Knicks will not hang NBA Cup banner in Madison Square Garden: Sources – The Athletic – The New York Times

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Lead The New York Knicks will not add an NBA Cup championship banner to the rafters of Madison Square Garden, league sources told The Athletic and The New York Times on December 17, 2025. The club plans a fan celebration before its Friday home game against the Philadelphia 76ers but views the Cup as a … Read more

Oscars to Stream Exclusively on YouTube from 2029 in Multi‑Year Pact

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Wednesday that the Oscars telecast will move from traditional broadcast to a streaming-only platform beginning in 2029, with YouTube securing exclusive global rights through 2033. ABC, which has aired the show for decades, will continue to carry the ceremony through 2028, including the centennial edition. … Read more

Senate Passes $901 Billion Defense Bill, Presses Hegseth for Boat-Strike Video

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Lead On Wednesday the Senate approved the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), authorizing roughly $901 billion in defense spending and a 3.8% military pay raise. The measure won bipartisan backing but also inserted new oversight demands, including pressuring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to deliver unedited video and orders tied to recent strikes on alleged … Read more

True origin of ‘first black Briton’ revealed – BBC

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Scientists have revised the ancestry of the skeleton long labelled the “Beachy Head Lady,” concluding that DNA does not support recent sub‑Saharan roots. The remains, recovered from Eastbourne Town Hall in 2012 and radiocarbon dated to between 129 and 311 AD, show a genetic profile closely matching people from rural Britain. Researchers estimate the young … Read more

Trump vowed to block tankers carrying Venezuela’s oil — nearly a dozen are at sea right now

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Lead: President Donald Trump on Dec. 16, 2025 vowed a “complete and total blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers moving in and out of Venezuela, a move that comes as U.S. and maritime trackers report dozens of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. A new analysis obtained by CNBC from trade intelligence firm Kpler shows at least … Read more

The Oscars are heading to YouTube in 2029 – CNBC

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Lead The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has agreed to a multi-year deal with YouTube to stream the Oscars beginning in 2029, the Academy announced on Wednesday. The arrangement covers the 101st Academy Awards and will run through 2033, shifting domestic live distribution from broadcast television to a Google-owned platform. Red carpet coverage, … Read more

Xcel shuts power for 50,000 Front Range customers at 10 a.m. Wednesday amid 85 mph winds

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Lead On Dec. 17, 2025, Xcel Energy initiated a public safety power shutoff at 10 a.m., cutting service for about 50,000 customers along Colorado’s Front Range to reduce wildfire risk amid extreme winds and very dry conditions. The outages affect residents in Boulder, Clear Creek, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties; Denver County is not expected … Read more

Midday Movers: Oracle, Jabil, Paramount, Texas Pacific and More

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Lead: U.S. equities saw notable intraday swings on Dec. 17, 2025, as a handful of large-cap and cyclical names — including Oracle, Jabil, Paramount and Texas Pacific — emerged among the session’s biggest movers. Traders reacted to company-specific news, analyst activity and broader market flows during the midday window (around 12:00 p.m. ET), producing outsized … Read more

Powerball Jackpot Soars to $1.25 Billion Ahead of Wednesday Drawing

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Lead: On Dec. 17, 2025, the Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.25 billion with an advertised cash option of $572.1 million, heading into Wednesday night’s drawing in Tallahassee. The prize rose after the previous drawing produced no jackpot winner; the last jackpot-winning tickets were sold Sept. 6, 2022, when two tickets split a $1.787 … Read more

Jack Smith defends Trump prosecutions in testimony to Congress – BBC

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Lead: Former Special Counsel Jack Smith appeared on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to brief a House Judiciary committee behind closed doors about his two closed criminal inquiries into President Donald Trump. In his prepared remarks, Smith said his teams had “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Mr. Trump engaged in a scheme to overturn the … Read more

Study: Titan’s Interior May Be Slushy Rather Than a Global Ocean

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Lead: A new reanalysis of Cassini spacecraft data by a team led at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory suggests Saturn’s moon Titan may lack a single, global subsurface ocean. The researchers report evidence for a thick outer ice shell and deeper layers of slush with isolated pockets of liquid water, based on timing measurements of Titan’s … Read more

Britain to rejoin Erasmus exchange in 2027, paying £570m amid Brexit debate

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Britain announced it will rejoin the European Union’s Erasmus student-exchange programme in 2027, six years after leaving the scheme amid Brexit. The government framed the move as a major win for young people, promising broader access to study and training abroad. Rejoining restores the option for UK students to spend a year at European universities … Read more

Over 10% of Congress Signals Exit Before 2026 Midterms

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Lead As of Dec. 17, 2025, more than a tenth of sitting members of the U.S. Congress have indicated they will not hold their current seats after the 2026 midterm elections, citing retirements, redistricting and runs for other offices. NPR’s tracker counts 54 lawmakers — 10 senators and 44 representatives — who announced departures or … Read more

Google Brings Vibe-Coding Tool Opal to Gemini

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Lead: On Wednesday, December 17, 2025, Google announced that its vibe-coding toolkit Opal is now built into the Gemini web app, enabling users to create and reuse AI-powered mini-apps called Gems. The integration places Opal inside the Gems manager and adds a visual, no-code editor that converts natural-language prompts into ordered steps. Users can refine … Read more