TREE HOUSE NEWS 🏡

NEWS AGGREGATION & COMMENTARY

May Great Spirit bless 🙏

I'm feeling somewhat more active today, with more energy, but still a little wobbly on the legs from being bedridden for so long, just a little of the belated chills after getting up, I hope. I'm sitting on the couch, all bundled up, doing the news on my laptop, as I feel the warmth spread through me; I don't do well with the cold anymore.

What happened to the fantasy, legends, and poetry, storytelling, and other attributes of human behaviour and interests I studied in my research of who we are and how we got here, and when I thought fantasy was good therapy for anxiety? I started with humor, thought-provoking moments, and the human emotional elements in my research on human behavior. You might say that's all that really matters until you see the complexity of human behavior, which can vary as much as the number of books on the topic. The library on this single topic is a work in progress that has been underway for millennia!

TODAY'S DISCUSSION:

Human Behavior

Before you even delve in, you need to feel comfortable walking down that rabbit hole of humanity, and be happy or uplifted, making others happy as well as keeping your audience informed along the way. I had a social network for a while, but the feedback I got was too negative for me to handle, so I started the blog.

https://cindyopenhouse.blogspot.com/

If you are that kind of person, all I can say is that the world needs more like you in these Social Networks, to tell stories, share experiences, and share uplifting things, and teach what I have learned from my own experiences whenever and wherever possible. I love imagination, and adding humor and, of course, much compassion and care for others.

About Social Networks WITHOUT COUNTERS:

Why don't they all have VIEW counters so one can see whether members are interested in your work?* On these networks, it's as though, or it feels like it, like no one pays me any attention or gives a damned if I'm there or not. I believe view counters are necessary, as all I need to know is whether there was any activity in my group. If you wish, you are welcome to respond to my postings in my group on any of the networks. TREE HOUSE NEWS is open to comments. In groups that don't have counters — I may very well be posting to an empty room — if I at least had a sign of life, like someone posts a heart now and again, that would be encouraging; it would be most encouraging.

Having NO VIEWS, no COMMENTS, not even a heart, ❤️ as far as I know, could be a sign that no one is interested in even looking at my posts. DO YOU HAVE TO BE A SPECIAL MEMBER TO GET HEARTS?❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ or a comment on BlueSky? or am I the wrong color? Or did I forget to wash my underarms?I don't know how Rachel Madow pulled this off so well here, except that she is well-known, even though she had to start from the bottom. I wish she could give me some pointers. I am a member of her group. How did she make it to the top? I wish someone would tell me how this Social Network works, instead of giving me zeros for my efforts.

I know there are a lot of members on Blue Sky, probably as many as on X. But all I get is a fat zero, because they don't have a view counter. That can be disappointing, compared to Reddit, where I get anywhere from 300 to 1k views, and on X, which has a views counter, I get anywhere from 20 to 40 views per day—even 5 or 6 on Facebook, which has the lowest attendance of all the networks at this time.

I don't necessarily want to chat as much as I would like to know if someone is reading my stuff; otherwise, I feel like I'm wasting my time in an empty room on BlueSky. I keep posting there in the hope that someone is still reading, and maybe someday they'll trust me with a heart. ♥️ For my work, it means a lot to me, thank you.

BREAKING NEWS:

Trump suddenly sounds a lot like Biden on the economy

Trump suddenly sounds a lot like Biden on the economy

President Donald Trump never misses an opportunity to criticize his predecessor about the economy, alleging former President Joe Biden caused an inflation crisis. But some of Trump’s economic proposals are starting to sound a lot like Biden’s. At the start of Biden’s presidency, the unemployment rate remained high, but the overall economy was growing at a fast pace, bouncing back from the pandemic.

Biden and the Democratic-controlled Congress passed a nearly $2 trillion stimulus package that included $1,400 direct checks to taxpayers just a year after Trump signed a previous stimulus bill and the Federal Reserve knocked rates to zero to boost growth. Democrats largely ignored concerns from critics that all that stimulus could send prices soaring. It was far from the only factor, but those warnings came true: Inflation reached a four-decade high in 2022...

