President Trump disparaged Democrats and insisted the economy is booming despite concerns about the cost of living.

The move may reassure China hawks who are uncertain about the presidents commitment to the self-governing democracy.

Beijing is using its messaging tools to show off its prowess at building infrastructure and project power, taking advantage of what it says is deep anxiety in U.S. policies.

The attack on Wednesday brings the total number killed to at least 99 since the Trump administration began bombing boats suspected of ferrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., meets with reporters as Republicans struggle with a plan to address growing health care costs, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)2025-12-16T21:48:35Z WASHINGTON (AP) House Republican leaders are determined to push ahead with a GOP health care bill that excludes efforts to address the soaring monthly premiums millions of Americans will soon endure as pandemic-era tax credits for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act expire at years end.Speaker Mike Johnson had discussed the prospect of allowing more politically vulnerable GOP lawmakers a chance to vote on their amendment that would temporarily extend pandemic-era subsidies for ACA coverage. But after days of private talks, leadership sided with the more conservative wing of the conference, which has assailed the subsidies as propping up a failed ACA marketplace.We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure release valve, Johnson said Tuesday at the Capitol. In the end, it was not an agreement wasnt made. The maneuvering surrounding the health care vote all but guarantees that many Americans will see substantially higher insurance costs in 2026. In the Senate, a bipartisan group was still trying to come up with a compromise to extend the subsidies, which fueled this years government shutdown. But senators made clear that any potential legislation would likely wait until January, after the holiday break. Instead, House Republicans will pursue their 100-plus-page health care package that focuses on long-sought GOP proposals designed to expand insurance coverage options for small businesses and the self-employed. A test vote is expected Wednesday. The Republicans package would clamp down on middlemen called pharmacy benefit managers who work to manage drug costs and process claims for insurance plans. The bill would also expand access to whats referred to as association health plans, which would allow more small businesses and self-employed individuals to band together and purchase health coverage. An analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the package would decrease the number of people with health insurance by an average of 100,000 per year over a 2027-2035 window, while reducing the federal deficit by $35.6 billion. Failing to address expiring insurance subsidies political malpractice Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., blasted the leaderships decision to not allow for a vote to temporarily extend the health insurance subsidies, saying it amounted to political malpractice.Lawler, who hails from a competitive district, noted that most people who get their health coverage through the Affordable Care Act live in states that President Donald Trump won and said the changes proposed for a temporary extension were conservative reforms. He also criticized Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries for not pushing Democrats to support a pair of bipartisan extension efforts.You have two leaders who are not serious about solving this problem, Lawler said of Johnson and Jeffries.Still, the centrist Republicans indicated they would not try to block the Republican leaderships measure from coming to a vote. Johnson defended the House GOPs bill, which includes priorities that Republicans have been working on for several years. We have a long list of things that we know will reduce premiums, increase access and quality of care, Johnson said. The Democrats have zero ideas, zero concepts and zero legislative plans on anything theyll propose other than just subsidizing the broken system.Democrats said even if the bill passes the House, it will not pass the Senate, where it would need 60 votes and bipartisan support to advance. They said it was not a serious effort to address rising costs.Millions will be priced out of their coverage, and those who can still afford it will get less while paying more, said Rep. Suzan DelBene, chair of the House Democratic campaign arm. Republicans are ignoring the pain, the pain were seeing across the country for everyday Americans. And make no mistake, it is going to cost them the majority. GOP bill focuses on insurance options and cost-sharingDuring Trumps first term, his administration sought to expand access to association health plans that dont have to offer the full menu of benefits required under current law. The option offers lower premiums for small businesses and self-employed people, but the policies are likely to cover fewer benefits. A federal judge who struck down the administrations effort in 2018 said the plans were were clearly an end-run around consumer protections required by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.The House Republican plan would also restore government funding for cost-sharing reductions, or CSRs, a type of financial help that insurers give to low-income ACA enrollees on silver-level plans that reduces their share of costs like deductibles and copays.From 2014 until 2017, the federal government reimbursed insurance companies for CSRs but in 2017, the Trump administration stopped making those payments. To make up for the lost funds, insurance companies hiked premiums for silver-level plans -- a complicated move that ended up increasing the financial assistance many enrollees get to help pay for premiums. As a result, health analysts say that while restoring funding for CSRs would likely bring down silver-level premiums, it could also have the unwelcome ripple effect of increasing many peoples net premiums on bronze and gold plans.The provisions related to pharmacy benefit managers require the middlemen to disclose certain data about their operations to group health plans, with the hope that more transparency would reduce prescription drug costs.Senators revive talks of action in the new yearAlmost two dozen Republicans and Democrats met late Monday to talk about a last-minute fix on the ACA tax credits after the Senate rejected two partisan health care bills last week. They emerged from the meeting discussing ways to end the stalemate, including a possible two-year extension of the subsidies with reforms that would narrow who could receive them. They also discussed adding some version of a GOP proposal to create new health savings accounts that would help people purchase insurance.Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican who led the bipartisan meeting, said the group would like to announce a proposal this week. But there were still significant unresolved issues, including whether to include stricter language on abortion funding. Disagreements over abortion were one of the main sticking points in earlier talks that derailed a compromise.Senate Majority Leader John Thune said theres a potential pathway to an agreement in January, but acknowledged, were not going to pass anything by the end of this week.-Staff writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Ali Swenson contributed to this report.

