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Russia to build nuclear plant on Moon to power rovers, labs during 336-hour long nights

Russia has unveiled its plans to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon within the next 10 years to support its lunar program and a Russian-Chinese research station for future deep-space missions.

The proposal, confirmed by the country’s state space agency Roscosmos, would provide a sustained energy source for surface infrastructure, including rovers, scientific equipment, as well as a planned joint lunar research base with China.

The announcement followed as the US, India, Japan as well as several European nations increased efforts to establish a permanent presence on Earth’s only natural satellite. The renewed interest was prompted by the 2009 discovery of water ice on the lunar surface.

Power generation remains a great challenge for sustained lunar operations due to the two-week-long nights that restrict solar power. However, a nuclear power plant could offer continuous power regardless of lighting conditions, temperature extremes, or dust accumulation.

Nuclear energy for space

For the 2036 project, Roscosmos revealed that it has signed a contract with the Lavochkin Association, a Russian aerospace firm with decades of experience in planetary spacecraft development.

Even though the space agency did not explicitly describe the facility as a nuclear reactor, it confirmed the initiative involves Rosatom, the nation’s state nuclear corporation, as well as the Kurchatov Institute, Russia’s leading nuclear research center.

According to Roscosmos, the lunar power plant would support a broad range of activities tied to Russia’s lunar program. These include powering robotic rovers, an observatory and maintaining the infrastructure of the planned International Lunar Research Station.

“The project is an important step towards the creation of a permanently functioning scientific lunar station and the transition from one-time missions to a long-term lunar exploration programme,” Roscosmos said.

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Minn.’s Somali social-services scammers may have stolen $9 billion — nearly Somalia’s entire economy

A staggering $9 billion may have been stolen in Minnesota’s sprawling social-services scam orchestrated mainly by members of its Somali community — a figure nearly equivalent to the entire economy of Somalia.

The enormous new estimate is a nearly nine-fold increase from the swiped $1 billion previously suspected, according to federal prosecutors.

It also accounts for roughly half of the $18 billion in total federal funds provided to the Minnesota-run services since 2018, the feds said — as Democratic Gov. Tim Walz continues to take heat for his handling of the debacle.

By comparison to the $9 billion figure, Somalia’s entire GDP was under $12 billion last year, according to the World Bank.

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WTH? Zohran Mamdani Appoints First Lesbian New York City Fire Commissioner with ZERO Firefighting Experience

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has appointed former chief of emergency medical services Lillian Bonsignore to serve in his incoming administration as commissioner of the New York City Fire Department.

She will be the second woman and the first openly gay Fire Commissioner in New York City’s history.

During a news conference on Tuesday, announcing the appointment, Mamdani described Bonsignore as “a leader who cares about their work because she did it herself.”

However, Bonsignore has never served as a firefighter. After more than 30 years as an emergency medical technician (EMT), Bonsignore retired from the FDNY as Chief of EMS operations in 2022.

“I know the job. I know the— what the firefighters need, and I can translate that to this administration, who’s willing to listen,” Bonsignor said.

“I know what EMS needs. I have been EMS for 30 plus years.”

In her new role, Bonsignore will oversee approximately 11,000 firefighters, 4,500 EMTs, and more than 2,000 civilian employees, according to CBS.

The role is currently held by Mark Guerra, a career FDNY firefighter, who took over after former Commissioner Robert S. Tucker resigned, citing Mamdani’s stance on Israel.

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Here’s What’s Wrong With the Shelved 60 Minutes story ‘Inside CECOT.’

I viewed the version of the 60 Minutes report “Inside CECOT” that was distributed to Canada’s Global TV app and circulated online, then pulled due to copyright claims. Based on my viewing of that version, here’s my critique.

Bari Weiss was correct: the story wasn’t ready for air.

Read on for details.

By way of background, the 60 Minutes segment titled “Inside CECOT,” reported by correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, was originally scheduled to air on CBS on December 21. But editor-in-chief Bari Weiss abruptly pulled it just hours before broadcast saying that more work needed to be done.

The report investigated El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a massive maximum-security mega-prison built in 2022 under President Nayib Bukele as part of his aggressive anti-gang crackdown.

The prison is known for harsh conditions including allegations of torture, no outdoor access, and overcrowding.

The 60 Minutes report focused on the Trump administration’s deportation of over 250 mostly Venezuelan men to CECOT under a paid agreement with El Salvador, invoking wartime powers to shortcut normal due process. The 60 Minutes reporter interviewed two men who claim to have served time in CECOT but were released. They described enduring months of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse.

CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss postponed the segment, citing the need for additional reporting and stating it did not sufficiently advance prior coverage.

