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The following article addresses the issue so-called Christian Parenting and a book that has been published on the subject. The book suggests that Christian Parenting is a myth. https://atoday.org/the-problem-with-biblical-parenting/

Here is Kirk Cameron who has publicly announced a change in his long-held views on Hell. Previously accepting the view of eternal conscious torment for the wicked, he now rejects it, calling such a fate 'cruel and unusual punishment.' Cameron says that the Bible, especially in its Old Testament writing, does not depict the souls of the wicked as immortal. Instead, the only souls promised eternal life ' immortality' are those granted to believers. https://endtimeheadlines.org/2025/12/kirk-cameron-no-longer-believes-in-eternal-punishment/ ...Kirk Cameron no longer believes in eternal punishment (OPINION) In a recent episode of his show, Kirk Cameron publicly announced a change in his long-held views on Hell. Previously accepting the view of eternal conscious torment for the wicked, he now rejects it

We had a interesting set of sermons given on Religious Liberty this past Sabbath and it was a eyeopener. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S8C1Po9LM4&t=2247s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er_3Amcy3lI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B_gse6sYXE We are seeing the emergence of the Image to the Beast with all the turmoil and much chaos being used as a smokescreen. It is preparing and laying out a path for the rise of the Image as we see the placement of the men in high positions in our government and Administration who are followers of the original Beast. So what does this entail for us as Adventist, well lets go over what Gods Word gives on the "Image of the Beast". Lets start with Revelation 13 to begin. Revelation 13:1-2 King James Version (KJV) 1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. Revelation 13:11-15 King James Version (KJV) 11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. We see this evil entity try to subvert Gods plan in the last days by creating the image of the beast on Earth. The image of the beast is an end time entity, comprised of a community of people who reflect the character of the dragon, and has religious-economic-political power to impose false worship on Earth. We see the corruption it brings which is the end time Babylon the Great of Revelation 17-18, and the image of the beast is best identified with this entity and its corrupt rule. The image of the beast is basically an institution and procedures which will duplicate the form and behavior of the beast power in Revelation 13. It will convince many that its words and purpose are true despite not being in full harmony with Scripture and will persuade the people of the earth, believers and non-believers, to follow the religious-political power which is the beast. The lamblike beast will also begin speaking like a dragon and exercising the power of the beast, showing that it will become as intolerant especially in setting aside of laws and foundational liberties. This results in people receiving the mark of the beast which is by following it in its false practices of worship, which is really worship of the Beast, and corruption of Gods Holy Day of worship. Lets look at the Revelation 14... Revelation 14:9-12 King James Version (KJV) 9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. The rise of the Image of the Beast will in my opinion coincide with the fall of America in the loss of the foundational rights and the laws of America and the emergence of a corrupted power which will them proceed to take away our religious liberties along with many other rights and freedoms, and then pass laws to force worship as prophecy gives us..

Well, the devil is very good and can make it 99% truth and one percent the poison in the well much like the Holy Flesh movement that got even into the Adventist church.

What are your thoughts on the Polar Vortex changing and the cause of much of the extreme weather we have been seeing..

Hmm, that is a new one for me. Will have to look over it..

That is my thoughts also...

