Business Sentiment
Sentiment Legend:
Negative < 44
Mixed 46-54
Positive > 56
The organization is one of 25 humanitarian groups suspended for their alleged failure to comply with new Israeli rules.
As we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation, your support is urgently needed. Please make a year-end gift to Truthout today.
The Israeli government said Tuesday that Doctors Without Borders, one of the largest medical organizations currently operating in Gaza, is among the 25 humanitarian groups that will be suspended at the start of the new year for their alleged failure to comply with Israel's widely criticized new registration rules for international NGOs.
According to the Associated Press, Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs “said the organizations that will be banned on January 1 did not meet new requirements for sharing staff, funding, and operations information.” The Israeli government specifically accused Doctors Without Borders, known internationally as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), of “failing to clarify the roles of some staff that Israel accused of cooperation with Hamas and other militant groups,” AP reported.
In addition to providing medical assistance to desperate Palestinians, MSF has been an outspoken critic of what has it described as Israel's “campaign of total destruction” in Gaza. The group said in a report released last December that its teams' experiences on the ground in Gaza were “consistent with the descriptions provided by an increasing number of legal experts and organizations concluding that genocide is taking place.”
Ahead of Tuesday's announcement, Doctors Without Borders warned that the looming withdrawal of registration from international NGOs “would prevent organizations, including MSF, from providing essential services to people in Gaza and the West Bank.”
“With Gaza's health system already destroyed, the loss of independent and experienced humanitarian organizations' access to respond would be a disaster for Palestinians,” the group said in a statement last week. “The humanitarian response in Gaza is already highly restricted, and cannot afford further dismantlement.”
“If Israeli authorities revoke MSF's access to Gaza in 2026, a large portion of people in Gaza will lose access to critical medical care, water, and lifesaving support,” the group added. “MSF's activities serve nearly half a million people in Gaza through our vital support to the destroyed health system. MSF continues to seek constructive engagement with Israeli authorities to continue its activities.”
Pascale Coissard, MSF's emergency coordinator for Gaza, noted that “in the last year, MSF teams have treated hundreds of thousands of patients and delivered hundreds of millions of liters of water.”
“MSF teams are trying to expand activities and support Gaza's shattered health system,” said Coissard. “In 2025 alone, we carried out almost 800,000 outpatient consultations and handled more than 100,000 trauma cases.”
Israel's announcement came shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US President Donald Trump in Florida, where both dodged questions about their supposed “peace plan” for Gaza after more than two years of relentless bombing. The Israeli military has been accused of violating an existing ceasefire agreement hundreds of times since it took effect in October.
Al Jazeera reported Tuesday that “Israeli forces have carried out strikes across the Gaza Strip as they continue with their near-daily violations of the ceasefire agreement, with Israel's genocidal war on the besieged enclave continuing apace and displaced Palestinians enduring the destruction of their few remaining possessions in flooding brought about by heavy winter rains.”
From now until the end of the year, all donations to Truthout will be matched dollar for dollar up to $22,000! Thanks to a generous supporter, your one-time gift today will be matched immediately. As well, your monthly donation will be matched for the whole first year, doubling your impact.
We have just 24 hours left to raise $22,000 and receive the full match.
This matching gift comes at a critical time. As Trump attempts to silence dissenting voices and oppositional nonprofits, reader support is our best defense against the right-wing agenda.
Help Truthout confront Trump's fascism in 2026, and have your donation matched now!
Jake Johnson is a staff writer for Common Dreams. Follow him on Twitter: @johnsonjakep.
Get the news you want, delivered to your inbox every day.
All donations to Truthout are now matched dollar for dollar up to $22,000! Thanks to a generous supporter, your one-time gift today will be matched immediately and your monthly donation will be matched for the whole first year. Take advantage of this match — please give before December 31!
In a statement shared on Instagram, Nguyen says she faced a ‘tsunami of harassment' after the all-female spaceflight
Amanda Nguyen, the Vietnamese-American astronaut who was part of the all-female Blue Origin spaceflight, has opened up about her depression after she experienced a “tsunami of harassment” after the trip, in which she became the first Vietnamese woman to go to space.
Nguyen, 34, was part of April's historic 11-minute flight, whose crew included pop star Katy Perry, broadcast journalist Gayle King, and journalist and wife of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sánchez. The flight was heavily criticized for its environmental impact and critics questioned its purpose and use of resources.
For Nguyen, who is a civil rights activist for sexual assault survivors as well as a bioastronautics research scientist, she said the backlash to flight saw her professional achievements and dreams “buried under an avalanche of misogyny”.
In a lengthy statement shared on Instagram on Tuesday, she said that when King called to check on her days after the flight, “I told her my depression might last for years.”
She said the volume of news coverage and social media reaction to the trip was so “unprecedented” that even a “small fraction of negativity becomes staggering”. “It amounted to billions of hostile impressions,” she said, “an onslaught no human brain has evolved to endure”.
“I did not leave Texas for a week, unable to get out of bed. A month later, when a senior staff at Blue [Origin] called me, I had to hang up on him because I could not speak through my tears,” she wrote.
In an interview with the Guardian in March, Nguyen said she had put her lifelong ambition of becoming an astronaut on hold after another student raped her at university and she pursued a years-long fight for justice, which she described as “all-consuming”. In 2019, her activism for sexual assault survivors led to Nguyen being nominated for the Nobel peace prize and in 2022, she was one of Time magazine's women of the year.
The onslaught after the spaceflight made her feel like “collateral damage”, Nguyen said: “my moment of justice mutilated.”
“In my moments of deep grief this year, I reached back out to a familiar place, to her – my survivor self – who found the strength to fight. How horrible that I needed to deploy that skill once again,” she said.
Now, eight months on from realising her dream of going to space, Nguyen said the “fog of grief has started to lift”, and thanked those who have supported her and sent her well wishes. “Vietnam saved me … You all saved me,” she wrote.
Nguyen, whose parents arrived in the US as refugees after fleeing Vietnam after the fall of Saigon, went on: “When Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon, bombs rained down on Vietnam. This year, when my boat refugee family looked at the sky, instead of bombs they saw the first Vietnamese woman in space.
“We came on boats, and now we're on spaceships,” she said.
Despite the backlash, she said there had been “overwhelming good that has come out of [the flight],” including the media attention brought to her women's health research and opportunities to meet world leaders in relation to her advocacy for rape survivors.
“It is the greatest gift this holiday season that I can feel the fog lifting,” Nguyen wrote. “I can tell Gayle it's not going to take years.”
She ended her post with a photo of herself as a young student at Harvard, captioned: “For her.”
Spanish woman's attempted restoration of church artwork was widely mocked but became lucrative tourist attraction
Cecilia Giménez, the woman who achieved unwanted international fame for her botched “Monkey Christ” restoration of a 19th-century mural in Borja, north-east Spain, has died aged 94.
In 2012, Giménez, an amateur artist, decided to restore Ecce Homo, a mural by a local artist, Elías García Martínez, that hung in the Santuario de Misericordia church in Borja. However, her talent as an artist was not equal to her good intentions and she produced what was described as the worst restoration in history.
Amid the storm of mockery and bad publicity over what became known as the Monkey Christ, Giménez took to her bed with an attack of anxiety, losing 17kg (37lb) in the process. However, she soon found that notoriety had an upside as people began bidding to buy her own art, which she sold on eBay, and she later donated the proceeds to a Catholic charity.
The botched restoration became first an internet sensation and then a tourist attraction and the church began charging for admission. Ryanair laid on special flights to Zaragoza, the nearest airport, and today thousands of people continue to visit the village to see her work.
Not only has the picture's fame provided jobs for the sanctuary-museum's two caretakers, but the €600,000 it has brought to the village helps fund places at Borja's care home for elderly people.
In 2023, Behold the Man (English for Ecce Homo), an opera based on the story written by Andrew Flack, a US public relations expert, with music composed by Paul Fowler had its world premiere at Opera Las Vegas.
Giménez was not well enough to attend but her niece was there on opening night to represent the family.
Eduardo Arilla, the mayor of Borja, said in his tribute to Giménez that she had lived a hard life. She was widowed while still young with two disabled children, one of whom died of muscular dystrophy.
Arilla said the greatest homage that could be paid to anyone was what they had done with their life, emphasising the benefits she had brought to Borja. He said the Ecce Homo centre would be named after her, and perhaps a street or a square.
The local church said in a statement: “Cecilia was a devoted mother and a fighter, a strong woman, but above all we should talk about her generosity which has won her the whole world's affection.”
Isaac Herzog's spokesperson says he has not spoken to Trump since US president wrote to urge him to stop trial
The office of Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, has denied a claim by Donald Trump that Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges, would soon receive a pardon.
Speaking shortly before his meeting in Florida with the Israeli prime minister on Monday night, Trump said he had been told by Herzog that a pardon was “on its way”.
“How can you not?” Trump said. “He's a wartime prime minister who's a hero. How do you not give a pardon?”
Trump added that he “spoke to [Herzog] and he tells me it's on its way. You can't do better than that, right?”
Netanyahu, Israel's first sitting prime minister to be charged with a crime, denies bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges brought in 2019. His supporters have dismissed his trials as politically motivated.
The 76-year-old could be sent to prison if convicted, and a lengthy ban on holding public office would be part of any sentence. Given Netanyahu's age, this would end his political career, Israeli analysts say.
Trump has repeatedly raised the prospect of a pardon for Netanyahu, in social media posts and during a speech to Israel's national assembly in October. A month later, the US president wrote a formal letter to Herzog urging him to grant clemency and describing the case as “political, unjustified prosecution”.
Asked on Monday about Trump's remarks, Herzog's office said the Israeli president had not had any conversations with Trump since receiving the letter in November.
“There has not been a conversation between President Herzog and President Trump since the pardon request was submitted,” Herzog's office said in a statement issued a few minutes after Trump's comments.
Responding to that earlier request, Herzog's office said the Israeli president appreciated Trump's “unwavering support of Israel, his immense contribution to the return of the hostages, the transformation of the Middle East and Gaza and the safeguarding of Israel's security” but stressed that “anyone seeking a pardon must submit a request in accordance with the established procedures”.
Many in Israel were outraged by Trump's intervention, saying it infringed national sovereignty.
Herzog's office said the Israeli president had spoken to a representative for Trump then and it was explained that any decision would be made in accordance with established procedures.
Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, is reported to have met Herzog earlier this year to discuss cancelling Netanyahu's trial. Herzog delivered a lengthy lecture explaining why this was not in his power, a Jerusalem Post columnist reported.
“The cases are proceeding at an infuriatingly slow pace but they are closing in on the defendant. Therefore, a pardon is required. Actually, not a pardon. For a pardon, you have to admit and step down. As far as Netanyahu is concerned, the trial must be cancelled. At any cost,” Ben Caspit wrote.
Netanyahu himself submitted a formal pardon request to Herzog on 30 November, arguing that frequent court hearings impaired his ability to govern and that clemency served the national interest by acting to “lower the flames and promote broad reconciliation”.
The request by the six-time prime minister drew fierce criticism from opponents, who said pardoning him mid-trial would be a total breach of the rule of law.
Experts say that although presidential powers of pardon can be exercised with some flexibility, they are intended to be used after conviction of an individual and there is no precedent for cancelling an ongoing trial, as Netanyahu and Trump are demanding.
Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused in one case of accepting more than $260,000 (£198,000) worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewellery and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favours. He is also accused of attempting to negotiate more favourable coverage from two Israeli media outlets in two other cases.
Amber Sandy's 'The Mary' Birchkin Bag is made of birch bark, home-tanned deer hide, dyed porcupine quills, seed beads, cotton lining and artificial sinew.Supplied
From the moment it was introduced, the Hermès Birkin bag has been synonymous with peak luxury. The tony, top-handle accessory, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, was conceived of by Jean-Louis Dumas, former head of the French house, after a fabled encounter on a plane with British actor-singer Jane Birkin.
On the flight, Birkin, a jet-setting working mother, lamented the lack of a bag that could carry all of her essentials. She sketched out an ideal purse on a sick bag for Dumas and he came up with a design that addressed her needs – space for baby bottles included – while possessing the poshest of pedigrees.
Today, the Birkin is more of a status symbol than a stylish statement of doing-it-all progressiveness. And the lavish lifestyle it signifies has become thematic fodder for several contemporary sculpture artists looking to amplify, examine and even reinterpret what it represents.
During Mayfair Art Weekend in 2020, London-based sculptor, painter and installation artist Kalliopi Lemos debuted the monumental work, Bag of Aspirations, as part of her sculpture series Tools of Endearment. The outsized steel recreation of Hermès's coveted carry all, weighing a whopping 380 kilograms, was exhibited on Bond Street – a destination itself synonymous with luxury goods.
The artist, in an interview with Women's Wear Daily, described the piece as a reflection on “how society deals with femininity, women's rights and the condition of women within society.”
Where Lemos's piece navigated the intersection of politics and design, Yonkers, N.Y.-based sculptor Barbara Segal takes a historical route with her interpretation of Hermès's hallowed pieces.
Segal crafts Birkins (along with other luxury fashion bags from Chanel and Louis Vuitton) out of opulent marble. They're the kinds of pieces Paris Hilton would buy if she was a Borghese. In a recent Instagram post about a new Birkin-inspired work, Palazzo Ducale, Segal wrote that the piece was carved “from the same Verona marble and Ischia limestone that adorn the Doge's Palace in Venice, this piece features a brass quatrefoil detail. It's a beautiful fusion of Venetian heritage and contemporary luxury symbolism.”
Amber Sandy, an Anishinaabe artist, synthesized the above themes with her clever wearable sculpture, The Mary. The piece, completed last year and presented at the Vancouver-based gallery Ceremonial / Art's booth at Art Toronto in October, is a take on the Birkin and composed of birch bark, home-tanned deer hide, dyed porcupine quills, seed beads, cotton lining and artificial sinew. The sculpture is priced at $25,000 – not too far off from what a Birkin bag sells for.
Sandy, a member of the Neyaashiinigmiing, Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, told me that The Mary is a play on how Hermès and other luxury brands tout savoir faire – the vaunted techniques behind their bag production and the mythical quality of the materials used to make them.
“I've spent years developing strong relationships with [my] community to be able to learn these traditional skills,” Sandy said, adding that intergenerational skills including tanning, beading and working with wood have been imperilled by colonization, specifically the residential school system. “I feel an immense sense of pride in being able to carry on and hold and share this knowledge with people.”
The concept for her “Birchkin bag” materialized because of her love of “awful” reality television. Watching shows such as Real Housewives, she saw “these people with all of this money, doing things that are just projections of wealth.”
The Mary wearable sculpture is priced at $25,000.Supplied
She thought about what made her feel “extremely wealthy” and concluded it was her access to the ancestrally respected materials and skills she employs in her artistic practice.
To source the birch bark used in The Mary – so named after a beloved community member – Sandy used her long-forged connections, infusing her craft with the same connotations of dedication and attention as any so-called couture piece.
“It's not as simple as going out and harvesting bark off of a tree by peeling it off. It's about knowing where to go at exactly what time of year, how to ask for it before taking it and putting the time into your practice of developing relationships,” she said.
“When we want to learn something, we don't just call someone up and say, I want to learn this thing for myself. We find somebody with the knowledge and we dedicate our time to helping them do their work so that we can learn through a reciprocal relationship. I think that's a beautiful way that we do things as Anishinaabe people.”
The Birch tree, Sandy said, has particular significance because its bark is traditionally used in her community to make carry-all items: baskets, baby holders, even the original canoes they used to travel in. Her own art practice involves making pieces that are wearable, including earrings and, of course, bags.
At a Paris workshop, some of the world's most luxurious cast-offs are given a second life
‘A stock portfolio for your closet:' Choosing a luxury bag
“When I'm creating, I want it to be something that's usable. Birch bags are meant to be used, and they get better with age.” Here, there is another parallel with the Birkin bag and the patina it's said to develop over time as its leather softens.
“The Mary exemplifies everything that I love about Indigenous contemporary art: continuance, resilience, humour and creativity,” said Jake Kimble, the gallery director and curator at Ceremonial / Art. “Amber not only brings the past to the present but also the future.”
But what is it about the Birkin, I ask Kimble, that makes it such a compelling subject for artists?
“I think for quite some time Hermès has held tight onto the cultural significance and status symbol of what a Birkin is and what it means,” he said.
“It has for so long enforced archaic class systems that I think, how could you not critique, challenge or make fun of these systems as an artist? What Amber does so successfully with The Mary is really put Hermès on its head – you can make the same style of bag but you can make it with community, care, knowledge and sustainability.”
And what of the original Birkin bag? The prototype was purchased at a Sotheby's auction in Paris this past July for US$10.1-million. A result, some would argue, befitting any bona fide work of art.
Report an editorial error
Report a technical issue
Editorial code of conduct
Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.
© Copyright 2025 The Globe and Mail Inc. All rights reserved.
Andrew Saunders, President and CEO
Ukraine has denied the claim and accused Russia of trying to undermine diplomatic progress – so who believes what?
Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates
Russia alleges Ukraine tried to hit Vladimir Putin's residence in a mass drone attack on Monday. The foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said Russian air defences shot down 91 drones and he called the attack an act of “state terrorism”.
Ukraine has denied the claim and Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Lavrov of spreading “typical Russian lies” to try to undermine diplomatic progress between Kyiv and Washington after a bilateral meeting with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Sunday.
The claim, as so much of geopolitics in 2025, seems to have been primarily targeted at an audience of one, Trump, and he seems to have bought it. “It's one thing to be offensive, because they're offensive. It's another thing to attack his house. It's not the right time to do any of that,” Trump said on Monday.
The allegation comes at a delicate diplomatic moment as Trump insists a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is “95% done”. Zelenskyy is desperately trying to keep the US president onside while Russia has persuaded Trump it is ready for negotiations but appears unwilling to give up on its maximalist war aims.
Absolutely none, and on Tuesday Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said there would be none forthcoming. “I don't think there should be any evidence if such a massive drone attack is being carried out, which, thanks to the well-coordinated work of the air defence system, was shot down,” he told journalists in a phone call.
In a word, no. The Kremlin and the defence ministry often make fantastical claims about the war in Ukraine. Moscow still insists it never targets civilians in its drone and missile raids on Ukraine, despite regular evidence to the contrary. Russian authorities also have a long history of fictitious stories about Ukraine, stretching back to the 2014 annexation of Crimea when Putin claimed the Russian special forces annexing the peninsula were in fact local people.
It's hard to say for sure. Ukraine certainly has a history of carrying out strikes deep inside Russia, including assassinations of military figures, drone attacks on oil refineries and, most spectacularly, Operation Spiderweb, in which camouflaged drones launched from trucks destroyed numerous Russian strategic bombers deep inside Russia. Certainly, Putin's residence would be seen by Ukrainian planners as a legitimate and tempting target. Making the move just at a key point in negotiations with Trump would be an odd choice, however.
There are a couple of possibilities. Zelenskyy has claimed the accusation is a cover story to allow Moscow to strike government buildings in Kyiv, especially as Lavrov has said “retaliatory targets” have already been selected. But as the last four years show, Moscow does not really require cover stories to hit all kinds of targets in Ukraine.
A more likely scenario would be that Putin, well aware of the theory that Trump is often swayed by the last person he spoke with, was wary of Zelenskyy's in-person visit to Mar-a-Lago and what might be achieved in the talks. By accusing the Ukrainians of escalation, both publicly and to Trump on the phone, Putin may have been hoping to change the calculus in the US president's head one more time and stave off any decisions the Kremlin would consider overly friendly to Kyiv.
The early indications are Trump believed the claim and was angered by Ukraine's supposed actions. When a reporter suggested the claim could have been fabricated, Trump appeared to be considering the possibility for the first time. “You're saying maybe the attack didn't take place? That's possible too I guess. But President Putin told me this morning it did,” he said.
The CIA could presumably give Trump a decent analysis on whether or not it believes the claim is true, but reports suggest the president often ignores the findings of his own intelligence agencies.
In European capitals the claims have been met with huge scepticism, but elsewhere there are signs that the accusation has landed. India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, wrote on X in English and Russian that he was “deeply concerned” by the reports. “We urge all concerned to remain focused on these efforts and to avoid any actions that could undermine them,” he added.
Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, wrote on X on Tuesday: “We were disappointed and concerned to see the statements by Emirati, Indian and Pakistani sides expressing their concerns regarding the attack that never happened.” He said none of the three issued a statement when a Russian missile hit a Ukrainian government building in September.
Russia's cutting-edge nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile system has entered service in Belarus, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has announced.
In a statement on Tuesday, the ministry said the medium-range system has officially “assumed combat duty.” It also released the first-ever official footage of the system, showing its delivery and installation in Belarus, along with a ceremony marking the commencement of its combat duty.
“All conditions for combat duty and accommodation of Russian personnel were prepared in advance in Belarus,” the ministry noted, adding that crews responsible for launch, communications, security, and power supply “underwent retraining on modern facilities” before entering service. The personnel are now exploring new patrol areas and conducting reconnaissance.
Unveiled in November 2024, an Oreshnik carrying conventional warheads struck a major military plant in Ukraine in what Moscow called a successful “combat test.” It is capable of delivering multiple independently targetable warheads (MIRVs) at hypersonic speeds, with each warhead maintaining guidance and maneuverability even during the final approach, making interception extremely difficult.
Russian officials have likened its conventional destructive power to that of a low-yield nuclear strike, highlighting its dual strategic and tactical potential. By comparison, Western militaries currently lack a directly equivalent hypersonic MIRV-capable system, giving Oreshnik a unique edge in speed, maneuverability, and multi-target strike capability.
Up to ten systems are slated for deployment in Belarus under an agreement reached between Minsk and Moscow shortly after the missile's initial combat test.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced in a parliamentary address this month that the Oreshnik systems had arrived in Belarus on December 17. Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Muraveyko said last week the combat patrol areas are set and the system is fully operational and ready for use.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a mid-December address to the Defense Ministry, said the Oreshnik will also enter combat in Russia before the end of the year. He emphasized that the system is part of Russia's new weaponry meant to “ensure strategic parity, security, and global positions of Russia for decades to come.”
RT News App
© Autonomous Nonprofit Organization “TV-Novosti”, 2005–2025. All rights reserved.
This website uses cookies. Read RT Privacy policy to find out more.
Ukrainian forces struck a Russian drone storage facility at Donetsk Airport in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi said on Dec. 30.
Ukrainian forces regularly strike military facilities in Russian-occupied areas that supply weapons, fuel, and equipment to Russian troops.
Russian forces have set up a base at the airport to train and launch Shahed, Geran, and Gerbera drones, according to Brovdi. Satellite images from August 2025 also showed Russia repairing the runway, likely to expand attack drone operations from Russian-occupied territory.
The Ukrainian strike hit a drone logistics hub, warehouses with combat units, drone storage facilities, a preflight training center, and a location housing military and technical personnel, Brovdi said.
Brovdi noted that the operation was planned by fighters from the 414th Separate Brigade, known as "Madyar's Birds," in coordination with the newly created Deep Strike Center, and that Ukraine's 1st Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces carried out the strike.
Donetsk Airport ceased operations in May 2014 following the beginning of the Russian occupation of parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
Ukrainian forces defended the airport for 242 days before withdrawing completely on Jan. 23, 2015, after Russian troops destroyed the control tower and one of the terminals. According to Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, 97 Ukrainian soldiers were killed during the battles for control of Donetsk Airport.
Since the Russian occupation began, the airport has remained closed to civilian air traffic.
News Editor
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
"Where is their condemnation of the fact that our children are being bombed and people are being killed all this time? I don't hear India, frankly, nor the United Arab Emirates," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 30.
National security advisers from the Coalition of the Willing countries, led by the U.K. and France, have agreed to meet in Ukraine on Jan. 3, according to Zelensky. The meeting will be followed by another meeting among state leaders, planned for Jan. 6 in France.
"Each restoration requires significant time and resources, as the level of damage varies across regions," Deputy Energy Minister Olha Yukhymchuk said.
Ukraine struck a Russian drone storage facility at Donetsk Airport in occupied Donetsk Oblast, Unmanned Systems Forces commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi said on Dec. 30.
Ukraine's top commander said a battalion commander will face a legal review after Ukrainian troops abandoned a command post in the Huliaipole sector, leaving behind equipment and potentially sensitive materials.
Zelensky tells Fox News' Bret Baier that Ukraine has demonstrated concrete steps toward peace over the past month and raised the possibility of a referendum on the peace plan. At the same time, a referendum would not legitimize withdrawing from Ukrainian territory, given the current security realities.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Dec. 29 that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him Ukraine had tried to attack Putin's residence, an allegation Kyiv has denied. "I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it," Trump said.
Zelensky dismissed Russian claims that Ukrainian drones targeted Putin's residence as “another lie,” warning Moscow is using the allegation as a pretext for possible strikes on Kyiv and government buildings.
Kyiv failed to implement nine indicators in the last three months of 2025, the highest number missed in any quarter since the Ukraine Facility began in 2024, according to a Dec. 29 assessment by RRR4U.
"President Trump has concluded a positive call with President Putin concerning Ukraine," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's inauguration will feature Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the two most prominent leaders of the Democratic Party's progressive movement.
Mamdani, who will be publicly sworn in at a City Hall inauguration ceremony on New Year's Day, will be introduced by fellow New Yorker Ocasio-Cortez, his transition team told CNN.
“For the many New Yorkers who have long felt betrayed by a broken status quo, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez embodies a new kind of politics that puts working people at the heart of it,” Mamdani said in a statement. “I've been so proud to count her as a partner across the many stages of our people-powered movement—from the primary campaign to our Forest Hills rally in October to the very first day of the transition—and I'm honored that she'll be a part of our historic City Hall inauguration.”
Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed Mamdani early in the primary and campaigned alongside him on several occasions, is expected to deliver opening remarks at the ceremony, which is open to 4,000 ticketed guests.
Mamdani's transition is also organizing a “watch party” set to take place alongside Broadway, part of an effort to make the celebration accessible to any New Yorker who wants to attend.
Sanders will administer Mamdani's oath of office during the City Hall ceremony. Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, will technically take office at midnight on New Year's Day.
As thousands of revelers usher in the new year in Times Square, Mamdani and his family will be in Lower Manhattan where a private swearing-in ceremony is expected to take place at an old, now defunct subway station underneath City Hall Plaza.
© 2025 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.
Scan the QR code to download the CNN app on Google Play.
Scan the QR code to download the CNN app from the Apple Store.
MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. The dialogue between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Donald Trump remains based on mutual trust, and Kiev's provocations cannot undermine it, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, commenting on Kiev's attempt to attack Putin's state residence.
"The leaders maintain a trusting dialogue and continue to engage in talks. Such provocations, such acts of state terrorism, cannot undermine this level of mutual trust between the two presidents," he stressed.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Monday that on the night of December 28-29, Ukraine had launched a terrorist attack on Putin's residence in the Novgorod Region, employing 91 unmanned aerial vehicles. All drones were destroyed by air defenses; there were no reports of casualties or damage, Lavrov noted. The action was carried out by Kiev amid intensive negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict, the top Russian diplomat stressed.
In turn, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said that during a phone call with Trump, Putin drew attention to Kiev's attack, which took place "almost immediately" after the US-Ukraine talks in Mar-a-Lago, and warned that it would not go "unanswered."
The Russian leader also told Trump that Moscow's position in negotiations to resolve the conflict would be re-evaluated.
MINSK, December 30. /TASS/. The Belarusian Defense Ministry has confirmed that the Russian-made Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile system has assumed combat duty in the republic, posting a video of the relevant ceremony.
"After the missile system was readied for its designated deployment and its inspection by a joint comprehensive group, a battalion of Oreshnik missile launchers has begun to accomplish assignments of its combat duty in designated areas on the territory of our country," the ministry said in a statement.
The Oreshnik missile system arrived in Belarus pursuant to a decision made by the Russian and Belarusian leaders, the ministry said.
Before the Oreshnik missile system went on combat duty in Belarus, its launch combat crews, signal corps, security and power supply personnel, and also drivers-mechanics of the missile system's components had undergone advanced training on modern simulators, it specified.
Russia's Defense Ministry reported earlier on December 30 that the Oreshnik missile system had gone on combat duty in Belarus.
"The system is capable of engaging targets at ranges of up to 5,000 km and can carry both nuclear and conventional payloads and conduct launches from any point of its combat patrol route," the Belarusian Defense Ministry reported.
Last week, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said that the Oreshnik missile system's deployment on the republic's territory came in response to aggressive actions by Western opponents.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine cannot simply withdraw from its territories as part of any peace deal with Russia, emphasizing that the issue goes beyond legal constraints and affects people's lives, during an interview on FOX News Channel's "Special Report with Bret Baier" aired on Dec. 29.
"We can't just withdraw, it's out of our law. We can't just withdraw from our territories. (But) it's not only the law," Zelensky said. "People live there, 300,000 people... We can't lose those people."
