Actress Jamie Lee Curtis is raising eyebrows after calling plastic surgery a “genocide of women.” Nipped and tucked faces are unsettling, to be sure, but the women she’s discussing are choosing these procedures. You can criticize toxic beauty culture without comparing elective surgery to mass murder. Victims of genocide don’t have much choice in the matter, do they?
⚖️ Ghislaine Maxwell has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her criminal appeal, arguing that a 2007 non-prosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein should have shielded her from charges brought in a different federal district.
💶 Portugal announced a €137 million investment in electricity grid upgrades following a massive nationwide blackout that began in Spain.
🌀 Hurricane Iona has formed in the Pacific Ocean after strengthening over the weekend, but currently poses no threat to Hawaii, according to meteorologists.
🔫 Five people were killed in a shooting at a market in Bangkok, prompting a swift response from Thai authorities as investigations into the motive and suspect continue.
🏙️ An active shooter armed with an assault rifle opened fire inside a Park Avenue skyscraper housing the headquarters of Blackstone and the NFL before reportedly killing himself, prompting a major police response and building lockdown in New York City.
🎰 A shooting at a Nevada casino resort left at least three people dead and several others injured, with the suspect now in custody as authorities continue their investigation.
*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00 AM.
Lead: New Clock, Old War: Trump Cuts Russia’s Ceasefire Deadline to 10 Days
Photo credit: Getty Images
Russia’s 50-day deadline has been shortened to 10-12 by President Trump.
Two weeks ago, President Trump issued an ultimatum to Russia: agree to a ceasefire within 50 days, or face secondary sanctions and 100% tariffs on Russian oil buyers. Now, it seems, he’s run thin on patience.
“I’m going to make a new deadline of about 10 — 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump told reporters in Scotland on Monday, standing beside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“I’ll announce it probably tonight or tomorrow,” Trump added. “But there’s no reason to wait. If you know what the answer is.”
The sanctions Trump is demanding would hit both India and China—two major trading partners he hopes to strike deals with—risking blowback that could undercut his own economic agenda.
Sanctions haven’t deterred Russia so far—it continues to advance on the battlefield while shrugging off Western pressure. Escalating economic threats could just as easily backfire on the U.S., straining relations with India and China, while doing nothing to rein in Ukraine’s own war crimes.
Trump Nears Biden’s 4-Year Airstrike Total in Just 6 Months—So Much for Ending Forever Wars
President Trump promised to end the forever wars, but in just six months, he has nearly matched President Biden’s air strike total for the entire four years Biden was in office.
The Telegraph analyzed data from Acled (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data) and found that President Biden launched 555 airstrikes in four years. President Trump, in just six months, has launched 529.
The Biden administration targeted Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Somalia. The Trump administration has continued those operations and added strikes on Iran. None of this includes the strikes on Russia that the U.S. funds and supports—though it probably should.
And yet, on Inauguration Day, the President said the U.S. would now “measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.”
That promise rings hollow in hindsight, as the war with Russia drags on and the war in Gaza reaches new levels of devastation.
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Two-Faced Solution
Photo credit: AI-generated image (ChatGPT/OpenAI)
The United States has long-since supported a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine but… not this week at the United Nations.
France is hosting a UN meeting with the explicit goal of advancing a two-state solution. This comes on the heels of France’s formal recognition of the state of Palestine. The U.K. is reported to be on the verge of doing the same. Israeli leaders have issued angry condemnations of this, saying that it is a reward for terror.
Despite the U.S. stated policy in favor of a two-state resolution, the U.S. State Department has rejected the summit entirely, dismissing it as a “publicity stunt” and “ill-timed.” In other words: we support peace, just not like this, not with them, and definitely not right now.
So the message from Washington is clear: the two-state solution remains official policy—just not while Israeli leaders are watching.
Meanwhile, President Trump admitted on Monday that people in Gaza are starving—despite claims from influencers that this is just propaganda. He said the barriers to food delivery were “set up by whoever” and that we “have to get rid of them.” According to the Wall Street Journal, those barriers were set up by Israel, and a former U.S. Green Beret says he witnessed Israeli tanks fire into crowds of civilians.
So here’s the question: if that “whoever” is Israel, will the U.S. finally stop them?
News By The Numbers
Photo credit: Associated Press
449 pounds. That’s the weight of Desmond Watson, rookie defensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who has been placed on the non-football injury list. Coaches worry he could seriously injure himself — or others — in full-contact drills. The added weight increases risk of joint damage, heat exhaustion, and collision force. They say that until he trims down, he won’t see the field this season.
9%. That is how much sales are down this year for Bernard Arnault, the billionaire owner of Louis Vuitton and more than 70 other luxury brands. Investors are spooked. If the ultra-wealthy are pulling back — or if luxury labels are just out of fashion — it could signal a major shift in consumer culture. Are we entering a post-status-symbol world?
4 hours. That is how long one dad in Phoenix allegedly left his kids in the car while he visited a sex shop. It was 104 degrees outside and the temperature in the car reached 125 degrees. He was booked on child-abuse charge.
What’s Trending?
Sydney Sweeney is trending because of an American Eagle ad in which she proudly states that she has “great jeans.” In another spot, she plays on the jeans/genes pun again — this time linking it to her blue eyes. Naturally, the internet has lost all sense of proportion, with critics accusing her of Nazi dog-whistling and promoting eugenics. But… she does have blue eyes. Is it hateful to admit to having blue eyes now?
Deion Sanders is trending after revealing he recently underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his bladder. He says he’s doing well and will return to coach the University of Colorado football team this season.
Avatar is trending because a new trailer for the third film was released on Monday. The film is due out in theaters on December 19.
Catholics Massacred in Congo Church Attack
Photo credit: UGC via AP
Nearly 40 people were killed in a midnight attack on a Catholic church in Congo over the weekend. It is one of the deadliest attacks in Congo’s recent history but part of a broader pattern of attacks on Christians across Africa and the Middle East.
Islamic State–affiliated militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) claimed responsibility for the attack in the town of Komanda, in Ituri province. Gunmen stormed the church during a worship service, opening fire and attacking with machetes. Survivors say the attackers also burned homes, looted property, and abducted villagers as they fled.
The ADF, originally a Ugandan rebel group, has been active in Congo for years but became more lethal after pledging allegiance to ISIS in 2019. The UN has warned that ongoing conflict in the region has already displaced hundreds of thousands of people and created one of the world’s most neglected humanitarian crises.
The victims in Komanda weren’t soldiers. They were families kneeling in prayer.
Pope Leo XIV has not commented publicly on the Komanda massacre through his social media channels, where he frequently addresses the war in Gaza. A message of “deep sorrow” was issued on his behalf through a Vatican telegram signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, expressing condolences to the Congolese Church and prayers for peace and reconciliation in the region.
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