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Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Friday (December 19) as of 9:00 pm UTC.

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.

Bitcoin and Ether price update

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$88,004.97, up by 3.6 percent over 24 hours.

Bitcoin price performance, December 19, 2025.

Chart via TradingView

Ether (ETH) was priced at US$2,991.30, up by 7.2 percent over the last 24 hours.

Altcoin price update

XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.91, up by 5.7 percent over 24 hours.

Solana (SOL) was trading at US$126.85, up by 7.6 percent over 24 hours.

Today’s crypto news to know

MetaPlanet’s US expansion and OTC trading debut

American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of BTC treasury company Metaplanet (TSE:3350,OTCQX:MPJPY) began trading today on the US OTC market under the ticker symbol MPJPY, replacing the previously unsponsored MTPLF ticker, according to an announcement from the company.

This step builds on earlier US expansions. The company, which is based in Tokyo, established a wholly-owned subsidiary called Metaplanet Treasury in Miami, Florida, in May 2025 to handle BTC accumulation and treasury operations with up to US$250 million in capital.

The launch is intended to enhance US investor participation in MetaPlanet’s BTC strategy.

Poland’s parliament approves MiCO-aligned crypto bill over veto

Poland’s lower house of parliament, called the Sejm, approved a crypto-asset market bill today, overriding President Karol Nawrocki’s prior veto. It now heads to the Senate for review, where it potentially faces another veto.

President Nawrocki vetoed the bill earlier in December, citing threats to civil liberties like easy website blocks. Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government resubmitted the bill, unchanged. It passed with 241 votes.

The bill aligns Poland with the EU’s MiCA regulation by designating the Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) to oversee crypto exchanges, impose sanctions, and introduce criminal liability for offenses.

US Senate confirms Mike Selig as CFTC Chair

The US Senate has confirmed Mike Selig as the next chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), bringing permanent leadership back to an agency that has operated for months in near-limbo.

Selig’s confirmation passed 53–43 as part of a broader package of federal appointments. The CFTC had been functioning with a single commissioner, Acting Chair Caroline Pham, after multiple resignations hollowed out the five-member panel.

While Pham kept the agency operational, the lack of a Senate-confirmed chair constrained long-term planning, staffing, and coordination with other regulators.

That gap was especially acute as lawmakers debated expanding the CFTC’s role in overseeing spot crypto markets.

CLARITY Act heads for Senate markup in January

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is set to enter Senate markup in January, according to White House crypto and AI adviser David Sacks, putting the bill on a formal path toward passage.

‘We had a great call today with Chairmen @SenatorTimScott and @JohnBoozman who confirmed that a markup for Clarity is coming in January. Thanks to their leadership, as well as @RepFrenchHill and @CongressmanGT in the House, we are closer than ever to passing the landmark crypto market structure legislation that President Trump has called for,’ Sacks posted on X. ‘We look forward to finishing the job in January!’

Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott and Agriculture Chair John Boozman have agreed on the timeline. The bill, which cleared the House earlier this year, aims to settle long-running jurisdiction disputes by spelling out when a token is a security versus a commodity.

Lawmakers are expected to focus amendments on asset classification tests, investor protection standards, and how quickly platforms must register under the new regime.

Another key issue will be how the SEC and CFTC coordinate oversight during the transition period.

If the schedule holds, Congress could finalize a reconciled version later during the year.

Bybit re-enters UK Market via FCA-approved promotion route

Crypto exchange Bybit has resumed operations in the UK after a two-year absence triggered by tighter rules on crypto marketing and promotions.

The platform has restarted spot trading with 100 pairs, using a compliance structure designed to meet the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) financial promotion standards.

Rather than holding its own UK authorization, Bybit is operating under an arrangement with London-based exchange Archax, which is licensed to approve crypto promotions for unauthorised firms.

This route has previously been used by other major exchanges seeking access to British users.

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Investing

Top 5 Canadian Mining Stocks This Week: Pacific Empire Metals Gains 200 Percent on Drill Results

Statistics Canada released November’s consumer price index (CPI) data on Monday (December 15). The data showed all-items inflation rose 2.2 percent compared to November 2024 and 0.1 percent on a monthly basis compared to October.

One contributor to the rise was a 4.7 percent year-over-year increase in grocery prices, higher than the 3.4 percent annual increase in October and the biggest since the 4.7 percent increase in December 2023.

On the other hand, gasoline prices decreased 7.8 percent year-over-year and natural gas decreased by 16.5 percent, although both drops were slightly lower than their respective 9.4 percent and 17 percent declines recorded in October.

