The president said that he approved a plan for the Navy to start construction of the two battleships, which will be equipped with guns, missiles, hypersonic weapons and high-powered lasers. Trump trumpeted the ships as being built with "all steel" as opposed to aluminum. Trump said the timeline of building the ships would be about two and a half years. When asked if the new class of ships is developed to counter China, Trump said they are intended to counter "everybody."

President Donald Trump's announcement of a new class of battleships bearing his name puts a fresh spotlight on a US naval shipbuilding program that has fallen short on delivering the new warships on time and on budget in recent years, something Trump himself pointed out in his speech from Mar-a-Lago on Monday. "We make the greatest equipment in the world, by far, nobody's even close. But we don't produce them fast enough," Trump said, as he announced he would meet soon with top US military contractors to ramp up production for the new battleships and other weapons programs. But at least in the battleship plan, the Navy would seem to be swimming upstream, with construction of the vessels themselves and some of the weapon systems the service says would be aboard.

President Donald Trump announced plans for the construction of a new line of battleships for the United States Navy on Monday, which the president claims will be "one hundred times more powerful" than any warship ever built. The president, who is spending the Christmas holidays at his private club in South Florida, made the announcement alongside Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan. "Each one of these will be the largest battleship in the history of our country, the largest battleship in the history of the world ever built," Trump stated at Mar-a-Lago. "They'll help maintain American military supremacy, revive the American shipbuilding industry, and inspire fear in America's enemies all over the world. We want respect. We're going to have it."

After politics and religion, parenting might be one of the most hotly-debated topics online. Parents get super passionate about the differences between gentle and authoritative parenting or how parents interact with teachers. It's not hard to find people with strong opinions about parents sharing photos of their children on social media, allowing them to use screens at a young age, or their diets.Parenting touches on many social, political, and cultural issues, so it makes sense that people are passionate about the topic. Further, our kids all have to play together at school, so we have to live with the consequences of other people’s parenting decisions.A Redditor posed a question on the AskReddit subforum: What’s a modern parenting trend that needs to die immediately? And over 2400 people responded with the contemporary trends they'd prefer to end sooner rather than later. Many of them are concerned about how children are affected by technology, including social media, AI, and tablets. Others are concerned that modern children are far too sheltered and need to be challenged so they aren’t eaten alive when they enter the adult world.The roundup includes some complaints about modern parents, but many of the responses offer good food for thought. Parents can easily get caught up in prevailing ideas of the time, before it's too late to course-correct. So there's nothing wrong with a bit of thoughtful criticism to make sure that we're all doing right by our kids. Here are 15 parenting trends people say should ‘end immediately'1. Kids on social media"Kids' Instagram accounts.""Or Facebooks. Any social media, really. There were a few parents I knew had Facebooks for their kids as online "dairies." They were public and shared almost every detail of the kids' lives up until they either gave up on them or deleted them. Bonkers.""I've long since lost touch with them but I knew someone who started a Facebook page for her unborn child. She had pictures of her ultrasounds on it and would write posts in the tone of her unborn child along the lines of 'mommy I can't wait to be born and come meet you.'"2. Kids need unsupervised play"Heard an interesting segment on a radio program recently about how children NEED unsupervised, unstructured play (ideally outside with other kids). Helicopter parenting and turning every activity into organized competition is robbing kids of important developmental skills and independence."One of the most significant problems in the modern world, where kids' lives are overly structured, parents are involved in everything, and screens are everywhere, is that they experience little free play. Unstructured play is essential to their development because it gives them agency over their own lives and allows them to negotiate relationships with other kids, take risks, and solve problems. 