https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/27/its-frightening-how-far-right-is-infiltrating-everyday-culture

The two men chop peppers, slice aubergines and giggle into the camera as they delve into the art of vegan cooking. Both are wearing ski masks and T-shirts bearing Nazi symbols.

The German videos – titled Balaclava Kitchen – started in 2014 and ran for months before YouTube took down the channel for violating its guidelines.

But it offered a glimpse of how far-right groups have seized on cultural production – from clothing brands to top 40 music – to normalise their ideas, in a process that researchers say has hit new heights in the age of social media.

“It’s frightening, honestly,” said Katherine Kondor, a researcher with the Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies. “You can be radicalised sitting on your couch.”

In affiliation with the Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX), Kondor is leading a six-country project looking at how the extreme right uses aesthetics, from fitness influencers to memes and stickers, to spread their views across Europe.

From Sweden to Spain, researchers found that extremist messaging was woven through cultural aspects of everyday life, both online and offline.

“In Hungary we have some examples of extreme right bands becoming mainstream because they’re on the top 40 chart. I mean, what’s more normal than being on the top 40?” Kondor said.

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-presidential-pardon-process-dda97c15

Inside the New Fast Track to a Presidential Pardon
Lobbyists close to Trump say their going rate to advocate for a pardon is $1 million

President Trump had just awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom for Charlie Kirk in October when his son ushered friends toward the Oval Office.

As a string ensemble played in the background, Donald Trump Jr. walked up with lobbyist Ches McDowell to chat with the president. Trump Jr. at one point pulled McDowell forward to shake the president’s hand, according to a livestream broadcast. After they went inside, McDowell took the president aside to discuss a pressing issue, according to people familiar with the matter: One of his clients was seeking a pardon.

The client was Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance. That afternoon, the president agreed to sign Zhao’s pardon, the people said.

Zhao was one of the beneficiaries of a new, informal path to presidential pardons that has become a feature of Trump’s second term, which allows some clemency applicants with deep pockets or politically connected lobbyists to circumvent the traditional pardon process.

McDowell told The Wall Street Journal that Trump Jr. didn’t help him pursue the pardon and had left the room when he brought up Zhao. Trump Jr. had brought him because they were leaving later that afternoon for a hunting trip in Utah, McDowell said. A spokesman for Trump Jr. declined to comment.

Sorry Libtards, this ones on you

>The defendant “has never really been an openly political person” and does not discuss politics often with his family to avoid conflict. According to the defendant, “no one knows” his political views, including his family. The defendant stated that he does not align politically with his family members and did not tell them that he “was going to a protest in support of [then President] Trump.”

>Later in the interview, the defendant explained that after the 2020 election, “when it first seemed like something was wrong” and “stuff started happening,” he began following the issue closely on YouTube and Reddit and felt “bewildered.” In the defendant’s view, if people “feel that, you know, something as important as voting in the federal election is being tampered with, is being, you know, being – you know, relegated null and void, then, like, someone needs to speak up, right? Someone up top. You know, just to, just to at the very least calm things down.”

>The defendant felt that “the people up top,” including “people on both sides, public figures,” should not “ignore[e] people’s grievances” or call them “conspiracy theorists,” “bad people,” “Nazis,” or “fascists.” Instead, “if people feel that their votes are like just being thrown away, then . . . at the very least someone should address it.”

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/alleged-jan-6-pipe-bomber-reset-phone-943-times-before-arrest-court-docs-say

The details surrounding Brian Cole Jr.'s confession of allegedly planting pipe bombs in Washington, D.C. on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot were released on Sunday as part of pre-trial court filings.

Bankruptcies aren't just rising — they're suddenly everywhere.

From billion-dollar giants to mom-and-pop shops to everyday individuals, bankruptcies are piling up across the US this year, with large corporate bankruptcies already hitting their highest level in 15 years.

The surge in bankruptcies highlights the growing financial pressures facing consumers and companies as costs climb amid a tougher borrowing environment.

"Rising costs, tighter credit conditions, and ongoing geopolitical volatility continue to exert pressure on households and businesses already facing financial strain."

Unlike past downturns, this wave of bankruptcies appears to be hitting nearly every corner of the economy. It's sweeping across a range of sectors in what one veteran bankruptcy attorney described as a strikingly "unusual" pattern.

