Category: News
La policía española desaloja a cientos de migrantes de un edificio ocupado considerado peligroso
Por JOSEPH WILSON
BARCELONA (AP) — La policía del noreste de España comenzó a ejecutar el miércoles órdenes de desalojo para vaciar una escuela abandonada donde vivían cientos de migrantes, en su mayoría en situación irregular, al norte de Barcelona.
Conscientes de la inminencia del desalojo, la mayoría de los intrusos se habían marchado antes de que agentes antimotines de la policía regional de Cataluña ingresaran a las instalaciones de la escuela a primera hora de la mañana siguiendo órdenes judiciales.
El recinto ocupado está en Badalona, una ciudad obrera que limita con Barcelona. Muchos subsaharianos, en su mayoría de Senegal y Gambia, se habían mudado al edificio desde que quedó abandonado en 2023.
El alcalde de Badalona, Xavier García Albiol, anunció los desalojos en una publicación en X: “Tal y como me comprometí, empieza la desakupación de los 400 okupas ilegales de la (escuela) B9 en Badalona”.
La abogada Marta Llonch, que representa a los ocupantes ilegales, dijo que muchos de ellos viven de vender la chatarra que recogen en la calle, mientras que otros tienen permiso de residencia y trabajo pero se vieron obligados a vivir allí porque no podían permitirse un alquiler.
“Mucha gente va a pasar la noche en la calle¨, dijo Llonch a The Associated Press. ¨Si desalojas a estas personas no se evaporan. Si lo les das una alternativa, estarán en la calle, lo cual es un problema para ellos y los vecinos¨.
García Albiol, del conservador Partido Popular, ha forjado su carrera política como el alcalde de Badalona en base a una postura antiinmigración.
El ayuntamiento de Badalona había alegado que la ocupación del inmueble representaba un peligro para la seguridad pública. En 2020, una antigua fábrica en la que entraron a vivir de forma ilegal alrededor de un centenar de migrantes se incendió en la ciudad, y cuatro personas perdieron la vida.
Como otros países del sur de Europa, España ha sido testigo durante más de una década de un flujo constante de migrantes que arriesga la vida cruzando el Mediterráneo o el Atlántico en pequeñas embarcaciones.
Mientras muchos de sus vecinos desarrollados han adoptado una posición firme contra la migración, el gobierno de izquierdas de España sostiene que las llegadas legales ha ayudado a que su economía crezca.
Today in History: Chicago Bears play first NFL championship game
Today is Wednesday, Dec. 17, the 351st day of 2025. There are 14 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Dec. 17, 1933, the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants 23-21 in the first NFL championship game.
Also on this date:
In 1777, France becomes one of the first nations to officially recognize the independence of the United States.
In 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright conducted the first successful manned, powered airplane flights near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, using their experimental craft, the Wright Flyer.
In 1944, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Henry C. Pratt rescinded incarceration orders for people of Japanese ancestry during World War II; more than 110,000 people, about two-thirds of them U.S. citizens, had been forced into camps after a February 1942 executive order by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
In 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Clean Air Act into law; it was the first federal legislation targeting the control of air pollution.
In 1975, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme was sentenced to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Gerald R. Ford in Sacramento, California. (She was paroled in August 2009.)
In 1979, Arthur McDuffie, a Black insurance broker and former Marine, was beaten by police after leading them on a chase with his motorcycle in Miami. McDuffie died four days later. (Four white police officers accused of beating McDuffie were acquitted in 2000, sparking riots in Miami that led to several deaths and millions of dollars in damages.)
In 1989, “The Simpsons” debuts on Fox television; it has become the longest-running animated U.S. TV series.
In 1992, President George H.W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in separate ceremonies; NAFTA went into effect in 2004 and was replaced by the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement in 2020.
In 2014, the United States and Cuba announced they would restore diplomatic relations, which had been severed in 1961 after Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution overthrew a U.S.-backed government. Full diplomatic relations resumed in 2015.
