Category: News
2025: The Year Energy Sanity Returned
2025: The Year Energy Sanity Returned
Authored by James Hickman via Schiff Sovereign,
When Robert Oppenheimer watched the first atomic bomb detonate in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945, the blast confirmed that America had won the race to build a nuclear weapon.
The destructive power of these weapons was extraordinary; the explosion from Oppenheimer’s “Trinity” test unleashed an astonishing 83.7 Terajoules (TJ) of energy from just SIX kilograms of Plutonium-239.
By comparison, a typical power plant in 1945 would have required 9.5 MILLION kilograms of coal to produce a similar amount of energy.
This makes splitting the atom one of the most important discoveries in all of human history; the sheer volume of energy that can be released from a nuclear reaction is literally over 1 million times greater than from chemical/thermal reactions (like coal, natural gas, or TNT).
Initially this discovery was weaponized. And just three weeks after Oppenheimer’s successful test, US President Harry Truman dropped two atomic bombs on Japan to finally end World War II.
But many of the same scientists who built the weapon also realized that this same power could also be used to generate electricity so cheaply and abundantly that it would be practically free.
Yet in one of the most bizarre twists of fate, after literally EIGHT decades since Oppenheimer’s test, humanity has done almost nothing with this revolutionary technology.
That’s because the first institution to harness the power of nuclear energy as a fuel source (and not a weapon) was actually the United States Navy.
Admiral Hyman Rickover understood that nuclear energy could power America’s submarine fleet, giving the US Navy a major strategic advantage. With nuclear power, US subs could stay underwater and sustain themselves for longer missions and greater distances.
But that required certain critical decisions that would impact the nuclear power industry for decades.
Most importantly, in designing its nuclear submarines, the Navy had to first decide on what material to use as a coolant.
Many scientists at the time championed using molten salt for its safety and stability. But Admiral Rickover overruled them and decided to use pressurized water instead; after all, he reasoned, submarines were literally surrounded by water, so it would be the most efficient coolant.
That proved to be an incredibly fateful decision.
The civilian nuclear power industry essentially copied the Navy’s design choices— especially the decision to go with pressurized water as a coolant. And then came the accidents.
Pretty much every nuclear accident you’ve ever heard of— Three Mile Island in 1979, Chernobyl in 1986, and much later Fukushima in 2011— were essentially BECAUSE of the pressurized water cooling systems.
In other words, had the commercial nuclear power industry been designed around molten salt (which has a MUCH higher boiling temperature than pressurized water), those infamous accidents would have never happened.
And yet, they did. The consequent negative media coverage and political fallout slammed the door shut on nuclear power for a generation—effectively sending a technology with staggering potential into the waste bin.
Despite all the panic, policy paralysis, and lost decades, however, nuclear is finally making a comeback. And it remains, by far, the cheapest form of electricity in existence.
And that matters. Energy is a key driver of inflation, and when energy prices rise, so does the price of nearly every good and service in the economy.
Abundant, cheap energy is one of the few forces that can reliably keep inflation in check.
Nuclear, of course, is not the only option. There’s still “conventional” sources like oil, gas, coal, etc.
Yet starting in 2021, the Biden administration went out of its way to mothball nuclear development and kneecap those other conventional industries, driving prices higher across the board.
Instead they mandated and subsidized extremely inefficient “green energy” (which is not all that green when you factor in the environmental costs of mining cobalt, lithium, etc. for battery backups).
That’s not just idiotic from an economic standpoint, it has actually caused serious harm to national security.
America’s main adversaries have spent the past decade building the largest power grid in human history— including coal, hydro, and of course, nuclear.
Between 2010 and 2024, China’s electricity production grew more than the rest of the world combined, and last year they generated more than twice as much power as the United States.
Chinese AI data centers can already purchase electricity for as little as 3 cents per kilowatt-hour, less than half what American operators pay. Plus it has another 34 nuclear reactors currently under construction which will drive the cost of electricity even lower.
Whether America’s competition with China stays economic or, in the worst case, turns into an outright war, the side paying double or triple for electricity is at a strategic disadvantage.
Any serious nation should prioritize cheap and plentiful energy to supercharges economic productivity.
