BEIJING — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday night, beginning a four-day visit designed to repair foundering relations between the two nations as Canada looks to develop ties with countries other than the United States.
It’s the first visit of a Canadian leader to China in nearly a decade. Carney will meet with Premier Li Qiang, his counterpart as head of government, and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“We will double non-U.S. trade over the 10 years. That means we are cognizant of that fact that the global economic environment has fundamentally changed and that Canada must diversify its trading partners,” Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in Beijing after she arrived with Carney for the visit.
China’s state media has been calling on the Canadian government to set a foreign policy path independent of the United States — what it calls “strategic autonomy.”
Canada has long been one of America’s closest allies, geographically and otherwise. But Beijing is hoping that President Donald Trump’s economic aggression — and, now, military action — against other countries will erode that long-standing relationship. Trump has said, among other things, that Canada could become the 51st U.S. state.
Carney has focused on trade, describing the trip to China as part of a move to forge new partnerships around the world to end Canada’s economic reliance on the American market. Trump has hit Canada with tariffs on its exports to the United States and suggested the vast, resource-rich country could become America’s 51st state.
The Chinese government bristled at former President Biden’s efforts to strengthen relations with Europe, Australia, India, Canada and others to confront China. Now it sees an opportunity to try to loosen those ties, though it remains cautious about how far that will go.
The downturn in relations started with the arrest of a Chinese tech executive in late 2018 at American request and was fueled more recently by the government of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which decided in 2024 to follow Biden’s lead in imposing a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles. China has retaliated for both that and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum with its own tariffs on Canadian exports including canola, seafood and pork.
“The conversation has been productive. The negotiations are continuing,” Anand said when asked if she was optimistic about a deal to reduce tariffs on canola. “Prime Minister Carney is here to recalibrate the Canada-China relationship.”
Carney met with Xi in October at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea.
Anthony and Gillies write for the Associated Press. Gillies reported from Toronto.
United States Senator Mark Kelly has sued the Department of Defense and its secretary, Pete Hegseth, over allegations they trampled his rights to free speech by embarking on a campaign of “punitive retribution”.
The complaint was filed on Monday in the US district court in Washington, DC. It also names the Department of the Navy and its secretary, John Phelan, as defendants.
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“I filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of Defense because there are few things as important as standing up for the rights of the very Americans who fought to defend our freedoms,” Kelly, a veteran, wrote in a statement on social media.
Kelly’s lawsuit is the latest escalation in a feud that first erupted in November, when a group of six Democratic lawmakers – all veterans of the US armed services or its intelligence community – published a video online reminding military members of their responsibility to “refuse illegal orders”.
Democrats framed the video as a simple reiteration of government policy: Courts have repeatedly ruled that service members do indeed have a duty to reject orders they know to violate US law or the Constitution.
But Republican President Donald Trump and his allies have denounced the video as “seditious behaviour” and called for the lawmakers to face punishment.
A focus on Kelly
Kelly, in particular, has faced a series of actions that critics describe as an unconstitutional attack on his First Amendment right to free speech.
A senator from the pivotal swing state of Arizona, Kelly is one of the highest-profile lawmakers featured in November’s video.
He is also considered a rising star in the Democratic Party and is widely speculated to be a candidate for president or vice president in the 2028 elections.
But before his career in politics, Kelly was a pilot in the US Navy who flew missions during the Gulf War. He retired at the rank of captain. Kelly was also selected to be an astronaut, along with his twin Scott Kelly, and they served as part of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
His entry into politics came after his wife, former Representative Gabby Giffords, was shot in the head during a 2011 assassination attempt. On Monday, Kelly described the Senate as “a place I never expected to find myself in”.
“My wife Gabby was always the elected official in our family,” he told his Senate colleagues. “If she had never been shot in the head, she would be here in this chamber and not me. But I love this country, and I felt that I had an obligation to continue my public service in a way that I never expected.”
Kelly’s participation in the November video has placed him prominently within the Trump administration’s crosshairs, and officials close to the president have taken actions to condemn his statements.
Shortly after the video came out, for instance, the Defense Department announced it had opened an investigation into Kelly. It warned that the senator could face a court-martial depending on the results of the probe.
The pressure on Kelly continued this month, when Hegseth revealed on social media that he had submitted a formal letter of censure against the senator.
That letter accused Kelly of “conduct unbecoming of an office” and alleged he had “undermined the chain of command” through his video.
