p class=”readrate”>The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing an oil tanker in the Caribbean that it says has links to Venezuela. The Department of Justice has released a limited number of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. And, an analysis by NPR finds thousands of immigrants without legal status aren’t showing up to immigration court, leading to a rise in deportation removals.
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p class=”readrate”>Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Tara Neill, Anna Yukhanonov, Lisa Thomson and Adriana Gallardo.
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p class=”readrate”>We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Dec 22 2025 (IPS) – Myanmar is heading for an election, beginning on 28 December, that’s ostensibly an exercise in democracy – but it has clearly been designed with the aim of conferring more legitimacy on its military junta.
Almost five years after its February 2021 coup, the regime continues to fight pro-democracy forces and ethnic armed organisations, barely controlling a fifth of Myanmar’s territory. The junta has acknowledged that voting won’t be possible in much of the country.
The upcoming election fails every test of democratic legitimacy. The main democratic parties — the National League for Democracy and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy — are banned. What remains is the Union Solidarity and Development Party, the military’s puppet party, plus minor groups that won no seats in the democratic election held in 2020. Independent media outlets have been crushed, journalists are arrested and intimidated daily and internet access is heavily restricted. In areas that resist military rule, civilians face escalating violence and arbitrary detention.
This election is designed not to reflect the popular will but to entrench military power. It comes as the regime continues its systematic campaign of violence against civilians: weeks before the junta announced the vote, Myanmar’s air force bombed a school in Oe Htein Kwin village, killing two teachers and 22 children, the youngest only seven years old.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners has confirmed 6,231 civilians have been killed by the military since the coup, though true figures could be much higher. Nearly half of all civilian deaths are estimated to have been caused by airstrikes. These are not indiscriminate military operations where civilians are collateral damage; they are deliberate attacks where civilians are the targets. The majority of locations of airstrikes have been sites with protected status under international law: camps for displaced people, churches, clinics and schools, often with no presence of armed groups nearby.
The junta has some powerful international allies. China backs it with billions in aid and advanced weapons. Russia supplies the fighter jets that drop bombs on civilians. India quietly sells arms. The three have long provided diplomatic cover and shielded the junta from international accountability. Meanwhile, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) continues pursuing its failed Five-Point Consensus agreed with the regime in April 2021, despite its systematic violation of every commitment. Regional powers have negotiated exclusively with the junta without input from the National Unity Government — the government in exile formed by democratically elected lawmakers — effectively treating the military regime as Myanmar’s legitimate rulers.
Now recent decisions by the Trump administration threaten to tip the balance decisively in favour of legitimising military rule. Trump has lifted sanctions, cut independent media funding and eliminated the protections formerly afforded to Myanmar’s refugees in the USA. Consistent with his transactional approach, he’s choosing access to rare earth minerals over democracy.
The concern now is that ASEAN member states may follow suit, using the sham election as justification to normalise relations with the military regime. Some have already started moving in this direction, with the junta leader invited to regional meetings.
Myanmar’s pro-democracy forces continue to resist despite the shifting international context. The People’s Defence Forces and ethnic armed groups maintain coordinated operations across most of the country. Civil society continues documenting violations, providing aid to displaced people and advocating for international action. They deserve better than to watch the world legitimise their oppressors.
The junta’s control on the ground remains tenuous, but its diplomatic position is strengthening. Whether this consolidation continues depends on how the world responds to the election. The international community must be clear that treating the election as legitimate would signal to authoritarians everywhere that democratic institutions can be overthrown with impunity, war crimes carry no real consequences and regimes that bomb schools and imprison elected leaders can secure international acceptance.
Tom Brady posted for the first time since news of his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen’s marriage to Joaquim Valente broke … and, a song he added to his posts will have some raising some eyebrows. Here’s the deal … the ex-NFLer shared two photos to his…
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Tom Bradyhas seemingly offered a glimpse of his mindset amid the news that his ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen, has gotten married again.
Brady, 48, uploaded a selfie in his car to his Instagram Stories on Saturday, December 20, where he sported a white “Forever Young” hoodie.
“Yuppppppp 💯,” the former NFL quarterback captioned his upload, setting the post to Logic’s song “1-800-273-8255.”
While Brady did not further explain the meaning of his post, it comes hours after Us Weekly confirmed that Bündchen, 45, married her boyfriend, Joaquim Valente, earlier in December.
The supermodel started dating Valente, 38, nearly a year after she and Brady divorced.
