Trump pushes Ukraine peace; China ramps up military drills near Taiwan
President Donald Trump hosted Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend and then spoke by phone with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. After years of war, could this finally be the moment that changes the trajectory?
Plus, a powerful bomb cyclone tears across the country to close out the year. Snow, ice and fierce winds hammer the Upper Midwest, the Northeast and even parts of the South.
And new video shows a deadly helicopter collision in the skies over New Jersey.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Monday, December 29, 2025.
Trump hosts Zelenskyy in Florida, says peace deal possible within weeks
President Donald Trump says the U.S. may be closer than ever to a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. However, he warned it could still unravel just as quickly.
Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday at Mar-a-Lago, holding hours of talks before stepping in front of cameras together.
Trump said negotiators are making progress but stressed that the moment remains fragile.
“It could also go poorly, we could have something where you have one item that you’re not thinking about that’s a big item, breaks it up,” Trump said. “Look, it’s been a difficult negotiation, very detailed.”
The president suggested a resolution could come within weeks if talks hold. He added that the two sides appear more aligned now than at any point since the war began.
“I really believe we’re probably…closer than, by far, closer than ever before with both parties. We had some times where he [Zelenskyy] was close, but President Putin wasn’t. Then, when President Putin was close, he wasn’t; you saw that in the White House. But I think they both want to see that happen.”
Any agreement would still need buy-in from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spoke with Trump by phone Sunday, and is expected to do so again soon.
Trump said, U.S., Ukrainian, and European teams will continue meeting over the coming weeks, with more talks likely in January.
All of this diplomacy comes as the war on the ground rages on. Russia launched its longest sustained assault of the year on Kyiv over the weekend, killing at least two people, wounding dozens, and knocking out heat and power across parts of the city in freezing temperatures.
Zelenskyy called today’s meeting “productive,” saying the peace plan is about 90% complete. However, the toughest issues remain unresolved, including territory and long-term security guarantees.
Winter storm threatens holiday travel with blizzard conditions, high winds
A powerful winter storm is making its way across the country, and for millions of Americans, the worst impacts will hit Monday. From the upper Midwest to the Northeast, a rapidly intensifying storm known as a bomb cyclone is bringing blizzard conditions, dangerous winds and a travel mess at one of the busiest times of the year.
In central Minnesota, whiteout conditions triggered pileups and crashes overnight, with officials warning travel could be life-threatening through the morning hours.Blizzard warnings remain in effect across much of the state, including the Twin Cities, where heavy snow and wind are slamming visibility.
Air travel is taking a major hit.
Since Friday, over 4,000 flights have been canceled nationwide, including more than 800 on Monday, with thousands more delayed.
At airports from Minneapolis to western New York, crews are battling snow-covered runways and near-zero visibility even as planes continue to take off and land in brutal conditions.
In New York, the storm delivered the city’s biggest snowfall in nearly three years.
Central Park picked up more than four inches. While skies briefly cleared, colder air is moving in on Monday, which could turn slush into ice, making roads and sidewalks slick, with the ball drop just a few days away.
Farther south, the same system is driving damaging winds and severe weather.
In parts of Kentucky and Illinois, powerful gusts sent debris flying and prompted tornado warnings Sunday. It was a reminder that this storm is hitting hard on many fronts.
Cell phone video captures helicopters colliding midair in New Jersey
A new video from southern New Jersey shows a terrifying midair collision, with two helicopters spiraling out of the sky and crashing to the ground.
It happened just before noon on Sunday over Hammonton, near the municipal airport. Officials say the helicopters collided in midair, killing one pilot and leaving another critically injured.
There were no passengers on board.
A cell phone video posted online shows at least one helicopter spiraling as it falls. Fire crews rushed in and extinguished flames that engulfed one of the aircraft.
At the airport cafe, the shock hit close to home.
“They were just at our cafe having breakfast. They’re regulars, they come in every week or every other week. They fly in together,” said Sal Silipino, owner of Apron Café. “I shouted out to my wife, ‘I think those two guys just crashed,’ and it’s a little bit of a disbelief.”
That coffee shop owner says he watched the two pilots take off together, something they had done many times before.
