• Sportscaster dies from cancer at age 78, family says
• Gumbel led NFL, MLB, Final Four and Olympic coverage

Greg Gumbel, a longtime CBS sportscaster, has died from cancer, according to a statement from family released by CBS on Friday. He was 78.

“He leaves behind a legacy of love, inspiration and dedication to over 50 extraordinary years in the sports broadcast industry; and his iconic voice will never be forgotten,” his wife Marcy Gumbel and daughter Michelle Gumbel said in a statement.

Critical incident team from Bankstown Police Area Command to investigate circumstances surrounding 33-year-old’s death

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A man has died after he was arrested while allegedly attempting to enter vehicles armed with a knife in the middle of Sydney traffic.

Police declared a critical incident after officers responded to reports of a man trying to stop traffic and enter vehicles on Remembrance Driveway at Tahmoor in Sydney’s south-west at about 1pm on Friday.

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Court will hear arguments in case that could see app banned in US if not sold to American firm by 19 January

President-elect Donald Trump has urged the US supreme court to pause implementation of a law that would ban popular social media app TikTok or force its sale, arguing he should have time after taking office to pursue a “political resolution” to the issue.

The court is set to hear arguments in the case on 10 January.

UN humanitarian body warns that dramatic increase in harm to children should not become the ‘new normal’

Nearly one in five of the world’s children live in areas affected by conflicts, with more than 473 million children suffering from the worst levels of violence since the second world war, according to figures published by the UN.

The UN humanitarian aid organisation for children, Unicef, said on Saturday that the percentage of children living in conflict zones around the world has doubled from about 10% in the 1990s to almost 19%, and warned that this dramatic increase in harm to children should not become the “new normal”.

The world No 1 was defaulted from the World Rapid Championship and has also chosen to withdraw from the World Blitz saying ‘it became a matter of principle’

Magnus Carlsen, the world No 1, has been disqualified from the World Rapid Championship in New York due to a dress code violation, refusing to change from jeans, after a previous warning. He is also withdrawing from the World Blitz which starts on 30 December.

Fide explained their decision in a statement while Carlsen said: “I said I’ll change tomorrow … but they said you have to change now it became a matter of principle for me so here we are! Honestly I’m too old at this point to care too much. If this is what they want to do I’ll probably set off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer.”

Head coach has enjoyed an immediate impact but knows the importance of leading attacker staying put in January

As Wolves were on Friday night breathing a sigh of relief that Matheus Cunha is set to be available to face Tottenham on Sunday, there are plenty of other positives to be drawn from Vítor Pereira’s first week at the helm alongside their star player’s contributions.

Cunha has scored in both of their new manager’s opening games as Wolves have climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time this season following the wins over Leicester and Manchester United. An FA misconduct charge is hanging over Cunha, but the governing body’s disciplinary panel is unlikely to meet before next week.

William Webster writes in letter to senators that ‘the safety of the American people … depends on it’

William Webster, the only man to head both the FBI and the CIA, has urged the US Senate to reject Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s nominees as directors of the bureau and national intelligence, arguing that they are unqualified.

Writing to senators, Webster, who is aged 100 and who was appointed by both Democrat and Republican presidents, called on them to “weigh the critical importance of nonpartisan leadership and experience” and suggested that Patel and Gabbard possessed neither attribute.

• Updates from the Boxing Day Test at the MCG
• Rishabh Pant caught playing risky ramp shot
• Any thoughts? Get in touch with an email

52nd over: India 180-5 (Pant 22, Jadeja 4) Smokes a pull shot! Pant moves along to the 20s by clattering Boland, then takes a single. Jadeja keeps blocking.

Guy Hornsby winds up the crank handle on the email machine. “Morning/evening Geoff. I’m somehow still up in darkest Sale in Manchester, full of port and cheese and wondering if Pant and Jadeja can actually save anything here. Their records suggest there’s a chance, but Pant is Cummins’ bunny of late and India must have felt an absolute gut punch after getting to 153-2 before the calamitous run-out. I’m not going to even attempt to apportion individual blame, just say it was a proper horlicks that took the wind out of India’s sails. Now it’s down to these two and a longish but bullish tail to see how much of a dent they can put into this huge Australian total. Perhaps Bumrah has made clear just how much of a rest he’d like after a mammoth series so far. We’ll find out soon enough!”

• In-form Villa striker will now be banned for three games
• Unai Emery believes ‘stamp’ on Schär was unintentional

Aston Villa are shocked and disappointed after the Football Association rejected their appeal against Jhon Durán’s red card, meaning the striker will serve a three-match ban.

The Colombian was given a straight red card by the referee, Anthony Taylor, after being adjudged to have intentionally stamped on the Newcastle defender Fabian Schär when the pair collided in the first half of Villa’s Boxing Day defeat.

• Brown fired by Kings less than halfway into third season
• Sacramento are mired in five-game losing streak

The Sacramento Kings have fired coach Mike Brown less than halfway through his third season with the team mired in a five-game losing streak, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because the firing hadn’t been announced by the team. ESPN first reported the firing.

The Premier League season has not reached its halfway point and yet Arsenal knew this was a game they had to win. Liverpool’s stunning form at the top of the table had seen to that. It was scrappy for long spells, Ipswich digging deep, determined to show a response to the 4-0 home drubbing against Newcastle from last Saturday – the only time they have taken a real hammering this season.

Arsenal were restricted. They found chances difficult to come by. But in the end, one goal was enough – together with another clean sheet for David Raya, his 23rd in 50 league appearances for the club. The goalkeeper has more at this stage of his Arsenal career than the great David Seaman did.