Hegseth explained that the letter sought to demote Kelly from the rank he reached at his retirement, as well as reduce his retirement pay.
“Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline,” Hegseth wrote on the platform X.
“As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice. And the Department of War — and the American people — expect justice.”
Attacking political speech
Kelly responded to that claim by alleging that Hegseth had embarked on a campaign of politically motivated retribution, designed to silence any future criticism from US military veterans.
“Pete Hegseth is coming after what I earned through my twenty-five years of military service, in violation of my rights as an American, as a retired veteran, and as a United States Senator,” Kelly wrote on social media on Monday.
“His unconstitutional crusade against me sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military: if you speak out and say something that the President or Secretary of Defense doesn’t like, you will be censured, threatened with demotion, or even prosecuted.”
Kelly also took to the floor of the Senate on Monday to defend his decision to sue officials from the Trump administration.
“Every service member knows that military rank is earned. It’s not given. It’s earned through the risks you take,” Kelly told his fellow senators.
“After my 25 years of service, I earned my rank as a captain in the United States Navy. Now, Pete Hegseth wants even our longest-serving military veterans to live with the constant threat that they could be deprived of their rank and retirement pay years or even decades after they leave the military, just because he or another secretary of defence or a president doesn’t like what they’ve said.”
His lawsuit calls for the federal court system to halt the proceedings against him and declare Hegseth’s letter of censure unlawful.
The court filing makes a twofold argument: that the efforts to discipline Kelly not only violate his free speech rights but also constitute an attack on legislative independence, since they allegedly seek to intimidate a member of Congress.
“It appears that never in our nation’s history has the Executive Branch imposed military sanctions on a Member of Congress for engaging in disfavored political speech,” the lawsuit asserts.
The complaint also accuses the Trump administration of violating Kelly’s right to due process, given the high-profile calls from within the government to punish the senator.
It pointed to social media posts Trump made, including one that signalled he felt Kelly’s behaviour amounted to “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOUR, punishable by DEATH”.
The lawsuit also argues that Hegseth’s letter of censure appeared to draw conclusions about Kelly’s alleged wrongdoing, only to then request that the Navy review his military rank and retirement benefits.
Such a review, the lawsuit contends, can therefore not be considered a fair assessment of the facts.
“The Constitution does not permit the government to announce the verdict in advance and then subject Senator Kelly or anyone else to a nominal process designed only to fulfill it,” the lawsuit said.
Jan. 12 (UPI) — Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., filed a lawsuit Monday against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon for trying to censure and demote him.
Kelly’s suit alleges that their efforts are “unlawful and unconstitutional.”
“Six weeks ago, Sen. Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline,” Hegseth said. “As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice.”
Last week, Hegseth said the Pentagon was working to downgrade Kelly’s military retirement rank and pay for the video.
The suit says that Hegseth is violating Kelly’s First Amendment rights and the Speech and Debate clause of the Constitution, which grants immunity to lawmakers for official acts.
“It appears that never in our nation’s history has the Executive Branch imposed military sanctions on a Member of Congress for engaging in disfavored political speech,” the suit said.
“Pete Hegseth is coming after what I earned through my twenty-five years of military service, in violation of my rights as an American, as a retired veteran, and as a United States Senator whose job is to hold him — and this or any administration — accountable,” Kelly said in a statement on X. “His unconstitutional crusade against me sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military: if you speak out and say something that the President or Secretary of Defense doesn’t like, you will be censured, threatened with demotion, or even prosecuted.”
Kelly said the actions of the Pentagon could affect any retired military personnel.
“Now, Pete Hegseth wants our longest-serving military veterans to live with the constant threat that they could be deprived of their rank and pay years or even decades after they leave the military just because he or another Secretary of Defense doesn’t like what they’ve said. That’s not the way things work in the United States of America, and I won’t stand for it,” he said on X.
Five other Democratic lawmakers were in the video, but none of them retired from their service. They are: Reps. Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Jason Crow of Colorado and Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, along with Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.
Also named as defendants in the suit are Secretary of the Navy John Phelan and the Department of the Navy.
Zhao, who battled through four qualifying matches and then five more at the Crucible to become the first Asian player to win the world title in May, became the third Chinese player to make it into this year’s Masters quarter-finals.
A break of 76 gave Wilson the opening frame as the Englishman looked to win a Masters match for the first time after losing in the opening round in 2021 and 2024 against Kyren Wilson and Shaun Murphy respectively.
