CURRENT EVENTS - DECEMBER

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nycfan said:
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“… Based on preliminary data from the first 10 months of 2025, demographers expect total births to fall below 670,000, a level the government had not projected until 2041.

This would place the milestone 16 years earlier than forecast, eroding the credibility of medium- and low-variant population scenarios used in fiscal and economic planning.

The estimates contrast starkly with projections last updated in 2023 by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, which anticipated 749,000 births in 2025 under its central scenario.

Even the most pessimistic “low variant” forecast had assumed around 681,000 births this year. A sub-670,000 outcome would therefore breach all official planning bands simultaneously.…”
 


“Oil rises as geopolitical tensions continue. Brent crude is up 1% to $60.89 a barrel, while WTI rises 1.15% to $57.39 a barrel. U.S. talks with Ukraine on ending the war with Russia haven’t delivered an agreement. President Trump offered few specifics on Sunday as to how a deal could be reached after a phone call with Russia’s Putin and a meeting with Ukraine’s Zelensky.

Meanwhile, oil is being supported by heightening tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela.”
 
I think I already posted about this once, but it is worth emphasizing IMO:

Justice Department Using Fraud Law to Target Companies on DEI​

Google and Verizon are among firms being investigated under novel interpretation of law applying to government contractors​


🎁 —> https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy...2?st=3KCWe4&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

“… Now the Justice Department is embracing the theory that holding a federal contract while still considering diversity when hiring is, in effect, fraud against the government that entitles it to recoup potentially millions of dollars.

Alphabet’s Google and Verizon Communications are among a list of companies that have received Justice Department demands for documents and information about their workplace programs, according to people familiar with the investigations.

… The DEI probes, however, have been spurred by politically appointed officials in the department who believe companies with contracts aren’t abiding by their obligations to the government if they still embrace diversity, equity and inclusion programs.…”
 
nycfan said:
I think I already posted about this once, but it is worth emphasizing IMO:

Justice Department Using Fraud Law to Target Companies on DEI​

Google and Verizon are among firms being investigated under novel interpretation of law applying to government contractors​


🎁 —> https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy...2?st=3KCWe4&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

“… Now the Justice Department is embracing the theory that holding a federal contract while still considering diversity when hiring is, in effect, fraud against the government that entitles it to recoup potentially millions of dollars.

Alphabet’s Google and Verizon Communications are among a list of companies that have received Justice Department demands for documents and information about their workplace programs, according to people familiar with the investigations.

… The DEI probes, however, have been spurred by politically appointed officials in the department who believe companies with contracts aren’t abiding by their obligations to the government if they still embrace diversity, equity and inclusion programs.…”
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“… DEI isn’t the only area in which the Trump administration is using the law unconventionally. The Justice Department separately is looking for evidence that doctors are billing Medicaid for treatments for transgender youth that are banned in certain states. The department said in July that it had sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics. Some patients and hospitals are asking courts to toss out these subpoenas, which broadly seek children’s medical records.

Several judges have issued rulings that blocked or limited the government’s requests.”

If the government succeeds in a false claims act case, the perpetrators could face treble damages … it is a big hammer that is typically used to pursue people and companies financially defrauding the federal government.
 
ZenMode said:
From November thread:

IMG_1161.jpeg

The question was whether it was only Somalis.

Apparently it was almost exclusively Somalis.

www.nytimes.com

How Fraud Swamped Minnesota’s Social Services System on Tim Walz’s Watch

Prosecutors say members of the Somali diaspora, a group with growing political power, were largely responsible. President Trump has drawn national attention to the scandal amid his crackdown on immigration.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
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If this is what it looks like when Tim is "working" to crack down on fraud....

The fraud total is quickly approaching the GDP of Somalia. The irony.

Situations like this are precisely why people don't trust governments with our tax money much less continually trying to take more tax money.

Tim Walz pushes back on Minnesota fraud allegations following viral daycare video​

Independent journalist Nick Shirley documented visits to facilities that allegedly received millions in state funding
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s office is pushing back against fraud allegations after a viral video showed visits to multiple childcare centers in the state, including one that allegedly received millions of dollars in state funding despite appearing largely inactive.

Responding to questions about the allegations and the video posted by independent journalist Nick Shirley, a spokesperson for the governor told Fox News that Walz has spent years working to "crack down on fraud" and has taken steps to strengthen oversight of state programs, including initiating investigations into several facilities.

"The governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action," the spokesperson said. "He has strengthened oversight — including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed."

www.foxnews.com

Tim Walz pushes back on Minnesota fraud allegations following viral daycare video

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz defends his administration's fraud oversight after viral video by independent journalist Nick Shirley raises questions about childcare facilities in Minneapolis.
www.foxnews.com www.foxnews.com
 
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The ADHD Presidency --

December 9, 2025: Trump hits the road to counter cost of living concerns

US President Donald Trump is speaking in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, in an effort to defend his economic record and address voter concerns about the rising cost of living.

* * *

The president has acknowledged that concerns over rising prices contributed to lacklustre Republican performances in the November elections, with Democrats having success in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City.

Since then, the White House has been wrestling with how to best address voters' unease about the economy and counter repeated Democratic criticism over rising prices.

* * *

It is expected to be the first of a series of campaign-style events that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said would be comparable to those held during Trump's successful presidential bid last year.

While he is not on the ballot in 2026, she said Trump would campaign aggressively to support Republican candidates.

In a Monday interview with the "Mom View" podcast, Wiles - who helped manage Trump's presidential campaign - said: "I haven't quite broken it to him yet. But he's going to campaign like it's 2024 again."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

December 29, 2025: https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/29/politics/trump-israel-gaza-ukraine-russia-peace-talks-analysis

President Donald Trump is spending the end of the year trying to cash in huge foreign policy bets on which thousands of lives may depend and that will define his attempt to wield decisive power far beyond American shores.

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida has become a center of global diplomacy, with high-stakes talks Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to follow Monday.

The twin meetings mark significant attempts by Trump to cement a legacy as a global peacemaker.
 
ChileG said:
Falling birth rates is an issue with many countries, and will have negative economic implications to the USA in the coming years.
Of course, we can counteract this decline in birth rates with immigration.
So of course every single Trump voter does the exact opposite of what would be considered good policy by voting for the exact opposite.
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Other than the social burden of eldercare, I don't have it very clear in my head what the dangers of a decreasing population is. Neither farming, manufacturing nor construction require the same numbers of bodies to support their current rates of production. With a declining domestic need, that alone should support increased export possibilities. What am I missing?
 
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