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In 2024, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, a senior Russian general, was killed by a bomb hidden in a scooter outside his apartment building in Moscow, a day after Ukraine’s security service accused him of directing the use of banned chemical weapons in Russia’s war in Ukraine. A Ukrainian official said the service carried out the attack in which Kirillov’s assistant also died.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Armin Mueller-Stahl is 95. Actor Ernie Hudson is 80. Political commentator Chris Matthews is 80. Comedian-actor Eugene Levy is 79. Actor Wes Studi is 78. Rock singer Paul Rodgers is 76. Actor Bill Pullman is 72. Filmmaker Peter Farrelly is 69. Rock musician Mike Mills (R.E.M.) is 67. Country singer Tracy Byrd is 59. Actor Laurie Holden is 56. Actor Claire Forlani is 54. Filmmaker Rian Johnson is 52. Actor Sarah Paulson is 51. Actor Giovanni Ribisi is 51. Actor Milla Jovovich is 50. Boxer Manny Pacquiao is 47. Actor Emma Bell is 39. Actor-singer Nat Wolff is 31.
Trabajadores del Louvre votan para ampliar una huelga en el museo más visitado del mundo
PARÍS (AP) — Trabajadores del Louvre votan para ampliar una huelga en el museo más visitado del mundo.
Impresionantes fotos de animales y naturaleza captadas por fotoperiodistas de la AP en 2025
Las imágenes de naturaleza más impactantes tomadas por fotógrafos de Associated Press en 2025 muestran una existencia tan frágil como la de una cría de tortuga albina entre sus semejantes o las alas translúcidas de una cigarra.
Más allá de los titulares y del impacto, a veces peligroso, de los humanos en su mundo, los animales y otras criaturas persisten.
Un oso polar se pasea por las inmediaciones de una estación de investigación abandonada en una isla frente a Rusia, rodeado de hierba en lugar de nieve.
Un mapache come maní en un paseo marítimo en la Ciudad de Panamá.
Las ovejas recorren una antigua ruta de pastoreo por las calles del centro de Madrid.
Las imágenes muestran un mundo sin humanos y sin fronteras, un mundo de extraordinaria belleza en lo cotidiano.
Un colibrí se alista para extraer el néctar de una flor.
Una mariquita salpicada de polen explora un diente de león.
Una ballena jorobada emerge del mar.
Pero todo tiene un final. Un insecto queda atrapado en una reluciente planta carnívora. Buitres sobrevuelan un cadáver (no visible) en India. Dos águilas se enfrentan mientras cazan.
Y entonces, cuando un pajarito asoma entre las plumas de sus padres, el ciclo de la vida vuelve a comenzar de nuevo.
___
La fotogalería fue editada por Courtney Dittmar y Anne-Marie Belgrave.
___
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Iran’s Economy Struggles Amid High Inflation
Iran’s Economy Struggles Amid High Inflation
Since early December 2025, a wave of protests has swept across Iran, ranging from human rights campaigns in major urban areas to labor strikes in industrial hubs.
As Statista’s Tristan Gaudiat reports, part of the growing popular unrest concerns the accelerating use of the death penalty by the Iranian regime (more than 1,000 executions documented so far in 2025), while the country’s economic situation has significantly deteriorated.
Iran is currently facing one of its most severe economic and social crises of the decade, as the country grapples with near-zero GDP growth, soaring inflation and escalating social and geopolitical tensions.
According to the IMF‘s latest projection (October 2025), Iran’s real GDP is expected to grow by just 0.6 percent in 2025, a sharp decline from previous years (+3.7 percent in 2024, +5.3 percent in 2023).
Inflation, meanwhile, is forecast to surge to 43.3 percent, one of the highest rates in the world, as the national currency (rial) continues its dramatic depreciation.
You will find more infographics at Statista
This grim outlook underscores the depth of Iran’s economic issues, driven by a combination of chronic mismanagement, systemic corruption and the impact of international sanctions.