December 12, 2025 By Sam Sifton Good morning. The weekend is almost here. Before we get there, though: The U.S. issued new sanctions on Venezuela’s leader and its oil industry. Indiana lawmakers rejected a map aimed at adding Republicans in Congress. And rescuers saved a hiker in Utah from quicksand. A drone filmed him. More news is below. But first, I’d like to talk about how hard it is to build big things in America. Clockwise from upper left: Arizona, Penn Station, Beverly Hills and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Loren Elliott for The New York Times, Todd Heisler, Gabriela Bhaskar, Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times American inertia American history is full of transformative industrial, technological and architectural innovations. Think of the Model T assembly line. The electrical grid. The interstate highway system. The Hoover Dam. The moonshot. It’s difficult to think of any recent examples on that scale. That’s because it’s getting harder to build stuff. Politicians can’t agree on what to make, or where or how. Red tape slows everything down. Regulatory approval scares off investors. And local critics resist change. They don’t want to see it unfurl outside their windows. The combination leaves us debilitated. My colleagues wanted to see what those problems looked like on the ground. And they wondered: Can they be overcome? Penn Station Todd Heisler/The New York Times Politicians have been pledging to rebuild North America’s busiest train station for more than 25 years, over the course of five presidencies and four New York State governors. Penn is a widely loathed and hugely important transit hub through which some 600,000 souls pass each day — nearly twice the number of people who use the nation’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International. Few would describe the experience as pleasant. It’s dark and overcrowded. Trains are often delayed, and tempers run high. It needs fixing. And yet, my colleague Patrick McGeehan wrote, in every attempt, “progress has been torpedoed by a political rivalry or a powerful billionaire or infighting among transit agencies with their own priorities.” It’s the city versus the state versus the federal government versus private developers, with commuters as the victims every time. “We need a parent to come in here and knock heads between the various entities,” one transportation advocate told him. Housing One subject on which Republicans and Democrats align: The country doesn’t have enough housing. Americans agree. But, they often say, Don’t build on this specific block in this specific neighborhood in this specific city at this specific point in time! Conor Dougherty, who covers housing in California, went to Beverly Hills to see what might be done about that, reporting on a little-known state law that lets developers erect high-density projects in neighborhoods that don’t want them. The builder’s remedy, as the law is called, terrifies small cities like Beverly Hills, where a developer Conor met is using it to create high-density housing. In that developer’s work, Conor found what might be the ultimate impact of the law: housing measured not simply in units, but in units built because of fear of litigation. A decaying highway Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times I live just west of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, part of which is a crumbling 70-year-old triple-cantilevered road. The city has already reduced it by a lane to lessen the weight on the road. But as drivers seek alternatives to the clogged artery and urban planners argue about what to do, standstill traffic plagues surrounding neighborhoods, including my own. My colleagues Winnie Hu, Helmuth Rosales and Marco Hernandez put together this arresting visual story that explains what happened to the expressway and what might be done about it — if only politics, red tape and the neighbors didn’t intrude. (Everyone wants to fix the B.Q.E. Everyone has a different idea about how best to do it.) “The B.Q.E. has just bedeviled and frustrated everybody who’s ever driven on it, looked at it, and worked on it,” Lara Birnback, the head of the Brooklyn Heights Association, told The Times. “It’s like a curse.” Chip factories Huge computer chip factories are rising from an empty expanse of the Sonoran Desert on the northern edges of Phoenix. As my colleague Peter Goodman reports, political leaders cheer them “as insurance against geopolitical turmoil and disasters like pandemics. Whatever happens, the nation will have its own supply of computer chips.” But the company building the plants is not American. It’s Taiwanese. American companies lack the money, the people and the experience to build them. “A tangle of bureaucracy often hinders ambitious