Trump: Tariffs to be Imposed on Mexico, Canada, and China
US Pres.-elect Donald Trump on Monday pledged to use an executive order to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China after entering office on Jan. 20, 2025.
Trump said he'd levy a 25% tax on all goods coming in from Canada and Mexico while Chinese products would attract an extra 10% on top of additional tariffs he plans to impose through executive orders. The President-elect claimed he'd continue with tariffs until these nations curbed alleged illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
Republican narrative
Pres.-elect Trump's bold tariff strategy offers both a transformative vision for the US economy and a strong tool to achieve foreign policy goals. He aims to revitalize American manufacturing, protect domestic jobs, and counter unfair trade practices from nations like China. These tariffs will create a fairer global market, penalizing countries that exploit the system while favoring US workers. Moreover, the revenue from tariffs could fund critical initiatives while incentivizing companies to invest at home.
Democratic narrative
Donald Trump has primed an economic time bomb that would devastate US industries, inflate consumer prices, and shatter global supply chains. His policies risk a trade war, skyrocketing costs, and widespread job losses in industries reliant on integrated North American and global trade. His plan undermines existing trade agreements, destabilizes diplomatic ties, and ignores the reality that tariffs are paid by US consumers and businesses. This short-sighted policy guarantees economic pain without solving financial issues in the long run.
Nerd narrative
There is a 50% chance that the Trade Openness Index for the United States in 2030 will be at least 29.9, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Study: Vaping Disrupts Vascular System, Oxygen Levels
According to a new study presented at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting, vaping, even without nicotine, immediately reduces vascular function. It also decreases venous oxygen saturation, indicating less oxygen uptake by the lungs.
The study, which was conducted at the University of Pennsylvania but not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal, showed that while nicotine vapes, or e-cigarettes, had the largest impact on vascular health, non-nicotine variants also caused measurable harm.
Narrative A
While scientists have unfortunately failed to give as much attention to vaping as it does smoking, the research still indicates that the negatives outweigh the positives — particularly regarding impaired vascular function, oxidative stress, and increased addiction risk among youth. Governments must ban or heavily regulate vaping products to prevent an epidemic of addiction and long-term health consequences.
Narrative B
While vapes must be kept out of the hands of children and non-smokers to prevent nicotine addiction and long-term health risks, they still remain a helpful tool for adults attempting to quit smoking. E-cigarettes offer a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes as part of a harm-reduction strategy, and smokers deserve the right to make the switch as they work toward healthier habits.
Narrative C
While the health industry's push for safer alternatives — like marijuana and vapes over cigarettes or "mocktails" over alcohol — is well-intentioned, it often promotes antisocial, synthetic substitutes that lack the communal and experiential aspects of the original activities. Life is full of risk and reward trade-offs, and while perfect health is of course desirable, it shouldn't be the sole factor in life decisions.
Nerd narrative
There is a 50% chance that a country will completely ban civilian tobacco consumption/smoking by December 2033, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Report: UK Police Reducing Content on X
A new study conducted by Reuters over three months up to Nov. 13 shows that several UK police forces are reducing their content on social media platform X compared to a year prior.
Reuters claims that, out of 44 territorial police forces and the British Transport Police, eight had "noticeably fewer posts," including a 95% reduction by West Midlands Police and an approximately 75% decrease by Lancashire Police.
Left narrative
With Bluesky on the march, and X's increasingly hate-filled content only encouraged by Trump's election victory, we're likely at the beginning of a dramatic shift in the social media landscape. Developed by former Twitter co-founder Jack Dempsey, Bluesky is a nostalgic return to the days when online discourse and differences of opinion were not dominated by algorithm-enhanced disinformation, which helped catalyze the violence witnessed this summer.
Right narrative
The UK government cares more about suppressing free speech than it does tackling real crime and protecting the public. Starmer's war against Musk is nothing more than an ideological fantasy undermining the very principles of liberty that Britain has championed throughout history. Woke culture and the socialist crusade against X and individual freedoms will, despite the best efforts of the establishment, fail in the UK just like it did at the ballot box in the US.