“This is the first time I am seeing someone that was a friend of mine first,” Bündchen told The New York Times in March 2024, detailing the origins of her romance. “It’s very different. It is very honest, and it’s very transparent.”
Bündchen further stressed that there hadn’t been any overlap in her respective relationships with Brady and Valente.
“That is a lie. This is something that happens to a lot of women who get blamed when they have the courage to leave an unhealthy relationship and are labeled as being unfaithful,”she said, shutting down affair speculation. “They have to deal with their communities. They have to deal with their family. Of course for me, it just happens to be a little bit amplified.”
Courtesy of Tom Brady/ Instagram
Bündchen and Valente later welcomed their first child together, a baby boy whose name has not been publicly revealed, in February. Bündchen is already mom of son Benjamin, 16, and daughter Vivian, 13, whom she shares with Brady.
“There’s definitely some challenges and there’s a lot of blessings, and I think just us as parents, we’re just trying to help them navigate a little bit,” Brady, who also shares 18-year-old son Jack with ex Bridget Moynahan, exclusively told Us in 2024 about raising his kids. “There’s a lot of cool things, a lot of things that are maybe a little tricky, but you just got to deal with it all in the best way you can.”
He added, “I think giving them perspective all the time is really important. They’re kids, so we’re all human. We’re all going through stuff, so they’re going through their own set of unique experiences and you just try to give them the right perspective on the things that you’ve experienced and that you can correlate to their life.”
According to Brady, he’s hopeful that his three children will eventually find “a life of purpose.”
“As parents, we just want our kids to do better than us, and I think that’s for all of us. My parents did that for me,” the football GOAT explained at the time. “I want to try to guide my kids into a life of purpose and one that they can find their joy and happiness and create a life and a family together with someone and find things they love to do when they wake up in the morning.”
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The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. is one step closer to being called the Trump-Kennedy Center.
On December 18, 2025, the White House confirmed the board of the Kennedy Center voted to rename the building that is in honor of President John F. Kennedy.
“I have just been informed that the highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center, some of the most successful people from all parts of the world, have just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center, because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote via X at the time. “Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation. Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur.”
Soon after the news broke, several Kennedy family members spoke out against the board’s decision.
Maria Shriver questioned why Trump has been so interested in having his name be part of the cultural center.
“Next thing perhaps he will want to rename JFK Airport, rename the Lincoln Memorial, the Trump Lincoln Memorial. The Trump Jefferson Memorial. The Trump Smithsonian. The list goes on,” she wrote via Instagram. “Can we not see what is happening here? C’mon, my fellow Americans! Wake up! This is not dignified. This is not funny. This is way beneath the stature of the job. It’s downright weird. It’s obsessive in a weird way. Just when you think someone can’t stoop any lower, down they go…”
According to NBC News, Trump told reporters at the White House that he was “surprised” and “honored” by the board’s vote.
Keep reading to see how other Kennedy family members reacted to the news:
Jack Schlossberg
Jack SchlossbergJoseph Prezioso / AFP
JFK’s only grandson vowed to fight back against the Kennedy Center’s new name.
“SEND ME TO CONGRESS TO SMOKE THESE FOOLS — MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR,” Schlossberg, who is running for New York’s 12th Congressional District, said via Instagram on December 18, 2025. “I won’t back down or be drowned out.”
Joe Kennedy III
After seeing Leavitt’s announcement about the Kennedy Center, JFK’s nephew decided to speak out on social media.
“The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law,” he wrote via X on December 18, 2025. “It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says.”
Maria Shriver
Maria ShriverEmma McIntyre/Getty Images for Alliance for Women in Media Foundation
The journalist and niece of JFK expressed her disappointment at the Kennedy Center being renamed to the Trump-Kennedy Center.
“The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F Kennedy. It was named in his honor. He was a man who was interested in the arts, interested in culture, interested in education, language, history,” she wrote via Instagram on December 18, 2025. “He brought the arts into the White House, and he and my Aunt Jackie [Kennedy Onassis] amplified the arts, celebrated the arts, stood up for the arts and artists.”
Shriver continued, “It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy. It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.”
After workers installed Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center building, Shriver spoke out again.
“This will always be the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,” she wrote via Instagram later that month. “A great man would have said to his hand picked board, ‘Thank you, but the building already has its name. Let it stand. Let it be. I don’t need that.’ But then again…”
Kerry Kennedy
“President Trump and his administration have spent the past year repressing free expression, targeting artists, journalists, and comedians and erasing the history of Americans whose contributions made our nation better and more just,” JFK’s niece Kerry wrote via X on December 18, 2025. “President Kennedy proudly stood for justice, peace, equality, dignity, diversity, and compassion for those who suffer. President Trump stands in opposition to these values, and his name should not be placed alongside President Kennedy’s.”