visions, sowing confusion, uncertainty and delay,” Peter writes. Even in Phoenix, which will benefit from the plants, workers are in short supply and people are worried. They’re concerned about big buildings, water use, about dangerous chemicals. “Here is part of the explanation for delays at computer chip clusters from New York to Ohio to Texas,” Peter writes. “Here is why companies around the globe are reluctant to make things in the United States, fearing a bewildering array of regulations and trouble finding workers.” A sign of hope? Recently, a kind of anti-inertia platform for a moderate wing of the Democratic Party has emerged, reports Michael Kimmelman, who writes about building and buildings. Its advocates argue, he writes, “that America should increase the supply of housing and upgrade its infrastructure through targeted deregulation.” This platform, should it take root, might do wonders in reducing the amount of red tape and overcoming inertia to make new things. It’s a lot to ask. (Pessimism, of course, plagues us, too.) But Michael notes that there are small, incremental signs in America that we may be coming unstuck. I’ll let Michael take us home: The evidence is not yet in A.I., or in any single, epochal project equivalent to the Golden Gate Bridge, much less in an invention to revolutionize the built world on the level of the internal combustion engine. It is in myriad steps and indicators, like the recent trimming of environmental regulations that have, for years, stalled housing growth in California. Or in the rollback of single-family zoning laws in various cities and states, red and blue, from California to Montana to Maine. Now, let’s see what else is happening in the world. THE LATEST NEWS Venezuela The tanker seized off Venezuela regularly carried oil from countries under U.S. sanctions, data shows. Seizing more oil tankers could seriously damage the country’s economy. María Corina Machado, the leader of the Venezuela’s opposition, said she was able to leave the country with the help of the U.S. Politics The Senate deadlocked on proposals to avert rising health care costs, making it likely that Obamacare subsidies will expire at the end of the month. Trump signed an executive order that would stop states from regulating A.I. in favor of one federal framework. Mike Lindell, the MyPillow founder and Trump ally, will run for governor of Minnesota. Immigration A judge ordered the release of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia from immigration custody, saying that the Trump administration had detained him “without lawful authority.” The man accused of killing the political activist Charlie Kirk appeared in court for the first time since his arrest. A grand jury again rejected the Trump administration’s effort to indict Letitia James, the New York attorney general. International In Sofia, Bulgaria. Dimitar Kyosemarliev/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Bulgaria’s prime minister resigned after mass protests against government corruption. He had been in office less than a year. Reddit has sued the Australian government over its new policy that bans children under 16 from social media. Economy The S&P 500 reached a record high yesterday. America’s monthly trade deficit fell to its lowest level in five years after Trump’s imposition of sweeping global tariffs, in line with his goals. Other Big Stories Patients taking a new obesity drug developed by Eli Lilly lost more weight than with any drug now on the market, the company reported yesterday. Disney said it would buy a $1 billion stake in OpenAI and bring its characters to Sora, the A.I. company’s short-form video platform. That means users can make videos of themselves singing “Happy Birthday” with Mickey Mouse or swinging light sabers with Luke Skywalker. A DELUGE In Washington State. Grant Hindsley for The New York Times Heavy rains are flooding the Pacific Northwest. Rivers have swollen, soaking residential areas. Homes, cars and gas stations have been submerged. Roads have closed. Residents have fled for safety under “go now” evacuation orders. Here’s what’s happening: The storm has drenched Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho’s northern panhandle. It may spread farther east. Several people were rescued by helicopter after being trapped in their homes. Landslides and flooding have shut down major highways to Vancouver. There’s a high risk of avalanche in areas east of the city. More than 100,000 people in Washington have been ordered to evacuate. The Skagit and Snohomish Rivers, which run through the region, are predicted to crest at record levels. The rain is weakening. Read more about the storms. OPINIONS In Trump’s first term, his poor approval numbers were in spite of the economy. Now they’re because of it, Kristen