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At dawn on the winter solstice, thousands gathered at Stonehenge in southwest England to watch the sun rise over the prehistoric circle. The crowd — many in costumes and carrying drums or lanterns — waited through the cold before cheering and dancing as the light reached the stones. For many attendees the moment was framed … Read more
Lead On 21 December 2025 The Guardian published a practical guide showing 25 unexpected, everyday uses for modern smartphones. The piece demonstrates how built-in sensors and widely available apps turn a handset into tools for measuring, detecting, translating, documenting and even rudimentary health screening. Examples range from Apple’s AR-based Measure app and lidar 3D scans … Read more
Lead: A Kremlin envoy said on Saturday that discussions over a U.S.-proposed plan to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine were proceeding “constructively” after meetings in Florida. The talks form part of a monthslong U.S. diplomatic push that also included meetings in Berlin with Ukrainian and European officials. Russian state media quoted Kirill Dmitriev … Read more
Dec 20, 2025 — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was ejected early in the second quarter of Saturday night’s 119-116 win over the Phoenix Suns after receiving two technical fouls in quick succession. The sequence began when Green blocked Collin Gillespie’s shot with 10:45 left in the quarter and later collided with Gillespie as … Read more
Tom’s Guide fitness writer Nick Harris-Fry recently tested the sprinter bridge after seeing the move flagged on social media by personal trainer Kyle Knapp. He performed the exercise on the floor and progressed to an exercise-ball variation to compare stability demands and muscle engagement. The experiment aimed to assess whether the sprinter bridge could offer … Read more
Lead: Ales Bialiatski, the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was released from a Belarus penal colony and crossed into Lithuania on Dec. 21, 2025, after serving nearly half of a 10-year sentence. Blindfolded and transported to the border, he described an immediate sensory shock on release, calling it an “oxygen intoxication.” His freedom came amid … Read more
On Dec. 21, 2025, No. 10 Miami traveled to No. 7 Texas A&M for a College Football Playoff first-round meeting in College Station. The game featured a handful of standout receiving nights—led by Texas A&M’s Mario Craver (7 catches, 92 yards)—and heavy pass-rush impacts from Miami defenders, most notably Rueben Bain Jr. (3 sacks). Individual … Read more
Lead On Dec. 20, 2025, the four crew members of Artemis 2—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen—completed a full launch‑day rehearsal at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center that simulated countdown operations up to a planned cutoff at T‑29 seconds (5:51 p.m. EST / 2251 UTC). The Countdown Demonstration Test (CDDT) put the … Read more
Lead: Aspyr says the enthusiastic reaction to Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 has given the studio fresh incentive to explore ports of the rest of the modern “Survivor” trilogy. The comment came in a recent interview with NintendoEverything, where product manager Jordon Reese declined to make any announcements but called … Read more
Lead: US forces conducted strikes on Islamic State (Isis) positions inside Syria in direct response to a recent ambush that targeted American personnel and contractors. The operation, announced by US officials and reported by the Financial Times, took place in Syrian territory where US-backed units and remnants of Isis remain active. Officials framed the strikes … Read more
Lead: Bowen Yang made a poignant on‑screen return during Ariana Grande’s Dec. 20 Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live at NBC’s Studio 8H, appearing in Grande’s monologue and later in the show’s closing sketch. The appearances came as Yang concluded his run as an SNL cast member, a fact confirmed publicly that weekend. Grande’s hosting … Read more
Lead: On Dec. 20, 2025, Waymo announced a temporary suspension of its ride-hailing service across San Francisco after citywide rolling blackouts left roughly one-third of the city without power and numerous autonomous vehicles stalled at dark intersections. The outages, part of Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s managed cuts affecting about 125,000 homes and businesses, coincided … Read more
In early October 2025, Chinese authorities detained nearly 30 pastors and members linked to Zion Church, one of the country’s largest unofficial Protestant congregations, in a coordinated sweep across multiple provinces. Those arrested and held range in age from their 30s to their 50s and include professionals such as lawyers, physicists and music students. So … Read more
Lead: Less than 24 hours after the Justice Department posted a batch of documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein, at least 16 files were no longer accessible on the department’s public webpage, including an image that contained a photograph of President Donald Trump. The removals occurred Friday into Saturday with no public explanation or notice. The … Read more
Lead One Southern California ticket matched five of six Powerball numbers on Saturday night, awarding a prize of $2,323,527 after the Power Play 3x multiplier. The drawing left no jackpot winner for the $1.5 billion top prize, pushing the estimated Powerball jackpot to $1.6 billion for the next drawing on Monday, Dec. 22. The five-number … Read more
