AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EST

The State Department announced the sales late Wednesday during a nationally televised address by President Donald Trump, who made scant mention of foreign policy issues and did not speak about China or Taiwan at all. U.S.-Chinese tensions have ebbed and flowed during Trump’s second term, largely over trade and tariffs but also over China’s increasing aggressiveness toward Taiwan, which Beijing has said must reunify with the mainland.

If approved by Congress, it would be the largest-ever U.S. weapons package to Taiwan, exceeding the total amount of $8.4 billion in U.S. arms sales to Taiwan during the Biden administration.

The eight arms sales agreements announced Wednesday cover 82 high-mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS, and 420 Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS — similar to what the U.S. had been providing Ukraine during the Biden administration to defend itself from Russia — worth more than $4 billion. They also include 60 self-propelled howitzer systems and related equipment worth more than $4 billion and drones valued at more than $1 billion.

Other sales in the package include military software valued at more than $1 billion, Javelin and TOW missiles worth more than $700 million, helicopter spare parts worth $96 million and refurbishment kits for Harpoon missiles worth $91 million.

4 Republicans defy Speaker Johnson to force House vote on extending ACA subsidies

WASHINGTON (AP) — Four centrist Republicans broke with Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday and signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vote on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowers health insurance costs for millions of Americans.

The stunning move came the same day that House Republican leaders pushed to passage a health care bill that does not address the soaring monthly premiums that millions of people will soon endure. Those premium hikes will occur because the tax credits for those who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act expire at year’s end.

The developments set the stage for a renewed intraparty clash over health care in January, something Republican leaders had been working hard to avoid.

The moderate Republicans were able to force the issue by signing a petition, led by Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, to vote on a bill that would extend the ACA subsides for three years.

Republican Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Robert Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie, all from Pennsylvania, and Mike Lawler of New York signed on Wednesday morning, pushing it to the magic number of 218. A vote on the subsidy bill could come as soon as January under House rules.

Senate passes $901 billion defense bill that pushes Hegseth for boat strike video

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate gave final passage Wednesday to an annual military policy bill that will authorize $901 billion in defense programs while pressuring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide lawmakers with video of strikes on alleged drug boats in international water near Venezuela.

The annual National Defense Authorization Act, which raises troop pay by 3.8%, gained bipartisan backing as it moved through Congress. It passed the Senate on a 77-20 vote before lawmakers planned to leave Washington for a holiday break. Two Republicans — Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee — and 18 Democrats voted against the bill.

The White House has indicated that it is in line with President Donald Trump's national security priorities. However, the legislation, which ran over 3,000 pages, revealed some points of friction between Congress and the Pentagon as the Trump administration reorients its focus away from security in Europe and toward Central and South America.

The bill pushes back on recent moves by the Pentagon. It demands more information on boat strikes in the Caribbean, requires that the U.S. keep its troop levels in Europe at current levels and sends some military aid to Ukraine.

But overall, the bill represents a compromise between the parties. It implements many of Trump's executive orders and proposals on eliminating diversity and inclusion efforts in the military and grants emergency military powers at the U.S. border with Mexico. It also enhances congressional oversight of the Department of Defense, repeals several years-old war authorizations and seeks to overhaul how the Pentagon purchases weapons as the U.S. tries to outpace China in developing the next generation of military technology.

Israel launches intense airstrikes in Lebanon as deadline looms to disarm Hezbollah

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on southern and northeastern Lebanon on Thursday as a deadline looms to disarm the militant Hezbollah group along the tense frontier.

The strikes came a day before a meeting of the committee monitoring the enforcement of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah a year ago.

It will be the second meeting of the mechanism after Israel and Lebanon appointed civilian members to a previously military-only committee. The group also includes the U.S, France and the U.N. peacekeeping force deployed along the border.

In Paris, Lebanon’s army commander Gen. Rodolph Haikal is scheduled to meet on Thursday with U.S., French and Saudi officials to discuss ways of assisting the army in its mission to boost its presence in the border area.

The Lebanese government has said that the army should have cleared all the border area south of the Litani river from Hezbollah’s armed presence by the end of the year.

Mourners grieve 10-year-old slain in Bondi mass shooting as Australia's leader pledges new hate laws

SYDNEY (AP) — Hundreds of mourners bearing bright bouquets and clutching each other in grief gathered at a funeral in Sydney on Thursday for a 10-year-old girl who was gunned down in an antisemitic massacre during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.

Matilda, whose last name is being withheld at the request of her family, was enjoying a petting zoo at the festivities on Sunday just before she was killed along with 14 other people in a mass shooting targeting Jews. The suspects, a father and son, were inspired by the Islamic State group, Australian authorities have said.