The escalation of the conflict with Israel and the United States this year has further deteriorated the situation.
After a brief but intense war in June 2025, causing billions of dollars in damage in Iran, the United States imposed additional sanctions, targeting Iran’s oil, banking and shipping sectors.
The reimposition of the United Nations’ “snapback” sanctions in late 2025 has also added to the pressure.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/17/2025 – 04:15
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/irans-economy-struggles-amid-high-inflation
Ask Anna: How do you know if early chemistry means anything when he’s still dating around?
Dear Anna,
I’m 24 and recently started seeing a guy I’ve had a crush on for six months. We finally went on two dates and both went incredibly well. He was affectionate, introduced me to his friends, cooked me dinner, even cleared a little space on his bathroom shelf for my toothbrush. It all felt very sweet and intentional, and I left his place thinking this might actually be the start of something real.
But the next morning, while he was checking his calendar, I accidentally saw an entry labeled “coffee w/ Hinge date.” He didn’t notice me noticing, and I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know how to react. I tried to tell myself it was probably planned before we started going out, but it still left a knot in my stomach.
Later that day he texted me normally, right up until about 9 p.m., when he suddenly stopped. No explanation, no goodnight, nothing. Now it’s the middle of the night, and I’m wide awake imagining him being just as charming and affectionate with someone else. I’m confused and honestly a little hurt. How can someone act so warm and connected one minute, and then casually keep other dates on the books the next? I’m new to dating after a long relationship, and I don’t know if this is just how things go now or if it’s a red flag. Is this normal behavior in early dating, or am I missing something? — Suddenly All Guessing
Dear SAG,
Oh, kitten. I promise I’m not being patronizing when I say this, but genuinely: Welcome to modern dating. Because you’ve just stumbled into one of its most common realities.
In short, yes. In this year of our lord “KPop Demon Hunters,” someone can indeed tenderly woo you with a spare shelf and also have a cappuccino scheduled with a stranger from the internet.
This is extremely normal.
Painful? Occasionally. Jarring? Sure. But in early dating, and I mean very early, as in “two dates” early, most people are still seeing other people. Not because they’re villains or players, but because they don’t yet know what they don’t know. You two are still strangers with chemistry, which is intoxicating but not the same as compatibility. At least, not yet.
You’ve built a crush over six months; he’s had about 10 days to catch up. Those timelines don’t match, which is why your heart feels like it’s sprinting while he’s strolling.
Here’s what’s happening: He didn’t decide he wanted someone else instead of you. He just didn’t yet decide he wanted someone instead of anyone at all. And that’s allowed at this stage.
But! That doesn’t mean you need to sit there suffering in silence while your mind fills in the blanks with your darkest interpretations.
So let’s talk about what you actually can control: clarity.
If you’ve been sexually intimate, you have every right to know whether he’s being sexually intimate with other people. That’s not jealousy or control; that’s responsible adulthood. And if you haven’t been intimate yet, clarity is still the antidote.
This doesn’t require a confrontation or a “define-the-relationship” summit. (Please don’t!) It’s simply a check-in — two humans comparing notes about where they are and what they’re open to. You can tell him, calmly and without accusation, that you saw a reminder for another date and it brought up questions for you. Not because you’re demanding exclusivity after two dates, but because honesty helps you decide what feels safe and comfortable. That’s it.
And here’s something else you should know. Even if he does want to enter into an exclusive arrangement with you and your toothbrush, I would still encourage you to wait, not because I want you to be miserable, but because I want you to apply perspective. You need more time before deciding how invested to be.
I normally cringe at timelines for exclusivity — because they’re dumb! Fight me! — but I do think you should pause and slow your roll a bit. Date him, get to know him. See how he shows up over the next few weeks. Hell, see how you show up over the next few weeks.
And honestly? You should think about going on a couple of dates yourself. Not as revenge or as a power move. But because it will remind your nervous system that this one man is not the entire emotional stock market. Dating around, especially early on, keeps your feet on the ground. It helps you stay curious instead of attached to a fantasy. It gives you more data than the two glittering nights you’ve shared with him.
