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Lead: U.S. equity markets traded with caution as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s minutes, leaving the Dow Jones Industrial Average uneven while the Nasdaq showed relative resilience. Traders cited uncertainty about policy signals and several corporate headlines that moved individual stocks, most notably Ekso Bionics, which jumped after disclosing a new cloud-services agreement. Market participants … Read more

Lead New York City is in the midst of a severe flu surge as the season peaks, with more than 70,000 new cases recorded statewide the week before Christmas. If you fall ill in the five boroughs, testing, early antiviral treatment and careful home care can shorten illness and reduce spread. This guide explains how … Read more

Shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar launched a strike on Sunday after the Iranian rial plunged to a record low on the open market, triggering a third day of protests and strikes that have spread from the capital to at least eight other cities. Verified video posted by BBC Persian shows demonstrations in Karaj, Hamedan, Qeshm, … Read more

Lead: In 2025 Nashville’s commercial country industry shifted markedly from the cautious, post-2016 posture of bipartisan escapism to visible alignment with Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. The change accelerated after the 2024 election and was visible in high-profile appearances, chart-topping conservative anthems in 2023, and label-level decisions that prioritized revenue and audience alignment over … Read more

Mortgage rates have fallen and selling prices have softened in many U.S. markets, creating mildly improved affordability for buyers as of late December 2025. Nationally, daily home-price measures show year-over-year gains of roughly 0.3%, while the 30-year mortgage averaged about 6.19%—down from above 7% earlier in the year. Those shifts reduced monthly payments for a … Read more

In 2025, dozens of national and international restaurant brands moved to shrink their footprints as a sustained sales slump and cautious consumers forced cost-cutting measures. From February through December, chains from fast-food operators to full-service groups announced hundreds of permanent closures, franchise disputes and restructuring plans across the U.S. and abroad. Industry tracking showed customer … Read more

In early January skies, the year’s first supermoon coincides with the Quadrantid meteor shower peak, creating a contest between lunar brightness and shooting stars. The American Meteor Society says the Quadrantids typically produce about 25 meteors per hour under dark conditions, but moonlight from the full supermoon will likely reduce visible rates to fewer than … Read more

Lead: Israel has stepped up diplomatic and security engagement across the Horn of Africa in recent months, prompting unease among several Arab and Muslim states. Reports indicate intensified outreach to governments around the Red Sea, including talks over logistics and maritime cooperation, and increased intelligence- and security-focused contact. The moves aim to secure trade routes … Read more

Lead 2026 is shaping up as a marquee year for spaceflight: agencies and companies worldwide have scheduled a slate of landmark missions ranging from the first flights of next-generation heavy rockets to robotic and crewed lunar operations. Key milestones include SpaceX’s anticipated first launch of Starship Version 3, NASA’s crewed Artemis 2 lunar flyby, Blue … Read more

Lead: A senior Russian official issued personal threats against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday after Moscow alleged a Ukrainian drone attack on one of President Vladimir Putin’s state residences in Novgorod on the night of Dec. 29. Russia’s foreign minister made the accusation without presenting evidence, and Kyiv rejected the claim as false. Russian … Read more

Lead: In Monday’s win in Brooklyn, Stephen Curry moved past Kevin Garnett on the NBA’s career scoring ladder with a fourth-quarter 3-pointer that gave him sole possession of the No. 21 spot. Curry finished the game with 27 points as the Golden State Warriors beat the Nets 120-107. The milestone came days after Curry became … Read more

On Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continued large-scale drills around Taiwan in a second day of operations that included live-fire exercises, naval maneuvers and airborne patrols. The Eastern Theater Command deployed destroyers, frigates, fighters, bombers and ground-based long-range artillery to waters north and south of the island to practice sea‑air coordination … Read more

Lead A nonprofit, the Legal Accountability Project, filed a misconduct complaint earlier this month alleging that U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Sarah Merriam bullied and mistreated law clerks in the Second Circuit. The filing, based on conversations with multiple former clerks who said they feared retaliation, says one clerk resigned after a month in 2025 … Read more

Scientists reported on Dec. 30, 2025, that human-driven warming made 2025 one of the three hottest years on record and—for the first time since preindustrial times—pushed the three-year global temperature average above the 1.5°C threshold in the 2015 Paris Agreement. The World Weather Attribution (WWA) analysis, released in Europe, links continued fossil fuel combustion to … Read more

Los Angeles fell short in a late comeback on Monday night, losing 27–24 at Atlanta despite erasing a 21-point deficit. The defeat drops the Rams to 11–5 entering Week 18 and leaves them positioned to enter the playoffs as the NFC No. 6 seed unless the San Francisco 49ers lose to the Seahawks in the … Read more