Soltis Anderson writes. Rising health care spending is killing the American dream, Zack Cooper writes. Morning readers: Save on the complete Times experience. Experience all of The Times, all in one subscription — all with this introductory offer. You’ll gain unlimited access to news and analysis, plus games, recipes, product reviews and more. MORNING READS Edith Ingasiani and her daughter Blessings in Kenya. Kiana Hayeri for The New York Times She named her Blessings: In Saudi Arabia, where women can be jailed for giving birth outside marriage, a single Kenyan mother promised to get her daughter out — no matter what. Unlikely friends: Some dolphins are leading killer whales to salmon and earning their share of lunch. Your pick: The Morning’s most-read story yesterday was about how late night hosts deciphered Trump’s rambling speech on affordability. TODAY’S NUMBER 62 — That’s the percentage of Americans who own a drip coffee maker, according to the National Coffee Association. It’s an increase of 7 percent since 2020. (Only 11 percent report owning a cold-brew maker, but that’s a 57 percent increase since 2020.) Explore the rest of the coffee grounds. SPORTS Motorsports: NASCAR has settled an antitrust lawsuit. N.B.A.: A pair of Nike Air Ships Michael Jordan worn during his rookie season sold for almost $700,000 at a Sotheby’s auction. RECIPE OF THE DAY Ryan Liebe for The New York Times It’s latke season where I hang out, with loads of competition between family members and friends to see who can make the crispiest, most flavorful discs. My playbook this year: pickle latkes, with strips of julienned dill pickles mixed in with the grated potatoes and onion. The salty-sour pickle notes are beautiful against a dollop of sour cream or apple sauce, or both. Substitute dried potato flakes for the matzo if you’re serving the gluten-free. And mind this note carefully: You want even, consistent heat in your pan so that you can cook the latkes through evenly, without burning the exteriors. THE BEST PERFORMANCES Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst in “Roofman.” Davi Russo/Paramount Pictures We’re deep into the season of best-of lists. One I await eagerly is our critic Wesley Morris’s annual selection of great movie performances in categories that will never receive the attention of the Oscars. Best cigarette acting, for instance (that one went to Tânia Maria in “The Secret Agent”), or best acting in a helmet (Brad Pitt in “F1.”) There’s a best monologue from Delroy Lindo in “Sinners” this year, and a best straight face from Liam Neeson in “The Naked Gun.” How about strongest flex of anti-stardom? That’d be Julia Roberts in “After the Hunt.” I love how Wesley makes his cases. Here he is on Kirsten Dunst in “Roofman,” his choice for rawest single mom. Dunst plays Leigh, a mother who falls for an escaped criminal. “So shockingly instantaneous, so raw is her access to being seduced, to bliss, to heartbreak and protectiveness that I found myself wondering where she goes to find these feelings,” Wesley writes. Explore all the winners here. More on culture For his latest close read of a poem, our critic A.O. Scott takes up the Nobel laureate Louise Glück’s “Early December in Croton-on-Hudson,” published in 1968. It’s a winter poem, only 11 lines, cold until it bursts into flame at the end. Read it and see. As part of its pledge to remove illicit holdings from its collection, the National Museum of Asian Art, part of the Smithsonian Institution, said yesterday that it was returning three Khmer objects that were likely looted more than 50 years ago during Cambodia’s era of civil upheaval. Late night hosts joked about Trump’s “gold card.” THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Taylor Swift Lindsey Wasson/Associated Press Relive Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour with a six-part documentary series, “The End of an Era,” about the inner workings of the performances. (Someone in your house may be very into this.) It’s streaming on Disney+. Stop this habit that’s silently ruining your relationship. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was maypole. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Sports Connections and Strands. Before we go, I heard from a number of you yesterday about how we identified two journalists who reported on the Tate brothers. After I introduced them, I referred to them by their first names, not their last. That’s in line with our house style for newsletters, which is conversational and direct, a style we hope helps introduce you to the humans who produce our news. But some found it jarring, and I’m sorry for that. See you tomorrow. — Sam Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Host: Sam Sifton Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren

Director convicted of scamming $11M from Netflix and going on lavish spending spree NEW YORK (AP) — A Hollywood director was convicted Thursday on charges that he scammed Netflix out of $11 million for a show that never materialized, while he instead used the cash for lavish purchases that included several Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari and about $1 million in mattresses and luxury bedding. https://apnews.com/article/carl-rinsch-netflix-white-horse-scam-6a9c73d380a68f586f753cba6bff99f0?

Hundreds are quarantined in South Carolina as measles spreads in 2 US outbreaks Measles outbreaks are growing along the Utah-Arizona border and in South Carolina, where hundreds are in quarantine. https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-south-carolina-utah-arizona-3bfc561ecc16d8e80175effdae0791d4?

A Chinese whistleblower now living in the US is being hunted by Beijing with help from US tech The Chinese government is using an increasingly powerful tool to cement its power at home and vastly amplify it abroad: Surveillance technology, much of it originating in the U.S., an AP investigation has found. Read more. What to know: After being accused of corruption, retired Chinese official Li Chuanliang fled to the U.S. seeking asylum, fearing persecution from the Chinese government. He was warned not to return to China. Li says he’s being targeted for openly criticizing the Chinese government and denies criminal charges. More than 40 friends and relatives — including his pregnant daughter — were identified and detained, even by tracking down their cab drivers through facial recognition software. Three former associates died in detention, and for months, shadowy men Li believed to be Chinese operatives stalked him across continents, according to interviews and documents seen by The Associated Press. Within China, surveillance technology helped identify and punish almost 900,000 officials last year alone, nearly five times more than in 2012, according to state numbers. Outside China, the same technology is being used to threaten wayward officials, along with dissidents and alleged criminals, under what authorities call Operations “Fox Hunt” and “Sky Net.” Beijing says it is cracking down on corruption, but critics charge that such technology is used in China and elsewhere to stifle dissent and exact retribution on perceived enemies. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: Whistleblower describes being in China’s crosshairs

Washington state faces historic floods that have washed away homes and stranded families Days of torrential rain in Washington state has caused historic floods that have stranded families on rooftops, washed over bridges and ripped at least two homes from their foundations. Experts warn that even more flooding expected Friday could be catastrophic. Read more. What to know: Washington is under a state of emergency and evacuation orders are in place for tens of thousands of residents. Gov. Bob Ferguson on Thursday urged everyone to follow evacuation instructions as yet another river neared record levels. About 78,000 residents of a major agricultural region north of Seattle were ordered to evacuate the floodplain of the Skagit River, which was expected to crest Friday morning. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ The science behind the unusual weather conditions bringing trillions of gallons in persistent rain How to prepare your pet for winter

Indiana Republicans defy Trump and reject his House redistricting push in the state Indiana’s Republican-led Senate decisively rejected a redrawn congressional map Thursday that would have favored their party, defying months of pressure from President Donald Trump and delivering a stark setback to the White House ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Read more. What to know: The vote was overwhelmingly against the proposed redistricting, with more Republicans opposing than supporting the measure, signaling the limits of Trump’s influence even in one of the country’s most conservative states. Trump has been urging Republicans nationwide to redraw their congressional maps in an unusual campaign to help the party maintain its thin majority in the House of Representatives. Although Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina went along, Indiana did not. “The federal government should not dictate by threat or other means what should happen in our states,” said Spencer Deery, one of the Republican senators who voted no. District boundaries are usually adjusted once a decade after a new census. But Trump has described redistricting as an existential issue for the party as Democrats push to regain power in Washington. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ How gerrymandering is spreading across other US states New judicial panels to hear Wisconsin redistricting lawsuits for the first time US national park gift shops ordered to purge merchandise promoting DEI Trump led Republicans to power in 2024. But 2026 could be a different story Trump signs executive order to block state AI regulations The man accused of killing Charlie Kirk appears in court for 1st time Abrego Garcia won release from detention. He must check in with immigration officials 14 hours later Court blocks release of hundreds of immigrants arrested in Chicago-area crackdown Church nativity scenes add zip ties, gas masks and ICE to protest immigration raids Immigration crackdown leaves teens to care for siblings after parents get detained Justice Department again fails to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, AP sources say Senator says FAA administrator failed to sell multimillion-dollar airline stake as promised Arkansas becomes 1st state to sever ties with PBS, effective July 1 Trump pardons former Colorado elections clerk, but it alone won’t free her from prison Oklahoma Black Lives Matter leader indicted for fraud, money laundering Lawsuit challenges the approval of an exploratory drilling program in Alaska petroleum reserve Florida’s capital city approves plan to sell golf course built on slaves’ graves, despite outcry WATCH: Millions face higher health costs after Senate rejects rival ACA proposals

