Month: December 2025
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Hawk’s Wednesday Brief: Record U.S. homicide drop, artists boycott renamed Kennedy Center, India trains village guards, and Pakistan-UAE ties reaffirmed
The final day of 2025 brings a crosscurrent of public-safety milestones, cultural flashpoints, and regional security moves. Public safety milestone in the U.S. Experts say the United States is poised to close 2025 with the largest one-year drop in homicides ever recorded—a striking reversal after pandemic-era spikes. The shift, captured in new analyses highlighted by…
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Hawk’s Tuesday Brief: Trump–Netanyahu test a Gaza ceasefire path; Kyiv rebuts Kremlin drone claim; storm snarls travel; copper spikes
Mar-a-Lago diplomacy and a crowded war-and-peace agenda defined Monday into Tuesday, as Donald Trump hosted Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu to press a Gaza ceasefire framework while Europe’s biggest war churned and a winter storm hampered U.S. travel. Ceasefire calculus in Gaza • Trump met Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, with both sides signaling urgency to move the Gaza…
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Blizzards and Tornadoes: A Holiday Weather Whiplash Hits the U.S. Amidst Record Arctic Change
As 2025 draws to a close, the United States is experiencing a dramatic weather whiplash: from record warmth in the South to blizzard and tornado conditions sweeping the Midwest and Great Lakes. The stark temperature shifts and severe storms have disrupted holiday travel for millions and serve as a stunning reminder of the volatility of…
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Hawk’s Sunday Brief: Russia batters Kyiv, Northeast digs out from heavy snow, Brin’s humility lesson, India’s confidence narrative—and money moves for 2026
A fast-moving weekend delivered a mix of hard news and useful takeaways: Russia escalated its air campaign over Kyiv, a powerful winter storm smothered parts of the U.S. Northeast, a Silicon Valley icon offered a candid lesson in leadership, India balanced domestic pride with grassroots agriculture, and a finance pro teed up smart steps for…
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Extreme Weather in Late 2025: A Costly Global Wake-Up Call
As 2025 drew to a close, extreme weather battered communities across the globe, resulting in more than $120 billion in economic losses—a stark reminder of our collective vulnerability to intensifying climate and weather hazards[1][4]. Here in the United States, the aftermath of devastating wildfires in California quickly gave way to severe winter storms and brutal…
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The Unrelenting Rains of December 2025: Southern California Faces Flooding, Mudslides, and Community Strain
Southern California’s holiday season in 2025 unfolded under torrential skies. After a relentless series of storms, the region found itself grappling with widespread flooding, dangerous mudslides, and major disruptions to daily life and travel. As a meteorologist, I’ve seen the weather hit California hard before, but this year’s sequence of atmospheric rivers—powerful, moisture-laden storms arriving…
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Hawk’s Boxing Day Brief: UK front pages flag tax and political shake‑up; $1.8B Powerball hits Arkansas; storms and spending shifts mark the holidays
The Boxing Day news cycle captures a split-screen holiday: Britain’s papers signal a jittery political and economic mood, the U.S. crowns a record holiday lottery winner, and severe weather and shifting consumer habits continue to reshape end‑of‑year life. In the UK, a sweep of front pages underscores how unsettled the post‑election landscape feels. A roundup…
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Hawk’s Christmas Day Brief: West Coast storms snarl travel, NOAA flags rare “high risk” flooding; DOJ finds 1M+ new Epstein files; Saudi drafts tough pesticide penalties
A potent Pacific storm is hammering the West Coast on Christmas Day, snarling one of the year’s busiest travel periods. Airlines and roadways across the region faced major disruptions as heavy rain and powerful winds swept into key hubs from Seattle to Southern California [2]. NOAA has issued a rare “high risk” designation for flash…
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Christmas 2025: California Slammed by Life-Threatening Atmospheric River, Flash Floods, and Chaos
As millions of families across California prepared for a festive Christmas, one of the state’s most formidable weather systems in years unleashed chaos from Sacramento to San Diego. This rare, multi-day atmospheric river event – essentially a conveyor belt of Pacific moisture – has triggered widespread flash floods, power outages, and dangerous debris flows, while…
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Hawk’s Midweek Brief: Student loan garnishments loom, FDA okays weight‑loss pill, French post hit by cyberattack, and Gaza’s Christians mark a wartime Christmas
A few storylines are shaping the middle of the week on both sides of the Atlantic: money pressures for U.S. borrowers, a major health approval that could reshape demand for obesity drugs, new cyber trouble in Europe, and a solemn holiday for Gaza’s tiny Christian community. Student loan garnishments could start next month ABC News…
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