3. Treating kids like projects"Treating kids like a project to optimize instead of people who are allowed to be bored, messy, and human.""It’s the 'gardener vs. the carpenter.' We have much less control over who our children become than we think we do. If there’s a dandelion seed in the ground it’s not going to become a tulip no matter how hard you try. All you can do is make sure the soil is nourishing so they can be the best damn dandelion in the yard." Kids playing in a park.via Canva/Photos4. Refusing vitamin K"Nurse here- Refusing vitamin K for your newborn. I’ve never seen an infant harmed as a result of a vitamin K shot… but I have seen one die as a result of a brain bleed that could have been prevented with a routine vitamin K injection.""I work at a pediatric hospital. The number of newborns with life-altering brain bleeds that get flown in to us because the mom refused the Vit K is mind-blowing. Like the baby shows up 24 hours old, and their life is over because of a major bleed that will now eat away any brain tissue they have."5. Gentle parenting"Gentle parenting turning into no parenting, like ma'am, that child needs boundaries, not a podcast.""Agreed. I work with young children (2-5), and I see this a lot. Kids need boundaries. If you set a boundary and the child throws a tantrum, SO WHAT? Let them. I think it’s good that parents in general are trying to be more gentle than maybe their parents were to them, but it tends to go too far in the opposite direction.""Claiming you are doing 'Gentle Parenting' when you aren't. Gentle Parenting is treating your children like human beings with emotions and needs. It isn't a magical buzzword that lets you be a negligent parent with no repercussions."Gentle parenting is a strategy that emphasizes emotional validation, firm but respectful boundaries, and empathy. Supporters believe that it helps kids with communication skills, emotional intelligence, and trust. Critics believe that it makes it hard for kids to handle authority and can easily slide into overly permissive parenting. 6. Emotional connection to kids"Emotional enmeshment with your kids. Your kids aren't your best friends. They are your kids.""My mom treated me like an emotional support animal to the point of damaging relationships with her actual friends and sabotaging my attempts at making friends until I cut her off at 26. Our last conversation resulted in me hanging up on her mid-sentence because she was trying to scare me out of getting to know someone who's now my best friend. It was astounding to realize just how much her latching onto me was making me miserable." A mom and dad with their young son. via Canva/Photos7. Unqualified homeschoolers"Homeschooling when you are in absolutely no way qualified to.""The least educated, least organized, and most unreliable mom-friend I have is the one who is homeschooling her kids. I honestly think it’s because she is too lazy to wake early to get them to school on time."8. Let your kids be uncomfortable"Not exposing our youths to stuff that makes them uncomfortable. This leads to socially anxious teens, who get a panic attack from normal everyday interactions. People who are afraid of their own shadow. Youths who cannot trust that you'll get through the unpleasant experiences."9. Strange names"You mean you’re not a fan of 'Myckhenzleigh'?""Saw one last weekend, Kahriz. Asked the kids coach 'How is that pronounced?' Chris.""I came across a Xakary the other day."10. Overprotective fathers"This isn't only a modern trend but dad need to chill out with the 'my daughter can't marry until she's 40' rhetoric or the 'hurt my daughter and I'll murder you' stuff. It's not tough to threaten a 16-year-old, and forbidding your daughter to ignore boys until they are not under your control is just going to set them up for unhealthy dating expectations. I have a 16-year-old daughter with a boyfriend. He's a nice kid and he treats her well. They definitely don't have a future together, but I think he's a great 1st boyfriend that is really setting the tone of how she should expect to be treated."11. Kids and AI"Letting kids anywhere near that AI. I thought cheating was bad enough in my day but holy sh*t is CheatGPT getting outta hand, our next generation is gonna be braindead if this keeps up.""Part of my job is skills development training. I getting tired of arguing with the class when they tell me they dont need to learn because 'they can just ask ai.'"12. Beige children"Sad beige children. Kids need colors to aid in their mental and cognitive development. Children need a childhood more than beige moms need ugly aesthetic pictures.""I find parents who always dress their kids super trendy gross. For normal days I just let my kid choose his clothes, IDGAF he's a kid."13. Raising kids with screens"Pacifying your toddler by handing them a screen."14. Your kid is not a pro athlete"Thinking your kid is going to play professional sports. Look only 7% of HS athletes go on to play college athletics at any level. In sports where there is a draft (Football, baseball, hockey, basketball, softball, soccer) only 2.7% of draft eligible athletes get drafted. That means in those sports IF you play HS ball, you have a 0.19% of going pro. Your 8-year-old is probably not part of that 0.19%. You dont need to spend 10s of thousands of dollars on them playing on the very best travel teams. Let them be kids.""Bottom line is new parents should just dump money into their kids' 529 the second they're born rather than rely on some scholarship that will never materialize for 93% of them, let alone lead to a pro career."15. Read to your kids"Not reading. Read to your kids. Read for yourself. It matters less than feeding them, but not a lot less.""This is huge. It's basically free and makes a lifelong difference. If the parents can't read, or can't read in the target language, they can still take their kids to libraries or other places that can cultivate a love for reading. I teach community college freshmen. I have no idea who was breastfed or even vaccinated (things people spend too much time obsessing about, one of which doesn't even actually matter), but I could probably guess with 95% accuracy whose families encouraged reading."

