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In 2025 President Donald J. Trump returned to the White House for a second term and swept a series of high‑impact actions through the federal government, from broad executive orders to agency renamings. Over the year his administration pushed a major domestic package dubbed “One, Big Beautiful Bill,” pardoned roughly 1,500 people connected to Jan. … Read more

In Washington, weekly U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell to 199,000 for the week ending Dec. 27, down 16,000 from the prior week’s 215,000, the Labor Department reported on Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected about 208,000 new claims. The report was released a day early because of the New Year’s Day holiday, and … Read more

The 2025–26 College Football Playoff bracket — the second season under the expanded 12‑team format — was released Sunday, Dec. 7. The tournament runs from Dec. 19, 2025, through the CFP National Championship on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Early rounds use established bowl sites while semifinals occupy … Read more

Nearly 60 women members of Japan’s parliament, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, submitted a cross-party petition this month asking the lower house to add more female restrooms after long queues formed before plenary sittings. The appeal — signed by 58 lawmakers — highlights a mismatch between growing female representation and the Diet building’s century-old facilities. … Read more

Lead: Public health data show the U.S. flu season has surged: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates at least 7.5 million illnesses and more than 3,100 deaths so far as a new subclade of influenza A(H3N2) spreads after emerging in Australia this summer. Health officials say the current vaccine was formulated before that … Read more

Lead Friends and colleagues paid public tribute more than two weeks after filmmakers Rob Reiner and his wife, photographer Michele Reiner, were found dead at their Los Angeles home on 14 December. Actors and directors including Cary Elwes and Martin Scorsese posted remembrances, while law enforcement moved to limit release of investigatory material. The Reiners’ … Read more

Lead The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it has frozen all child care payments to Minnesota after a viral video alleged widespread fraud in day care centers. Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill announced tighter documentation rules for Administration for Children and Families payments, requiring justification plus receipts or photos. The action … Read more

On Dec. 31, 2025, designers John and Christine Gachot completed the conversion of a 19th-century carriage shed on their Shelter Island property into a combined art studio and recreation space. The project repurposes a rustic outbuilding into a working atelier and social room equipped with a Pac-Man arcade, pool table and a vintage slot machine. … Read more

Isiah Whitlock Jr., the character actor best known for playing corrupt state Sen. Clay Davis on HBO’s The Wire and for recurring roles on Veep as well as multiple collaborations with director Spike Lee, died in New York on Dec. 31, 2025, at age 71 after a short illness, his manager told The Associated Press. … Read more

On Dec. 31, 2025, Malaysian authorities announced a renewed deep-sea search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has begun in the southern Indian Ocean, more than 11 years after the jet vanished with 239 people aboard. The Transport Ministry said the vessel Armada 86 05 reached a designated search zone carrying two autonomous underwater vehicles that … Read more

As 2025 closed, the cultural world marked the loss of a remarkable number of creators — actors, musicians, writers, filmmakers and designers whose work shaped film, music, literature and visual art. Over the year, figures from David Lynch and Robert Redford to Sly Stone, Roberta Flack and Giorgio Armani passed away, leaving distinct legacies in … Read more

On Dec. 31, 2025, The New York Times published a podcast episode that paired two major investigations: reporting on alleged brutality inside the Russian military and coverage of an unprecedented tranche of documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein — more than 5 million pages. The episode, part of the paper’s “The Headlines” series, featured reporting that … Read more

Lead: National Guard troops arrived in New Orleans on Dec. 30, 2025, to bolster security ahead of New Year’s celebrations, the first major holiday since the Jan. 1, 2025 Bourbon Street truck attack that killed 14 people. The deployment—350 Guard members authorized by the federal government—augments state police and local law enforcement as the city … Read more

Dec. 31, 2025 — New York Times readers voted in an online poll to name their favorite films of 2025, producing a list that blends big studio hits, streaming standouts and smaller art-house fare. Thousands of votes yielded a Top 50 that often overlapped with critics’ selections but also elevated controversial titles such as Eddington … Read more

Lead: NASA is preparing Artemis II, a four‑person crewed flight that could lift off as soon as February 6, 2026, from Kennedy Space Center. The mission will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a roughly 10‑day loop around the moon — the … Read more