ECM World Watch: national and global news

December  16,  2025 (San Diego) -- As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Trump's DOJ has sued 18 states to try to access voter data  (NPR)
• Trump Sued By Preservationists Seeking Review Over White House Ballroom Project (Huffington Post)
• Rob Reiner's son Nick arrested on murder charges after director and his wife found dead at their L.A. home (Yahoo news)
• Trump drops tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruit as pressure builds on consumer prices (KSBW)
• Epstein Alleged in Emails That Trump Knew of His Conduct (New York Times)
• State Department to deny visas to fact checkers and others, citing 'censorship' (NPR)
• Supreme Court rejects call to overturn its decision legalizing same-sex marriage  (AP)
• Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment Arrives, But Price Data Isn’t Being Updated (NOTUS)
• NTSB warns that defense bill could undermine aviation safety changes after DCA crash (NPR)
• Trump administration limits refugee admissions to mostly white South Africans (AP)
• Trump administration moves to overrule state laws protecting credit reports from medical debt (AP)
• Steve Bannon Reveals ‘There’s a Plan’ for Third Trump Term (Daily Beast)
• Hegseth declares end of US 'utopian idealism' with new military strategy   (Politico)
• Citing AP investigation, senators demand answers on use of full-body restraints during deportations (AP)
• Republican lawmakers lash out at Pentagon for keeping them in  dark (Reuters)
• Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud (ProPublica)
• Congress to withhold Pentagon travel funds until it sees boat strike videos (Politico)

WORLD

• Putin directs drills of Russian nuclear forces as his summit with Trump is put on hold (AP)
• Foreigners allowed to travel to the US without a visa could soon face new social media screening (AP)
• Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will double its non-US exports as Canadians can't rely on US (AP)
• Protests erupt after police raid in Brazil leaves 119 dead and draws accusations of excessive force (AP)
• France adopts consent-based rape law in the wake of landmark Gisèle Pelicot case (AP)
• Russian bombers join Chinese air patrol near Japan as Tokyo-Beijing tie strains (Reuters)
• Magnitude 7.5 quake in northern Japan injures 23 people and triggers a 2-foot tsunami (AP)
• As Russia’s Africa Corps fights in Mali, witnesses describe atrocities from beheading to rapes (AP)
• More than 60 dead as typhoon wreaks havoc in the Philippines (BBC)
• Iranian capital faces water rationing and evacuations if it doesn't rain soon, president warns (AP)
• Mexican president says Mexico will send more water to US but not immediately (AP)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

U.S.

Trump's DOJ has sued 18 states to try to access voter data  (NPR)

The department has now filed suit against 18 states — mostly Democratic-led, and all states that President Trump lost in the 2020 election — as part of its far-reaching litigation. For months, the Justice Department has been demanding certain states turn over complete, unredacted copies of their voter registration lists, including any driver's license numbers and parts of voters' Social Security numbers.

Trump Sued By Preservationists Seeking Review Over White House Ballroom Project (Huffington Post)

The National Trust for Historic Preservation argues Trump exceeded his constitutional authority by not seeking congressional approval for a project of this scale.

Rob Reiner's son Nick arrested on murder charges after director and his wife found dead at their L.A. home (Yahoo news)

Nick Reiner, who is being held without bail in the stabbing deaths of his parents, has not been "medically cleared" for transport to court, his lawyer says.

Trump drops tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruit as pressure builds on consumer prices (KSBW)

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to get rid of tariffs on a broad swath of commodities, including beef, coffee and tropical fruits. It's part of a response to pressure from consumers who complain prices are too high. The move comes after voters in off-year elections earlier this month cited economic concerns as their top issue, resulting in big wins for Democrats in races in Virginia and New Jersey.

Epstein Alleged in Emails That Trump Knew of His Conduct (New York Times)

In a message obtained by Congress, the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein wrote that Donald J. Trump spent hours at his house with one of Mr. Epstein’s victims... In one email from April 2011, Mr. Epstein told Ms. Maxwell, who was later convicted on charges related to facilitating his crimes, “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.” He added that an unnamed victim “spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned.”

