they are persecuted by progressive colleagues, and progressive clients convinced their conservative relatives threaten their emotional safety. Both sides insist their pain is unique. Both respond to discomfort as if it were danger. What makes this grievance culture so corrosive is its refusal of complexity. Once someone sees themselves as wronged, they are often unwilling to entertain any fact or nuance that might soften their moral certainty. When grievance becomes the frame, people stop asking what is true and lock themselves into a victim mindset that leaves no room for growth. None of this means emotional pain is trivial. Public life depends on the ability to tolerate uncomfortable feelings without turning them into moral authority. Without that capacity, every disagreement becomes an emotional arms race, and the loudest claim of victimhood wins. The backlash to my WSJ piece was only one small expression of this psychology. The people who wished me harm thankfully did not act on their anger. But the underlying logic – “I feel wronged therefore I may attack” – is the same one that cheered two assassinations. A culture organised around grievance eventually loses the ability to function. When feelings eclipse facts and discomfort is treated as injustice, the guardrails of public life collapse. Resilience means being able to feel without letting those feelings distort reality. Responsibility means refusing to let grievance run the show. Britain, like the United States, still has time to resist this drift. Doing so will require something increasingly rare: the ability to feel wronged without assuming that feeling gives you permission to do whatever you want. Jonathan Alpert is a psychotherapist in New York City and Washington, DC and author of ‘Therapy Nation' (HarperCollins, forthcoming 2026).

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane was notoriously fearless and intimidating. But one of his most enduring contributions to the game was a comment made after a UEFA Champions League match in 2000, when he invoked a prawn sandwich to deride soccer's gentrification. “Some people come to Old Trafford, and I don't think they could spell football, never mind understand it,” Keane complained. “They've had a few drinks and probably a few prawn sandwiches and they don't realize what's going on out on the pitch.” It was a cutting remark that captured the media's imagination, spawning the derogatory term “prawn sandwich brigade” for privileged fans who were out of touch with soccer's working-class roots, perhaps more interested in the social scene than cheering for the team. Historically, prawns were a luxury commodity and a subtle display of status and wealth when served at high tea. Rising ticket prices in the Premier League era had been squeezing out traditional fans and their seats had been taken by an upper-crust, fair-weather fanbase. Two weeks before this year's showpiece game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans, CNN reported that Super Bowl LIX was set to be the most expensive ever, with the average price hovering around $9,800. Factor in the travel, accommodation, food and merchandise, and this is an experience that few outside the top 1% could even conceive of; it's for corporate fans who are just as interested in networking, celebrity-spotting and attending exclusive parties as the action on the field. FIFA President Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump have gleefully described the 2026 World Cup as an event of 104 Super Bowls, and it seems as though the matches are priced accordingly. To watch any of the three host nations play their opening game next summer will cost an average of $1,825, triple the price of Qatar's opening game in 2022 and almost three-and-a-half times the price of Russia's first match in 2018. He said, “I think I will be watching the final at home if England reach it. I just can't justify paying that money, it's a joke.” Perhaps in response to some of the criticism, FIFA announced on Tuesday a new tier of pricing for some dedicated supporters of each qualified team, allowing certain fans to attend matches for just $60. But, in a confusingly worded statement, it wasn't clear how many tickets would actually be sold at the reduced price, only that each participating member association would be responsible for allocation. Soccer is still a developing sport in the US, but despite FIFA's stated commitment to grow it globally, the Beautiful Game's world governing body does not seem too concerned about the generally inflated prices. They have reported that 2 million tickets have already been sold and claim “extraordinary global demand” for 20 million more. At the tournament draw in Washington, DC, Trump praised Infantino, saying, “You've set new records on ticket sales, that is an amazing thing. But when the tournament kicks off on June 11 in Mexico City, who will be in attendance? If FIFA's ambitious Club World Cup tournament earlier this summer is any indication, there might be some cause for concern. The games were overpriced and some were played in half-empty stadiums, with large swathes of open seating obvious to the broadcast cameras. A World Cup is a soccer tournament for the globe, but the United States and its 11 host cities look anything but welcoming now. Iran and Haiti are on the government's banned list and fans from those countries will be denied entry. Following a fatal ambush of two National Guard soldiers in the capital, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that more countries would be added to the list – and the administration was true to its word, announcing Tuesday that it was adding full and partial restrictions and entry limitations to many other countries, including World Cup participants Ivory Coast and Senegal. We want them to watch the game. But when the time is up, they'll have to go home,” Vice President JD Vance said at the White House earlier this year. Meanwhile, White House rhetoric suggests that it will become increasingly difficult for anyone to secure travel visas to the US; potentially years of social media activity will have to be disclosed and DNA samples provided, so it may be that the bulk of the tickets will have to be purchased by American-based fans in the midst of a well-documented affordability crisis. When push comes to shove, how many will be forced to concede that spending thousands of dollars on just 90 minutes of soccer pales in comparison to the responsibility of providing health care for the family or putting meals on the table?