Alfonsi and her supporters allege Weiss’s decision was politically motivated.

After watching the report as edited, here’s my feedback on why it wasn’t ready for prime time.

Considering the subject matter, the story needed to explain:

  • How 60 Minutes located the two alleged former CECOT inmates interviewed. If the two men were brought to 60 Minutes by the human rights group featured, that needed to be disclosed.
  • How 60 Minutes confirmed, firsthand, that the men were CECOT inmates. If 60 Minutes did not confirm this critical fact, firsthand, that needed to be disclosed, as well as what assurances the reporter felt she had that the men are who they were presented themselves to be.

Other shortfalls that needed to be addressed or admitted in the story:

The bulk of the story was based on the word of an illegal immigrant with no stated independent verification of his key claims. It’s akin to taking the word of an alleged murderer that he’s innocent and a good guy who’s being unfairly persecuted for no reason. Maybe it’s true, but certainly the claims deserve to be treated with a dose of rational skepticism. In the 60 Minutes report: they were not.

60 Minutes characterized the main interviewee as a good guy with no criminal background or gang affiliation, based on his own word and the supposed absence of his name in a gang database.

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Trump pours cold water on Zelensky’s ‘peace plan’

US President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism about Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s latest peace proposal to end the conflict with Moscow, arguing the discussions could move forward only with his blessing.

Trump’s remarks come as he is expected to hold talks with Zelensky in Florida on Sunday. Earlier this week, Zelensky presented a 20-point peace framework, which included a freeze of the frontline in Russia’s Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson regions, Moscow’s withdrawal from several Ukrainian regions, and an 800,000-strong Ukrainian army backed by NATO members. The plan also envisages “Article 5-like” security guarantees from the US, NATO, and European states to Kiev.

In an interview with Politico on Friday, Trump signaled he was in no rush to rally behind Zelensky’s demands. “He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump stressed. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”

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The Apocalyptic Shortage That Never Happened: Democrats’ Tariff Doomsday Narrative Imploded  

Remember earlier this year when President Trump was locked in a tit-for-tat trade war with China? Then, a broad coalition of Democrats, corporate media outlets, mainstream economists, and left-leaning think tanks warned that higher tariffs would spark pandemic-era supply-chain chaos and trigger price spikes for consumers. Two quarters later, those dire predictions have yet to materialize.

MSM propagandists sounded the apocalypse alarm:

  • March: KOMO News: ‘It’s worse than COVID’: Point Roberts seeks state aid amid US-Canada tariff crisis
  • April: NBC News: Product shortages and empty store shelves loom with falling shipments from China
  • April: Fortune: Tariffs threaten a pharmaceuticals shortage, as 95% of ibuprofen comes from China
  • April: CNBC: The trade war’s wave of retail shortages will hit U.S. consumers in stages.
  • April: Axios: How Trump tariffs could cause a global recession
  • April: Vox: America may be headed for this rare type of economic crisis
  • April: CNN: Trump took the US economy to the brink of a crisis in just 100 days
  • May: The Guardian: Trump’s tariffs: ‘It feels like Covid 2.0. So many things are getting disrupted’
  • May: Business Insider: The worst is yet to come: Trump’s tariffs could mean even higher prices and empty shelves within weeks

Democratic Party and MSM’s supply-chain apocalypse alarm peaked in mid-April, then resurfaced in a smaller echo wave by August, according to Bloomberg data tracking mainstream media headline counts for the term “tariff.”

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Almost 150,000 children were living in jobless households this Christmas as number of homes without an income hits 11-year high

Almost 150,000 more children spent Christmas in a home without an income this year after the number of jobless households hit an 11-year high under Labour, official figures show.

There were 1.52 million youngsters living in a house where not a single adult family member is employed as of September, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

Last year, 1.37 million children were in a workless household in October to December 2024, meaning an extra 146,000 children spent Christmas in a home without an income this year.

The figures also reveal that the number of children in workless households is at its highest level for 11 years. The last time there were more children in a house where no adult family member is employed was in October to December 2014, when the total was 1.54 million.

The Conservatives blamed the rise on Labour’s £25billion raid on employer National Insurance contributions and minimum wage hikes, which have driven up the cost of taking on workers.

They claim that with firms scaling back and jobs disappearing, more families are being pushed out of the workforce entirely, leaving children to bear the consequences.

Helen Whately, Tory spokesman on work and pensions, said: ‘Too many parents are being priced out of work by Labour’s Jobs Tax and Unemployment Rights Bill.

‘It’s a tough Christmas for people who have been made redundant and can’t find new work, and for those still in jobs seeing their taxes go up to pay for more benefits. Labour is offering more and more handouts to people on benefits, making welfare the rational choice rather than work.