StatsCan also released October’s monthly mineral production survey on Friday (December 19). The data reported that mineral production increased across a wide range of metals month-on-month, with iron concentrate the only one seeing a slight decline.

Gold production increased to 18,470 kilograms compared to 16,978 kilograms in September. Meanwhile, copper production rose to 41.34 million kilograms from 36.23 million kilograms, and silver production jumped to 31,522 kilograms from 28,384 kilograms.

Shipments, however, decreased broadly in October. Gold shipments fell to 15,563 kilograms from 19,025 kilograms, and silver shipments sank to 31,502 kilograms from 33,296. Copper shipments fell more considerably to 36.22 million kilograms from 44.04 million kilograms.

Also this week, the Canadian Government approved the merger between mining giants Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.A,TECK.B,NYSE:TECK) and Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:NGLOY) on Monday.

The move clears a major regulatory hurdle for the C$70 billion deal. Federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said that as part of the approval process, the companies agreed to spend C$4.5 billion in Canada over five years and employ 4,000 Canadian workers.

Once the deal is finalized, the combined company will be called Anglo-Teck and will be headquartered in Vancouver, making it the largest company in British Columbia’s history.

For more on what’s moving markets this week, check out our top market news round-up.

Markets and commodities react

Canadian equity markets were mixed this week.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) was little changed, gaining just 0.14 percent over the week to close Friday at 31,755.77, while the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) fared a little better, rising 1.04 percent to 977.98.

On the other hand, the CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) fell 8.37 percent to close at 168.68 after rising significantly last week.

The gold price continued an upward trend following last week’s rate cut from the US Federal Reserve. It gained 1.36 percent on the week to reach US$4,338.24 per ounce on Friday at 4 p.m. EST.

Meanwhile, the silver price continued to set new records with another substantial weekly gain of 5.75 percent, reaching a new high of US$67.45 per ounce in morning trading on Friday before slipping to end the day at US$67.18.

In base metals, the COMEX copper price ended the week up 0.73 percent at US$5.50 per pound.

The S&P Goldman Sachs Commodities Index (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) fell 1.47 percent to end Friday at 542.19.

Top Canadian mining stocks this week

How did mining stocks perform against this backdrop?

Take a look at this week’s five best-performing Canadian mining stocks below.

Stocks data for this article was retrieved at 4:00 p.m. EST on Friday using TradingView’s stock screener. Only companies trading on the TSX, TSXV and CSE with market caps greater than C$10 million are included. Mineral companies within the non-energy minerals, energy minerals, process industry and producer manufacturing sectors were considered.

1. Pacific Empire Minerals (TSXV:PEMC)

Weekly gain: 200 percent
Market cap: C$30.36 million
Share price: C$0.15

Pacific Empire is a gold and copper exploration company focused on its flagship Trident property in central British Columbia, Canada.

Trident consists of a land package covering 6,618 hectares within the Quesnel Terrane and has a history of exploration dating back to its discovery in 1969. The property hosts porphyry mineralization of copper, gold, and silver, with historic drill results at the site including one 102 meter interval grading 0.59 percent copper and 0.24 grams per metric ton (g/t) gold.

Shares in the company gained significantly this week after it released assay results from the upper portion of the first hole of its 2025 winter diamond drill program.

Results from the hole started at a depth of 9 meters and hosted continuous copper-gold mineralization to a depth of 192 meters.

The broad 183 meter interval returned average grades of 0.77 percent copper, 0.51 g/t gold and 3.4 g/t silver over 183 meters. Within that were intervals of 71 meters grading 1.06 percent copper, 0.83 g/t gold and 4.6 g/t silver, and 14.8 meters grading 1.23 percent copper, 0.75 g/t gold and 5.5 g/t silver.

Pacific Empire said the result was the most substantial copper-gold mineralization recorded at Trident to date and that it advances the geological understanding and exploration model for what could be significant porphyry system.

Assays for the lower portion of the first hole and the remaining five holes drilled as part of the campaign are pending.

2. US Copper (TSXV:USCU)

Weekly gain: 72.22 percent
Market cap: C$17.75 million
Share price: C$0.155

US Copper is an exploration company working to advance its Moonlight-Superior project in Northeast California, United States.

The project covers approximately 13 square miles of patented and unpatented federal mining claims in the Lights Creek Copper District, near the Nevada border.

A preliminary economic assessment released on January 6 demonstrated a post-tax net present value of US$1.08 billion with an internal rate of return of 23 percent and a payback period of 5.3 years, assuming a copper price of US$4.15 per pound.