• The ‘Trump Rule’
• Econ 101:
• Trump may get what he wants:

Read More:

PUBLISHED Dec 29, 2025, 5:00 AM ET - 7 hr ago

- CNN -

Trump doubles down on big foreign policy bets in end-of-the-year flurry

President Donald Trump is spending the end of the year trying to cash in huge foreign policy bets on which thousands of lives may depend and that will define his attempt to wield decisive power far beyond American shores.

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida has become a center of global diplomacy, with high-stakes talks Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to follow Monday. The twin meetings mark significant attempts by Trump to cement a legacy as a global peacemaker. In Ukraine, he’s seeking to finally end a war he once said he could fix in a day but that is still raging nearly a year into his second term...

• Trump hopeful of Ukraine deal but warns it could all fall apart:
• Trump’s other big bet: Gaza:

Displaced Palestinians stand outside a tent shelter following heavy rains in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, on December 13. Eyad

Displaced Palestinians gather to receive food portions at a charity kitchen in the Nuseirat refugee camp on December 20.

Images Included:

• A new front for ‘America First’ foreign policy:

Read More:

Updated Dec 29, 2025, 6:43 AM ET - 5 hr ago

- CNN -

China announces war games around Taiwan after hitting out at major US arms deal

China’s military announced Monday it was mobilizing army, navy, air and rocket units around Taiwan for “major military drills” aimed at sending a “serious warning” against any push for Taiwanese independence and “external” forces interfering with the island...

Read More:

Updated Dec 29, 2025, 9:51 AM ET - 2 hr ago

Trump to meet Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago on second day of key US diplomacy

What We're Covering

• Netanyahu meeting: President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida today as he doubles down on big foreign policy bets in an end-of-the-year flurry. Netanyahu is expected to press Trump on taking more aggressive action against Israel’s enemies, but the US president has grown wary of some Israeli actions.

• US-Venezuela tensions: Trump said the United States had taken out a “big facility” last week as part of a pressure campaign against Venezuela but did not provide further details.

• Ukraine war talks: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Trump yesterday amid efforts to end the conflict, but the leaders did not announce any major breakthroughs. Trump held a “positive call” with Russian President Vladimir Putin today, the White House said, and US and Ukrainian teams could meet again as early as next week to finalize the peace plan...

Read More:

Updated 12:17 PM EST, Mon December 29, 2025

- CNN -

CANADIAN NEWS:

Sleet, freezing rain to round out the year in Eastern Canada

A mix of freezing rain, ice pellets, sleet and strong winds are forecast as power outages spread

Freezing rain, blowing snow, ice pellets and strong winds are prompting weather alerts for much of Eastern Canada. As of Monday morning, orange alerts — the second-highest level — are in place for Ontario, Quebec and some parts of Nova Scotia.

The Ottawa and Montreal areas could see up to 15 millimetres of ice accretion from freezing rain, starting Monday and ending Tuesday evening. Southwesterly winds of up to 70 km/h are also expected, with winds of up to 90 km/h in Montreal and the western parts of the island. Powerful wind and a cold snap expected in Toronto after a night of heavy rain Messy mix of freezing rain, snow and rain on the way for Maritimes Ice storms, high winds and intense flurries hit London, Ont...

WATCH | A mix of freezing rain and snow has caused power outages and travel interruptions:

Read More:

Posted: Dec 29, 2025 8:41 AM EST | Last Updated: 27 minutes ago

- CBC -

I know I saved lots of people's lives': Ahmed al-Ahmed recounts disarming a Bondi Beach shooter

Al-Ahmed was shot five times after grabbing the gun of one of the Bondi Beach shooters earlier this month

Ahmed al-Ahmed was focused on one thing when he grabbed the gun of one of the men shooting at people attending a Hanukkah celebration at Syndey's Bondi Beach earlier this month — saving as many lives as he could. "My target was just to take the gun from him and to stop him from killing a human being," al-Ahmed, 43, told CBS News in an interview. He says the need to stop the gunman overrode any fear of the second shooter positioned on a nearby bridge.

"I know I saved lots of people's lives," al-Ahmed said. "But I feel sorry still for the lost."...

WATCH | What we know about the man who disarmed a shooter at Bondi Beach:

Read More:

 Posted: Dec 29, 2025 11:43 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

- CBC -

THERE IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF EMPATHY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw