By Kit Maher, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would be issuing checks to members of the United States military for $1,776 – in honor of the country’s founding – calling the payment the “Warrior Dividend.”

“1,450,000 military service members will receive a special, we call, warrior dividend before Christmas. A warrior dividend. In honor of our nation’s founding in 1776, we are sending every soldier $1,776,” Trump said during his televised address to the nation.

“And the checks are already on the way.”

Trump credited tariffs for bringing in money, though he didn’t say directly how the initiative would be funded.

“We made a lot more money than anybody thought because of tariffs, and the bill helped us along. Nobody deserves it more than our military, and I say congratulations to everybody,” Trump said.

CNN has reached out to the White House and Treasury for more information on the payments.

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By Daniel Dale, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump made a series of false claims during his prime-time address from the White House on Wednesday night, most of which have been debunked before. Here is a fact check.

This article will be updated with additional items.

Inflation and the economy

Investment in the US this year: Trump repeated his false claim that there has been “$18 trillion” in investment in the US during his second presidency, saying Wednesday, “I’ve secured a record-breaking $18 trillion of investment into the United States.” This figure is fiction. At the time he spoke on Wednesday, the White House’s own website said the figure was “$9.6 trillion,” and even that is a major exaggeration; a detailed CNN review in October found the White House was counting trillions of dollars in vague investment pledges, pledges that were about “bilateral trade” or “economic exchange” rather than investment in the US, or vague statements that didn’t even rise to the level of pledges. You can read more here.

Prescription drug prices: Trump repeated his false claim that an executive order he issued on prescription drug prices will cut those prices by “as much as 400, 500, and even 600%.” These figures are mathematically impossible; if the president magically got the companies to reduce the prices of all of their drugs to $0, that would be a 100% cut. You can read a longer fact check here.

Inflation under Trump: Near the end of the speech, Trump falsely claimed, “Inflation is stopped.” Inflation hasn’t stopped; the year-over-year inflation rate in September, 3.0%, was the same as the rate when Trump returned to office in January – in fact, if you go to multiple decimal places, the September rate was a tiny bit higher – and September was the fifth consecutive month the year-over-year rate had increased.

Immigration and foreign policy

Trump and wars: Trump repeated his false claim that he has ended eight wars this year, saying Wednesday, “I’ve restored American strength, settled eight wars in 10 months.” While Trump has played a role in resolving some conflicts (at least tempo

By Jessie Yeung, CNN

(CNN) — Mourners on Thursday laid to rest the youngest victim of the Bondi Beach attack in Sydney: 10-year-old Matilda, who had been enjoying the Hanukkah festivities with her family when the gunmen opened fire.

People at the funeral service in Sydney held bouquets of flowers, framed photos of Matilda, dolls and stuffed animals, as shown in videos of the ceremony, which was attended by several political figures, according to national broadcaster the ABC.

The young girl’s death has touched many in the grieving community. One woman who visited a makeshift memorial on Wednesday said she had crocheted 15 butterflies to represent each of the deceased. “The one in the middle is a brightly colored blue one and that’s for Matilda,” she told Chinese state-owned broadcaster CGTN.

Matilda had been attending the Hanukkah celebration with her parents, younger sister and friends on Sunday when she was wounded in the shooting. She was then rushed to hospital, where doctors fought unsuccessfully to save her.

At a memorial event on Wednesday, Matilda’s parents reflected on their daughter’s final moments. “Like she’s running around happy and then…what I see before my eyes is she’s lying on the ground,” her mother, Valentyna, said through tears.

The family had moved from Ukraine to Australia in the 1990s, and enjoyed walks on the beach, picnics in the park and walks to the zoo, said Matilda’s aunt Lina, who did not wish to share the family’s surname.

Tearful and out of breath, Valentyna said that after leaving Ukraine, she “could not imagine I would lose my daughter here.”

Crackdown on hate speech

As the nation mourns the victims of Australia’s worst mass shooting in almost three decades, authorities have vowed to take tougher action on both gun control and antisemitism.

Speaking on Thursday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced there would be legislative reforms cracking down on people who spread “hate, division and radicalization.”

That includes greater penalties for hate speech, and for preachers and leaders who promote violence. Hate speech will be an “aggravating factor” in sentencing for crimes involving online threats and harassment, and Australia will develop a system to list organizations whose leaders engage in hate speech or promote violence or racial hatred, he said.

Australia’s home affairs minister will also have new powers to cancel or reject the visas of people who spread hate and division, or who would do so if allowed to enter the country.

Albanese also announced a task force that will work for 12 months to ensure the Australian education system “prevents, tackles and responds to antisemitism.”

“There is no place in Australia for antisemitism,” Albanese said. “Australians are shocked and angry – I am angry.”

The Australian Federal Police are also looking into alleged hate preachers as part of their investigation and will execute further search warrants in the coming days, police commissioner Krissy Barrett said on Thursday.

Reflecting on her recent trip to Sydney, the commissioner paid tribute to the victims – and the youngest of them all.

“Every day we see the beautiful and joyful faces now lost, and in them we see our own loved ones,” Barrett said. “Today is the funeral of little Matilda. She was so young, she was so innocent, and my heart is so heavy for her family.”

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Por Michael Rios, CNN

El presidente de Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, dijo este miércoles que su homólogo estadounidense Donald Trump reveló sus verdaderas intenciones hacia el país sudamericano con su afirmación de que le habían robado a Estados Unidos “petróleo, tierras y otros activos”.

Maduro dijo que la afirmación de Trump mostraba que Estados Unidos realmente buscaba un cambio de régimen junto con la propiedad del territorio y los recursos de Venezuela. Anteriormente, Estados Unidos había caracterizado su despliegue de fuerzas navales cerca del país como dirigido a combatir el narcotráfico.

“Sencillamente es una pretensión guerrerista y colonialista, y lo hemos dicho bastante y ya todo el mundo ve la verdad. La verdad ha sido revelada”, dijo Maduro el miércoles en Caracas.

“Se pretende en Venezuela un cambio de régimen para imponer un Gobierno títere que no duraría ni 47 horas, que llegue a entregarle la Constitución, la soberanía y toda la riqueza y convierta a Venezuela en una Colonia. Sencillamente, eso no va a pasar nunca, jamás”, continuó.

El martes, Trump escribió en Truth Social que el despliegue militar alrededor de Venezuela aumentaría hasta que el país devolviera a Estados Unidos “el petróleo, la tierra y otros activos que nos robaron anteriormente”.

Trump dijo a los periodistas este miércoles que Venezuela había quitado ilegalmente “derechos energéticos” y que Estados Unidos los quería de vuelta. “Estamos recuperando tierras, derechos petroleros, lo que sea que tuviéramos. Nos lo quitaron porque tuvimos un presidente que tal vez no estaba atento. Pero no van a hacer eso. Queremos recuperarlo. Nos quitaron nuestros derechos petroleros. Teníamos mucho petróleo allí. Como saben, expulsaron a nuestras empresas y queremos recuperarlo”.

Venezuela puso su sector petrolero bajo control estatal en la década de 1970. Anteriormente, las empresas estadounidenses tenían una presencia mucho mayor en sus campos petroleros.

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* WHAT…North winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph expected.
Isolated gusts to 50 mph in the hills.

* WHERE…A portion of southwest California.

* WHEN…Until 10 PM PST this evening.

* IMPACTS…Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree
limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.
Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high
profile vehicles. Use extra caution.

Secure outdoor objects.

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