A breathless President Donald Trump gave a primetime address to the nation last night, looking to press the reset button on his handling of the top issue for American voters: the economy.
Poll after poll has shown Mr Trump's approval ratings slumping, particularly when it comes to the state of the economy. He was elected on a promise of cutting prices, boosting employment and tackling inflation. Eleven months on, the average American is not feeling any better off than they were last year. While some things are getting cheaper, like petrol, unemployment is rising, inflation is the same as it was in January and the overall cost of living continues to soar.
During an 18-minute address from the White House, Mr Trump sought to assure Americans that the country's new Golden Age is right around the corner. But for some reason, perhaps he was under time constraints imposed by TV networks, Mr Trump lurched through his teleprompted remarks while yelling all of his talking points.
At times he sounded unhinged or as though he were having a full-blown panic attack, a good metaphor for how Republicans view his performance on the economy ahead of next year's midterm elections.
"We're the hottest country anywhere in the world, and that's said by every single leader that I've spoken to over the last five months," Mr Trump said in his address, during which he repeatedly blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for every problem on his plate.
The hyped-up salesman/Biden blame-game shtick is wearing thin. Americans want results and recent wins by Democrats in local and state elections show how quickly people have soured on Mr Trump's handling of the economy. According to a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, he only has a 36 per cent approval rating on the issue.
One thing Mr Trump did not do last night was declare war on Venezuela, something that could come any day now. He did say that Venezuela (although it is not an island) is "completely surrounded by the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America" and that the US was blockading all the country's oil tankers. It seems to be only a matter of time before the US is conducting some sort of military action against Caracas.
We certainly are in for another momentous year in 2026. I wish you a very happy festive season. The newsletter will be taking a break next week - see you in the new year!
Eye on the White House
US stance on Venezuela carries haunting echoes of Iraq war
George W Bush, Colin Powell and Donald Rumsfeld in 2003, months after launching the Iraq war. Reuters
Mr Trump on Monday issued an executive order declaring the drug fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction. He has also accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of narco-terrorism and involvement in trafficking drugs towards the US.
More than two decades earlier, President George W Bush announced the US invasion of Iraq aimed at toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein. In a televised address in March 2003, Mr Bush said that the “people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder”.
There are startling parallels between the rhetoric of the Bush administration in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq and the recent language from the Trump administration towards Venezuela.
BBC billions Mr Trump sued the UK-based BBC on Monday for alleged defamation over edited clips of a speech that made it appear as if he directed supporters to storm the US Capitol, opening an international front in his fight against media coverage he deems untrue or unfair. He is seeking up to $10 billion - an unthinkable sum for a broadcaster whose entire annual budget is about £6 billion.
Hollywood horror It didn't take long for Mr Trump to make the deaths of film director Rob Reiner and his wife all about him. Instead of sharing a simple note of condolence, Mr Trump posted a message on Truth Social on Monday in which he (or an account-handling minion) suggested Reiner had been killed because he didn't like the President.
Bongino going FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said yesterday that he will resign from the bureau next month, ending a brief and tumultuous tenure in which he clashed with the Justice Department over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and was forced to reconcile the realities of his law enforcement job with provocative claims he made in his prior role as a popular podcast host. The Epstein files, incidentally, are due to be released tomorrow.
Spotlight Delusion, paranoia, spiralling: The dangers of outsourcing your life to chatbots
AI users are reporting spirals into paranoia, delusion and psychosis after extended conversations with chatbots
The night Adam Thomas locked his keys inside his van, the desert air in Oregon’s Christmas Valley had already begun to grow cold.
He ended up sleeping on a stranger’s futon, an improvised bed set up by a flea market in a town so small it had just a handful of buildings.
It was there, trying to keep warm inside a sleeping bag he had found and staring at the stars, that Mr Thomas realised something had gone profoundly wrong.
For months, he had been following what he believed was an “internal compass”, a sensation in his body that he saw as guidance. This feeling was reinforced by an artificial intelligence chatbot he had been confiding in daily.
But the force that he believed was pulling him “on a path to something” now looked more like a warning sign.
What Disney and OpenAI's Sora deal means for Mickey Mouse and other characters
OpenAI's Sora 2, which received criticism amid allegations of copyright infringement, has reached a deal with Disney. Getty Images via AFP
OpenAI's controversial video-generation tool Sora has one less thing to worry about, thanks in part to an agreement reached with Disney.
According to the entertainment and theme park giant, users of OpenAI's Sora will soon be able to create videos featuring various Disney characters and other intellectual property.
Although details are sparse, users of Sora are expected to be able to create the content beginning in early 2026, according to Disney.
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Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
An arms embargo
A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
How do Sim card scams work?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards by claiming to be the victim, often pretending their phone has been lost or stolen in order to secure a new Sim.
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
PRESIDENTS CUP
Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:
02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
03.02am (Thursday): Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau
03.17am (Thursday): Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed
03.32am (Thursday): Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
