NSW to Recall Parliament for Urgent Gun and Protest Law Reforms After Bondi Beach Shooting 
Federal Appeals Court Allows Trump’s National Guard Deployment in Washington, D.C. to Continue 
UN Warns Gaza Humanitarian Aid at Risk as Israel Registration Rules Threaten NGO Operations 
Trump Orders Blockade of Sanctioned Oil Tankers, Raising Venezuela Tensions and Oil Prices 
Venezuela Seeks UN Security Council Meeting Over U.S. Oil Tanker Blockade 
Trump Taps Former DHS Official Troy Edgar for U.S. Ambassador Role in El Salvador 
Trump Administration Plans Major Increase in Denaturalization Cases for Naturalized U.S. Citizens 
Trump Administration Moves to Keep TransAlta Coal Plant Running Amid Rising AI Power Demand 
Trump’s Rob Reiner Remarks Spark Bipartisan Outrage After Tragic Deaths 
Trump Weighs Reclassifying Marijuana as Schedule III, Potentially Transforming U.S. Cannabis Industry 
U.S. House Advances GOP Healthcare Bill as ACA Subsidies Near Expiration 
Union-Aligned Investors Question Amazon, Walmart and Alphabet on Trump Immigration Policies 
Trump Announces $1,776 Cash Bonus for U.S. Military Personnel Ahead of Christmas 
Pakistan’s Army Chief Faces Gaza Troop Dilemma Amid US Pressure 
Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency 
Lukashenko Urges Swift Ukraine Peace Deal, Backs Trump’s Push for Rapid Resolution 
Republicans Raise National Security Concerns Over Intel’s Testing of China-Linked Chipmaking Tools 
The previous weeks saw tensions between Ukraine and Russia escalate due to the buildup of troops at the border the two countries share. With the concerns of an invasion, US President Joe Biden is considering imposing sanctions on Russia to prevent an invasion from happening.
The Biden administration is looking into imposing sanctions against Russia that aim to prevent President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine, according to CNN. The new sanctions will target Putin’s inner circle along with Russian energy companies. The final decisions on the sanctions have yet to be made as the administration is in discussions with European partners who have close economic ties to Russia to hopefully coordinate action.
People familiar with the matter said that the new sanctions will target a range of other sectors, including the energy producers as well as the Russian banks. The new sanctions can also potentially target Russia’s sovereign debt. Top Russian oligarchs will also be targeted by the sanctions through limited travel and access to banking and credit cards.
Biden told reporters Friday last week that he was “putting together what I believe to be the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr. Putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he might do.”
In other related news, Biden marked the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The US leader visited the World War II memorial in Washington early Tuesday morning with first lady Dr. Jill Biden. Dr. Biden laid a bouquet at the New Jersey pillar of the memorial in honor of her father Donald Jacobs, who served as a Navy Signalman during the war.
The wreath that the Bidens laid at the memorial included a wild sunflower, the state flower of Kansas, also in honor of Republican senator and World War II veteran Bob Dole, who passed away over the weekend at the age of 98.
The National Park Service and the US Navy also held other remembrances of the date, when the Japanese forces attacked a US Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. The US would defeat Japan in 1945, days after the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
