During a visit to Fort Campbell in Tennessee, US Vice-President JD Vance sparked a lighthearted debate about the traditional Thanksgiving meal while serving holiday dinners to military personnel. Vance, known for his candid remarks, humorously questioned the widespread appeal of turkey, a staple of the American Thanksgiving feast. His comments came as he engaged with troops, expressing gratitude for their service and dedication. The event highlighted the importance of connecting with service members during the holiday season, even as it playfully challenged long-standing culinary traditions. Vance’s visit underscored the administration’s commitment to supporting military families and fostering a sense of community during national celebrations.
标签： North America
北美洲
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Basketball player, 20, dies after college game
The basketball community is mourning the tragic loss of Ethan Dietz, a 20-year-old forward from Connors State College in Warner, Oklahoma. Dietz sustained a severe head injury during a game against Grayson College in Denison, Texas, on Saturday. Despite being rushed to a local hospital, he succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday morning. Standing at 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 meters), Dietz was a key player for the Cowboys, starting the first eight games of the season with an impressive average of 11 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Dietz, who hailed from Conway, Arkansas, was in his second year at Connors State College, where he was celebrated not only for his athletic prowess but also for his academic dedication and strong character. Bill Muse, the athletic director and head coach of the men’s basketball team, described Dietz as the epitome of a dedicated player and a great teammate. In response to this heartbreaking event, the college has canceled several basketball games and organized a campus vigil to honor Dietz’s life. Dr. Ron Ramming, the president of Connors State College, expressed the profound impact of Dietz’s loss, emphasizing his embodiment of the values of hard work and teamwork that define a true Cowboy.
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Chinese audit chief attends UN review meeting in New York
Hou Kai, Auditor General of China’s National Audit Office and a prominent member of both the UN Board of Auditors and the UN Panel of External Auditors, recently participated in high-level meetings at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The 55th Special Session of the UN Board of Auditors and the 65th session of the UN Panel of External Auditors were held from Monday to Tuesday, bringing together global leaders in auditing and governance. During the Board of Auditors session, attendees reviewed the progress report for the latter half of 2025, strategized the 2026 audit plan, and addressed critical matters referred by UN legislative bodies. Hou emphasized the Board’s significant contributions to the UN’s reform, management, and governance improvements this year. He expressed his commitment to ensuring the Chinese audit team maintains its independence and professionalism in the first half of 2026, fulfilling its mandate from the UN General Assembly before his six-year term concludes. At the Panel of External Auditors meeting, Hou engaged in discussions with other members and UN officials on key topics, including the UN80 Initiative, financial and administrative challenges, digital transformation, and audit practices across the UN system. Additionally, Hou inspected ongoing Chinese audit operations at the UN Secretariat and met with Chinese auditors on-site, encouraging them to uphold international standards and contribute to a more efficient, transparent, and sustainable UN.
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US transportation secretary wants more civility in air travel. Not everyone is on board
As the United States braces for its busiest Thanksgiving travel season in 15 years, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has launched a campaign urging air travelers to embrace civility and dress more respectfully. Titled ‘The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You,’ the initiative draws inspiration from the 1950s and 60s, aiming to restore decorum in modern air travel. However, the campaign has sparked widespread criticism, with many arguing that it overlooks the root causes of passenger frustration, such as flight delays, cramped seating, and stressful airport experiences. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) predicts over 52,000 flights on November 25 alone, underscoring the challenges travelers face. Aviation experts and social media users alike have questioned the efficacy of Duffy’s message, pointing out that declining travel conditions, rather than passenger behavior, are the primary issue. Since 2019, in-flight outbursts have surged by 400%, with 13,800 unruly passenger incidents recorded since 2021. Despite these statistics, experts argue that air travel today is safer and more accessible than in previous decades, though improvements in comfort and efficiency are still needed. While some have praised Duffy’s call for kindness, others emphasize that airlines and regulatory bodies must address systemic issues to truly enhance the travel experience.
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Euro zone banks should prepare for risk of dollar squeeze, ECB says
The European Central Bank has issued a critical directive to major euro zone financial institutions, urging immediate preparation for potential U.S. dollar liquidity strains exacerbated by heightened currency volatility under the Trump administration. This warning forms the centerpiece of the ECB’s latest Financial Stability Review, which identifies unprecedented dollar squeeze scenarios as a paramount concern for European banking stability.