Cheap energy fuels stronger growth, lowers prices, and it makes life better for everyone. What’s not to like about that?
That’s why one of the most important—and least appreciated—developments of this year in the United States is the renewed federal push for nuclear energy.
In May, the Trump administration issued four executive orders aimed squarely at jump-starting the industry: reforming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), speeding up licensing, and creating an expedited pathway for advanced reactors already tested by the Department of Energy (DOE) or the Pentagon.
More importantly, this year the Department of Energy selected two recipients for major SMR (Small Modular Reactors) development awards.
Unlike traditional gigawatt-scale giant reactors that can take a 10+ years and billions of dollars to build, SMRs are designed to be modular, scalable, and dramatically easier/faster to deploy.
The newly reformed NRC also, finally, signed off on one company’s SMR design— a 77-megawatt reactor that can be manufactured in a factory and shipped to a site ready to install.
This design certification is a huge leap forward; once the NRC approves a reactor blueprint, developers can use it without undergoing years of safety reviews.
This removes one of the biggest regulatory chokepoints in the entire nuclear industry and speeds along new reactor construction.
All of these moves mark the first real momentum nuclear power has seen in decades.
Between newly certified small modular reactor designs, federally backed advanced-reactor projects, and the restart of shuttered plants, there are now multiple US nuclear projects that have been approved, funded, or moving through a faster licensing track.
Nuclear is back. And this revival is one of the most encouraging developments of 2025.
Over the next decade, we could see small modular reactors move from prototypes to widespread deployment. And we’ll be able to draw a straight line from the cheap, abundant energy of the future, to the decisions that were made this year.
This is important, because America is going to need every watt.
Some of these next-generation data centers will require a Megawatt of power PER RACK. That’s essentially a dedicated nuclear reactor for a single facility.
The grid we have today can’t support the future that’s arriving. Nuclear can.
And that is especially important because these two developments—nuclear power and AI—are realistically the only way to unleash enough productivity to grow the economy out of the deficit and debt problems the government has weighed it down with.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 12/13/2025 – 16:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/2025-year-energy-sanity-returned
Mueren 6 cascos azules en ataque con dron a una instalación de la ONU en Sudán, dice Guterres
EL CAIRO (AP) — Un ataque con drones impactó una instalación de la ONU el sábado en Sudán, matando a seis cascos azules, indicó el secretario general António Guterres.
La ofensiva alcanzó la base logística de Naciones Unidas para el mantenimiento de la paz en la ciudad de Kadugli, en la región central de Kordofán, señaló en un comunicado.
Ocho cascos azules más resultaron heridos. Todas las víctimas son ciudadanos bangladesíes que sirven en la Fuerza Provisional de Seguridad de la ONU para Abyei (UNISFA, por sus siglas en inglés).
“Los ataques contra cascos azules de Naciones Unidas podrían constituir crímenes de guerra según el derecho internacional”, advirtió Guterres, y pidió que los responsables del ataque “injustificable” rindan cuentas.
El ejército sudanés culpó a las Fuerzas de Apoyo Rápido, un grupo paramilitar que se encuentra en guerra con el ejército desde hace más de dos años por el control del país.
El ataque “deja ver claramente el enfoque subversivo de la milicia rebelde y de quienes están detrás de ella”, expresó el ejército en un comunicado.
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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.
Kyler Gordon is out for rest of regular season after Chicago Bears place cornerback on injured reserve
If Kyler Gordon plays again this season, it will not happen until the playoffs.
The Chicago Bears moved the nickel cornerback to injured reserve for the second time this year, meaning he will miss the remaining four regular-season games beginning with Sunday’s meeting with the Cleveland Browns at Soldier Field.
Gordon, who turns 26 on Wednesday, suffered a groin injury in pregame warmups Sunday in Green Bay, the latest setback in a season that has been filled with them for a player who was expected to be a valuable chess piece in the secondary.
Originally injured in training camp on Aug. 7, Gordon has dealt with hamstring, calf and groin injuries that have limited him to three games and 117 snaps. He played Oct. 13 at Washington, Oct. 19 versus New Orleans and Nov. 28 at Philadelphia — missing five games in the middle of the season for an original IR stint.
