Woo—it’s the day before Christmas Eve! RantCrush will take a short holiday break but we’ll be back again on December 27. Now go read today’s rants and then focus on all that yummy holiday food. We all deserve a little vacation after this crazy year. Happy Holidays! Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Trump’s Messy Foray into Nuclear Weapons

Donald Trump tweeted yesterday that he seemingly wants the U.S. to expand and strengthen its nuclear powers. Nuclear experts were shocked, and rightfully so–no president has proposed a buildup in nuclear capabilities in a long time.

The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2016

“Can a tweet start an arms race? This one may just have done that,” Joseph Cirincione from global security foundation Ploughshares Fund told NBC. In what seems to be the new routine for Trump, his spokespeople tried to explain and clarify what he meant after the fact.

Jason Miller said Trump meant that we need to prevent nuclear proliferation among terror groups, and strengthen American deterrent capability. Kellyanne Conway had a similar explanation last night on Rachel Maddow’s show when she said: “He is making the point this is about nuclear proliferation in the face of rogue nations and regimes that are stockpiling weapons.” Still…many people worry that the Trump gang’s explanations after the fact aren’t going to be good enough.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: December 23, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

Happy Friday, people! We hear this weekend may bring a snowstorm to the middle of the country–so it’s the perfect time to cozy up inside with a good book or an edition of RantCrush. Stay warm and enjoy the last entry of the week!

Malta Criminalizes Conversion Therapy

As America gets ready to inaugurate a new Vice President who has supported conversion therapy, Malta becomes the first European country to criminalize the practice. The new law also supports transgender rights. It will punish anyone advertising or performing the controversial therapy with fines or jail time, and it states: “No sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression constitutes a disorder, disease or shortcoming of any sort.”

#SoProud of #Malta the land of my ancestors! Malta Outlaws ‘Conversion Therapy,’ a First in Europe https://t.co/NMZwKPKZ0j

— Joseph Gatt (@MeetJoeGatt) December 8, 2016

This is amazing news and hopefully will become the norm everywhere. The Mediterranean island of Malta is the smallest country in the European Union with only 420,000 citizens, but it is really progressive when it comes to LGBT rights and has been called the most gay-friendly nation in Europe.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: December 9, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.