But Zhao ruthlessly punished loose safety shots from Wilson to win four frames in a row, thanks to breaks of 50, 51, 54 and 72, while Wilson only collected 10 points in that time.
However, Wilson battled to win the sixth frame to reduce the deficit to 2-4, only to then let a 51-0 advantage slip in frame seven.
Zhao made his fifth half-century break of the match, a 67 in frame eight, to seal a 6-2 victory – bizarrely the same score that has now been seen in all four completed matches.
Zhao, who had lost to John Higgins in round one in 2022 in his only other Masters appearance, said: “I enjoyed the night. This is my second time at Alexandra Palace so I really enjoyed it.
“I know he [Wilson] is a very good player so I just wanted to have big breaks and didn’t want him to come back so I just try to get better.
“Hopefully in the final we have two Chinese players. Tonight I could see a lot of fans supporting me so I feel very confident and I didn’t want to lose. This is my first win at Alexandra Palace.”
Zhao will now play either four-time world champion Higgins or two-time world runner-up Barry Hawkins in the next round.
Reporting from Washington — President Trump announced Saturday that he’s picked a battle-hardened commander who oversaw troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to be the nation’s next top military advisor.
If confirmed by the Senate, Gen. Mark Milley, who has been chief of the Army since August 2015, would succeed Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dunford’s term doesn’t end until Oct. 1. Trump said the date of transition is yet to be determined.
Trump tweeted the news, saying “I am pleased to announce my nomination of four-star General Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the United States Army — as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing General Joe Dunford, who will be retiring. I am thankful to both of these incredible men for their service to our Country!”
Dunford is a former commandant of the Marine Corps and commander of coalition troops in Afghanistan. Milley commanded troops during several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Trump’s decision, which he announced before leaving Washington to attend the annual Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, caught some in the Pentagon by surprise Friday. Normally an announcement on a new chairman wouldn’t be expected until early next year. The officials said the Air Force chief, Gen. David Goldfein, was also a strong contender for the job, but they indicated that Milley has a very good relationship with the president.
Trump hinted earlier Friday that he would make an announcement Saturday, when he attends the game and is expected to perform the coin toss to decide which team gets the ball first. “I can give you a little hint: It will have to do with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and succession,” he said.
Milley is known as a charismatic, outgoing leader who has not been afraid to offer candid and sometimes blunt assessments to Congress. Last year, he admonished the House Armed Services Committee for its inability to approve a defense budget, slamming it as “professional malpractice.” And in 2016, he told lawmakers, in answer to a direct question, that women should also have to register for the draft now that they are allowed to serve in all combat jobs.
As the Army’s top leader, he helped shepherd the groundbreaking move of women into front-line infantry and other combat positions, while warning that it would take time to do it right. More recently, he has worked with his senior officers to reverse a deficit in Army recruiting when the service fell far short of its annual goal this year.
He also played a role in one of the Army’s more contentious criminal cases. While serving as head of U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., Milley was assigned to review the case of former Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who abandoned his post in Afghanistan and was held captive by the Taliban for five years.
Milley made the early decision to charge Bergdahl with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. Bergdahl was eventually found guilty, reduced in rank to private, dishonorably discharged and fined $10,000, but was spared any additional prison time.
A native of Winchester, Mass., and a fervent supporter of the Boston Red Sox and other city teams, Milley received his Army commission from Princeton University in 1980. An infantry officer by training, he also commanded Special Forces units in a career that included deployments in the invasion of Panama in 1989, the multinational mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina to implement the Dayton Peace Accords, and the Iraq war.
The Milley move starts a series of military leadership changes in coming months, including successors in 2019 for Adm. John Richardson as the chief of Naval Operations, Gen. Robert Neller as commandant of the Marine Corps, and Air Force Gen. Paul Selva as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Trump also will pick a replacement for Milley as Army chief.
Goldfein began his term as Air Force chief of staff in 2016, so he wouldn’t be expected to step down until the summer of 2020.
IT’S shaping up to be a very exciting year for Alesha Dixon, Sabrina Washington and Su-Elise Nash.
I’m told the singers, who you will know better as Noughties girl band Mis-Teeq, have been discussing how they can celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album, Lickin’ On Both Sides.