The included mineral resource estimate shows a total indicated resource of 2.5 billion pounds of copper, 21.7 million ounces of silver and 140,042 ounces of gold from 402.83 million metric tons of ore with a grade of 0.31 percent copper, 1.85 parts per million (ppm) silver and 0.012 ppm gold. The majority is hosted at its Moonlight and Superior deposits.

US Copper has not released news since October 14 when it announced the closing of a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of C$750,000.

3. Euromax Resources (TSXV:EOX)

Weekly gain: 66.67 percent
Market cap: C$18.87 million
Share price: C$0.025

Euromax Resources is a development and exploration company working to advance its Ilovica-Shtuka copper project in the southeast of North Macedonia, Europe.

The advanced stage project is composed of two concession agreements that cover 17.1 square kilometers and hosts mineralized deposits of copper and gold.

The most recent feasibility study for the Ilovica-Shtuka project, released in 2016, demonstrated a sulphide mineral resource with measured and indicated quantities of 2.6 million ounces of gold and 1.2 billion pounds of copper, with additional oxide quantities of 280,000 ounces of gold.

Shares in Euromax gained this week after it announced on Monday its intention to issue 122.1 million common shares through a non-brokered private placement, generating proceeds of C$3.97 million.

4. Lode Gold Resources (TSXV:LOD)

Weekly gain: 54.67 percent
Market cap: C$10.61 million
Share price: C$0.325

Lode Gold Resources is an exploration company with projects located in Canada and the United States, including its Fremont gold project in California, US, which hosts a past-producing high-grade gold mine.

The mine sits on 3,351 acres in Mariposa County, which has been mined since the start of the California gold rush in the 1840s.

On March 5, Lode Gold released a technical report for the property, which included an updated mineral resource estimate demonstrating an indicated resource of 120,000 ounces with an average grade of 4.13 g/t gold from 910,000 metric tons of ore, with an additional inferred resource of 1.9 million ounces with a grade of 3.96 g/t from 8.53 million metric tons of ore.

The most recent news from the project came on December 9, when Lode announced that it had entered into a letter of intent with an unnamed mining company to begin work advancing the Freemont project toward production.

As part of the deal, the parties agreed to a 45 day standstill period during which Lode will work to raise capital and repay outstanding debts.

Additionally, Lode announced on December 12 that it was appointing David Swetlow as Lode’s new CFO. He has previously worked as CFO for Lode’s subsidiary, Gold Orogen, which was created to spin off its Yukon and New Brunswick properties.

The spin-off was announced in July 2024 as part of Lode’s restructuring bid and would include its Golden Culvert, Win, and McIntyre Brook properties.

5. Canadian Chrome (CSE:CACR)

Weekly gain: 50 percent
Market cap: C$24.71 million
Share price: C$0.015

Formerly KWG Resources, Canadian Chrome is a chromite and base metals exploration company focused on moving forward at its Ring of Fire assets in Northern Ontario, Canada. It does business as the Canadian Chrome Company.

The firm’s properties consist of the Fancamp and Big Daddy claims, along with the Mcfaulds Lake, Koper Lake and Fishtrap Lake projects. All are located within a 40 kilometer radius, and according to the company are home to feeder magma chambers containing chromite, nickel and copper deposits.

Canadian Chrome is currently working with local First Nations to improve transportation to the region by developing road and rail links. The company announced on November 7 that it had signed a memorandum of agreement with AtkinsRéalis Canada in its capacity as a contractor representing the Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations.

The agreement will allow AtkinsRéalis temporary access rights over some mineral exploration claims in support of work permits for an environmental assessment for the design, construction and operation of a multi-use, all-season road between the proposed Marten Falls community access road and the proposed Webequie supply road.

Once completed, the link will provide improved access to communities and mining companies in the region.

On September 11, Canadian Chrome signed an additional agreement with AtkinsRéalis that will provide the firm access rights to parts of the claims for 13 borehole locations for geotechnical investigations and aggregate source testing.

The most recent news from the company came on December 11, when it set the terms of a C$25 million non-brokered private placement originally proposed on August 26. Changes to the original terms were made following the inclusion of chromium as a critical mineral in the Canadian federal budget announced on November 4, which allows investments in chromium projects to qualify for additional tax credits.

The new terms state that, with every 10 flow-through shares subscribed, five flow-through share purchase warrants will be issued, each entitling the holder to purchase one additional flow-through share for C$2.50 at any time within one year.

FAQs for Canadian mining stocks

What is the difference between the TSX and TSXV?