Players are allowed to return from IR twice during a season, but each reinstatement counts against the maximum of eight designated-to-return moves a club can make. In 2024, the league tweaked the rules, allowing clubs qualifying for the playoffs to have up to 10 players designated to return during a season.
The Bears have used five activations to date for Gordon, cornerback Jaylon Johnson, linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga, defensive end Austin Booker and running back Travis Homer. The club is expected to designate weak-side linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (groin) to return soon, perhaps in the coming days for a potential return for the Dec. 20 game against the Packers at Soldier Field.
It’s possible the team will consider designating tight end Nikola Kalinic (hand) and guard Luke Newman (foot) to return at some point, but all of the IR situations are fluid. Running back Roschon Johnson (thumb) is another possibility.
While the Bears did not make a corresponding roster move to fill Gordon’s spot on the 53-man roster, they elevated linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin and running back Brittain Brown from the practice squad to the game-day roster to face the Browns. This is the third and final elevation for Reeves-Maybin and second for Brown. Reeves-Maybin should be considered a candidate to take Gordon’s roster spot in the coming days.
The Gordon situation is frustrating for everyone involved. He signed a three-year, $40 million extension during the offseason that made him the highest-paid slot cornerback in the league. While soft-tissue injuries have plagued him during the offseason and training camp in the past, he hasn’t been able to escape.
Considering Gordon’s inability to get healthy and remain available, it might be a long shot for him to return during the playoffs, if the Bears qualify. The team certainly cannot be counting on him at this point.
“It’s disappointing,” coach Ben Johnson said Monday. “I wish I had a better feel for the individual but with him being out as much as he has, I haven’t really gotten to see him on the field and competing to get to know him like I’d like to at this point yet.
“I do know that the biggest predictor of a soft tissue injury is having a previous one. He’s in this rut right now that we’re not able to get out of. We’re going to exhaust all of our resources in and outside of the building to make sure that we’re addressing it and doing what we can to get him back and healthy again.”
Gordon’s $10 million base salary for 2026 is fully guaranteed. The Bears have minimal protection for injuries in the final three years of the contract, through 2028. For each of the next three seasons, Gordon has a $30,000 per-game roster bonus (maximum of $510,000 per season) tied to him being active on the game-day roster.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/13/kyler-gordon-chicago-bears-injured-reserve/
Colts activan a Philip Rivers y es elegible para jugar el domingo ante Seahawks
INDIANÁPOLIS (AP) — Los Colts de Indianapolis promovieron el sábado al quarterback Philip Rivers, de 44 años, al roster activo, haciéndolo elegible para jugar —y quizás ser titular— en el crucial juego del domingo en Seattle.
Indy (8-5) sacó al semifinalista del Salón de la Fama del Fútbol Americano Profesional de su retiro el martes cuando lo firmó para el equipo de práctica. Rivers practicó toda la semana, pero no ha jugado desde lo que parecía ser el final de su carrera tras la temporada 2020.
El movimiento para agregar a Rivers al roster activo lo sacará de la boleta del Salón de la Fama para la clase de 2026. Rivers había sido seleccionado el mes pasado como uno de los 26 semifinalistas, y se espera que los 15 finalistas sean anunciados más tarde este mes.
Rivers ya no será elegible debido a las reglas del Salón de la Fama que exigen que un jugador esté fuera de la liga al menos cinco años antes de que su candidatura pueda ser considerada. Ahora, lo más pronto que Rivers puede ser candidato es para la clase de 2031.
La firma de Rivers se produjo después de que el entrenador Shane Steichen confirmara que el quarterback titular Daniel Jones se perdería el resto de esta temporada debido a un desgarro en el tendón de Aquiles derecho. Jones, quien usa el número 17 con los Colts, se sometió a cirugía a principios de esta semana y ahora permite que Rivers use el número 17 que llevó a lo largo de su larga carrera en la NFL.