According to the comprehensive assessment, a select group of systemically important euro zone banks with substantial dollar-denominated operations must significantly bolster their capital reserves and liquid dollar assets. These institutions—including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Crédit Agricole, Groupe BPCE, ING, Banco Santander, and Société Générale—collectively hold approximately €681 billion in dollar securities while maintaining €712 billion in dollar-denominated lending portfolios.
The ECB’s analysis highlights several vulnerability points: stretched market valuations, escalating trade tariffs, mounting corporate debt, and the emerging risk profile of stablecoins. However, the most acute concern revolves around potential disruptions in dollar funding markets, where European banks typically secure dollar liquidity through repurchase agreements and foreign exchange swaps.
While not explicitly detailed in the official report, ECB officials have privately contemplated extreme scenarios including the Federal Reserve potentially terminating its emergency liquidity swap arrangement with the European Central Bank—a critical backstop mechanism maintained since the global financial crisis. Such an event could trigger catastrophic dollar outflows that would rapidly exhaust existing liquidity buffers.
ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos sought to downplay immediate concerns regarding swap line accessibility, emphasizing during a press conference that ‘these bilateral swap lines represent crucial mechanisms for maintaining financial stability on both sides of the Atlantic.’ His comments echoed similar reassurances recently provided by New York Fed President John Williams.
The central bank’s assessment concludes that while current dollar asset-liability mismatches remain ‘limited’ through careful maturity alignment strategies, these measures ‘do not fully eliminate liquidity risk’ during periods of severe market stress. The ECB therefore recommends that institutions maintain substantial dollar asset reserves to counterbalance potential outflows while functioning as stabilizing intermediaries in turbulent markets.
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India bets on homegrown AI with launch of Atomesus
India is taking a significant leap in the global artificial intelligence (AI) arena with the launch of Atomesus AI, its first large-scale, indigenous AI platform. Developed by a team of young engineers with research backgrounds at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Atomesus AI is headquartered in Noida and aims to rival global giants like OpenAI and Google. The platform offers intelligent writing, coding, research, automation, and creative tools, all with a distinctly Indian perspective. Its motto, ‘Nation First. Intelligence for All,’ underscores its vision of national self-reliance and technological independence. Atomesus AI operates on its own model family—Atomesus 1, 1.5, and 1.5 Pro—built using transformer-based neural networks, the same architecture that powers leading large language models worldwide. Unlike many competitors, it runs entirely on Indian servers hosted in AWS India regions, ensuring full compliance with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act. This focus on data sovereignty is a key differentiator, particularly for businesses and government agencies cautious about foreign dependencies. The platform’s origins trace back to ISRO projects, where its founders developed expertise in high-performance computing and resource-efficient algorithms. This foundation enables Atomesus AI to deliver speed and affordability, utilizing techniques like model compression and batch processing to maintain low costs without compromising performance. Language is another area where Atomesus AI excels, supporting Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and other Indic languages, making it culturally and linguistically relevant for millions of users. From students seeking homework assistance to enterprises drafting proposals, Atomesus AI positions itself as a comprehensive solution for diverse needs. Beyond its technical capabilities, the launch of Atomesus AI reflects India’s broader ambition to transition from a consumer of global technology to a creator. It aligns with national initiatives like Digital India and Atmanirbhar Bharat, signaling a future where India could emerge as a significant player in AI innovation. As global debates around AI ethics, privacy, and control intensify, Atomesus AI offers an alternative rooted in transparency and local governance. For India, this is more than a product launch—it’s a statement of intent: to lead, not follow, in shaping the next era of intelligent technology.
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US Senator Jim Justice agrees to pay over $5m in long-overdue taxes
Senator Jim Justice, a prominent Republican figure and former governor of West Virginia, has agreed to settle a staggering $5 million in overdue taxes, just hours after being sued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The settlement resolves a lawsuit alleging that Justice and his wife failed to fulfill their tax obligations dating back to 2009. Justice, who transitioned from leading West Virginia to serving as a first-term senator in 2025, has a background rooted in his family’s extensive coal empire, which once controlled numerous mines across multiple states. In October, Justice dismissed the tax assessment against him as “politically motivated,” drawing parallels to the challenges faced by former President Donald Trump. The IRS revealed that the couple owed $5.16 million in back taxes and interest, which they have now agreed to repay in full, though a specific timeline remains undisclosed. Despite Forbes estimating Justice’s net worth at $1.9 billion in 2021, it plummeted to “less than zero” by 2025. The senator and his family are also grappling with additional financial pressures, including $1.4 million in liens related to unpaid sales taxes at their historic resort, The Greenbrier, and its sporting club. Furthermore, the IRS has filed over $8 million in liens against the couple for other unpaid personal taxes. The settlement marks a significant development in Justice’s ongoing financial and political challenges.