The TSX, or Toronto Stock Exchange, is used by senior companies with larger market caps, and the TSXV, or TSX Venture Exchange, is used by smaller-cap companies. Companies listed on the TSXV can graduate to the senior exchange.

How many mining companies are listed on the TSX and TSXV?

As of May 2025, there were 1,565 companies listed on the TSXV, 910 of which were mining companies. Comparatively, the TSX was home to 1,899 companies, with 181 of those being mining companies.

Together, the TSX and TSXV host around 40 percent of the world’s public mining companies.

How much does it cost to list on the TSXV?

There are a variety of different fees that companies must pay to list on the TSXV, and according to the exchange, they can vary based on the transaction’s nature and complexity. The listing fee alone will most likely cost between C$10,000 to C$70,000. Accounting and auditing fees could rack up between C$25,000 and C$100,000, while legal fees are expected to be over C$75,000 and an underwriters’ commission may hit up to 12 percent.

The exchange lists a handful of other fees and expenses companies can expect, including but not limited to security commission and transfer agency fees, investor relations costs and director and officer liability insurance.

These are all just for the initial listing, of course. There are ongoing expenses once companies are trading, such as sustaining fees and additional listing fees, plus the costs associated with filing regular reports.

How do you trade on the TSXV?

Investors can trade on the TSXV the way they would trade stocks on any exchange. This means they can use a stock broker or an individual investment account to buy and sell shares of TSXV-listed companies during the exchange’s trading hours.

Article by Dean Belder; FAQs by Lauren Kelly.

Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Investing

5 Best-performing Canadian Cleantech Stocks of 2025

As the world races to meet rising power demand driven by artificial intelligence and advanced computing, cleantech is stepping into a new era of opportunity.

Developing and scaling innovative energy technologies has never been more accessible or cost-efficient, thanks to breakthroughs in AI-driven design, automation and data analytics that are speeding up everything from materials science to grid optimization.

While US climate finance leadership appears uncertain, Canada is emerging as a strong contender for global influence, backed by supportive policy frameworks, abundant natural resources and a deep bench of innovation-focused companies.

Here’s a look at the best-performing Canadian cleantech stocks on the TSX 2025 by year-to-date gains. CSE-listed companies were considered, but none made the list at this time.

Data for this article was gathered on December 16, 2025, using TradingView’s stock screener. Only companies with market capitalizations greater than C$50 million were considered.

1. Anaergia (TSX:ANRG)

Year-to-date gain: 187.23 percent
Market cap: C$472.75 million
Share price: C$2.70

Anaergia is a global company that specializes in converting waste, including wastewater and agricultural and municipal solid waste, into renewable energy, clean water and organic fertilizer.

The company has operations in 17 countries spanning North America, Africa, Asia and Europe. In 2025, Anaergia has expanded its global reach through partnerships with companies in Italy and Spain, as well as through a partnership agreement to build a biogas facility in South Korea.

In July 2024, Anaergia closed the third tranche of a C$40.8 million investment deal with Marny Investissement that gave Marny a controlling interest of about 60 percent in Anaergia, supporting the company’s pivot to employ a greater focus on technology sales and operations and maintenance contracts.

The company’s September investor presentation highlights its new strategy of streamlined operations, expanding through global partnerships and selective Build-Own-Operate delivery.

In its Q3 2025 results, the company reported strong financials, with revenue increasing 77 percent year-over-year to C$51.4 million, gross margins expanding to 28.8 percent and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of C$2.6 million.

2. Tantalus Systems (TSX:GRID)

Year-to-date gain: 150.53 percent
Market cap: C$250.03 million
Share price: C$4.76

Tantalus Systems provides technology that gives utilities greater control and insight into their electric grids.

This includes advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), load management systems and grid analytics, all of which contribute to a more efficient and reliable power grid.

One of its key products, TRUConnect AMI, provides real-time data on energy consumption and grid conditions. The TRUFlex Load+DER Management system helps manage energy demand and integrate distributed energy resources like solar power, while TRUGrid Automation optimizes grid operations and improves response to events like power failures.

On July 7, Tantalus announced that it was extending its partnership with EPB in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to deploy 20,000 TRUSense Ethernet Gateways over the next five years, integrating with EPB’s fiber network to enhance grid modernization and operational efficiency.

The company’s annual recurring revenue has grown at an approximate compound annual growth rate of 18 percent since 2016, according to its October presentation.

Its Q3 revenue hit C$14.2 million, up 22.5 percent year-over-year, driven by growth of 30 percent in connected devices and 10 percent in software and services. Its adjusted EBITDA doubled year-over-year to C$1.2 million.

