Links to two appreciations: from National Public Radio and the Colin McEnroe Show via Connecticut Public; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for MEDIA 12-31-25.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 31  Remembering 25 of the musicians we lost in 2025. Reported by A Martínez and Michel Martin | NPR  Sam Moore, Steve Cropper, Sly Stone, Angie Stone, D’Angelo, Garth Hudson, Marianne Faithful, Peter Yarrow, Tom Lehrer, Alf Clauson, Lalo Schifrin, Charles Strause, Connie Francis, Jimmie Cliff, Clem Burke, David Johansen, Ace Frehley, Ozzy Osbourne, Roy Thomas Baker, Al Foster, Jack DeJohnette, Chuck Mangione, Roberta Flack, Richard Smallwood, Brian Wilson. Click HERE for some of their music and talk about them.

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FROM DEC. 12  A wood thrush, Paul Winter, J.S. Bach. Reported by Lily Tyson, Jonathan McNicol and Colin McEnroe | The Colin McEnroe Show / Connecticut Public.  Winter’s “earth music” features music from around the world as well as the sounds of animals like wolves, whales and wood thrushes. He talks with McEnroe about his creative approach. Click HERE for five minutes of them talking and listening, and HERE for 50 minutes of it.

For now, links to four reports: from Agence France-Presse, National Public Radio and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (Scroll down for IRAN 12-29-25 and today’s GAZA, UKRAINE and MEDIA so far.) — MCM

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NEWER  Iran authorities say government building attacked in south. From AFP. Several people attacked and damaged a provincial governor’s office in southern Iran on Wednesday, according to authorities quoted by the justice ministry’s Mizan agency, after days of protests over the economy. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AFP report in French, and HERE for headlines of others.

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Protesters take to the streets of Iran as the country’s economy collapses. Reported by Jackie Northam and Michel Martin | NPR  Protests over the economy are sweeping through Iran. The country’s currency is plummeting amid concerns Israel will restart its war with Iran, a move President Trump signaled he would approve. Click HERE to listen and, later, read. Click HERE and HERE for AP / AP Dec. 29 report in English and Spanish.

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Iranian-American journalist offers an inside look at the protests sweeping Iran. A Martínez of NPR speaks with Iranian-American author and journalist Hooman Majd about the current wave of protests facing Iran and what they mean for its future. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, a link to a report from National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (Scroll down for GAZA 12-30-25 and up or down for today’s IRAN, UKRAINE and MEDIA so far.) — MCM

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Israel bans dozens of aid groups from Gaza, despite immense needs. Reported by Aya Batrawy | NPR  Dozens of international aid groups, like Doctors Without Borders, are now banned from entering Gaza under new rules set by Israel. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, a link to a report from the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (Scroll down for UKRAINE 12-30-25, and up or down for today’s IRAN, GAZA and MEDIA so far.) — MCM

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Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s Odesa injures 6, including children, by Illia Novikov | AP  KYIV — Russian drones blasted apartment buildings and the power grid in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa in an overnight attack that injured six people, including a toddler and two other children, officials said Wednesday. Click HERE for report including photos, HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, a link to a report from National Public Radio, followed by a link for the second time to a report from Middle East Monitor (the same report was linked yesterday in GAZA under a different headline and intro); others are accessible by clicking on the organizations’ names or initials below. (Scroll down for MEDIA 12-30-25, and scroll up for today’s IRAN, UKRAINE and GAZA so far.)  — MCM

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New York Times reporter talks about exclusive interviews with Marjorie Taylor Greene. Michel Martin of NPR speaks with the New York Times’ Robert Draper about his exclusive interviews with Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Drop Site News, the Atlantic, and LRB, by Binoy Kampmark | Middle East Monitor  In November, Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain of Drop Site News exposed a dedicated effort to discredit the work of scholars John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. The Atlantic in 2002 had commissioned their article, entitled “The Israeli Lobby.”  When the piece was ready for publication, they were offered a $10,000 “kill fee” for their consent to pull it. The article eventually found a home at the London Review of Books. READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

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For today, links to three reports: from the Associated Press, Middle East Eye, and Anadolu Ajansi; others are accessible by clicking their names or initials below. (Scroll down for YEMEN 12-27-25 and GAZA, UKRAINE and MEDIA.) — MCM

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Saudi Arabia bombs Yemen’s Mukalla, escalating conflict with UAE-backed forces, by Samy Magdy | AP  DOHA — Saudi Arabia bombed Yemen’s port city of Mukalla today, targeting a shipment of weapons from the United Arab Emirates for separatist forces — a significant move in a country located along a key international trade route that threatens to bring new risks to the Persian Gulf region. The UAE later said it would withdraw its forces from Yemen. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Middle East Eye. Click HERE and HERE for Anadolu / Anadolu report in English and French.

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NOTE:  The link to commentary below from Middle East Monitor (via ScheerPost) was defective for some hours overnight and this morning has been repaired. Please read it.

NOTE:  These entries may not be accessible in a timely fashion on all browsers.