When Brighton produced a stirring comeback to defeat Manchester City here back at the start of November and move into the top four, Fabian Hürzeler could have been forgiven for thinking that being a Premier League manager is a pretty straightforward business. Yet after another disappointing performance from his side that made it six matches without a victory and allowed Brentford to pick up only their second away point of the season, the 31-year-old is being forced to confront reality.

Despite creating a plethora of chances, Brighton couldn’t find a way past Thomas Frank’s battling side, who lost their goalkeeper Mark Flekken to injury in the first half and handed a Premier League debut to Hákon Valdimarsson. For all their positivity and possession under Hürzeler, in the absence of top scorer Danny Welbeck – who has been sidelined during their winless run with an ankle injury – Brighton lack a cutting edge in attack that was exposed again.

• American cuts hand on broken glass during festive period
• Golfer will now miss the first tournament of season

The men’s world No 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has had surgery on a hand injury he sustained while cooking Christmas dinner. The 28-year-old American has been forced to withdraw from the first tournament of the season, next week’s the Sentry in Hawaii, after cutting his right hand on broken glass.

The PGA Tour said: “World No 1 and 2024 FedEx Cup Champion Scottie Scheffler has withdrawn from the PGA Tour’s 2025 season-opening tournament, the Sentry, which will take place next week, 2-5 January at the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii.”

Last surviving member of USS Utah, moored at the harbor when the attack took place, died after a bout of pneumonia

Warren Upton, the oldest living survivor of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the last remaining survivor of the USS Utah, has died. He was 105.

Upton died on Wednesday at a hospital in Los Gatos, California, after suffering a bout of pneumonia, said Kathleen Farley, the California state chair of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors.

• Third time LawConnect has claimed line honours, after initial success in 2016 as Perpetual Loyal
• Could take days for overall handicap winner to be decided

A “sombre” LawConnect has delayed celebrations after claiming back-to-back line honour wins in a Sydney to Hobart race marred by the death of two sailors.

The Christian Beck-skippered supermaxi was first across the River Derwent finish line at 2.35am on Saturday in a time of one day, 13 hours, 35 minutes and 13 seconds.

• Pelach only won three of 18 Championship matches
• Stoke looking for third head coach of the season

Stoke have sacked Narcís Pelach after only 19 games as head coach, the Championship club have announced.

Pelach, who was appointed in September at the age of 36 after replacing Steven Schumacher, won just three of the 18 league games for which he was in charge and departs after a 2-0 Boxing Day defeat at home against Leeds which left Stoke sitting in 19th place in the table, three points clear of the relegation zone.

Workers who reported symptoms of the illness often faced delayed or denied care and struggled to access benefits

A newly declassified US Senate report found that the CIA’s handling of mysterious health incidents known as Havana syndrome has been flawed and marred by inconsistent medical care, delayed compensation and communication failures – all while foreign adversaries remain “very unlikely” to be responsible.

Many cases of the syndrome have been reported, mostly among US officials posted abroad, and the phenomenon has led to theories they had been targeted by a hitherto unknown weapon using directed energy of some sort wielded by a hostile power.

Americans point to coverage denials and steep profits from insurance industry after Brian Thompson’s killing

In a new poll, more than two-thirds of respondents said they believed denials of coverage and profits in the health insurance industry were partially responsible for the killing of Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare CEO, in early December.

Thompson was shot dead on the streets of Manhattan. His killer fled, sparking a nationwide manhunt, which ended when Luigi Mangione was arrested and charged with the killing after being arrested in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s. Mangione’s alleged writings indicated that he was angry at the US healthcare industry and saw it as exploitative.

US Department of Housing and Urban Development reports largest increase among families with children

The US saw a dramatic rise in homelessness at the start of 2024, counting 18% more unhoused people during its annual tally in January than the year before, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (Hud) reported on Friday.

Cities reported counting a total of 771,480 unhoused people in January, a number that is larger than the population of Seattle. Representing 23 out of every 10,000 Americans, the number is the highest ever recorded during the tally. Still, experts consider the number an undercount, since it reflects one point in time and misses many people staying with friends or family.

Duo’s festive record made history when it became Christmas No 1 two years in a row

Wham! have continued their belated festive domination after Last Christmas remained top of the singles chart, a week after being crowned 2024’s Christmas No 1.

The pop duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley made history last week after their 1984 single Last Christmas became the first UK Christmas No1 to top the chart for two years in a row.

Nearly 900 flights have been cancelled already as tornado watches are issued in Texas and Louisiana

As the US braces for one of its busiest travel weekends of the year, the threat of severe weather has already led to hundreds of flight cancellations.

Tornado watches were issued in the southern states of Texas and Louisiana on Thursday, CNN reported. In Texas, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered ground stops at two airports, CBS reported. Governor Greg Abbott of Texas activated emergency response resources in the state on Thursday.

From sci-fi epics to investigate deep-dives, the Guide readers have their say on the year’s finest culture

Welcome to the last Guide of 2024! I hope you all are enjoying your festive break, and have a better handle on which day it is than I do. As is tradition, after our own roundup of the year’s best culture, we are turning things over to you this week. Here are the films, TV shows, music, performances, and podcasts that wowed you in 2024.

Thanks to everyone who sent in suggestions and sorry if we weren’t able to include yours. Enjoy the rest of your Christmas break, and see you on the other side of the new year, for our 2025 preview next Friday!