Zelensky's remarks follow a Dec. 28 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence, which he described as productive.
"I'm thankful to President Trump, really, it was a very productive meeting and in Mar-a-Lago maybe another mood here," Zelensky said following what looked like one of the better face-to-face meetings between him and Trump this year.
The Ukrainian president added that a 20-point draft of the revised peace plan to end Russia's full-scale war is now almost complete: "...When I said (that) 90 percent (of the plan is complete) it's true because there are (issues) with only with two points,” Zelensky said, adding that the remaining unresolved issue centers on territories.
"Yes, this is difficult question," he added.
Zelensky stressed that while Ukraine and Russia hold opposing views on territorial issues, the United States understands the positions of both sides and "tries to find a compromise."
Zelensky said Ukraine has demonstrated concrete steps toward peace over the past month and raised the possibility of a referendum on the peace plan. At the same time, Zelensky said a referendum could not be used to justify withdrawing from Ukrainian territory under current conditions.
"We can't go out because 100,000 have been wounded, dozens have been killed there," he said, referring to Ukrainian losses. "And also our army (is) there."
The Kyiv Independent can't immediately verify the figures.
Instead, Zelensky said Ukraine has proposed establishing a demilitarized free economic zone as a compromise, under which both sides would take reciprocal steps and pull back their forces by several kilometers.
Zelensky said Russia's recent territorial gains, estimated at roughly 3,000 square kilometers per year, have come at a staggering human cost, with about 400,000 Russian casualties over the past year and roughly 31,000 killed each month.
While Trump claimed on Dec. 28 that "Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed," speaking alongside Zelensky, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "working with Ukraine" to open the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Zelensky remains skeptical that Putin genuinely seeks peace.
"I don't trust Russians and... I don't trust Putin and he doesn't want success for Ukraine,” Zelensky added, saying that pressure from the United States remains critical.
"Sanctions, dialogue, he has some instruments," he said.
Asked whether Ukraine could win the war without U.S. support, Zelensky answered bluntly.
"No, because we can't," he said. "Without American support, we can't defend the sky."
He said U.S.-supplied air defense systems and ammunition remain essential as Russia continues to launch hundreds of drones and missiles.
Zelensky also discussed security guarantees, saying Ukraine is seeking long-term, legally binding commitments from the U.S., ideally with congressional backing.
"Today we spoke with the president and there is a proposition. The first proposition is a security guarantees for 15 years," he said. "It's good proposition with possibility of continuation." He added that while the proposed guarantees would not constitute NATO membership, they would be "NATO like."
Zelensky acknowledged war fatigue among Ukrainians but said public support remains clear: "People want this, 87% support peace. At the same time, 85 percent against to withdraw from east, from the Donbas."
Asked whether peace on acceptable terms is possible, Zelensky said Ukraine has no alternative but to pursue it: "We have to do (it), we don't have other way. Other way will be the war."
Head of North America desk
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper's Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master's degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
"Where is their condemnation of the fact that our children are being bombed and people are being killed all this time? I don't hear India, frankly, nor the United Arab Emirates," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 30.
National security advisers from the Coalition of the Willing countries, led by the U.K. and France, have agreed to meet in Ukraine on Jan. 3, according to Zelensky. The meeting will be followed by another meeting among state leaders, planned for Jan. 6 in France.
"Each restoration requires significant time and resources, as the level of damage varies across regions," Deputy Energy Minister Olha Yukhymchuk said.
Ukraine struck a Russian drone storage facility at Donetsk Airport in occupied Donetsk Oblast, Unmanned Systems Forces commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi said on Dec. 30.
Ukraine's top commander said a battalion commander will face a legal review after Ukrainian troops abandoned a command post in the Huliaipole sector, leaving behind equipment and potentially sensitive materials.
Zelensky tells Fox News' Bret Baier that Ukraine has demonstrated concrete steps toward peace over the past month and raised the possibility of a referendum on the peace plan. At the same time, a referendum would not legitimize withdrawing from Ukrainian territory, given the current security realities.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Dec. 29 that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him Ukraine had tried to attack Putin's residence, an allegation Kyiv has denied. "I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it," Trump said.
Zelensky dismissed Russian claims that Ukrainian drones targeted Putin's residence as “another lie,” warning Moscow is using the allegation as a pretext for possible strikes on Kyiv and government buildings.
Kyiv failed to implement nine indicators in the last three months of 2025, the highest number missed in any quarter since the Ukraine Facility began in 2024, according to a Dec. 29 assessment by RRR4U.
"President Trump has concluded a positive call with President Putin concerning Ukraine," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Dec. 29 that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him Ukraine had tried to attack Putin's residence in northern Russia, an allegation Kyiv has denied.
"I don't like it. It's not good," Trump told reporters when asked whether the alleged attack could affect efforts to broker peace.
"I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it."
"It's a delicate period of time," he added. "This is not the right time. It's one thing to be offensive, because they're offensive. It's another thing to attack his house. It's not the right time to do any of that," he said.
When asked whether there was any evidence of such an attack, Trump said, "We'll find out."
President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Putin's claim as "another lie," warning that Moscow could use the allegation to justify potential strikes, most likely targeting Kyiv.
Putin relayed the allegation during a phone call with Trump, which came after Trump's recent meeting with Zelensky in Florida. Trump described his call with Putin as a "very good talk."
Trump's remarks came as Russia has continued near-daily attacks on non-military targets in Ukraine's capital and other cities. In its latest mass attack on Dec. 26-27, Russia launched nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles targeting Kyiv's energy infrastructure, killing two civilians and injuring 32 others.
News Editor
"Where is their condemnation of the fact that our children are being bombed and people are being killed all this time? I don't hear India, frankly, nor the United Arab Emirates," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 30.
National security advisers from the Coalition of the Willing countries, led by the U.K. and France, have agreed to meet in Ukraine on Jan. 3, according to Zelensky. The meeting will be followed by another meeting among state leaders, planned for Jan. 6 in France.
"Each restoration requires significant time and resources, as the level of damage varies across regions," Deputy Energy Minister Olha Yukhymchuk said.
Ukraine struck a Russian drone storage facility at Donetsk Airport in occupied Donetsk Oblast, Unmanned Systems Forces commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi said on Dec. 30.
Ukraine's top commander said a battalion commander will face a legal review after Ukrainian troops abandoned a command post in the Huliaipole sector, leaving behind equipment and potentially sensitive materials.
Zelensky tells Fox News' Bret Baier that Ukraine has demonstrated concrete steps toward peace over the past month and raised the possibility of a referendum on the peace plan. At the same time, a referendum would not legitimize withdrawing from Ukrainian territory, given the current security realities.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Dec. 29 that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him Ukraine had tried to attack Putin's residence, an allegation Kyiv has denied. "I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it," Trump said.
Zelensky dismissed Russian claims that Ukrainian drones targeted Putin's residence as “another lie,” warning Moscow is using the allegation as a pretext for possible strikes on Kyiv and government buildings.
Kyiv failed to implement nine indicators in the last three months of 2025, the highest number missed in any quarter since the Ukraine Facility began in 2024, according to a Dec. 29 assessment by RRR4U.
"President Trump has concluded a positive call with President Putin concerning Ukraine," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.
Crowds confront security forces on Tehran's Jomhouri Street, forcing units to retreat from the area. (NCRI.)
Protests spread across Iran on Tuesday after President Donald Trump and other administration officials voiced support for demonstrators. Speaking Monday, Trump pointed to Iran's economic collapse and long-standing public discontent while stopping short of calling for regime change.
Inside Iran, demonstrations entered a third consecutive day, expanding beyond the capital's commercial center. The exiled opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) reported widespread strikes and student protests across Tehran and multiple provincial cities, describing clashes with security forces and anti-government chants. A video obtained by the NCRI appears to show protesters pushing back security forces, forcing them to leave the scene on Tehran's Jomhouri Street.
Iran International reported that universities emerged as major protest hubs, with rallies at Tehran University, Sharif University of Technology, Shahid Beheshti University, Elm-o-Sanat University and Khajeh Nasir University. Security forces tightened entry controls at campuses and reinforced offices linked to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
IRANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS HIS COUNTRY IS AT 'TOTAL WAR' WITH THE US, ISRAEL AND EUROPE: REPORTS
Strikes spread across Tehran's Shoush and Molavi districts and into Isfahan's Naqsh-e Jahan Square, while parts of Tehran's Grand Bazaar and the gold market shut down. Mobile phone traders gathered outside major shopping centers after closing their stores. Protests turned violent in several locations, with tear gas fired in Tehran and Malard and reports of live fire in Hamadan. Nighttime demonstrations were reported from Qeshm Island in the south to Zanjan and Hamadan in the north, with videos showing chants of "death to the dictator."
Speaking at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, Trump said he was "not going to talk about overthrow of a regime." Instead, he focused on Iran's deteriorating economy and the state's violent response to protests. "They've got tremendous inflation. Their economy is busted, the economy is no good," Trump said.
He said that when Iranians gather to protest, the regime responds with lethal force.
Nooses with red roses are displayed during the Anglo-Iranian community rally to support the Iranian people's push for a new revolution. Members of the Anglo-Iranian community, along with supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), commemorated the 45th anniversary of the revolution in Iran that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime and eventually led to a theocratic Islamic republic in 1979. (Loredana Sangiuliano/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
"Every time they have a riot or somebody forms a group, little or big, they start shooting people," Trump said. "You know, they kill people. All of a sudden people start getting shot and that group disbanded pretty quickly."
Trump said he has watched the unrest build for years, describing Iran's leadership as brutal.
"I've watched this for years — there is tremendous discontent," he said. "I've watched it for years, and vicious, vicious people." His remarks came as protests intensified following the collapse of Iran's currency to historic lows. The rial fell to roughly 1.45 million per U.S. dollar on the open market, triggering strikes and demonstrations centered on Tehran's Grand Bazaar and spreading to other major cities, according to Iran International's live reporting. Videos and eyewitness accounts described heavy security deployments, clashes with demonstrators and the use of tear gas as unrest widened.
TRUMP VOWS TO ‘KNOCK THE HELL OUT OF' IRAN IF NUCLEAR PROGRAM IS REBUILT AGAIN AFTER HIGH-STAKES MEETING
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz issued a direct message of support. "The people of Iran want freedom," Waltz wrote on X. "We stand with Iranians in the streets of Tehran and across the country as they protest a radical regime that has brought them nothing but economic downturn and war."
A parallel statement from the U.S. government's Persian-language account, @USAbehFarsi, said Washington supports the Iranian people's efforts "to make their voices heard," urging the Islamic Republic to respect fundamental rights rather than suppress protests.
Iranian officials acknowledged the unrest but defended the government's approach. Reuters reported that government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said Tehran recognizes protests and that officials would set up a mechanism to engage with protest leaders. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian directed his interior minister to address protesters' "legitimate demands" and engage in dialogue with their representatives.
Independent analysts warned the unrest reflects deeper structural strains. The OSINT research group SpecialEurasia said in an assessment on Tuesday that Iran's internal stability has reached a "critical threshold," citing the convergence of currency collapse, renewed international sanctions and chronic water and energy shortages. The group noted that the participation of bazaar merchants, traditionally a pillar of regime support, signals declining confidence in the state's economic management and raises the risk of prolonged unrest.
NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi said the protests reflect the anger of "tens of millions" driven to the breaking point by inflation, corruption and clerical rule. NCRI's claims reflect opposition reporting and cannot be independently verified due to restrictions on access inside Iran.
Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP)
Cameron Khansarinia, vice president of the National Union for Democracy in Iran, said the latest demonstrations underscore a growing shift in public sentiment. "Iranians have once again taken to the streets." Citing President Donald Trump's remarks this week, he added that "each time they do, the regime tries to crush it," but argued that "Iranians' desire to be free is increasingly becoming greater than their fear of the regime." Khansarinia claimed that chants in support of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi have been growing in the protests, saying the protesters showed "remarkable bravery."
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP)
As protests continue, verification of casualties and arrests remains limited, but the scale and spread of the unrest underscore mounting pressure on Iran's leadership amid economic free fall and growing public defiance.
Efrat Lachter is an investigative reporter and war correspondent. Her work has taken her to 40 countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Afghanistan. She is a recipient of the 2024 Knight-Wallace Fellowship for Journalism. Lachter can be followed on X @efratlachter.
Fox News' Antisemitism Exposed" newsletter brings you stories on the rising anti-Jewish prejudice across the U.S. and the world."
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and
agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can
opt-out at any time.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by
Factset. Powered and implemented by
FactSet Digital Solutions.
Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by
Refinitiv Lipper.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Eurostar blamed “overhead power supply issues in the Channel Tunnel” and what it said was a failed train operated by LeShuttle, which transports vehicles and their passengers by rail through the tunnel between the ports of Calais, France, and Folkestone, England. (AP video and production by Alexander Turnbull)
Travelers queue for Eurostar services at St Pancras International station in London, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Passengers queue to enter the Eurotunnel site in Folkestone in Kent, England, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
The screen board displays the trains' arrival status at St Pancras International train station in London, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025 after Eurostar asked train customers not to travel because of disruption in the Channel Tunnel. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Travellers queue for Eurostar services at St Pancras International station in London, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025 after Eurostar asked train customers not to travel because of disruption in the Channel Tunnel. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Travellers wait for Eurostar services at St Pancras International station in London, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
PARIS (AP) — Power problems and a stuck train interrupted rail services through the undersea Channel Tunnel connecting the United Kingdom and continental Europe on Tuesday, operators said, stranding passengers during the busy end-of-year holidays.
At Paris' Gare du Nord station, Jamie and Issy Gill scrambled to find a flight back to the U.K. after their Eurostar train to London was canceled, desperate to be reunited with their baby boy after a getaway in the French capital.
“We came for my 30th birthday,” Issy Gill said, wiping away tears.
Jamie Gill said they'd take a roundabout route back, with a flight via Birmingham on Wednesday.
Eurostar — which runs passenger trains between London and Paris and other European destinations — blamed “overhead power supply issues in the Channel Tunnel” and a failure aboard a train operated by LeShuttle, which transports vehicles and their passengers between the ports of Calais, France, and Folkestone, England.
On Tuesday afternoon, Eurostar said the tunnel was partially reopening but with only one of its two train lines, allowing Eurostar services to resume in the evening — although with expected continued delays and longer journey times than usual. It advised passengers to rebook their journeys on other days.
The 50-kilometer (32-mile) Channel Tunnel, more than half of it undersea, has revolutionized U.K.-Europe rail travel since its inauguration in 1994. But because it's the only fixed cross-English Channel rail link, train services tend to be vulnerable to severe disruptions.
The Gare du Nord station heaved with frustrated passengers trying to book plane or bus tickets.
“I'm disgusted, disheartened,” said Sarah Omouri, a French traveler whose plans to celebrate the New Year in London were dashed.
“It's been maybe a year since we've had a vacation,” she said. “We were made to get on the train, to get off, get on again, and get off again. Now we're told that everything is fully booked for several days. It's ruined.”
In London, would-be traveler John Paul had expected to enjoy a romantic river cruise in Paris and a trip to the Eiffel Tower with his partner, Lucy, but their Eurostar got turned back before reaching the continent.
“We got probably about an hour down the track, maybe 40 minutes, and then they basically said the train's got to stop, because the train ahead got a braking issue,” the 46-year-old Paul said.
“They kept telling us that the driver was trying to fix the brakes on this other train and that the other trains were then backed up,” he said. “There's no clear information and, obviously, we've lost a lot of money, haven't we?”
The Channel Tunnel's operator, Eurotunnel, said that the power supply problem started overnight Monday in part of the tunnel, impacting passenger and vehicle travel by rail in both directions.
___
Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
George Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film “The Boys In The Boat,” Dec. 3, 2023, in London. (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/Invision/AP, File)
George Clooney kisses the hand of his wife Amal while posing for photographers on the red carpet for the film ‘Jay Kelly' during the 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Aug. 28, 2025. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP, File)
PARIS (AP) — Call them Monsieur and Madame Clooney.
France's government says that George Clooney, his wife Amal and their twins Ella and Alexander have been awarded French citizenship.
The naturalizations of the Kentucky-born star of the “Ocean's” series of heist movies and his family were announced last weekend in the Journal Officiel, where French government decrees are published.
The government notice indicated that human rights lawyer Amal Clooney was naturalized under her maiden name, Amal Alamuddin. It also noted that George Clooney's middle name is Timothy.
The couple purchased an estate in France in 2021. In an interview with Esquire in October, Clooney described their “farm in France” as their primary residence — a decision the 64-year-old actor and his 47-year-old wife made with their children in mind.
“I was worried about raising our kids in L.A., in the culture of Hollywood,” he told the magazine. “I don't want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don't want them being compared to somebody else's famous kids.”
Growing up away from the spotlight in France, “they're not on their iPads, you know?” he said. “They have dinner with grown-ups and have to take their dishes in. They have a much better life.”
Representatives for George Clooney did not respond to The Associated Press' request for comment Monday. It wasn't clear whether he retained his American citizenship. Amal Clooney was born in Lebanon and raised in the U.K. The 8-year-old twins were born in London.
The French government's Interior Ministry did not explain why the Clooneys were entitled to French citizenship but said in a statement to the AP that the couple “followed a rigorous procedure” with security checks and interviews required as part of the naturalization process.
Non-French residents of France have multiple possible routes to becoming naturalized, including if they are deemed to have abilities and talents that would enable them to render what the government describes as “important services to France.”
In recent media interviews when he was promoting “Jay Kelly,” Clooney said that he is trying to teach himself French using a language-learning app but that it remains “horrible, horrible.” He said that his wife and children speak the language perfectly.
“They speak French in front of me so that they can say terrible things about me to my face and I don't know,” he joked, speaking to French broadcaster Canal+.
French media have reported that the Clooneys live part-time in their luxury 18th-century villa outside the town of Brignoles in southern France, where they can keep a lower profile and their children are protected from unauthorized photographs by French privacy laws.
Brignoles Mayor Didier Brémond told broadcaster BFMTV on Tuesday that the Clooneys are “a very simple and very accessible family” and noted that the actor shops in town and attended the opening of its cinema. Their decision to become French citizens testified to “his love for our country,” the mayor said.
“Here, he wants to live normally and that's what he is trying to do,” he said.
___
Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Maria Sherman in New York contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.
Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on FoxNews.com.
U.S. Central Command announced on Tuesday that the U.S. and partner forces have terminated or captured nearly 25 ISIS figures since a December 19 strike in Syria.
"U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and partners across Syria killed at least seven ISIS members and captured the remainder during 11 missions conducted Dec. 20-29. The operations also led to the elimination of four ISIS weapons caches," an article posted by the CENTCOM X account said.
"These recent missions followed the launch of Operation Hawkeye Strike on Dec. 19 when U.S. and Jordanian forces struck over 70 targets with more than 100 precision munitions. The massive strike executed by dozens of fighter aircraft, attack helicopters and artillery destroyed ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites across central Syria," the article explained.
TRUMP TARGETS ISIS IN NIGERIA AMID WARNINGS SAHEL REGION IS BECOMING ‘EPICENTER OF TERRORISM'
President Donald Trump, alongside Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, holds a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 2, 2025. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)
The U.S. and partner forces in Syria have carried out activity in the last 12 months that led to more than 300 terrorists getting detained and more than 20 being killed, according to CENTCOM.
The CENTCOM post noted that this year, there have been "at least 11 plots or attacks against targets in the United States" that were inspired by ISIS.
WAR SEC HEGSETH ISSUES STATEMENT AFTER TWO US SOLDIERS KILLED IN SYRIA ARE IDENTIFIED
President Donald Trump salutes as he observes the return of the remains of two Iowa National Guard members and a translator killed in an attack in Syria during a ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Dec. 17, 2025. ( ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)
"We will not relent," CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement. "We are steadfast in commitment to working with regional partners to root out the ISIS threat posed to U.S. and regional security."
"Continuing to hunt down terrorist operatives, eliminate ISIS networks, and work with partners to prevent an ISIS resurgence makes America, the region, and the world safer," Cooper added.
US LAUNCHES ‘VENGEANCE' ATTACK ON ISIS TARGETS AFTER NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS KILLED
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Two Iowa Army National Guard soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed earlier this month in Syria. The soldiers were later identified as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa. The interpreter was Ayad Mansoor Sakat, 54.
Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.
Fox News' Antisemitism Exposed" newsletter brings you stories on the rising anti-Jewish prejudice across the U.S. and the world."
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and
agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can
opt-out at any time.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by
Factset. Powered and implemented by
FactSet Digital Solutions.
Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by
Refinitiv Lipper.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.
Pastor and Project H.O.O.D. founder Corey Brooks says people are 'hungry for authenticity' and 'rejecting groupthink' in the new year while calling on Americans to form opinions based on truth.
I have now made it from New York to the great state of Georgia on my Walk Across America, a million-step effort to raise funds for Project H.O.O.D.'s Leadership and Economic Opportunity Center in Chicago.
I realized last week that I will be spending this New Year's Day here and, with 2026 fast approaching, I've been reflecting on what our nation needs the most as we begin a new year.
For years, I have watched as brave individuals from the hip-hop community, the R&B world, pop stars, movie actors and even everyday folks come under fierce attack for simply voicing what they believe.
ELITES CALL THE SOUTH BACKWARD — BUT WALKING IT REVEALED AMERICA'S NEXT BOOM
You have Justine Bateman out in California going against the grain with her criticisms of the political happenings there. You have Azealia Banks, who has been fierce in her defense of Israel and other issues. And you have artists like Nicki Minaj, who have faced backlash for speaking out on matters close to their hearts, whether it's faith, family values or questioning the mainstream narrative.
CEO and Chair of the Board of Turning Point USA Erika Kirk (left) speaks with U.S. rapper Nicki Minaj (right) during Turning Point's annual AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 21, 2025. (Olivier Touron / AFP via Getty Images)
I know I am leaving countless people out, but this is what we need more of in the New Year: people stepping forward, refusing to stay silent, and arguing from principle and Judeo-Christian morality. The fact that we've had wave upon wave of these brave individuals tells me something powerful: America is waking up. People are tired of being told what to think, tired of being lied to, and they're ready to think for themselves.
MY WALK ACROSS AMERICA IS A LESSON IN GRATITUDE AND GIVING THANKSI don't mean to give the impression that I'm focusing just on celebrities here. Just this week I had the pleasure of having Wenyuan Wu joining our walk in Athens, Georgia, along with my friend and fellow pastor, Sean Seay. Wenyuan is the executive director of the Californians for Equal Rights Foundation (CFER) and she fights daily for equal rights, merit-based policies and parental rights for all Americans.
She came to this country as an immigrant, but as we walked together, I found myself marveling at how deeply American she is. She is a woman of God who believes with all her strength in the individual. And she has been speaking out for years.
WHERE ADDICTS IN PHILADELPHIA BOW TO TRANQ, I SAW WHY GOD HASN'T GIVEN UP ON AMERICA YET
This, my friends, is where true freedom begins — in the mind. The power of individual thought is God's gift to each of us. He didn't create us as clones marching in lockstep. He made us unique, with the ability to reason, question and seek truth. Proverbs 23:7 reminds us, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." What you allow into your mind shapes your life, your choices and your destiny.
Too often, we're pressured to conform. If we don't, we're labeled racist or worse. Meanwhile, our nation declines, and so does the power of the individual. Aren't we then, in a sense, betraying the gift that God has bestowed upon us as Americans?
That is why, in this coming year, we cannot be afraid to stand apart from the norm. If your convictions — rooted in faith, common sense and personal experience — differ from the popular opinion, hold fast. That's not rebellion. That's responsibility.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
I've seen this play out in small and big ways. If your friends turn their backs on you because you vote differently, or because you speak up for biblical truth, they were never true friends. Real relationships withstand honest differences. Stand up for what you want, what you believe, what God has called you to.
As I walk these roads, meeting Americans from all walks of life, I'm encouraged. People are hungry for authenticity. They're rejecting groupthink and embracing personal conviction.
This is the year to make it your resolution: Commit to thinking independently. Read widely, pray deeply, listen to opposing views — but decide for yourself based on truth and principle.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
In 2026, let's make it the year of more and more of us standing up for what's right. God honors that kind of courage — the kind that built this nation and the kind that will restore it.
After all, God does extraordinary things through ordinary people who dare to use the minds He gave them.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM PASTOR COREY BROOKS
Pastor Corey Brooks, known as the "Rooftop Pastor," is the founder and Senior Pastor of New Beginnings Church of Chicago and the CEO of Project H.O.O.D. (Helping Others Obtain Destiny), the church's local mission. He gained national attention for his 94-day and 343-day rooftop vigils to transform the notorious "O-Block," once known as Chicago's most dangerous block, into #OpportunityBlock. Learn more at ProjectHOOD.org.
Get the recap of top opinion commentary and original content throughout the week.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and
agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can
opt-out at any time.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by
Factset. Powered and implemented by
FactSet Digital Solutions.
Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by
Refinitiv Lipper.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Eurostar blamed “overhead power supply issues in the Channel Tunnel” and what it said was a failed train operated by LeShuttle, which transports vehicles and their passengers by rail through the tunnel between the ports of Calais, France, and Folkestone, England. (AP video and production by Alexander Turnbull)
Travelers queue for Eurostar services at St Pancras International station in London, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Passengers queue to enter the Eurotunnel site in Folkestone in Kent, England, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
The screen board displays the trains' arrival status at St Pancras International train station in London, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025 after Eurostar asked train customers not to travel because of disruption in the Channel Tunnel. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Travellers queue for Eurostar services at St Pancras International station in London, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025 after Eurostar asked train customers not to travel because of disruption in the Channel Tunnel. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Travellers wait for Eurostar services at St Pancras International station in London, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
PARIS (AP) — Power problems and a stuck train interrupted rail services through the undersea Channel Tunnel connecting the United Kingdom and continental Europe on Tuesday, operators said, stranding passengers during the busy end-of-year holidays.
At Paris' Gare du Nord station, Jamie and Issy Gill scrambled to find a flight back to the U.K. after their Eurostar train to London was canceled, desperate to be reunited with their baby boy after a getaway in the French capital.
“We came for my 30th birthday,” Issy Gill said, wiping away tears.
Jamie Gill said they'd take a roundabout route back, with a flight via Birmingham on Wednesday.
Eurostar — which runs passenger trains between London and Paris and other European destinations — blamed “overhead power supply issues in the Channel Tunnel” and a failure aboard a train operated by LeShuttle, which transports vehicles and their passengers between the ports of Calais, France, and Folkestone, England.
On Tuesday afternoon, Eurostar said the tunnel was partially reopening but with only one of its two train lines, allowing Eurostar services to resume in the evening — although with expected continued delays and longer journey times than usual. It advised passengers to rebook their journeys on other days.
The 50-kilometer (32-mile) Channel Tunnel, more than half of it undersea, has revolutionized U.K.-Europe rail travel since its inauguration in 1994. But because it's the only fixed cross-English Channel rail link, train services tend to be vulnerable to severe disruptions.
The Gare du Nord station heaved with frustrated passengers trying to book plane or bus tickets.
“I'm disgusted, disheartened,” said Sarah Omouri, a French traveler whose plans to celebrate the New Year in London were dashed.
“It's been maybe a year since we've had a vacation,” she said. “We were made to get on the train, to get off, get on again, and get off again. Now we're told that everything is fully booked for several days. It's ruined.”
In London, would-be traveler John Paul had expected to enjoy a romantic river cruise in Paris and a trip to the Eiffel Tower with his partner, Lucy, but their Eurostar got turned back before reaching the continent.
“We got probably about an hour down the track, maybe 40 minutes, and then they basically said the train's got to stop, because the train ahead got a braking issue,” the 46-year-old Paul said.
“They kept telling us that the driver was trying to fix the brakes on this other train and that the other trains were then backed up,” he said. “There's no clear information and, obviously, we've lost a lot of money, haven't we?”
The Channel Tunnel's operator, Eurotunnel, said that the power supply problem started overnight Monday in part of the tunnel, impacting passenger and vehicle travel by rail in both directions.
___
Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Ahead of a detention hearing Tuesday for the man accused of placing two pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committee buildings in 2021, defense attorneys argue their client should be released from jail while awaiting trial, in part because the bombs never detonated.
Attorneys for the 30-year-old Virginia man, Brian Cole Jr., said he has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder – listing those as the first two factors in arguing for pre-trial release.
“The question is whether there is a present danger—a contention the government never actually makes, and something belied by the past four years in which Mr. Cole has lived without incident,” Cole's attorneys argued in their filing, adding, “No device detonated, no person was injured, and no property was damaged.”
But it could be difficult to convince a federal judge to release Cole amid the evidence prosecutors have already presented in court filings, more of which could be revealed during Tuesday's hearing.
In an earlier filing arguing for Cole's detention, prosecutors laid out a detailed list of the bomb-making materials they said he purchased in 2018 through 2020 and used to make the pipe bombs left outside the Washington, DC-based RNC and DNC in January 2021.
Hardware purchases and location data: How the FBI says it made an arrest in the DC pipe bomb case, nearly five years later
While Cole initially denied during an initial interview with investigators that he had placed the bombs, prosecutors say Cole later changed his tune after being shown a still image of himself on surveillance video around the time the bombs were planted.
“The defendant asked for time to process things,” prosecutors wrote.
Cole then proceeded to explain in detail how he had built the bombs, including how “he learned to make the black powder from a video game that listed the ingredients” and also watched “various science-related videos on YouTube to assist him in creating the devices,” the filing states.
Cole, when asked about why he placed the bombs, said that “something just snapped” after “watching everything, just everything getting worse,” according to prosecutors.
He also said his interest in history spurred the idea to use pipe bombs, specifically their use during the Troubles in Ireland, the court document states.
“The defendant wanted to do something ‘to the parties' because ‘they were in charge,'” according to the court document.
Cole denied that his actions were directed toward Congress or related to the Electoral College certification, which was the at the center of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol the following day.
© 2025 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.
Scan the QR code to download the CNN app on Google Play.
Scan the QR code to download the CNN app from the Apple Store.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.
Former Deputy National Security Advisor Victoria Coates reacts to President Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and Iran's declaration of a 'full-scale war' with the U.S., Israel and Europe.
Sunday's meeting between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy produced no dramatic announcements, sweeping declarations or signed peace deal. That outcome should surprise no one. After nearly four years of war, diplomacy was never going to turn on a single press conference or photo opportunity.
President Trump himself struck a measured tone afterward, saying, "I think we'll get it done," while acknowledging that the effort "can go poorly." Zelenskyy, for his part, described the talks as constructive and serious, emphasizing that Ukraine remains committed to a just peace that ensures long-term security. Both statements point to the same reality: the process is underway, but the hard decisions lie ahead.
Still, the meeting mattered.
‘ONLY TRUMP CAN STOP RUSSIA': MILLIONS FACE FREEZING WINTER, UKRAINE ENERGY EXECUTIVE WARNS
According to reporting by Reuters and The Wall Street Journal, the purpose of the Trump–Zelenskyy talks was not to finalize peace, but to close gaps on a developing framework — often described as a 20-point plan — before Trump engages directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin. That framework emphasizes Ukrainian sovereignty, enforcement mechanisms and security guarantees, while leaving the most sensitive issues — territory and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — unresolved.
President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago club on Dec. 28, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
In other words, diplomacy has entered a more serious phase. Not because peace is imminent, but because exhaustion is universal. Ukraine continues to suffer devastating losses. Russia bleeds manpower and treasure. Europe is strained under economic and security pressures. The United States faces growing global instability from Eastern Europe to the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific. Fatigue does not guarantee peace — but it creates political space for it.
Cautious optimism is therefore justified. But optimism without realism would be dangerous.
The central question hanging over Sunday's meeting is not whether a framework exists — it does — but whether it is built on a false assumption that still dominates much Western thinking: that Vladimir Putin is a rational actor who can be satisfied with partial concessions. The record suggests otherwise.
US OFFICIALS TOUT PROGRESS IN TALKS TO REACH 'LASTING AND DURABLE PEACE' BETWEEN UKRAINE, RUSSIA
Since the invasion began, Putin has responded to compromise with escalation, to restraint with expansion, and to negotiations with continued violence. Even as peace efforts accelerated this week, Russia continued launching missile and drone strikes across Ukraine — a fact confirmed by media outlets. Those attacks are not random. They are signals. Either Putin intends to continue the war outright, or he is deliberately shaping the diplomatic environment by force — creating urgency, fear and pressure for Ukrainian concessions.
In either case, the implication is clear: Putin will not stop unless he is forced to stop — or unless he is given everything he is demanding.
That reality should sober any discussion of "land for peace." Territorial concessions dominate headlines because maps are tangible and emotionally charged. But land is not the decisive variable. Security is.
Multiple outlets have reported that Ukraine is seeking what officials describe as "Article 5–like" security guarantees — binding commitments from the United States and its allies to respond to future Russian aggression. Zelenskyy has even indicated openness to halting Ukraine's NATO membership bid if such guarantees are credible. That alone underscores how existential this question is for Kyiv.
Ukraine has learned the hard way that vague assurances are worthless. The 1994 Budapest Memorandum did not stop Russia. Previous ceasefires did not stop Russia. Agreements without enforcement did not stop Russia. Any peace that trades Ukrainian territory for promises without teeth is not peace — it is a pause before the next assault.
Since the invasion began, Putin has responded to compromise with escalation, to restraint with expansion, and to negotiations with continued violence.
Security guarantees must therefore be specific, automatic and enforceable. Clear triggers. Defined responses. Real consequences. Not committees that deliberate while missiles fall. Not sanctions that require months of political wrangling to reassemble. Reuters has reported that the draft framework under discussion includes monitoring mechanisms and penalties for violations — an encouraging sign, if they are implemented seriously.
TRUMP, ZELENSKYY SAY UKRAINE PEACE DEAL CLOSE BUT 'THORNY ISSUES' REMAIN AFTER FLORIDA TALKS
This is where President Trump's role becomes decisive.
Trump possesses leverage that few leaders do, precisely because he is willing to combine pressure with negotiation. He can tighten sanctions enforcement and close evasion pathways that blunt existing measures. He can impose snap-back penalties that activate immediately upon violation. He can maintain military assistance sufficient to raise the cost of renewed Russian offensives. And he can offer a conditional off-ramp — economic relief or diplomatic reengagement — only after verified compliance.
The objective is not to persuade Putin of Western goodwill. It is to change his cost calculus.
ZELENSKYY ENCOURAGED BY 'VERY GOOD' CHRISTMAS TALKS WITH US
A residential building is seen heavily damaged after a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Nov. 25, 2025. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
Putin has repeatedly shown that he will absorb pain — economic, military, diplomatic — if he believes time and fear are on his side. What he has not shown is a willingness to retreat in the face of strength. Any peace framework that fails to account for that pattern risks collapsing the moment attention shifts elsewhere.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
Europe should be watching closely. This war is not solely about Ukraine. It is a test of whether borders in Europe can once again be changed by force. A settlement that assumes Putin can be "managed" through compromise alone will not stabilize the continent; it will invite the next crisis. History is unkind to illusions of restraint when dealing with expansionist regimes.
The most realistic takeaway from Sunday's meeting is this: diplomacy has not failed — but neither has it yet proven itself. Alignment between Washington and Kyiv is a necessary first step, not a sufficient one. If President Trump proceeds to speak with Putin armed with a unified framework, clear red lines and credible enforcement tools, then this effort has a chance.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
If not — if peace is pursued without strength, enforcement and clarity — then Sunday's meeting will be remembered not as the beginning of the end, but as another moment when the West mistook words for power.
Peace remains possible. But only if we abandon the comforting fiction that Vladimir Putin can be satisfied with half-measures — and build an agreement that makes renewed aggression unmistakably costly.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM ROBERT MAGINNIS
Robert Maginnis is a retired U.S. Army officer and the author of 13 books. His latest is "AI for Mankind's Future."
Get the recap of top opinion commentary and original content throughout the week.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and
agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can
opt-out at any time.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by
Factset. Powered and implemented by
FactSet Digital Solutions.
Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by
Refinitiv Lipper.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
The American Battle Monuments Commission, the U.S. government agency responsible for maintaining memorial sites outside of the United States, has removed two panels about Black soldiers from the Dutch village of Margraten's visitors center. Local Dutch residents who care for the graves, children of U.S. soldiers and Dutch officials are outraged.
The sun sets over the graves of more than 8.300 WWII soldiers at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, where the American Battle Monuments Commission removed two displays honoring Black liberators from the visitors center. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The sun sets over the graves of more than 8.300 WWII soldiers at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, where the American Battle Monuments Commission removed two displays honoring Black liberators from the visitors center. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Seventy-nine-year-old Cor Linssen, son of a Black WWII soldier and a White mother, shows a picture of his father on his mobile phone during an interview in Roermond, Netherlands, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The guestbook at the American Cemetery in the village of Margraten, Netherlands, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, shows a message with an objection to the removal of two displays honoring Black soldiers who helped liberate Europe from the Nazis. (AP Photo/Molly Quell)
The sun sets over the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, where the American Battle Monuments Commission removed two displays honoring Black liberators from the visitors center. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
MARGRATEN, Netherlands (AP) — Ever since a U.S. military cemetery in the southern Netherlands removed two displays recognizing Black troops who helped to liberate Europe from the Nazis, visitors have filled the guestbook with objections.
Sometime in the spring, the American Battle Monuments Commission, the U.S. government agency responsible for maintaining memorial sites outside of the United States, removed the panels from the visitors center at the American Cemetery in Margraten, the final resting place for roughly 8,300 U.S. soldiers, set in rolling hills near the border with Belgium and Germany.
The move came after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs. “Our country will be woke no longer,” Trump said in an address to Congress in March.
The removal, carried out without public explanation, has angered Dutch officials, the families of U.S. soldiers and the local residents who honor the American sacrifice by caring for the graves.
U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands Joe Popolo seemed to support the removal of the displays. “The signs at Margraten are not intended to promote an agenda that criticizes America,” he wrote on social media following a visit to the cemetery after the controversy had erupted. Popolo declined a request for comment.
One display told the story of 23-year-old George H. Pruitt, a Black soldier buried at the cemetery, who died attempting to rescue a comrade from drowning in 1945. The other described the U.S. policy of racial segregation in place during World War II.
Some 1 million Black soldiers enlisted in the U.S. military during the war, serving in separate units, mostly doing menial tasks but also fighting in some combat missions. An all-Black unit dug the thousands of graves in Margraten during the brutal 1944-45 season of famine in the German-occupied Netherlands known in the Hunger Winter.
Cor Linssen, the 79-year-old son of a Black American soldier and a Dutch mother, is one of those who opposes the removal of the panels.
Linssen grew up some 30 miles (50 kilometers) away from the cemetery and although he didn't learn who his father was until later in life, he knew he was the son of a Black soldier.
“When I was born, the nurse thought something was wrong with me because I was the wrong color,” he told The Associated Press. “I was the only dark child at school.”
Linssen together with a group of other children of Black soldiers, now all in their 70s and 80s, visited the cemetery in February 2025 to see the panels.
“It's an important part of history,” Linssen said. “They should put the panels back.”
After months of mystery around the disappearance of the panels, two media organizations — the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) and online media Dutch News — this month published emails obtained through a U.S. Freedom of Information Act request showing that Trump's DEI policies directly prompted the commission to take down the panels.
The White House did not respond to queries from AP about the removed panels.
The American Battle Monuments Commission did not respond to queries from AP about the revelations. Earlier, the ABMC told the AP that the panel that discussed segregation “did not fall within (the) commemorative mission.''
It also said that the panel about Pruitt was “rotated” out. The replacement panel features Leslie Loveland, a white soldier killed in Germany in 1945, who is buried at Margraten.
Chair of the Black Liberators foundation and Dutch senator Theo Bovens said his organization, which pushed for the inclusion of the panels at the visitors center, was not informed that they were removed. He told AP it is “strange” that the U.S. commission feels the panels are not in their mission, as they placed them in 2024.
“Something has changed in the United States,” he said.
Bovens, who is from the region around Margraten, is one of thousands of locals who tend to the graves at the cemetery. People who adopt a grave visit it regularly and leave flowers on the fallen soldier's birthday and other holidays. The responsibility is often passed down through Dutch families, and there is a waiting list to adopt graves of the U.S. soldiers.
Both the city and the province where the cemetery is located have demanded the panels be returned. In November a Dutch television program recreated the panels and installed them outside the cemetery, where they were quickly removed by police. The show is now seeking a permanent location for them.
The Black Liberators is also looking to find a permanent location for a memorial for the Black soldiers who gave their lives to free the Dutch.
On America Square, in front of the Eijsden-Margraten city hall, there is a small park named for Jefferson Wiggins, a Black solider who, at age 19, dug many of the graves at Margraten when he was stationed in the Netherlands.
In his memoir, published posthumously in 2014, he describes burying the bodies of his white comrades who he was barred from fraternizing with while they were alive.
When Black soldiers came to Europe in the Second World War, ''what they found was people who accepted them, who welcomed them, who treated them as the heroes that they were. And that includes the Netherlands,″ said Linda Hervieux, whose book “Forgotten” chronicles Black soldiers who fought on D-Day and segregation they faced back home.
The removal of the panels, she said, “follows a historical pattern of writing out the stories of men and women of color in the United States.”
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Your support goes further this holiday season. When you buy an annual membership or give a one-time contribution, we'll give a membership to someone who can't afford access. It's a simple way for you to support Vox's journalism and share it with someone who needs it
We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?
Disaster capitalism isn't theoretical anymore.
This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Every year at the Oscars, attendees leave with gift bags so elaborate they have to be reported as income to the IRS. Luxury skincare, personal training sessions, designer apples that never brown, and extravagant trips are standard issue. But in 2025, Academy Award guests also received a grimmer gift: a yearlong subscription to a white-glove disaster recovery service called Bright Harbor, which has grown popular in the wake of the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles last January.
If your house is destroyed in a fire or flood, the basic logistics of righting your upturned life understandably consume your full attention, even if you're a movie star. Under this level of stress, navigating the Federal Emergency Management Agency's byzantine requirements for recovery assistance quickly becomes “a full-time job,” according to Bright Harbor's chief growth officer, Emily Bush. “We help you understand what your options are and what's the cost associated with each option that you take.”
Do you stay and rebuild? Does it make more sense to just move? Bright Harbor helps clients freeze their mortgage payments, apply for FEMA aid, navigate seemingly endless paperwork, and secure low-interest small business loans. Bush acknowledged that the company's luxury services, which can significantly ease the financial burden of disasters, do not come at a cost that all victims can afford to front. (Services started at $300 per month for individuals when the company launched in 2024, but Bright Harbor now sells directly to companies — who purchase coverage for their employees.)
“To be clear,” she said, “I think the government should pay for this.”
It technically does. FEMA money is funneled to disaster relief nonprofits that then hire case managers to guide victims through the recovery process. But even before President Donald Trump took office with an eye toward diminishing the agency, recovery funds couldn't keep up with victims' needs. Now, as the administration slashes FEMA funding, withholds aid, and puts more of the onus of recovery onto individual states, victim-assistance organizations feel that they've been left totally unprepared, with too few case managers to go around. All of these issues are likely to grow more severe in the coming year, as a review board appointed to reform the agency prepares to make its recommendations.
That a service like Bright Harbor found a strong foothold in the US is not surprising. The private sector's creeping influence over disaster recovery has been noted since at least 2007, when Naomi Klein published The Shock Doctrine, the book that injected the term “disaster capitalism” into a broader lexicon. But as climate change accelerates and hammers the United States with more billion-dollar catastrophes than ever before, privatization has become more common — and complicated. Private interests can quickly mobilize huge volunteer networks, giving campaigns, and rebuilding efforts in the wake of extreme weather. But, whatever their intentions, such measures are a consequence — and sometimes a cause — of the corrosion of public institutions originally intended to safeguard Americans.
For Klein, Hurricane Katrina was a turning point for disaster capitalism. The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that would go on to draft Trump's Project 2025 policies, held a meeting on disaster relief in New Orleans just two weeks after the storm in 2005. The group recommended suspending wage laws for recovery contractors, replacing public schools with privately managed charter schools, and halting environmental regulations to reestablish oil and gas production that had been stalled by the storm.
The vision they set forth would shape disaster recovery for decades. In New Orleans, public housing was demolished, the public hospital was shuttered, and the federal government rapidly took over the public school system and set about turning it over to a charter network funded largely through private philanthropy. Over 7,000 teachers and staff members were fired, forcing veteran educators to reapply for their jobs, competing against a flood of Teach for America recruits who were largely whiter, less experienced, and from outside the city.
Many residents saw this as a mercenary response to the storm, made possible by decades of disinvestment in city services, but they weren't unilaterally opposed to the charter system. “I think it's important to avoid romanticizing the system pre-Katrina,” said Jesse Chanin, a professor of sociology at Tulane University and the author of Building Power, Breaking Power: The United Teachers of New Orleans, 1965-2008. Before Katrina, the school district was so underfunded that teachers didn't have enough books and desks for their students. “A teacher told me the other day, ‘Once, I was walking and my foot just went right through the floor,'” said Chanin. The high school graduation rate hovered around 50 percent, truancy was rampant, and corruption was so widespread that the FBI had set up an office within the New Orleans Parish school board.
But while the charter network was an improvement in many ways — private philanthropy poured money into the new schools and test scores and graduation rates markedly improved — it was also marked by instability. The system ran on a portfolio model: Schools that performed well received increased funding, while schools that struggled were shuttered, their students transferred elsewhere. Because there was such a strong incentive to keep test scores up, struggling students were often pushed out of the best schools into charters that would quickly fold. Such measures, and specifically a lawsuit alleging that the schools were not providing adequate special education services, led the federal government to monitor the city's charter schools for the past 15 years.
The fact that the charter schools are so siloed — some belong to larger networks, while others operate as one-off schools — has also undermined the strength of the teachers' union. Critics say that all of this has allowed charter schools to pay employees poorly, eliminate transparency, and provide uneven and inequitable education in exchange for moderately improved test scores. “I think it's really hard to attribute test score success to the model of charter schools and not to the incredible influx of money and resources into the district,” Chanin said. But Chanin added that undoing the charter system and starting from scratch might not be the answer, either. The city opened its first district-run public school since the storm, and it's already facing serious challenges.
Schools weren't the only service that succumbed to the shock doctrine in post-Katrina New Orleans. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) shut public housing residents out of their buildings shortly after the storm. Protests erupted, but pleas for help fell on deaf ears. “Many of the powerful players were basically announcing that this [was] the silver lining,” said John Arena, a professor of sociology at the College of Staten Island who was a housing activist in New Orleans at the time. “This is a horrible opportunity to do things that we couldn't do under normal conditions.” Seventy percent of public housing was ultimately destroyed and replaced with mixed-income developments built by private developers. Reports estimate that roughly half of public housing residents were permanently displaced in the wake of Katrina.
“'Recovery' has become kind of a misnomer,” said Luis Miron, the former director of Loyola University's Institute for Quality and Equity in Public Education. “People still haven't recovered.”
More than 20 years later and 2,000 miles away, disaster capitalism is picking up steam in Puerto Rico. In September, Gov. Jenniffer González Colón held a press conference announcing a new law that would allow more residents of the archipelago to obtain property titles to their homes. Land in Puerto Rico is often passed down through individual families without any formal documentation. This caused a crisis after Hurricane Maria struck in 2017, as many residents couldn't prove they owned the land they'd lived on for years, and therefore could not collect disaster relief funds.
But in the middle of the press conference, the lights abruptly went out.
Puerto Rico's electrical grid was in bad shape before Maria, but blackouts have become routine in the years since the storm. Maria hit Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 155 miles per hour, destroying the archipelago's power grid, knocking out power for 80 percent of residents, and setting off the largest blackout in United States history.
For many, it took nearly a year for power to be restored. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) declared bankruptcy and became the subject of a federal investigation after it was revealed that the utility operator had handed a $300 million contract to rebuild the grid over to a tiny, two-person Montana-based company called Whitefish Energy, which had little experience and close ties to Trump's secretary of the Department of the Interior at the time, Ryan Zinke. PREPA was later embroiled in a number of bribery scandals, plus instances in which it extorted customers in exchange for reconnecting them to power after Maria and bought low-quality oil while charging ratepayers high-quality oil prices for roughly three decades. Given the internal drama at PREPA, it wasn't difficult for authorities to make the case that privatization was the only way to modernize the grid.
“I call it the predator economy,” said Carmen Yulín Cruz, the former mayor of San Juan. “My grandmother used to say, ‘When people are so desperate, they will drink sand if someone markets it the right way.'” In 2021, then-Gov. Ricardo Rosselló announced that the transmission and distribution of electricity, along with the reconstruction of the grid, would be handed off to a company called Luma — a Canadian-American company that has thus far failed to fulfill its promises to deliver reliable electricity. Blackouts and power surges (which often destroy electrical devices) are common.
The result is that Puerto Rico has become “generator island,” said Gustavo García-López, an assistant researcher at the Center for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra. “The pollution levels of generators are really high — not only air pollution, which is the main concern, but also noise. I remember after Maria, living in the city with the generators around, the smell and the noise that they make is really unbearable, especially at night.” And even though the grid is often nonfunctional, residents' power bills have nearly doubled since the storm. The change was sold “under the auspices of ‘if it's private, it's better,'” said Cruz. “But, my god — LUMA could not suck more if they tried.”
Luma took control with a vow to decentralize the grid and incorporate more renewable energy, keeping generation in line with Puerto Rico's 2019 Energy Policy Act, which set a goal of 40 percent renewables by 2025. But as of late 2024, fossil fuels still generated 93 percent of the archipelago's energy. Luma has argued that it inherited a crumbling grid and a power supply that's insufficient to meet customer demand. The territory's power plants are managed by Genera Energy, a subsidiary of the troubled New Fortress Energy, a natural gas company that critics say has kept the territory dependent on fossil fuels at the expense of reliability. According to PREPA's most recent fiscal plan, performance has grown steadily worse over the past few years, with customers seeing approximately 15 percent more service interruptions and 21 percent longer outages in December 2024 compared to March 2023.
As in New Orleans, Puerto Rico was vulnerable to these tactics because of years of disinvestment. In June 2016, former President Barack Obama signed into law the Puerto Rico Oversight and Management Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), which would essentially lead the territory through a court-supervised bankruptcy process. Eight years later, Puerto Rico is still primarily controlled by the unelected financial oversight board established by PROMESA. The board handed many assets over to private interests after the hurricane. Charter schools, previously shut out of Puerto Rico, began to make inroads; the water system was nearly privatized; and toll roads were sold off to multinational corporations like Goldman Sachs.
“There's a debt crisis, so there's no public funds to fix anything,” said Marisol Lebron, an associate professor at the University of California Santa Cruz, and the author of Aftershocks of Disaster: Puerto Rico Before and After the Storm. “Puerto Ricans are left holding the bag in a lot of ways, for both the failures of the state, but also the failures of these private entities that are claiming to be able to do the job better and cheaper than the government.”
But even privatization has its limits. While major cities and territories are lucrative targets for private interests, disasters often devastate remote regions, where asset values are low and labor is hard to come by. “For small towns, the private sector is not going to step in if it's not a money-making business,” said Divya Chandrasekhar, a professor of city and metropolitan planning at the University of Utah, adding that depopulating areas in particular struggle to attract private investment. In remote parts of California, for instance, an alarming firefighting staffing crisis has left many small towns without adequate protection. Offers of private firefighting services — hired by insurance companies to protect their assets, or the very wealthy to protect their property — have risen accordingly. Critics, including city and state firefighters, have called for the regulation of these private services, arguing that they can hamper rescue efforts and pull badly needed water from public hydrants. During the Los Angeles fires in January, billionaire Rick Caruso hired a private company to protect the Palisades Village mall, which he owns, while nearby homes burned.
While climate change is poised to exacerbate familiar inequities like these, experts point to the opacity of privatized public services as a cause for growing concern. As more companies begin to incorporate artificial intelligence into their daily operations, it's important for municipalities to look very carefully at the restrictions being placed on contractors and public-private partnerships.
“You can imagine a situation where a community has been impacted by a natural disaster. We're going to give temporary housing to people, but this AI system is going to make the determination whether they qualify for this or not. I mean, that could be really problematic,” said Shahrzad Habibi, the research and policy director at In the Public Interest, a nonprofit that studies public goods and services. “I just think there's an interesting philosophical underpinning on all of this. What are public goods? What do we, as a society, think everybody should be entitled to? And when do we, as a society, think you're on your own?”
Understand the world with a daily explainer, plus the most compelling stories of the day.
This is the title for the native ad
The US has had a bad track record of building nuclear on time and on budget. But that could change.
2025 has felt brutal for climate policy in the US — but the bigger picture is surprisingly promising.
Trump debuts a new argument against wind power.
The Great Smoky Mountains are famous for their blue smoke, but to truly appreciate them you have to look beyond the haze.
From a CRISPR baby to a closing ozone hole, 5 actually good things from 2025.
Let's fix the two massive efficiency sinks in American life.
This is the title for the native ad
© 2025 Vox Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.
Fox News' Bryan Llenas reports the latest on the key witness who helped identify the Brown University shooting suspect and the criticism facing police. 'Fox & Friends' co-hosts weigh in and discuss the Trump administration's immigration policy
The most gripping crime stories of 2025 weren't just about suspects and victims — they were about free speech, terrorism, trust in the justice system and safety in places once considered secure.
The crimes that drew the most attention this year revealed deep fractures in United States society but kept millions of Americans riveted to their news feeds and social media.
From politically-motivated assassinations to high-profile trials garnering round-the-clock true crime coverage, these cases shaped the national conversation over the past 12 months.
ANDREW MCCARTHY: PROSECUTING CHARLIE KIRK'S ALLEGED KILLER IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA AGE
Charlie Kirk's final book is a "manifesto against the machine of modern life," encouraging his followers to "stop in the name of God" and honor the Sabbath. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk visited Utah Valley University in Orem on Sept. 10 as part of a campus speaking tour in which he planned to promote free speech and debate hot-button topics.
But 20 minutes into his appearance, a sniper's bullet struck him in the neck, killing him.
"It's just one of those moments that is so shocking to your system and yet it's going to change everything and this is going to be a moment that we're going to think back upon and talk about for years and years to come," said Joshua Ritter, a Los Angeles defense attorney and Fox News contributor. "How shocking it was that it took place in public, and the video of his assassination lives on the internet forever now, in such stark violence. And then to realize that it was entirely motivated because of what this man stood for and how people disagree with that really brings a level of disturbing awareness of how divided we still are as a country."
Suspected assassin Tyler Robinson was arrested days later in his hometown in southern Utah, hundreds of miles away.
CHARLIE KIRK'S ASSASSINATION LEAVES UNANSWERED QUESTIONS AS INVESTIGATORS PIECE TOGETHER GAPS IN CASE
Kirk made a career out of engaging people who disagreed with him. According to prosecutors, Robinson sent text messages to his lover allegedly admitting he "had enough of his hatred" and left a note declaring, "I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I'm going to take it."
An ISIS-inspired attack on New Year's revelers in New Orleans killed 14 people and underscored the ongoing threat of Islamist extremism.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar is pictured in an undated photograph released by the FBI after he attacked New Orleans' Bourbon Street with a pickup truck and died in a shootout with responding officers. (FBI)
SURVEILLANCE VIDEO SHOWS BRYAN KOHBERGER'S CAR ROARING AWAY AFTER IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS
Authorities said the suspect was motivated by radical propaganda.
Video shows he flew a black ISIS flag from the back of his rented pickup truck as he sped down Bourbon Street, slamming into pedestrians in the early morning hours of Jan. 1 — reviving fears that global terror networks continue to inspire lone actors to carry out violence on American soil.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texan blamed for the attack, died in a shootout with police. Months later, authorities in Iraq revealed they had arrested an ISIS member accused of inciting Jabbar to commit the murders.
BROWN UNIVERSITY WAS ‘SOFT TARGET' FOR SHOOTER WHO REMAINS AT LARGE, CRIMINAL PROFILER SAYS
By pleading guilty, Bryan Kohberger avoided the potential death penalty and a public trial that could have exposed new details about the home invasion murders of four University of Idaho students, three of whom were asleep when he attacked them with a knife on Nov. 13, 2022.
Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho, for brutally stabbing four University of Idaho students to death. (AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool)
The move brought closure for some of the victims' families, but others were outraged that prosecutors didn't take him to trial and seek capital punishment.
BROWN UNIVERSITY SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF TERROR THAT LEFT 2 DEAD, 9 INJURED
The deal spared his life but secured the highest possible punishment aside from the death penalty — four consecutive sentences of life without parole, plus another 10 years.
However, he was not required to explain himself under the terms of the deal, leaving questions about a motive unanswered.
"The Bryan Kohberger case stands out because it's literally the embodiment of every parent's nightmare," said Ritter, who is a father himself. "You send your children off to college hoping they're gonna be safe, and even when you do everything to put them in a safe environment, some absolute maniac can sneak into their home in the middle of the night and kill them in an apparently random attack."
Karen Read's second murder trial reopened one of the most divisive and closely watched legal battles in recent memory. She had fervent supporters, who believed her defense's theory that she had been framed, as well as outspoken critics, who noted that no one but her has been accused by any law enforcement agency of killing John O'Keefe.
Karen Read exits Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. Read was found to be not guilty of the murder of her boyfriend, John O'Keefe. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)
"The Karen Read case was about far more than a tragic death outside a Boston-area home," said Royal Oakes, a Los Angeles-based attorney who played a key role in a judge's decision to allow cameras in the courtroom during OJ Simpson's murder trial in the 1990s. "It became a referendum on police credibility, investigative integrity and whether a defendant can get a fair trial when law enforcement itself is accused of circling the wagons."
EVIDENCE SHOWS DEADLY BROWN, MIT SHOOTINGS MAY BE LINKED, SOURCES SAY: REPORT
With new jurors, renewed scrutiny and sloppy police work, the retrial appeared to put the investigation itself on trial alongside Read.
"The case exploded nationally because it blended true crime with institutional distrust," Oakes said. "The defense didn't just argue reasonable doubt — they argued a cover-up. That turns a homicide trial into a broader test of public faith in the justice system."
Her first trial, which ended with a hung jury, led to disciplinary action against Massachusetts State Police homicide investigators, an independent review of the local police department and the firing of the lead detective.
The second time around, Read was acquitted of all homicide-related charges in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, O'Keefe, and sentenced to a year of probation for drunken driving.
"Karen Read's trial mattered because it illustrated a growing trend: juries are increasingly skeptical of law enforcement narratives," Oakes said. "This case will be cited for years as an example of institutional doubt in criminal prosecutions."
Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Supreme Court during a hearing in the murder case of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York on Dec. 8, 2025. (Sarah Yenesel/pool via Reuters)
While Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019 and Luigi Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year, both names continued to dominate headlines in 2025.
EX-FBI AGENT TURNED UVU PROFESSOR BREAKS DOWN THE EVIDENCE TRAIL TYLER ROBINSON LEFT FOR DETECTIVES
Each case fueled broader debates about power, privilege and accountability — for different reasons.
Epstein, who was accused of sex trafficking and victimizing hundreds of women and girls for himself and his rich and powerful friends, has only one convicted accomplice, his former lover Ghislaine Maxwell. She is still fighting her conviction from inside a Texas prison camp.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were both indicted on federal sex trafficking charges stemming from Epstein's years of abuse of underage girls. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Mangione, on the other hand, is accused of killing Thompson to send a message about what his supporters see as corruption in the U.S. health insurance industry.
ALLEGED CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN TYLER ROBINSON TO MAKE FIRST IN-PERSON COURT APPEARANCE
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges in New York, Pennsylvania and at the federal level. None of his cases have gone to trial yet.
A split image shows Claudio Neves-Valente, identified as the Brown University gunman, wearing the same jacket as a man identified earlier as a person of interest in the case. (Providence Police Department)
Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national with a green card, killed two Brown University students and injured nine more during a finals week study session, according to police in Providence, Rhode Island.
Then he drove 50 miles away to the home of a leading nuclear physicist who worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and gunned him down inside two days later, federal prosecutors said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Neves-Valente had briefly attended Brown in the early 2000s and went to the same Portuguese college as Nuno Loureiro before that, but a motive remains unclear. Police found him dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a storage unit in New Hampshire on Dec. 18.
The violence reignited debate over security, surveillance and whether open campuses are prepared for modern threats.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and
agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can
opt-out at any time.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by
Factset. Powered and implemented by
FactSet Digital Solutions.
Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by
Refinitiv Lipper.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has accused members of the media of lying about her net worth by misrepresenting congressional records. Omar, however, herself failed to follow congressional norms by not disclosing the value of her assets and potentially underrepresenting her husband's investment positions.
Omar's rapidly-acquired wealth has drawn renewed scrutiny amid reports about widespread fraud in the Somali community she helps represent in Congress. Her financial disclosure forms suggest she and her husband are worth at least $6 million and as much as $30 million, which has raised eyebrows because the couple said they were worth a maximum of $158,000 just two years ago.
Omar's most recent financial disclosure shows that her husband has an ownership stake in a winery worth between $1 million and $5 million, as well as a stake in a venture capital firm valued between $5 million and $25 million. Media organizations have used this filing to produce reports claiming that Omar is worth up to $30 million, an assertion the congresswoman flatly denies.
A senior staffer from Omar's office previously told the Washington Examiner that the values on her disclosure form reflected the full value of the businesses rather than the value of her husband's individual shares in them. Omar has personally used this explanation to dismiss critics, calling her husband one of “several partners” in the two firms.
California business records, however, show that Timothy Mynett, Omar's husband, is one of just two individuals named as a partner on the winery's statement of organization. The other is its CEO, former top Democratic operative William Hailer.
While it's possible the winery has added more partners or diluted Mynett's stake since the winery was founded in 2020, it's impossible to know for certain because Omar hasn't disclosed how much her husband's share of the seven-figure venture is currently worth.
But on paper, the winery business appears to have boomed, although not without some controversy. The value of the winery grew from up to $50,000 in 2023 to up to $5 million in Omar's most recent financial disclosures. Along the way, an investor reportedly accused Mynett and Hailer of failing to pay him hundreds of thousands of dollars they'd promised would materialize from the growth of the winery.
And the value of Mynett's venture capital firm, Rose Lake Capital, seems to have exploded even more dramatically in the past two years. Omar said the firm was worth between $1 and $1,000 in 2023; by the following year, it was worth millions of dollars.
Omar's refusal to disclose the value of her husband's stakes in the winery and venture capital firm breaks with congressional norms.
A Washington Examiner review of congressional financial disclosures shows that a number of Omar's colleagues in the House also have partial interests in privately held companies, either directly or through their spouses, and disclose the value of their stakes specifically rather than the ventures as a whole.
Even Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), who is embroiled in several ethics scandals, managed to report the seven-figure value of his 49% stake in the security firm Pacem Solutions International. Reps. April McClain Delaney (D-MD), Bradley Schneider (D-IL), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), and Sara Jacobs (D-CA) all have partial stakes in private equity firms, hedge funds, and real estate ventures for which they provide specific valuation ranges.
Rose Lake Capital, the venture capital firm where Omar's husband is a partner, is also run by Hailer, signaling a close business relationship between the congresswoman's spouse and the wealthy former political operative.
By not reporting the value of Mynett's stakes, Omar is effectively hiding the extent of her wealth from the public.
Although Omar has not disclosed her net worth, the congresswoman has denied allegations that she became wealthy while in Congress, pointing out her student loan debt and noting that her husband's winery generated relatively little income in 2024.
POLITICALLY CONNECTED SOMALI NONPROFIT GROUP PULLED IN TAXPAYER DOLLARS AFTER MISHANDLING MILLIONS
Omar has faced renewed scrutiny in the press amid reports of Minnesota's Somali community running a variety of fraud schemes in the state. Conservative critics have pointed out that the value of one of her husband's companies grew from under $1,000 in 2023 to over $5 million in 2024 amid widespread fraud in Minnesota. There is, however, no evidence that Omar profited from fraud or was involved in it in any way.
The congresswoman, however, has stated that she does not regret sponsoring the MEALS Act of 2020, which was linked to the “Feeding Our Future” fraud scheme in Minnesota, where members of the state's Somali community defrauded the public for tens of millions of dollars. Some individuals implicated in the scheme made campaign contributions to Omar, who later gave the money to a variety of local nonprofit organizations “out of an abundance of caution.”
Omar's office did not return a request for comment.
The battle for control of the Senate is likely to hinge on a half-dozen of the most competitive races in the 2026 midterm elections, as Republicans fight to retain their majority in an election year that Democrats are poised to outperform them.
Still, the map heavily favors the Republicans holding on to the upper chamber, which the party controls 53-47.
With Vice President JD Vance as a tiebreaker, Democrats would need to net four seats. That means defending all three of their competitive races in New Hampshire, Michigan, and Georgia while also flipping all three of the Republican-held seats in Maine, North Carolina, and Ohio, in addition to capturing a long-shot seat such as Texas or Iowa.
Here's where the six most competitive 2026 Senate races stand based on early survey averages from RealClear Polling.
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) is seeking a second term as the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent this cycle. Georgia Republicans are in the midst of a crowded and messy primary that has yet to see President Donald Trump become heavily involved. The contest is considered a toss-up by nonpartisan election forecasters.
Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), the GOP front-runner based on recent surveys, has tied or slightly trailed Ossoff by an average of just over two points in head-to-head matchups. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) is losing by slightly more, an average of 3.5 points, and former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley trails by roughly six points.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) is retiring at the end of his second term. Former Michigan GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, who lost in 2024 to now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) is running another campaign and is the presumptive Republican nominee.
But the Democratic side remains a contentious three-way contest between Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, and former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed.
Early polling shows Stevens with a slight primary lead, followed by McMorrow, then El-Sayed. Rogers leads all three in head-to-head matchups, beating Stevens by 2.4 points, McMorrow by four points, and El-Sayad by 8.5 points.
The race is considered a toss-up.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is retiring at the end of her third term from a seat that forecasters say leans Democratic. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) is the presumptive Democratic nominee.
On the Republican side, it's a two-man contest between former senators: John E. Sununu, former New Hampshire senator and brother of former Gov. Chris Sununu, and Scott Brown, a former Massachusetts senator. Establishment-backed Sununu currently leads by double digits.
In general election matchups, Pappas leads Sununu by an average of four points and Brown by 11 points.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the GOP's most vulnerable incumbent, is seeking reelection to a sixth term for her toss-up seat. Democrats Graham Platner and Gov. Janet Mills are locked in a competitive two-person primary, where the establishment-backed governor maintains an average single-digit edge over the more liberal outsider.
Recent surveys suggest Collins has an average lead over Mills of just two points, but trails Platner by 2.5 points.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is retiring at the end of his second term. The race is considered a toss-up and is likely to feature a general election between former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley and former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.
Cooper maintains a single-digit lead over Whatley by an average of about 4.7 points.
Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) is running for reelection in a special election to serve the remainder of Vance's term that ends in early 2028. Husted was appointed to the seat earlier in 2025 by Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH). Forecasters rate the contest as leaning Republican.
Former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who was ousted by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), is the presumptive Democratic nominee. Husted leads Brown by an average of just one point, well within the margins of error.
Back in 2017, when my husband was still in the Army, we learned he was unexpectedly deploying right as we were going to start trying to get pregnant. Military families get accustomed to this pattern: You plan and the United States Armed Forces makes you go back to the drawing board.
Inconveniently, he had pre-deployment work travel pop up while I was ovulating, which is how we found ourselves explaining to the staff at a local fertility clinic that we needed to freeze my husband's sperm so I could do an intrauterine insemination while he was away.
It was incredibly stressful. It was like the clinic had never dealt with a couple in our situation. We didn't have fertility issues that we were aware of, but I was 37 and it felt like we didn't have a month to waste. One staff member tried to charge us for a full IVF cycle, at a cost of at least $10,000. Ultimately, after a negotiation, we were able to get the job done a la carte for several hundred dollars.
The IUI didn't work. Maybe I do have fertility issues, I thought. I wasn't exactly young for having children.
I remember thinking how I wished I hadn't switched to my husband's military insurance, TRICARE. It covered only fertility issues related to “a serious or severe illness or injury while on active duty.” My employer-provided insurance did, though it was more expensive but significantly cheaper than paying for IVF out of pocket.
I should note that having the choice of two insurance options is something many military spouses do not have. My husband was at the end of his military career, and his home base was stationary. The constant moves that usually define military life wreak havoc on a military spouse finding a job, let alone maintaining a career. Military spouses have an unemployment rate four to five times the national average. TRICARE is often their only choice for medical coverage.
More than eight years after my failed IUI, as federal employees have seen an expansion in their fertility benefits, TRICARE still doesn't offer fertility coverage. A couple of weeks ago, it really looked like it would, which is why as we ring in 2026, I am thinking of the military families struggling to have a baby, for whom this new year will be off to a bitter start.
They were banking on a provision in the massive defense bill signed into law by President Donald Trump just before the holidays that would have given them the same kind of access to fertility coverage that other federal employees have.
The IVF language easily passed out of committees in the House and Senate. But as the bill was buffed and polished into a final version for both chambers to pass and send to Trump's desk, the IVF provision was stripped from the measure just days before a vote.
It was devastating for military family members like Courtney Deady and her husband, a member of the Ohio Air National Guard, who have been trying to have a baby for a decade.
They've spent $100,000 on multiple attempts to conceive by intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilization.
“It's the mental health, it's the travel,” Deady said. “There's so many other things, such as cryopreservation” of embryos.
Deady has one embryo left for one last round of IVF.
She was counting on the fertility coverage in the defense bill. It seemed like it had a real shot. After all, Trump campaigned on making IVF more accessible, and this was the first National Defense Authorization Act he would sign after he reentered the White House.
On the trail in 2024, Trump had pledged that “under the Trump administration, your government will pay for, or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for, all costs associated with IVF treatment.”
Deady voted for Trump, sold on his IVF promises.
She was buoyed by the executive order he signed in February to ease the financial burdens of fertility treatment and deflated when he signed a defense bill this month that did nothing to ease the financial burdens of IVF for military families.
“It honestly feels, for lack of better terms, more of a slap in the face to a lot of our community when our Congress is receiving a lot of those benefits that we so desperately would love to have on our end,” she told CNN.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a combat wounded veteran who battled infertility and ultimately conceived two children through IVF, was the Senate sponsor of the TRICARE coverage provision.
Duckworth blames House Speaker Mike Johnson for removing it last minute from the bill.
“The committees in both chambers support this. There's nobody opposing this other than Speaker Johnson and his religious views,” she told CNN's Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
“The president of the United States … promised on the campaign trail to make IVF available to all Americans, and I can't think of a better place to make it available than to the men and women of this great nation,” the Illinois Democrat said.
Duckworth sent a letter to Trump with a handwritten note: “Speaker Johnson wants you to become the deadbeat dad of IVF,” a reference to Trump's description of himself as “the father of IVF.”
Johnson's home state of Louisiana has some of the most restrictive laws in the country governing IVF, emblematic of the influence of anti-abortion activists in the state.
Louisiana is the only state to prohibit patients and clinics from disposing of unused embryos, requiring they be shipped out of state.
A spokesperson for Johnson's office told CNN that expanding access to IVF remains a priority.
“President Trump and Congressional Republicans have been working to lower costs and expand access to IVF. The Speaker has clearly and repeatedly stated he is supportive of access to IVF when sufficient pro-life protections are in place, and he will continue to be supportive when it is done responsibly and ethically,” they said in a statement.
Deady, who also works as the community support director of Building Military Families Network, a nonprofit for military families experiencing difficulties with fertility, rejects the position.
“When we've — all of our families — have really thought logically and we've prayed about it or we've done the research to figure out what, ethically, this journey looks like for us and to not have that, it goes to show that there's a … lack of education when it comes to this realm of reproductive medicine,” she told CNN.
There was bipartisan disappointment in the last-minute yanking of the IVF provision and, in the House, a group of veterans and lawmakers representing significant military communities has already reintroduced IVF coverage in TRICARE.
Republican Rep. Nick LaLota of New York, a Navy veteran, is among them.
“Since 2023, Congress has rightly focused on strengthening military recruitment and retention by increasing troop pay, improving housing, expanding health care, and investing in quality of life for servicemembers and their families. Now, Congress should expand access to IVF, as many civilian employers already do, to build on that progress and help ensure America maintains the most lethal fighting force the world has ever known,” he said in a statement.
Republican Rep. Jennifer Kiggans, who represents a large number of military families in her Virginia district, which includes Virginia Beach and areas around Norfolk, the largest naval base in the country, said that “Military families already sacrifice so much in service to our nation. Access to IVF and fertility care shouldn't depend on financial means.”
I am writing this column with my 7-year-old son fast asleep in his bed, counting my blessings that my failed IUI was my one and only fertility treatment.
After it, my husband returned home from his work trip but deployed before I expected to ovulate again. So, when I realized I was pregnant long after he deployed, it felt like a miracle, especially when my first sonogram showed I was pregnant with twins.
A few weeks after, another sonogram showed I had what's called “a vanishing twin.” The second embryo had failed to develop. But there was still one. We made it through a large subchorionic hemorrhage of my placenta and a few other difficult moments, including my water breaking a month early while my husband was in Asia on a graduation trip for his eldest child not long after returning from his deployment. Somehow, he made it back for the final minutes of my labor to see our son born.
Not even a year later, my husband deployed again, for longer this time. Military family life was a lot for me to manage, caring for a baby and my young stepson as well, but I can't imagine not having the chance. Being a military spouse has been one of the best experiences of my life, but nothing surpasses being a mom.
For many military families struggling with infertility, choosing between the two feels like a sacrifice they shouldn't have to make.
© 2025 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.
Scan the QR code to download the CNN app on Google Play.
Scan the QR code to download the CNN app from the Apple Store.
Guilty pleas are piling up in the first-known federal terrorism case in American history brought against antifa militants, as prosecutors continue to close in on more convictions.
A group of gun-wielding antifa radicals is accused of carrying out a July 4 terrorist attack on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Alvarado, Texas, about half an hour south of Fort Worth.
More than a dozen members of the heavily armed cohort — many of whom have already admitted guilt — allegedly lured law enforcement officers outside and opened fire on them from various vantage points. A local Alvarado police officer was shot in the neck by the black-clad assailants after he arrived on the scene to answer a call for help from the guards under attack at the Prairieland Detention Center.
Following the coordinated shooting, federal authorities filed a slew of terrorism-related charges against 16 codefendants believed to be cell operatives or associates of the Dallas-area antifa cell, including alleged accomplices who either helped hide suspects or tampered with evidence in the days after the attack.
TEXAS ANTIFA MEMBERS INDICTED ON TERRORISM CHARGES FOR ICE ATTACK: ‘FIRST TIME EVER'
Since then, nearly half of the codefendants have taken plea deals, admitting in exchange that they belong to a highly sophisticated antifa cell based in the Dallas area.
Here's where the case currently stands, as a slate of holdouts head to trial in January while the others who pleaded out await sentencing.
Two more admitted antifa associates pled guilty on Nov. 24, 2025, bringing the total number of convictions in the case to seven.
As part of the plea deals, Rebecca Morgan and Susan Elaine Kent acknowledged their affiliation with the Texas antifa cell and admitted to providing material support to terrorists by helping to hide the group's then-fugitive ringleader, Benjamin Hanil Song, who had fled into the woods near the ICE facility and needed to be ferried out of the area.
Morgan and Kent both admitted to joining a support network that mobilized to ensure Song's escape, which then triggered a multistate manhunt involving the FBI, after learning of the antifa cell's large-scale assassination attempt at the Alvarado detention center.
Morgan confessed to picking up Song in a “handoff” at a Home Depot parking lot in Dallas and supplying him with clothes, food, and shelter. She admittedly harbored Song at her apartment, the cell's designated hideout at the time, where she concealed him from law enforcement for approximately a week.
Kent admitted to working with others to make those lodging and transportation arrangements, including coordinating the pickup point at the Home Depot, to help Song abscond. The plan was to continually move Song around between safe houses.
An antifa blog post denouncing Kent's arrest said she was “actively” involved in the DFW Support Committee, a group raising funds for the Alvarado suspects on GiveSendGo. To date, the fundraising campaign has collected nearly $60,000 from anonymous donors to cover their legal defense fees.
Unlike their other codefendants, who had pleaded guilty before them, Morgan and Kent only confessed to assisting the cell, not being members. Kent, however, admitted that she is “aware of Antifa beliefs” and that “many members of the [Socialist Rifle Association], including co-defendants, consider themselves ‘antifascist.'”
One week prior, the Department of Justice secured guilty pleas from five other coconspirators.
Seth Edison Sikes, Joy Abigail Gibson, Lynette Read Sharp, Nathan Josiah Baumann, and John Phillip Thomas all entered guilty pleas on Nov. 19, 2025, to the same charge of providing material support to terrorists.
Sikes, Gibson, and Baumann were apprehended close to the scene of the shooting, found fleeing on foot with several others, while Thomas and Sharp were charged as “accessories after the fact.”
Pursuant to the plea agreements, the five codefendants admitted to aiding “acts of terrorism” and belonging to the Dallas-area antifa cell that ambushed the Alvarado facility, marking the first time in U.S. history that antifa ideologues have openly admitted in criminal court to being part of an organized antifa branch.
During the plea process, the defendants accepted a set of stipulated, or undisputed, facts of the case. Throughout these admission statements, the codefendants divulged in great detail antifa's organizational framework, tactical strategies, and operational objectives.
“Antifa is a militant enterprise that advocates insurrection and violence to affect the policy and conduct of the U.S. government by intimidation and coercion,” said Baumann's stipulated facts, which he signed in agreement.
“In line with his Antifa ideology, on or about July 3 and July 4, Baumann, along with others, participated in the planning of the ‘direct action' against Prairieland set for the night of July 4.”
In a similar summary of stipulated facts, Sikes acknowledged that antifa organizes in “cells or ‘affinity groups' around their beliefs.”
They prepared for the surprise attack on the Alvarado compound by conducting reconnaissance; donning “black bloc,” antifa's universal uniform, to shroud their identities; and coordinating over Signal, an encrypted messaging application, according to a summary of events that Gibson agreed is true.
Sharp and Thomas admittedly assisted Song, the cell's at-large leader who was wanted by the FBI for over a week and had made the Texas Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list, in the aftermath of the attack. Thomas was the one who drove Song to the Home Depot parking lot while Sharp provided a change of clothes for him, face coverings, and a wig to wear.
Their confessions, which laid bare antifa's modus operandi, undercut claims propagated by the political Left that antifa is a leaderless movement lacking organizational structure, on-the-ground operations, and an identifiable member base.
The guilty pleas, as well as their accompanying admissions, could accordingly bring about broader implications for antifa's forces.
Extremism watchdogs envision that the case will help debunk the myth that antifa is simply an idea, signaling a turning point in the national discourse over antifa's existence. Never before, in recent memory, have antifa operatives confessed to their membership in the court record, let alone unmasked other associates.
Capital Research Center president Scott Walter said their admissions “should destroy the lie that antifa doesn't exist as organized groups.”
CONFESSIONS FROM TEXAS ANTIFA CELL OPERATIVES COULD PULL BACK CURTAIN
“This is an unprecedented case,” Walter previously told the Washington Examiner. “They have gone on the record, saying, ‘Here's how we operated. Here are the other people I was working with. Here's the person I was helping to hide out.'”
Sikes, Gibson, Sharp, Baumann, and Thomas, like Morgan and Kent, each face up to 15 years in federal prison, instead of the decades they could have spent behind bars had they been convicted at trial. Their sentencing is scheduled for March 2026.
On Nov. 26, 2025, nine recently indicted codefendants tied to the Alvarado shooting pleaded not guilty at their federal arraignments in Fort Worth. Among them are Song, Zachary Jared Evetts, Savanna Sue Batten, Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Andrea Soto, Ines Houston Soto, Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada, and two transgender co-defendants, Cameron James Arnold, also known as “Autumn Hill,” and Bradford Winston Morris, alias “Meagan Elizabeth.”
They stand accused of federal crimes ranging from rioting to attempted murder of federal officers. Their jury trial is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 20, 2026. If convicted on all counts, the nine suspects could spend life in prison.
Sanchez-Estrada, a Mexican national and the husband of Rueda, is being held separately at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth.
According to ICE, Sanchez-Estrada was given a green card under the Biden administration in 2024.
Sanchez-Estrada originally gained temporary protection from deportation through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an Obama-era policy that protected illegal immigrants who entered the country as children.
Many of the codefendants face state charges as well in Texas, with offenses including organized crime, obstruction of justice, terrorism, and smuggling of persons. The seven who pleaded guilty in their federal case are still awaiting state-level criminal proceedings.
ANTIFA INC: HOW AN IDEOLOGY BECAME AN ORGANIZED CRIMINAL NETWORK
Two other state defendants, though they were not federally charged, are being prosecuted by the Johnson County District Attorney's Office in connection with the case.
Janette Goering, codename “Anarchy Marie,” faces charges of aiding in the commission of terrorism, a state felony. She allegedly provided Song with a Faraday bag, a device blocking electromagnetic signals, to prevent police from tracking his phone.
Dario Emmanuel Sanchez, a teacher in the Dallas Independent School District, was indicted in August 2025 by a Texas grand jury on tampering charges for allegedly deleting texts from Signal and Discord showing the cell's attack plans.
Sanchez was bailed out of Johnson County Jail soon after; however, he was re-arrested days later on suspicion of hindering the prosecution of terrorism and then bailed out again on a reduced bond, lowered from $1 million to $150,000.
ANTIFA TRACKER: THE FAR-LEFT ACTIVISTS WHO FACE FEDERAL CHARGES UNDER TRUMP'S DOJ
The federal terrorism case came after President Donald Trump designated antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, directing all appropriate agencies to “investigate, disrupt, and dismantle” criminal networks operating under the banner of antifa, including taking prosecutorial action against antifa's financial backers.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett speaks about the Bondi terror attack investigation as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, right, listens, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Canberra, Australia. (Hilary Wardhaugh/AAP Image via AP)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An investigation that extended to the Philippines of two men accused of shooting dead 15 people at a Sydney Jewish festival has found no evidence that they were part of a “broader terrorist cell,” police said on Tuesday.
Sydney residents Sajid Akram, 50, and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram spent most of November in Davao City in the southern Philippines, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.
They returned on a flight from Manila on Nov. 29. Two weeks later, they are accused of killing 15 and wounding another 40 in a mass shooting that targeted a Hannukah festival at Bondi Beach.
Philippine National Police determined the pair rarely left their hotel during the visit, Barrett said.
“There is no evidence to suggest they received training or underwent logistical preparation for their alleged attack,” Barrett told reporters.
“These individuals are alleged to have acted alone. There is no evidence to suggest these alleged offenders were part of a broader terrorist cell, or were directed by others to carry out an attack. However, I want to be clear, I am not suggesting that they were there for tourism,” Barrett added.
Barrett did not detail a motive for the visit, which began on Nov. 1.
Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel.
Police allege the pair were inspired by the Islamic State group. The southern Philippines once drew small numbers of foreign militants aligned with the Islamic State group or al-Qaida to train in a secessionist conflict involving minority Muslims in the largely Catholic nation.
Barrett said she was limited in what she could disclose about the investigation in the Philippines because she did not want to prejudice Naveed Akram's trial.
He has yet to enter pleas to dozens of charges including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist act. Police shot him in the abdomen during a gunfight at Bondi on Dec. 14 and he spent a week in a hospital before he was transferred to a prison. Police shot his father dead at Bondi.
Authorities are promising the largest police presence ever at New Year's Eve festivities at Sydney Harbor on Wednesday. More than 2,500 officers will be on duty. Many will be openly carrying automatic rifles, a sight rarely seen on Sydney streets.
The first police responders to the Bondi massacre were armed with Glock pistols that lacked the lethal range of the Akrams' rifles and shotguns. Two police officers were among the wounded.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the state was not moving toward a more militarized police force in response to the attack.
“Given we've just had the worst terrorism event in Australia's history inside the last month, it would be self-evidently the case that things need to change and the security needs to change,” Minns said.
“I understand that there'll be some people that oppose this or regard it as the militarization of the police. My sense is far more families would fully support that kind of police operation because they will feel far safer in that environment,” Minns added.
More than 1 million revelers crowd the waterfront each year to see a world-famous fireworks display centered on the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Minns said he was concerned that any reduction in crowd numbers would be interpreted by extremists as a victory.
“It's an opportunity to thumb our nose at the terrorists and their ideology that really would have us living in a ball and not celebrating this beautiful city. So this is an opportunity to live your life and show defiance to that kind of ideology,” Minns said.
The Bondi victims will be commemorated with one minute of silence at 11 p.m. on Wednesday when four images of a Jewish candelabrum known as a menorah will be projected on the bridge's pylons, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.
Local government authorities had planned to project images of a dove with the word “peace,” but that was changed after consultation with Jewish representatives.
“I continue to listen to the community to ensure the acknowledgement of the horrific attack at Bondi Beach during New Year's Eve is appropriate,” Moore said in statement.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
A Georgia judge on Monday ordered a temporary pause to a December execution that was already put on hold, saying questions about the state's clemency process must be addressed before Stacey Humphreys' death sentence could be carried out.
Humphreys, 52, was facing scheduled execution Dec. 17 but the procedure was paused just days before he was to have received a lethal injection.
He was convicted of malice murder and other crimes in the 2003 shooting deaths of Cyndi Williams, 33, and Lori Brown, 21, at the real estate office where they worked in Cobb County, northwest of Atlanta.
At issue: Humphreys' lawyers contend that two members of Georgia's parole board have conflicts of interest which would taint their participation in a clemency hearing.
Humphreys' lawyers earlier this month filed a petition asking a judge to order the two members of the parole board to recuse themselves from considering his clemency petition.
The lawyers said one of those board members, Kimberly McCoy, was previously a victim advocate with the Cobb County district attorney's office at the time of Humphreys' trial and was assigned to work with victims in the case.
Another board member, Wayne Bennett, was the sheriff in Glynn County, where the trial was moved because of pretrial publicity. Humphreys' lawyers say Bennett oversaw security for the jurors and Humphreys himself during the case.
In an order filed Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote that “pressing ‘pause' on the execution machinery until we answer the non-frivolous question raised by Petitioner concerning the proper composition of the Board for his clemency hearing is the correct course of action.”
He ordered lawyers for both sides to file additional legal briefs on the issue by Jan. 19.
Additionally, the judge wrote in his order that Humphreys deserves to have the conflict of interest question researched and argued thoroughly so that a parole board free of conflicts of interest can decide his case at a clemency hearing.
© 2025 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.
Scan the QR code to download the CNN app on Google Play.
Scan the QR code to download the CNN app from the Apple Store.
Every time Henry publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox!
Enter your email
By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's
Terms of Service and
Privacy Policy.
Andrej Karpathy has long been ahead.
He was ahead of the AI boom, having worked as a founding member of OpenAI in 2015, long before competitors like Anthropic and xAI emerged. He also got into self-driving vehicles early, steering Tesla's autopilot effort as its head of AI.
Now, he says, "I've never felt this much behind as a programmer."
In an X post on Friday, Karpathy wrote that the industry was being "dramatically refactored," as individual programmers contribute fewer and fewer lines of code.
"I have a sense that I could be 10X more powerful if I just properly string together what has become available over the last ~year," he wrote. "A failure to claim the boost feels decidedly like skill issue."
Every time Henry publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox!
Stay connected to Henry and get more of their work as it publishes.
By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's
Terms of Service and
Privacy Policy.
I've never felt this much behind as a programmer. The profession is being dramatically refactored as the bits contributed by the programmer are increasingly sparse and between. I have a sense that I could be 10X more powerful if I just properly string together what has become…
AI has radically transformed the software engineering industry, introducing code editors like Cursor, Claude Code, and Codex, along with a slew of agentic software development tools. Business Insider's Amanda Hoover called 2025 "the year coding changed forever."
Karpathy was a key player in the change. In February, he coined the term "vibe coding." To vibe code, one prompts AI to generate lines of code. (It gets its name because developers "fully give in to the vibes," Karpathy wrote in his original post.) The Collins Dictionary named it the word of the year.
Still, Karpathy wrote that it's like a "powerful alien tool" was handed out without a manual.
"Everyone has to figure out how to hold it and operate it, while the resulting magnitude 9 earthquake is rocking the profession," he wrote.
In the comments, another one of the biggest names in vibe-coding agreed. Boris Cherny created Claude Code for Anthropic, now one of the most popular AI tools among developers.
Cherny wrote that he felt that way "most weeks," and that he sometimes finds himself approaching a problem manually, not yet realizing AI can do it faster.
New graduates and early career coders may fare best in this new environment, Cherny wrote, because they don't assume what AI can and cannot do.
"It takes significant mental work to re-adjust to what the model can do every month or two, as models continue to become better and better at coding and engineering," he wrote.
Responding to Cherny, Karpathy wrote that he had similar experiences. He analogized the new tools to a weapon, one that sometimes "shoots pellets" or "misfires" — highlighting the work-in-progress nature of AI.
Other times, though, the tools work wonders.
"Once in a while when you hold it just right a powerful beam of laser erupts and melts your problem," he wrote.
Jump to
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a claim by President Donald Trump's administration that it is legally barred from securing funding for the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, noting that a court order already bars the administration from shutting the agency down.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson came as the CFPB faced the imminent exhaustion of funds. The Trump administration has denied the CFPB additional cash to meet expenses since taking control of the agency in February but ithas been repeatedly blocked in the courts from firing workers en masse.
CFPB representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Officials say cash on hand could be exhausted in early 2026 and the CFPB announced last month that an administration legal opinion held that, under the agency's governing statute, it could not seek additional funding from the Federal Reserve so long as the central bank is losing money.
But in a stinging 32-page ruling, Berman Jackson said Tuesday this was a legally baseless pretext to get around her original order, finding that "the defendants are unabashedly trying to shut the agency down again, through different means."
"It appears that defendants' new understanding of 'combined earnings' is an unsupported and transparent attempt to achieve the very end the court's injunction was put in place to prevent," Berman Jackson wrote, adding that the administration's "unilateral decision" to decline further CFPB funding would therefore be in violation.
The agency's supporters say that without it the public will be more exposed to predatory lending practices, scams and other abuse. Trump and others have accused it of politicized enforcement and called it a burden on free enterprise.
The agency was started to protect financial services consumers after the financial crisis of 2008.
Unlike many federal agencies, the CFPB is funded by the Federal Reserve, rather than through a budget set annually by Congress. But lawmakers this year slashed the CFPB's maximum allowable funding, meaning the agency may face tighter funding constraints regardless.
Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.
Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox
Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.
© 2025 Versant Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Versant Media Company.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes.
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data
and Analysis.
Data also provided by
In this article
SoftBank has completed its $40 billion investment commitment to OpenAI, sources told CNBC's David Faber.
The Japanese investment giant sent over a final $22 billion to $22.5 billion last week, according to sources familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named in order to discuss details of the transaction.
SoftBank had previously invested $8 billion in the ChatGPT maker and syndicated another $10 billion with co-investors. The investment takes SoftBank's stake in the company above 10%.
CNBC reported in February that the company was finalizing a $40 billion investment in the Sam Altman-run startup at a $260 billion pre-money valuation.
At the time, Faber reported that the funding would be paid out over a 12-to-24-month period. Some money was slated to support OpenAI's artificial intelligence infrastructure Stargate joint venture with Oracle and SoftBank.
Companies have been spending big in recent months to build out infrastructure to support a frenzy for AI solutions and growing compute needs.
OpenAI has made more than $1.4 trillion in infrastructure commitments over the next several years, including agreements with chipmakers Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom.
Over the years, SoftBank has been betting big on technology and AI companies and was an early investor in chipmaker Nvidia. On Monday, the conglomerate agreed to pay $4 billion for data center investment firm DigitalBridge to strengthen its AI push.
Last month, SoftBank liquidated its entire $5.8 billion stake in major AI beneficiary Nvidia.
A different source familiar with the move to sell the stake told CNBC at the time that the sale, combined with other cash sources, would support its OpenAI investment.
The startup, which is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering, has received billions in funding over the years from tech juggernaut Microsoft.
Earlier this month, CNBC reported that OpenAI was exploring the potential for a more than $10 billion investment from Amazon.
Disney is also a recent backer, following a $1 billion equity investment deal that allows users of OpenAI's video generator Sora to generate content with licensed characters such as Mickey Mouse.
Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.
Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox
Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.
© 2025 Versant Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Versant Media Company.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes.
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data
and Analysis.
Data also provided by
Eurostar urged passengers to change their travel plans on Tuesday as a problem with the overhead power supply forced the Channel Tunnel to close.
"Due to a problem with the overhead power supply and a subsequent failed Le Shuttle train the Channel tunnel is currently closed. Unfortunately, this means we have no choice but to suspend all services today until further notice," Eurostar said in a statement warning of "major disruption" on its website.
"Please do not come to the station. We're very sorry for the impact the situation may have on your travel plans," the company said.
The disruption brings one of Europe's busiest international rail corridors to a near standstill during the New Year travel season.
Photos published showed scores of people sitting around their bags at St. Pancras train station in London, as well as long queues of traffic as passengers waited to enter the Eurotunnel site in Folkestone in Kent.
A statement from LeShuttle, which provides a railway service for people and their vehicles between Folkestone in the U.K. and Calais in France through the Channel Tunnel, said services were "temporarily suspended" for up to three hours due to a power supply issue. LeShuttle apologized for any inconvenience caused.
The Eurostar service, by contrast, is just for passengers traveling to cities like Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
Getlink, which owns and operates Channel Tunnel infrastructure, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
Eurostar, which runs services from London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, carried 19.5 million passengers in 2024, marking the most successful year in its history.
Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.
Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox
Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.
© 2025 Versant Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Versant Media Company.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes.
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data
and Analysis.
Data also provided by
This is CNBC's Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
Silver is on a wild ride. After surging to record highs this year, the metal saw its biggest intraday swing in more than half of a decade yesterday.
Here's the full story:
General Motors' investors were in the driver's seat this year. As CNBC's Michael Wayland reports, GM's stock is on track to outperform competitors in 2025 and notch its biggest one-year gain since the automaker exited bankruptcy in 2009.
Shares have hit new all-time highs this month, thanks in part to a roughly 13% rise so far in December alone. The automaker's stock is on track to see its fifth straight winning month as Wall Street cheers the Detroit-based company's record of cash generation and resilient earnings.
Meta said this morning that it has acquired artificial intelligence agent developer Manus.
The Singapore-based startup this year launched its first AI agent, which can complete tasks such as coding and data analysis. Meta said the acquisition should help accelerate its AI innovation and further integrate automation into products such as its AI assistant. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Wall Street Journal reported that it closed at more than $2 billion, citing sources familiar.
It's the latest AI investment for Meta, which earlier this month acquired wearables startup Limitless. In June, the tech giant invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI.
CNBC's Morning Squawk recaps the biggest stories investors should know before the stock market opens, every weekday morning.
Subscribe here to get access today.
President Donald Trump didn't mince words when discussing Iran yesterday. Trump said he would "knock the hell out of" Iran if the country attempts to rebuild its nuclear program, but suggested Iran should negotiate a deal.
"Now, I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are we're going to have to knock them down," Trump said. "We'll knock the hell out of them. But hopefully that's not happening."
Trump, who yesterday met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also said he would support an Israeli attack on Iran if the country tries to rebuild its ballistic missile reserve or reinstate its nuclear program.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is falling out of favor with his state's tech elite after supporting a wealth tax.
California labor groups are pushing for a ballot measure that asks the state's billionaires to pay a one-time 5% tax to make up for an expected shortfall in the health-care system. In a social media post, Khanna reacted sarcastically to industry leaders' threats to leave the state if the ballot item succeeds.
As CNBC's Garrett Downs notes, those tech leaders made clear their displease with Khanna online. Look no further than Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, who wrote that it's "time to primary him."
Kiruna, Sweden's northernmost city, is being moved building by building due to ground subsidence caused by the expansion of the world's largest underground iron ore mine. CNBC's Sam Meredith takes you inside the process and what it means for Kiruna's residents.
— CNBC's Sarah Min, Sean Conlon, Michael Wayland, Garrett Downs, Justin Papp, Sam Meredith, Elsa Ohlen and Dylan Butts contributed to this report. Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.
Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.
Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox
Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.
© 2025 Versant Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Versant Media Company.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes.
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data
and Analysis.
Data also provided by
Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.
Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox
Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.
© 2025 Versant Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Versant Media Company.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes.
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data
and Analysis.
Data also provided by
The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday said it was pulling out its remaining forces in Yemen after Saudi Arabia backed a call for UAE forces to leave the country within 24 hours.
The move followed a Saudi-led coalition airstrike on the southern Yemeni port of Mukalla.
The attack on what Riyadh said was a UAE-linked weapons shipment marked the most significant escalation between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to date in a widening rift between the two Gulf powers.
Once the twin pillars of regional security, the two Gulf heavyweights have seen their interests diverge on everything from oil quotas to geopolitical influence.
Declaring its national security a red line, Saudi Arabia earlier on Tuesday alleged the UAE had pressured Yemen's southern separatists to conduct military operations that had reached the kingdom's borders.
It was Riyadh's strongest language yet against the UAE in the falling-out between the neighbours, who once cooperated in a coalition against Yemen's Iran‑aligned Houthis but whose interests in Yemen have steadily grown apart in recent years.
Frictions grew inside the coalition as Abu Dhabi backed southern separatists seeking self-rule, while Riyadh kept supporting Yemen's internationally recognised government, eventually creating an open rift between the Gulf allies.
On Tuesday the coalition struck what it said was a dock used to provide foreign military support to the UAE-backed separatists. The head of Yemen's Saudi-backed presidential council gave Emirati forces an ultimatum of 24 hours to leave.
The UAE said in a statement that it had been surprised by the airstrike, and that the shipment that had been attacked did not contain weapons and was destined for Emirati forces.
Yemen's presidential council head, Rashad al-Alimi, cancelled a defence pact with the UAE, the Yemeni state news agency said, and accused the UAE in a televised speech of fuelling strife in Yemen with its support for the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC).
"Unfortunately, it has been definitively confirmed that the United Arab Emirates pressured and directed the STC to undermine and rebel against the authority of the state through military escalation," he said.
The UAE earlier stressed that "dealing with recent developments must be done responsibly and in a way that prevents escalation, based on reliable facts and existing coordination between the concerned parties."
Major stock indexes in the Gulf fell.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are both major players in the OPEC oil exporters' group, and any disagreements between the two could hamper consensus on oil output decisions.
They and six other OPEC+ members are meeting online on Sunday, and OPEC+ delegates say they will continue their current policy for no change in first-quarter production.
Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.
Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox
Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.
© 2025 Versant Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Versant Media Company.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes.
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data
and Analysis.
Data also provided by
Novo Nordisk has had a difficult year: a tumbling stock price resulting in the biggest leadership shakeup in the company's 100-year history as investors turned their back on the Danish drugmaker and its weight loss business.
It seemed investors had largely given up on Novo's ability to translate its strides in pioneering GLP-1 drugs to financial gains as the lucrative market attracts new players. Scientists, however, say that the medicine still has potential.
What started with a focus on the drug's ability to manage weight and blood sugar, and combat related conditions such as heart disease, is now expanding further with growing interest in how it might also impact the brain.
Semaglutide, or as it is better known, Ozempic and Wegovy, is a GLP-1 receptor agonist that was originally developed for diabetes patients to manage their blood sugar levels. However, it quickly became prescribed by doctors off-label en masse as its appetite surpressing and weight-loss properties became known. Today, it is approved for anti-obesity purposes and brings in billions annually for its maker, Novo Nordisk.
Now, the medical community is discovering a growing list of added benefits from these drugs.
"Wegovy promotes weight loss and potentially other mechanisms not fully understood," the U.S. Food and Drug Administration wrote in a statement in August when it approved the drug for treating liver disease. Semaglutide is also cleared by regulators to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes in overweight people with cardiovascular disease, as well as to treat chronic kidney disease in diabetes patients.
Meanwhile, a rival drug by U.S. competitor Eli Lilly, tirzepatide (known as Mounjaro and Zepbound), which also targets the GLP-1 hormone as well as another gut hormone called GIP, is approved for treating moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity.
But the benefits may not end there. Amid increased competition, additional indications have become a new frontier for drug developers alongside new formats like pills.
Observational studies have shown that GLP-1s appear to quiet cravings not just for food, but also for alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs, as they affect the brain's reward pathway. By seemingly changing dopamine signals in the brain, these drugs could reduce cravings and allow the individual to be more rational when faced with tempting options.
"There is interest in understanding the potential of semaglutide on various brain functions," Laura Nisenbaum, executive director at Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), told CNBC.
"Understanding that inflammation and energy usage in the brain is going to be so important for our normal cognitive function," Nisenbaum said. Recognizing that link will be useful in many different neurological and neuropsychiatric indications where changes or damage to the brain impact mood, behavior or cognition, she added.
Evolving data suggest that semaglutide and rival drug tirzepatide made by Eli Lilly might be the first effective "anticonsumption" agents with the potential to treat excessive food cravings, obesity, alcohol consumption, nicotine addiction, recreational drug use, and even uncontrollable shopping behaviors, a study by researchers at Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute and University of Missouri found.
Another small-scale randomized clinical trial found that low-dose semaglutide reduced alcohol consumption and significantly reduced cravings compared to placebo in patients with alcohol use disorder over nine weeks of treatment. The results justify larger clinical trials of incretin therapies for alcohol use disorder, the researchers concluded.
Another potential added benefit of this class of drugs could be how it interacts with the dementia process.
In November, Novo disappointed investors when it published data on a two-year-long clinical trial testing whether semaglutide could slow down cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
Hopes had run high that the medicine might be able to help people suffering from the most common type of dementia, as it had been observed in real-world studies that diabetes patients taking semaglutide developed Alzheimer's at a lower rate than those who didn't.
But the late-stage trial failed to meet its main goal, showing that semaglutide didn't significantly impact cognition in Alzheimer's patients. Novo said it would discontinue a one-year extension of the trial due to the results.
However, some scientists told CNBC it shouldn't be seen as a failure. They say that even if the results were disappointing, it was a well-conducted trial that the science community was able to learn from.
"It just gave a negative result as far as the drug is concerned in that particular population," said Ivan Koychev, associate professor in neuropsychiatry at Imperial College London.
Semaglutide however, affects Alzheimer's disease proteins in the right direction, as seen in biomarker measures, Koychev said. "They're impacting Alzheimer's disease-linked proteins, they reduce their quantity in the cerebrospinal fluid, which suggests that it is interacting directly with the alternative pathology."
There was also an observed reduction in systemic inflammation biomarkers, according to Novo. "The thinking is that it may be this anti-inflammatory effect that, if it is implemented early enough in the disease process, you can substantially modify the risk of dementia," Koychev said.
"The signal was always in the prevention space rather than the treatment space," he added.
Similarly, Nisenbaum said a next useful step would be to test semaglutide and other GLP-1s earlier in the course of the disease as a preventative therapy.
Novo Nordisk said it was reviewing all data from the trial, but that it was too early to speculate any further on the effect semaglutide might have on dementia patients.
Despite the fact that the innovations developed by Novo have the potential to significantly impact public health, many investors have turned their back on the company over the past 18 months as its growth prospects face challenges.
Novo shares are having their worst year on record since listing on Nasdaq Copenhagen over three decades ago. At its peak in mid-2024, the stock traded at above 1,000 Danish kroner. Today, it trades at around 320 kroner.
The stock's year-to-date drop of 50% is being driven by increased competition from U.S. rival Eli Lilly and so-called compounding pharmacies making cheaper, copycat versions of semaglutide. A failure to convince investors that its pipeline will bring significant financial gains amid a flurry of hopeful market entrants also adds to the pressure.
The Alzheimer's trial data readout in November led shares to drop 5.8% on the day, despite analysts saying it was always a long shot and Novo management themselves called it a "lottery ticket," — underlining its highly uncertain outcome.
The two Alzheimer's drugs currently on the market, Eli Lilly's Kisunla and Biogen/Eisai's Leqembi have been shown to slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease by up to a third but come with the risk of severe side effects.
These medicines were studied 15 years ago, and there were many negative studies along the way, ADDF's Nisenbaum said. "Each one, we learned something that then led to an improvement in understanding our patients in the clinical trials and then how to measure what's happening in them."
"It's absolutely about the long game," she added, hopeful that semaglutide or other novel drugs that target risk factors could be used in combination with Kisunla and Leqembi.
But the market doesn't see it like that, and there are many reasons why.
First of all, investors' time horizons are much shorter than the decades-long process it typically takes to bring a drug to market, meaning pharmaceutical development often clashes with the speedier pace of public markets. Adding new indicators for a drug also takes time, as they need to be backed up by often lengthy clinical trials.
Secondly, semaglutide is facing key patent expiries in 2031 and 2032, which will give the green light to others to make generic versions of semaglutide.
"We don't see a good argument for a valuation floor," Jefferies analysts said late November, noting that Novo now enters the 5-year patent expiry window with no real moat.
"Lower U.S. prices may stimulate additional volume demand and enhance patient retention, but we are not of the view that, at these prices, generics and compounders cannot compete," they added, rating shares at Underperform.
Pressure from the Trump administration to lower drug prices for Americans, and the threat of high import taxes, have served as additional headwinds for Novo, as well as for many of its pharma peers over the past year.
Goldman Sachs analysts, led by James Quigley, are slightly more optimistic. "We remain Buy-rated on Novo Nordisk, as while expectations have reset sharply downwards for near/medium-term estimates, we continue to believe there could be some volume opportunity for Novo as the obesity market evolves," they wrote in a note late November.
"While Novo are unlikely to take a leading share, we still see opportunities for Wegovy, CagriSema and oral Wegovy to drive value in excess of what the market currently believes, although we acknowledge that this will likely take time and evidence of an uptick in scripts before investors give credit," they added.
Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.
Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox
Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.
© 2025 Versant Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Versant Media Company.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes.
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data
and Analysis.
Data also provided by
Billionaire Elon Musk has put humanoid robots in the spotlight this year, positioning them as central to Tesla's valuation, which he thinks could hit tens of trillions of dollars. But Tesla is yet to sell its flagship humanoid robot Optimus.
Instead, it's likely a slew of Chinese companies that will beat Tesla to the punch and begin ramping up production of robots in 2026, as Beijing puts the technology at the center of its strategic plans.
"China currently leads the United States in the early commercialization of humanoid robots," Andreas Brauchle, partner at consultancy Horváth, told CNBC by email. "While both countries are expected to build similarly large markets over time, China is scaling more rapidly in this initial phase."
Humanoid robots are designed to be shaped and move like a human. Artificial intelligence algorithms power their abilities along with complex hardware like semiconductors. Proponents say they could be used across various settings, from factories to hospitality and even in the home.
Over the past few years, China has made robotics a key focus of its tech strategy, unveiling plans to create supply chains and mass production of the machines.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and the country's top leaders, known as the Central Committee, met in October and released proposals for the "15th five-year plan," a document that lays out some of the key focus areas for Beijing in the coming years.
"Embodied artificial intelligence," a term that refers to AI-driven hardware like robotics or driverless cars, was mentioned in the text.
For China, humanoid robots represent an opportunity to address labor challenges in the world's second-largest economy as well as advancing Beijing's quest for tech supremacy.
"China's push into humanoid robotics development is driven by a combination of addressing demographic pressures, driving the next horizon of economic growth, and strengthening its role in global competition," Karel Eloot, senior partner at McKinsey & Company, told CNBC.
China's birth rates are declining and the population is aging, leading to a reduced number of people in the workforce and rising labor costs. Robots are seen as a way to address this.
Meanwhile, China is locked in an ongoing tech race with the U.S. across multiple sectors. Robotics, seen as a real-world application of AI, could become a new battleground in 2026. Politico reported this month that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been meeting with the CEOs of robotics companies to form a plan to accelerate the industry. Washington is considering issuing an executive order on robotics next year, Politico reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
"China could be the most important market for humanoids," RBC Capital Markets said in a note this month. Analysts at the bank forecast a global total addressable market for humanoids of $9 trillion by 2050, with China accounting for more than 60% of that.
Chinese robotics firms are attempting to power ahead with mass production.
Unitree, which is gearing up for an initial public offering that could value it at around $7 billion, is one of China's buzziest robotics players. The company has various robotics models, including humanoids. This year, it debuted its latest model, the H2, showcasing its ability to dance.
UBTech Robotics is another of China's key players. It makes humanoid robots for both an industrial setting, like a factory, as well as commercial applications, like being a tour guide. UBTech's flagship industrial model, the Walker S2, is able to swap out its battery itself in order to run 24 hours a day.
The company is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange and this month carried out a share placement to raise around $400 million to fund its expansion. UBTech plans to deliver 500 industrial robots this year and ramp up production of its humanoid robots to 5,000 in 2026 and 10,000 in 2027, the South China Morning Post reported in November.
AgiBot is another player that said this month its 5,000th humanoid robot rolled off the production line.
Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng also debuted its second-generation humanoid robot called Iron last month, and plans to begin mass production of the product next year.
There are more than 150 humanoid robot companies in China, but these are among the biggest.
China's manufacturing prowess and success in ramping up production in other products like electric vehicles, may give it an edge when it comes to robotics, analysts said.
"The depth of China's supply chain means companies can develop and manufacture robots at a significant cost advantage compared to other regions," Ethan Qi, associate director at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC.
Indeed, UBTech expects production costs to drop 20% to 30% each year.
Meanwhile, various local governments in China have subsidy programs aimed at companies in the robotics sector.
The U.S. however, has "advantages in AI, autonomy and advanced algorithmic development," Horváth's Brauchle said.
American firms are "betting on vertical integration" — which means owning and controlling more of the supply chain — according to McKinsey's Eloot. This includes components like actuators, which power a robot's movement, as well as the AI software that is integrated into the final product.
"The belief is that tighter ownership of the full system will deliver superior performance, stronger safety cases, and defensible intellectual property," Eloot said.
China's humanoid robot market will initially be bigger than that of the U.S., but will not remain that way forever.
"Over the long term, both countries are expected to converge toward similarly large markets, whereby absolute mass-market penetration is expected after 2040, driven primarily by high-volume adoption in private households," Brauchle said.
China's robotics industry is not without its challenges. One bottleneck is its restricted access to certain chips required for robots.
"I think there's a very high reliance on U.S. chips, for example, Nvidia chips," Jacqueline Du, head of China industrial tech research at Goldman Sachs, told CNBC's "The China Connection" last month.
Charlie Dai, principal analyst at Forrester, noted a number of other potential hurdles, such as AI limitations in unpredictable operating conditions for humanoids and regulatory barriers.
"Together, these challenges slow commercialization over the next two years and require coordinated innovation, security, and policy frameworks," Dai told CNBC.
There are also the technological difficulties of replicating the human movement of limbs like hands and fingers — an incredibly complex task that demands capable of mimicking biological functions. "Most robotic hands fall well short in effective degrees of freedom, sharply limiting their range," McKinsey's Eloot notes.
Finally, perhaps the biggest challenge is bringing the cost of these complex machines down. Eloot said that product costs for today's advanced humanoid prototypes range from $150,000 to $500,000 per unit. Those need to come down to between $20,000 to $50,000 per unit to "compete with human labor."
Even though robotics is a strategic priority for China, this hasn't stopped regulators from warning about a potentially overheated market.
In November, China's top economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), warned there is a risk of a bubble forming in the humanoid robotic market. The NDRC said that there are more than 150 humanoid robotics companies in China, with that number growing, and many of them are bringing out similar products.
In the past, there have been boom and bust cycles around technology that Beijing has given strategic importance, such as electric vehicles.
"Many assume that humanoid robots will soon exceed human-level versatility, speed and autonomy. Manufacturers reinforce this perception through polished demonstration videos and staged trade-show performances that present capabilities not yet reproducible in real industrial environments," Horváth's Brauchle said.
"This gap between perception and reality increases the risk of an investment bubble."
"A market correction could slow innovation and commercialization momentum," Forrester's Dai added.
Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.
Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox
Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.
© 2025 Versant Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Versant Media Company.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes.
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data
and Analysis.
Data also provided by
In this article
Meta Platforms said Tuesday that it has acquired Manus, a Singapore-based developer of general-purpose AI agents, as the tech giant continues its massive investments into artificial intelligence.
Manus, founded in China before relocating to Singapore, launched its first general AI agent earlier this year, which can execute complex tasks such as market research, coding, and data analysis.
The company claimed it had achieved an annualized average revenue of more than $100 million just eight months after launch, while its revenue run rate exceeded $125 million.
Meta said in a statement that its acquisition was aimed at accelerating AI innovation for businesses and integrating advanced automation into its consumer and enterprise products, including its Meta AI assistant.
"Manus is already serving the daily needs of millions of users and businesses worldwide ... We plan to scale this service to many more businesses," Meta said.
According to the firms, Manus will continue operating its subscription service without disruption.
While further terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, the Wall Street Journal reported that the deal closed at an amount over $2 billion, according to sources familiar with the acquisition.
The start-up was seeking a fresh round of fundraising at a $2 billion valuation when it was approached by Meta, the report added.
Manus began as a product of Chinese start-up Butterfly Effect, also known as Monica.Im, before growing into a separate entity.
It emerged as a notable AI player earlier this year after claiming its chatbot offered superior performance to OpenAI's Deep Research agent.
The company raised $75 million in a Series B funding round led by U.S. venture firm Benchmark in April, and is backed by Tencent and private equity firm HongShan Capital Group (HSG), formerly known as Sequoia, according to data from market research firm Tracxn.
The start-up reportedly laid off most of its staff in Beijing in July before moving its headquarters to Singapore in June as it looked towards global expansion.
"Joining Meta allows us to build on a stronger, more sustainable foundation without changing how Manus works or how decisions are made," Xiao Hong, CEO of Manus, said in a company release.
The firm also announced a strategic partnership with Alibaba's Qwen AI team in March, highlighting its existing ties to Chinese tech companies.
Meta's acquisition of Manus fits into its broader AI strategy of scooping up specialized AI start-ups to acquire talent and fast-track its broader AI business, including the development of its open-source Llama large language models.
In June, for example, Meta invested $14.3 billion in AI start-up Scale AI, in a deal that brought its founder and CEO, Alexandr Wang, onto Meta's AI leadership team.
Meanwhile, Meta acquired AI-wearables start-up Limitless earlier this month as the company looks to grow its AI device business.
In the case of Manus, the firm's AI agent tools have drawn interest from major tech companies. In October, Microsoft began testing Manus in Windows 11 PCs, allowing users to create websites from local files.
