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US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that he raised the case of Jimmy Lai with Chinese President Xi Jinping and asked Xi to “consider” releasing the 78-year-old Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher, who was found guilty this week under the city’s national security law. The conviction, handed down on Monday in Hong Kong, has … Read more

Lead: After Disney’s Zootopia 2 premiered on November 26, 2025, a spike in interest for the Indonesian (island bamboo) pit viper has emerged among young people in China. Twenty-one-year-old Qi Weihao of Jiangxi bought a blue pit viper for 1,850 yuan ($260) two days after the film opened, reflecting a trend linked to the movie’s … Read more

Dec 15, 2025 — OpenAI announced internally on Monday that Hannah Wong, the company’s chief communications officer, will depart the organization in January. Wong, who joined OpenAI in 2021 and became chief communications officer in August 2024, told staff she is moving on to a “next chapter.” OpenAI confirmed the exit and said it will … Read more

Scientists at Northwestern Medicine and the University of California, San Francisco report that indoor tanning produces widespread DNA damage across almost the entire skin surface and is associated with a roughly threefold rise in melanoma risk. The team combined epidemiological analysis of 32,315 dermatology patients with single-cell DNA sequencing of melanocytes to trace how tanning-bed … Read more

Lead President Donald Trump provoked an unusual wave of criticism from fellow Republicans after posting disparaging remarks about actor-director Rob Reiner following the fatal stabbing of Reiner and his wife at their home. The comments appeared in a social media post on Monday morning and were repeated by the president later that day in the … Read more

Lead ABC13 Anchor Emeritus Dave Ward has died, the station announced, and ABC13 will carry his funeral live on television and streaming platforms. Funeral events are scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 17 (lie in repose at the Crimestoppers of Houston Dave Ward Building, 3001 Main Street), Thursday, Dec. 18 (public visitation at George H. Lewis & … Read more

Manchester United and Bournemouth produced a chaotic 4-4 draw at Old Trafford on 15 December 2025, a match that swung wildly from end to end and ended with substitute Junior Kroupi salvaging a point for the visitors. United led early through Amad Diallo (13′) and regained a half-time advantage when Casemiro headed home in stoppage … Read more

Lead: A section of the Desimone levee on the Green River east of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport breached around noon local time on Monday, forcing evacuations in Tukwila and nearby communities as a renewed atmospheric river drenches the Pacific Northwest. The levee protects more than 30,000 residents in Tukwila, Kent and Renton; a flash-flood warning covered … Read more

LAS VEGAS — The San Antonio Spurs are considering using Victor Wembanyama off the bench for Tuesday’s NBA Cup championship against the New York Knicks after the 7-foot-4 center returned from injury and logged limited minutes in Saturday’s semifinal. Wembanyama, who missed 12 games with a left calf strain, came off the bench in the … Read more

Microsoft says it will finally remove the decades-old RC4 cipher after a long, incremental deprecation effort that stretched over the past decade. Steve Syfuhs, who leads Microsoft’s Windows Authentication team, explained the technical and codebase complexity behind the delay and the series of surgical fixes required as flaws were discovered. Microsoft introduced measures that shifted … Read more

Monday — The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch covering portions of 12 counties across western Washington as a series of wet weather systems returns to the region. The watch, announced early Monday, includes major population centers such as Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia and follows last week’s emergency response in Skagit County, where … Read more

European leaders meeting in Berlin on 15 December 2025 agreed a detailed framework of security guarantees for Ukraine, promising military, intelligence and diplomatic backing if Russia mounts a future attack. The two-day talks produced a joint statement outlining a European-led multinational force, a US-led monitoring mechanism for any ceasefire and a legally binding pledge to … Read more

Ford Motor Company has stopped production of the all‑electric F‑150 Lightning, announcing a strategic pivot on Dec. 15, 2025 that prioritizes hybrids, lower‑cost EVs and stationary battery products. The company says consumer demand and persistent losses on the Lightning left the model without a viable path to profitability. Battery factories once intended for truck cell … Read more

Lead: Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: ULCC) announced that President James G. Dempsey will become Interim Chief Executive Officer effective December 15, 2025, while current CEO Barry L. Biffle will remain with the company in an advisory role through December 31, 2025. The Board, led by Chair Bill Franke, praised Biffle’s 11 years of leadership … Read more

Frontier Group Holdings announced on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, that long-serving chief executive Barry Biffle will be replaced immediately by the carrier’s president, James Dempsey, who will serve as interim CEO. The move comes at the end of a nearly decade-long tenure for Biffle, who led Frontier from March 2016 and will remain with the … Read more