State Department to deny visas to fact checkers and others, citing 'censorship' (NPR)

 The State Department is instructing its staff to reject visa applications from people who worked on fact-checking, content moderation or other activities the Trump administration considers "censorship" of Americans' speech.  The directive, sent in an internal memo on Tuesday, is focused on applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, which are frequently used by tech companies, among other sectors….

Supreme Court rejects call to overturn its decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide (AP)

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a call to overturn its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The justices, without comment, turned away an appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the high court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. Davis had been trying to get the court to overturn a lower-court order for her to pay $360,000 in damages and attorney’s fees to a couple denied a marriage license.

Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment Arrives, But Price Data Isn’t Being Updated (NOTUS)

 Bureau of Labor Statistics staff were recalled to calculate crucial numbers for Social Security benefits. Collecting monthly consumer price data, however, did not happen in October.

NTSB warns that defense bill could undermine aviation safety changes after DCA crash (NPR)

In an unusually harsh rebuke, the nation's top safety investigator voiced concerns about a provision in the defense policy bill before Congress on Wednesday, warning that it would undermine aviation safety improvements made after a deadly mid-air collision in January.

Trump administration limits refugee admissions to mostly white South Africans (AP)

The Trump administration is restricting the number of refugees it admits into the country to 7,500 and they will mostly be white South Africans, a dramatic drop after the U.S. previously allowed in hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and persecution from around the world.

Trump administration moves to overrule state laws protecting credit reports from medical debt (AP)

he Trump administration is moving to overrule any state laws that may protect consumers’ credit reports from medical debt and other debt issues.  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has drafted what’s known as an interpretative rule related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, interpreting the law in a way that says the FCRA should preempt any state laws or regulations when it comes to how debt should be reported to the credit bureaus like Experian, Equifax and Trans Union. 

Steve Bannon Reveals ‘There’s a Plan’ for Third Trump Term (Daily Beast)

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon openly shared that there are plans to help President Donald Trump circumvent the 22nd Amendment and secure a third presidential term.  In an interview with The Economist, Bannon told the magazine’s editors, “He’s gonna get a third term, Trump ‘28, Trump is gonna be president ‘28so people just ought to get accommodated with that.”

Hegseth declares end of US 'utopian idealism' with new military strategy   (Politico)

The Defense secretary, speaking at the Reagan Defense Forum, outlined defense priorities that focus on the Western Hemisphere and reevaluate the U.S. relationship with Europe.

Citing AP investigation, senators demand answers on use of full-body restraints during deportations (AP)

A “near-total secrecy” surrounding deportation flights and the use of full-body restraints onboard is raising “serious human rights concerns,” a group of 11 Democratic U.S. senators wrote in a letter Thursday to top immigration officials. 

Republican lawmakers lash out at Pentagon for keeping them in the dark (Reuters)

Republican and Democratic lawmakers slammed the Pentagon on Tuesday for not briefing them on national security issues and said at times top defense officials appeared to be undermining U.S. President Donald Trump's own policies, in a rare bipartisan show of frustration with the administration.  Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has worked to control the flow of information about the world's most powerful military and told Pentagon staff they must obtain permission before interacting with members of Congress.

Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal (ProPublica)

 The Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found Trump once did the very thing he called “deceitful and potentially criminal.”

Congress to withhold Pentagon travel funds until it sees boat strike videos (Politico)

Lawmakers plan to withhold a quarter of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget until the Pentagon provides them with the videos. The demand, quietly tucked into the final draft of the annual defense policy bill, calls for “unedited video of strikes conducted against designated terrorist organizations in the area of responsibility of the United States Southern Command” to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.  

WORLD

Putin directs drills of Russian nuclear forces as his summit with Trump is put on hold (AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday directed drills of the country’s strategic nuclear forces that featured practice missile launches, an exercise that came as his planned summit on Ukraine with U.S. President Donald Trump was put on hold. 

