Here's How Much Aid the United States Has Sent Ukraine | Council on Foreign Relations Eleven charts illustrate the extraordinary level of support the United States has provided Ukraine in recent years--though there has been no new U.S. aid legislation since 2024, and combined European aid tops U.S. contributions.

Ukraine became the top recipient of U.S. aid after Russia’s invasion in February 2022. However, there has been no new aid legislation since 2024 and the U.S. commitment to Ukraine has been called into question under the second Trump administration.

Here's how the aid compares—in 11 charts.

Former ICE lawyer Ryan Schwank: “I received secretive orders to teach new cadets to violate the Constitution.”

Bloomington police announce arrests in sex trafficking bust: "Rashad Johnson out of Maple Grove. This is the most disturbing arrest that we've had here. He is a backgrounder for ICE, Homeland Security, and federal agencies."

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Trump Education Department cracks down on college student voting programs College students, who tend to vote more Democratic, represent one of the fastest-growing voting blocs.

🚨BREAKING: The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) launched an investigation and issued new guidance that could severely undercut efforts to expand voting among college students ahead of the 2026 elections. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

For those who don't know, Luttig was once considered the intellectual heir to Scalia. He was about as conservative a judge as you could find...

ICE agent asked why he's taking pictures of a legal observer's car, replies: "Cuz we have a nice little database and now you're considered a domestic terrorist. So have fun with that."

‘Patriot’ Front went to DC and people blasted clown music at them.

Trump's long-awaited healthcare "plan" is a joke He can barely bring himself to pretend he cares.

"When it comes time to produce something vaguely resembling a policy blueprint, Trump steps aside & the right-wing ideologues who surround him take over. His only job is to record a brief video, try to stay awake through a White House event on the subject, & then go back to not talking about it."

Ford has caved to MAGA pressure and suspended TJ Sabula, the auto worker who called Trump a “pedophile protector” to his face today.

“I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often — and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” Sabula said.

Breaking news: Every former Federal Reserve chief attacked the Department of Justice’s probe into US central bank head Jay Powell, accusing the Trump administration of behaving like an emerging market. ft.trib.al/aJHxEQx

Lawmakers, former officials denounce DOJ’s criminal probe into Fed Chair Powell Read more here.

NEW: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warns that Trump is pressuring the central bank into cutting interest rates through threats of criminal prosecution. The rare statement comes after the DOJ opened an unprecedented investigation into Powell over the weekend.

What Do Bank Share Prices Tell Us About Growth? The plummeting valuation of China’s banks suggests that investors are losing confidence in China’s growth prospects.

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That's because, as I explain below, an option framework explains why share prices in a largely-insolvent banking system are effectively a proxy for expected GDP growth. At the time I wrote this, Chinese banks were trading at 3-4 times book.
carnegieendowment.org/china-financ...

Trump vetoes bill to fund Arkansas Valley conduit in Colorado President Trump vetoed a bill to fund a pipeline project to bring clean drinking water to communities on the Eastern Plains between Pueblo and Lamar.

NEW: President Trump's first veto of his second term kills a unanimous bill to fund a major drinking water project in Colorado. Trump had threatened punishment for Colorado for imprisoning his ally Tina Peters. www.9news.com/article/news...

JUST IN: AG Pam Bondi deletes a post touting a chart as proof of the Trump administration's success in reducing drug overdoses—after being informed the data actually reflected the *Biden* administration’s record.

China Starts State-Backed Venture Funds to Support Tech Startups China has officially launched a national venture capital fund and three large regional funds, together worth billions of dollars, as part of a push to foster home-grown tech champions and improve inve...

Bloomberg: "China has launched a national venture capital fund and three regional funds, together worth billions of dollars, as part of a push to foster home-grown tech champions. The national fund will run for 20 years."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

I riff on @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social’s discussion of institutions and growth to explain why banking may be an important missing link in economists’ understanding of how and why growth takes place.

Institutions and growth: How banks used to provide the liquidity that fuels innovation and growth

DOGE was A LOT less likely to cancel contracts from companies that donated money to Republicans than companies that donated to Democrats.

The Longest Suicide Note in American History The Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy targets liberal democracy itself.

If we can't even identify our enemies then how can we fight them?

Trump's National Security Strategy is the longest suicide note in American history

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

In Depth: China Bad-Debt Managers’ Bet on Bank Stocks Could Backfire ‘Big Four’ asset management companies have each taken large stakes in major lenders, allowing them to use accounting magic to book instant profits

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Very interesting Caixin article on how the Big Four AMCs, badly hurt by falling real estate prices and weak NPL resolution, are buying bank stocks and recognizing the gap between their prices and their higher book values as paper profits.

www.caixinglobal.com/2025-12-12/i...

A+ trolling from Zelenskyy

Bash: "Do you believe if there was a second strike to eliminate any survivors that it constitutes a war crime?"

Mark Kelly: "It seems to."

Bash: "If you received that order, would you have carried it out?"

Mark Kelly: "No…Going after survivors in the water is unlawful."

Turns out that when you describe how "the punters" feel about the economy, Americans think you're talking about blokes who kick footballs, rather than "the people." (Hilarity ensued.)

The draft dodging idiot posted a pic of this West Point plaque. It contains these words:

“Our American Code of Military Obedience requires that, should orders and the law ever conflict, our officers must obey the law.”

That is precisely what Senator Mark Kelly told officers to do. #NoSedition

🎵 “Join Ice” - @wellesmusic on Colbert

AOC to @pabloreports.bsky.social : A swastika is one of the clearest symbols of hatred in all of humanity… to remove that designation… indicates a possible collaboration with those very elements, which I think is genuinely frightening to any American.

Trump Wines Sold At Coast Guard Stores On Federal Property Exchanges in Washington, D.C., and Virginia have stocked Trump-branded wine and cider, allowing his family’s business to earn revenue from sales on federal property.

Scoop: “Trump Wine Hits Government Shelves”

me, for @forbes.com

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News of a critical counterattack by Ukraine in Pokrovsk

Needing to unblock key lines of logistics, UKR troops have been daringly dropped-in by low flying helicopters in territory Russian claimed was captured.

My initial reaction is it's a huge gamble, but the only other option was to retreat.

Bessent on American farmers being hurt by tariffs: "Martha, in case you don't know it, I'm actually a soybean farmer, so I have felt this pain too."