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Girl group Mis-Teeq are plotting a comeback for a special show to mark 25 years since their first albumCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
The record, which came out in October 2001, peaked at No3 in the Official Album Charts and bagged them five Top Ten singles including All I Want, One Night Stand and B With Me.
And now the trio are considering reuniting for a special show to mark the milestone.
A source said: “Alesha has been excitedly talking about this for a while and would love a Mis-Teeq reunion with Sabrina and Su-Elise happen.
“Fans shouldn’t expect a Girls Aloud-style comeback tour, though.
“At the minute, lots of things are being discussed and one thing that has come up is the idea of a one-off show. It could be an intimate gig for their die-hard fans or a performance on a big TV programme such as Britain’s Got Talent — which Alesha is a judge on.
“Nothing has formally been offered but nothing is off the table.
“Lickin’ On Both Sides launched Alesha, Sabrina and Su-Elise’s music careers and that record holds a really special place in their hearts.
“They want to celebrate that album with their fans.”
Alesha and Sabrina now appear to be back on good terms after the latter threatened to sue over unpaid royalties in 2020.
Sabrina, who was the group’s lead singer, started legal proceedings against Alesha over royalties going back 15 years as well as action against former label Universal.
She alleged Alesha had “wrongfully claimed” song-writing cash for their first two singles Why and All I Want.
A pal said at the time: “Alesha received five per cent royalties for the girls’ first two songs whereas Sabrina received nothing.
“They both should have got 2.5 per cent. Sabrina wasn’t listed as a writer for the tracks but it was written in her contract that she would get pay parity.
“She feels she is owed thousands.”
At the time, a spokesman for Alesha said: “Alesha wrote the raps on both Why? and All I Want and that is why she gets a split.
“The rest of the song was written by a production team. Sabrina has no reason to sue Alesha.”
Earlier this summer Alesha admitted a reunion could be on the cards but added: “Thinking doesn’t mean we are doing, but we’re thinking.
“Which is more than we’ve done.”
Dua toasts a top year
Dua Lipa opened 2026 in style alongside fiance Callum Turner, celebrating the most lucrative year of her careerCredit: instagram/dualipa
DUA LIPA has been knocking back the cocktails to celebrate a stellar 2025.
I can reveal the Training Season singer raked in £70million in the year to March 2025, making it the most lucrative of her career.
Dua kept it real, though – despite earning the mammoth amount, she only paid herself a paltry £500.
New documents show her live gigs company, Radical22 Live, banked £45.6million, while Dua made a further £45.6million from her management, publishing and production company.
Pop star’s sister Rina poses on quirky wicker chairCredit: instagram/dualipaDua wrote that she is excited to make 2026 her most exciting year yetCredit: instagram/dualipa
It’s almost double the earnings of other big British pop acts, including Ed Sheeran, over the past year – so I’m not surprised she’s busting open the booze.
Sharing snaps of her end-of-year celebrations, with her family and actor fiance Callum Turner, Dua wrote online: “Thank you for making my last year so special.
“I’m excited to make this the best one yet.”
It certainly will be if 2026 is the year she and Callum get married . . .
No more Fab secrets
THE BEATLES’ vaults have been slammed shut after 63 years, with super producer Giles Martin admitting fans will never hear any more secret tracks from the Fab Four.
Giles has spent a number of years scouring through the band’s audio recordings, studio archives and even individual projects penned for them over their history.
His efforts have helped produce the current Disney Plus revived Beatles’ Anthology series and remixed albums and tracks.
Asked how much untouched Beatles content exists now, Martin said: “I don’t think there’s anything. I always say that then something turns up.
“But I don’t think there’s anything. It’s incredible how much interest there still is over Beatles stuff.
“You do [hear new] things on this Anthology box set. There’s that first round of Helter Skelter, which for me is great because it’s really raw.
“It’s proper in your face music.
“And then people go, ‘Well, how come we haven’t released the 20-minute long version of Helter Skelter?’ I think we’re done.” Giles curated the new
Anthology 4 album and remastered the entire collection for the 2025 re-release of The Beatles’ Anthology series.
He believes that collaborating with his late father George Martin, also known as the fifth Beatle, on these projects has been spiritually and professionally fulfilling.
He added: “The Beatles are so powerful that it’s what people want to know about.
“It’s really nice. I love my dad. We were incredibly close.
“Their music and what they did really makes people feel better about themselves. So it’s a complete honour to work on this material and to be close to my dad is a great thing.”