3. Ballard Power Systems (TSX:BLDP)

Year-to-date gain: 50.21 percent
Market cap: C$1.09 billion
Share price: C$3.65

Ballard Power Systems is a hydrogen fuel cell technology company that develops, manufactures and sells proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products that convert hydrogen into clean electricity with zero emissions. The company targets heavy-duty applications like buses, trucks, trains, marine vessels and stationary power.

Recent deals include a December memorandum of understanding with Kolon Industries for fuel cell components and market expansion and a May multi-year agreement for 50 fuel cell engines with Egypt’s MCV to power its intercity buses.

In Q3 2025, Ballard’s revenue surged 120 percent year-over-year to C$32.5 million led by bus and rail deliveries, with gross margins improving to 15 percent and cash reserves at C$525.7 million. The company also cut total operating expenses by 36 percent.

4. Algonquin Power & Utilities (TSX:AQN)

Year-to-date gain: 32.29 percent
Market cap: C$613 billion
Share price: C$8.48

Algonquin Power & Utilities operates regulated electric, water, wastewater and natural gas utilities across the US, Canada, Bermuda and Chile, alongside a retained Hydro Group after divesting its larger renewables business as part of its pure-play regulated utility pivot.

The company completed the sale of its renewable energy assets, excluding hydro, to LS Power in January 2025 for approximately US$2.5 billion. The company declared a Q4 2025 dividend of US$0.065 per common share.

5. Brookfield Renewable Partners (TSX:BEP.UN)

Year-to-date gain: 15.41 percent
Market cap: C$11.41 billion
Share price: C$38.27

Brookfield Renewable Partners owns and operates a global portfolio of hydroelectric, wind, solar and energy storage assets. It also offers sustainable solutions such as nuclear services and carbon capture. The company’s strategy emphasizes long-term power purchase agreements and asset recycling.

Major 2025 deals include a hydropower framework with Brookfield Asset Management (TSX:BAM,NYSE:BAM) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) for up to 3 gigawatts of hydroelectricity capacity, starting with US$3 billion in contracts for 670 megawatts capacity in Pennsylvania.

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold direct investment interest in one or more companies mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Investing

Nevada Sunrise Announces Stock Option Grants

Nevada Sunrise Metals Corporation (TSXV: NEV,OTC:NVSGF) (OTC Pink: NVSGF) (‘Nevada Sunrise’ or the ‘Company’) announced today that it has granted a total of 3,250,000 stock options to directors, officers and consultants of the Company, exercisable at a price of $0.05 per share for a period of five years from the date of grant. The stock options have been granted in accordance with the Company’s stock option plan.

About Nevada Sunrise

Nevada Sunrise is a junior mineral exploration company with a strong technical team based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, that holds interests in gold, copper and lithium exploration projects located in the State of Nevada, USA.

Nevada Sunrise holds the right to purchase a 100% interest in the Griffon Gold Mine Project, located approximately 50 kilometers (33 miles) southwest of Ely, NV.

Nevada Sunrise holds the right to earn a 100% interest in the Coronado Copper Project, located approximately 48 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of Winnemucca, NV.

Nevada Sunrise owns 100% interests in the Gemini West, Jackson Wash and Badlands lithium projects, all of which are located in the Lida Valley in Esmeralda County, NV.

As a complement to its exploration projects in Esmeralda County, the Company owns Nevada Water Right Permit 86863, also located in the Lida Valley basin, near Lida, NV.

For Further Information Contact:
Warren Stanyer, President and Chief Executive Officer
email: warrenstanyer@nevadasunrise.ca
Telephone: (604) 428-8028
Website: www.nevadasunrise.ca

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release may contain forward‐looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words ‘expects’, ‘plans’, ‘anticipates’, ‘believes’, ‘intends’, ‘estimates’, ‘projects’, ‘potential’ and similar expressions, or that events or conditions ‘will’, ‘would’, ‘may’, ‘could’ or ‘should’ occur and include disclosure of anticipated exploration activities. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward‐looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward‐looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company’s management on the date such statements were made. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward‐looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Such factors include, among others, risks related to future plans for the Company’s Nevada mineral properties; reliance on technical information provided by third parties on any of our exploration properties; changes in mineral project parameters as plans continue to be refined; current economic conditions; future prices of commodities; possible variations in grade or metallurgical recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays due to pandemic; delays due to weather; delays in obtaining governmental approvals, financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled ‘Risk Factors’ in the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis for the Nine Months ending June 30, 2025, which is available under Company’s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

Although Nevada Sunrise has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Nevada Sunrise disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/278754

News Provided by Newsfile via QuoteMedia

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Business

Trump Media to merge with nuclear fusion company

Trump Media & Technology will merge with a fusion power company in an all-stock deal that the companies said Thursday is valued at more than $6 billion.