Because at the end of the day, you do not know him yet. You know two lovely dates, some hand-holding, and that he keeps a tidy bathroom shelf. You don’t know how he handles stress, conflict, boredom, desire, disappointment, responsibility, illness, vulnerability, disappointment or power dynamics. You don’t know if he’s reliable. You don’t know if he shuts down when things get real. You don’t know if he’s kind or just performative.
So before you cast him as The One, maybe remember: he’s also The One You’ve Only Hung Out With Twice.
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If dating around isn’t your style, that’s completely fine. Not everyone wants a rotation. But in that case, the bare minimum is still to ask for clarity. Ask gently and listen to the answer not as a promise or a condemnation, but as information. And if the version of non-monogamy he’s practicing — the “everyone keeps dating until someone says stop” version — doesn’t feel good for you, you’re allowed to step back or redirect that enormous, beautiful crush energy toward someone who can actually meet you where you are.
Either way, take a breath and remember that your feelings are valid, but this situation is not a referendum on your worth or your future. This is one guy. One early-stage connection. Nothing more. You’re not losing a soulmate — you’re getting clarity. And clarity, even when it stings, is a gift.
The Folly Of Establishing A US Military Base In Damascus
The Folly Of Establishing A US Military Base In Damascus
Authored by José Niño via The Libertarian Institute
Recent reports indicate the United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus, allegedly to facilitate a security agreement between Syria and Israel. This development represents yet another misguided expansion of American military overreach in a region where Washington has already caused tremendous damage through decades of failed interventionist policies.
The United States currently operates approximately 750 to 877 military installations across roughly eighty countries worldwide. This staggering number represents about 70 to 85% of all foreign military bases globally. To put this in perspective, the next eighteen countries with foreign bases combined maintain only 370 installations total. Russia has just twenty-nine foreign bases, and China operates merely six. The American empire of bases already dwarfs every other nation combined, and the financial burden is crushing. Washington spends approximately $65 billion annually just to build and maintain these overseas installations, with total spending on foreign bases and personnel reaching over $94 billion per year.
These figures are not abstract accounting entries. They translate directly into American lives placed in volatile environments, as demonstrated by the recent insider attack in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, where a purported “ISIS infiltrator” embedded in local government security forces turned his weapon on a joint U.S. Syrian patrol, killing two U.S. soldiers and one U.S. civilian during what was described as a routine field tour. The incident underscores how the sprawling U.S. basing network increasingly exposes American personnel to unpredictable and lethal blowback in unstable theaters far from home.
Syria itself already hosts between 1,500 and 2,000 American troops, primarily concentrated in the northeastern Hasakah province and at the Al Tanf base in the Syrian Desert. The Pentagon recently announced plans to reduce this presence to fewer than 1,000 personnel and consolidated operations from eight installations to just three. Yet now, despite this supposed drawdown, Washington reportedly plans to establish a new presence in Damascus itself, either at Mezzeh Air Base or Al Seen Military Airport. This contradictory expansion reveals the hollow nature of promises to reduce American military commitments abroad.
Since the fall of Bashar al Assad in December 2024, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military and civilian infrastructure while occupying parts of southern Syria including Quneitra and Daraa. Israel has systematically violated the 1974 disengagement agreement and expanded control over buffer zones. These actions align disturbingly well with the Yinon Plan, a 1982 Israeli strategic document by Israeli foreign policy official Oded Yinon that envisions the dissolution of surrounding Arab states into smaller ethnic and religious entities. The plan explicitly calls for fragmenting Syria along its ethnic and religious lines to prevent a strong centralized government that could challenge Israeli interests.
A permanent American military presence in Damascus would effectively serve as a tripwire guaranteeing continued U.S. involvement in securing Israeli strategic objectives in the Levant. Rather than protecting American interests or enhancing national security, such a base would entrench Washington deeper into regional conflicts that have consistently proven disastrous for both American taxpayers and Middle Eastern populations.