Giles is currently working with director Sam Mendes on the four upcoming Beatles movies, with each focussing on a different member of the band.
On radio in the US, Giles added: “I’m working on these films. They come out in three years.
“What’s amazing about The Beatles is that new generations hear stuff and go back and unearth this catalogue.”
Mel’s bid to mark big hit
THE SPICE GIRLS’ smash hit Wannabe, the song that soundtracked my childhood, turns 30 this year and Mel C has confirmed the group will be celebrating the milestone.
Incredibly, she is still convinced that she can somehow persuade Posh and Ginger to join her, Scary and Baby for a reunion.
Mel C has confirmed The Spice Girls will be celebrating the milestone of 30 years since hit single Wannabe was releasedCredit: Alamy
Spilling the beans herself on Australian radio, Mel joked: “We’ve decided not to tell Mel B anything because she can’t keep her mouth shut – and also she doesn’t know any more because we’re not telling her.”
Speaking of Wannabe’s 30th anniversary Mel added: “We have to acknowledge it in some way.”
And she explained how plans for that are progressing.
“We are talking about what that looks like and for me, myself, Melanie and Emma. We’re going back on stage . . . but sometimes the others may need some convincing.
She said: “Getting the five of us together, it would be the best thing ever. Sometimes I feel like it’s my duty to the world.”
“There’s so much negativity, there’s so much mad s**t going on – let’s just spice up our lives.”
Of her relationships with her bandmates, Mel said: “We have a newfound respect for each other.
“We know when to leave it, we know each other’s irritations and insecurities and we respect that now as adults and mothers.
Recalling their 2019 reunion tour, she added: “The love we had last time that was beamed back from these stadiums was like nothing I’ve experienced as a Spice Girl before.”
Twigs bold and brave
FKA Twigs says she feels she is at the perfect cross point of growth and youthCredit: Courtesy of ELLE UK/Louie Banks
FKA TWIGS has admitted that she’s finally found the courage to speak up for herself.
Speaking in the February edition of Elle UK, which is on sale now, the British singer said: “I’m reaching that age where I can really look back at my life and I can see so many things that have been beautiful and amazing, and other things that have been really brutal and violent.”
Twigs added: “I’m realising that I can hold my love of life and my artistry and the beauty of my life, and I can also hold the brutality and the sadness and the violence.
“I can hold things at the same time, and that feels really good.
“I’ve always wanted to be at this perfect cross point of growth and youth – to be able to be young and sexy and healthy – and also not be an idiot like I was in my 20s.”
Don’t be too hard on yourself, Twigs, no one is that proud of what they did in their 20s.
Ashley is boiling hot
Pussycat Dolls singer Ashley Roberts is making everybody jealous with her trip to MauritiusCredit: instagram/iamashleyroberts
ASHLEY ROBERTS is making me green with envy after sharing even more of her holiday snaps.
The Pussycat Dolls singer quit the freezing wind and snow we’re having in Blighty for the boiling hot sunshine of Mauritius.
Ash told her Instagram followers she’d had the “best time”.
I’m thrilled for you, Ashley. Just thrilled.
Harry Styles has been spotted with girlfriend Zoe Kravitz in the Bahamas, it is claimedCredit: Getty
HARRY STYLES and Zoe Kravitz have added another destination to their extensive list of travel hotspots.
Since they started dating, the pair have been seen all over the world – including New York, Paris, Rome and London.
Now it’s claimed they spent the last few days holed up inside a luxury resort in the Bahamas.
This sure is a long honeymoon period.
One fan claimed they spotted the former One Direction singer jogging on a beach over the New Year.
Nick Jonas has been reflecting on whether he is the best possible version of himselfCredit: Getty
NICK JONAS has dropped his reflective new single Gut Punch, before the release of his fifth album, Sunday Best.
On it Nick sings: “Hit me like a gut punch. I hurt my own feelings. How did I get so good at being mean to myself?”
The US star, who is married to Priyanka Chopra, said: “I do wonder if I’m being the best version of myself.
“Am I a present husband and father? Life weighs on you.
“It’s important to remember there was once a carefree version of you loved the world.”
The operation follows a series of clashes and attacks linked to ISIL, which is feared to be making a resurgence.
Published On 31 Dec 202531 Dec 2025
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Turkiye’s government says it has detained more than 100 ISIL (ISIS) suspects in nationwide raids, as the group shows signs of intensified regional activity after a period of relative dormancy.