Indy ha perdido tres seguidos y cuatro de sus últimos cinco, perdiendo el primer puesto de la AFC Sur y está empatado por el segundo lugar con los Texans de Houston. Los Colts también han caído al puesto número ocho para el campo de playoffs de siete equipos. Los Seahawks (10-3) están tratando de mantenerse en la lucha por el título de la NFC Oeste.
Los Colts creen que Rivers, que fue ocho veces elegido al Pro Bowl, así como el Jugador Regreso del Año de la NFL en 2013 y finalista del Hombre del Año Walter Payton en 2011, puede salvar sus esperanzas de postemporada. Rivers todavía se encuentra entre los diez mejores de la liga en victorias, intentos de carrera, completaciones, yardas por pase, pases de touchdown y juegos de 300 yardas.
Alternativamente, el novato Riley Leonard podría hacer ser titular por primera vez en su carrera. Pero ha lidiado con una lesión en la rodilla derecha toda la semana, y el otro quarterback en el roster de Indy es el veterano Brett Rypien, quien también fue promovido del equipo de práctica al roster activo esta semana.
Indy también activó al receptor Coleman Owen y al tackle defensivo Chris Wormley al roster activo desde el equipo de práctica y eliminó la designación de cuestionable del ala defensiva Tyquan Lewis.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Minnesota Gets New Fraud Czar Amid Somali Welfare Scandal
Minnesota Gets New Fraud Czar Amid Somali Welfare Scandal
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Friday named Tim O’Malley the state’s director of program integrity, tapping the judge and former superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to root out fraud in government.
O’Malley, who also worked as an FBI agent and spearheaded reforms in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, will be involved across agencies to oversee that taxpayer funds are not misappropriated.
Walz also announced a partnership with WayPoint Inc., a Minnesota firm made up of former law enforcement and federal agents focused on forensic accounting and investigations. They will develop a comprehensive fraud-prevention strategy for the state.
Walz said he was proud O’Malley would be working to protect Minnesota taxpayers from fraud in government programs.
“Today we are building on the work of the last several years and strengthening Minnesota’s defenses against fraud,” Walz said.
“If you commit fraud in Minnesota, you will be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
As Kimberley Hayek reports for The Epoch Times, O’Malley said he has not been appointed to serve the governor or any individual or political party.
“I’m here to serve the people of Minnesota,” O’Malley said.
“No one has any tolerance for fraud. This issue must be addressed aggressively. Minnesotans must have trust in our public institutions.”
WayPoint will spearhead the creation of uniform investigative protocols, a cross-agency fraud prevention strategy, legal data-sharing mechanisms to detect multi-program abusers, and methods for auditing and probing misconduct.
“Fraud is not just a financial loss. It disrupts lives, harms families and undermines confidence in the programs Minnesotans rely on,” Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said.
“Our Financial Crimes and Fraud Section is focused on working with local, state and federal partners on criminal investigations that hold offenders accountable and we’re working with the Office of Inspector General Coordinating Counsel to develop stronger barriers and stop fraud before it occurs.”
Shireen Gandhi, Minnesota Department of Human Services Temporary Commissioner, said the Minnesota Department of Human Services has no room for fraud.
“We are intently focused on solutions – strengthening program integrity, tightening oversight of services, and hardening our programs against attacks by criminals,” Gandhi said.
“Our job is to protect Minnesotans who need services. Their lives shouldn’t be a political football and we need to maximize every dollar that goes toward programs to help them.”
O’Malley, who is currently serving as interim chief judge at the Court of Administrative Hearings, led child protection and clergy accountability efforts in the archdiocese beginning in 2014. He will start serving in his new capacity next month.
The appointment comes amid federal scrutiny of organized welfare fraud in the state, with authorities investigating schemes involving networks from Minnesota’s Somali-American community that allegedly stole vast sums of money.
The Treasury Department is investigating allegations that stolen funds were sent to Somali terrorist groups. At the same time, the House Oversight Committee is examining whistleblower allegations of ignored fraud activity and an alleged cover-up.
Meanwhile, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been ramping up activities in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Twin Cities region.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 12/13/2025 – 15:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/minnesota-gets-new-fraud-czar-amid-somali-welfare-scandal
¿Cómo fue que un lobo incomprendido de un anuncio francés logró conmover al mundo?