Devin Nunes, the Republican congressman who resigned in 2021 to become the CEO of Trump Media, will be co-CEO of the new company with TAE Technologies CEO Michl Binderbauer.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology, the parent company of President Donald Trump’s Truth Social media platform, have tumbled 70% this year but jumped 20% before the opening bell Thursday.

TAE is a private company and the merger with Trump Media would create one of the first publicly traded nuclear fusion companies.

“We’re taking a big step forward toward a revolutionary technology that will cement America’s global energy dominance for generations,” Nunes said in a prepared statement.

TAE focuses on nuclear fusion, a technology that combines two light atomic nuclei to form a single heavier one. It releases enormous amount of energy, a process that occurs on the sun and other stars, according to the United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency.

TAE and Trump Media shareholders will each own approximately 50% of the combined company.

The companies say the transaction values each TAE common stock at $53.89 per share.

At closing, Trump Media & Technology Group will be the holding company for Truth Social and TAE, along with its subsidiaries TAE Power Solutions and TAE Life Sciences.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Politics

Democrats’ last-minute move to block GOP funding plan sends lawmakers home early

Senate Republicans tried to advance a funding package as their last act of the year, but a last-minute block by Senate Democrats sent lawmakers home frustrated as the deadline to fund the government creeps closer.

Lawmakers have spent the last month since the government shutdown building consensus on a five-bill spending package that would go a long way toward preventing another one come Jan. 30.

The package would have funded the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Commerce, Justice, Interior, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, which represent a massive chunk of Congress’ overall funding responsibilities.

But a deal never materialized, and the lights of the Senate chamber went out for the last time of the year as lawmakers beelined from Washington, D.C., back to their home districts. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., remained hopeful that when the Senate returned, Democrats would cross the aisle to finish the job.

‘The Democrats are indicating that they want to do them, they just didn’t want to do them today,’ Thune said. ‘So hopefully, when we get back, we’ll test that proposition, and hope that we’ll take them to face value, and hopefully we’ll get moving, and get moving quickly, because we’ve got a lot to do.’

Before the last gavel rang through the chamber, however, there was still hope that a deal could be reached.

As the clock ticked deeper into the night and the smell of jet fumes grew stronger in the Senate, top Republicans kept working the phones and trying to negotiate a path forward on the package.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, told Fox News Digital that Republicans had cleared the decks on their end after several weeks of holds on the package from fiscal hawks demanding amendment votes on earmarks, among other thorny issues.

When asked if Senate Democrats would play ball, she said, ‘I don’t know.’

‘I’m about to call one of the people,’ Collins said before ducking into her office.

When she emerged, Collins said that there was only one hold left. And that last remaining blockage appeared to be from Sens. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., who were incensed by the Trump administration’s plan to break up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought called the facility in a post on X ‘one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country,’ and vowed a comprehensive review was underway and that any ‘vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another entity or location.’

Hickenlooper suggested that he and Bennet would lift their hold only if they received a guaranteed outcome on an amendment vote — a proposition Republicans have time and again this year for several other Democratic issues that they said they couldn’t do.

‘We need to find some Republican supporters. All we’re trying to do is just protect the budget that was already there,’ Hickenlooper said. ‘So, whatever disagreement there is between the state, the governor of Colorado, and the President of the United States, that shouldn’t affect a scientific institution. Science should be free of that kind of politics.’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was more blunt.

‘What the president did to Colorado is disgusting, and Republicans ought to get him to change,’ Schumer said.

Republicans opted to open the floor late following a signing ceremony at the White House for the annual, colossal defense package in order to finish the confirmation process for a tranche of President Donald Trump’s nominees.

It was a bid to buy time to keep negotiations alive in the hopes of a breakthrough. They even tacked on a handful of extra votes to keep the machine whirring, but in the end, Senate Democrats wouldn’t budge.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations subcommittee, remained hopeful ahead of the vote and said the goal was ‘to stay until we get it finished.’

‘If we want the Senate to matter, we should figure it out,’ Britt said.

Failure to advance the package on Thursday does not guarantee another government shutdown next month, but it does tee up what will likely be a brutal January in the upper chamber.

Lawmakers are still scrambling to find a deal on expiring Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire on Dec. 31, and they will have to contend with the funding deadline at the end of the month. And anything that can pass in the Senate has to make its way through the House and ultimately be approved by Trump.