Turkiye’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced the Wednesday morning arrests in a social media post, saying Turkish authorities rounded up 125 suspects across 25 provinces, including Ankara.
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The operation is the third of its kind in less than a week during the holiday season, and follows a deadly shootout on Tuesday between Turkish police and suspected ISIL members in the northwestern city of Yalova.
“Those who seek to harm our brotherhood, our unity, our togetherness … will only face the might of our state and the unity of our nation,” wrote Yerlikaya.
Tuesday’s clash killed three Turkish police and six suspected ISIL members, all Turkish nationals. A day later, Turkish security forces arrested 357 suspected ISIL members in a coordinated crackdown.
‘Intensifying’ anti-ISIL operations
Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul earlier this week, said Turkish forces have “intensified their operations” against ISIL sleeper cells during the holiday period, a time when the group has previously staged attacks in the country.
In 2017, when the group still held large swaths of neighbouring Syria and Iraq before being vanquished on the battlefield, ISIL attacked an Istanbul nightclub during New Year’s celebrations, killing 39 people. Istanbul prosecutor’s office said Turkish police had received intelligence that operatives were “planning attacks in Turkiye against non-Muslims in particular” this holiday season.
On top of maintaining sleeper cells in Turkiye, ISIL is still active in Syria, with which Turkiye shares a 900-kilometre (560-mile) border, and has carried out a spate of attacks there since the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad last year.
The United States military has waged extensive strikes against ISIL in central and northeastern Syria this month, killing or capturing about 25 fighters from the group over the past two weeks, according to the US Central Command.
Here, they renew their annual tradition of looking at the year past and offering some thoughts on what the new year may bring.
Chabria: Welp, that was something. I can’t say 2025 was a stellar year for the American experiment, but it certainly will make the history books.
Before we dive into pure politics, I’ll start with something positive. I met a married couple at a No Kings rally in Sacramento who were dressed up as dinosaurs, inspired by the Portland Frog, an activist who wears an inflatable amphibian suit.
When I asked why, the husband told me, “If you don’t do something soon, you will have democracy be extinct.”
Crowds participate in No Kings Day in downtown Los Angeles in October.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
I loved that so many Americans were doing something by turning out to not just protest policies that hit personally, but to rally in support of democracy writ large. For many, it was their first time taking this kind of action, and they were doing it in a way that expressed optimism and possibility rather than giving in to anger or despair. Where there is humor, there is hope.
While eggs and gas are no longer exorbitant, the cost of just about everything else continues to climb. Or, in the case of beef, utility bills and insurance, skyrocket.
The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts is another of the long-standing institutions Trump has smeared his name across.
(Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)
Meantime, the president seems less concerned with improving voters’ lives than smearing his name on every object he lays his eyes on, one of the latest examples being the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
I wonder: Why stop there? Why not brand these the United States of Trump-erica, then boast we live in the “hottest” country on Planet Trump?
Chabria: Stop giving him ideas!
You and I agree that it’s been a difficult year full of absurdity, but we’ve disagreed on how seriously to take Trump as a threat to democracy. As the year closes, I am more concerned than ever.
It’s not the ugly antics of ego that alarm me, but the devastating policies that will be hard to undo — if we get the chance to undo them.
Now, we are seeing overt antisemitism and racism on the MAGA right, with alarming acceptance from many. The far right has championed a debate as dumb as it is frightening, about “heritage” Americans being somehow a higher class of citizens than nonwhites.
Vice President JD Vance speaks at the University of Mississippi in Oxford.
(Gerald Herbert / Associated Press)
Recently, Vice President JD Vance gave a speech in which he announced, “In the United States of America, you don’t have to apologize for being white anymore,” and Trump has said he wants to start taking away citizenship from legal immigrants. Both men claim America is a Christian nation, and eschew diversity as a value.
Do you still think American democracy is secure, and this political moment will pass without lasting damage to our democratic norms?
Barabak: I’ll start with some differentiation.
I agree that Trump is sowing seeds or, more specifically, enacting policies and programs, that will germinate and do damage for many years to come.
Alienating our allies, terrorizing communities with his prejudicial anti-immigrant policies — which go far beyond a reasonable tightening of border security — starving science and other research programs. The list is a long and depressing one, as you suggest.
But I do believe — cue the trumpets and cherubs — there is nothing beyond the power of voters to fix.
