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Lead: The US economy accelerated in the three months to September, expanding at a 4.3% annualized rate, up from 3.8% in the prior quarter, according to a government report released after a shutdown-related delay. The stronger-than-expected advance was driven by a jump in consumer spending and a rebound in exports, while government defence outlays also … Read more
Lead As HBO Max’s first season of Heated Rivalry concludes with its Boxing Day finale, readers seeking more sports-centric, LGBTQ+ romance have a clear reading list. The series, adapted from Rachel Reid’s Game Changers books, pushed the source novels back toward the top of Amazon’s bestseller lists, and publishers and indie authors have responded with … Read more
Lead: Former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, 53, announced on social media that last week he was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer and described the condition as terminal. The diagnosis comes after Sasse left the Senate in early January 2023 to become president of the University of Florida and stepped down from that post last … Read more
Christmas week is usually an off-calendar lull for baseball, but since 1990 a handful of blockbuster trades and landmark signings have landed during the holidays. In a Dec. 23, 2025 roundup, ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel cataloged the 10 most consequential moves made during the week that included Dec. 25, highlighting everything from 12-year free-agent … Read more
Lead: The government has softened plans to tax inherited farmland, raising the threshold from £1m to £2.5m in a late-December announcement after sustained protests by farmers and unease among some MPs. The change delays a wider application of a 20% charge on qualifying agricultural assets due to start in April 2026 and retains a reduced … Read more
Lead The first official teaser for Avengers: Doomsday has arrived online, confirming a return to the Avengers banner and centering on Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, the fourth Avengers film is set for release on December 18, 2026, and will be followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on December 17, 2027. … Read more
Lead On December 23, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security announced a final rule that replaces the random H-1B lottery with a weighted selection designed to favor higher-skilled, higher-paid applicants. The change is intended to protect U.S. wages, working conditions and job opportunities by increasing the likelihood that available visas go to workers with advanced … Read more
NASA’s Perseverance rover, which has been exploring Jezero Crater since landing in February 2021, identified an unusual rock in September 2025 that initial instrument scans indicate is a meteorite. The object, nicknamed Phippsaksla, measures roughly 2.5 feet across and shows elevated nickel and iron in SuperCam laser readings—elements typical of asteroid-derived meteorites. The find was … Read more
The 2026 Pro Bowl rosters for the AFC and NFC were announced Dec. 23, 2025, setting the field for the Feb. 3 skills competition and 7-on-7 flag football games at Moscone Center in San Francisco. Baltimore, Denver, San Francisco and Seattle led the league with six players apiece, while the selections reinforced standout campaigns — … Read more
Lead: In the first 11 months of President Trump’s current term, more than 1.6 million people lost legal authorization to remain in the United States as the new administration moved to rescind a range of visas, parole programs and temporary protections. Actions taken since the inauguration in January 2025 include ending a Biden-era humanitarian parole … Read more
Lead This morning I asked my Alexa-enabled Bosch coffee maker to brew a cup. After upgrading to Alexa Plus — Amazon’s generative-AI voice assistant released in early 2025 — the device repeatedly refuses or returns new excuses instead of running my routine. The promise that large language models would simplify smart-home setup and operation has … Read more
Lead: Dan Elkayam, 27, a Paris-born amateur footballer and IT engineer, was killed on Bondi Beach during a December attack that struck Sydney’s Jewish community as people gathered to celebrate Hanukkah. Friends, teammates and family say he was a warm, football-obsessed traveler who turned up to play wherever a game started — from favela streets … Read more
Readers from around the English-speaking world named their favourite albums of 2025 in a year that blended breakthrough debuts with established superstars. Submissions collected by The Guardian highlight everything from baroque art‑rock and maximalist R&B to intimate singer‑songwriters and experimental electronic palettes. Contributors cited specific tracks, live performances and lyrical moments as reasons for their … Read more
Who: The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). When: Third quarter 2025 (July–September), initial estimate released after an October–November federal shutdown delay. Where: United States national accounts. What and result: Real gross domestic product (GDP) rose at a 4.3 percent annual rate in Q3 2025, up from 3.8 percent in Q2, with notable contributions from … Read more
New analyses of sky surveys suggest the cosmos may be directionally uneven, a finding that would undercut a core assumption of modern cosmology. Researchers report a mismatch between the temperature dipole in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the dipole measured in the distribution of distant matter, a discrepancy visible across radio and mid-infrared catalogs. … Read more
