HHS Secretary Kennedy Advances Lyme Disease Diagnostics Through Patient-Focused Initiatives
Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hosted a roundtable on December 15, bringing together Lyme disease patients, clinicians, researchers, and congressional leaders to address longstanding challenges in diagnosis and care for this tick-borne illness that affects hundreds of thousands of Americans annually. The event highlighted the renewal of the LymeX Innovation Accelerator, a public-private partnership with the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation originally established during the first Trump administration, aimed at developing improved diagnostic tools using advanced technologies like artificial intelligence. Additional measures include expanded support for Medicare beneficiaries through the Chronic Care Management program and a commitment to incorporate real-world patient experiences into federal efforts on prevention, testing, and treatment.
Sources: US Dept of Health & Human Services, The Epoch Times
Trump Administration Eliminates Over 600 Federal Regulations in 2025, Achieving Substantial Cost Reductions
The Trump administration has implemented 646 deregulatory actions in fiscal year 2025, far exceeding the 10-to-1 ratio mandated by a January executive order requiring the removal of ten existing regulations for each new one introduced, while adding only five new rules. These efforts, concentrated in agencies such as Treasury, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Agriculture, and Homeland Security, have yielded $211.8 billion in net cost savings for the American economy, equivalent to more than $600 per citizen, by easing burdens on businesses and individuals through measures like ending the TSA shoe removal requirement and eliminating certain financial reporting mandates.
Sources: The White House, FOX News
California Proceeds with Reissuance of Non-Domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses Amid Compliance Concerns
California’s Department of Motor Vehicles plans to reissue approximately 17,000 non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses to immigrant drivers following a court stay on a federal rule that had prompted their cancellation, viewing prior expiration date mismatches as correctable errors while federal authorities maintain that separate pre-existing violations under longstanding regulations persist and require resolution before resumption. This development has heightened tensions over state-federal authority in commercial licensing, with risks to interstate recognition of the licenses and potential economic impacts on trucking operations if compliance disputes lead to further enforcement actions.
Trump Slams Media for Ignoring Unemployment Increase as a Result of Federal Workforce Reductions
President Trump explained that the recent rise in the unemployment rate to around 4.5-4.6% stems primarily from significant cuts to the federal government workforce, emphasizing that all new job growth has occurred in the private sector. In contrast, unnecessary government positions are being eliminated to reduce bureaucracy and promote efficiency. He noted that the administration’s efforts, including through the Department of Government Efficiency, have lowered federal employment to levels not seen in over a decade, with substantial losses in recent months as part of trimming excess staffing, and suggested that rehiring for non-essential roles could artificially lower unemployment but would contradict efforts to streamline government operations and focus on private-sector gains.
Sources: The Washington Times, The Daily Caller
Federal Prosecutors Estimate Up to $9 Billion Lost to Fraud in Minnesota Medicaid Programs
Federal authorities have announced additional charges against individuals accused of defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid-funded programs, with a top prosecutor indicating that fraud across 14 vulnerable services since 2018 could exceed $9 billion, representing half or more of the approximately $18 billion expended on these initiatives intended to support housing stabilization, autism treatment, and other assistance for low-income and disabled residents. The schemes involved creating shell companies to submit false claims for services never provided, out-of-state operators exploiting lax oversight through “fraud tourism,” and kickbacks to recruit participants, diverting taxpayer funds from those in genuine need and highlighting significant vulnerabilities in program administration that allowed widespread abuse to persist.
Sources: BizPac Review, The Daily Caller
Justice Department Appeals Dismissal of Cases Against Comey and James
The Department of Justice has filed appeals challenging a federal judge’s November rulings that dismissed criminal indictments against former FBI Director James Comey, accused of making false statements to Congress, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, charged with bank fraud and related offenses; the dismissals stemmed from the judge’s determination that interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed after exceeding statutory limits on interim service in the Eastern District of Virginia, rendering the indictments invalid, though prosecutors had unsuccessfully attempted to secure new charges against James through additional grand juries while facing statute of limitations hurdles in Comey’s case.
Sources: Reuters, The New York Sun
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Trump Administration Reaches Agreements with BigPharma to Reduce Medicaid Drug Prices
President Trump announced agreements with nine major pharmaceutical companies—Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, Gilead, GSK, Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi—bringing the total to 14 firms committed to providing most-favored-nation pricing for drugs sold through Medicaid, ensuring costs align with or fall below those in other developed nations and delivering substantial savings for low-income Americans reliant on the program. These voluntary deals, secured in part through negotiations involving potential tariffs, also include pledges totaling $150 billion for expanded U.S.-based manufacturing, research, and development, alongside contributions of active pharmaceutical ingredients to a national strategic reserve aimed at bolstering domestic supply chain security against future emergencies. The initiative addresses longstanding concerns over Americans subsidizing global drug innovation while paying higher prices at home, with administration officials projecting significant relief for patients and a forthcoming TrumpRX.gov platform to facilitate additional direct-to-consumer discounts starting in 2026.
Sources: FOX Business, The Epoch Times
Outgoing DC Police Chief Delivers Profane Message to Critics in Farewell Ceremony
Pamela Smith, the departing chief of the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department, used her walkout ceremony on December 19, 2025, to defend her record and address critics amid allegations from a House Oversight Committee report that she pressured subordinates to manipulate crime statistics downward, creating an environment of intimidation that contributed to officer departures. In a speech blending religious references with frustration, Smith denied directing any changes to crime data, asserted that reductions in violence were genuine, "Never would I compromise my integrity. Never would I compromise 28 years in law enforcement for a few folk who couldn't stand to be held accountable. And if I had to do it all over again... so I'm going to the Bible when I say this: to my haters, fuck you," Smith emphasized. Her retirement follows scrutiny over public safety in the nation’s capital, with an interim chief appointed to replace her.