For today, links to six reports: from Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, Declassified UK via Consortium News, and National Public Radio and to an article of commentary from Middle East Monitor via ScheerPost; others are accessible by clicking their names and initials below. (Scroll down for GAZA 12-29-25 and UKRAINE and MEDIA.) — MCM

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10 countries warn of ‘catastrophic’ Gaza situation. From AFP. LONDON —  The foreign ministers of 10 nations today expressed “serious concerns” about a “renewed deterioration of the humanitarian situation” in Gaza, saying the situation was “catastrophic.” READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report in French from Le Monde and AFP. 

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Israel to halt operations of several humanitarian groups in Gaza starting in 2026, by Melanie Lidman and Sam Mednick | AP  JERUSALEM — Israel said today it will suspend more than two dozen humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, for failing to meet its new rules to vet international organizations working in the Gaza Strip. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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FROM DEC. 22 / 29  Gaza’s ‘Yellow Line’: Where Israel’s war rages on, by Shaimaa Eid | Declassified UK / Consortium News  Despite the declared end of the war on the Gaza Strip under the agreement signed in October 2025, thousands of Palestinians continue to live in a state of forced displacement — unable to return to homes or land which now lie beyond what is known as the “Yellow Line.” A new phase of war continues silently, away from cameras. READ MORE . . .

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Trump and Netanyahu meet to discuss next phase of Gaza ceasefire plan. Reported by Leila Fadel and Michele Kelemen | NPR  Israel’s prime minister met President Trump at the White House Monday to discuss next steps in the peace plan with Gaza and across the region. Click HERE to listen and, later, read. Click HERE for Dec. 29 NPR report.

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Former Israeli negotiator talks about the next phase of the Gaza peace plan. Michel Martin of NPR talks about the prospects for Phase Two of the Gaza peace plan with former Israeli negotiator Daniel Levy, president of the U.S./Middle East Project. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM DEC. 26  Why the Gaza genocide was premeditated and is repeatable, by Ramzi Baroud | Middle East Monitor / ScheerPost  Suppose we accept the fiction that none of us expected Israel to launch a full-scale genocide in Gaza — to erase the Strip and exterminate a significant portion of its inhabitants. Let us pretend . . . READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to five reports: from Reuters, National Public Radio, and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking their initials below. (Scroll down for UKRAINE 12-29-25 and up or down for YEMEN, GAZA and MEDIA.) — MCM

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NEWER  Russia attacks Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and civilian ships, Kyiv says. From Reuters. KYIV — Russia launched waves of drones to attack port infrastructure and civilian ships in Ukraine’s Odesa region ​today, Ukrainian navy and government officials said. READ MORE . . .

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Russia accuses Ukraine of attempted drone strike, threatens to harden peace stance. Reported by Joanna Kakissis and Leila Fadel | NPR  Russia says Ukraine tried to hit one of Putin’s homes with a drone. Kyiv denies it, calling the claim staged to justify war. The Kremlin now warns it may toughen its stance in the ongoing peace talks. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Leaders from Europe and Canada discuss U.S.-led peace efforts as Russia-Ukraine tensions spike, by Illia Novikov and Katie Marie Davies | AP  KYIV — Leaders from Europe and Canada held talks Tuesday on U.S.-led peace efforts to end the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine, as Moscow and Kyiv sparred over Russian claims, denied by Ukraine, of a mass drone attack on a lakeside residence used by President Vladimir Putin. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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A professor breaks down Russia’s negotiating tactics with Ukraine. Reported by Michel Martin | NPR  Nina Khrushcheva, professor of International Affairs at New York’s New School, talks about the negotiating tactics Russia is using in peace talks with Ukraine. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Ukraine’s energy workers fight to keep the power on. Reported by Eleanor Beardsley | NPR  Ukraine’s power plant employees are battling to keep the infrastructure running in the face of Russian attacks. Click HERE to listen and read.

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NOTE: These entries may not be accessible in a timely fashion on all browsers.

For today, a link to a poem from Behind the Curtain; other writings are accessible by clicking on its name below. (Scroll down for MEDIA 12-29-25. Scroll up for YEMEN, UKRAINE and GAZA.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 22  The classics, by Edward Curtin | Behind the Curtain  Here we are in the middle of our lives. / Somewhere someone is reading a book, / Quietly,  . . . READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to two reports: from Middle East Monitor and the Cradle, and to an article of commentary from Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (Scroll down for WEST BANK 12-28-22-25 and IRAN, GAZA, UKRAINE and MEDIA.) — MCM

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Ben-Gvir flees after being pelted with stones in Palestinian village in Negev. From Middle East Monitor. Angry Palestinians from the Bedouin village of Tarabin, located in the occupied Negev region of southern Palestine, which has been under Israeli control since 1948, threw stones at Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right extremist serving as the so-called Minister of National Security in the Israeli occupation government. READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 28  Israeli army pulls out of Qabatiya after two days of ‘collective punishment.’ From the Cradle. The Israeli military withdrew from the occupied West Bank city of Qabatiya on Saturday, following a two-day operation launched in response to the resistance operation which killed two Israelis last week. READ MORE . . .

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Epstein, Dershowitz and the Israel lobby, by Binoy Kampmark | Middle East Monitor  A shrouded aspect of Jeffrey E. Epstein’s sordid legacy has been neglected in most discussions. READ MORE . . .

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