Even without December figures, 2025 has already logged the highest annual count for large corporate bankruptcies since 2010, when filings totaled 828, according to S&P Global.

In November alone, Subchapter V bankruptcy filings totaled 223 — a 23% bump from the previous year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, which cited data from Epiq.

Individual bankruptcy filings saw an 8% jump to 40,973 in November 2025, up from the 37,814 filings in November 2024, the data cited by ABI shows.

https://www.businessinsider.com/bankruptcies-across-economy-small-business-households-corporate-2025-12

Prolific Peacemaker Donald J. Trump hosts a historic meeting with the self stylized "King Zelensky The Mad, Ruler of Ashes and First of His Name"
Zelensky The Mad has had time to consider Peacemaker Trump's 28-point peace plan and is meeting to counter offer a 20-point peace plan of his own
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5664577-live-updates-trump-zelensky-russia-ukraine-meeting/
an hour ago

Live updates: Trump, Zelensky sit down for Ukraine peace talks in Florida

President Trump on Sunday is meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Palm Beach, Fla., as talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war advance.

Ahead of the meeting, Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he described the call as “good” and “very productive” in a social media post.

Zelensky’s 20-point peace plan, which offers some concessions to Moscow, will be the topic of discussion during Sunday’s huddle. It proposes to have Russian forces withdraw from several Ukrainian regions and creates an $800 billion fund for post-war recovery efforts.

Sunday’s meeting at Mar-a-Lago will mark the fifth time Zelensky has traveled to meet Trump in the U.S.

“These are some of the most active diplomatic days of the year right now, and a lot can be decided before the New Year,” Zelensky wrote on social media early Sunday morning.

Over the weekend, Russia intensified its drone and missile attacks on Kyiv, killing at least one person and injuring many others.

Zelensky, in his Sunday social media post, said he plans to discuss security guarantees, air defense missiles and Russia sanctions with Trump.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/epstein-files-redaction-over-500-pages-entirely-blacked-out/
The Justice Department released thousands of new records on Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, but at least 550 pages in the documents are fully redacted, CBS News has found.

The newly released files included photos of several prominent people in Epstein's orbit, images from his homes and investigative records that detail disturbing allegations against the late sex offender. But the heavy redactions in many of the records have drawn criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, as the department defends its handling of the files.

One series of three consecutive documents — totaling 255 pages — is entirely redacted, with each page covered by a black box. A fourth 119-page document labeled "Grand Jury-NY" is also entirely redacted. It's unclear what proceedings it stemmed from, but the document listed immediately before it is a transcript in which a prosecutor asks a grand jury in 2020 to consider evidence for a superseding indictment of Epstein's convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.

At least 180 blacked-out pages appear in files that are mostly but not entirely redacted. In some cases, a cover page, a photo of a folder or something else that isn't fully redacted precedes several pages that are entirely obscured by a black box.

In other cases, the redactions were more sparing. For example, a 96-page police report on a Florida investigation into Epstein in the mid-2000s redacts the names of victims and other details, but leaves many other details in.

And some of the thousands of photos included in Friday's release are partially redacted, with some people's faces obscured by boxes. Photos that include former President Bill Clinton, pop star Michael Jackson and other notable people have partial redactions (though Clinton and Jackson themselves are fully visible).

> Thread theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdqBmeg4XmY

> https://www.npr.org/2025/12/23/nx-s1-5653312/student-loans-default-education-department

The Trump administration will resume garnishing wages from student loan borrowers in default in early 2026, the U.S. Education Department confirmed to NPR.

The move comes after a years-long pause in wage garnishment due to the pandemic.

"We expect the first notices to be sent to approximately 1,000 defaulted borrowers the week of January 7," a department spokesperson told NPR. The spokesperson said wage garnishment notices are expected to increase on a monthly basis throughout the year.

A borrower is in default when they have not made loan payments in more than 270 days. Once that happens, the federal government can try to collect on the debt by seizing tax refunds and Social Security benefits, and also by ordering an employer to withhold up to 15% of a borrower's pay. Borrowers should receive a 30-day notice from the Education Department before this wage garnishment begins.

Betsy Mayotte, the president and founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, says even though borrowers have expected this, the timing is unfortunate.