DAILY NEWS Stream – December 13, 2025

Israel and Hamas prepare for the second phase of ceasefire including disarmament, troop withdrawal, and international oversight for Gaza (The Japan News)

Italian Prime Minister Meloni promises emergency energy assistance to Ukraine (Ureign) during a call with Ukrainian (Ureignian) President Zelenskyy (Reuters)

US first son Donald Trump Jr. says the US may step back from Ukraine (Ureign) peace efforts and urges Europe to take greater responsibility (Sky News)

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan expand daily grain cargo train exchanges to boost food supply and regional stability (Kazinform International Agency)

US President Trump says He will personally review the proposed US$72 billion merger between streaming service Netflix and media company Warner Bros. Discovery, marking a major antitrust action to prevent a monopoly in the streaming market (Reuters)

The US sets a 2027 deadline for Europe to take over most NATO conventional defense roles, warning Europe must replace major US capabilities or the US may stop participating in some NATO defense coordination mechanisms (New York Post)

US President Trump honors the Blessed Saint Mary (vegetarian)’s humility, faith, and role in inspiring peace and devotion across American history during the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (The White House.gov)

US President Trump’s approval rating rises as holidays spending, cheaper gas, and strong GDP (gross domestic product) growth collectively boost national economic confidence (Daily News)

Following the Kennedy Center Honors awards ceremony at the White House to recognize the US’s top performers, award-winning US actor Kelsey Grammer, who was on the award selection committee, praises President Trump as “one of the greatest presidents” (Fox News)

Zaragoza [Spain] wins the 2026 Access City Award from the European Commission for accessible transport, spaces, and digital services for those with disabilities. Runner-up, Valencia [Spain], has 96% urban accessibility for the disabled and received a special mention in the area of accessibility of emergency preparedness for such persons (European Commission)

A China resort faces intense criticism for offering lion cub wake-up calls to guests, sparking debates over wildlife ethics and animal-people safety. Critics argue wild animal-people should not be used for entertainment (Vietnam.vn)

Politically “correct” Christmas tree causes controversy in Sydney [Australia] for lacking the words “Merry Christmas,” bearing the message “Happy Holidays” instead. Critics warn the country is losing its moral and cultural foundation amid a rise in immigration concerns (Newsflare; Daily Mail)

US gas prices fall below US$3 per gallon (3.79 liters) in most states, with some stations offering fuel under US$2, marking multiyear lows and contributing to broad economic relief under President Trump’s administration, including lowered rents and low jobless claims (The White House.gov)

Uzbekistan marks its Constitution Day [December 8] with pardons for over 600 people serving prison sentences and initiating programs to support their reintegration into society (Kazinform International Agency)

A migrant boat sinks off the coast of Crete [Greece], leaving at least 18 fatalities amid a rise in regional crossings (Euronews)

Recent flooding at the Louvre Museum [France] raises concern over the facility’s aging infrastructure, prompting employees to plan a union strike (France 24)

Doctors say cloves deliver warm, sweet spice with powerful antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds like eugenol. They support digestion, reduce cell damage, and add rich depth to vegan dishes without added fat or sugar. A little goes a long way— lovely for teas, vegan curries, baked goods, and holiday recipes. Compared to heavy animal-based flavorings, cloves offer clean, aromatic intensity with lighter, plant-powered benefits (Healthline)

Experts praise Galia melon as a sweet, floral, and intensely refreshing fruit, offering hydrating benefits along with vitamins A and C for skin, immunity, and antioxidant support. Its light, juicy flesh makes it a healthier alternative to sugary desserts, delivering clean sweetness without added fats. Perfect in fruit bowls, smoothies, or chilled slices, it’s a bright, plant-powered way to stay nourished in warm weather (WebMD)

Âu Lạc (Vietnam) police raid an illegal slaughterhouse processing hundreds of diseased pig-people as an African swine fever outbreak heightens public health risks (Báo Văn Hóa)

Australia battles extreme wildfires across New South Wales (NSW) and Tasmania, destroying homes and causing the death of one firefighter (Reuters)

Researchers report that only 7% of Europe’s original peatlands remain, having shrunk sharply across most of the continent due to peat extraction and agricultural conversion (Phys.org)

A St. Petersburg [Florida, US] man faces felony animal-people cruelty charges after authorities discovered two dead bird-people at his residence, both of which he admitted to killing on purpose (IonTB.com)