One of the strangest things about highly intelligent people is that they are very aware of what they don’t know. The psychological phenomenon known as the Dunning-Kruger effect suggests that the more intelligent someone is, the more they fixate on their perceived gaps in intelligence, leading them to underestimate themselves. Conversely, those who aren’t very intelligent overestimate their knowledge on a subject.The great mind might be more preoccupied with the gaps in its knowledge than the smaller mind that thinks it knows everything. How can someone see if they have a great mind? Philosophy expert Julian de Medeiros says it all goes back to Aristotle's “rule of thumb.” De Medeiros writes a Substack on philosophy and has over 1.4 million followers on TikTok, where he analyzes the mysteries of love, intelligence, and friendship.How to know you are brilliant @julianphilosophy Simple theory about intelligence #intelligent #intelligence #smart #genius #creative #power “Here's a simple sign that you are intelligent, that you have a great mind, and it's a simple theory, a rule of thumb, that goes back to an observation by the philosopher Aristotle, who once wrote: ‘No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness,’” de Medeiros says. “By which he meant that there's a fine line indeed between being a genius and being a madman.”Schopenhauer on what makes a genius“As the philosopher Schopenhauer once wrote: ‘Talent is when you can hit a target no one else can hit. Genius is when you can hit a target no one else can see,” de Medeiros continued. “Now to have a great mind, therefore, means that you can see and think things that other people can't. But this puts you on a kind of border where there's a liminal line between what is real and what is not. Your mind is a double-edged sword, both a blessing and a curse, and that very intelligent people can also fall off the edge into the abyss.”Aristotle lived more than 2,300 years ago, when our knowledge of mental and physical health was a fraction of what we know now. But, interestingly, he was correct in believing that highly intelligent people may face greater psychological struggles than those of normal intelligence.A study published by Mensa foundthat knowledgeable people are are 20% more likely to have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. They are 80% ore liekly to be diagnosed with ADHD and 182% more likely to have a mood disorder.Why is it that highly intelligent people are more likely to suffer from mental disorders? A study found that it may be caused by psychological excitability. Highly intelligent people are known to fixate on things. This can be a big help when you are problem-solving at work, but it can become a problem when you become preoccupied with a comment from your boss or a social interaction that you can't stop playing over and over in your head.There is a funny way that life always seems to balance things out. You can either be unintelligent and think you know everything, or be brilliant and focused on everything you don’t know. It shows that, with respect to intelligence, having a psychological understanding of yourself is one of the keys to living a healthy and happy life. Or, as Aristotle once put it: “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

For some Gen X-ers, the lens through which we saw the world in the late ’80s to mid ’90s is unlike any other. It wasn’t just the lack of cell phones (or for some, even pagers,) though that certainly made a huge difference. Of course, not being tied to social media or having constant access to one another is not completely unique to Gen X. In fact, it would apply to all generations that preceded it.For those born in that timeframe (approximately 1965 to 1980), many X-ers had distinct experiences some might say simply don’t happen too much these days. On one Reddit thread entitled “What about the Gen X college experience that couldn’t happen today,” there are over 500 commenters chiming in to share experiences to which many felt only this generation could relate. Pamela Adlon lets her kids know she's not a boomer. Giphy FX, Better Things Some note the disconnect that not having cell phones or emails could bring. “Being completely disconnected from your parents for weeks or even months at a time!” Another seconds this by adding, “Calling home long distance on weekends, using up the minutes on a long-distance calling card.”In Annie Reneau’s Upworthy piece, “Gen Xers and boomers discuss the pros and cons of life before cell phones,” she notes that “Gen X was the last generation to have a fully cell-phone-free upbringing.” Many of the pros included: “not having your youthful stupidity recorded and broadcast,” “more face-to-face interaction,” and “more freedom.”Back on the Reddit thread, one person mentions the logistics of school supplies. “Buying and selling used textbooks is apparently no longer a thing.” (Many younger generations tend to read their content online, so the idea of physical books