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Lead: PayPal has applied for a US banking licence, the Financial Times reports, in a move that could let the payments group offer a broader array of deposit and lending services to American customers. The application was filed with US regulators and has triggered an early-stage review process; no approval has been granted. If authorised, … Read more
Lead: A new joint study from researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Northwestern University, published Dec. 15, 2025 in Science Advances, reports that young adults who use indoor tanning devices acquire irreversible genetic changes in their skin cells. The researchers analyzed medical records and tissue data and found that people in … Read more
Lead: On Monday night, Dec. 15, 2025, at Acrisure Stadium, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Miami Dolphins 28-15, moving to 8-6 while eliminating Miami from playoff contention. Aaron Rodgers completed 23 of 27 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns as Pittsburgh pulled away after a late first-half score. The loss drops the Dolphins to … Read more
The US military said on Monday it struck three vessels in international waters of the eastern Pacific after intelligence linked those boats to narcotics trafficking; the strikes, shared by US Southern Command on social media, killed eight men. The incident occurred along established smuggling routes and was recorded in black-and-white footage released by the command. … Read more
On December 15, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Aaron Rodgers threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns as the Steelers beat the Miami Dolphins 28-15. Pittsburgh improved to 8-6 while Miami fell to 6-8 and saw a four-game winning streak end. The game turned decisively over the final 35 minutes as the Steelers scored on four straight … Read more
Lead: On December 15, 2025, seismologists reported evidence of an unusually thick, low‑density rock layer beneath the Bermuda archipelago that may explain why the islands appear to ‘float’ in the middle of the Atlantic. The finding, published in a paper in Geophysical Research Letters in November 2025, comes from seismic recordings made at a station … Read more
On December 15, 2025, the Powerball drawing produced the winning sequence 23, 35, 59, 63 and 68 with a Powerball of 2, creating an estimated $1.14 billion jackpot. The drawing is the sixth-largest in Powerball history and marks the second time in 2025 the top prize reached $1 billion. The potential grand-prize winner or winners … Read more
Lead On Monday, President Donald Trump said he asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to consider releasing Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong pro-democracy media founder convicted on national security charges. Trump told reporters he felt ‘‘so badly’’ about Lai’s health and age and said he raised the matter during interactions with Xi. Lai, 78, a British … Read more
Lead: Magnum, an investor reported by the Financial Times, has moved to remove the chair of Ben & Jerry’s, touching off a governance dispute at the US-based ice‑cream maker. The action, disclosed in reporting this week, follows growing tensions over strategic direction and control. If the attempt succeeds, it would shift oversight of a brand … Read more
Lead: Ukraine’s security service on Dec. 11, 2023 reported that an underwater drone struck and sank a Russian submarine in the Black Sea, saying the attack occurred near Crimea and damaged Russia’s maritime capabilities. Kyiv framed the operation as a targeted strike on a military asset, while independent verification remained limited. Moscow has disputed or … Read more
Joe Ely, the Texas-born singer-songwriter whose restless touring and genre-spanning songs helped define modern Americana, died on Dec. 15, 2025, at his home in Taos, New Mexico. He was 78. His family said the immediate cause was pneumonia and that he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Ely’s work — mixing … Read more
Lead: Team Cherry announced that Hollow Knight: Silksong will receive a major free expansion called Hollow Knight: Silksong — Sea of Sorrow, scheduled to arrive in 2026. The studio confirmed the expansion will add new areas, bosses and tools and will be free to all players. The announcement also included a 2026 Switch 2 Edition … Read more
Lead: U.S. military forces struck three suspected drug vessels in the eastern Pacific on Monday, killing eight people aboard, defense officials said. U.S. Southern Command described the targets as operated by groups designated by the United States and said the vessels were using established narco-trafficking routes. The strikes were ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth … Read more
Lead On Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, the Miami Dolphins (6-7) visited the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) on Monday Night Football in a pivotal AFC matchup with playoff implications. Jaylen Warren was active for Pittsburgh, while All-Pro edge rusher T.J. Watt was ruled out, reshaping the defensive matchup. The game swung in the Steelers’ favor in the … Read more
Lead President Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation in Miami federal court on Dec. 15, 2025, seeking at least $5 billion in damages. The complaint says a Panorama documentary aired one week before the 2024 U.S. election edited his remarks to create a false call for violence. The suit follows … Read more