Por THOMAS ADAMSON
PARÍS (AP) — Un humilde anuncio navideño de un supermercado francés está logrando algo que la mayoría de las marcas globales solo pueden soñar: conectar profundamente con millones de personas en todo el mundo, sin un solo fotograma de IA generativa.
El cortometraje de dos minutos y medio, “El no amado” (Le mal aimé), creado para Intermarché, cuenta una historia simple pero poderosa: un lobo solitario, temido y evitado por otros animales del bosque, decide cambiar.
En lugar de cazar, aprende a cocinar verduras y lleva un plato casero a una fiesta de Navidad, obteniendo gradualmente amistad y aceptación.
La narrativa se desarrolla en un mundo cálido, pintoresco y animado, enmarcado por las escenas de acción en vivo de un niño que escucha el cuento en Navidad.
Lo que podría sonar como una suave fábula infantil ha capturado corazones mucho más allá de Francia.
Tras pocos días de su debut, acumuló cientos de millones de vistas en todo el mundo, inspirando arte de fans, elogios internacionales y emotivas publicaciones de espectadores que dicen que el viaje del lobo refleja sus propias luchas con el sentido de pertenencia.
“Es un arco transformador, una historia de alguien que intenta cambiar para ser mejor”, declaró a The Associated Press Julien Bon, director creativo de Romance, la agencia detrás del anuncio. “Y eso nos habla a todos”.
Victor Chevalier, redactor senior de Romance, comentó que la respuesta se basó en una emoción real. En una era donde los anuncios digitales dependen cada vez más de atajos de IA, dijo que el público ha respondido a la humanidad artesanal detrás del filme. “La IA no puede crear historias”, afirmó Chevalier. “Nosotros creamos historias”.
Afirmó que el éxito de “El no amado” radicaba en el ritmo de su creación. “Lo que hace que nuestro comercial sea exitoso es que le dedicamos tiempo”, expresó.
De hecho, el comercial fue elaborado durante meses por un equipo de artistas y animadores que moldearon meticulosamente cada gesto, expresión y detalle.
Ese arte tradicional es parte de lo que la gente ha llegado a celebrar en línea, especialmente mientras las megamarcas lanzan anuncios navideños brillantes generados por IA que han sido criticados por parecer vacíos o sin alma.
El núcleo emocional de la historia se amplifica con la clásica canción pop francesa “Le mal aimé” de Claude François. Es un toque nostálgico que también ha hecho que las reproducciones de la canción aumenten a medida que el público la redescubre.
La razón de ser de Intermarché es, por supuesto, vender comestibles. Pero los creadores del anuncio dicen que el objetivo era mayor: recordar a las personas lo que nos une cuando el mundo se siente fracturado. El paso del lobo de ser un extraño a convertirse en un invitado bienvenido, dijo Bon, refleja un anhelo colectivo de empatía en una era de divisiones impulsadas por algoritmos.
La trayectoria viral del comercial no muestra signos de desaceleración.
En las redes sociales desde Europa hasta Estados Unidos, los espectadores comparten versiones con subtítulos, publican reacciones y, en algunos casos, afirman que desearían que “El no amado” fuera un largometraje en lugar de un anuncio de dos minutos.
Se trata de un tipo de impacto inusual para un anuncio de supermercado en 2025, lo que sugiere la existencia de un apetito no solo por el espectáculo, sino por historias que aún se sienten hechas por humanos.
“No se trata realmente de comida”, dijo Maïté Orcasberro, directora general adjunta de Romance. “Se trata de ser comprendido”.
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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.
Jury says Johnson & Johnson owes $40 million to 2 cancer patients who used talcum powders
A Los Angeles jury awarded $40 million on Friday to two women who claimed that talcum powder made by Johnson & Johnson caused their ovarian cancer.
The giant health care company said it would appeal the jury’s liability verdict and compensatory damages.
The verdict is the latest development in a longstanding legal battle over claims that talc in Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower body power was connected to ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer that strikes the lungs and other organs. Johnson & Johnson stopped selling powder made with talc worldwide in 2023.
In October, another California jury ordered J&J to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died of mesothelioma, claiming she developed the cancer because the baby powder she used was contaminated with the carcinogen asbestos.