to some is a bit foreign.)Some share how the lack of constant texting (or even email for most at this time) meant having to revert to old-fashioned ways. “Writing letters to girls you met from other schools or friends that went to other schools because long distance was so expensive. People mailing monologue tapes to one another as a longer form of conversation than a letter.” A woman writes a letter. Giphy GIF by Nationalmuseet Others note nostalgic trends that came and went. Smith Corona “word processors” made the list, as they were the Gen X middle child between typewriters and computers. Zima beer had its moment in the sun, only to mostly fade into oblivion. (For those unfamiliar, Zima Clearmalt was a clear alcoholic beverage that debuted in 1993.)Other Redditors simply point out how exciting it was that music was so diverse at this time. “There was nothing like being in college during the rise of grunge and hip hop. Being at one party playing Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, and Nirvana. The next playing The Chronic, Tupac, and Snoop. I can literally smell the Victoria’s Secret Cucumber Melon and CK One. Such a great era! My era! Great time to be a teen and very young adult.” Gen X-ers gather in 1995.Photo Credit: Reddit, @SteveMcQueenIsHereIn another post called “Gen X college life circa 1995,” the OP posts a picture of happy-go-lucky-looking college kids seemingly living in the moment. It was so relatable, one person comments, “I had to stare at this pic for a while before I convinced myself it wasn’t me and my friends.”Like the earlier thread, many mention the carefree feeling that often came with being untethered. And yes… once again, Zima is top of the list. Another points out, “Everyone’s not wearing sweats and Crocs and taking simultaneous selfies.” (Though, to be fair, many Gen X-ers often wore sweats.)Another jokes, quite perfectly - “This looks like a still from a failed pilot of a ‘Friends’ knock-off with Ethan Hawke and Lea(h) Remini.”

Dating someone from a completely different culture can reveal whole new ways of life. And it goes beyond wedding or holiday traditions. Even the smallest, most seemingly insignificant moments like dinner conversations, scheduling a date, or meeting the family can be wildly different, depending on what ideals you were brought up with. And even though this kind of dynamic can present challenges, there are also so many gifts to be gleaned from it, like discovering new foods, music, language, spiritual practices, and ways of thinking that you never knew existed. Recently, people on Reddit who had dated someone outside their culture were asked to share the most “surprising” discoveries they made in the process, and the answers ended up being a fascinating deep-dive showing just how beautifully complex our shared humanity is. Below are our favorites: Language barriers Couple argues at the dinner table with a child nearby; pizza and wine on the table.Photo credit: Canva“I whisper to my girlfriend "what are they fighting about"? My girlfriend stops the dinner conversation to make an announcement in Italian, that the Canadian wants to know what the men are fighting about. everyone bursts out laughing.”“I married into a Cantonese family…The most anxiety inducing thing imaginable is a bunch of rapidly spoken Cantonese with my first name mentioned here and there.”“We both spoke in English which is my native language and hers is Korean. She would get so frustrated that she couldn’t really express what she was thinking because A. Her English wasn’t fluent enough and B. Even if she spoke Korean, I would have no idea wth she was saying. I eventually learned enough Korean, got married to her and now get the full wrath of her temper lol. Love her to death though.”Different ideas about romance and gender roles Man and woman talking near a cityscape with a ferris wheel.Photo credit: Canva“I have a sweet one. I'm from Latin America, he's German. At the beginning, he wouldn't flirt at all (according to me). He wouldn't try to get physically close to me, hug me by my waist, no great romantic gestures, which are expected from the man in my culture. It got to the point where I wasn't sure if he liked me. What he would do, was find the time to do things with me, and would reply to my texts super fast, even during working hours. Was talking to one of my friends of 10+ years, who also happened to be living in Germany at that point for 3 years (I had just moved). He told me "are you crazy? That man's head over heels for you. Germans value time above everything, and he's giving it to you. He's literally giving you the thing he values the most in the world to you". Next time we met, I asked him directly if he liked me and he was like "of course! Why else would I give you my time?!?". Lol, we still joke that we owe our relationship to my BFF for clarifying that cultural difference.”