Here’s this week’s reading list.

Merry Christmas Great Falls!

NPR: Millions of soon-to-be uninsured Americans are looking for a ‘plan B’

Associated Press: Rural schools hit by Trump’s grant cuts have few options for making up for the lost money

Reuters: U.S. consumer prices likely posted largest annual increase in 1-1/2 years in November

The New York Times: Heating costs expected to rise 9.2 percent this winter

High Country News and ProPublica: The wealthy profit from public lands, at taxpayer expense

Reuters: China’s ByteDance signs deal to form joint venture in step to avoid U.S. TikTok ban

KFF Health News: Call 911 or risk losing the baby? Raids force some immigrants to avoid care

Route Fifty: In the vast expanses of Indian country, broadband gaps create health gaps, too

Reuters: Senators want U.S. construction firms to detail use of DJI drones in government contracts

ProPublica: Why so few farms embrace a program experts say could prevent farmworker abuse

Route Fifty: Louisiana’s age-check law for social media is unconstitutional, federal judge rules

WUFT: Judge blocks HUD homelessness overhaul, rebukes agency for causing ‘chaos’

The Economist: A journey into the world’s most mysterious rainforest

Reuters: FTC probes Instacart’s AI pricing tool, source says; shares drop

L.A. Times: Energy Department to be investigated for selective grant cancellations

Route Fifty: Frustrations with data center projects bubble over at Michigan Capitol

Associated Press: U.S. forces stop a second merchant vessel off the coast of Venezuela, American officials say

The New York Times: Palo Alto confronts billionaires over their housing compounds

The Economist: The titanic task of catering on cruise ships

Foreign Affairs: What Trump’s national security strategy gets right

StateScoop: Trump’s state AI-law order sparks clash between states and industry

StateScoop: Minnesota governor orders state to collect gun-related insurance claims data for violence prevention

Associated Press: Trump sues BBC for $10 billion, accusing it of defamation over editing of his Jan. 6 speech

The New York Review: Food banks are America’s safety net of last resort. How much weight can they bear?

The Economist: Why hangovers get worse as you get older

NPR: The Kennedy Center was shaped by 3 different presidents

The Economist: How Jane Austen revealed the economic basis of society

The Atlantic: Can Jollibee beat American fast food at its own game?

NPR: Cheddar bay biscuits, cheap margs and memories: Readers share their nostalgia for chain restaurants