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Lead: As enhanced ACA subsidies lapsed at the end of 2025, millions of Americans face sharply higher insurance costs in 2026. Congress did not extend the expanded tax credits that had reduced premiums since 2021, leaving some households with monthly bills that are hundreds or thousands of dollars larger. For some families, the jump to … Read more

Lead No. 5 Oregon defeated No. 4 Texas Tech 23-0 in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. The Ducks’ defense dominated throughout, producing the program’s first Orange Bowl shutout in 34 years and sending Oregon to the CFP semifinals. National outlets … Read more

For the first time since early November, Lamar Jackson completed a full week of practice and is set to play in Sunday’s AFC North title game in Pittsburgh. Jackson missed last week’s contest with a back contusion but returned to full participation this week and will wear additional midsection padding for protection. Wide receiver Rashod … Read more

In early January 2026, long-standing Gulf partners Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates publicly confronted one another over operations in Yemen after Saudi forces struck a UAE shipment of combat vehicles bound for the country. The incident, at Mukalla port in southern Yemen, followed days of fighting between UAE-backed southern separatists and forces aligned … Read more

Lead On Jan. 2, 2026, the FBI announced that agents had disrupted a suspected New Year’s Eve terror plot in North Carolina that the bureau says was “directly inspired” by the extremist group ISIS. Officials said the intervention prevented what they described as a potential attack on Dec. 31, 2025, but released few operational details. … Read more

Lead: Saks Global on Friday elevated Executive Chairman Richard Baker to chief executive as the luxury retail group faces reports that it is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection. The move coincides with the departure of longtime executive Marc Metrick, who will leave after roughly three decades. Reports say the company missed a debt payment … Read more

Lead: On Wednesday, a woman believed to be hiking alone was found dead on the Crosier Mountain Trail north of Denver after a group of hikers encountered a mountain lion nearby and then discovered her body, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) officials said. The incident, if confirmed as a mountain lion attack, would be the … Read more

Pebble, the company behind the early smartwatch phenomenon, has unveiled the Pebble Round 2, a redesigned version of its 2015 round-faced watch that aims to fix the original model’s shortcomings. The announcement follows the brand’s broader revival in 2025 and was led publicly by founder Eric Migicovsky, who framed the device as a corrective to … Read more

Lead In a first for the field, astronomers have confirmed a starless — or “rogue” — planet and measured both its distance and mass by observing a gravitational microlensing event from multiple vantage points. The event, cataloged as KMT-2024-BLG-0792 / OGLE-2024-BLG-0516, was seen in 2024 toward the center of the Milky Way and placed the … Read more

In a rare bit of good news for both Moscow and Washington, engineers have identified and sealed the persistent leak in the Zvezda module of the International Space Station that first surfaced in 2019. The affected module, launched in July 2000 on a Proton rocket, had developed a slow but persistent air loss that prompted … Read more

The World Championships Preview last year unveiled a redesigned Captain Titus miniature and his accompanying Wardens of Ultramar, and the updated models and rules drew immediate attention. Games Workshop has upgraded Titus from his earlier Lieutenant profile, giving him a tougher suit of power armour, an Iron Halo and a master-crafted chainsword, alongside a reworked … Read more

On Jan. 2, 2026 in New York, U.S. equity markets opened the year with gains as technology stocks, led by semiconductors, pushed the S&P 500 higher. The broad index climbed 0.3% on the first trading day of 2026, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6% and the Dow traded up about 26 points, or 0.1%. Chip makers … Read more

On New Year’s Eve 2024, Netflix released Stranger Things: The Finale simultaneously on its platform and in roughly 600 cinemas worldwide, with many exhibitors holding encore screenings on Jan. 1. The limited theatrical run — driven by voucher and concession packages rather than traditional ticket reporting — generated an estimated $20 million to $25 million … Read more

Lead: On Jan. 2, 2026, USA Hockey announced a 23-player women’s Olympic roster for the Milan–Cortina Games that blends veteran leadership with a pronounced youth movement. Hilary Knight, 36, will appear at her fifth Winter Olympics and is expected to captain a team widely regarded as a gold-medal favorite. The roster returns 11 players from … Read more

Country star Jelly Roll this week told Men’s Health he has lost 275 pounds, a transformation chronicled in the magazine’s Winter 2026 cover story and a short documentary titled “A Year for a Life.” The 41-year-old described reaching the change point after years of severe overeating and health concerns, and the film follows roughly a … Read more