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Georgia prosecutor drops 2020 election interference case against Trump
In a significant legal development, a Georgia prosecutor has dismissed the 2020 election-interference case against former President Donald Trump. Pete Skandalakis, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, filed a motion to dismiss the case, which had accused Trump and others of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the state in favor of Joe Biden. This case was the last remaining criminal legal action against Trump related to the 2020 election. Initially brought by district attorney Fani Willis, the case faced turmoil when Willis was removed by the state’s supreme court due to a personal scandal involving a romantic relationship with a special prosecutor assigned to the case, which created an ‘appearance of impropriety.’ Skandalakis, who appointed himself to the case after Willis’ disqualification and other state prosecutors declined to take it, stated in his motion to a Fulton County judge that he was discontinuing the case ‘to serve the interests of justice and promote judicial finality.’ Trump’s attorney welcomed the dismissal, calling it an end to ‘lawfare.’ This breaking news story is still developing, and further details are expected shortly.
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Fallout from ‘illegal orders’ video escalates battle with Democrats over US patriotism
A recent video released by six Democratic lawmakers has ignited a fierce partisan debate in the United States, centering on the definition of treason and patriotism in an increasingly polarized political climate. The 90-second video, featuring lawmakers with military or national security backgrounds, criticized former President Donald Trump and urged military personnel to refuse ‘unlawful orders.’ While the specific orders were not detailed, they are believed to reference the deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities and Navy raids in the Caribbean. The lawmakers emphasized that threats to the U.S. Constitution come not only from abroad but also from within the country. Trump swiftly condemned the video, labeling it ‘seditious behavior’ punishable by death and calling for the arrest of the lawmakers. His comments were echoed on Truth Social, with some posts advocating for their execution. The Pentagon has since launched an investigation into Senator Mark Kelly, one of the six, for potential violations of military law. Legal experts, however, argue that recalling Kelly to active duty for prosecution is unprecedented and unlikely to succeed. The FBI is also probing the lawmakers for alleged ‘wrongdoing.’ This controversy underscores a broader ideological clash between Republicans and Democrats over patriotism. Trump has long championed American exceptionalism and military displays, while Democrats have sought to redefine patriotism as a commitment to constitutional ideals. Recent protests and Democratic campaigns have emphasized flag-waving pride, signaling a strategic shift to reclaim patriotism as a Democratic value. Despite the investigations and Trump’s attacks, the lawmakers remain defiant, framing their actions as a patriotic defense of the Constitution.
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Canada’s seven-time Olympic winner banned for two years over rule violation
Canadian swimming sensation Penny Oleksiak, the nation’s most decorated Olympian, has been handed a two-year suspension for violating anti-doping regulations. The International Testing Agency (ITA) revealed on Tuesday that Oleksiak committed three ‘whereabout failures’ within a 12-month period. Athletes are mandated to provide daily location details and a specific one-hour window for out-of-competition drug testing. Oleksiak, a seven-time Olympic medalist, rose to fame during the 2016 Rio Games, becoming Canada’s youngest Olympic champion at just 16 years old. The 25-year-old swimmer, born in Toronto, will be eligible to return to competition in July 2027. Suzanne Paulins, CEO of Swimming Canada, acknowledged Oleksiak’s explanation that the violations were unintentional and emphasized her commitment to clean sport. ‘Anti-doping regulations are crucial for maintaining fairness in competition,’ Paulins stated. ‘We will miss Penny on the national team and look forward to her return.’ Oleksiak was notified of the case in July and voluntarily withdrew from the world aquatics championships, accepting a provisional suspension. She maintains that the violations did not involve any banned substances and reiterated her status as a clean athlete. Despite the suspension, Oleksiak could potentially compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.