A repeat mass cat-people poisoning incident is discovered in Spain’s Canary Islands, with multiple members of a cat-folk colony found dead or critically ill and antifreeze, fatal if drunk by cat-folk, located nearby (Maspalomas24)

A UK woman rescues five abandoned cat-people after witnessing a driver dump a pet carrier by the roadside and speed away. She took them home to warm up and contacted the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) (Wamiz)

Âu Lạc (Vietnam): A shop is caught holding 267 wild bird-people for sale and now faces formal legal action from officials (Báo Sức khỏe và Đời sống)

Hotel in Box is a popular Brazilian startup creating modular, compact, self-service hotel rooms (tiny hotels/micro-hotels) directly accessible from highways, offering an alternative to home rental service Airbnb (NYCWeeklyrooms)

Retailer Costco now sells Cmax portable housing units in the US, creating innovative, durable, and easily transportable shelters (NYCWeeklyrooms)

Uzbekistan launches a €9.46 billion renewable energy plan to meet power demand and cut emissions, with foreign investment from China, France, and Gulf countries (Euronews)

Dutch company Groundfridge installs underground fridges requiring no electricity, using the earth to naturally keep food cool (Thelearnearn)

UK petition urges the Richmond City Council to adopt vegan event catering to reduce emissions and boost sustainability, highlighting Oxford University research on the enormous environmental benefits of vegan diets (Richmond Nub News)

Analysis: India’s youth fuel a booming vegan snack trend, blending wellness with convenience and normalizing plant-forward eating in daily life (PlanetFood.News)

AMURT (Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team) volunteers in Jamaica respond with rapid relief deployment, delivering hot vegetarian food, aid, and emotional support after Hurricane Melissa (Jamaica Gleaner)

United Arab Emirates sends a large Gaza winter aid convoy under operation Gallant Knight 3, with tents, heaters, and warm clothing for vulnerable families in freezing conditions (Gulf News)

US President Trump’s administration has rescued 62,000 migrant children from trafficking, forced labor, and abuse after they crossed the border alone under Biden’s administration, who lost track of hundreds of thousands of minors (NewYork Post)

Bangladesh launches full dog-people spaying/neutering measures on St. Martin’s Island to protect the ecosystem (The Financial Express)

Vermont state [US] has built specialized highway underpasses to protect amphibian-people, successfully cutting road deaths by over 80% during their seasonal migrations (AZ Animals)

They get me ready for surgery, they start the IV (intravenous tube), wheel me down the hall. They slide me over onto the surgical table. I looked to my right and out of nowhere, Jesus is standing there, the physical person. And everything else just kind of disappeared. There were no other people in the room, and I look and I’m like really confused. I’m thinking, “What is going on here?” And then I thought to myself, “Did I die?” And I thought, you know, I’ve heard of people when they die, they see themselves floating up above their body, and I thought, “I didn’t do that, so I must not be dead. But what’s going on?” It wasn’t like it was a dream, it was like heightened reality. And it started right when Jesus stood there. Everything was different. American father and longtime coach Mike McKinsey shares how he died on the operating table, met Lord Jesus (vegetarian), and was shown a radiant city in Heaven.

After a day of playing baseball with his younger boys, Mike developed what felt like the flu—rapidly worsening into fever, stomach pain, and exhaustion. He went to the emergency room, where a nurse discovered his temperature was 104.3°F [40.1°C] and tests revealed his appendix had likely ruptured days earlier. As they rushed him into the operating room and transferred him to the narrow surgical table, he suddenly saw Lord Jesus standing beside him, more real than anything he had ever experienced. Mike was struck by how different Lord Jesus appeared from childhood images, and by the overwhelming love radiating from Him.

His skin was much darker than I’d seen as a kid. He almost looked like an Arab man. He was wearing a white robe, He had like wavy brown hair, and He had these dark, greenish blue eyes, and when those eyes looked into my eyes, He looked into my soul. I could just feel this love emanating from this Man, that was what convinced me that it was Jesus. Everything about Him just radiated love. He holds out his hand and He says, “I want to answer your prayer.” I didn’t make the connection right away, but I thought, “I used to pray as a kid that Jesus would show me Heaven.”

