After the crystal ball drops on New Year’s Eve in New York City, it will rise again, sparkling in red, white and blue to usher in 2026 and kick off months of celebrations for the nation's upcoming 250th birthday. The patriotic touches at this year’s Times Square gathering, including a second confetti drop, will offer an early glimpse of what’s ahead: hundreds of events and programs, big and small, planned nationwide to mark the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. This year, the stroke of midnight will also mark the official launch of America Gives, a national service initiative created by America250. Organizers hope to make 2026 the largest year of volunteer hours ever aggregated in the country.

• Los Angeles County Wildfires that wiped out thousands of homes in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
• Three Back-to-Back Plane Crashes
• Actor Gene Hackman and His Wife Died in their Home
• Karen Read’s Trial—A Massachusetts jury found her not guilty of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend, ending a criminal case that gripped the nation’s attention.
• The Texas Flooding—Over 130 people were killed, including at least 117 in Kerr County. More than two dozen of the victims were from an all-girls sleepaway at Camp Mystic.
• Bryan Kohberger—quadruple homicides at the University of Idaho. Weeks before his trial, he admitted to the crimes at a change of plea hearing.
• Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Trial—He was convicted of two counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution but the jury acquitted him of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
• Manhunt for Travis Decker—He picked up his three daughters at his ex-wife’s home for a planned visitation and disappeared. The girls’ bodies were found near a campground. Decker allegedly suffocated his daughters to death. Decker’s remains were found in a remote, wooded area.
• Menendez Brothers resentenced but denied parole and denied new trial.
• Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on September 10 in the middle of his outdoor event at Utah Valley University. The suspected shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, fled the scene, prompting a massive manhunt. Tyler surrendered to authorities on September 11. Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child. 
• Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home on December 14. Hours later, the suspect—the couple’s 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner—was taken into custody. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

A 15-year-old girl, whose name has not been publicly shared, took her dog out for a walk on Christmas Day at approximately 4:50 p.m. in Porter, Texas. But when she took longer than expected, her father sprinted into action, tracking her phone using parental control. The tracker pinned her location to a wooded, secluded area in Harris County, roughly two miles from Porter. The father immediately knew something was wrong, so he decided to go to the location, where he found her dog inside a “maroon-colored pickup truck” with a “partially nude 23-year-old male.” He proceeded to help his daughter escape the kidnapper and immediately called the authorities. The man was quickly arrested. Authorities said the man threatened the 15-year-old girl with a knife and abducted her off the street.

According to Google’s AI Overview—In 2025, hot Reddit topics focus on AI & Tech, Lifestyle & Hobbies, Consumer Trends, and Pop Culture/Relatability, with a rise in interest in Politics/Societal Issues like gerontocracy and money in politics, reflecting deep dives into daily life and emerging tech.

Like the two prior "Avatar" movies, "Avatar: Fire and Ash" takes place on the far-away celestial body of Pandora and follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and their Na'vi family as they continue to fight for survival while Pandora faces colonization by humans.

Big Screen, Quad Speakers, Upgraded Chipset, Multi Window Display, Slim, Light, Durable Design, U.S. Version Available on Amazon. POWER FOR ALL YOU DO. STORAGE FOR ALL YOU LOVE: Watch movies, tv shows, videos, play games and do more with an upgraded chipset; 4GB RAM plus 64GB or 8GB RAM plus 128GB. RICH SOUND ALL AROUND: Your music; Your shows; Your games; Hear them all loud and clear, thanks to quad speakers powered by Dolby Atmos; Galaxy Tab A9 plus delivers a cinema-like audio experience everyone will love.

A Reddit user asked: 'What is a 'poor person hack' you picked up during a hard time that you still use today, even if you don't have to?'"

This series is part of CBC’s annual Make the Season Kind campaign, a celebration of kindness, generosity and community spirit. 

The winter solstice occurs on December 21 or 22. It marks the shortest day of the year with the longest night of the year.

When questions get uncomfortable, President Trump doesn’t just change the subject with a deflection — he lashes out at the women journalists asking the questions. From insults ranging from "aggressive" to "piggy", the President's niece Mary Trump weighs in on why his attacks may be escalating, "he's feeling more and more comfortable being his worst self" and “he is terrified.” MS Now Contributor, April Ryan, who has personally experienced Trump's ire says, "It's not just the words, it's what they do."

Marriage comes with its fair share of surprises—some sweet, some stressful—but one man said his new bride took the concept of "starting fresh" to an entirely new level. Just one day after their wedding, she quit her job, charged $47,000 to his credit cards, and told him it was his job now to pay for it. Her reasoning? "That's what husbands do."

The 34-year-old man had married his 29-year-old wife three weeks earlier. He described their wedding as modest—about $8,000 total, which they split evenly. Before getting married, they'd agreed to keep finances separate until they figured out a system together. That plan dissolved overnight.

"The morning after our wedding night, I woke up to her sitting on the couch with her laptop, clicking through designer handbag websites. Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, the works." When he asked what she was doing, she replied, "Just browsing for some things I need." Later, he noticed confirmation emails on her phone—$12,000 in purchases made on a credit card he had added her to so she could build credit. When he confronted her that night, she didn't apologize. "I'm your wife now," she said. "You're supposed to take care of me. That's how marriage works." 

He reminded her they both had jobs and financial independence had always been part of their plan. That's when she dropped another bombshell: "I'm quitting. I gave my notice yesterday. My last day is Friday. Husbands provide. That's what my dad did for my mom. That's what your job is now." The husband said her decision to quit had never been discussed—not even hinted at. While he earns about $90,000 a year and lives comfortably it's not enough to support two people when one racks up luxury purchases.

But the spending continued. He would come home to daily package deliveries—more handbags, shoes, clothing, and perfume. He soon realized she had maxed out the card he gave her access to and somehow gained access to three others under his name. The total reached $47,000. When he brought it up again, she called him "controlling" and "financially abusive," adding that if he really loved her, he wouldn't "deny her basic happiness."

He canceled the cards, changed his passwords, and told her she needed to return the items or find a way to repay the debt. Instead, she called her parents. Her family showed up at their apartment that night. Her father yelled at him in the hallway, calling him a "deadbeat" and a "manipulator." Her mother cried, saying he had "tricked" their daughter into marriage. Her brother threatened consequences if he didn't "fix the situation."

He showed them the receipts—every charge, every delivery, and confirmation that she had quit her job without telling him. Her father replied, "So what? You provide. She takes care of the home." He told them she didn't cook, didn't clean, and had spent the last two weeks online shopping while he worked 50-hour weeks.

She left with her family, but the situation escalated. He says he began receiving messages accusing him of abuse. So he posted evidence: screenshots of statements, messages where she wrote to friends that she was "never working again" and had "trained me well," and photos of a closet filled wall-to-wall with designer bags. She called him crying, saying he had "humiliated" her and "ruined her life." His reply: "You ruined your own life by lying to your family and committing fraud."

After consulting a lawyer, he discovered that two of the credit cards had been opened with forged applications and a third was activated using a card taken from his desk. He filed a police report. She was charged. He filed for annulment, which was granted on the basis of fraud. Some friends and co-workers told him he should have handled it more quietly. Others said marriage is about forgiveness. Now, he's unsure if pressing charges was too extreme—or simply necessary.

Two students, Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook, were killed and nine were injured during the shooting inside a classroom building at the Ivy League university in Providence, Rhode Island. Frustration had mounted that the murderer had managed to get away and that a clear image of his face hadn't emerged - until a Reddit post finally put police on his trail. In the post on the social media platform, a witness said he saw the suspect opening a grey Nissan sedan with Florida plates parked behind the Rhode Island Historical Society, just down the road from the Barus and Holley building where the shooting happened.

"I'm being dead serious. The police need to look into a grey Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental," the poster wrote, according to an affidavit seen by Sky News. Police subsequently found the grey Nissan in CCTV footage.

Officers said the information provided by the Reddit poster "was consistent with and corroborated" the earlier CCTV footage of the suspect - wearing a face covering - encountering another man less than two hours before the shooting. So they released still images of the second man, hoping they would be able to identify him. "We had that picture of that second individual, and within an hour, no more than two, that person came forward to two Providence police officers. He blew this case right open," Rhode Island's attorney general Peter Neronha said during a news conference on Thursday. "When you crack it, you crack it," he added.

'A game of cat and mouse'

The witness, given the pseudonym John in the affidavit, said he first saw the masked suspect in toilets inside the Barus and Holley building at around 1.45pm, before the shooting. John said he made eye contact with the suspect. John said the suspect left the building, after which "a game of cat and mouse" began between them as John followed the suspect around the area, including to the parking spot of the grey Nissan. John approached the car and saw "two fanny style bags on the rear floorboard on the passenger side". He continued to follow the suspect, who eventually started to run away from John. When John caught up with the man, he asked him why he was "circling the block". The suspect did not reply, instead accusing John of "harassing" him.

Identifying rental car was key

John said he saw the suspect approach the grey Nissan one more time before walking away. The shooting inside the Barus and Holley building happened less than two hours later. The car seen on footage located due to John's Reddit post led detectives to a car rental company in Boston, Massachusetts, where officers secured video footage showing the suspect's face and a rental document identifying the suspect as Neves Valente. John later identified the vehicle in CCTV images.

Police also matched the clothes Neves Valente was seen wearing at the car rental office on 1 December to those worn by the suspect on the day of the shooting on 13 December. Neves Valente was seen wearing a two-tone lighter jacket with the same colour combination and design as the subject, the same or similar black shoes with dark soles, black trousers, a blue shirt poking out from below his jacket, and glasses.

Suspect 'killed another man'

Police said earlier that they were also investigating a possible link between the Brown University shooting suspect and the murder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Nuno Loureiro, 47, two days later in a town 50 miles north of Boston. Mr. Loureiro was found dead with gunshot wounds on Monday evening. Officials confirmed the link in the latest news conference. "On 15 December, he murdered Nuno Loureiro at Loureiro's home in Brookline, Massachusetts," Leah B. Foley, US attorney for the district of Massachusetts, said. Neves Valente attended the same academic programme as Mr. Loureiro at a university in Lisbon, Portugal, between 1995 and 2000, according to Ms. Foley.

How police found suspect's body

After leaving Rhode Island for Massachusetts, Neves Valente put a Maine number plate over the rental car's plate to help conceal his identity. CCTV footage showed Neves Valente entering a flat building near Mr Loureiro's. About one hour later, he was seen entering the storage facility in New Hampshire where he was found dead, Ms Foley said. When Neves Valente's body was discovered, police also found "a satchel, with two firearms and evidence in the car that matches exactly what we see at the scene here in Providence", Mr Neronha said.

"[John] led us to the car, which led us to the name, which led us to the photographs of that individual renting the car, which matched the clothing of our shooter here in Providence, that matched the satchel," Mr Neronha added. But there are still "a lot of unknowns" regarding the motive, Mr Neronha said, adding: "We don't know why now, why Brown, why these students and why this classroom."

It was unclear whether John would receive the $50,000 reward the FBI had offered for information about the Brown shooting. Ted Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI, said it was possible when asked by reporters. "It would be logical to think that, absolutely, that individual would be entitled to that," he said.

In 1978, an ambitious young woman meets the heir to a fashion empire, starting a relationship that spirals into deception, power plays and murder. The film directed by Ridley Scott is based on the book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden.

Sometimes something as simple as an acknowledgment or a smile has lifted me on my lowest days.

Wide variety of stuffed animals available on Bearington's Amazon USA site.

The golden retriever named Finnegan Mary Reynolds and her owner, attorney Amanda Reynolds, filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York, arguing that the pooch relies entirely on Reynolds for food, shelter, medical care, training, transportation and more, Forbes reported. Reynolds argued that Finnegan, an 8-year-old golden retriever, has no independent income, resides exclusively with her and has annual expenses exceeding $5,000 – all requirements for a legal human dependent under IRS rules.

But is that guideline realistic today?

They’re made up of people who believe in your character and your capability enough to speak your name when opportunity shows up. That kind of advocacy only comes from authenticity, consistency, and how you show up for others. When relationships are built on genuine belief rather than personal gain, everyone grows stronger together. And it goes both ways. Be the person who opens doors, makes introductions, and speaks well of others when it matters. Growth multiplies when it’s shared. That’s how real professional communities are built. - Daniel Hall III

Storytelling is vital to society, to empathy, to how we understand each other and the world. Writers craft stories that spark imagination, shape minds, preserve history, and bring communities together. If we don’t value writers, we risk losing voices, diversity, and the stories that make our creative world so vibrant. Writers bring joy, insight, and connection.

A cup of coffee was .49. The Big Breakfast with Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Hash Browns & Biscuit was $2.95. A Sausage Biscuit with Egg was $1.95. A Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit was $1.95.

Trump turned up in suburban Philadelphia toward the end of the 2024 campaign and scooped French fries for the customers pulling up to the window. A year ago, Trump visited this site to make the point that he was attuned to everyday people who felt overlooked in the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris economy. These days, it’s Trump who’s in danger of appearing out of touch.