To date, Manus claimed to have processed more than 147 trillion "tokens" of text and data, and supported over 80 million virtual computers. It offers both free and paid subscription tiers.
Meta said Manus employees will join its teams as the company continues to aggressively poach AI talent from start-ups and major rivals, including OpenAI and Google.
Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.
Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox
Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.
© 2025 Versant Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Versant Media Company.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes.
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data
and Analysis.
Data also provided by
Prenetics (PRE), a health-sciences company that raised $48 million earlier this year, partially to build a bitcoin treasury, said it decided to stop purchasing BTC amid prolonged weakness in the cryptocurrency market.
The company rolled out its bitcoin accumulation strategy in June, following a model championed by Michael Saylor's Strategy Inc, in which firms raise capital to buy and hold crypto on their balance sheets. The business model gained traction earlier this year as crypto prices rose, but enthusiasm faded after the steep market downturn in October.
On Oct. 27, Prenetics CEO and co/founder Danny Yeung announced the funding round, which included investors such as Kraken, Exodus (EXOD), GPTX and American Ventures. He said the funds would help its "IM8" business scale globally while accumulating 1 BTC daily toward a goal of $1 billion in revenue and bitcoin within five years.
However, the firm said in a statement on Tuesday that it stopped purchasing bitcoin on Dec. 4 to focus its resources exclusively on IM8, which it said has generated more than $100 million in annualized recurring revenue (ARR) since it launched 11 months ago.
“The phenomenal success of IM8 has exceeded all expectations and scaled much faster than we originally anticipated,” Yeung said. “Our board and management team unanimously agreed that the most promising path to creating significant, sustainable shareholder value is to devote our undivided attention to this opportunity clearly visible in IM8.”
Prenetics, backed and co-founded by English football icon David Beckham, said it won't allocate any existing or new capital for the purpose of buying additional bitcoin. However, it still plans to hold its existing 510 bitcoin as a reserve asset, worth nearly $45 million as of Tuesday afternoon ET.
Prenetics shares have risen 189% this year, while Michael Saylor's MSTR fell nearly 48% and bitcoin dipped about 5.6%.
Read more: Is the Bitcoin Digital Asset Treasury Model Broken? Architect Partners Says No
Más para ti
State of the Blockchain 2025
L1 tokens broadly underperformed in 2025 despite a backdrop of regulatory and institutional wins. Explore the key trends defining ten major blockchains below.
Lo que debes saber:
2025 was defined by a stark divergence: structural progress collided with stagnant price action. Institutional milestones were reached and TVL increased across most major ecosystems, yet the majority of large-cap Layer-1 tokens finished the year with negative or flat returns.
This report analyzes the structural decoupling between network usage and token performance. We examine 10 major blockchain ecosystems, exploring protocol versus application revenues, key ecosystem narratives, mechanics driving institutional adoption, and the trends to watch as we head into 2026.
Más para ti
Grayscale files for first U.S. Bittensor ETP as decentralized AI gains momentum
The filing marks the first attempt to bring TAO, Bittensor's native token, to U.S. markets through a regulated investment product.
Lo que debes saber:
Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. Bullish owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets and CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish equity-based compensation.
Async Payjoin is the best hope for strong privacy in Bitcoin. Modeled after HTTPS, which enabled secure payments for the web, the Payjoin foundation has been quietly building up this privacy toolkit, which must be adopted by a large number of Bitcoin wallets, to deliver privacy at scale.
Modeled after the Bitcoin and Lightning dev kits — which have become quite popular among wallet developers — and built with the same cryptographic primitives already in Bitcoin core, such that it can be easily integrated into the main Bitcoin implementation, Async Payjoin is designed from the bottom up for mass adoption.
Following in the footsteps of Let's Encrypt, which in the 2010s led the mass adoption of HTTPS on the web via open source, free software tooling, Async Payjoin looks to solve Bitcoin's biggest privacy pain points through an open privacy standard. Unlike specific privacy-focused wallets like Samourai Wallet and Wasabi, Async Payjoin is a software library that any bitcoin payments app can integrate, joining an open standard of privacy, similar to HTTPS on the web.
Async Payjoin is also referred to as Payjoin V2 by the Foundation, as it differs from V1, an older implementation that requires both users to be online while they transact for the Payjoin to work. A growing list of Bitcoin wallets support the Payjoin Foundation's V1 and V2 standards today, including:
Async Payjoin is backwards compatible, such that users with wallets that do not support the standard yet can still send to Payjoin addresses and QR codes without friction to the users. Fans of Bitcoin privacy should ask their favorite wallet providers to integrate this open source standard, which developers can find a technical reference for at Bip 77, alongside their plug-and-play dev kit on GitHub.
The nonprofit PayJoin Foundation, launched in August 2025 to sustain open-source privacy development, receives funding from OpenSats and Cake Wallet, while Spiral, Human Rights Foundation, Maelstrom, and Brink have supported many of the open-source developers who contributed to the project. Their GitHub shows 37 contributors just on the Rust implementation of Async Payjoin.
Development of the Async Payjoin protocol, also known as Payjoin V2 via Bip 77, is spearheaded by Dan Gould, executive director of the Payjoin Foundation and lead maintainer of the Payjoin DevKit. Dan has pioneered Bitcoin privacy tools since the TumbleBit era, forked Wasabi Wallet for mobile use, and co-authored BIP 77 with Yuval Kogman, advisory board member and Spiral Bitcoin Wizard with over two decades of programming experience. Kogman has done extensive work in the Bitcoin privacy field, such as developing WabiSabi DoS protections and whistleblowing vulnerabilities in various CoinJoin implementations.
Armin Sabouri has also joined the team as R&D lead with prior roles as CTO at Botanix and engineer at Casa, co-winner of the 2021 MIT Bitcoin Hackathon by getting Bip 78 CoinJoin working on Mac OS via Tor, and is a co-author of BIP 347 (OP_CAT).
Gould told Bitcoin Magazine that they are always fundraising and that “none of this work is possible without the funders.” He also went into detail about why they decided to start a Payjoin foundation rather than a for-profit entity, saying that “Bitcoin privacy — for-profits have basically been killed.”
According to Gould, a nonprofit is more sustainable to solve the problem because it aligns the incentives; “I think the for-profits have an incentive to sell something that doesn't necessarily guarantee privacy because if they make a sale, they earn profit. And we've seen on the internet that it was attempted. Phil Zimmerman started a company that developed PGP. But HTTPS was a decentralized nonprofit effort, as was Tor”. Gould says the Payjoin Foundation has applied for 501 (c) (3) status, which is pending approval. Donors can contact him at donate@payjoin.org.
Payjoin provides privacy to Bitcoin by breaking a common pattern of normal transactions, where the sender has one input that gets split up into two to make a payment. Of the resulting outputs, one is likely to be the payment and the other the change back to the sender.
Users often have multiple UTXOs (unspent transaction outputs), which are like pockets of coins. If a transaction tries to send more than is in one UTXO, it will pull from another, linking two of these pockets of coins, which up until that point might have had no connection to each other on the chain. This reduces the privacy of users in the eyes of blockchain analysts, who can assume the two UTXO packets belong to the same entity.
Payjoin dissolves the standard input heuristic by facilitating coordination between the sender and the receiver, resulting in transactions that appear to have two inputs and two outputs, where one of the inputs is from the receiver. The receiver gets the same amount he is expecting; both parties simply coordinate on the amounts and co-create the transaction. As a result, what would have been a single-input, two-output transaction now has two inputs and two outputs, confusing on-chain analysts. The more transactions of this type exist, the less reliable the single-input heuristic becomes, resulting in more privacy for all users, as the core assumption of on-chain analysis breaks down.
This process is entirely non custodial, with full control over amounts signed and sent by both parties, it is atomic, if both parties don't agree, the transaction is not valid.
Gould cautioned about how much information is leaked with normal bitcoin transactions today, referring to organizations like Chain Analysis, which can, in some circumstances, get access to exchange user data to try and identify owners of a given UTXO, “if you snoop on that, you can see who you've transferred money to in the past. You can see who someone transfers money to in the future. You can see how much money someone has. You can see how much money someone makes.”
Enhancements to Bitcoin privacy of this sort are crucial to the success of Bitcoin as they enforce the fungibility of the asset, an important quality of sound money. Fungibility means that all coins are considered equal and interchangeable; one is not different from the other based on its history.
Cryptocurrencies that focus on maximizing on-chain privacy, like Zcash or Monero, offer higher default degrees of on-chain privacy by encrypting the amounts transferred among parties. This, however, comes at a high cost; validation of the total supply of coins in these alternative cryptocurrencies is much more complicated. As a result, bugs in the related cryptography could lead to inflation bugs that are undetectable, a risk which undermines scarcity, another critical quality of sound money.
Payjoin in turn provides Bitcoin a higher degree of on-chain privacy without encrypting the amounts transferred between parties, respecting the scarcity of Bitcoin while enhancing fungibility. The main trade-off is that it can not be a protocol-level change; it needs wallet adoption and thus user engagement.
It's also important to note that fiat-level privacy already protects users from third-party analysis by being a closed private system, or tries to anyway. Government agencies and executives working at banks have much greater visibility into user balances, but organized crime does not. There are also many laws in countries throughout the world defending user financial privacy, which Async Payjoin is looking to elevate Bitcoin to.
One of the challenges historically with traditional Payjoin is that it required both parties to be online to coordinate the creation of the transaction. To solve this, Payjoin V2 introduces a blinded directory server to provide asynchronous Payjoin coordination among parties, using the well-known Internet standard, Oblivious HTTP.
Gould told Bitcoin Magazine that “the cool thing is the protocol has the directory server blinded. The directory server is only reachable by oblivious HTTP, which is basically a forced proxy. So the IP addresses (of users) are never leaked to the directory server.” Adding that, “the payload (pre-signed transaction) is actually end-to-end encrypted between the sender and the receiver anyway. So the directory just gets an 8-kilobyte uniform encrypted blob. They don't see anything.”
In fact, Gould compared the use of OHTTP to Tor, explaining that “The reason we used it is because it's a web standard. So it's gone through the rigorous review process. OHTTP is literally supported in the iOS operating system. It's used in browsers.” adding that “OHTTP it's kind of like the minimal viable product of Tor where Tor layers encryption and does multiple hops and this is just the most minimal version where you just have one hop. You just have one layer of encryption.” Similar multi-hop network encryption is used in the Lightning network to protect user privacy.
The Payjoin V2 servers provide no financial reward to those who run them, similar to Tor exit nodes, which have sustained these privacy networks on a volunteer basis for decades.
Regulators and, as a result, exchange operators often have concerns about Bitcoin privacy technologies, as they are perceived to be in conflict with topics of compliance. Gould considers this a misconception, saying that “the reality is that a compliance regime is totally independent from the nature of the chain. If an exchange wants to collect your baby's name, know the place you live, your phone number, and what source of funds, having privacy by default doesn't stop them from doing that. Doesn't stop them from asking for it in order to do business with the user.” Adding that “It just doesn't give them complete insight into your whole wallet, past, present, and future. So it puts the power to consent to reveal the information about your money in your own hands.”
Established in 2012, Bitcoin Magazine is the oldest and most established source of trustworthy news, information and thought leadership on Bitcoin.
© BTC Media, LLC 2025
About us
Copy link
A version of this article appeared in our The Decentralised newsletter on December 30. Sign up here.
With Ethereum's Fusaka upgrade in the rearview mirror, developers have turned their attention to future improvements codenamed Glamsterdam and Hegota.
Glamsterdam is expected sometime in 2026, and its headline features have been locked in for months.
Despite all the talk in 2025 about Ethereum developers' renewed focus on scaling mainnet — making Ethereum itself more capable of quickly and affordably processing transactions at scale — Fusaka's chief benefit was to reduce the cost of transactions on layer 2 blockchains, which are separate from, but settle on, Ethereum.
Glamsterdam, on the other hand, will reflect that renewed focus through its two major features: block-level access lists and enshrined proposer-builder separation, or ePBS.
Block-level access lists are expected to be particularly beneficial for complex applications, such as DeFi protocols.
At a high level, they'll enable parallel processing of certain transactions on Ethereum.
This will allow for faster block validation, more predictable transaction fees, and, for certain transactions, dramatically lower fees.
Enshrined proposer-builder separation is also expected to lower the cost of using the chain and to increase throughput.
It could also increase the cost of censorship on Ethereum, according to one of its champions, the pseudonymous developer Potuz.
That said, a more significant anti-censorship feature considered for Glamsterdam has been delayed to the Hegota upgrade.
Hegota has yet to receive a target release date. We don't even know what the upgrade will include — of the many Ethereum Improvement Proposals floating around online, only that anti-censorship feature has even been marked “considered for inclusion,” meaning it's no guarantee.
That feature, fork-choice inclusion lists, or FOCIL, guarantees inclusion in a block of any valid transaction. It spurred intense debate among Ethereum developers this year.
“In an effort to shield the Ethereum validator set from centralising forces, the right to build blocks has been auctioned off to specialised entities known as builders,” FOCIL's authors explained when proposing the feature in 2024.
But the builder market has become concentrated, spurring fears of a choke point that could be easily leveraged by governments and others seeking to censor transactions, the authors continued.
FOCIL addresses this by giving so-called validators — another, more distributed set of players in the Ethereum ecosystem — the power to require that builders include certain transactions.
Privacy Pools founder Ameen Soleimani has argued that the benefits of FOCIL are overstated, and it creates legal risks for US-based validators.
When Tornado Cash was placed on the US sanctions list, some 90% of validators declined to include transactions that touched Tornado Cash smart contracts, he said. As long as a single validator was willing to include those transactions, however, they would eventually settle on Ethereum.
Had US validators been forced to include those transactions, however, they could have faced the wrath of the US government, Soleimani argued.
Rollup developer Tim Clancy, who, like Soleimani, attended the New York trial of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm in solidarity, called it the “single most important [proposal] for Ethereum.”
“It delivers a capability that Ethereum must have to continue delivering on its mission of being the most neutral blockspace,” he wrote on X earlier this year.
Of course, even if FOCIL makes its way into the Hegota upgrade, it won't be the only major feature. Ethereum devs will begin debating which features should be included in Hegota on January 8. Headline features will likely be finalised by the end of February.
VOTE: Aave DAO votes on renewal of delegate incentive program
VOTE: Rocket Pool votes on membership slate for its grants and bounties committee
VOTE: World Liberty Financial votes to use treasury to support growth of USD1
Major cryptocurrencies closed the year well below their all-time highs reached just months earlier.
Still, the industry has had a wildly successful 2025. Unless you're in the NFT market, that is.
The further we get from 2021 the more it seems like a fever dream pic.twitter.com/6C4cUMgAlX
The further we get from 2021 the more it seems like a fever dream pic.twitter.com/6C4cUMgAlX
Aleks Gilbert is DL News' New York-based DeFi correspondent. You can reach him at aleks@dlnews.com.
Prenetics has stopped buying bitcoin and will focus its capital and strategy entirely on scaling IM8, its growing consumer health brand.
Prenetics Global Limited said it has ended its bitcoin purchasing program and will redirect its capital and strategic focus entirely toward IM8, its fast-growing consumer health and longevity brand co-founded with David Beckham.
The Nasdaq-listed health sciences company said it ceased daily bitcoin purchases on Dec. 4, following approval from its board of directors, and will not pursue future acquisitions of the cryptocurrency.
Prenetics will retain its existing holdings of 510 bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset but has committed not to allocate any new or existing capital toward expanding that position.
The move marks a clear shift away from a strategy the company adopted earlier this year, when several public firms began accumulating bitcoin as a treasury asset during a rising market. That trend has slowed in recent months as cryptocurrency prices weakened and investor focus returned to core operating businesses.
Prenetics said the decision reflects the rapid growth of IM8, which it described as the fastest-growing supplement brand in the industry's history.
The company said IM8 surpassed $100 million in annualized recurring revenue within 11 months of launch and is projected to generate between $180 million and $200 million in revenue in fiscal year 2026.
“The phenomenal success of IM8 has exceeded all expectations and scaled much faster than our original expectations,” said Danny Yeung, Prenetics' chief executive officer and co-founder. He said management and the board agreed that concentrating resources on IM8 offered the clearest path to long-term shareholder value.
Prenetics said it remains in a strong financial position, with more than $70 million in cash and cash equivalents, zero debt, and its existing bitcoin holdings intact. The company said that balance sheet strength gives it flexibility to fund IM8's next phase of growth without relying on external financing.
Under the revised capital allocation strategy, Prenetics said funds will be directed exclusively toward IM8's operations and expansion.
That includes product development, brand marketing, talent acquisition, working capital, and international growth initiatives. The company framed the shift as an effort to sharpen strategic clarity and reinforce disciplined governance.
IM8 markets an all-in-one nutritional supplement aimed at simplifying daily health routines. The brand has been promoted by Beckham and tennis world number one Aryna Sabalenka, and Prenetics has leaned heavily into celebrity-backed branding as it scales the business globally.
The decision to halt bitcoin purchases comes as the digital asset market faces a period of weaker sentiment.
Bitcoin has struggled to regain momentum after a sharp downturn earlier in the year, and several companies that adopted crypto-heavy treasury strategies have seen their share prices come under pressure.
Against that backdrop, Prenetics' move stands out as a reversion toward a more traditional operating focus.
When the company announced its bitcoin accumulation strategy in June, Yeung spoke about the potential overlap between healthcare innovation and blockchain technology.
Six months later, the company's tone has shifted, with management emphasizing execution, revenue growth, and consumer demand.
Prenetics said it believes the updated strategy aligns the company more closely with shareholder priorities as IM8 continues to scale. While bitcoin will remain on the balance sheet, the company made clear it will no longer play a central role in its capital deployment plans.
Shares of Prenetics were little changed following the announcement. At time of writing, shares were at $16.42 a share.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $88,626, up 1% over the past 24 hours on $39 billion in volume, with a market cap of about $1.77 trillion.
The price sits near the top of its weekly range, roughly 1% below the seven-day high and 2% above the seven-day low, with nearly 19.97 million BTC currently in circulation.
Established in 2012, Bitcoin Magazine is the oldest and most established source of trustworthy news, information and thought leadership on Bitcoin.
© BTC Media, LLC 2025
Oops, something went wrong
BLOK gained 32% year-to-date while Bitcoin fell 7% by allocating only 5% to spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Top holding HUT 8 surged 140% as miners benefit from operational leverage independent of Bitcoin price.
Bipartisan crypto legislation expected in 2026 could deepen institutional adoption of blockchain infrastructure.
A recent study identified one single habit that doubled Americans' retirement savings and moved retirement from dream, to reality. Read more here.
When Bitcoin slips 7% and your blockchain ETF jumps 32%, you're not betting on Bitcoin. Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (NYSEARCA:BLOK) launched in 2018 as one of the first blockchain-focused funds and has spent 2025 proving that picks-and-shovels exposure to crypto infrastructure beats direct Bitcoin ownership when the digital currency wobbles.
The fund's 32% year-to-date gain through late December crushed the S&P 500's 17% return and left Bitcoin's 7% decline in the dust. Only about 5% of the portfolio sits in spot Bitcoin ETFs like Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (NASDAQ:FBTC) and iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ:IBIT). The rest is Bitcoin miners, crypto exchanges, fintech platforms, and chip makers that profit regardless of whether Bitcoin trades at $88,000 or $105,000.
The biggest macro factor driving BLOK forward isn't Bitcoin's price. It's accelerating institutional adoption of blockchain infrastructure, which creates durable revenue streams for the companies BLOK holds. Grayscale's 2026 outlook projects that bipartisan crypto legislation will become U.S. law next year, deepening integration between public blockchains and traditional finance. That regulatory clarity matters more for companies building crypto rails than for Bitcoin itself.
Watch for updates from the SEC and Treasury Department on stablecoin frameworks and digital asset custody rules. These typically arrive quarterly and signal whether institutional capital can flow more freely into blockchain services. When banks and asset managers get clearer rules, companies like Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) see trading volume surge and custody businesses expand, regardless of Bitcoin's spot price.
The difference shows up in BLOK's top holdings. Robinhood has soared 213% year-to-date as retail and institutional crypto trading activity picked up. Even as Bitcoin declined, volatility drove revenue for platforms that facilitate trades.
BLOK's largest holding, HUT 8 Corp (NASDAQ:HUT), represents 5.3% of the portfolio and has delivered a 140% gain in 2025. The Bitcoin miner has doubled while Bitcoin fell. The explanation lies in operational leverage. Miners benefit from hash rate efficiency improvements, energy cost optimization, and diversification into AI data center hosting. When Bitcoin's price stabilizes or declines modestly, well-run miners with low production costs can expand margins.
Combined, Bitcoin mining stocks like HUT 8, CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK), and Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR) represent roughly 15% of BLOK's portfolio. Check Amplify's monthly BLOK-Chain commentary for mining economics and hash rate trends. The fund publishes holdings snapshots twice yearly on the Amplify ETFs website.
If BLOK's 0.73% expense ratio feels steep, iShares Blockchain and Tech ETF (NYSEARCA:IBLC) charges 0.47% and offers similar blockchain exposure. IBLC holds many of the same miners and exchanges but with a passive indexing approach rather than BLOK's active management. The trade-off: IBLC has just $90 million in assets compared to BLOK's $1.2 billion, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads and less liquidity during volatile periods.
Watch institutional adoption signals from regulators for the macro tailwind, and track Bitcoin mining profitability metrics in BLOK's monthly updates for the micro factor that could drive the next 12 months of performance.
Most Americans drastically underestimate how much they need to retire and overestimate how prepared they are. But data shows that people with one habit have more than double the savings of those who don't.
And no, it's got nothing to do with increasing your income, savings, clipping coupons, or even cutting back on your lifestyle. It's much more straightforward (and powerful) than any of that. Frankly, it's shocking more people don't adopt the habit given how easy it is.
Oops, something went wrong
BLOK gained 32% year-to-date while Bitcoin fell 7% by allocating only 5% to spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Top holding HUT 8 surged 140% as miners benefit from operational leverage independent of Bitcoin price.
Bipartisan crypto legislation expected in 2026 could deepen institutional adoption of blockchain infrastructure.
A recent study identified one single habit that doubled Americans' retirement savings and moved retirement from dream, to reality. Read more here.
When Bitcoin slips 7% and your blockchain ETF jumps 32%, you're not betting on Bitcoin. Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (NYSEARCA:BLOK) launched in 2018 as one of the first blockchain-focused funds and has spent 2025 proving that picks-and-shovels exposure to crypto infrastructure beats direct Bitcoin ownership when the digital currency wobbles.
The fund's 32% year-to-date gain through late December crushed the S&P 500's 17% return and left Bitcoin's 7% decline in the dust. Only about 5% of the portfolio sits in spot Bitcoin ETFs like Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (NASDAQ:FBTC) and iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ:IBIT). The rest is Bitcoin miners, crypto exchanges, fintech platforms, and chip makers that profit regardless of whether Bitcoin trades at $88,000 or $105,000.
The biggest macro factor driving BLOK forward isn't Bitcoin's price. It's accelerating institutional adoption of blockchain infrastructure, which creates durable revenue streams for the companies BLOK holds. Grayscale's 2026 outlook projects that bipartisan crypto legislation will become U.S. law next year, deepening integration between public blockchains and traditional finance. That regulatory clarity matters more for companies building crypto rails than for Bitcoin itself.
Watch for updates from the SEC and Treasury Department on stablecoin frameworks and digital asset custody rules. These typically arrive quarterly and signal whether institutional capital can flow more freely into blockchain services. When banks and asset managers get clearer rules, companies like Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) see trading volume surge and custody businesses expand, regardless of Bitcoin's spot price.
The difference shows up in BLOK's top holdings. Robinhood has soared 213% year-to-date as retail and institutional crypto trading activity picked up. Even as Bitcoin declined, volatility drove revenue for platforms that facilitate trades.
BLOK's largest holding, HUT 8 Corp (NASDAQ:HUT), represents 5.3% of the portfolio and has delivered a 140% gain in 2025. The Bitcoin miner has doubled while Bitcoin fell. The explanation lies in operational leverage. Miners benefit from hash rate efficiency improvements, energy cost optimization, and diversification into AI data center hosting. When Bitcoin's price stabilizes or declines modestly, well-run miners with low production costs can expand margins.
Combined, Bitcoin mining stocks like HUT 8, CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK), and Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR) represent roughly 15% of BLOK's portfolio. Check Amplify's monthly BLOK-Chain commentary for mining economics and hash rate trends. The fund publishes holdings snapshots twice yearly on the Amplify ETFs website.
If BLOK's 0.73% expense ratio feels steep, iShares Blockchain and Tech ETF (NYSEARCA:IBLC) charges 0.47% and offers similar blockchain exposure. IBLC holds many of the same miners and exchanges but with a passive indexing approach rather than BLOK's active management. The trade-off: IBLC has just $90 million in assets compared to BLOK's $1.2 billion, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads and less liquidity during volatile periods.
Watch institutional adoption signals from regulators for the macro tailwind, and track Bitcoin mining profitability metrics in BLOK's monthly updates for the micro factor that could drive the next 12 months of performance.
Most Americans drastically underestimate how much they need to retire and overestimate how prepared they are. But data shows that people with one habit have more than double the savings of those who don't.
And no, it's got nothing to do with increasing your income, savings, clipping coupons, or even cutting back on your lifestyle. It's much more straightforward (and powerful) than any of that. Frankly, it's shocking more people don't adopt the habit given how easy it is.
About us
Copy link
Chinese investors have poured over $188 million into firms working on the digital yuan following the People's Bank of China's decision to let central bank digital currency wallets accrue interest.
Almost a third of that investment went into Lakala, a third-party payment service provider that works with merchant acceptance solutions and hardware wallets, reported the Chinese outlet Securities Times.
The firm's share price rose by over 12% on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Monday and continued rising on December 30.
The central bank's move to allow state-issued digital currencies to earn interest is a “win-win situation for all parties,” an unnamed Chinese financial expert told China's Shanghai Securities News.
“Enterprises and individuals will receive interest income and enjoy a wider variety of financial products and services. And commercial banks will receive incentives for conducting digital yuan business,” the expert said.
The PBoC says its new action plan covers the period from 2026 to 2030. 2026-30.
As of January 1, 2026, the PBoC said, “banks can independently manage the assets and liabilities of their digital yuan wallet balances.”
Almost a year after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning federal agencies from issuing or endorsing CBDCs, China is trying to breathe new life into its digital yuan project, first unveiled in 2020, vaunting its domestic and cross-border applications.
Earlier this month, a state-owned bank used a private blockchain network to issue $600 million in commercial bonds to buyers who pay in digital yuan.
According to the Chinese state-run media outlet Global Times, the PBoC says cumulative transactions using the digital yuan reached $2.38 trillion at the end of November.
The bank said a total of 3.48 billion CBDC transactions have been processed to date, with 230 million people opening personal wallets.
Share prices in a range of other digital yuan-related companies also soared by over 10% in Shenzhen on Monday.
These included Hengbao, Cuiwei, ST Rendong, Wuhan Tianyu, and iSoftStone, all companies that work with the PBoC on CBDC-related solutions.
Many of these firms work with hardware or offline wallets, wearable or plastic credit card-type wallet solutions.
The PBoC envisages these wallets as playing a key role in adoption.
While most of China's young and urban population use smartphones and have bank accounts, millions of Chinese remain unbanked, with millions more not connected to the internet.
The wallets, already in deployment in the CBDC pilot zone, function offline in areas without internet access.
They automatically update balances when they come into contact with internet-connected point-of-sale devices or train station ticket barriers.
They have also been designed to let overseas visitors use the digital yuan, with Beijing offering international sports stars and global media representatives the chance to use the CBDC for the first time during the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Tim Alper is a news correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at tdalper@dlnews.com.
Long-term holders (LTH) of bitcoin BTC$87,400.28 have shifted back into accumulation for the first time since July.
LTHs, defined as entities that have held bitcoin for at least 155 days, have accumulated roughly 33,000 BTC on a 30-day net basis, according to onchain data analysts checkonchain.
Selling from LTHs has been one of the two of the largest sources of sell pressure this year along with miner capitulation.
LTHs were a major source of distribution, while miners are typically forced to sell bitcoin while mining at a loss.
Since it takes 155 days for short-term holders to transition into long-term holders, this suggests that buyers from the past six months are now becoming long-term holders and are outpacing the distribution.
LTHs sold more than 1 million BTC during the 36% correction from October, marking the largest sell-pressure event from this cohort since 2019, a period that ultimately coincided with the bear market low that year, with bitcoin at around $3,200.
The October sell-off was the third LTH distribution phase since the current cycle began in 2023. The first occurred in March 2024 when bitcoin reached $73,000 and over 700,000 BTC were sold, while the second took place that November when bitcoin reached $100,000 and more than 750,000 BTC were distributed by LTHs.
