Unusual Whales

Biden to announce another Ukraine aid package totaling $1.2 billion

The Biden administration is set to announce its final aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), valued at approximately $1.2 billion, in the coming days, according to a Dec. 20 report from Reuters citing unnamed sources. Since the start of the Biden presidency, the U.S. has

I should have invaded Ukraine earlier, Putin has said

Vladimir Putin’s annual end-of-year press conference, known for its marathon length, has wrapped up. The Russian president addressed a broad range of domestic and international issues during the session, which included more than four hours of questions from the public and journalists. Here are some of the key takeaways:

Trump has said any shutdown ‘is a Biden problem to solve’

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday morning shifted the blame for a potential government shutdown onto the current White House, asserting that resolving the funding impasse is “a Biden problem to solve.” Earlier in the week, lawmakers seemed poised to avoid a shutdown with a bipartisan stopgap spending bill, known as

Party City is closing all of its stores, and corporate employees were told today is their last day of employment

Party City is shutting down all its stores, marking the end of nearly 40 years in business, CNN has learned. CEO Barry Litwin informed corporate employees in a meeting Friday that operations are “winding down” immediately, and their employment would end that day. Employees were told they would not receive

Elon Musk has said: "I’m going to be funding moderate candidates in heavily Democrat districts, so that the country can get rid of those who don’t represent them"

Elon Musk spent over $250 million to support President-elect Donald Trump and other Republican candidates, according to campaign finance records filed Thursday. This makes Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, the largest donor of the 2024 election cycle for either party, as confirmed by Federal Election Commission filings. The majority

Team behind HAWK memecoin, tied to 'Hawk Tuah Girl,' sued for alleged securities law violations

The founders of a cryptocurrency named for a social media personality known as the “Hawk Tuah Girl” face a complaint filed Thursday in a New York federal district court by a dozen investors after the token surged in value before it plummeted, losing more then 90% of its value. The

Trump backed CR fails the House

The House of Representatives has rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s last-minute proposal to fund federal operations and suspend the debt ceiling, just one day before a potential government shutdown. Nearly three dozen Republicans joined Democrats in voting against Trump’s unexpected demands and the rushed measure assembled by GOP leaders.

Senator Bernie Sanders has said: "The US Congress this week came to an agreement to fund our government, and Elon Musk, who became $200 BILLION richer since Trump was elected, objected"

President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance have called on Republicans in both the House and Senate to force a government shutdown rather than approve a stopgap funding bill that would keep agencies running at current levels through March 2025. In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) by

Big Lots will begin “going out of business” sales at all of its 963 locations

A plan to sell Big Lots to another management firm will not proceed as originally planned. Instead, the company will begin going-out-of-business sales at all its remaining locations while it continues to search for a new buyer. Big Lots had been hoping to finalize a sale by the end of

Mexico has said it is ready to receive Mexicans if Trump deports them

Mexico is ready to receive its citizens living in the United States if President-elect Donald Trump enacts his deportation promises but maintains that it will not act as a "safe third country" for migrants from other nations. President Claudia Sheinbaum's administration "is prepared to work

Bird flu virus is one mutation away from binding more efficiently to human cells

Scientists have identified that H5N1, the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus currently spreading among U.S. dairy cows, requires only a single mutation to latch onto human cells in the upper airway. The study, published today in Science, reveals a simple genetic pathway for the virus to potentially enhance its

Senator Rand Paul is floating Elon Musk to be Speaker of the House after the powerful, billionaire tech businessman helped torpedo a bipartisan agreement on a short-term spending bill

Senator Rand Paul is proposing a bold outsider for the position of Speaker of the House: Elon Musk. “The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress,” Paul (R-Ky.) posted on Musk’s platform, X. “Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk… think about

President-elect Donald Trump says US Congress should eliminate the debt ceiling

President-elect Donald Trump unexpectedly rejected a bipartisan plan on Wednesday aimed at averting a government shutdown, instructing House Speaker Mike Johnson and fellow Republicans to renegotiate the deal just days before federal funding is set to expire. Trump's last-minute demands have thrown Congress into disarray, complicating efforts to

Georgia appeals court disqualifies Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting Trump

The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting the case against President-elect Donald Trump and his alleged co-conspirators over attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. This decision in the state criminal case against Trump, which was already paused, raises

An employee has been arrested for stabbing company president of Anderson Express Inc in West Michigan

Police are investigating the stabbing of Erik Denslow, president of Anderson Express Inc., during a staff meeting on Tuesday in the company’s Muskegon, Michigan, office, according to a statement from the Fruitport Township Police Department. While authorities initially withheld the victim's name, local news outlets News 8

Nissan Motor will be rolling back its diversity initiatives

Nissan Motor is scaling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives after discussions with conservative activist Robby Starbuck, known for leading boycotts against companies like Walmart and Tractor Supply that prompted them to reduce their DEI efforts. According to Starbuck, Nissan’s Americas unit will cease funding Pride events

AT&T, T, is asking all of its staff to work in the office five days a week

AT&T is ramping up its return-to-office policies, announcing that all employees will be required to work on-site five days a week starting in January. This marks a shift from the current policy, which mandates three in-office days per week. The decision, affecting employees across all business levels, builds

The White House hid Biden’s decline, per WSJ, by giving controlled access, scripting most moments and placing senior advisers in roles that Biden would have otherwise occupied

President Joe Biden has chosen to remain out of the public eye during what could become one of the final domestic crises of his presidency, as the White House and congressional Democrats frame the impending government shutdown as a Republican problem to solve. The crisis escalated Wednesday after President-elect Donald

If Congress fails to act and approve the spending bill by Saturday, the US government will run out of funds to maintain operations

Republicans in Congress met on Thursday to strategize after President-elect Donald Trump rejected a bipartisan agreement to prevent a partial government shutdown and insisted on abolishing the federal debt ceiling. Without a deal passing both the Republican-led House of Representatives and the Democrat-controlled Senate, the U.S. government faces a

California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a State of Emergency in response to bird flu

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Wednesday to "streamline and expedite the state's response" to the bird flu outbreak. The declaration follows the detection of additional cases in dairy cows at farms in Southern California. According to the Governor's Office,

Republicans are reportedly having a hard time getting votes for the 1,500 page spending bill because of Elon Musk's crusade against it

* President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday urged U.S. lawmakers to reject a stopgap funding bill designed to keep the government running past Friday, increasing the risk of a partial government shutdown. Trump, along with Vice President-elect JD Vance, called for an alternative spending bill that excluded what they described as

Jerome Powell has said: We have avoided a recession

The Federal Reserve, as widely expected, reduced its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points (bps) on Wednesday, setting the target range at 4.25% to 4.5%. This marks the third consecutive rate cut, following a 50-bps reduction in September and a 25-bps cut in November, bringing the total

Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest lender, is reportedly developing its own layer-2 blockchain on Ethereum

Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest bank, is reportedly developing its own layer-2 (L2) blockchain on Ethereum, utilizing ZKsync technology to address the compliance challenges of using public blockchains in regulated finance. This L2 solution, part of Project Dama 2, aims to enhance transaction efficiency and ensure regulatory safeguards while directly

The new spending bill gives Congress their first pay raise since 2009

House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) agreement with Democrats to prevent a government shutdown until March includes provisions that would give members of Congress their first pay raise since 2009 and allow them to opt out of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Why it matters: These measures—particularly the

The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by 25BPS

The Federal Reserve, as widely expected, reduced its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points (bps) on Wednesday, setting the target range at 4.25% to 4.5%. This marks the third consecutive rate cut, following a 50-bps reduction in September and a 25-bps cut in November, bringing the total