Nerd narrative
There is a 50% chance that the England and Wales prison rate will be at least 129 per 100K people five years after Labour's general election victory, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
France Mass Rape Trial: Prosecutors Want 20-Year Sentence for Pelicot
French prosecutors are requesting that Dominique Pelicot, 71, who admitted to drugging his wife, Gisele, and organizing her mass rape by dozens of men over nearly a decade, receive the maximum 20-year prison sentence for his crimes.
Regarding the 49 other men, aged from their 20s to 70s, prosecutors are seeking sentences including four years for sexual assault and ten years for aggravated rape, with one facing 11 years due to prior rape and domestic violence convictions.
Narrative A
France must reform its rape laws to prioritize consent and address systemic victim-blaming. The Dominique Pelicot case highlights these dangerous legal gaps, as current definitions of rape exclude consent violations. Societal and institutional changes — such as men calling out sexual misconduct when they see it — are also essential to end the normalization of gender-based violence.
Narrative B
While France should certainly work to enhance protections for victims, it's important to also maintain legal protections for the accused. Regarding the public nature of this trial, some senior lawyers have suggested that such information should only be scrutinized once individuals have been convicted to avoid stigma and judgment for those who are innocent. Anonymity is a key protection that should be afforded to all defendants.
Canada: Court Orders Release of LifeLabs Data Breach Report
Following a 2019 hacking incident at LifeLabs Inc., which compromised the personal health data of up to 15M Canadians, a joint investigation by Ontario and British Columbia privacy commissioners finalized in 2020 has been published, with the report concluding that LifeLabs failed to safeguard client information.
The report, which also found LifeLabs had collected more health information than necessary, was released after the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the company's appeal to have it kept hidden on the grounds of attorney-client privilege.
Pro-establishment narrative
Canada faces rising data breaches driven by cybercrime and state-sponsored attacks, targeting personal, financial, and health data. As threat actors grow more sophisticated, the government has allocated $917.4M to addressing the issue, strengthened the Cyber Centre, and begun offering public guidance to enhance resilience. More companies must implement their own strict safeguards and share intelligence with the government.
Establishment-critical narrative
While discussions about cyber threat protections are important, we should also discuss how these companies collect and sell our data as a business model. From fitness routines to sleep and menstrual cycle trackers, health tech companies profit from giving third parties access to our most intimate details. It's time that patients be allowed to take ownership of their personal details.
Report: High-Ranking Military Officials From Brazil Pressured Bolsonaro to Stage Coup
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that high-ranking Brazilian military officers in late 2022 sought to pressure then-Pres. Jair Bolsonaro to stage a coup to keep his election opponent and president-elect, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, out of office.
This comes as the news outlet has gained access to 53 audio recordings obtained by Brazil's federal police, including messages in which a colonel tells retired Brig. Gen. Mário Fernandes, then the deputy secretary general for the presidency, that "it [would] be either a civil war [then] or civil war later" and that they should speak to Bolsonaro.
Right narrative
These audio recordings further expose that the right-wing Brazilian leader has been politically persecuted in a blatant example of leftist lawfare. It was hardly a surprise that Brazilian authorities formally called for him and several of his allies to be charged with coup plot, as such a move has been expected since his first day out of office.
Left narrative
Even if this coup failed, accountability for what happened in Brazil isn't only a matter of justice but is crucial for the future of the country's democracy. Investigations have revealed a coordinated, multi-pronged attempt by Bolsonaro and his accomplices to undermine the election's result. The political influence of Brazil's military can't be underestimated, and this is a concern that politicians must confront in the future.
Nerd narrative
There's an 8% chance that Brazil will experience a successful coup d'etat before 2040, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Hong Kong High Court Rules in Favor of LGBTQ Rights
Hong Kong's top court, the Court of Final Appeal, ruled in favor of same-sex married couples on Tuesday, granting them equal access to subsidized housing and inheritance.