Authorities say it’s still unclear what caused the collision. The helicopters were small aircraft.
The FAA and the NTSB are now investigating, focusing on flight paths, visibility, and whether the pilots could see one another before impact.
Pipe bomb suspect says 2020 election stolen, claims devices weren’t aimed at lawmakers
The man accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican National Committee buildings in Washington, D.C., the day before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, now says he was not targeting Congress or the 2020 election certification.
According to a Justice Department filing released Sunday, Brian Cole Jr. told investigators he believed someone needed to “speak up” for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen. Still, he said his actions were not aimed at lawmakers.
Prosecutors said that during an interview with law enforcement following his Dec. 4 arrest, Cole said he wasn’t a political person. However, he said he felt “something was wrong” after the election and believed people felt their voices were being “thrown away.”
In the filing, Cole told FBI agents he didn’t like either political party when asked why he placed pipe bombs outside both party headquarters.
Investigators said Cole admitted he set the devices on 60-minute timers but did not test them beforehand. The filing also says he told agents he was “pretty relieved” the bombs did not explode, adding he placed them at night because he didn’t want to kill anyone.
The filing comes as prosecutors seek to keep him in custody while he awaits trial. Cole is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for a detention hearing.
China stages drills near Taiwan amid new US arms deal with the island nation
China has stepped up military pressure on Taiwan, launching new joint drills around the island and calling them a “stern warning” to both separatists and outside powers.
Taiwan responded by placing its forces on alert and accusing Beijing of being the region’s “biggest destroyer of peace.”
The drills come as the U.S. advances one of its largest-ever arms sales to Taiwan, a move that has sharply heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.
China said the exercises focus on precision strike training, combat readiness and the ability to impose what it calls a “systemic” blockade, including control and deterrence beyond the island chain.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said it has deployed appropriate forces in response and is conducting its own combat readiness drills, adding that it is prepared to “take concrete action to defend the values of democracy and freedom.”
French screen icon Brigitte Bardot dies at 91
Brigitte Bardot, a French icon of the 1950s and 1960s, died Sunday in southern France.
Bardot burst onto the global stage in 1956 with the film “And God Created Woman.” Directed by her husband at the time, the movie caused an international scandal, featuring Bardot as a long-legged, uninhibited woman dancing barefoot on tables, defying the era’s norms.
She went on to star in more than two dozen films and became instantly recognizable for her blonde hair, voluptuous figure and signature pout — an image that came to symbolize a new kind of female freedom.
In France, her likeness appeared everywhere, on statues, coins and even postage stamps.
After stepping away from acting, Bardot reinvented herself as a fierce animal-rights activist. She traveled to the Arctic to protest the killing of baby seals. She once described humanity as “an insatiable predator,” saying animals suffer with “no power and no words to defend themselves.”
In 1985, France awarded her the Legion of Honor.
Later in life, her activism became increasingly political and far more controversial. Bardot became outspoken against Muslim immigration and was convicted multiple times for inciting racial hatred.
Still, to many in France, she remained an enduring cultural icon.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X that Bardot had universal brilliance, adding, “We mourn a legend.”
Bardot was 91 years old.
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Presidential power, culture wars dominate Supreme Court’s January docket
As the Supreme Court ushers in the new year, its January docket reflects some of the country’s highest-stakes culture wars and political showdowns. Halfway through the 2020s, the lineup reveals a snapshot of America’s current zeitgeist.
Trans women in sports. Second Amendment rights. Corporate responsibility. Climate change. All are among the hot-button topics dominating the six cases the justices will hear next month.
The court has a solid, 6-3 conservative majority. But that doesn’t necessarily foretell the outcome of the high-profile cases on tap for January.
“Overall this term, the big question will be, will the Republican-appointed block split — and if so, in what ways?” Zach Shemtob, executive editor at SCOTUSblog, told Straight Arrow News. “The big issue then is will there be fissures among the Republican-appointed justices? And that is likely to determine the outcome of some of these cases.”
The justices cherry-picked just a small portion of the thousands of cases vying for their attention. The justices’ decisions could potentially change — or even reshape — the fabric of the nation. Read the full story now>
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
