On today's podcast:
1) President Trump looked to reassure Americans concerned about the rising cost of living by announcing plans to award a special holiday payment to military service members and roll out new housing reforms in the new year. Trump announced the plans Wednesday during a prime-time address from the White House, which he used to extol his accomplishments from his first year back in the White House and convince voters they should still blame his predecessor for persistent economic anxieties. Trump’s biggest announcement was a move to award service members $1,776 payments, a decision that should provide a holiday boost to 1.45 million Americans.
2) The US has approved a package of arms sales to Taiwan worth up to $11 billion — one of its biggest ever — a move that drew criticism from Beijing. The approvals announced late Wednesday by the State Department cover a broad range of equipment, including missiles, drones and artillery systems aimed at strengthening the democracy’s defenses. The package includes the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, valued at up to $4.05 billion and howitzer guns worth about $4 billion. The total value of the weaponry is up to $11.154 billion, according to a statement from Taiwan’s Defense Ministry. The State Department said that the final amount would be lower depending on factors such as budget authority and military needs. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun later said his nation “strongly opposes and condemns” the US arms sale.
3) European Union leaders will try to overcome staunch resistance to both a funding plan for Ukraine and a massive trade deal with South America during a summit in Brussels starting Thursday — insisting that the bloc’s reputation is on the line. The gathering has taken on unusually high stakes as the EU is up against deadlines on both fronts. Officials say the EU’s Ukraine funding plans could fall apart if no agreement is found at the summit, forcing everyone back to the drawing board. And the trade pact with the Mercosur bloc — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay — may enter a prolonged freeze if the EU can’t approve it before a tentative signing ceremony on Saturday
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