Well, howdy there, internet people, it's Bell again. And welcome to the Roads with Bell.

Today is December 22nd, 2024, and this is episode 70 of the Roads Not Taken, which is a weekly

series where we go over the news that was unreported, underreported, didn't get the coverage we felt that it should,

or we just found it interesting. And then we go over a few questions from y'all. And today is

December 22nd. And today is National Shortperson Day and National Cookie Exchange Day. It's De's Day because short and bakes the best cookies.

And on this date in 2018, the longest U.S. federal government shut down in history started.

Luckily, we're not in the middle of a repeat performance. And starting with foreign

policy, Trump issued tariff threats against Europe. And in South Korea, prosecutors are seeking to

question the impeached president and the internal political turmoil is shaking up supply chains.

South Korean currency has hit a 15-year low.

In Ukraine, Russia used a series of ballistic missile strikes.

There was an overnight exchange of drones in which Russian airports were disrupted,

and North Korean troops took substantial losses. Meanwhile, Ukraine is suffering forced generation

issues. The U.S. has reportedly removed the reward for the capture of the Syrian rebel leader who led the forces primarily responsible for ousting Assad.

This is a clear sign that the U.S. is establishing diplomatic relations with the new Syrian government.

If I had to guess, the U.S. wants cooperation in continuing its mission against IS.

In U.S. news, despite a constant media narrative saying that California is experiencing some form of mass exodus,

numbers actually show the state's population grew by about half a percent from July 23 to July 24. The Senate confirmed Biden's 23th

federal judge, beating Trump's record from his first term.

Biden is considering commuting the sentences of death row inmates, but at time of recording,

we're not sure how far that consideration has gone.

The feds are now saying that in addition to encryption, if you're a highly targeted individual,

...