The human cost of American intervention in Syria should give any policymaker pause. The Syrian proxy war has resulted in between 617,000 and 656,000 deaths, including civilians, rebels, and government forces. More than 7.4 million people remain internally displaced within Syria, while approximately 6.3 million Syrian refugees live abroad. This catastrophic toll stems partly from Operation Timber Sycamore, the CIA covert program that ran from 2012 to 2017 to train and equip Syrian rebel forces.
Timber Sycamore represented a joint effort involving American intelligence services along with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The CIA ran secret training camps in Jordan and Turkey, providing rebels with small arms, ammunition, trucks, and eventually advanced weaponry like BGM 71 TOW anti-tank missiles. Saudi Arabia provided significant funding while the United States supplied training and logistical support.
The program proved to be counterproductive. Jordanian intelligence officers stole and sold millions of dollars worth of weapons intended for rebels on the black market. Even worse, U.S.-supplied weapons regularly fell into the hands of the al Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, and ISIS itself. The program strengthened the very extremists Washington was ostensibly fighting.
The failure of Timber Sycamore illustrates a fundamental problem with American interventionism in Syria. Washington has pursued regime change in Damascus in various forms for decades, yet these efforts have consistently backfired, creating power vacuums filled by jihadist groups and prolonging devastating conflicts. The current enthusiasm for establishing a military presence in Damascus suggests American policymakers have learned absolutely nothing from these failures.
Our entire National Guard family mourns the loss of Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa-the Iowa Army National Guard Soldiers who were ambushed and killed in Syria. Their mission was in support of… pic.twitter.com/eXcyCquOwb
— Gen. Steven Nordhaus (@ChiefNGB) December 15, 2025
The figure now leading Syria exemplifies the moral bankruptcy of this entire enterprise. Ahmed al Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al Julani, currently serves as president of Syria’s interim government. This represents a stunning rehabilitation for a man who founded al Nusra Front in 2012 as an al-Qaeda affiliate and later formed Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) by merging various rebel factions. Under the name Abu Mohammad al Julani, he was designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States on July 24, 2013, with a $10 million bounty maintained on his head.
Al Sharaa’s terrorist designation stemmed from his leadership of al Nusra Front, which perpetrated numerous war crimes including suicide bombings, forced conversions, ethnic cleansing, and sectarian massacres against Christian, Alawite, Shia, and Druze minorities. He fought with al-Qaeda in Iraq, spent time imprisoned at Camp Bucca between 2006 and 2010, and was dispatched to Syria by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi in 2011 with $50,000 to establish al Nusra. His close associates have faced accusations from the United States of overseeing torture, kidnappings, trafficking, ransom schemes, and displacing residents to seize property. The New York Times reported that his group was accused of initially operating under al-Qaeda’s umbrella.
Yet in November 2025, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 2799, removing al Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab from the ISIL and al-Qaeda sanctions list. The U.S. Treasury Department followed suit, delisting him from the Specially Designated Global Terrorist registry. This reversal came after the State Department revoked HTS’s Foreign Terrorist Organization designation in July 2025. Washington essentially decided that a former al-Qaeda commander who oversaw sectarian massacres was now a legitimate partner worthy of American military support. This absurd rehabilitation demonstrates how completely untethered American foreign policy has become from any coherent moral framework or strategic logic.
Critics rightly question whether al Sharaa has truly broken from his extremist roots or merely engaged in calculated political rebranding. The speed with which Washington embraced him as a legitimate leader suggests American policymakers care far more about advancing Israeli interests and maintaining regional influence than about genuine counterterrorism or protecting religious minorities.