Beaming photos of Matilda have become a focal point for Australia’s grief at one of the worst hate-fueled attacks ever committed in the country. The massacre has prompted a national reckoning about antisemitism and questions about whether the country’s leaders took seriously enough the threat to Australian Jews.

Matilda’s parents, who arrived in Australia from Ukraine, “moved away from war-torn Eastern Europe to come here for a good life,” Rabbi Dovid Slavin told The Associated Press as he entered the service.

“They did something that a parent is OK to do, take their child to a family event at Bondi beach,” he added. “If it ended this way, it’s something for collective responsibility for every adult in this country.”

DOJ vowed to punish those who disrupt Trump's immigration crackdown. Dozens of cases have crumbled

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal agent described her wounds as “boo-boos.”

Nevertheless, the Justice Department aggressively pursued the alleged perpetrator. They jailed Sidney Lori Reid on a charge of felony assault, accusing her of injuring the agent during a July protest of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Washington, D.C.

When grand jurors thrice declined to indict the 44-year-old on the felony, prosecutors tried Reid on a misdemeanor.

Body camera footage played at trial revealed that Reid had not intentionally struck the agent. Instead, the agent had scratched her hand on a wall while assisting another agent who had shoved Reid and told her to “shut the f—- up” and “mind her own business.”

It took jurors less than two hours to acquit the animal hospital worker.

Rob and Michele Reiner's son appears in court on murder charges while siblings speak of their loss

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nick Reiner made his first court appearance Wednesday in Los Angeles on two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents, actor-director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, while the couple's other two children made their first public statement on their crushing loss.

Nick Reiner, 32, did not enter a plea as he appeared from behind glass in a custody area in the large Los Angeles courtroom where newly charged defendants are arraigned. He was in shackles and wearing a blue, padded suicide prevention smock used in jail.

His arraignment was postponed until Jan. 7 at his attorney's request. He spoke only to say "yes, your honor" to agree to the date. He is being held without bail.

His older brother Jake Reiner and younger sister Romy Reiner released their statement through a family spokesperson.

“Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day," they said. “The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends.”

World shares are mixed after AI worries drag Wall Street tech stocks lower

BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mixed on Thursday after declines for AI stocks dragged the U.S. market to its worst day in nearly a month.

Traders were waiting for an update later in the day on U.S. inflation, and on a decision Friday by Japan’s central bank on interest rates. The Bank of Japan is expected to raise its key rate by 0.25 percentage point to tamp down price pressures, despite a contraction in the July-September quarter.

Germany's DAX edged 0.2% higher to 24,007.33, while the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.4% to 8,114.30. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.3% to 9,800.00.

The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.3%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.1%.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 1% to 49,001.50, with technology shares leading the decline.

Belgium demands ironclad guarantees of protection as EU leaders weigh a massive loan for Ukraine

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium insisted on Thursday that its European Union partners must provide ironclad guarantees that it will be protected from Russian retaliation before it would back a massive loan for Ukraine.

At a high-stakes EU summit in Brussels, the 27-nation bloc’s leaders are set to decide on whether to use tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to underwrite a loan to meet Ukraine’s military and financial needs over the next two years.

The bulk of the assets — some 193 billion euros ($227 billion) as of September — are held in the Brussels-based financial clearing house Euroclear. Russia’s Central Bank sued Euroclear last week.

“Give me a parachute and we’ll all jump together,” De Wever told members of the Belgian parliament just before the summit began. “If we have confidence in the parachute that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Belgium fears that Russia will strike back and would prefer that the bloc borrow the money on international markets. It wants frozen assets held in other European countries to be thrown into the pot as well, and for its partners to guarantee that Euroclear will have the funds it needs should it come under legal attack.

Trump gives a partisan prime-time address insisting the economy is stronger than many voters feel

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump delivered a politically charged speech Wednesday carried live in prime time on network television, seeking to pin the blame for economic challenges on Democrats while announcing he is sending a $1,776 bonus check to U.S. troops for Christmas.

The remarks came as the nation is preparing to settle down to celebrate the holidays, yet Trump was focused more on divisions within the country than a sense of unity. His speech was a rehash of his recent messaging that has so far been unable to calm public anxiety about the cost of groceries, housing, utilities and other basic goods.

Trump has promised an economic boom, yet inflation has stayed elevated and the job market has weakened sharply in the wake of his import taxes. Trump suggested that his tariffs — which are partly responsible for boosting consumer prices — would fund a new “warrior dividend” for 1.45 million military members, a payment that could ease some of the financial strains for many households. The amount of $1,776 was a reference to next year's 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

“The checks are already on the way,” he said of the expenditure, which would total roughly $2.6 billion.

Presidential addresses to the nation carried on network television are traditionally less partisan than rally speeches, but Trump gave a condensed version of his usual political remarks.