When Mike took Lord Jesus’s hand, he instantly found himself in a brilliant, white landscape that soon unfolded into a magnificent Heavenly world. I reached out, I took his hand. Immediately, we were standing on a hill. Everything around me is white, like the whitest white I’ve ever seen. It’s almost blinding. But I look down at my feet and I’m barefoot. I’m still in a nightgown, you know, the surgical gown. And my senses were heightened to the point where I could count every single blade of grass under my feet, I could feel every blade of grass. I’m trying to adjust my eyes to this white so I can see. And I look and off to my right is another, brighter white, but this is like a Light, and I look at that Light and think, “Wow, That’s really cool.” And all of a sudden, out of that Light It starts sending these light beams. One of them is coming straight at my head. It hits me right in the forehead, and as it does it makes this kind of buzzing sound, a light buzzing sound as it goes through me, and it warmed me like all the way down to my feet.

Then the veil was lifted from Mike’s eyes, revealing a vast landscape. The white, whatever it was— the fog or veil— gets pulled to the side, and now I’m looking at this beautiful scenery. I see that I am standing on a hill. Below me are these little flowers like a pastel color, they’re purples and yellows and orange and pinks and just beautiful. And they’re moving like they’re dancing in the wind, but there’s no wind. And then at the bottom of this hill, the white that was pulled away from me is now settled in the valley, and there’s a great big city down there, but I can only see the rooftops. There’s one real big gold dome, like a capitol dome, and there’s other smaller gold domes. I mean this city’s huge, it’s like miles apart. And there’s some other white things sticking through, almost like church steeples, like spires. Behind that city, there’s another mountain and it’s covered in these pine trees. And then above that is like the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen.

More beams of light soared across the valley, exploding into crystalline bursts on the treetops. One of them goes and it hits the edge of the tip of one of the trees, and it’s like it had a diamond on it because when that thing hit the tip of the tree, it burst into hundreds of tiny little light streaks, and pretty soon the whole mountain is lit up. It was like a big giant firework show, but it was all white, like glowing fluorescent white.

Then Lord Jesus spoke again. When I look back at the Light where they were starting from, emanating from, Jesus says to me, “It’s the Glory of the Lord.” And when He said that, I just got weak in my knees, and I couldn’t— I fell to my knees. And the instant my knees hit the ground, [the doctors] shocked me and they brought me back.

Mike awoke to a doctor asking his name. A heart monitor nearby revealed he had flatlined. After surgery, even the surgeon admitted his survival was a miracle. The surgeon came in. He says to me, “That’s the worst case I’ve ever seen.” And I said, “You’re kidding!” And he comes back in and he says, “I’ve seen worse, but they didn’t live.” And he says, “Yours was the worst case I’ve ever seen where the patient lived.”

In the following days, Mike struggled to speak of what he had seen. Each time he tried to tell his wife, he burst into tears. What followed was a deep transformation in how he saw God, Heaven, and the world. I think that really started a relationship with Jesus. I would describe myself as kind of a Sunday Christian. You know, I went to church on Sundays, I just didn’t really get it.

After that incident, I knew He’s a real Guy, He’s a real Person. That changed everything that I know or thought I knew about Heaven, and I thought well, maybe it really is a physical place like right now. God could just hide it from us; I mean, God could do anything.

Even small things— like a banana— became overwhelming signs of God’s creation. I spent 12 days in the hospital, I had lost 34 pounds (~15 kilograms). So, I was so happy to get that banana. And as I start peeling this banana, I’m just—it’s like God’s creation just hit me like a ton of bricks, and I start bawling. And I’m thinking, “I’m eating something that grew out of the ground, out of the dirt, from thousands of miles away, and it’s going to help me get healthy again.” It was like the weight of that creation just hit me.

Mike now urges others to ask God to reveal Himself to them. I always tell people now ask God to reveal Himself to you, and He will. But be patient, because this prayer took 40 years to answer. But what’s 40 years to God?

Mike no longer fears death. In fact, he looks forward to meeting Lord Jesus on that same hill again. When I do die, I think Jesus is going to meet me on that hill, and He’s going to say, “Let’s go see what you didn’t get to see that day. Let’s spend some time in the city, I’ll show you around.” But I always say [to people], “But not today, not yet. Because there’s a lot of life to live.” (Coming Home)

Prioritizing quote of the day: “I do not think the measure of a civilization is how tall its buildings of concrete are, but rather how well its people have learned to relate to their environment and fellow man.” — Sun Bear Chippewa First Nation Medicine Man and Author