Top stories
Lead On December 5, the Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart World bundle was available at Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy for $449, reflecting a $50 reduction from the bundle’s $499–$500 list price. Walmart first listed the discount during its Cyber Monday promotion, and Amazon quickly matched the price; after several sell-outs earlier in the week … Read more
Lead: Penn State has named Iowa State’s Matt Campbell as its next head coach, ending a 54-day search after athletic director Pat Kraft dismissed James Franklin. Reports indicate an eight-year agreement that will need Board of Trustees approval; details of salary placement among the nation’s top ten were reported by ESPN and Yahoo Sports. Campbell, … Read more
President Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy, released this month, reframes U.S. foreign policy around a narrower set of priorities that foreground the president, immigration controls, hemispheric primacy, and industrial power. The document repeatedly ties strategy to the president’s personal achievements and presents a “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine, prioritizes border security as the central … Read more
The announcement that Netflix has struck a deal to buy Warner Bros. for $82.7 million has sent alarm through the exhibition business, with theater operators warning the acquisition could shrink the slate of films available for cinemas and further weaken an industry still recovering from the pandemic. The transaction, which requires regulatory approval, prompted owners … Read more
Lead Warner Bros. Discovery disclosed a new retention bonus program on Dec. 5 aimed at keeping top executives through the multi-step sale to Netflix, a transaction valued at $82.7 billion. Regulators and company timelines mean a full closing could take roughly 12 to 18 months, during which senior leaders are expected to maintain operations rather … Read more
Admiral Rachel L. Levine’s framed photograph in the Humphrey Building was recently relabeled to show a prior name, officials and colleagues tell NPR. The portrait—displayed shortly after Levine won Senate confirmation in 2021 as assistant secretary for health and head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps—was altered during the federal government shutdown in late … Read more
A visiting Harvard law professor from Brazil departed the United States this week after Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained him and the State Department revoked his J‑1 visa following an October incident near a Brookline synagogue. Federal officials and the professor’s attorney said he agreed to leave voluntarily and returned to Brazil on Thursday. The … Read more
Lead Vanity Fair and journalist Olivia Nuzzi said they have mutually agreed to let her contract expire at the end of the year, a joint statement announced on Friday. Nuzzi, 32, who had served as the magazine’s West Coast editor earlier this year, has drawn sustained public attention because of her reported relationship with Robert … Read more
Lead Who: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Indiana. When/Where: Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium, kickoff just after 8 p.m. ET on FOX. What: The Big Ten Championship Game crowns a conference champion and awards the top seed in the College Football Playoff; this is the first time the title game pits the conference’s … Read more
Dec. 5, 2025 (updated 8:57 p.m. ET) Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. used a speech at the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute’s annual conference in Washington on Dec. 5, 2025, to defend his backing of transgender rights and to criticize Republican messaging that, he said, has turned sexual orientation and gender identity into a political weapon. … Read more
Lead Sources who viewed a classified video shown to lawmakers say two people who survived an early Sept. 2 U.S. strike on an alleged drug-running vessel in the Caribbean were visibly waving before a subsequent attack that killed them. The Sept. 2 operation was part of a broader campaign the administration has carried out against … Read more
With roughly eight weeks until Oscar nominations are revealed, the race to secure broadcast rights to the Academy Awards has intensified. Sources close to negotiations say the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is seeking a new 5–10 year licensing pact, and several potential bidders have been sizing up the deal. Netflix has stepped … Read more
In Auckland last week, a 32-year-old man allegedly stole an 18‑karat gold Fabergé egg pendant from a jewelry shop and swallowed it inside the store, police said. Officers arrested him at the scene and charged him with theft; after a medical assessment he was monitored while officers waited for the pendant to be expelled. Six … Read more
Lead: On Friday, 5 December 2025, at the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington D.C., former US president Donald Trump received FIFA’s newly created inaugural Peace Prize onstage at the Kennedy Center. FIFA president Gianni Infantino presented the award, saying it recognized exceptional actions to promote peace and unity. Trump accepted a trophy, medal and … Read more
Lead: On Dec. 5, 2025, Condé Nast and Olivia Nuzzi announced a mutual decision to let her Vanity Fair contract expire at the end of the year, ending her brief tenure as the magazine’s West Coast editor. The move follows new allegations about Nuzzi’s past romantic relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and questions raised … Read more
