Top Items:
Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Zelenskyy focuses on security guarantees ahead of Trump visit … “It is very important for us that there is a signal that we want legally binding security guarantees,” Zelenskyy told reporters. “And this depends primarily on President Trump. The question is what security guarantees President Trump is ready to give to Ukraine.”
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NBC News, Politico, NewsMax.com, France 24, New York Post, Fox News, Matzav.com, KIFI-TV, Los Angeles Times and The Guardian
RELATED:
Cassandra Vinograd / New York Times:
Russia Pummels Kyiv Before Trump-Zelensky Meeting — President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that the assault, which continued for nearly 10 hours, showed that Moscow was not serious about peace. — Powerful explosions boomed in the skies over the Ukrainian capital on Saturday …
Associated Press:
Russia attacks Kyiv with missiles and drones, killing 1 and wounding many ahead of Ukraine-US talks
Discussion:
Scripps News, France 24, vaticannews.va, NewsMax.com and San Diego Union-Tribune
Tim Balk / New York Times:
Some G.O.P. Senators Join Democrats in Urging Trump to Adopt Hard Line With Putin
Some G.O.P. Senators Join Democrats in Urging Trump to Adopt Hard Line With Putin
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Dispatch
Steven Nelson / New York Post:
Trump tells Post there's a ‘good shot’ at reaching Russia-Ukraine peace during Zelensky's visit
Trump tells Post there's a ‘good shot’ at reaching Russia-Ukraine peace during Zelensky's visit
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Wall Street Journal, Israpundit, Raw Story, Fox News, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Politico, New York Times, Washington Examiner and Bloomberg
Tim Balk / New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: Zelensky Says He Will Meet President This Weekend
Trump Administration Live Updates: Zelensky Says He Will Meet President This Weekend
Discussion:
MS NOW
Sophia Cai / Politico:
Trump to POLITICO: Midterm elections will be about ‘pricing’ … Trump's comments follow a string of favorable economic reports over the last two weeks showing inflation is cooling and the economy is hotter than expected. The White House is keen to tout the latest data as it confronts cost …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Independent, New Jersey Online, Mock Paper Scissors, New York Post, American Thinker and NewsMax.com
RELATED:
Allan Smith / NBC News:
The fight for young men intensifies ahead of the 2026 midterm elections — Democrats believe they're making progress after Trump's gains with young men helped him win in 2024. Republicans say they're focused on ensuring those inconsistent voters turn out. — Add NBC News to Google
Discussion:
Politico and NewsMax.com
David Zimmermann / Washington Examiner:
Trump says midterm elections will be ‘about pricing’ despite calling affordability a ‘dead’ issue
Trump says midterm elections will be ‘about pricing’ despite calling affordability a ‘dead’ issue
Discussion:
RedState, The Independent, Raw Story and Blaze Media
Steven Rattner / New York Times:
Trump's First Year Back, in 10 Charts — President Trump indisputably dominated 2025. Only the second president to be elected to nonconsecutive terms, the reinvigorated Mr. Trump plunged back into office with a muscularity unmatched by any other president in my lifetime.
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Nimi Princewill / CNN:
Fear and confusion in Nigerian village hit in US strike, as locals say no history of ISIS in area — Africa National security Terrorism Donald Trump — A day after part of a missile fired by the United States hit their village, landing just meters from its only medical facility …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Kennedy, other Trump officials balk at requests to testify on Capitol Hill — Democrats have suggested the lack of testimony is yet another way the administration is snubbing the legislative branch. — When Sen. Bill Cassidy announced in February that he would vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr …
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
The Hill:
Congress looks to reclaim relevance after ceding power to White House — Frustrated lawmakers are looking to 2026 in the hopes that they can reclaim some of the power many fear they've ceded to the White House under President Trump. — Over the course of 2025, the Trump administration …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Max Rego / The Hill:
The key ballot measures to watch in 2026 — Voters will head to the polls in next year's midterms to decide on a number of critical ballot measures. — While most of the attention in 2026 will be on the fights for the House, Senate and governor's mansions, these measures are no less significant.
RELATED:
Washington Post:
The U.S. sank the alleged narco-terrorists' boat — and let them go — In blowing up the vessel, destroying evidence and repatriating the survivors, the U.S. cut short a process that's helped bring down traffickers. — Reach the reporters securely on Signal: Samantha Schmidt at SchmidtS.10 and Alex Horton at AlexHorton.85
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
December 26, 2025 — On Tuesday, December 23, the U.S. Supreme Court made a preliminary finding that President Donald J. Trump's deployment of federalized National Guard troops in the Chicago area beginning in October was unlawful. Six of the nine justices held that the law Trump invoked …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money
Malcolm Ferguson / New Republic:
ICE Agents Arrest Man on Christmas Eve—and Then Steal His Groceries — Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers in Yakima, Washington, spent Christmas Eve arresting a man in a Walmart parking lot—even taking his already purchased groceries for themselves.
Wall Street Journal:
The Unexpected Winner of Rising American Tariffs Is Mexico — The country's exports to the U.S. have surged since President Trump imposed new duties on countries this year — MEXICO CITY—When President Trump began raising tariffs earlier this year, government officials …
Discussion:
HuffPost
New York Post:
Ilhan Omar's hubby's $30M firm quietly scrubs names from website - as ‘Squad’ member faces mounting questions on sudden wealth amid Minnesota welfare fraud — Embattled Rep. Ilhan Omar's husband's venture capital firm quietly scrubbed key officer details — including former Obama officials …
Discussion:
Townhall, RedState, NewsMax.com and The Gateway Pundit
Laura Belin / Bleeding Heartland:
On “fair” reporting and what happened at “60 Minutes” — I need to talk about what happened at CBS News this past week. — You may not know that early in my career, I covered Russian politics for about ten years, spanning the second half of Boris Yeltsin's presidency and the early Vladimir Putin years.
Axios:
Trump's Cabinet of main characters … But in national security roles, showmanship can quickly become a liability. — FBI Director Kash Patel, for example, has seized the spotlight far more than his predecessors — often for all the wrong reasons. — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seems …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Jeff Amy / Associated Press:
Anonymous money fuels $5 million in attacks on Georgia's Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — It's the biggest mystery in Georgia politics right now: Who's paying for the attacks on Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones? Someone operating under the name “Georgians for Integrity” has dumped around $5 million into television ads, mailers and texts.