THIS DAY IN HISTORY December 12 1980 Da Vinci notebook sells for over $5M On December 12, 1980, American oil tycoon Armand Hammer pays $5,126,000 at auction for a notebook containing writings by the legendary artist Leonardo da Vinci. The manuscript, written around 1508, was one of some 30 similar books da Vinci produced during his lifetime on a variety of subjects. It... read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT African History 1963 Kenya declares independence from Britain American Revolution 1787 Pennsylvania ratifies the Constitution Arts & Entertainment 1967 “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” opens in theaters 1970 “Tears Of A Clown” gives Smokey Robinson & The Miracles their first #1 pop hit 1977 “Saturday Night Fever” premieres in New York Crime 1868 Vigilantes yank train robbers from jail and hang them 1913 Stolen “Mona Lisa” recovered in Florence 1989 Real estate mogul Leona Helmsley sentenced to prison 1997 14-year-old indicted for school shooting Inventions & Science 1901 First radio transmission sent across the Atlantic Ocean Sports 1965 NFL rookie Gale Sayers ties single-game TD record U.S. Presidents 1963 JFK memorial album sets record for sales World War II 1937 USS Panay sunk by Japanese

💰 1 for the road: $800,000 penny Photo: U.S. Mint Bidders doled out top dollar to get their hands on some of the final circulating pennies during yesterday's auction, held by California-based Stack's Bowers Galleries. One of the 232 three-coin penny sets sold for $800,000. Another set fetched $200,000, Axios Philadelphia's Mike D'Onofrio reports. Zoom in: Each set included two circulating pennies — one each from the Mint's facilities in Philadelphia and Denver — and a 24-karat gold uncirculated penny minted in Philly. The Philadelphia mint struck the final circulating one-cent coins in November.

🏟️ Naming Commanders' stadium Photo illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios; Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images When the new Commanders' stadium opens in 2030, its naming-rights deal could crack $1 billion — smashing the current record-holder, $700 million for LA's Crypto.com Arena, Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil reports. You can see why: Imagine an Axios Stadium. It'll be filled with Beltway insiders. Every time a broadcaster shows a beauty shot of Axios Stadium, powerful U.S. landmarks would be the backdrop. K Street is already trying all angles to get a foot in. Corporations are hiring premium sports consultants to engage team owner Josh Harris, and President Trump wants "Trump Stadium." 👀 Zoom in: You don't see many stadiums named for politicians. And it's hard to imagine the Commanders spurning a lucrative sponsorship — which would go a long way toward paying down the $4 billion stadium — just to please the president. But there are other ways the president could get his name up in D.C. lights. He's found megadonors to fund his new ballroom and the "Trump accounts" for kids. He could potentially do it again. Or he could land something else — like a Trump Hotel at RFK.

🫘 Bean boom Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios Grocery prices continue to squeeze budgets. But one New Orleans company is seeing sales growth: Camellia Beans. As American consumers look for affordable options, Camellia is creating one-and-done bean seasonings and even experimenting with Depression-era recipes, Axios New Orleans' Chelsea Brasted writes. 📈 Zoom in: The price of beef hit a historic high of $6.32 per pound in September. A pound of dried beans was just $1.63. "As the economy goes down, bean consumption goes up," says Camellia Beans CEO Vince Hayward. "You eat more beans when you have less money. That's a life imperative." The company recently introduced its new "Infusions" line, a single seasoning packet to make "a great pot of beans," Hayward says. His team developed new recipes inspired by cooking strategies from the Depression.

🗳️ Charted: Redistricting war Data: Axios research. Chart: Axios Visuals Indiana lawmakers' rejection of a plan to create two more Republican congressional seats yesterday brought more clarity to how the nationwide redistricting war could affect the midterms. Why it matters: Despite their setback in Indiana, Republicans still stand to pick up a few more seats than Democrats in mid-decade redistricting, Axios' Kate Santaliz reports. By the numbers: In the six states where redistricting efforts are essentially locked in — Texas, California, Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina and Utah — Republicans are likely to have a net gain of just one to four seats. That could make a difference come November '26. But it's a much smaller cushion than the White House envisioned when Trump kicked off the redistricting push. 📍 Gerrymandering efforts sweep nation ... Click here for capsules on redistricting in 17 states: Texas ... California ... Missouri ... North Carolina ... Ohio ... Utah ... Indiana ... Florida ... Virginia ... Louisiana ... Maryland ... Illinois ... Kansas ... New York ... Colorado ... Nebraska ... and Wisconsin.