To quote, well, me, there is no organism on the planet more sensitive to heat and light than a politician. We’ve already seen an anti-Trump backlash in a series of elections held this year, in red and blue state alike. A strong repudiation in the 2026 midterm election will do more than all the editorial tut-tutting and protest marches combined. (Not that either are bad things.)
A stressed-out seeming poll worker in a polling station at Los Angeles’ Union Station.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
The best way to preserve our democracy and uphold America’s values is for unhappy citizens to register their dissent via the ballot box. And to address at least one of your concerns, I’m not too worried about Trump somehow nullifying the results, given legal checks and the decentralization of our election system.
Installing lawmakers in Congress with a mandate to hold Trump to account would be a good start toward repairing at least some of the damage he’s wrought. And if it turns into a Republican rout, it’ll be quite something to watch the president’s onetime allies run for the hills as fast as their weak knees allow.
Chabria: OMG! It’s a holiday miracle. We agree!
I think the midterms will be messy, but I don’t think this will be an election where Trump, or anyone, outright tries to undo overall results.
Although I do think the groundwork will be laid to sow further doubt in our election integrity ahead of 2028, and we will see bogus claims of fraud and lawsuits.
So the midterms very well could be a reset if Democrats take control of something, anything. We would likely not see past damage repaired, but may see enough opposition to slow the pace of whatever is happening now, and offer transparency and oversight.
But the 2026 election only matters if people vote, which historically is not something a great number of people do in midterms. At this point, there are few people out there who haven’t heard about the stakes in November, but that still doesn’t translate to folks — lazy, busy, distracted — weighing in.
If proposed restrictions on mail-in ballots or voter identification take effect, even just in some states, that will also change the outcomes.
But there is hope, always hope.
Barabak: On that note, let’s recognize a few of the many good things that happened in 2025.
MacKenzie Scott donated $700 million to more than a dozen historically Black colleges and universities, showing that not all tech billionaires are selfish and venal.
The Dodgers won their second championship and, while this San Francisco Giants fan was not pleased, their seven-game thriller against the Toronto Blue Jays was a World Series for the ages.
Any others, beside your demonstrating dinos, who deserve commendation?
Pope Leo XIV waves after delivering the Christmas Day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
(Gregorio Borgia / Associated Press)
Chabria: Though I’m not Catholic, I have been surprisingly inspired by Pope Leo XIV.
So I’ll leave us with a bit of his advice for the future: “Be agents of communion, capable of breaking down the logic of division and polarization, of individualism and egocentrism.”
Many of us are tired, and suffering from Trump fatigue. Regardless, to put it in nonpapal terms, it may be a dumpster — but we’re all in it together.
Barabak: I’d like to end, as we do each year, with a thank you to our readers.
Anita and I wouldn’t be here — which would greatly please some folks — but for you. (And a special nod to the paid subscribers out there. You help keep the lights on.)
Here’s wishing each and all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.
Gaza’s Christians reflected on the loss they’ve experienced after two years of Israel’s devastating war, as Palestinians marked the first Christmas since the fragile ceasefire deal.
The light is fading fast as I stand inside Tregeseal stone circle near St Just. The granite stones of the circle are luminous in this sombre landscape, like pale, inquisitive ghosts gathered round to see what we’re up to. Above us, a sea of withered bracken and gorse rises to Carn Kenidjack, the sinister rock outcrop that dominates the naked skyline. At night, this moor is said to be frequented by pixies and demons, and sometimes the devil himself rides out in search of lost souls.
Unbothered by any supernatural threat, we are gazing seawards, towards the smudges on the horizon that are the distant Isles of Scilly. The clouds crack open and a flood of golden light falls over the islands. My companion, archaeoastronomer Carolyn Kennett, and I gasp. It is marvellous natural theatre which may have been enjoyed by the people who built this circle 4,000 years ago.
We have met at Tregeseal to talk about the winter solstice. Carolyn’s work focuses on the relationship of Cornwall’s prehistory with the sky, and she describes the whole Land’s End peninsula as an ancient winter solstice landscape. This, she says, is because of the spine of granite that runs south-west along the peninsula, towards the midwinter sunset. If, for example, you stand at winter solstice by Chûn Quoit – the mushroom-shaped burial chamber high on the moors south of Morvah – you will see the sun set over Carn Kenidjack on the south-western horizon. And likely this is exactly as Chûn Quoit’s Neolithic builders intended.
