Author: Press Room

A Redditor who goes by the username “Throwra53456” recently sought advice in the “Am I the A*****e” (AITA) subreddit regarding an upcoming Christmas holiday party and the proper etiquette connected to a blended family. “AITA for calling my wife ridiculous for saying that she won’t attend my family’s Christmas over some stockings?” asked Throwra53456 in a post written on Thursday, Dec. 8.The man explained that each Christmas, his mother has a tradition of hanging customized stockings by the fireplace for each of her grandchildren. CHRISTMAS TREE QUIZ! SEE HOW WELL YOU KNOW THESE FAMOUS CHRISTMAS TREES AND MOREHowever, she does not have…

EXCLUSIVE: Gen. David Petraeus says bolstering the U.S. military’s “core strength” and “will” to take on China and increasing aid for Ukraine should be top priorities in the annual defense policy bill, but also condemned Congress for ending the Biden administration’s military COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and said complaints about the mandate are “manufactured outrage.”Former CIA Director Petraeus, who served for 37 years in the U.S. Army, spoke with Fox News Digital at the Aspen Security Forum in Washington, D.C., Thursday about top priorities that should be included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which will be up for a…

A Navy SEAL veteran who came out as a trans woman 10 years ago but has transitioned back to a man warned veterans this week that they need to take charge of their own health care decisions inside the Department of Veterans Affairs.Chris Beck made waves when he announced his detransition and warned of the dangers the trans movement poses to people, especially children. His Twitter bio now declares, “I am NOT #trans (I healed from mental trauma).”In an interview with Fox News Digital Monday, Beck discussed how quickly the VA system put him on a path to becoming a…

A Texas mom saw significant advancements in her children’s reading levels after she switched them to home education over what she considered a woke curriculum being taught in the public school.”They have done really well,” a mother of four, Tara Carter, told Fox News. “The advances in reading have been amazing.” WATCH A TEXAS MOM TOUT ADVANTAGES OF HOME-SCHOOLING:WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HEREAverage math scores saw the largest declines ever across every state, dropping five points for fourth graders and eight points for eighth graders from 2019 to 2022, according to the Nation’s Report Card. Reading scores dropped to…

Hong Kong on Tuesday announced it would scrap some remaining restrictions on travelers and end contact tracing, after Beijing shifted away from its hardline zero-Covid stance. The city’s health secretary is due to formally announce the removal of curbs on international visitors and the end of requirements to scan a government health app to enter public venues, the city’s leader John Lee told a regular news conference on Tuesday. Lee said the measures will take effect from Wednesday, when travelers arriving in the city would no longer be issued an “amber code” barring them from entering restaurants and bars in…

CNN  —  Freed from a Russian penal colony and back on American soil, WNBA star Brittney Griner got her first taste of a return to normal life at a Texas military facility over the weekend. The Olympic gold medalist and basketball superstar arrived at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio Friday and is now staying with her wife, Cherelle Griner, in a residential environment on the base – one that her agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, decorated with a Christmas tree. Colas told CNN Griner is “upbeat, thankful and hopeful” after returning to the US. For Griner – who spent…

Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham says Australia and Vanuatu are stronger when they “stand together” following the signing of a security deal between the two nations. “Which is what today’s signing indicates we are both committed to doing,” he told Sky News Australia. Source: Sky News

Good morning. We had been looking forward, in a macabre way, to Sam Bankman-Fried’s appearance in front of the US House Committee on Financial Services, scheduled for this morning. Now it seems unlikely to happen; he was arrested by Bahamian police last night. The US wants him extradited. “I didn’t knowingly co-mingle funds” (sadly, a real quote) doesn’t seem to have appeased the American authorities. Send us your thoughts: robert.armstrong@ft.com and ethan.wu@ft.com. GDP recessions vs earnings recessionsWe and much of Wall Street have been singing from the same hymnal for some time now: recession is coming and earnings are going…

Hong Kong CNN  —  China has challenged a move by the United States to block sales of advanced computer chips and chip-making equipment to Chinese companies by launching a trade dispute at the World Trade Organization, calling the measures “trade protectionism.” The country’s commerce ministry filed a formal complaint against the United States with the WTO on Monday, according to a statement. The two countries are both members of the trade body, which has a mechanism for resolving disputes. “China’s filing of a lawsuit at the WTO is to resolve China’s concerns through legal means and is a necessary way…

Trains are set to run from 7.30am to 6.30pm on this week’s strike days, although many areas will be left with no services at all, including most of Scotland and Wales A month of rail disruption will begin on Tuesday when workers walk out for their first of a wave of 48-hour strikes, as nurses prepare to take their own unprecedented industrial action. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) are pressing ahead with two 48-hour strikes at Network Rail – and 14 train companies – from Tuesday and Friday. Trains will run from 7.30am to 6.30pm on…