The blatant lies and cover-up by U.S. officials after the attack in Syria show one thing clearly: they don’t give a damn about American troops. They’re treated as expendable cannon fodder to further consolidate the al-Qaeda regime in Damascus. https://t.co/kS0xCWPGZk
— Kevork Almassian (@KevorkAlmassian) December 14, 2025
The United States needs to pursue a fundamentally different approach to foreign policy. Rather than establishing yet another military base to advance Israeli strategic objectives in Syria, Washington should implement a comprehensive drawdown of overseas military commitments. The hundreds of foreign bases it maintains abroad represent an unsustainable burden that diverts resources from genuine national security priorities like border security and stability in the Western Hemisphere. American taxpayers deserve better than footing the bill for an empire that consistently fails to advance their interests while enriching defense contractors and serving foreign powers.
Syria offers a perfect case study in the futility of American interventionism. Decades of attempts at regime change through covert programs like Timber Sycamore and direct military presence have produced nothing but chaos, empowered jihadist groups, created millions of refugees, and cost hundreds of thousands of lives. The rehabilitation of a former al-Qaeda commander into Syria’s president illustrates how divorced American policy has become from any coherent strategy or values.
Rather than doubling down on failed policies, the United States should pursue strategic restraint, scale back its sprawling network of foreign bases, and allow regional powers to sort out their own affairs without American military involvement. That represents the path toward a more sustainable, affordable, and morally defensible foreign policy. The Damascus base proposal deserves to be rejected outright as yet another wasteful expansion of an already overextended military empire.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/17/2025 – 03:30
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/folly-establishing-us-military-base-damascus
Terry Savage: Guarding your credit, identity and property
It’s the holiday shopping/scamming season. And that makes it a good time to think about protecting yourself from the dangers of identity theft.
These days, the fraudsters are so sophisticated that even the most wary consumer can become a victim. So here are some ways to protect yourself, your Social Security number, your bank accounts and your property.
—Freeze your credit.
This is the first and easiest step toward guarding your identity. Each of the three major credit bureaus allows you to instantly freeze your credit online, with no charge. Then no new credit can be opened in your name, and no loans can be taken out using your Social Security number.
You’ll be given a PIN or ID number to temporarily “unfreeze” your credit report if you are about to make a home purchase or buy a car, or apply for a job where they need to check your credit. Your biggest challenge is remembering that PIN! Here are the links or go directly to the website:
Experian.com
Equifax.com
Transunion.com
The freeze will stay in place until you lift it, either temporarily or permanently. And consider doing it for your children’s credit reports as well, although that typically requires identity proof and cannot be done online. And, while you’re at these websites, check your credit report to make sure you recognize all the accounts listed.
—Watch your credit score.
The most popular scoring models are the FICO score and the Advantage score, though each bureau may create its own credit score on these models. Get your credit score free from most banks or at AnnualCreditReport.com. Or go to CreditKarma.com to sign up for your free credit score. You do not have to pay for a credit score.
Your score changes by a few points every month, depending on whether the score was calculated just before — or after — you paid a credit card bill. Your goal is to keep your score above 750 — even if you aren’t planning any borrowing.
—Freeze your phone SIM card.
The most sophisticated scam these days involves fraudsters stealing the information on your phone SIM card. They don’t have to steal your actual phone to get this information. Once they have those codes, they can hijack your texts onto their phone. The next step is to make a huge withdrawal from your bank account. When your bank texts you that 6-digit code, asking you to authorize the withdrawal, it goes to their phone! They insert the authorization and the money is moved instantly out of your account!
Banks do not consider this protected fraud — because they sent “you” an authorization code — and the code was used to make the transfer! And since you didn’t know your text messages were being hijacked, you don’t find out until too late — perhaps when you check your bank balance! Huge amounts have been lost, and the banks do not reimburse.
Protect your SIM card by contacting your telephone provider directly — ATT, T-Mobile, etc. At each of their websites you can create a SIM protection code. Then anytime your phone is turned back on, you’ll have to enter that code. And before anyone can transfer the SIM to another phone, they’ll need that code.
—Protect your home title.
