The Kennedy Center will be renamed the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” the White House said

Trump: Today I'm pleased to announce that I will be signing an executive order to reschedule marijuana from a schedule one to a schedule three controlled substance with legitimate medical uses

Trump: I want to emphasize that the order I am about to sign is not the legalization, it doesn't legalize marijuana in any way shape or form or and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug.

NEW: Trump signs an executive order easing federal restrictions on marijuana

Trump on cannabis: "You'll be able to see if it is as good as people say it is. I mean, people say it is beyond good. And you'll be able to find that out now."

Trump: I have always told my children: don't take drugs, no drinking, no smoking. Just stay away from drugs.

Trump announced plans for “Patriot Games,” a four-day athletic event next fall featuring one male and one female high school athlete from each state and territory as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations in 2026

TikTok has signed a deal to sell its U.S. operations to a joint venture controlled by American investors, ending a years-long national security standoff.

Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi–based MGX will own 45% of the new entity. Affiliates of existing ByteDance investors will hold about one-third, while ByteDance will retain just under 20%.

https://www.axios.com/2025/12/18/tiktok-sale

ROBERTS: If you cut something by 100%, the cost goes down to 0. If you cut it by 600%, the drug companies are actually paying you to take their product. So it raises the question -- how much of last night's speech was hyperbole?

LUTNICK: No. What he's saying is if a drug was $100 and you bring the drug down to $13, if you're looking at it from $13, it's down 7 times

ROBERTS: It's not a 600% cut

LUTNICK: But it's 700% higher price before. It's down 700% now. So $13 would have to go up 700% to get back to the old one. So it all depends on when you look at it.

BREAKING: Trump suspends Diversity Visa program, also known as the green card lottery, which was used by the Brown University gunman

So how’s the post-literate society going?

Putin shows up for his end-of-year speech

Putin: So far, we do not see Ukraine’s readiness for peace.

A question from a Russian citizen to Putin on his end-of-year speech:

“Why do ordinary people live worse than Papuans?”

Putin to the West:

There won’t be any “special military operations” if you treat us with respect.

Putin: Are we going to attack Europe? This is nonsense.

Putin: If we were to join our efforts—Russia and European countries—our joint GDP would be higher than the US.

Putin:

The Europeans are counting on the midterm elections, and they hope that the situation will change in the US.

Their traditional allies will come back to power and continue their pressure on President Trump.

Putin to Rutte:

How are you aiming NATO at a war with Russia when the main founder of NATO does not believe Russia is the enemy?

China has secretly built a prototype EUV lithography machine, a key tool for producing the most advanced chips used in AI, phones and modern weapons, aiming to break Western dominance in semiconductor technology

- Shenzhen team completed a working prototype of a EUV machine in early 2025
- The lithography machine, built by former ASML engineers, fills a factory floor
- China's EUV machine is undergoing testing, and has not produced working chips
- Government is targeting 2028 for working chips, but sources say 2030 is more likely

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/how-china-built-its-manhattan-project-rival-west-ai-chips-2025-12-17/