United States

CNN reports: The United States has vetoed a resolution at the United Nations calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an anticipated move that comes amid growing international clamor for Israel to pause its offensive against Hamas.  The US had already signaled its intention to veto the Algerian resolution, but has grown increasingly critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and …

Reuters reports: The United States has proposed a rival draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would underscore the body’s “support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable,” according to the text seen by Reuters on Monday. Washington has been averse to the word ceasefire in any U.N. action on the Israel-Hamas war, but the U.S. draft …

The Associated Press reports: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s fight to avoid facing spying charges in the United States may be nearing an end following a protracted legal saga in the U.K. that included seven years of self-exile inside a foreign embassy and five years in prison. Assange faces what could be his final court hearing in London starting Tuesday as …

The New York Times reports: The United States on Friday carried out a series of military strikes against Iran-backed militants in half a dozen sites in Iraq and Syria, according to a U.S. Defense Department official, marking a sharp escalation of the war in the Middle East that the Biden administration has for four months sought to avoid. President Biden …

NPR reports: When Americans are asked to check a box indicating their religious affiliation, 28% now check ‘none.’ A new study from Pew Research finds that the religiously unaffiliated – a group comprised of atheists, agnostic and those who say their religion is “nothing in particular” – is now the largest cohort in the U.S. They’re more prevalent among American …

Bloomberg News reports: The US and UK have traditionally enjoyed a so-called special relationship as close allies bound by a common language. But that goodwill has been jeopardized by an American academic who claims that the recipe for a perfect cup of tea includes a pinch of salt. Her advice drew bafflement and derision in the UK, where tea is …

The Hill reports: The State Department brushed off reports of Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering his government to look into the nation’s former “real estate” abroad, saying Alaska would be staying in American hands. Putin signed a new decree last week to allocate funds for the research and registration of Russian property overseas, including that in former territories of the …

Via press release from the White House: In response to continued illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing Houthi attacks against vessels, including commercial shipping, transiting the Red Sea, the armed forces of the United States and United Kingdom, with support from the Netherlands, Canada, Bahrain, and Australia, conducted joint strikes in accordance with the inherent right of individual and collective self-defense, consistent …

Reuters reports: The United States and Britain have started carrying out strikes against targets linked to Houthis in Yemen, four U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday, the first time strikes have been launched against the Iran-backed group since it started targeting international shipping in the Red Sea late last year. The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been targeting …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. military said Sunday that its forces opened fire on Houthi rebels after they attacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea, killing several of them in an escalation of the maritime conflict linked to the war in Gaza. In a series of statements, the U.S. Central Command said the crew of the USS Gravely …

The Washington Post reports: American forces launched airstrikes against three facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups linked to Iran, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement, in response to an attack on U.S. personnel stationed at Irbil air base that left one service member critically injured. The militant attack was launched by a one-way explosive drone, a …

The Associated Press reports: President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. service members were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq. National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said one of the U.S. troops suffered critical injuries in the attack that occurred earlier Monday. The Iranian-backed militia Kataib …

CBS News reports: The U.S. on Friday accused Iran of close involvement in attacks on commercial ships by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, stepping up the tone as Washington considers tougher measures including possible force. The White House publicly released U.S. intelligence as the Iranian-linked Yemeni insurgents persist with ship strikes they say are in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, …

The Associated Press reports: The United States freed a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro [photo] in exchange for the release of 10 Americans imprisoned in the South American country and the extradition of a fugitive defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard” who is at the center of a massive Pentagon bribery scandal. The 6-foot-3 Leonard Glenn Francis, who …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. and a host of other nations are creating a new force to protect ships transiting the Red Sea that have come under attack by drones and ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced early Tuesday in Bahrain. The seriousness of the attacks, several of which have damaged the …

Reuters reports: Finland will on Monday Dec. 18 sign a defence cooperation agreement with the United States, the Finnish government said on Thursday, to grant the U.S. military broad access across the Nordic country to the vicinity of its long border with Russia. Russia’s Nordic neighbour Finland became the NATO military alliance’s newest member earlier this year in response to …

CBS News reports: President Biden is meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday before the two hold a joint news conference at the White House, with the pair making a renewed push for Congress to approve more aid for Ukraine in its war with Russia before the end of the year. At the top of his meeting with Zelenskyy, …

Reuters reports: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday plans a last-ditch plea to U.S. lawmakers to keep military support flowing as he battles Russia, in visits to the White House and Capitol Hill. Heading into winter, with tens of thousands of Ukrainians dead, a yawning budget deficit and Russian advances in the east, Zelenskiy is scheduled to press U.S. lawmakers …

Axios reports: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet in person with senators in both parties and House Speaker Mike Johnson during a visit to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. The Ukrainian president’s visit to Congress comes as lawmakers remain at an impasse over an emergency national security spending package that includes roughly $60 billion for Ukraine. Congress has just one week …

The Messenger reports: The Department of Justice on Wednesday filed its first official war-crimes charges against four Russian men accused of torturing an American in Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion of the country. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the charges at a press conference that was described as an event to announce “significant humans rights actions.” It also featured …