If you have a mortgage on your home, your bank will have to authorize an additional borrowing. But if you own your home free and clear, as many seniors do, there is a scam going around where a fraudster uses personal information (stolen or found online) to impersonate the homeowner. Then they use that information to create a fake deed or mortgage document, forging the owner’s signature. Then the fake document is filed with the county recorder’s office, making the fraudulent transfer seem legal. The next step is to take out a mortgage loan on the property, or even sell your property. It’s a scary thought, although the odds are long that it will happen to you.
Lately, you’ll see late-night TV commercials asking you to buy a costly “title-lock” program. Instead, consider a less expensive option to protect your title. You could take out a home equity line of credit at your bank, even though you’re not planning to withdraw money. That small fee guarantees the bank will be aware of any changes in your title.
Or contact your county recorder of deeds. Almost every county has a free title protection program that gives you the ability to monitor their records for property real estate activity. When an alert is triggered, an email will be sent to the email address provided in the alert.
You should make the effort to protect your credit in every way possible. Check your online bank accounts frequently, as well as your credit report and score. Call immediately about any discrepancies. File a police report and contact the FBI at 800-CALL-FBI if you suspect fraud. And if you catch it too late, look for help at the Identity Theft Resource Center.
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You can’t be too careful about your identity and your credit. And that’s The Savage Truth.
(Terry Savage is a registered investment adviser and the author of four best-selling books, including “The Savage Truth on Money.” Terry responds to questions on her blog at TerrySavage.com.)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/17/terry-savage-guarding-your-credit-identity-and-property/
Europe Establishes Hague-Based Reparations Commission For Ukraine
Europe Establishes Hague-Based Reparations Commission For Ukraine
Top European officials met on Tuesday in The Hague in order to establish an international commission to oversee eventual reparations to compensate Ukraine for Russia’s military invasion. President Volodymyr Zelensky and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas were present for the high level talks in The Netherlands.
The International Claims Commission for Ukraine will assess and decide on claims for reparations, and will determine and discharge any amount to be paid out. This is likely to see hundreds of billions of dollars eventually flow to Ukraine for the sake of rebuilding and keeping the civic services sector afloat after nearly four years of war.
The treaty to establish the commission has been signed by 35 countries at Tuesday’s conference. It also has the involvement of Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, which is a 46-nation group protecting human rights on the continent. The new commission is going to be based in The Hague.
Zelensky welcomed the newly established mechanism, declaring that Russia “paying for its crimes” was “exactly where the real path to peace begins.” He added: “This war and Russia’s responsibility for it must become a clear example so that others learn not to choose aggression,” and followed with, “We must make Russia accept that there are rules in the world.”
Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel agreed, explaining that “Without accountability, a conflict cannot be fully resolved. And part of that accountability is also paying damages that have been done.”
All this comes as EU leadership is trying to push through a scheme not just to permanently freeze Russian assets held chiefly in Belgium, but to use the funds for Ukraine’s long-term defense and reconstruction.
But Russia’s Central Bank has this week filed a lawsuit seeking 18.2 trillion rubles ($229 billion) in damages from Belgium-based Euroclear, which is meant as a loud shot across Brussels’ bow.
The EU’s Kallas has lately admitted that the issue of using Russian frozen assets had become “increasingly difficult” ahead of a summit of European leaders which is set for Thursday. The EU is seeking to bypass obvious objectors such as Hungary, and is seeking legal loopholes which would allow a plan to pass based on simple majority vote among EU members.
NOW – Secretary General of the Council of Europe announces the establishment of the “International Claims Commission” and says that work is underway for a “special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.” pic.twitter.com/XlVYKUPtzb
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) December 16, 2025
The World Bank has estimated the cost of reconstruction due to the war, only figuring in numbers up to December 2024, at $524 billion.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/17/2025 – 02:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/europe-establishes-hague-based-reparations-commission-ukraine
Una tradición nocturna lleva luz y esperanza a niños en un hospital de Michigan
Por MIKE HOUSEHOLDER
ROYAL OAK, Michigan, EE.UU. (AP) — Voluntarios, con linternas en mano, las levantaron por encima de sus cabezas cuando el reloj marcó las ocho de la tarde, proyectando haces de luz a través del gélido cielo nocturno hacia las ventanas del hospital.
