Listen to this issue.

0:00

/7:44

1×

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,385 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• The European Commission is expected to take steps under emergency treaty provisions today that would allow the European Union to lock up frozen Russian assets in the bloc until the war in Ukraine ends and Russia compensates Ukraine for damage inflicted during the war. The expected measures would also prevent Hungary and Slovakia, which oppose further aid to Ukraine, from blocking E.U. actions on renewing sanctions on Russia and using the frozen funds to support Ukraine's defense efforts. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL EMPLOYEES | The House voted 231-195 yesterday, with nearly two dozen Republicans joining Democrats, to overturn a March executive order from President Donald Trump and restore collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees. The measure will now be considered in the Senate, where its fate appears uncertain. [more]

U.S. MORTGAGES | Mortgage firm Freddie Mac said yesterday that the average interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage in the U.S. rose to 6.22% this week – up from 6.19% last week, but still down from the average of 6.6% at this time last year. [more]

INDIANA | The Republican-led Indiana state Senate voted yesterday to reject a plan supported by President Donald Trump to redraw the state's congressional districting map to favor GOP candidates in next year's mid-term elections. [more]

WASHINGTON | State officials say about 78,000 residents of Washington state's Skagit River floodplain have been ordered to evacuate amidst record flooding in the region following days of heavy rain. The evacuations come as Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide state of emergency ahead of anticipated floods. [more]

U.S. HEALTHCARE | As expected, the U.S. Senate failed to pass either of two rival healthcare-related measures yesterday, one, from Democrats that would have extended subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance for three years, and a second, from Republicans, that would have allowed the subsidies to expire in January and replaced them with government-funded healthcare savings accounts. [more]

U.S. AI REGULATION | Citing risks to the industry, President Donald Trump issued an executive order yesterday aimed at blocking states from implementing their own artificial intelligence regulations. The order, which directs the Attorney General to create a new task force to challenge state AI laws and directs the Commerce Department to draw up a list of problematic AI regulations, also threatens to restrict some funding to states with AI laws. [full executive order] [more]

U.S. MEASLES | Public health authorities in South Carolina say more than 250 people in the state are under quarantine amidst an outbreak of measles in and around northwestern Spartanburg County, where 111 people have been sickened by the viral disease over the past two months. Reports also note that an outbreak along the Arizona-Utah border has expanded since August, with 115 cases in Utah and 176 in Arizona confirmed this year. [more]

U.S. EMERGENCY FUNDING | A federal judge ordered the Trump administration yesterday to restore some $3.6 billion in FEMA disaster mitigation funding that was cancelled in April despite being funded by Congress to help communities harden infrastructure against natural disasters and improve resilience against threats posed by climate change. Reports note that the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program was funded through the 2018 Disaster Recovery Reform Act during the first Trump administration. [more]

U.S. EMPLOYMENT | According to Labor Department data released yesterday, initial claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. rose by 44,000 to 236,000 in the week ended December 6 – the highest weekly increase since March 2020. Reports note that the four-week moving average of new applications, which helps defuse seasonal volatility, rose slightly to 216,750 for the week. [more]

U.S. PUBLIC BROADCASTING | Citing the loss of federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which was defunded by Congress earlier this year, the commission that oversees public television in Arkansas voted yesterday to sever its ties with PBS, effective July 1, becoming the first state to end its contract with the nationwide public broadcasting giant. [more]

U.S. AND VENEZUELA | Amidst ongoing tensions between the two countries, the U.S. announced new sanctions on multiple Venezuelan individuals and businesses yesterday, including on three nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and six Venezuela-flagged ships suspected of transporting Venezuelan oil. [more]

GAZA | Palestinian health officials say at least 12 people have died, 13 buildings have collapsed, and 27,000 tents have been flooded amidst heavy rains in Gaza this week. The U.N. International Organization for Migration says widespread flooding places hundreds of thousands of displaced residents at heightened risk of disease outbreak and further displacement. [more]

BULGARIA | Following nationwide anti-corruption protests and ahead of the country joining the eurozone common currency bloc on January 1, the Bulgarian Parliament yesterday approved the resignation of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov's coalition government, triggering plans for the formation of the country's 10th government in five years. [more]

CHINA AND PHILIPPINES | The Chinese military said today that its forces had driven away a Philippine aircraft and multiple vessels near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, but did not specify a date on which the action occurred. [more]

GERMANY AND RUSSIA | German officials today accused Russia of carrying out an August 2024 cyberattack on air traffic control systems and of attempting to interfere with the German federal elections in February of this year. [more]

THAILAND | After fewer than 100 days leading the country's minority government, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved Thailand's parliament today, paving the way for new elections to be held within two months. Charnvirakul insisted that the dissolution would not affect the ability of the Thai armed forces to deal with ongoing border conflicts with Cambodia. [more]

IRAN | 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and prominent human rights lawyer Narges Mohammadi has been "violently arrested" by Iranian authorities during a memorial service for a lawyer recently found dead in his office, according to Mohammadi's Paris-based foundation. [more]

AUSTRALIA | Global online forum Reddit filed a lawsuit yesterday challenging Australia's world-first law that bans children younger than 16 from holding accounts on major social media platform. In its filing, Reddit claims the law, which went into effect earlier this week, is unconstitutional because it infringes on Australia’s implied freedom of political communication. [more]

AI INDUSTRY | In a licensing deal announced yesterday, Disney will invest $1 billion in artificial intelligence industry giant OpenAI and allow use of its iconic characters, such as Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, and characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars to be used in OpenAI's Sora video generation platform. [more]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL | The Associated Press has named Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza its top college football player of the year. Mendoza was followed in voting by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, Notre Dame running back Jeremiah Love, and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin. [more]

WORLD HERITAGE | Among this year's new additions to the U.N. cultural agency's list of intangible cultural heritage practices are: Swiss yodeling, Italian cooking, Ghanaian highlife music, the fermented Kyrgyz beverage Maksym, traditional wooden architecture techniques in Japan, and the El Joropo music and dance tradition in Venezuela. [full UNESCO list] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1964, Kenya became a republic on the first anniversary of its independence from Britain.  [more history]