Despite the inability to move forward with the funding package, for now, it appears that neither side wants to thrust the federal government into another shutdown.

‘I don’t think either side wants to see that happen,’ Thune said. ‘I think that’s toxic for both parties. So I’m hoping that there will be goodwill, and we’ll figure out how to fund the government.’

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Politics

134 House Republicans demand ‘assurances’ as US eases Syria sanctions

More than 100 House Republicans are demanding increased oversight of Syria as the U.S. prepares to repeal longstanding sanctions against the country.

Reps. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., and Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., are leading 134 fellow GOP lawmakers in calling for guarantees that the Syrian government will adhere to terms in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that set the stage for repealing those sanctions, while warning the U.S. needs to be prepared to reverse that if Syria falters on its progress.

‘Many Members of Congress, committed to seeking peace, prosperity, and tolerance for religious minorities in the region, worked with the Trump Administration and House leadership to secure assurances that snapback conditions regarding the repeal of Syrian sanctions would be enforced if Syria does not comply with the terms highlighted in the repeal language,’ their joint statement read.

‘The mass murder of the Syrian Christians, Druze, Alawites, Kurds, and other religious and ethnic minorities must be a thing of the past.’

They said Congress was committed ‘to keeping a watchful eye on the new al-Sharaa Administration to ensure protections for religious and ethnic minorities in Syria.’

It comes after two members of the Iowa National Guard serving in Syria were killed in an ambush by an ISIS gunman.

Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa took power in Syria after the previous government led by Bashar al-Assad was toppled in 2024.

The new leader has sought friendlier relations with the West, even visiting the White House in November of this year.

The House GOP lawmakers said they ‘look forward’ to being invited to Damascus themselves to see that his administration ‘has created a safe environment for the religious and ethnic minorities historically persecuted in the region.’

‘We look forward to confirming that these terms have not been squandered by the Syrian government–whether by their President or by rogue military officials–and seeing for ourselves that the al-Sharaa Administration has created a safe environment for the religious and ethnic minorities historically persecuted in the region,’ they said.

‘As Members of Congress, we understand that the Syrian government’s adherence to the conditions laid out in the NDAA’s sanction repeal language is essential for lasting peace in the Middle East and Syria’s prosperity.’

President Donald Trump signed the NDAA into law on Thursday evening.

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Politics

Schumer accuses Trump admin of Epstein files ‘cover-up’ amid document dispute

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused the Trump administration of orchestrating a ‘cover-up’ as the deadline for the release of documents and materials related to the late Jeffrey Epstein arrives.

Schumer on Friday blasted the Department of Justice (DOJ) following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s admission that the administration would not be releasing all the documents in one, massive tranche.

Congress last month passed a law, later signed by President Donald Trump, that compelled the DOJ to dump all the documents, albeit with certain exceptions, including materials that reveal victims’ identities or medical files, child sex abuse materials, information that could jeopardize active investigations, images of graphic death or injury, or classified national security information.

‘This just shows the Department of Justice, Donald Trump, and [Attorney General] Pam Bondi are hellbent on hiding the truth,’ Schumer said in a statement. ‘Senate Democrats are working closely with attorneys for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and with outside legal experts to assess what documents are being withheld and what is being covered up by Pam Bondi. We will not stop until the whole truth comes out.’

‘People want the truth and continue to demand the immediate release of all the Epstein files,’ he continued. ‘This is nothing more than a cover-up to protect Donald Trump from his ugly past.’

Earlier in the week, Schumer warned that failure to release the documents on Friday would result in legal and political ramifications for Trump and the DOJ.

His ire came after Blanche, in an interview with Fox News, said that the DOJ would be following through with releasing hundreds of thousands of documents related to Epstein, his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, known associates and entities linked to Epstein and Maxwell, internal DOJ decision-making on the Epstein case, records on destroying or tampering with documents, and all documents on his detention and death.

But, it wouldn’t be every shred of information on the late pedophile.

‘Now the most important thing that the attorney general has talked about, that [FBI Director Kash] Patel has talked about, is that we protect victims,’ Blanche said. ‘And so what we’re doing is we are looking at every single piece of paper that we are going to produce, making sure that every victim, their name, their identity, their story, to the extent it needs to be protected, is completely protected.’

‘And so I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks,’ he continued. ‘So today, several hundred thousand, and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more.’

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Politics

134 House Republicans demand ‘assurances’ before US eases Syria sanctions

More than 100 House Republicans are demanding increased oversight of Syria as the U.S. prepares to repeal longstanding sanctions against the country.