Exactamente 10 minutos después, la entusiasta multitud, aún con las linternas en alto, gritó al unísono “dulces sueños” a los niños ingresados varios pisos por encima de ellos.
La tradición nocturna “Moonbeams for Sweet Dreams” (“Rayos de luna para dulces sueños”) vuelve a iluminar la noche en el exterior del hospital infantil Corewell Health en Royal Oak, en las afueras de Detroit.
Durante 10 minutos cada noche, los voluntarios que están en el exterior del recinto apuntan con sus linternas hacia las habitaciones de pediatría, transmitiendo un mensaje de esperanza y alegría. Los niños devuelven el gesto enfocando con sus propias linternas a quienes están abajo.
“Estar atrapado en el hospital y sentir que el mundo sigue adelante sin ti fuera te hace sentir un poco aislado, un poco solo, como si te hubieran olvidado en el ajetreo de las fiestas navideñas”, dijo Amanda Lefkof, especialista en vida infantil en Corewell.
Uno de los menores internados es Zoe Hostetter, de 4 años, que recibe tratamientos de quimioterapia. En una noche reciente, dirigió su propia linterna hacia los abrigados voluntarios abajo, con su abuelo, Tim Schuele, a su lado.
“Es un gran grupo de personas que no conocen, pero ven el amor que se envía a través de las luces”, contó Schuele. “Están aquí solos o solo con la familia cercana, durante días”.
Pero en estas noches, los niños están lejos de estar solos.
Kevin Barringer partipicó en la acción una noche la semana pasada. Su hijo Connor pasó dos meses en el hospital en 2020 recuperándose de una lesión en la columna, y entonces fueron estinatarios de las luces.
“Se pone bastante oscuro allá arriba para los niños y también para los padres”, dijo Kevin Barringer. “Tener gente aquí abajo haciéndoles saber allá que hay gente con ellos y enviando toda su luz de esa manera, significa mucho”.
Stephanie McMillan, sentada en una habitación oscura, sostenía a su hija de tres meses, Wren, en un brazo y una linterna en el otro, dirigiendo un haz de luz hacia la gente en el exterior.
“Ayuda a que las personas aquí dentro no se sientan tan solas y a que los miembros de la comunidad puedan llevar la alegría de la Navidad a la gente que está aquí”, afirmó McMillan.
El hospital también organiza fiestas navideñas, eventos para elaborar mantas y sesiones de cuentacuentos para las familias. Además, un voluntario se disfraza de Papá Noel y visita a los pacientes en sus habitaciones y en durante esas actividades.
Corewell supervisa el Moonbeams desde 2017. Este año, comenzó el 9 de diciembre y se prolongará durante Hanukkah y todas las noches hasta dos días antes de Navidad.
Entre los participantes hubo grupos de estudiantes de secundaria y tropas de Scouts y hermandades, dijo la enfermera Lisa Muma, una de las organizadoras. A menudo se les unen equipos deportivos, incluyendo un equipo juvenil de hockey que apareció con luces pegadas a sus palos.
Dependiendo del día de la semana y del clima, en el exterior del hospital se congregan entre decenas y cientos de personas cada noche.
“Queríamos encontrar una forma de recordar a las familias y a los niños y pacientes en el hospital que seguimos pensando en ellos, que estamos aquí para ellos, que estamos con ellos”, indicó Lefkof. A su vez, el ala de pediatría del centro se siente un poco como Las Vegas, donde “los días y las noches se mezclan un poco”.
Pero el evento Moonbeams les da a los niños algo que esperar con ilusión durante un momento difícil para muchas familias.
“Esta es una manera maravillosa… de realmente ofrecerles mucho amor cuando están pasando por un momento difícil”, añadió Muma.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
