While the American military blows up boats it claims are transporting drugs from Venezuela, observers say tankers shipping Venezuelan oil in violation of a U.S. embargo continue to navigate the very same Caribbean waters undisturbed. Read More

Brazilian police launched their most lethal operation ever in Rio de Janeiro, leaving at least 64 dead as authorities squared off against a major gang in the global tourist destination just ahead of next week’s climate summit. Read More

Canada is on the verge of losing the measles-elimination status it has held since 1998. Read More

OTTAWA — The aunt of a Kelowna, B.C., woman killed in an intimate partner violence case is set to discuss a bill aimed at addressing such violence with Justice Minister Sean Fraser on Wednesday. Read More

There may be no better illustration of the basic laws of supply and demand than when tickets go on sale for a wildly anticipated concert or sporting event — the World Series, say, which the Toronto Blue Jays are in the midst of contesting for the first time in 32 years. You can literally go on Ticketmaster’s website and watch resale prices fluctuate in real time. And you can appreciate just how much people are willing to pay to see the Jays, come hell or high water, or four-digit ticket prices: For games in Toronto, resellers have been asking no less than $1,000 for the cheapest seats. Read More

Veteran British journalist Andrew Marr offered a dystopian view of the U.K.’s politics in this week’s New Statesman magazine. It’s an article that should probably be viewed as a cautionary tale by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government. Read More

A City of Richmond letter to property owners in the Cowichan Aboriginal title area recognized by the B.C. Supreme Court has brought the judgment’s potential impacts into stark reality. Read More

OTTAWA — With one week to go before Mark Carney’s government tables its first budget with no clear partner in sight, the Liberals and opposition parties are pointing fingers at each other in an attempt to shift the blame in case of a snap election. Read More

OTTAWA — Federal NDP leadership candidates are backing Alberta's spurned labour unions after the Alberta government used the notwithstanding clause to force striking teachers back to the classroom.  Read More

Hurricane Melissa came ashore as the strongest recorded storm to strike Jamaica, threatening to be the most destructive of the 2025 season. The storm is expected to strike Cuba overnight. Read More

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered “forceful strikes” in Gaza on Tuesday after accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire-for-hostages agreement. Read More

While the White House and loyal members of his administration will swear to Donald Trump’s popularity among the American people, a CNN analysis of polling data claims that U.S. citizens actually like Canada more. Read More

New York (AFP) -- Elon Musk's company xAI has launched a website called Grokipedia to compete with online encyclopedia Wikipedia, which he and others on the American right wing have accused of ideological bias. Read More

OTTAWA — Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Mark Carney "approved" Ontario's anti-tariff ads, which U.S. President Donald Trump blamed as the reason for ending trade talks with Canada.  Read More

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s in a bind. On one side, there’s U.S. President Donald Trump, strangling our auto industry and cutting off trade talks, in the wake of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s “Reagan was right, you are wrong” ad campaign. On the other, there’s Chinese leader Xi Jinping, offering to lift restrictions on agriculture and seafood imports in exchange for Canada dropping its ban on electric vehicle imports from China. Decisions, decisions. Read More

New Department of Homeland Security regulations in the United States will, beginning Dec. 26, require all non-citizens (including Canadians) to be photographed while entering or leaving the country. Read More

As cold and flu season approaches, you may be looking for ways to stay well. Your immune system is your body’s frontline defense — fighting off viruses, bacteria, and more. With age those defenses can weaken, making you more prone to infection. The good news? Optimal food and lifestyle choices can help keep your immune system strong. Read More

Canadian singer JP Saxe changed the lyrics of the national anthem at Monday night's World Series game. Read More

San Francisco — U.S. online retail and cloud computing giant Amazon said Tuesday that it is reducing its workforce by 14,000 posts to streamline operations as it invests in artificial intelligence, without saying where the cuts will be made. Read More

Melissa could be the worst hurricane Jamaica has experienced since record-keeping began -- but some residents on the Caribbean island say they will believe it when they see it. Read More

Amazon will lay off tens of thousands of office workers as the e-commerce and tech giant trims costs amid ramped-up investments in artificial intelligence, according to U.S. media reports. Read More

First Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here. Read More