🤖 Where AI race stands Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios Winning the AI race is no longer just about the hottest models. It's just as much about which company has the best path to making money soonest, Axios' Ina Fried reports. 💪 Google has been showing signs of a comeback for months, even before the release of its Nano Banana image generator and Gemini 3 language models. But generative AI still threatens to upend the search business that has funded the bulk of Google's empire. 🏆 OpenAI defined the category with ChatGPT, but is locked in competition with the latest Gemini model. Without a separate business to fund its operation, OpenAI must borrow heavily and quickly build products that generate revenue now. 🕶️ Meta is in the midst of a massive reboot after seeing its open-source Llama models fall behind the pack. The company went on a pricey hiring spree to bring in new leadership and is reportedly pinning its hopes on a new model, code-named Avocado, expected early next year. 💻 Anthropic flies somewhat under the radar due to its low presence in the consumer space, but Claude is still the go-to choice for many coders and enterprise customers. Like OpenAI, it has to fund its massive ambitions by rapidly growing its business and/or raising vast amounts of money. 🔭 Apple, Microsoft and Amazon are all in the game, as are a variety of Chinese brands and domestic startups. Go deeper.

🌿 Trump leans toward reclassifying pot Illustration: Maura Kearns/Axios President Trump is likely to loosen still-tough federal restrictions on marijuana use early next year, Axios' Alex Isenstadt reports. Why it matters: While conservatives have long expressed a degree of discomfort with pot, Trump has shown an openness to it. 🔎 Under the plan, Trump would reclassify marijuana — which under federal law is banned and faces the same restrictions as heroin — as a less-dangerous drug. That would ease regulations, make it easier to conduct marijuana-related medicinal research and create tax breaks for cannabis companies. It would not make marijuana federally legal for recreational use. Between the lines: Trump's team has been reviewing survey numbers showing growing support for reclassification. Public sentiment on pot use has been shifting for the past half-century, with Americans increasingly in favor of it. According to a recent Gallup poll, 64% support legalization, up from 36% in 2005. A White House official said no final decision had been made on the expected move, which was first reported by The Washington Post. 💰 Behind the scenes: Cannabis companies have been courting Trump. The pro-cannabis American Rights and Reform PAC has donated $1 million to a Trump-aligned super PAC. Several cannabis companies donated to his inaugural fund. Read on.

🦾 Trump tries to neuter state AI laws Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios President Trump signed an executive order last night to override state AI laws, setting up high-stakes clashes nationwide and inside his own party. Why it matters: The president and David Sacks, his AI and crypto czar, are moving aggressively in favor of industry to rein in state regulation of the technology, Axios' Mackenzie Weinger and Maria Curi report. The order aims to gut state AI laws by launching legal challenges and conditioning federal grants on compliance. MAGA populists made a failed last-minute bid to try to shape the executive order, pitching two draft proposals to the White House this week. 🔎 Zoom in: The executive order calls on government agencies to "check the most onerous and excessive" state laws in favor of a "minimally burdensome, uniform national policy framework." It directs the attorney general to set up an AI Litigation Task Force within 30 days to challenge state laws. ⚖️ Reality check: The order is likely to be challenged in court by states and consumer groups on the grounds that only Congress has the authority to override state laws, legal experts told the N.Y. Times. Between the lines: Sacks, the AI czar, posted on X that the order doesn't mean the administration will challenge every state AI law. "Far from it," he said. "The focus is on excessive and onerous State laws. We look forward to working with Congress to enact a stable and enduring framework that reduces unnecessary regulation, enables innovation, protects core values, and helps America win the AI race." White House fact sheet ... Executive order.