In the latest case, the jury awarded $18 million to Monica Kent and $22 million to Deborah Schultz and her husband. “The only thing they did was be loyal to Johnson & Johnson as a customer for only 50 years,’’ said their attorney, Daniel Robinson of the Robinson Calcagnie law firm in Newport Beach, California. “That loyalty was a one-way street.’’
Erik Haas, J&J’s worldwide vice president of litigation, said in a statement that the company had won “16 of the 17 ovarian cancer cases it previously tried” and expected to do so again upon appealing Friday’s verdict.
Haas called the jury’s findings “irreconcilable with the decades of independent scientific evaluations confirming that talc is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer.”
Johnson & Johnson replaced the talc in its baby powder sold in most of North America with cornstarch in 2020 after sales declined.
In April, a U.S. bankruptcy court judge denied J&J’s plan to pay $9 billion to settle ovarian cancer and other gynecological cancer litiation claims based on talc-related products.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/13/johnson-johnson-40-million-cancer-patients/
US Commandos Raided Cargo Ship Travelling From China To Iran, Seized ‘Dual Use’ Tech
US Commandos Raided Cargo Ship Travelling From China To Iran, Seized ‘Dual Use’ Tech
US special forces raided a cargo ship travelling from China to Iran in November that was allegedly transporting “dual-use military technology,” according to a report published by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Friday.
Citing unnamed US officials, the WSJ revealed that a special operations team boarded the ship several hundred miles from Sri Lanka and seized the cargo, which was described as “dual-use components that could be used either for civilian applications or to make conventional weapons.”
Image source: US Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class William Farmerie
The ship’s name, its owner, and the flag under which it was sailing have not been disclosed. Neither Iran nor China immediately responded to the report. A spokesperson for the US Indo-Pacific Command, responsible for regional military activities, declined to comment.
Nevertheless, an official told the WSJ that Washington seized material “potentially useful for Iran’s conventional weapons,” but highlighted that the cargo could have “both military and civilian applications.”
The WSJ reported that the high-sea raid was part of a Pentagon effort to “disrupt Iran’s clandestine military procurement” following the 12-Day War in June, during which the US and Israel teamed up to bomb Iranian nuclear sites and kill dozens of military commanders, nuclear scientists, and their families.
The reported seizure took place weeks before US troops seized a Venezuelan oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea and stole its cargo in a move Caracas condemned as “theft and piracy.” It also came as the UN reimposed an international ban on Iran’s arms trade in late September.
Overnight on Saturday, Iranian authorities reported seizing a foreign-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman and detaining its crew for allegedly smuggling six million liters of fuel. The vessel was intercepted in waters off the southern province of Hormozgan.
Mojtaba Ghahremani, the chief justice of Hormozgan province, said the seizure was part of ongoing intelligence efforts to monitor suspected fuel-smuggling activities in the Sea of Oman.
There’s a clause in the UN sanctions that returned via snapback that covers interdiction of vessels carrying weaponry or dual-use goods for Iran’s missile or nuclear programs.
If China and Iran continue this trade, more seizures are likely to follow. https://t.co/7vJRsu7W8s
— Gregory Brew (@gbrew24) December 13, 2025
On Wednesday, Iran seized an Eswatini-flagged vessel carrying 0.35 million liters of smuggled diesel. In mid-November, IRGC also seized a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker outside Iran’s waters in the Persian Gulf for carrying unauthorized cargo.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 12/13/2025 – 15:10
UN chief visits Iraq to mark end of assistance mission set up after 2003 invasion
BAGHDAD — United National Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was in Baghdad on Saturday to mark the end of the political mission set up in 2003 following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein.
The U.N. Security Council, at Iraq’s request, voted last year to wind down the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), by the end of 2025. The mission was set up to coordinate post-conflict humanitarian and reconstruction efforts and help restore a representative government in the country.
Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said his country “highly values” the mission’s work in a region “that has suffered for decades from dictatorship, wars, and terrorism.” He said its conclusion showed Iraq had reached a stage of “full self-reliance.”