Sources: ZeroHedge, The Gateway Pundit
Biden-Era Justice Department Considered Politically-Motivated Probe of Former Senator Sinema
Reports indicate that officials from the Department of Justice and FBI during the Biden administration discussed a potential criminal investigation into former Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema in early 2024, following her 2022 departure from the Democratic Party and amid questions about her campaign expenditures on items such as travel, security, and luxury accommodations while not actively campaigning. Emails obtained through whistleblower disclosures and reviewed by media outlets reveal that a prosecutor in the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s office and an FBI agent expressed interest in pursuing a referral based on campaign finance concerns, though no formal probe advanced; Sinema’s representatives described the interest as politically motivated retaliation for her independent stance, including her defense of the Senate filibuster against party pressures.
Sources: NewsMax, The New York Post
Widespread Hoax Bomb Threats Target Private, Catholic Schools Across Kansas
Multiple schools in Kansas, particularly private and Catholic institutions, received automated bomb threats on December 18 and 19, 2025, as part of a coordinated series of non-credible incidents affecting educational facilities in areas including Topeka, Johnson County, Hutchinson, and elsewhere in the state; authorities, working with the FBI, swiftly investigated, cleared buildings after thorough searches, and determined the threats posed no danger to students or staff, allowing normal operations to resume while emphasizing the serious drain on law enforcement resources caused by such hoaxes.
Sources: The Topika Capital Journal, Kansas.com
HawkEye 360 Acquires Innovative Signal Analysis to Enhance Space-Based Intelligence Capabilities
HawkEye 360, a Virginia-based commercial satellite operator specializing in radio frequency signals intelligence, has acquired Texas-based Innovative Signal Analysis, a firm focused on advanced signal processing and artificial intelligence algorithms, in a move that strengthens private-sector contributions to U.S. national security through expanded space-based data collection and analysis. The acquisition integrates HawkEye 360’s low-Earth orbit satellite constellation, which gathers global communications data, with ISA’s real-time AI-driven tools for detecting, locating, and interpreting signals, enabling faster transformation of raw information into actionable intelligence for defense and government clients. This development supports ongoing government contracts, including those with the National Reconnaissance Office and U.S. Navy, and aligns with the growing reliance on commercial entities to build resilient, proliferated space architectures critical for monitoring worldwide communications in support of American interests.
Sources: The Washington Times, Space News
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Iran Reports Record Number of Executions in 2025
A dissident organization has reported that Iranian authorities executed 2,013 individuals from January 1 to December 15, 2025, marking what it describes as the highest annual total since the 1980s and more than double the United Nations’ verified figure of 975 executions for 2024, amid economic pressures, protests, and internal regime challenges that appear to fuel reliance on capital punishment as a means of maintaining control.
Sources: NCR-Iran, The Times of Israel
Canadian Authorities Charge Three Men in Alleged ISIS-Linked Hate Crimes and Attempted Kidnappings
Canadian law enforcement has charged Toronto residents Waleed Khan, 26, Osman Azizov, 18, and Fahad Sadaat, 19, following an investigation that began with two armed attempted kidnappings of women in the Greater Toronto Area during May and June 2025, revealing connections to hate-motivated offenses targeting the Jewish community and terrorism links to the Islamic State group. The probes, involving Toronto Police, Peel Regional Police, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, uncovered firearms, ammunition, and evidence of planned hate crimes after searches of the suspects’ residences, leading to a total of 79 charges including attempted kidnapping with firearms, sexual assault with a weapon, and hate-motivated violations, while Khan separately faces terrorism offenses such as facilitating terrorist activity, providing support to ISIS, and conspiracy to commit murder on behalf of the group.
Sources: The Toronto Sun, The National Post
U.S. Conducts Retaliatory Strikes on ISIS in Syria Following Deaths of Iowa National Guard Soldiers
President Trump authorized U.S. forces to launch Operation Hawkeye Strike on December 19, targeting over 70 ISIS sites in central Syria with more than 100 precision munitions in response to a December 13 attack in Palmyra that killed two Iowa National Guard soldiers, Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, along with civilian interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat, while three other service members were wounded; the operation, supported by Jordanian forces and Syrian government intelligence, aimed to degrade ISIS capabilities and prevent further threats to American personnel engaged in counter-terrorism efforts, with War Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasizing a commitment to defending U.S. interests abroad.
Sources: FOX News, The Daily Wire
Brussels Farmers Confront Police Over EU-Mercosur Trade Concerns
Thousands of European farmers gathered in Brussels on December 18, to protest the proposed EU-Mercosur free trade agreement with South American nations, arguing that it would flood the market with cheaper imports produced under lower environmental and labor standards, undermining domestic agriculture and food security while exposing consumers to potentially harmful pesticides. As demonstrators blocked roads with tractors, threw projectiles, and lit fires near EU institutions during a leaders’ summit, police responded with tear gas, water cannons, and barbed wire barricades to maintain order. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, attending the summit, expressed support for the farmers, stating they are fully justified in opposing the deal and criticizing related EU policies like the Green Deal for imposing excessive regulations that disadvantage European producers.
Sources: ZeroHedge, The European Conservative