The Tregeseal East standing stone. Photograph: Paul Williams/Alamy
Carolyn suggests that Tregeseal stone circle was deliberately sited to allow people to view the midwinter sun setting behind the Isles of Scilly. “Seen from here, Scilly is a liminal space. On a clear day with high pressure, the isles look close up and just pop. On other days, they’re simply not there. The circle builders could have viewed Scilly as an otherworldly place, perhaps a place of the dead, associated with the winter solstice and the rebirth of the light.”
We thread through the darkening russet moor past prehistoric burial mounds and heaps of mining slag to a mysterious monument, which may be the UK’s only ancient row of holed stones. Unlike the stone at Mên-an-Tol, their better-known sister a few miles away, it’s impossible to crawl through the Kenidjack holed stones; these holes are barely big enough to fit my hand through and very low to the ground. Archaeologists remain baffled.
Carolyn’s theory is that the row might have worked as a kind of winter solstice countdown calendar, with the rising sun shining through the holes from late October until December and creating varying beams of light in the stones’ shadows. “Feeling the warmth of that golden beam of sunlight in the cold, dark moor gave me a visceral experience of how prehistoric people might have perceived winter solstice,” she says.
The Merry Maidens. Photograph: Charlie Newlands/Alamy
Too many ancient sites are aligned to the rising or setting of the sun at midwinter or midsummer for it to be a coincidence. It makes sense that prehistoric farmers, who relied on the sun for light, warmth and the growth of crops, would want to track the sun’s movement. But in the 21st century, the darkness of this time of year still weighs on our spirits, and so we welcome the winter solstice, that darkest day of all before the hours of light begin to grow again. And where better to celebrate the return of the light than on the Land’s End (West Penwith) peninsula, which points towards the setting point of the sun on the year’s shortest day?
A bitter easterly is gusting, and eerie moaning rises from unseen cows as I tramp through soggy clover to pay a visit to the Boscawen-Ros stone, keeping watch as it has done for thousands of years above the peninsula’s south coast. It is just one of scores of prehistoric stones that stand alone or in pairs or circles all over the peninsula; less than a mile away are the famous Merry Maidens, dancers turned to stone for breaking the Sabbath. I think about how long the stone has persisted here, enjoying its view of the Celtic Sea and English Channel: where once Neolithic coracles would have floated, now the container ships and the Scilly ferry pass by.
Christopher Morris’s mesmerising film A Year in a Field, which documents 12 months in the life of this stone, draws attention to the power of its still and silent presence in the ever-changing landscape. “And I deliberately started and ended the film with winter solstice,” he tells me, “because it is a moment of pure hope – the promise of the ending of darkness and a bright new year ahead.”
Penzance’s Montol midwinter festival. Photograph: Guy Corbishley/Alamy
On 21 December, all over West Penwith, people will be marking midwinter by walking to stone circles and holy wells, to hill forts and ancient beacons. Carolyn Kennett will be leading a guided walk to Chûn Quoit to observe the sun setting over Carn Kenidjack. Morris will walk to the Boscawen-Ros stone, as he does every winter solstice, in a sort of ritual of reflection and renewal. Later he, like thousands of others, will crowd into Penzance for Montol, a midwinter festival that dates only to 2007 but revives the very old Cornish custom of guise dancing, with its elaborate masks and costumes, traditional carolling and music of pipe, drum and fiddle.
Morris calls Montol “a wild night of misrule” – mischief and taboo-breaking are positively encouraged. The sun (in papier-mache form) will be set ablaze, while revellers disguised in animal masks, foliate heads or veils will dance triumphantly around it. There will be a herd of ’obby ’osses (hobby horses, including one called Penglaz and another called Pen Hood), dragons, fire-dancers and riotous merry-making. “A lot of sprout-throwing, too,” Morris adds. At 9.30pm those still standing will parade the Mock (the Yule log), flaming torches in hand, down Chapel Street to the sea. It is a fittingly uproarious and darkly magical celebration to welcome back the light.
In enchanted West Penwith, where rings of dancers were turned to stone and the witches once lit solstice fires in the moorland cromlechs, the tradition of folklore, storytelling and community ritual is still very much alive. And especially now, at midwinter.
Fiona Robertson is the author of Stone Lands, published by Robinson at £25. To support the Guardian buy a copy from guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
