🗞️Trump sues the BBC

...plus U.S. travel ban expanded and unemployment ticks up

December 16, 2025

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December 16th, 2025

What happened today 🇺🇸,

Trump sues BBC for $10 billion, accusing it of defamation over editing of president's Jan. 6 speech

President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit seeking $10 billion in damages from the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices.

apnews.com/article/trump-bbc-lawsuit-defamation-a9fd196c4f242decd8f28e8d0ce74442

  • President Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC over its 2024 “Panorama” documentary that allegedly edited clips of his January 6th speech to falsely imply he incited the Capitol riot…the BBC has apologized for the edit but has vowed to defend itself in court

  • President Trump expanded the U.S. travel ban, imposing full entry restrictions on nationals from five new countries including Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria and holders of Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents, while also adding partial restrictions on 15 other countries

  • Los Angeles prosecutors will charged Nick Reiner with two counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of his parents, filmmaker Rob Reiner and wife Michele Singer Reiner

  • President Trump has ordered a "complete blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela

  • The U.S. Department of State has designated Colombia's Clan del Golfo, also known as the Gaitanist Army of Colombia (EGC), as a Foreign Terrorist Organization

  • Three Democratic senators, Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), launched an investigation into how AI data centers from Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta are driving up residential electricity costs through grid upgrades funded by rate hikes

  • Elon Musk has reportedly begun funding Republican House and Senate campaigns ahead of the 2026 midterms

  • The Kraft Heinz Co. announced that former Kellanova CEO Steve Cahillane will take over as chief executive on January 1st, as the company prepares to split into two publicly traded businesses

  • U.S. employers added 64,000 jobs in November, above the expectations of 45,000 and recovering slightly from the 108,000 job losses in October…the unemployment rate increased to 4.6%, up from 4.4% in September

  • DOW down .62% / S&P down .24%

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Bonus: A look at the share of people who are highly religious in each state

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