More For You
State of the Blockchain 2025
L1 tokens broadly underperformed in 2025 despite a backdrop of regulatory and institutional wins. Explore the key trends defining ten major blockchains below.
What to know:
2025 was defined by a stark divergence: structural progress collided with stagnant price action. Institutional milestones were reached and TVL increased across most major ecosystems, yet the majority of large-cap Layer-1 tokens finished the year with negative or flat returns.
This report analyzes the structural decoupling between network usage and token performance. We examine 10 major blockchain ecosystems, exploring protocol versus application revenues, key ecosystem narratives, mechanics driving institutional adoption, and the trends to watch as we head into 2026.
More For You
Bitcoin rises above $89,000, showing rare gain in U.S. trading
Open interest data suggests the advance is likely short-covering, rather than fresh longs entering the market.
What to know:
Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. Bullish owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets and CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish equity-based compensation.
Digital asset investment products closed the final full week of December under continued pressure, with persistent outflows underscoring fragile investor sentiment despite still-strong year-to-date inflows. According to CoinShares' Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly report dated December 29, products recorded US$446 million in net weekly outflows, extending cumulative redemptions since the October 10 price shock to US$3.2 billion.
The figures highlight a growing divergence in crypto market behavior. While headline sentiment remains cautious—particularly toward Bitcoin and Ethereum—selective buying is emerging in specific regions and assets. XRP and Solana-linked products continue to attract inflows following their recent ETF launches, suggesting that investors are reallocating rather than exiting the asset class altogether.
This bifurcation points to a market in transition as 2025 draws to a close: one where macro uncertainty and profit-taking coexist with targeted conviction trades.
Regionally, the data reveals a clear geographic split. The United States accounted for the bulk of weekly outflows, shedding US$460 million, reinforcing the view that U.S.-based investors remain risk-averse after October's sharp correction. Switzerland also saw modest redemptions of US$14.2 million.
Germany stood out as the notable exception. German-listed products attracted US$35.7 million in weekly inflows and a substantial US$248 million month-to-date, making it the strongest regional performer. The report notes that investors in Germany appear to be using recent price weakness as an accumulation opportunity rather than a reason to de-risk.
This divergence suggests differences not just in sentiment, but in investment horizon. While U.S. flows often react more quickly to short-term price moves, European investors—particularly in Germany—may be positioning for medium-term recovery under clearer regulatory and product structures.
At the asset level, Bitcoin and Ethereum continued to bear the brunt of selling pressure. Bitcoin products recorded US$443 million in weekly outflows, while Ethereum saw US$59.5 million exit during the same period.
More striking is the cumulative trend since mid-October. Since the launch of XRP and Solana ETFs, Bitcoin products have seen total outflows of US$2.8 billion, with Ethereum products losing US$1.6 billion over the same timeframe. This suggests that capital is not simply leaving crypto, but rotating away from the two largest assets.
Despite these outflows, year-to-date figures remain historically strong. Total YTD inflows across digital asset products stand at US$46.3 billion, broadly in line with 2024's US$48.7 billion. However, total assets under management have risen by just 10% YTD, implying that many investors have yet to see positive net outcomes once flows and price action are combined.
In contrast to the weakness in Bitcoin and Ethereum, XRP and Solana products continued to attract capital. XRP investment products saw US$70.2 million in weekly inflows, while Solana added US$7.5 million.
Since their ETF launches in the United States, XRP and Solana products have accumulated US$1.07 billion and US$1.34 billion in inflows respectively. This resilience highlights how new product structures and narratives can redirect capital even during periods of broader market caution.
The data suggests that investors are increasingly willing to express directional views through targeted exposure rather than broad beta. In practice, this favors assets perceived to have idiosyncratic catalysts—such as network adoption, ecosystem growth, or legal clarity—over more mature cryptocurrencies.
At the provider level, outflows were led by major U.S. issuers. iShares ETFs recorded US$290 million in weekly outflows, while Grayscale saw US$115 million redeemed. Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund also experienced US$111 million in weekly outflows.
These figures reinforce the view that institutional portfolios are being actively rebalanced. Some providers, such as ProShares and Volatility Shares Trust, posted weekly inflows, indicating that leverage and tactical strategies continue to attract niche demand even as spot products lose assets.
The dispersion across issuers points to a more sophisticated phase of market participation, where investors are differentiating between structures, fee models, and strategy types rather than treating crypto exposure as a single trade.
The CoinShares report paints a picture of a market still digesting October's shock. Persistent outflows indicate that confidence has not fully recovered, even as year-to-date inflows remain robust in historical terms. This tension suggests that crypto markets are transitioning from momentum-driven inflows to more selective, fundamentals-based allocation.
Germany's continued inflows and the success of XRP and Solana ETFs may offer clues to where demand could stabilize in early 2026: jurisdictions with clearer frameworks and products that offer differentiated exposure. Conversely, Bitcoin and Ethereum may need renewed catalysts—such as macro easing or regulatory breakthroughs—to reverse the current outflow trend.
For now, the data underscores a key theme: crypto capital is still active, but it is becoming more discerning.
Subscribe
Unit No: BA857 DMCC Business Centre Level No 1 Jewellery & Gemplex 3 Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
International House, 10 Admirals Way, London, England, E14 9XL.
Crypto's biggest gains rarely feel obvious at the start. XRP proved that lesson the hard way.
When XRP launched at an ICO price of roughly $0.005–$0.006, it was widely dismissed. Critics questioned adoption, utility, and long-term relevance. Many watched from the sidelines, waiting for “confirmation.”
Today, XRP trades around $1.85, delivering a 300x+ return from ICO levels. Early buyers didn't just profit — they changed their financial trajectory.
Most investors didn't miss XRP because they were late.They missed it because they hesitated.
That same moment is forming again — and this time, it's happening during an upcoming crypto presale where the infrastructure already exists.
XRP didn't succeed because everyone believed in it early. It succeeded because:
Those who acted early accepted uncertainty. Those who waited paid a much higher price.
This exact pattern repeats in every cycle — and it's why experienced investors now prioritize crypto whitelist access instead of chasing listings.
DOGEBALL fits that early-entry profile.
The DOGEBALL whitelist is not selling a future promise. It provides access to a working ecosystem before the public market sees it.
Key facts investors can verify today:
Secure early access through the DOGEBALL whitelist before public presale stages increase pricing.
DOGECHAIN is the first ETH Layer 2 built specifically for online gaming.
It delivers:
Unlike many presales that claim to have L2 tech, DOGEBALL allows users to test the blockchain directly on the presale website.
This alone separates it from most crypto whitelist projects.
Test the DOGEBALL blockchain yourself before committing capital.
DOGEBALL is not waiting for “Phase Two.”
The game already exists and runs across mobile, tablet, and PC. Players compete in a dodgeball-style arena, level up, and climb a live leaderboard.
Key incentives:
Token demand is driven by participation, not speculation.
Join the DOGEBALL whitelist to access gameplay utility before the market catches on.
DOGEBALL's presale structure is intentionally fast:
This prevents the long delays that kill momentum in typical presales.
With only 20B tokens allocated to presale out of an 80B total supply, early scarcity is built in.
Early stages offer the highest upside — DOGEBALL whitelist access matters.
DOGEBALL's tokenomics support sustainability:
Liquidity will be at least 15% of total presale funds raised, ensuring healthy market depth at launch.
Security is not theoretical:
DOGECHAIN is positioned as a future hub for online gaming developers.
Planned expansion includes:
A confirmed partnership with Falcon Interactive — a global gaming company with hundreds of live games — adds real-world validation.
XRP rewarded early conviction. DOGEBALL offers a similar moment — but with one major difference.
This time, investors can:
For those evaluating a credible upcoming crypto presale, the DOGEBALL whitelist stands out as a rare mix of execution, timing, and transparency.
Crypto always creates new opportunities.The real question is whether you act before the crowd does.
Join the DOGEBALL whitelist now and position yourself ahead of the public presale stages.
Website: https://dogeballtoken.com/
X: https://x.com/dogeballtoken
Telegram Chat: https://t.me/dogeballtoken
Disclaimer: This is a paid post and should not be treated as news/advice. LiveBitcoinNews is not responsible for any loss or damage resulting from the content, products, or services referenced in this press release
Strategy continues to purchase Bitcoin as worries of a price crash grow.
Bitcoin's price continued to slide on Tuesday as traders warned of a potential sharp correction early next year, even as major corporate holder Strategy moved forward with another nine-figure purchase.
Bitcoin was trading at $87,403 at the time of reporting, down nearly 3% over the past 24 hours, as investors weighed warnings of a possible “mega crash” toward the $40,000 level.
Try Our Recommended Crypto Exchanges
Sponsored
Disclosure
We sometimes use affiliate links in our content, when clicking on those we might receive a commission at no extra cost to you. By using this website you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy.
Bitunix
promotions
Receive up to $100,000 worth of exclusive gifts for newcomers upon registration.
Coins
151
Claim Offer
Bitget
promotions
Earn rewards worth up to 5,000 USDT on your first deposit
Coins
88
Claim Offer
WEEX
promotions
Enjoy up to 30,000 USDT Bonus when you sign up and complete tasks.
Coins
207
Claim Offer
Fears of a deeper pullback intensified after a widely shared post on X compared Bitcoin's current chart structure to the 2021 market peak.
“Bitcoin is now showing the same setup we saw in 2021,” one trader wrote, alongside technical charts that circulated broadly among market participants.
“If the four-year cycle is still intact, BTC will drop to $40,000 in January. Most people aren't ready for what's coming in a few weeks.”
The comments reflect a persistent belief among some traders that Bitcoin continues to follow a four-year boom-and-bust cycle linked to halving events.
Historically, these halvings have preceded major price peaks followed by steep drawdowns.
“History might be repeating itself again,” another X user replied.
Others, however, argue that the four-year cycle may no longer apply, citing increased institutional involvement in the market.
“The situation is completely different now,” one X user wrote.
Adding: “ETFs have appeared, large banks and investors have entered this market. They can influence prices, but do you seriously believe they would allow a 70% or 80% decline?”
Several prominent industry figures have also pushed back against the idea that Bitcoin is headed for a cycle-driven crash.
Speaking at Binance Blockchain Week, Fundstrat's Tom Lee said Bitcoin's four-year cycle is no longer a reliable framework for understanding the market.
“We're going to shatter the Bitcoin four-year cycle,” Lee said.
He pointed to recent price action as evidence, noting that Bitcoin rose 36% earlier in the year before reversing sharply.
“Crypto was up 36% until Oct. 10, and then it's gone straight down,” Lee said.
According to Lee, the decline has been driven less by halving dynamics and more by structural factors, particularly market deleveraging.
He compared the current environment to the period following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.
Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood has also argued that the four-year cycle is being disrupted.
🇺🇸 CATHIE WOOD JUST SAID LIVE ON FOX THAT #BITCOIN 4 YEAR CYCLE IS NOW DEAD AND IT'S ABOUT TO GO PARABOLIC
HERE WE GO 🚀 pic.twitter.com/06Oaz8rR2g
— Vivek Sen (@Vivek4real_) December 9, 2025
“We think that the move by institutions into this new asset class is going to prevent much more of a decline,” she said.
Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao echoed the view at Bitcoin MENA, saying external forces may now be “strong enough to offset the four-year cycle.”
Despite the sell-off and warnings of a major correction, Strategy disclosed another significant Bitcoin purchase on Monday.
The company, led by Michael Saylor, said it acquired 1,229 Bitcoin for approximately $108.8 million at an average price of $88,568 per coin.
Strategy has acquired 1,229 BTC for ~$108.8 million at ~$88,568 per bitcoin and has achieved BTC Yield of 23.2% YTD 2025. As of 12/28/2025, we hodl 672,497 $BTC acquired for ~$50.44 billion at ~$74,997 per bitcoin. $MSTR $STRC $STRK $STRF $STRD $STRE https://t.co/5VvOgBYwhk
— Michael Saylor (@saylor) December 29, 2025
As of Dec. 28, 2025, Strategy holds 672,497 Bitcoins, acquired for roughly $50.44 billion at an average price of $74,997 per bitcoin.
The move signals continued confidence in Bitcoin's long-term value, even as near-term volatility increases and bearish sentiment weighs on the market.
Analysts say technical indicators suggest Bitcoin may still have upside potential, even as downside risks remain.
Victor Olanweraju, a crypto analyst at CCN, said the Pi Cycle Top indicator — a tool used to identify long-term market peaks — does not currently signal an imminent top.
At the time of analysis, the indicator's 350-day moving average stood near $204,975, while the 111-day moving average was around $104,350.
The wide gap between the two lines suggests Bitcoin is not yet approaching conditions that have historically coincided with major cycle peaks.
“While the Pi Cycle Top is not a timing tool and does not predict exact price levels, the current separation implies that Bitcoin's longer-term upside potential may not yet be fully exhausted,” Olanweraju said.
However, he cautioned that if selling pressure intensifies, Bitcoin could struggle to break above the $104,000 level, leaving prices vulnerable to further consolidation or declines.
Top Picks for Bitcoin
Best Exchanges for Bitcoin
Get A Great Offer When You Join These Exchanges
Buy Bitcoin Fast & Easy
How To Buy Bitcoin With a Credit Card Now
Best Online Casinos for Bitcoin
See Our Picks for the Best Crypto Gambling Sites
Institutions are increasingly using proven bitcoin BTC$88,266.32 options techniques on alternative cryptocurrencies to protect against price swings and earn extra returns, STS Digital, a principal trader specializing in digital assets derivatives, told CoinDesk.
"Our client base includes token projects and foundations, investors with large holdings, and asset management firms managing exposure ahead of liquidity events," Maxime Seiler, co-founder and CEO of STS Digital, said. "Increasingly, we're also seeing these participants apply option strategies that were historically used in Bitcoin to the altcoin space."
Options are derivative contracts that give the purchaser the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price at a later date. A call option represents a bullish bet, giving the purchaser the right to buy the asset at a specified price at a later date. A put option represents a bearish bet, protecting the buyer from a price decline.
The option seller is essentially writing insurance against bullish/bearish moves in return for an upfront compensation, called a premium.
Institutions holding bitcoin tend to sell options, writing BTC calls at levels above the going market price, and collecting the premium. This premium represents additional income on top of their spot BTC holdings.
This so-called covered call strategy has been one of the most popular institutional plays since the early 2020 crash. Institutions have also pursued other methods, such as writing bitcoin puts to boost income during price rallies, buying puts as downside hedges, and buying call options to participate in the bull run.
Now, institutions and other entities, such as project founders holding large amounts of altcoins, foundations, venture capital firms and private players, are using the same playbook in other cryptocurrencies, or altcoins.
The Oct. 10 crash, which saw exchanges forcefully close even profit-making bets (auto-deleveraging) to socialize losses, further stressed the need for risk management in altcoins.
"Beyond covered calls, institutions are actively using put selling for yield, downside hedging, and call buying to gain upside with defined risk. These strategies are increasingly being applied to altcoins as investors look to manage exposure without taking forced liquidations risk (ADL) that drove the October 10 crash," Seiler said.
"It's a clear example of why options are a more robust way to express risk in volatile markets," he added.
STS Digital is a regulated digital asset trading firm that acts as a principal dealer for institutional investors, providing liquidity and quoting options, spot trades and structured products across over 400 cryptocurrencies.
The breadth of its offering lets the firm cater to rising demand for altcoin options, while centralized platforms like Deribit focus on derivatives for major ones like ETH, XRP and SOL.
The firm settles billions in altcoin options volume annually through bilateral trades. All transactions occur directly between STS and clients, with STS taking the other side of the deal to provide liquidity and instant execution.
Seiler expects continued growth of options tied to bitcoin and other tokens over the coming years.
"Looking ahead, we see strong and sustained institutional adoption continuing to drive demand for options as the preferred way to manage digital asset exposure. With adoption having accelerated relentlessly over the past year, periods of consolidation and low volatility are increasingly viewed as attractive entry points ahead of the next wave of market catalysts," he said.
More For You
State of the Blockchain 2025
L1 tokens broadly underperformed in 2025 despite a backdrop of regulatory and institutional wins. Explore the key trends defining ten major blockchains below.
What to know:
2025 was defined by a stark divergence: structural progress collided with stagnant price action. Institutional milestones were reached and TVL increased across most major ecosystems, yet the majority of large-cap Layer-1 tokens finished the year with negative or flat returns.
This report analyzes the structural decoupling between network usage and token performance. We examine 10 major blockchain ecosystems, exploring protocol versus application revenues, key ecosystem narratives, mechanics driving institutional adoption, and the trends to watch as we head into 2026.
More For You
Bitcoin rises above $89,000, showing rare gain in U.S. trading
Open interest data suggests the advance is likely short-covering, rather than fresh longs entering the market.
What to know:
Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. Bullish owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets and CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish equity-based compensation.
CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.
The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 2711.69, up 0.9% (+25.48) since 4 p.m. ET on Monday.
Sixteen of 20 assets are trading higher.
Leaders: APT (+3.1%) and ETH (+1.8%). Laggards: XLM (-1.0%) and ICP (-1.0%).
The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.
More For You
State of the Blockchain 2025
L1 tokens broadly underperformed in 2025 despite a backdrop of regulatory and institutional wins. Explore the key trends defining ten major blockchains below.
What to know:
2025 was defined by a stark divergence: structural progress collided with stagnant price action. Institutional milestones were reached and TVL increased across most major ecosystems, yet the majority of large-cap Layer-1 tokens finished the year with negative or flat returns.
This report analyzes the structural decoupling between network usage and token performance. We examine 10 major blockchain ecosystems, exploring protocol versus application revenues, key ecosystem narratives, mechanics driving institutional adoption, and the trends to watch as we head into 2026.
More For You
CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: Polkadot (DOT) Rises 6% Over Weekend
Cardano (ADA) was also a top performer, gaining 4.2% from Friday.
Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. Bullish owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets and CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish equity-based compensation.
CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.
The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 2711.69, up 0.9% (+25.48) since 4 p.m. ET on Monday.
Sixteen of 20 assets are trading higher.
Leaders: APT (+3.1%) and ETH (+1.8%). Laggards: XLM (-1.0%) and ICP (-1.0%).
The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.
More For You
State of the Blockchain 2025
L1 tokens broadly underperformed in 2025 despite a backdrop of regulatory and institutional wins. Explore the key trends defining ten major blockchains below.
What to know:
2025 was defined by a stark divergence: structural progress collided with stagnant price action. Institutional milestones were reached and TVL increased across most major ecosystems, yet the majority of large-cap Layer-1 tokens finished the year with negative or flat returns.
This report analyzes the structural decoupling between network usage and token performance. We examine 10 major blockchain ecosystems, exploring protocol versus application revenues, key ecosystem narratives, mechanics driving institutional adoption, and the trends to watch as we head into 2026.
More For You
CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: Polkadot (DOT) Rises 6% Over Weekend
Cardano (ADA) was also a top performer, gaining 4.2% from Friday.
Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. Bullish owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets and CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish equity-based compensation.
Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Advertisement
Scientific Reports
, Article number: (2025)
Cite this article
We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its
findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note
there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.
Topaz is frequently subjected to heat treatment and irradiation to enhance colour, particularly to produce the market's most preferred salmon pink and sky blue varieties. However, an insufficient description of these processes can lead to fraudulent practices. This experimental and forensic mineralogical and gemmological study investigates eighteen heat-treated topaz samples from Ouro Preto (OP) and Caraí (CA), Brazil, using electron microanalysis, LA-ICP-MS, Raman, and optical absorption spectroscopy before and after heat treatment at various temperatures. The most significant optical changes were observed at 300 °C when the CA sample lost its colour from sky blue to colourless, while OP samples retained their imperial orange colour up to 500 °C before transitioning to pink at 700 °C. Chemically, the CA samples are rich in F (> 1.8 apfu) with low trace element concentration (Fe ≤ 125 ppm, Ge ≤ 153 ppm), falling to the pegmatite and greisen field of topaz origin. The OP samples contain less F (1.4–1.5 apfu) but higher trace element contents (Cr up to 204 ppm, Ti up to 115 ppm, Fe, Mn, Ge < 64 ppm), consistent with a hydrothermal origin. Raman spectra show no significant inter-sample variation, but their luminescence spectra feature strong differences: Mn acts as the luminophore in CA samples, while Cr3+ centers dominate in OP samples. The optical absorption spectra reveal distinct thermal responses. The OP samples heated to temperatures ≥ 500 °C developed new absorption bands at 530–532 nm, consequently resulting in a visible pink colour. On the other hand, the CA spectra exhibit strong absorption in the NIR region; the unheated sample has a broad absorption band at 634 nm, responsible for the sky-blue colour of topaz. Heating ≥ 300 °C eliminates the transmission window in the blue to cyan regions, removing blue colouration. These thermal-optical signatures serve as indicators of heat treatment in topaz declared from these two localities. Moreover, the combination of spectroscopic methods, which we successfully applied in recognizing heat treatment on the studied samples, provides a systematic approach for identifying treatment in topaz and potentially other gemstones.
The dataset presented in the study is available on request from the corresponding author during submission or after publication.
Pichavant, M. & Manning, D. Petrogenesis of tourmaline granites and Topaz granites; the contribution of experimental data. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 35, 31–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9201(84)90032-3 (1984).
Google Scholar
Taylor, R. P. Petrological and geochemical characteristics of the pleasant ridge zinnwaldite-topaz granite, Southern new Brunswick, and comparisons with other topaz-bearing felsic rocks. Can. Mineral. 30, 895–921 (1992).
Google Scholar
Taylor, R. P. & Fallick, A. E. The evolution of fluorine rich felsic magmas: source dichotomy, magmatic convergence and the origins of Topaz granite. Terra Nova. 9, 105–108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3121.1997.00124.x (1997).
Google Scholar
Zhang, R. Y., Liou, J. G. & Shu, J. F. Hydroxyl-rich Topaz in high-pressure and ultrahigh-pressure kyanite quartzites, with retrograde woodhouseite, from the Sulu terrane, Eastern China. Am. Mineral. 87, 445–453. https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2002-0408 (2002).
Google Scholar
Alberico, A., Ferrando, S., Ivaldi, G. & Ferraris, G. X-ray single-crystal structure refinement of an OH-rich Topaz from Sulu UHP terrane (Eastern China) – Structural foundation of the correlation between cell parameters and fluorine content. Eur. J. Mineral. 15, 875–881. https://doi.org/10.1127/0935-1221/2003/0015-0875 (2003).
Google Scholar
Holland, T. J. B., Redfern, S. A. T. & Pawley, A. R. Volume behavior of hydrous minerals at high pressure and temperature; II, compressibilities of lawsonite, zoisite, clinozoisite, and epidote. Am. Mineral. 81, 341–348. https://doi.org/10.2138/am-1996-3-408 (1996).
Google Scholar
Domanik, K. J. & Holloway, J. R. The stability and composition of phengitic Muscovite and associated phases from 5.5 to 11 gpa: implications for deeply subducted sediments. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 60, 4133–4150. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7037(96)00241-4 (1996).
Google Scholar
Schmidt, M. W., Finger, L. W., Angel, R. J. & Dinnebier, R. E. Synthesis, crystal structure, and phase relations of AlSiO3OH, a high-pressure hydrous phase. Am. Mineral. 83, 881–888. https://doi.org/10.2138/am-1998-7-820 (1998).
Google Scholar
Alston, N. A. & West, J. The structure of topaz [Al(F,OH)]2SiO4. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. Ser. A Contain. Pap. Math. Phys. Character 121, 358–367 (1928).
Pauling, L. The crystal structure of Topaz. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 14, 603–606. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.14.8.603 (1928).
Google Scholar
Ladell, J. Redetermination of the crystal structure of topaz: a preliminary account. Norelco Rep. 12, 34–39 (1965).
Google Scholar
Ribbe, P. H. & Gibbs, G. V. The crystal structure of Topaz and its relation to physical properties. Am. Mineral. 56, 24–30 (1971).
Google Scholar
Zemann, J., Zobetz, E., Heger, G. & Völlenkle, H. Strukturbestimmung eines OH-reichen topases. Anzeiger Osterreichische Akademie Wissenschaften (Math.-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse) 116, 145–147 (1979).
Google Scholar
Parise, J. B., Cuff, C. & Moore, F. H. A neutron diffraction study of topaz: evidence for a lower symmetry. Mineral. Mag. 43, 943–944. https://doi.org/10.1180/minmag.1980.043.331.21 (1980).
Google Scholar
Rinne, F. X. I. I. I. Bemerkungen über optische Anomalien, Insbesondere des Brasilianer Topas. Z. Für Kristallogr.-Crystal. Mater. 63, 236–246 (1926).
Google Scholar
Isetti, G. & Penco, A. M. La determinazione Della posizione dell'idrogeno nell'ossidril-topazio mediante La spettrofotometria infrarossa in Luce Polarizzata. Period Mineral. 36, 995–1010 (1967).
Google Scholar
Ribbe, P. H. & Rosenberg, P. E. Optical and X-ray determinative methods for fluorine in Topaz. Am. Mineral. 56, 1812–1821 (1971).
Google Scholar
Akizuki, M., Hampar, M. S. & Zussman, J. An explanation of anomalous optical properties of Topaz. Mineral. Mag. 43, 237–241. https://doi.org/10.1180/minmag.1979.043.326.05 (1979).
Google Scholar
Ribbe, P. H. Topaz. In Orthosilicates (ed. Ribbe, P. H.) 215–230 (Mineralogical Society of America, 1982).
Barton, M. D. The thermodynamic properties of Topaz solid solutions and some petrologic applications. Am. Mineral. 67, 956–974 (1982).
Google Scholar
Barton, M. D., Haselton, H. T., Hemingway, B. S., Kleppa, O. J. & Robie, R. A. The thermodynamic properties of fluor-topaz. Am. Mineral. 67, 350–355 (1982).
Google Scholar
Belokoneva, E. L., Yu, Y. S. & Tsirel'son, V. G. Electron density distribution in Topaz Al2(SiO4)(F,OH)2 as a result of accurate X-ray diffraction study. Zh. Neorg. Khim. 38, 1346–1350 (1993).
Northrup, P. A., Leinenweber, K. & Parise, J. B. The location of H in the high-pressure synthetic Al2SiO4(OH)2 Topaz analogue. Am. Mineral. 79, 401–404 (1994).
Google Scholar
Wunder, B. et al. Synthesis, stability, and properties of Al2SiO4(OH)2: a fully hydrated analogue of Topaz. Am. Mineral. 78, 285–297 (1993).
Google Scholar
Wunder, B., Andrut, M. & Wirth, R. High-pressure synthesis and properties of OH-rich Topaz. Eur. J. Mineral. 11, 803–813. https://doi.org/10.1127/ejm/11/5/0803 (1999).
Google Scholar
Shinoda, K. & Aikawa, N. IR active orientation of OH bending mode in Topaz. Phys. Chem. Min. 24, 551–554. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002690050071 (1997).
Google Scholar
Bradbury, S. E. & Williams, Q. Contrasting bonding behavior of two hydroxyl-bearing metamorphic minerals under pressure: clinozoisite and Topaz. Am. Mineral. 88, 1460–1470. https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2003-1010 (2003).
Google Scholar
Komatsu, K., Kuribayashi, T. & Kudoh, Y. Effect of temperature and pressure on the crystal structure of topaz, Al₂SiO₄(OH,F)₂. J. Mineral. Petrol. Sci. 98, 167–180. https://doi.org/10.2465/jmps.98.167 (2003).
Google Scholar
Komatsu, K. et al. Pressure dependence of the OH-stretching mode in F-rich natural Topaz and Topaz-OH. Am. Mineral. 90, 266–270. https://doi.org/10.2138/am.2005.1652 (2005).
Google Scholar
Churakov, S. V. & Wunder, B. Ab-initio calculations of the proton location in topaz-OH, Al2SiO4(OH)2. Phys. Chem. Min. 31, 131–141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00269-003-0365-8 (2004).
Google Scholar
Gatta, G. D., Nestola, F., Bromiley, G. D. & Loose, A. New insight into crystal chemistry of topaz: a multi-methodological study. Am. Mineral. 91, 1839–1846. https://doi.org/10.2138/am.2006.2223 (2006).
Google Scholar
O'Donoghue, M. Synthetic, imitation, and Treated Gemstones (Butterworth-Heinemann, 1997).
Krambrock, K. et al. Color centers in topaz: comparison between neutron and gamma irradiation. Phys. Chem. Min. 34, 437–444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00269-007-0160-z (2007).
Google Scholar
Nassau, K. The effects of gamma rays on the color of beryl, smoky quartz, amethyst and Topaz. Lapid. J. 28, 20–40 (1974).
Google Scholar
Nassau, K. The origin of color in minerals. Am. Mineral. 63, 219–229 (1978).