One day later, Kerry reacted to Trump’s name being installed on the building.
“Three years and one month from today, I’m going to grab a pickax and pull those letters off that building, but I’m going to need help holding the ladder,” she wrote via X. “Are you in? Applying for my carpenter’s card today, so it’ll be a union job!!!”
“Perhaps the board isn’t aware that the Kennedy Center is 𝗧𝗛𝗘 memorial to the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy. Would they rename the Lincoln memorial? The Jefferson? That would be an insult to great presidents. This too is an insult to a great president,” JFK’s nephew Tim wrote via X in December 2025. “ Notwithstanding their short-sighted action, it is and will remain the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”
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Farmers celebrate in Gilgil town in Kenya, after a court ruling that decriminalized the sharing of indigenous seeds. Credit: Jackson Okata/IPS
NAIROBI, Dec 18 2025 (IPS) – For years, smallholder farmers across Kenya have been engaged in a legal battle with the government over a law that criminalizes the practice of saving, sharing and exchanging indigenous seeds.
In 2022, a group of 15 Kenyan smallholder farmers petitioned the country’s High Court, seeking to compel the government to review sections of a law that bans the sharing and exchange of uncertified and unregistered seeds.
Kenya’s government enacted the law in 2012 to develop, promote, and regulate a modern and competitive seed industry, but farmers are calling for its review.
The informal farmer-managed seed system allows farmers to store a portion of their seeds after harvesting, which guarantees them seeds for the next planting season.
Victory for Farmers
In a decisive victory for food sovereignty and climate justice, the High Court on November 27, 2025, ruled in favor of smallholder farmers, declaring punitive sections of the Seed and Plant Varieties Act unconstitutional.
The judgment effectively decriminalizes the age-old practice of saving, sharing, and exchanging indigenous seeds, affirming that Farmer-Managed Seed Systems (FMSS) are a protected right, not a criminal activity.
Under the punitive law, farmers faced jail terms of up to two years and a fine of 1 million shillings (about 7,800 USD) for selling or exchanging unregistered seeds.
Farmer rights defenders had argued that the law gave control of the country’s food system to multinational corporations.
In her judgment, Justice Rhoda Rutto declared unconstitutional sections of the Act that gave seed inspectors sweeping powers to raid seed banks and seize seeds meant for the next harvest, made it illegal for farmers to process or sell seeds unless they were registered seed merchants, gave extensive proprietary rights to plant breeders and none to farmers, and made it illegal for farmers to save or share seeds from their harvest without prior knowledge of seed proprietors.
Samuel Wathome, a smallholder farmer who was a petitioner in the case, says that “just like his grandmother did, he can now freely save seeds for his grandchildren without fear of police or prison.”
According to Elizabeth Atieno, a Food Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, the court ruling affirmed the long-known tradition of seed sovereignty.
“The court ruling removed shackles from Kenya’s farmers. This is not just a legal win; it is a victory for our culture, our resilience, and our future,” Atieno told IPS.
She added, “By validating indigenous seeds, the court has struck a blow against the corporate capture of our food system. We can finally say that in Kenya, feeding your community with climate-resilient, locally adapted seeds is no longer a crime.”
Protecting Biodiversity
According to Gideon Muya, Programs Officer, Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya, the judgment is a shield for the country’s biodiversity.
“Indigenous seeds are the library of life because they hold the genetic diversity we need to withstand droughts, pests, and a changing climate. The court has recognized that you cannot patent nature’s heritage. We have reclaimed the right to choose what we plant and what we eat, free from the coercion of commercial seed monopolies,” Muya told IPS.
Claire Nasike, an agroecologist, noted that the judgment indicates that the seed is life, and it is sovereign, and whoever controls it influences the lifeline of a generation.
Nasike observes that the ruling is a big boost for biodiversity, climate resilience and food sovereignty since indigenous seeds tend to be well adapted to local conditions like soil types, rainfall patterns, pests and disease traits that are often lost in uniform, certified commercial seeds.
“By enabling farmers to save, exchange and diversify their seed stock, communities can preserve genetic diversity, a key buffer against climate shocks like droughts and pests, as well as a safeguard for long-term food security.”