Foreigners allowed to travel to the US without a visa could soon face new social media screening (AP)

The notice published Wednesday in the Federal Register said Customs and Border Protection is proposing collecting five years’ worth of social media information from travelers from select countries….who take part in the Visa Waiver Program and submit their information to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization….DHS administers the program, which currently allows citizens of roughly 40 mostly European and Asian countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for three months without visas…. The announcement also said that CBP would start requesting a list of other information, including telephone numbers the person has used over the past five years or email addresses used over the past decade. Also sought would be metadata from electronically submitted photos, as well as extensive information from the applicant’s family members, including their places of birth and their telephone numbers…. The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed changes before they go into effect, the notice said. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will double its non-US exports as Canadians can't rely on US (AP)

Prime Minister Mark Carney set a goal for Canada to double its non-U.S. exports in the next decade, saying American tariffs are causing a chill in investment… Carney reiterated in an evening address to Canadians that the decades-long process of an ever-closer economic relationship between the Canadian and U.S. economies is now over.

Protests erupt after police raid in Brazil leaves 119 dead and draws accusations of excessive force (AP)

A massive police raid on a drug gang embedded in low-income neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro that left at least 119 people dead drew protests for excessive force Wednesday and calls for the Rio’s governor to resign. 

France adopts consent-based rape law in the wake of landmark Gisèle Pelicot case (AP)

France’s Senate gave its final approval on Wednesday to a bill defining rape and other sexual assault as any non-consensual sexual act, a move that comes after the landmark drugging and rape trial that shook France and turned Gisèle Pelicot into a global icon.   Senators voted 327-0 in favor of the bill, with 15 abstentions. 

Russian bombers join Chinese air patrol near Japan as Tokyo-Beijing tie strains (Reuters)

 Japan has scrambled jets to monitor Russian and Chinese air forces conducting joint patrols around the country, the Japanese defence ministry said late Tuesday, amid rising tensions between Tokyo and Beijing…. Russian news agencies reported that the Russian-Chinese joint flight near Japan lasted for eight hours, citing Moscow's defence ministry.  South Korea's military also said on Tuesday that seven Russian planes and two Chinese planes had entered its air defence zone.  Japan said on Sunday that Chinese carrier-launched fighter jets aimed radar at Japanese military aircraft a day earlier, an account Beijing disputed.

Magnitude 7.5 quake in northern Japan injures 23 people and triggers a 2-foot tsunami (AP)

A powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck off northern Japan late Monday, injuring 23 people and triggering a tsunami in Pacific coast communities, officials said. Authorities warned of possible aftershocks and an increased risk of a megaquake.

As Russia’s Africa Corps fights in Mali, witnesses describe atrocities from beheading to rapes (AP)

A new Russian military unit that replaced the Wagner mercenary group is carrying out abuses including rapes and beheadings as it teams up with Mali ‘s military to hunt down extremists…. / West Africa’s vast Sahel region has become the deadliest place in the world for extremism, with thousands of people killed. The military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have turned from Western allies to Russia for help combating the fighters affiliated with al-Qaida or the Islamic State group.

More than 60 dead as typhoon wreaks havoc in the Philippines (BBC)

At least 66 people have been killed while hundreds of thousands fled their homes as one of strongest typhoons this year ripped through the central Philippines, authorities say.  Typhoon Kalmaegi has flooded entire towns on the most populated central island of Cebu, where 49 of the fatalities were located. Twenty-six others are missing, a civil defence official said in a radio interview on Wednesday.

Iranian capital faces water rationing and evacuations if it doesn't rain soon, president warns (AP)

Iran’s president has warned that the capital is facing an unprecedented water and energy crisis as reservoirs have plunged to historic lows, threatening supplies of drinking water and electricity generation, it was reported on Friday.  “If it doesn’t rain in Tehran by late November, we’ll have to ration water. And if it still doesn’t rain, we’ll have to evacuate Tehran,” President Masoud Pezeshkian was cited as saying on Thursday by the SNN.ir semi-official news agency. 

Mexican president says Mexico will send more water to US but not immediately (AP)

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that her country intends to send more water to the United States, but not immediately, even as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to raise tariffs by 5% on Mexican imports if more water is not delivered as part of a water-sharing agreement....Mexico is behind water deliveries to the United States from the Rio Grande River because of drought and pipeline limitations, Sheinbaum said.