‘The mass murder of the Syrian Christians, Druze, Alawites, Kurds, and other religious and ethnic minorities must be a thing of the past.’

They said Congress was committed ‘to keeping a watchful eye on the new al-Sharaa Administration to ensure protections for religious and ethnic minorities in Syria.’

It comes after two members of the Iowa National Guard serving in Syria were killed in an ambush by an ISIS gunman.

Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa took power in Syria after the previous government led by Bashar al-Assad was toppled in 2024.

The new leader has sought friendlier relations with the West, even visiting the White House in November of this year.

President Donald Trump signed the NDAA into law on Thursday evening.

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Politics

Iran killing spree continues as regime sets new record for 2025 executions, dissident group says

As the United Nations adopted a resolution condemning Iran for its execution spree ‘in the strongest terms,’ a leading dissident group released a report accusing Tehran of putting 2,013 Iranians to death under President Masoud Pezeshkian between Jan. 1 and Dec. 15 of this year.

TheMujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) report says this more than doubles the total of 975 executions that the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights counted in 2024. The U.N. noted that the 2024 figure was the highest recorded since 2015. Thegroup counted a similar total of 1,001 executions in 2024.

According to MEK documents provided to Fox News Digital, a free-falling Iranian currency, nationwide protests, factional power struggles, ‘snapback’ U.N. sanctions and fractures among leaders are stoking the increase in executions. The MEK says that this year’s execution total is the highest recorded since the 1980s.

A State Department spokesperson condemned Iran’s continued abuse of human rights, telling Fox News Digital that, ‘We strongly condemn the Iranian regime’s use of execution as a tool of political repression.  For decades, the regime has subjected Iranians to torture, forced confessions, and sham trials, resulting in unlawful executions. Today, innocent civilians are being used as scapegoats for the regime’s military and economic failures.’

The spokesperson continued, ‘The Trump Administration restored the policy of maximum pressure, ending the Biden Administration’s policy of announcing fig-leaf sanctions while handing the regime billions. Since January, we have designated dozens of people and over 180 vessels in Iran’s shadow fleet to deplete the regime’s coffers.’

Behnam Ben Taleblu, the senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran Program, said there are more steps needed to be taken by Washington. He told Fox News Digital that the U.S. has ‘been lagging behind’ other Western partners who have responded to Iranian human rights violations with sanctions and other measures, most recently Canada, which sanctioned four individuals after a protest in the Iranian city Mashhad in December.

‘The lack of practical measures to support the Iranian people is a strategic own goal,’ Taleblu said.

Taleblu noted that Iran ‘arrested over 21,000 people’ following the 12-Day War in June, alongside a ‘political repression that is even much more expansive than ever before.’ He said that the Islamic Republic ‘understands how weak it is,’ and any efforts to appear more socially lenient, including regarding hijab laws, are an attempt to ‘retain their oligarchic political position in a post-Khamenei Iran.’

Noting the prior Trump administration’s strong stance on Iran, Taleblu says that ‘it certainly can do better much more cheaply and more cost effectively than it thinks.’ Taleblu said that one ‘simple’ messaging strategy will present itself in March during President Trump’s Nowruz address, when he can ‘give an homage to the most pro-American, the most pro-Israeli population in the heartland of the Muslim Middle East.’

‘The imperative for Washington to support Iranian protesters… stands,’ Taleblu said. ‘But that should be a constant in U.S. foreign policy, given the disposition of the Iranian street, which is almost entirely against the Iranian state. U.S. human rights policy towards Iran should not be limited to merely having social media accounts that are the stenographers for Iran’s decline into failed state status.’

The MEK has urged U.S. policymakers to recognize the Iranian people’s right to resist and overthrow the regime, which they claim is the only means for eliminating the country’s theocracy.

On Dec. 10, the European Parliament marked International Human Rights Day by calling for the world to take action against Iran on account of its execution campaign. Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, addressed the parliament with her concerns that Iran is attempting to crush dissent. She urged that ‘all relations with the regime must be conditioned on the halt of executions,’ with members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Intelligence placed ‘on the terrorist list.’

Among those sentenced to death is Zahra Tabari, a 67-year-old engineer and mother who the MEK say was given her sentence after a ‘sham 10-minute trial… without her chosen legal representation.’ MEK documents say Tabari was arrested because she held a banner reading ‘Woman, Resistance, Freedom.’

The total number of executions in Iran has doubled since October. At the time, the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that Iran was murdering up to nine prisoners each day, which they called an ‘unprecedented execution spree.’ In response, death row prisoners staged a hunger strike.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not offer comment on the report.

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