Jane Slater debunked a false death rumor that spread online, clarifying she was alive and joking on X after social media users believed she had died at 40.
Four people face federal terror charges for allegedly plotting New Year's Eve 2025 bombings targeting businesses. The holiday attack was foiled by FBI agents.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said some allies, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, expressed safety concerns as she runs for U.S. Senate.
Norwegian biathlete found dead in hotel room in Italy
Bakken, 27, was 13th in this season’s overall standings
Norwegian biathlete Sivert Guttorm Bakken has been found dead in his hotel room in Lavaze, Italy. The Norwegian Biathlon Association said the cause of the 27-year-old’s death was unknown.
The International Biathlon Union, the sport’s governing body, said the athlete’s death had been confirmed by Italian authorities.
Pontiff calls for ‘day of peace’ on Christmas Day after huge Russian attack in Ukraine kills three and cuts power to several regions. What we know on day 1,400
Pope Leo XIV has called for a global truce on Christmas Day, expressing “great sadness” that “apparently Russia rejected a request” for one. “I am renewing my request to all people of good will to respect a day of peace – at least on the feast of the birth of our saviour,” Leo told reporters at his residence near Rome on Tuesday. Russia has repeatedly rejected calls for a ceasefire in its war on Ukraine, saying that would only give a military advantage to Kyiv. The pope said: “Among the things that cause me great sadness is the fact that Russia has apparently rejected a request for a truce.” Referring to conflicts in general, Leo said: “I hope they will listen and there will be 24 hours of peace in the whole world.”
A massive Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine has killed three people and cut power to several Ukrainian regions two days before Christmas and as the country enters a period of very cold weather, report Shaun Walker and Pjotr Sauer. Russia sent more than 650 drones and more than 30 missiles into Ukraine in the attack, which began overnight and continued into Tuesday morning, local officials said. At least three people were killed, including a four-year-old child. Poland scrambled fighter jets to protect its airspace during the strike, the country’s army said. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram: “A strike before Christmas, when people want to be with their families, at home, in safety … Putin cannot accept the fact that we must stop killing.”
Ukraine struck Russian oil and gas infrastructure, hitting a petrochemical plant in southern Russia’s Stavropol region. Regional governor Vladimir Vladimirov said a fire had engulfed the industrial area, while footage on Russian media channels showed towering flames there.
The attacks came after weekend talks in Miami involving Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian and Ukrainian representatives in separate meetings, which Witkoff called “constructive” but that showed no apparent breakthroughs. Zelenskyy said he was briefed on the state of the talks on Tuesday and that “several draft documents have now been prepared”, including an outline for ending the war, options for Ukraine’s future security guarantees and plans for the country’s postwar reconstruction.
Ukraine pulled out troops from a town in the east after fierce battles, the military said on Tuesday. Kyiv had to withdraw the forces from Siversk, a town in the embattled Donetsk region on the way to two last strongholds held by Ukraine. Russia announced the capture of Siversk almost two weeks ago. The Ukrainian army said that “to preserve the lives of our soldiers and the combat capability of our units, Ukrainian defenders have withdrawn from the settlement” of Siversk, adding that fighting was still ongoing on the outskirts.
A Russian strike could collapse the internal radiation shelter at the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine, the plant’s director has said. Sergiy Tarakanov told Agence France-Presse that fully restoring the shelter could take three to four years and warned that another Russian strike could cause the inner shell to collapse. “If a missile or drone hits it directly, or even falls somewhere nearby – for example, an Iskander [short-range ballistic missile], God forbid – it will cause a mini-earthquake in the area,” he said in an interview conducted last week. “No one can guarantee that the shelter facility will remain standing after that. That is the main threat.”
Returning to the Target Center for just the second time since the Knicks’ blockbuster trade to acquire him, Towns reflected on his old stomping grounds.
Known as Tea Tyme, Tynesha McCarty-Wroten arrested over 3 November death of Darren Lucas in Zion, Illinois
The social media creator who allegedly hit and killed a pedestrian as she hosted a livestream while simultaneously driving through a Chicago suburb has been arrested, according to authorities.
Known best to her online followers as Tea Tyme, Tynesha McCarty-Wroten was arrested Tuesday for her role in the 3 November death of 59-year-old Darren Lucas, said Lt Paul Kehrli of the Zion, Illinois, police department.
An old and debunked claim that the Jewish state deliberately attacked a US Navy spy ship during the Six-Day War has renewed currency on the antisemitic right.
The Turtle Island Liberation Front, caught plotting a New Year's terror attack on Los Angeles, is a walking embodiment of intersectionality — and it's not alone.
Christchurch now at the centre of the country’s fastest-growing region as lower house prices, job prospects and thriving cultural scene entice people to the city
From 2010, New Zealand’s second-largest city, Christchurch, became inextricably linked with crises. The city, which had been known for its gardens, gothic architecture and monochromatic culture was rocked by a decade of tragedy – devastating and fatal earthquakes, wildfires and a terrorist attack on two mosques that killed more than 50 people.
But in recent years, the city of crises has taken a surprising turn – shrugging off its once-conservative reputation and rebuilding from tragedy to become one of New Zealand’s most appealing cities.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani chose Lillian Bonsignore, the former chief of New York’s E.M.S., as the first openly gay person to lead the Fire Department.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced that Lillian Bonsignore, who retired from the New York Fire Department in 2022, was his pick to be the city’s next fire commissioner.
For five months, Susan Ercolino says she was afraid to close her eyes. Night after night, she stayed half-awake in and around MacArthur Park — flinching at footsteps, jolting at voices, scanning the dark — because sleeping too hard could mean getting robbed, beaten, or worse.
Prime minister calls on people to show kindness to friends or family as leaders broadcast their festive messages
Keir Starmer has called on Britons to show kindness to struggling friends or family this Christmas, saying being in touch with those in need can make a big difference.
Starmer, whose brother died last Boxing Day, said people should channel the spirit of the many volunteers and public sector workers who are on duty this Christmas by resolving to get back in touch with those who might find the time of year difficult.
Connexion