Jimmy Kimmel called the presidents last-minute speech a surprise prime-time episode of The Worst Wing tonight on every channel.

Sydneys devastated Jewish community gathered for the funeral of Matilda Bee, an ebullient, smiling 10-year-old girl.

The president cited misleading statistics to insist, wrongly, that prices were coming down.

The president sharply attacked his predecessor while insisting that his own record contained nothing but victories.

Nick Reiner, facing murder charges in the deaths of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, appeared at an arraignment that lasted just minutes before it was rescheduled for January. He has not entered a plea.

Lincoln, California City Councilwoman Holly Andreatta told a group of high school conservatives that childhood trauma turned her daughter into a lesbian. When video of her comments began circulating online, Andreatta first said video of her talk had been deceptively edited and then apologized for her comment, claiming she doesnt actually believe what she said in the video.My oldest daughter had a lot of trauma as a child, Andreatta said at the first meeting of Twelve Bridges High Schools new Club America, a chapter of Turning Point USA, an organization that encourages its members to harass progressive educators. Something really terrible happened to her when she was young that I would hope would never happen to any other child. And as a result of it, shes a lesbian. Shes gay. Shes married to a woman. Related MAGA pastor says Jesus called people fa***t because he was not afraid to speak up Andreatta then said she believes marriage is only between a man and a woman and also agrees with the Bibles condemnation of homosexuality, but added that she experiences internal conflict about this because she loves her daughter.In other comments, Andreatta called anti-racism leader Martin Luther King Jr. a Marxist whose civil rights victories were not really helpful. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today As videos of Andreattas comments spread online, Andreatta wrote in a since-deletedFacebookpost, that videos of her comments had been altered by artificial intelligence. She wrote, I am the same person I have always been, kind, principled, inclusive and committed to respectful dialogue. A manipulated video does not change the truth.In a public Facebook post pubished last Sunday, Andreatta wrote, I want to publicly apologize to my daughter. Her story is hers alone, and I should not have shared personal details about her trauma, adding, To be absolutely clear: I did not say that trauma causes homosexuality. I never said that, nor would I ever say that or think that. I was referring to a very specific personal experience. Students and families attended the Western Placer Unified School District Board meeting last Tuesday to call for the clubs disbandment and for Andreattas censure by fellow council members.After her comments circulated online, the clubs student-president Garrett Culp said he and his groups members have been ruthlessly attacked online, called horrible names, [and] harassed at school, CBS News reported. The schools sophomore class president, Eliot Armstrong, is also spearheading a signature drive to ban the club from the school, though a school district spokesperson said the drive wont compel the district to disband the club.High school students in Lincoln are petitioning to disband a new Club America chapter at Twelve Bridges HS after Mayor Holly Andreatta spoke at its inaugural meeting and made remarks many students viewed as racist, homophobic, historically inaccurate, & inflammatory. placerdems pic.twitter.com/YMANBYQfM2 Jean Jacques Dessalines (@JeanJacquesDes7) December 15, 2025 Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Meg ONeill of Australias Woodside Energy will lead the London energy giant, replacing Murray Auchincloss, who will exit after less than two years in the role.

Chelsea could be about to re-sign 41-year-old defender Thiago Silva before the World Cup. Transfer Talk has the latest news and rumors.