“I dated a Filipina who told me I was not dominant enough for her. She said it was not my fault, that her culture had taught her to be obedient to her man, and that she knew I would never provide the kind of relationship she would be comfortable with. I was shocked.”“As a western person, i'm used to independent women working high end jobs being very anti traditional gender roles. Dated a bulgarian girl and she was very independent and working a high end job, yet was very traditional, wanting a man to do all the 'man' stuff (like take out the bin, fight anyone who looked at her wrong, order for her at meals, etc.) and for her to do the 'woman' stuff (clean, cook, look after the kids, etc.) Was interesting.”Family dynamics Large family group smiling and waving in a studio setting.Photo credit: Canva“I’m a white boy who dated a Lebanese girl through HS and early parts of college…Once you are part of the family, there’s literally nothing they won’t do for you as long as you are respectful. I blew a tire once, her brother showed up on the side of the road an hour later (early cell phone days) with a new tire, switched it out…Wouldn’t take a dime in return payment…When we broke up, it was doubly painful because I had to say goodbye to so many people that had become really important to me beyond my ex.”“I’m a white American and my wife is from a Mexican family. What probably has surprised me the most is how close her family is. For weddings or big events the whole family will contribute money. Your house breaking in Mexico? Everyone will pitch in. Basically family crowdfunding.”“Dating a white American guy….the way he talks to his mother and siblings was SOOOO shocking! They’re so candid and loud and so quick with deep cut insults, but they laugh it off and move on in an instant. Sometimes I don't even know if they're arguing or not lol. My Asian parents would smite me if I’d try something like that.”Emotional expression Man and woman engaged in a heated discussion by a window indoors.Photo credit: Canva“Am American and husband is Italian. Italians are known to be expressive and very forward with their emotions but I had to teach my husband to bring his expression of frustration down a few notches…He’s had to learn to approach me (and others here) in a more cooled off manner. On the flipside, I’ve had to learn to center food, food-related activities, and etiquette in my life. Quickly eating a meal alone before getting back to business is normal for Americans, but operating in this way seems to make Italians SAD.”“My eastern european man was very shocked with heavily spiced and seasoned food (southeast asian here) and the fact that I got surprised with unexpected gifts, barely ask for anything, and cannot express what I want directly. “Everyday lifestyle Woman with a bike in a sunny urban street, holding a hat.Photo credit: Canva“Just how busy everyone is in Japan. If you ask a girl out and she's keen, she will whip out her calendar on her phone and ask if you have any days free next month. When a girl I was dating told me that in her last 1-year long relationship she'd only actually met her ex-boyfriend maybe 10 times total, I was floored.”“I dated a Dutch girl. Even in a car centric American city, she insisted on riding her bike everywhere. She also frequently took the bus even though that’s thought of as something for poor people.”Shared history and cultural references Two kids eat popcorn while watching TV intently in a cozy, softly lit room.Photo credit: Canva“Being the same age and not having common childhood references was strange. Like “oh remember that cartoon that everyone watched??” and they have no idea what you’re talking about, and likewise you have no idea what they’re talking about with their references.”The role of celebrations and social gatherings People toasting with wine glasses around a candlelit dinner table.Photo credit: Canva“Trinidadian married to a Dane. I had to get used to how low-key everything is here when it comes to celebrating things. In Trinidad it doesn't matter how big or small, every gathering is essentially a party with tons of food and alcohol and music, and people typically hang out for hours and hours. In Denmark, unless it's a super special occasion like an anniversary dinner or a birthday luncheon, gatherings are super laid back. No music, no alcohol, and usually only finger foods and coffee/tea. It was...difficult getting used to it lol.”Religion and community structure Crowded church interior during a service, with people seated and standing.Photo credit: Canva“I’m going to call this a different culture. I’m from New England and my ex was from the deep south. The church culture for them is insane. Church is just were everything in the town is, all the meetings, all the social clubs, literally everything. Growing up we only went to church in Christmas and Easter, but they actually go every Sunday and then again during the week several times for social functions.”

Stepping on hallowed ground. The post The John Lennon song Paul McCartney simply refuses to sing: “I backed off” first appeared on Far Out Magazine.