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Lead: In 2023, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured changing bright knots of material near the young star Fomalhaut, 25 light-years from Earth, and astronomers now interpret those features as dust clouds produced by two separate collisions between large space rocks. The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, finds the impactors were at least 37 … Read more

Lead Law-enforcement sources told CBS News that investigators have identified a person of interest in the fatal shooting at Brown University that killed two students and wounded nine others. The attack, which took place on Saturday inside the Barus & Holley engineering building during final exams, has prompted an active search that entered its sixth … Read more

Multiple sources briefed on the probes told ABC News on Dec. 18, 2025, that investigators are examining a possible connection between the mass shooting on the Brown University campus and the fatal shooting of an MIT professor in Brookline. Detectives working both cases reportedly compared notes in the previous 24 hours and say they are … Read more

Five days after Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found dead in their Brentwood home, a clearer timeline is taking shape around the killings and the arrest of their son, 32-year-old Nick Reiner. Authorities charged Nick with two counts of murder on Tuesday; he appeared in court the following day and is … Read more

On Thursday, December 18, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to move cannabis out of the federal government’s most restrictive category of controlled substances, saying the change recognizes medical uses while stopping short of nationwide legalization. The order directs a reclassification from Schedule I to Schedule III and creates a pilot program to … Read more

Emergency crews responded to a small corporate aircraft crash at Statesville Regional Airport on Thursday morning after a jet came down while landing. The Cessna C550 departed shortly before 10:06 local time and crashed at about 10:20 local time (15:20 GMT) on the east end of the runway, aviation officials said. Iredell County Sheriff Darren … Read more

Lead Elliott Investment Management, the private investment firm that owns Waterstones and Barnes & Noble, has held early talks about a possible initial public offering for the bookselling group, the Financial Times reported on 18 December 2025. Sources say the multibillion-pound business prefers a London listing to New York, though no final decision has been … Read more

Lead NASA engineers at JPL are certifying the Perseverance rover to drive up to 100 kilometers on Mars as the agency’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) plans remain unsettled. Perseverance landed in Jezero Crater in February 2021 and has already driven roughly 40 kilometers while caching 33 sample tubes for potential return to Earth. With the … Read more

LOS ANGELES — On Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, Los Angeles Rams Pro Bowl receiver Puka Nacua publicly criticized NFL officiating during a livestream with creators Adin Ross and N3on, saying referees seek visibility and attention. The exchange included a touchdown celebration rehearsal that featured a hand-rubbing gesture tied to a controversial online personality and prompted … Read more

Lead President Donald J. Trump delivered a primetime year-end address from the White House on the evening of December 17, 2025, outlining what his administration called an 11-month turnaround on inflation, border security, and military support. He announced a one-time ‘Warrior Dividend’ payment and previewed plans for large tax cuts, energy policy actions, and further … Read more

Lead Thursday Night Football in Week 16 pits the Los Angeles Rams against the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 18, 2025, with kickoff set for 5:15 p.m. Pacific Time. The game will be carried nationally on Amazon Prime Video and locally on FOX 11, with Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit on the call and Kaylee Hartung … Read more

Google rolled out an Android 16 QPR3 beta update on December 17, 2025, that includes a set of refreshed emoji on Pixel devices. The Beta 1 release alters a number of face, animal and object emoji—most changes move visuals closer to Apple’s iOS designs. The tweaks are minor in many cases but visible in side-by-side … Read more

Lead The White House announced on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will be renamed the “Trump-Kennedy Center” after a unanimous vote by its board of trustees. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the trustees, appointed by President Donald Trump in February 2025, approved the change, … Read more

House Oversight Committee Democrats on Dec. 18, 2025 publicly released roughly 70 photographs from the estate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, one day before a statutory deadline for the Justice Department to disclose its own files. The images were handed to Congress as part of a much larger transfer of more than 95,000 files … Read more

Lead: U.S. equity benchmarks climbed on Thursday after a delayed November Consumer Price Index showed softer-than-expected inflation and chipmaker Micron Technology posted stronger-than-forecast results and guidance. The S&P 500 moved to end a four-day losing streak, the Nasdaq outperformed, and the Dow intraday swings narrowed, as investors parsed the implications for 2026 interest-rate policy. The … Read more