Trump's great power cooperation Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch; Photos: Getty Images President Trump's first term opened the age of "Great Power Competition" with China and Russia. His second is working to end it, Axios' Dave Lawler and Zachary Basu report. Why it matters: For the past decade, Washington has operated on the bipartisan consensus that China seeks to overtake the U.S., Russia seeks to undermine it, and reinforcing alliances in Europe and Asia is key to winning the 21st century. Trump is challenging that entire foundation, envisioning a new world order where great powers cut deals — and look the other way when needed, rather than restrain each other's ambitions. ⚡ Catch up quick: The first Trump administration declared a genocide in Xinjiang, blacklisted Huawei, and moved to ban TikTok. After returning to office, Trump kicked off a spiral of U.S.-China tariffs, threats and export bans, before striking a truce with President Xi Jinping in October. Lately, Trump has been sounding like the biggest China dove in Washington. 🇨🇳 Trump recently announced he'll be visiting Beijing in April. Xi will make a return trip later in 2026. A U.S. official said that under the October trade truce, China had "agreed to crack down on fentanyl precursors, purchase U.S. agricultural products, and keep rare earths flowing." This week, Trump stunned D.C.'s China hawks by lifting a ban on exports of Nvidia's H200 chips to China. The administration's bet is that selling to China will help reinforce U.S. dominance in designing the chips that power AI globally. The U.S. official noted that export controls on Nvidia's most advanced Blackwell chip remain in place. But it's a remarkable reversal, given that Trump 1.0 started construction on the high-tech firewall that Trump 2.0 is now lowering. 🇷🇺 Trump's emerging Russia strategy mirrors his shift on China — a move away from confrontation and toward accommodation, deal-making, and a willingness to accept territorial conquest. Trump's envoys are pressuring Ukraine to cede the entire Donbas region to Russia and envisioning a new era of "strategic stability" with Moscow that could unlock vast commercial opportunities. An early 28-point peace plan produced by U.S. and Russian officials calls for a "long-term economic cooperation agreement" in the areas of energy, natural resources, infrastructure, AI, data centers, rare earths and more. Trump's National Security Strategy is notably far less hostile to Russia than to the European Union, which Trump has cast as a "decaying" project of the old liberal order.

Skipper Tanker Revealed The oil tanker seized by the US military this week had been carrying sanctioned oil from Iran to Cuba and had a history of hiding its location, according to a maritime analytics firm. The company claims that for at least 80 days over the past two years, the tanker known as “Skipper” engaged in spoofing—a practice of falsifying location data in violation of a UN maritime treaty. Skipper's last known port call was Iran, where it allegedly arrived in July after visits to Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. Analysts say the ship loaded at least 1.1 million barrels of crude oil last month after engaging in rare ship-to-ship transfers. The vessel is owned by Marshall Islands-based Triton Navigation Corp., which the US says is run by Russian oil magnate Viktor Artemov. It is operated by a Nigeria-based company and flies a Guyana flag, though Guyana maintains it is not registered there. See lawmakers' reactions to the ship's seizure here.

🗽 Parting shot! Photo: Yuki Iwamura/AP This Christmas tree is outside the New York Stock Exchange. Happy shopping-wrapping weekend!

⚡️ Health care reset Hope springs eternal for moderate Senate Democrats who want to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits for millions of Americans. Why it matters: But today's failed vote in the Senate guarantees that health insurance rates will spike Jan. 1, the old deadline to cut a deal. "The toothpaste is out of the tube," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told us when we asked him about the chances of bipartisan talks next year. Schumer told us Dems are "always open" to talks with Republicans about health care reforms, even as he fumed about the vote. Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he's also open to bipartisan dealmaking, but there's deep pessimism about a near-term deal. Zoom in: Four Republicans voted with Democrats today to extend the ACA tax credits — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska. Democrats will need nine or 10 more. "There's a commitment on both sides of the aisle" to reach a compromise on health care that can pass the Senate, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), told us today. Last month, she helped find eight Democrats to vote with Republicans to end the government shutdown. What we're watching: The push to extend the subsidies may come from the House, where moderate GOP lawmakers are lining up behind a discharge petition to extend the ACA tax credits, despite their leadership's wishes. Democrats this year fractured on how to hold the line against Republicans in negotiations over health care. It's a trend to watch closely in 2026. The bottom line: Even Senate optimists acknowledge the need for a reset. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), another key moderate, said lawmakers have to "get by some of the noise right now" before they have an "earnest conversation" about reforms next year. — Stephen Neukam and Hans Nichols