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Lead Frankfurt am Main, 18 December 2025 — ECB President Christine Lagarde and Vice‑President Luis de Guindos told markets today the Governing Council will leave the three key interest rates unchanged while reaffirming the objective to stabilise inflation at 2% in the medium term. Eurosystem staff projections show headline inflation averaging 2.1% in 2025, 1.9% … Read more
EU leaders, after about 17 hours of often tense negotiations that stretched into the early hours of Friday, agreed to raise €90bn in zero-interest loans to keep Ukraine solvent for the next two years; the package is guaranteed by the bloc’s common budget. Kyiv had pressed that the funding was essential to pay troops and … Read more
At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Displace unveiled the Displace Hub, a wall-mount accessory that can convert compatible existing TVs into mostly wireless displays. The Hub combines Displace’s “active-loop suction” mounting system with a built-in PC and a 15,000mAh rechargeable battery to power screens and run the company’s ambient computing platform. Displace says the Hub … Read more
Lead: President Donald Trump plans to return to Rocky Mount, North Carolina, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in a visit that caps a week of public efforts to cast the U.S. economy as on the mend. The stop comes as recent polls show weak approval for his economic stewardship — a NPR/PBS News/Marist survey found … Read more
Lead President Donald Trump directed the suspension of the U.S. diversity visa (green card) lottery on Thursday after authorities identified Claudio Neves Valente, a Portuguese national who entered the United States through that pathway, as the suspect in shootings at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on … Read more
Lead European Union leaders on Friday approved a €90 billion, interest-free loan package to support Ukraine’s military and budgetary needs for 2026–27 after efforts to fund it by using frozen Russian assets fell apart. The decision was reached in Brussels amid intense negotiations and legal concerns centered on Belgium and Euroclear, the financial clearing house … Read more
Lead: On Sunday in Los Angeles the Seattle Seahawks edged the Rams 38-37 in overtime after a dramatic late comeback that masked a host of mistakes earlier in the game. Seattle committed three turnovers, including two interceptions by QB Sam Darnold, and trailed late before converting a two-point play in regulation and winning on an … Read more
Lead In Providence, R.I., information from an anonymous source known only as “John” helped police identify the suspect they believe fatally shot two Brown University students and, two days later, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor in Brookline. The tip — reported to authorities and posted on Reddit — pointed investigators to a gray Nissan … Read more
Salt Lake City — Luka Dončić delivered a historic performance Thursday night, finishing with 45 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 143-135 victory over the Utah Jazz. LeBron James, who added 28 points and 10 assists, praised what he called “Luka magic” after the game. Dončić’s line … Read more
On Dec. 19, 2025, at Lumen Field, Sam Darnold overcame two second-half interceptions to lead the Seattle Seahawks to a 38-37 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Rams, clinching a playoff berth and putting Seattle atop the NFC West with two games remaining. The comeback included a 58-yard punt-return touchdown by Rashid Shaheed, two late … Read more
The November U.S. consumer price index released in mid-December appeared substantially softer than economists expected, with the annual headline rate coming in 0.4 percentage points below consensus. But the Bureau of Labor Statistics said this was the first CPI release after the U.S. government shutdown, and October’s data were not retroactively collected, leaving gaps. The … Read more
Lead After the Rams’ 38-37 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, coach Sean McVay publicly addressed wide receiver Puka Nacua’s apology for using an antisemitic hand gesture during a midweek livestream. McVay said he believed Nacua did not grasp the full implications of the action and emphasized the team’s intent to educate rather than … Read more
Lead: President Donald Trump ordered a pause of the U.S. diversity visa (green card) lottery on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2025, after Portuguese national Claudio Neves Valente, 48, was identified as the suspect in shootings at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration … Read more
Dec. 19, 2025 — In Canberra on Friday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled a national gun buyback program aimed at removing hundreds of thousands of firearms from circulation after a mass shooting at Bondi that killed 15 people. The announcement followed investigators’ statements that two suspects — a father and son — were inspired by … Read more
Lead: The Seattle Seahawks rallied from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Rams 38-37 in overtime when Sam Darnold hit backup tight end Eric Saubert for a two-point conversion that ended the game. The comeback, completed after a chaotic review and a final-game decision to go for two, vaulted Seattle into sole … Read more