A bipartisan group of four U.S. senators on Dec. 16 introduced the Decreasing Russia Oil Profits (DROP) Act of 2025, a bill that would impose targeted sanctions on anyone dealing in Russian oil. If passed, it would require U.S. President Donald Trump to sanction any purchasers, transporters, or facilitators of Russian oil products within 90 days. "(Russian President Vladimir) Putin has demonstrated he is unserious about bringing this war against Ukraine to a close, and continuing to fuel the war machine should carry consequences." Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, held two rounds of talks in Berlin Dec. 14-15 with a Ukrainian team led by President Volodymyr Zelensky. While Trump has made winning a peace deal in Ukraine a priority of his administration, he has been slow to impose economic sanctions against Russia. The measures froze the firms' U.S.-based assets and threatened secondary penalties for foreign entities engaging with them, but Washington has extended a waiver that lets Lukoil-branded gas stations abroad stay in business through late April 2026. The sanctions bill, sponsored by Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal, has lagged in Congress. Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Ukrainian forces have regained control over 16 square kilometers (6.2 square miles) in the northern part of Pokrovsk, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Dec. 17 following his participation in the 32nd Ramstein-format Defense Contact Group meeting. The man is suspected of helping Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) coordinate strikes on Ukrainian Armed Forces' warehouses with ammunition and drones. If Russia's demands were not met through diplomatic efforts, Vladimir Putin warned that Russia would "liberate" what he claimed were its "historical lands" on the battlefield. Since then, the party has been led by lawmaker Olena Shuliak. The U.S. is planning new sanctions on Russia's energy sector to ramp up pressure on Moscow if President Vladimir Putin rejects a peace deal with Ukraine, Bloomberg reported citing sources familiar with the situation. The Kyiv Independent's Martin Fornusek sits down with Denmark's European Union Affairs Minister Marie Bjerre and Sweden's European Union Affairs Minister Jessica Rosencrantz to discuss Ukraine's progress toward EU accession, Hungary's continued block on opening negotiation clusters, and the impact of Ukraine's latest major corruption scandal. Mstyslav Chernov's "2000 Meters to Andriivka," a documentary chronicling Ukrainian troops' perilous advance to retake a strategically important village from Russian forces, has been nominated for best documentary feature. "The lesson will be that European solidarity ends where fear of action begins, even in self-defense,” Iryna Mudra, Zelensky's top legal advisor, told the Kyiv Independent. "We would secure a demilitarized zone between the belligerent parties and, to be specific, we would also move against corresponding Russian violations and attacks," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. Explosions rocked an oil refinery in the Russian city of Slavyansk-on-Kuban amid a Ukrainian drone attack overnight on Dec. 17, media reported.

This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies. Dec 16 (Reuters) – FIFA introduced on Tuesday a small number of $60 “Supporter Entry Tier” tickets, aiming to make next year's World Cup more affordable for fans of qualified teams. The cheaper tickets will make up 10% of Participating Member Associations' (PMAs) allocations. The PMAs, which represent competing national teams and manage dedicated fan ticket programmes, will handle the ticket allocation process. “In total, half of each PMA's ticket allocation will fall within the most affordable categories: 40% under the Supporter Value Tier and 10% under the new Supporter Entry Tier,” FIFA said in a statement. Fans who apply through PMA ticketing programmes and whose teams fail to progress to the knockout stage will have administrative fees waived for refund requests. Last week, Football Supporters Europe (FSE) accused FIFA of imposing “extortionate” ticket prices that could prevent average fans from attending the event. FSE director Ronan Evain told Reuters on Tuesday that while the new pricing was a step in the right direction it was “clearly not sufficient”. He noted that following a team to the final would cost $480 under category four, but jumps to $6,900 for category three, meaning one fan “sitting in the same section” as another could pay 15 times more. Evain also said there was a lack of transparency around ticket distribution. “FIFA doesn't provide any guidelines or obligations for the PMAs. According to the BBC, this will mean about 400 of the cheaper tickets will be available for England and Scotland in their group games, yet Evain said that most PMAs don't disclose the number of tickets. Evain also raised concerns about accessibility for fans with disabilities. Reuters has put Evain's points to FIFA for comment. Despite the backlash, FIFA reported strong interest in the sale's third phase draw, which began on December 11 and will remain open until January 13, driven by the release of match schedules, venues and kick-off times. Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting, readable fomat.

This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies. Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. By putting on goggles and headphones, “Godzilla AR: Godzilla vs Tokyo Dome” allows visitors to feel as if they have stepped into a movie. As visitors watch Godzilla advance toward Tokyo Dome in the outdoor attraction, they can see an about 100-meter-tall 3D Godzilla appear amid real-world structures, such as Tokyo Dome. Graffity Inc., a Tokyo-based firm involved in the development of AR content, codeveloped the visual elements. Tokyo Dome aims to draw 100,000 visitors annually. Popular articles in the past week Popular articles in the past month Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting, readable fomat.

MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. Western countries, together with the Kiev regime, are using African groups to carry out acts of sabotage against the interests of Russia and China, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said in an interview with TASS. According to the deputy minister, the "criminal actions of the Kiev regime and its patrons, who cooperate with local terrorist groups and provide them with support," pose a grave threat not only to Africa, but to the entire world. "They are using these groups, in particular, to terrorize the civilian population of certain Sahel states and to carry out acts of sabotage against the interests not only of Russia, but of other countries as well," the diplomat warned. "They exploit the financial and economic dependence of African states and organizations to impose their own ‘rules,' and to draw them into the West's geopolitical adventures against Russia, China, and others," he added. As Vershinin emphasized, not everything depends solely on Africa itself. "Just as during the period of Western colonialism, from which many of the continent's current problems originate, the region remains subject to extremely strong external influence. The interests of extra-continental countries and transnational corporations — primarily former metropolises — are intertwined in most crisis situations. They continue to extract local resources and manipulate political processes," he added.