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Moment Russian diplomat is ambushed by FSB agents and detained in van for ‘passing secrets to US intelligence’

 A Russian diplomat has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after he was caught selling secrets to US intelligence. 

The moment Arseniy Konovalov was ambushed by Federal Security Service (FSB) agents was captured on video. 

The clip, which was shared today across Russian news outlets, shows a shocked-looking Konovalov being detained while travelling in a van after he was told he was suspected of treason. 

A separate video shows the diplomat behind bars as he awaited his trial. 

A Moscow court on Friday found the former Russian diplomat guilty of treason and sentenced him to 12 years in a maximum-security penal colony.

He was also fined the equivalent of $1,200.  

‘It was established that A.S. Konovalov, an employee of the Russian Foreign Ministry, during a long-term foreign assignment in the United States, proactively transferred secret information to American intelligence for money,’ the FSB said in a statement.

Konovalov was first detained by the FSB, which leads Russian counter-intelligence, in March 2024. 

The FSB did not say what information Konovalov had passed to US intelligence, or which US agency he was accused of working with. There was no immediate comment from US spy agencies.

Russia’s Kommersant newspaper said Konovalov had served as second secretary of the Russian Consulate General in Houston. 

He worked in the United States from 2014 to 2017, Kommersant said.

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Outlandish claims Andrew ‘at UK paedo ring parties’ where Epstein victims ‘tortured’

British police are to seek further information from the FBI after newly released files included claims that Jeffrey Epstein‘s victims were abused at “paedophile ring” parties in Britain.

The claims appear in a batch of more than 11,000 documents released this week by the US Department of Justice.

The files contain a series of lurid and unsubstantiated allegations involving Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein’s long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

One allegation comes from a 35-year-old individual who claims they were abused as a child in England during the mid-1990s.

According to the heavily redacted FBI document, the individual alleges they were drugged and driven by their father to an abuse ring in Surrey when they were aged between six and eight.

The complainant further claims they were taken to Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Estate.

The property later became the home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

They allege they were restrained on a table and subjected to electric shocks, given by Maxwell. Mountbatten-Windsor and other men were said to be present and watching, though no evidence was given to support this claim.

Additional allegations include claims of molestation at Epstein’s property in Florida. The individual also alleges they were struck by a dark blue vehicle with a personalised registration plate.

They claim to believe Mountbatten-Windsor was driving the car outside one of the alleged gatherings in Surrey. Surrey Police stated that it has no record of the allegations having been previously reported.

A spokesman said: “Following a review of our systems using the limited information available to us, we can find no evidence of these allegations being reported to Surrey Police. We are therefore engaging with relevant agencies to obtain access to the redacted information.”

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NATO Countries Scare Their Populations On Christmas With Hyped ‘Russian Nuclear Bombers’ Flight

On Western Christmas, December 25, Russian nuclear-capable bombers conducted a “scheduled” flight over waters in the Arctic region, specifically in neutral waters of the Norwegian and Barents Seas. This prompted “fighter jets of foreign countries” to escort them and mirror them from afar, Russia’s defense ministry has confirmed.

While the country origins of the Western aircraft which responded remain unclear, the Kremlin had notified NATO in advance of the somewhat routine flight path. The bodies of water in question lie north of Scandinavia and northwest of Russia, which is quite far from the UK, and yet British media did what they do best: exaggerate and hype Russian nuclear bombers being “sent” by Putin “to the UK”…and on Christmas!

And never mind the fact that for Russia and its Orthodox Church, it is not Christmas. Russian Orthodox Christmas falls on January 7, according the Julian calendar ecclesiastical dating system.

These bodies of water lie far away from Britain, and is a standard flight path for Russia’s military. “At certain stages of the route, long-range bombers were escorted by fighter jets of foreign countries,” the Russian defense ministry disclosed.

The ministry further said that such flights “regularly take place in many regions and are in accordance with international law.”

Highlighting that these bombers were not at all ‘sent’ to the UK, one political commentator says as follows:

British media outlets like the Mirror and The Sun have reported that Russian nuclear-capable bombers flew a long-range patrol over the Norwegian Sea on Christmas Day Dec 25, 2025. Which was described as a deliberate act close to the notional “Santa Claus flight path”. NATO warplanes were scrambled to monitor the aircraft.

This is how the media spinned it! When it was two Russian Tu-95MS long-range bombers known as “Bears” that conducted a scheduled routine, seven-hour flight over “neutral waters” in the Barents and Norwegian Seas. The media made it sound like they were threatening NATO. When NATO was informed by the Russians the path that was taken.

The distant, far northern body of water in question…

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