Respondents Nick Infinger and Henry Li, along with Li's late partner Edgar Ng, successfully challenged discriminatory housing policies and inheritance laws, arguing that this violated their right to equality under the Basic Law.
Narrative A
This is a big win for the progress of LGBTQ equality and Nick Infinger, who's been fighting this legal battle for ten years. However, the government still needs to act on its 2023 promise to create a legal framework for same-sex partnerships, ensuring fair treatment and full recognition. Until that happens, many same-sex couples won't be able to legally marry, let alone enjoy the rights established by this ruling.
Narrative B
The West's perception of Hong Kong represents the forced Western influence over governments and society. Countries that fall prey to this hegemonic phenomenon also deal with economic issues, further pitting citizens against one another. The modern globalist agenda strips nations of their rich traditional heritage and replaces it with foreign ideas that can distort traditional cultural norms.
Nerd narrative
There is a 50% chance that by 2032, the share of people living in countries where same-sex marriage is legal will be at least 21.3%, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Biden Admin. Proposes Expanding Coverage of Weight-Loss Drugs
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday announced it's proposing a rule making Medicare and Medicaid recipients eligible to have the cost for weight-loss drugs, including Wegovy and Zepbound, covered starting in 2026.
The rule, which wouldn't be finalized until January, would open coverage to anyone considered obese — a body mass index of 30 or higher. The Biden administration estimates an additional 3.5M Medicare enrollees and 4M people on Medicaid would qualify.
Democratic narrative
This is a smart move to make these drugs available to more people and allow obese people to treat their condition before they have to deal with more serious diseases. This expansion will also help close the gap between wealthy individuals who can already access the drugs and low- and middle-income people who haven't been able to obtain them. It'd be wise for Trump to stay out of the way of this popular rule taking effect.
Republican narrative
The Biden administration is trying to sabotage Trump's attempt to fulfill his promise of cutting federal spending by forcing him to consider stopping an expensive-but-popular rule from taking effect. But Americans elected Trump to take on the establishment, including Big Pharma, and Kennedy will lead the battle and show the electorate better ways to get healthy without risking harmful side effects.
Israeli Security Cabinet Approves Lebanon Cease-fire
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced on Tuesday that the nation's security cabinet had approved a cease-fire deal in Lebanon, with the prime minister saying this would allow Israel to focus on "the Iranian threat," allow Israeli forces to rest, and isolate Hamas.
Netanyahu said that Israel would maintain "full freedom of military action," vowing to attack Hezbollah if it tried to rearm. Initial reports suggest that the deal's wording is ambiguous regarding Israel's ability to retaliate against any potential violations on Hezbollah's part. The cease-fire is expected to take effect on Wednesday.
Pro-establishment narrative
It is imperative that a cease-fire in Lebanon is agreed upon and properly enforced. Both sides have been willing to compromise, and US mediation has seemingly borne fruit. The US will continue to play a leading role in de-escalating this terrible regional conflict and ensuring that the Lebanese border remains quiet.
Pro-Israel narrative
Though Israel rightfully still has reservations regarding a cease-fire in Lebanon, the time is ripe for a deal. Israel has decimated Hezbollah's leadership, seriously degraded its rocket arsenal, and destroyed its terrorist infrastructure along the border, demonstrating a clear Israeli victory over the group. Nothing is yet set in stone, but Israel's campaign in Lebanon has been quite successful.
Pro-Palestine narrative
Of course, Israel is perpetrating as many massacres as possible in Lebanon before a cease-fire is implemented, launching massive strikes across the country. It's also not clear if Israel will stick to the agreement. Either way, Israel's genocide in Gaza has continued unabated and must not be forgotten.
Narrative D
Israel is looking for a cease-fire in Lebanon because it failed miserably at reoccupying South Lebanon. Though a deal has not yet been agreed upon, Hezbollah has remained steadfast in its defense of Lebanese sovereignty and the Lebanese people, successfully preventing Israel from achieving its goals.