“Iraq emerged victorious thanks to the sacrifices and courage of its people,” he said in a joint statement with Guterres.
The ending of UNAMI’s mandate “does not signify the end of the partnership between Iraq and the U.N.,” Sudani said, adding that it represents the beginning of a new chapter of cooperation focused on development and inclusive economic growth.
The prime minister said a street in Baghdad would be named “United Nations Street” in honor of the U.N.’s work and in recognition of 22 U.N. staff who were killed in an Aug. 19, 2003, truck bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, which housed the U.N. headquarters.
Guterres praised “the courage, fortitude and determination of the Iraqi people” and the country’s efforts to restore security and order after years of sectarian violence and the rise of extremist groups, including the Islamic State group, in the years after the 2003 invasion.
“Iraqis have worked to overcome decades of violence, oppression, war, terrorism, sectarianism and foreign interference,” the secretary-general said. “And today’s Iraq is unrecognizable from those times.”
Iraq “is now a normal country, and relations between the U.N. and Iraq will become normal relations with the end of UNAMI,” Guterres added. He also expressed appreciation for Iraq’s commitment to returning its citizens from the al-Hol camp, a sprawling tent camp in northeastern Syria housing thousands of people — mostly women and children — with alleged ties to the IS.
Guterres recently recommended former Iraqi President Barham Salih to become the next head of the U.N. refugee agency, the first nomination from the Middle East in half a century.
Salih’s presidential term, from 2018 to 2022, came in the immediate aftermath of the Islamic State group’s rampage across Iraq and the battle to take back the territory seized by the extremist group, including the key northern city of Mosul.
At least 2.2 million Iraqis were displaced as they fled the IS offensive. Many, particularly members of the Yazidi minority from the northern Sinjar district, remain in displacement camps today.
Affable comedy acting legend Dick Van Dyke turns 100 years old
Comedy icon Dick Van Dyke celebrated his 100th birthday on Saturday, hitting the century mark some six decades after he sang and danced with Julie Andrews in “Mary Poppins” and starred in his self-titled sitcom.
“The funniest thing is, it’s not enough,” Van Dyke said in an interview with ABC News at his Malibu, California home. “A hundred years is not enough. You want to live more, which I plan to.”
As part of the celebration of Van Dyke’s birthday this weekend, theaters around the country are showing a new documentary about his life, “Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration.”
Van Dyke became one of the biggest actors of his era with “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” which ran from 1961-66 on CBS; appeared with Andrews as a chimney sweep with a Cockney accent in the 1964 Disney classic “Mary Poppins” and, in his 70s, played a physician-sleuth on “Diagnosis: Murder.”
Also a Broadway star, Van Dyke won a Tony Award for “Bye Bye Birdie” to go with a Grammy and four Primetime Emmys. In 1963, he starred in the film version of “Bye Bye Birdie.”
Just last year, he became the oldest winner of a Daytime Emmy, for a guest role on the soap “Days of Our Lives.”
In the 1970s, he found sobriety after battling alcoholism, and spoke out about it at a time when that was uncommon to do.
Now that he has hit triple digits, Van Dyke said he’s gotten some perspective on how he used to play older characters.
“You know, I played old men a lot, and I always played them as angry and cantankerous,” he told ABC News. “It’s not really that way. I don’t know any other 100-year-olds, but I can speak for myself.”
He recently imparted wisdom about reaching the century mark in his book, “100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life.” He credited his wife, 54-year-old makeup artist and producer Arlene Silver, with keeping him young.
“She gives me energy. She gives me humor, and all kinds of support,” he told ABC News.
Van Dyke was born in West Plains, Missouri, in 1925, and grew up “the class clown” in Danville, Illinois, while admiring and imitating the silent film comedians.
He told ABC News he started acting when he was about 4 or 5 years old in a Christmas pageant. He said he was the baby Jesus.
“I made some kind of crack, I don’t know what I said, but it broke the congregation up,” he said. “And I liked the sound of that laughter.”
And what’s hard about being 100?
“I miss movement,” he told ABC News. “I’ve got one game leg from I don’t know what.”
“I still try to dance,” he said with a laugh.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/13/dick-van-dyke-100/