Google Scholar
Nassau, K. Altering the color of Topaz. Gems Gemol. 21, 26–34 (1985).
Google Scholar
Precisvalle, N. et al. F/OH ratio in a rare fluorine-poor blue Topaz from Padre Paraíso (Minas Gerais, Brazil) to unravel Topaz's ambient of formation. Sci. Rep. 11, 2666. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82045-2 (2021).
Google Scholar
Gualtieri, A. F. & Venturelli, P. In situ study of the goethite-hematite phase transformation by real time synchrotron powder diffraction. Am. Mineral. 84, 895–904. https://doi.org/10.2138/am-1999-5-625 (1999).
Google Scholar
Goss, C. J. The kinetics and reaction mechanism of the goethite to hematite transformation. Mineral. Mag. 51, 437–451. https://doi.org/10.1180/minmag.1987.051.361.11 (1987).
Google Scholar
Cathelineau, M. et al. High pressure and temperatures during the early stages of tungsten deposition at Panasqueira revealed by fluid inclusions in Topaz. Ore Geol. Rev. 126, 103741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2020.103741 (2020).
Google Scholar
Tennakoon, S. et al. Single crystal elasticity of natural Topaz at high-temperatures. Sci. Rep. 8, 1372. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17856-3 (2018).
Google Scholar
Gauzzi, T., Graça, L. M., Lagoeiro, L. & de Mendes, C. The fingerprint of imperial Topaz from Ouro Preto region (Minas Gerais state, Brazil) based on cathodoluminescence properties and composition. Mineral. Mag. 82, 943–960. https://doi.org/10.1180/minmag.2017.081.078 (2018).
Google Scholar
Bassoo, R., Eames, D., Hardman, M. F., Befus, K. & Sun, Z. Topaz from Mason County, Texas. Gems Gemol. 59, 414–431. https://doi.org/10.5741/GEMS.59.4.414 (2023).
Google Scholar
Breiter, K., Gardenová, N. & Vaculovič, T. Topaz as an important host for ge in granites and Greisens. Mineral. Mag. 77, 403–417. https://doi.org/10.1180/minmag.2013.077.4.01 (2013).
Google Scholar
Agangi, A., Kamenetsky, V. S., Hofmann, A., Przybyłowicz, W. & Vladykin, N. V. Crystallisation of magmatic Topaz and implications for Nb-Ta-W mineralisation in F-rich silicic melts – The Ary-Bulak ongonite Massif. Lithos 202, 317–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2014.05.032 (2014).
Google Scholar
Skvortsova, V., Mironova-Ulmane, N., Trinkler, L. & Chikvaidze, G. Optical properties of natural Topaz. IOP Conf. Series: Mater. Sci. Eng. 49, 012051. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/49/1/012051 (2013).
Google Scholar
Beny, J. M. & Piriou, B. Vibrational spectra of single-crystal Topaz. Phys. Chem. Min. 15, 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00308777 (1987).
Google Scholar
Agangi, A., Gucsik, A., Nishido, H., Ninagawa, K. & Kamenetsky, V. S. Relation between cathodoluminescence and trace-element distribution of magmatic Topaz from the Ary-Bulak massif, Russia. Mineral. Mag. 80, 881–899. https://doi.org/10.1180/minmag.2016.080.023 (2016).
Google Scholar
Prasad, P. S. R. & Gowd, T. N. FTIR spectroscopic study of hydroxyl ions in natural Topaz. J. Geol. Soc. India. 61, 202–208 (2003).
Google Scholar
Watenphul, A. & Wunder, B. Temperature dependence of the OH-stretching frequencies in topaz-OH. Phys. Chem. Min. 37, 65–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00269-009-0310-6 (2010).
Google Scholar
Tarashchan, A. N. Lyuminestsentsiya Mineralov (Luminescence of Minerals) (Naukova Dumka, 1978).
Tarashchan, A. N., Taran, M. N., Rager, H. & Iwanuch, W. Luminescence spectroscopic study of Cr3+ in Brazilian topazes from Ouro Preto. Phys. Chem. Min. 32, 679–690. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00269-005-0042-1 (2006).
Google Scholar
Taran, M. N. et al. Optical spectroscopy study of variously colored gem-quality topazes from Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Phys. Chem. Min. 30, 546–555. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00269-003-0356-9 (2003).
Google Scholar
Gaft, M., Reisfeld, R. & Panczer, G. Modern Luminescence Spectroscopy of Minerals and Materials (Springer, 2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24765-6.
Gaft, M. et al. Time-resolved luminescence of Cr3+ in Topaz Al₂SiO₄(OH,F)₂. J. Lumin. 102–103, 349–356. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-2313(02)00532-X (2003).
Google Scholar
Bačík, P., Kardošová, P., Fridrichová, J., Rybnikova, O. & Škoda, R. Crystal-chemical effects of heat treatment on Cr- and V-bearing Ca-dominant green tourmalines (fluor-uvite, magnesio-lucchesiite). Period. Mineral. 93, 147–164. https://doi.org/10.13133/2239-1002/18524 (2024).
Google Scholar
Petrov, I., Schmetzer, K. & Eysel, H. H. Absorptionsspektren von Chrom in Topas. Neues Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie Monatshefte. 8, 365–372 (1977).
Google Scholar
Platonov, A. N., Taran, M. N. & Balitsky, V. S. Nature of Colors of Gems (in Russian) (Nedra, 1984).
Taran, M. N., Langer, K., Platonov, A. N. & Indutny, V. Optical absorption investigation of Cr3+ ion-bearing minerals in the temperature range 77–797 K. Phys. Chem. Min. 21, 360–372. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00203294 (1994).
Google Scholar
Chao, C. C. Charge-transfer luminescence of Cr3+ in magnesium oxide. J. Phys. Chem. Solids. 32, 2517–2528. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3697(71)80098-7 (1971).
Google Scholar
Zalyubovskii, I. I., Kulagin, N. A., Litvinov, L. A. & Podus, L. P. Change in the valency of chromium ions on γ-irradiation of Ruby. Sov Phys. Solid State. 23, 846–849 (1981).
Google Scholar
da Silva, D. N., Guedes, K. J., Pinheiro, M. V. B., Spaeth, J. M. & Krambrock, K. The microscopic structure of the oxygen–aluminium hole center in natural and neutron-irradiated blue Topaz. Phys. Chem. Min. 32, 436–444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00269-005-0018-1 (2005).
Google Scholar
Sviridov, D. T., Sviridova, R. K. & Smirnov, Y. F. Optical Spectra of Transition Metal Ions in Crystals (Nauka, 1976).
Han, T. P. J., Jaque, F., Arizmendi, L., Bermudez, V. & Suchocki, A. Optical bleaching of Cr3+ luminescence in near-stoichiometric LiNbO3 crystals codoped with MgO. J. Lumin. 108, 55–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlumin.2004.01.010 (2004).
Google Scholar
Chaves, A., Souza, G. P., Krambrock, K. & Caldas, L. V. E. Study of blue Topaz using different techniques of luminescence and EPR spectroscopy. Port J. Phys. 41, 37–42 (2010).
Google Scholar
Webster, R. Gems: Their Sources, Descriptions and Identification (revised by Anderson, B. W.) (Butterworths, 1984).
Download references
This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under contract APVV-18-0065 and the VEGA Agency project VEGA-1/0189/23.
This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under contract APVV-18-0065 and the VEGA Agency project VEGA-1/0189/23.
Department of Mineralogy, Petrology and Economic Geology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Ilkovičova 6, Bratislava, 842 15, Slovakia
Jana Fridrichová, Peter Bačík & Olena Rybnikova
Department of Geological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, Brno, 611 37, Czech Republic
Jan Cempírek & Radek Škoda
Gemmological Laboratory, Department of Geography Geoinformatics and Regional Development, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Informatics, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Nábrežie mládeže 91, Nitra, 94901, Slovakia
Ján Štubňa
Department of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Ilkovičova 6, Bratislava, 842 15, Slovakia
Daniel Furka & Samuel Furka
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, Brno, 625 00, Czech Republic
Tomáš Vaculovič
Institute of Laboratory Research on Geomaterials, Faculty of Natural Science, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mlynska dolina, Ilkovicova 6, Bratislava 4, 842 15, Slovakia
Tomáš Vaculovič
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
J.F. brought original idea, wrote the main manuscript, conducted experiments, worked on analytical methods; P.B. wrote the main manuscript, prepared figures and tables, conducted experiments, worked on analytical methods; O.R. wrote the main manuscript, worked on analytical methods; J.Š. microphotography; D.F. wrote the main manuscript, worked on analytical methods; S.F. wrote the main manuscript, worked on analytical methods; J.C. worked on analytical methods; R.Š. worked on analytical methods; T.V. worked on analytical methods. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
Correspondence to
Jana Fridrichová.
The authors declare no competing interests.
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Reprints and permissions
Fridrichová, J., Bačík, P., Rybnikova, O. et al. Forensic gemmological investigation based on optical and crystal-chemical changes in topaz from Ouro Preto and Caraí, Brazil, induced by heat treatment.
Sci Rep (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-33599-y
Download citation
Received: 27 August 2025
Accepted: 19 December 2025
Published: 30 December 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-33599-y
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative
Advertisement
Scientific Reports
(Sci Rep)
ISSN 2045-2322 (online)
© 2025 Springer Nature Limited
Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.
Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Advertisement
Elie Dolgin is a science journalist in Somerville, Massachusetts.
Search author on:
PubMed
Google Scholar
Search author on:
PubMed
Google Scholar
You have full access to this article via your institution.
Download the December 2025 long read podcast
Anecdotal stories suggesting that weight-loss drugs can help people shake long-standing addictions have been spreading fast in the past few years, through online forums, weight-loss clinics and news headlines. And now, clinical data are starting to back them up.
Over a dozen randomized clinical studies testing whether GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic can suppress addiction are now under way, and neuroscientists are working out how these weight-loss drugs act on brain regions that control craving, reward and motivation.
Scientists warn that the research is still in its early stages, but some researchers and physicians are excited, as no truly new class of addiction medicine has won approval from regulators in decades.
This is an audio version of our Feature: Will blockbuster obesity drugs revolutionize addiction treatment?
Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the Nature Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music or your favourite podcast app. An RSS feed for the Nature Podcast is available too.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-04147-5
How obesity drugs quiet ‘food noise' in the brain
Dozens of new obesity drugs are coming: these are the ones to watch
Obesity drugs aren't always forever. What happens when you quit?
Why do obesity drugs seem to treat so many other ailments?
Will blockbuster obesity drugs revolutionize addiction treatment?
News Feature 02 DEC 25
How obesity drugs quiet ‘food noise' in the brain
News 17 NOV 25
Three rising stars in ageing research
Nature Index 12 NOV 25
Lesion-remote astrocytes govern microglia-mediated white matter repair
Article 17 DEC 25
Astrocyte CCN1 stabilizes neural circuits in the adult brain
Article 17 DEC 25
How common is Alzheimer's? Blood-test study holds surprises
News 17 DEC 25
How common is Alzheimer's? Blood-test study holds surprises
News 17 DEC 25
Is your brain tired? Researchers are discovering the roots of mental fatigue
News Feature 10 DEC 25
Huge genetic study reveals hidden links between psychiatric conditions
News 10 DEC 25
Seeking scientists in pathobiology, immunology, vaccinology, epidemiology, drug discovery, focusing on microbial infections and inflammations.
Hangzhou, Zhejiang (CN)
Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake University
PIs & Postdocs for cancer, immunology, neuroscience, stem cell, cardiovascular and related fields
Haikou, Hainan (CN)
School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hainan Medical University
Shanghai (CN)
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Nankai University welcomes global outstanding talents to join for common development.
Tianjin, China
Nankai University
IOP is China's premier research institution in condensed matter physics and related fields.
Beijing (CN)
Institute of Physics (IOP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
You have full access to this article via your institution.
How obesity drugs quiet ‘food noise' in the brain
Dozens of new obesity drugs are coming: these are the ones to watch
Obesity drugs aren't always forever. What happens when you quit?
Why do obesity drugs seem to treat so many other ailments?
An essential round-up of science news, opinion and analysis, delivered to your inbox every weekday.
Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.
Nature
(Nature)
ISSN 1476-4687 (online)
ISSN 0028-0836 (print)
© 2025 Springer Nature Limited
Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Advertisement
Communications Biology
, Article number: (2025)
Cite this article
We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its
findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note
there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.
Single-cell proteomics by mass spectrometry (SCP) is an emerging technology in which hundreds or thousands of proteins can be directly quantified in typical human cells. As the proteins detected and quantified by SCP are heavily biased toward proteins of highest abundance, chromatin proteins are an attractive target for analysis. To this end, I applied SCP to the analysis of cancer cells treated with mocetinostat, a class specific histone deacetylase inhibitor. I find that 16 PTMs can be confidently identified and localized with high site specificity in single cells. Drug treatment reveals apparent heterogeneity in the abundance and distribution of the accumulated acetylation sites in histone tails. While other techniques exist to measure histone modifications in single human cells, the approach presented here allows simultaneous quantification of hundreds of proteins, allowing phenotypic insight as well as epigenetic inferences in each individual cell. All raw and processed data described in this study has been made publicly available through the ProteomeXchange/MASSIVE repository system as MSV000093434.
All Bruker. d files and Proteome Discoverer processed data have been deposited at the MASSIVE.UCSD.EDU public repository and are publicly available as accession MSV000093434. All source data for all figures are provided as a tabulated Excel spreadsheet as Supplementary Data 1. Supplementary Figs. 4–11 are provided in accordance with reviewer requests as manually annotated spectra for all histone acetylation sites reported in single human cells.
Garcia, B. A. et al. Chemical derivatization of histones for facilitated analysis by mass spectrometry. Nat. Protoc. 2, 933–938 (2007).
Google Scholar
King, J., Patel, M. & Chandrasekaran, S. Metabolism, HDACs, and HDAC inhibitors: a systems biology perspective. Metabolites 11, 792 (2021).
Boumber, Y., Younes, A. & Garcia-Manero, G. Mocetinostat (MGCD0103): a review of an isotype-specific histone deacetylase inhibitor. Expert Opin. Investig. Drugs 20, 823–829 (2011).
Google Scholar
Shapiro, E., Biezuner, T. & Linnarsson, S. Single-cell sequencing-based technologies will revolutionize whole-organism science. Nat. Rev. Genet. 14, 618–630 (2013).
Meers, M. P., Llagas, G., Janssens, D. H., Codomo, C. A. & Henikoff, S. Multifactorial profiling of epigenetic landscapes at single-cell resolution using MulTI-Tag. Nat. Biotechnol. 41, 708–716 (2023).
Google Scholar
Orsburn, B. C., Yuan, Y. & Bumpus, N. N. Insights into protein post-translational modification landscapes of individual human cells by trapped ion mobility time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Nat. Commun. 13, 7237 (2022).
Orsburn, B. C. Metabolomic, proteomic, and single-cell proteomic analysis of cancer cells treated with the KRASG12D inhibitor MRTX1133. J. Proteome Res. 22, 3703–3713 (2023).
Google Scholar
Specht, H. et al. Single-cell proteomic and transcriptomic analysis of macrophage heterogeneity using SCoPE2. Genome Biol. 22, 50 (2021).
Google Scholar
Wiśniewski, J. R., Hein, M. Y., Cox, J. & Mann, M. A ‘proteomic ruler' for protein copy number and concentration estimation without spike-in standards. Mol. Cell. Proteomics 13, 3497–3506 (2014).
Lanz, M. C., Fuentes Valenzuela, L., Elias, J. E. & Skotheim, J. M. Cell size contributes to single-cell proteome variation. J. Proteome Res. 23, 221–231 (2024).
Bache, N. et al. A novel LC system embeds analytes in pre-formed gradients for rapid, ultra-robust proteomics. Mol. Cell. Proteomics 17, 2284–2296 (2018).
Eberhard, C. D. & Orsburn, B. C. A. Multiplexed single-cell proteomic workflow applicable to drug treatment studies. in Proteomics for Drug Discovery (ed. Blonder, J.) 1–10 (Springer, 2024).
Gygi, J. P. et al. Web-based search tool for visualizing instrument performance using the triple knockout (TKO) proteome standard. J. Proteome Res. 18, 687–693 (2019).
Google Scholar
Paulo, J. A., O'Connell, J. D. & Gygi, S. P. A Triple Knockout (TKO) Proteomics Standard for Diagnosing Ion Interference in Isobaric Labeling Experiments. J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom. 27, 1674–1681 (2016).
Yates, J. R., Ruse, C. I. & Nakorchevsky, A. Proteomics by mass spectrometry: approaches, advances, and applications. Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng. 11, 49–79 (2009).
Bian, Y. et al. Robust, reproducible and quantitative analysis of thousands of proteomes by micro-flow LC–MS/MS. Nat. Commun. 11, 157 (2020).
Bruderer, R. et al. Extending the limits of quantitative proteome profiling with data-independent acquisition and application to acetaminophen-treated three-dimensional liver microtissues. Mol. Cell. Proteomics 14, 1400–1410 (2015)
Peterson, A. C., Russell, J. D., Bailey, D. J., Westphall, M. S. & Coon, J. J. Parallel reaction monitoring for high resolution and high mass accuracy quantitative, targeted proteomics. Mol. Cell. Proteomics 11, 1475–88 (2012).
Singh, C., Zampronio, C. G., Creese, A. J. & Cooper, H. J. Higher energy collision dissociation (HCD) product ion-triggered electron transfer dissociation (ETD) mass spectrometry for the analysis of N-linked glycoproteins. J. Proteome Res. 11, 4517–4525 (2012).
Zolg, D. P. et al. ProteomeTools: systematic characterization of 21 post-translational protein modifications by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) using synthetic peptides. Mol. Cell. Proteomics 17, 1850–1863 (2018).
Armony, G. et al. The GlycoPaSER prototype as a real-time N-glycopeptide identification tool based on the PaSER parallel computing platform. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 24, 7869 (2023).
Toghi Eshghi, S. et al. Classification of tandem mass spectra for identification of N- and O-linked glycopeptides. Sci. Rep. 6, 37189 (2016).
Jenkins, C. & Orsburn, B. C. Simple tool for rapidly assessing the quality of multiplexed single cell proteomics data. J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom. 34, 1709–1711 (2023).
Gallia, J., Lavrich, K., Tan-Wilson, A. & Madden, P. H. Filtering of MS/MS data for peptide identification. BMC Genomics 14, S2 (2013).
Google Scholar
Chang, Y.-C. et al. Decrypting lysine deacetylase inhibitor action and protein modifications by dose-resolved proteomics. Cell Rep. 43, 113612 (2024).
Gatto, L. et al. Initial recommendations for performing, benchmarking and reporting single-cell proteomics experiments. Nat. Methods 20, 375–386 (2023).
Google Scholar
Sui, J. et al. Plasma levels of S100A8/A9, histone/DNA complexes, and cell-free DNA predict adverse outcomes of immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. J. Thromb. Haemost. 19, 370–379 (2021).
Google Scholar
Orsburn, B. C. An integrated method for single cell proteomics with simultaneous measurements of intracellular drug concentration implicates new mechanisms for adaptation to KRASG12D inhibitors. bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.18.567669 (2023).
Mardis, E. R. ChIP-seq: welcome to the new frontier. Nat. Methods 4, 613–614 (2007).
Google Scholar
Rotem, A. et al. Single-cell ChIP-seq reveals cell subpopulations defined by chromatin state. Nat. Biotechnol. 33, 1165–1172 (2015).
Google Scholar
Dickson, B. M., Kupai, A., Vaughan, R. M. & Rothbart, S. B. Streamlined quantitative analysis of histone modification abundance at nucleosome-scale resolution with siQ-ChIP version 2.0. Sci. Rep. 13, 7508 (2023).
Google Scholar
Berendzen, K. W., Grefen, C., Sakamoto, T. & Slane, D. Analysis of chromatin accessibility, histone modifications, and transcriptional states in specific cell types using flow cytometry. In Plant Gene Regulatory Networks: Methods and Protocols (eds. Kaufmann, K. & Vandepoele, K.) 57–73 (Springer US, New York, NY, 2023).
Cheung, P. et al. Single-cell epigenetics—chromatin modification atlas unveiled by mass cytometry. Clin. Immunol. 196, 40–48 (2018).
Google Scholar
Millán-Zambrano, G., Burton, A., Bannister, A. J. & Schneider, R. Histone post-translational modifications — cause and consequence of genome function. Nat. Rev. Genet. 23, 563–580 (2022).
Google Scholar
Ctortecka, C. & Mechtler, K. The rise of single-cell proteomics. Anal. Sci. Adv. 2, 240–254 (2021).
Schoof, E. M. et al. Quantitative single-cell proteomics as a tool to characterize cellular hierarchies. Nat. Commun. 12, 3341 (2021).
Google Scholar
Doerr, A. DIA mass spectrometry. Nat. Methods https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.3234 (2014).
Szyrwiel, L., Sinn, L., Ralser, M. & Demichev, V. Slice-PASEF: fragmenting all ions for maximum sensitivity in proteomics. bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.10.31.514544 (2022).
Kreimer, S. et al. High-throughput single-cell proteomic analysis of organ-derived heterogeneous cell populations by nanoflow dual-trap single-column liquid chromatography. Anal. Chem. 95, 9145–9150 (2023).
Google Scholar
Truong, T. et al. Data-dependent acquisition with precursor coisolation improves proteome coverage and measurement throughput for label-free single-cell proteomics**. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 62, e202303415 (2023).
Google Scholar
Orsburn, B. C. Proteome discoverer—a community enhanced data processing suite for protein informatics. Proteomes 9, 15 (2021).
Download references
I would like to thank Hao Zhang of the JHU Public Health sorting core for invaluable assistance in this and every other single-cell proteomics study performed in my lab. In addition, a big thank you to Ahmed Warshanna and Tarsh Shah for their help in preparing these cells. I would also like to thank Cynthia Wohlberger, Amanda Smythers, and Ben Garcia for answering naïve questions about histones and their analysis. Funding for this study was provided by the National Institutes of Health through the National Institute on Aging award R01AG064908 and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine startup funds.
The University of Pittsburgh, Organ Pathobiology and Therapeutics Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Benjamin C. Orsburn
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Conceptualization, methodology, investigation, funding acquisition, writing—original draft, writing—review & editing: B.C.O.
Correspondence to
Benjamin C. Orsburn.
The authors declare no competing interests.
Communications Biology thanks Edward Emmott and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary Handling Editors: Mark Collins and Tobias Goris. A peer review file is available.
Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Reprints and permissions
Orsburn, B.C. Simultaneous single-cell proteomics and epigenetic analysis of histone deacetylase inhibition in human cells.
Commun Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-09452-3
Download citation
Received: 14 February 2024
Accepted: 18 December 2025
Published: 30 December 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-09452-3
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative
Advertisement
Communications Biology
(Commun Biol)
ISSN 2399-3642 (online)
© 2025 Springer Nature Limited
Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Translational Research newsletter — top stories in biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma.
Reading time 2 minutes
Meta did it again. The social media giant just bought another AI startup. This time, it's the Singapore-based AI agent company Manus.
Meta is buying the AI company in a deal worth more than $2 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. It's the latest move in Meta's increasingly aggressive push into AI. The company already has plans to invest billions into AI infrastructure. Additionally, Meta has snapped up or invested in AI startups like Scale AI and Limitless, a sign that its in-house efforts may not be moving fast enough.
However, there's one hitch with today's deal. Manus's roots in China could raise eyebrows in Washington, as the U.S. and China remain locked in an AI arms race.
Manus made a splash when it debuted this spring as a general AI agent that could handle a wide range of tasks, including deep research, vacation planning, coding, and stock analysis.
Earlier this month, Manus announced that it had reached $100 million in annual recurring revenue just eight months after launching.
“Joining Meta allows us to build on a stronger, more sustainable foundation without changing how Manus works or how decisions are made,” Manus CEO Xiao Hong said in a statement.
Meta said in its own announcement that it plans to continue operating Manus as its own service, while also integrating it into its own products.
The startup was founded by its parent company, Butterfly Effect, which previously held offices in Beijing and Wuhan. Shortly after launching Manus, the company moved its headquarters to Singapore.
Manus's Chinese ties have already drawn scrutiny. Earlier this year, Silicon Valley venture capital firm Benchmark faced backlash from U.S. lawmakers after investing in Manus.
“Who thinks it is a good idea for American investors to subsidize our biggest adversary in AI, only to have the CCP use that technology to challenge us economically and militarily? Not me,” Sen. John Cornyn wrote in a post on X at the time.
In what appears to be an effort to get ahead of similar accusations, Meta said that after the deal closes, Manus will be required to sever all remaining ties with China.
In a statement to Gizmodo, a Meta spokesperson said:
Meta's acquisition of Manus AI will enable us to provide the most advanced technology to our users with safeguards in place to eliminate areas of potential risk. There will be no continuing Chinese ownership interests in Manus AI following the transaction, and Manus AI will discontinue its services and operations in China.
According to Nikkei Asia, Manus has laid off most of its Chinese employees and now has 105 staffers based in Singapore, Tokyo, and San Francisco.
Explore more on these topics
Share this story
Subscribe and interact with our community, get up to date with our customised Newsletters and much more.
Gadgets gifts are the best gifts to get friends and family.
Many are dropping their skepticism. Bernie Sanders isn't.
Fake images, videos, and audio files crossed the “indistinguishable threshold" this year. Where do we go from here?
Delayed AI infrastructure projects, rising debt, and weaker-than-expected earnings are reviving dot-com-era fears on Wall Street.
We were asked not to write this review for the InnAIO T10, so naturally, we wrote this review.
Will anything online be real next year?
©2025 GIZMODO USA LLC.
All rights reserved.
What happens here matters everywhere
by Todd Bishop on Dec 30, 2025 at 8:32 amDecember 30, 2025 at 8:35 am
[Editor's Note: Agents of Transformation is an independent GeekWire series and 2026 event, underwritten by Accenture, exploring the people, companies, and ideas behind the rise of AI agents.]
It was “like bringing a Porsche into a world of Model Ts.”
That's what Microsoft said in its 1990 annual report about the shift from MS-DOS to Windows. But the bigger breakthrough for the company wasn't the graphical interface. It was Windows' ability to serve as a platform for applications made by others.
Windows 3.0, released that year, made third-party software easier to find and launch, and offered developers a clear bargain: build to Microsoft's specs, and your software would become a first-class citizen on the computers that were arriving “on every desk and in every home,” as the company's original mission statement put it.
Thirty-five years later, AI feels less like a car and more like a rocket ship. But Microsoft is hoping that Windows can once again serve as the platform where it all takes off.
A new framework called Agent Launchers, introduced earlier this month as a preview in the latest Windows Insider build, lets developers register agents directly with the operating system. They can describe an agent through what's known as a manifest, which then lets the agent show up in the Windows taskbar, inside Microsoft Copilot, and across other apps.
The long-term promise for Windows users is autonomous assistants that operate on their behalf, directly on their machines. Beyond routine tasks like assembling a PDF or organizing files, agents could monitor email and calendars to resolve scheduling conflicts, or scan documents across multiple apps to pull together a briefing for an upcoming meeting.
Achieving that level of autonomy requires more than just a clever interface. It will take deep, persistent memory that operates more like the human brain.
“We are now entering a phase where we build rich scaffolds that orchestrate multiple models and agents; account for memory and entitlements; enable rich and safe tools use,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote in a blog post this week looking ahead to 2026. “This is the engineering sophistication we must continue to build to get value out of AI in the real world.”
Elements of this are already emerging elsewhere.
But Microsoft's Windows team is betting that agents tightly linked to the operating system will win out over ones that merely run on top of it, just as a new class of Windows apps replaced a patchwork of DOS programs in the early days of the graphical operating system.
Microsoft 365 Copilot is using the Agent Launchers framework for first-party agents like Analyst, which helps users dig into data, and Researcher, which builds detailed reports. Software developers will be able to register their own agents when an app is installed, or on the fly based on things like whether a user is signed in or paying for a subscription.
The parallels to the past only go so far. Traditional PC applications ran in their own windows, worked with their own files, and didn't touch the rest of the system for the most part.
“Agents are going to need to be able to scratchpad their work,” Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott said recently on the South Park Commons Minus 1 podcast, explaining that agents will need to retain a history of user interactions and tap into the necessary context to solve problems.
Agents are meant to maintain this context across apps, ask follow-up questions, and take actions on a user's behalf. That requires a different level of trust than Windows has ever had to manage, which is already raising difficult questions for the company.
Microsoft acknowledges that agents introduce unique security risks. In a support document, the company warned that malicious content embedded in files or interface elements could override an agent's instructions — potentially leading to stolen data or malware installation.
To address this, Microsoft says it has built a security framework that runs agents in their own contained workspace, with a dedicated user account that has limited access to user folders. The idea is to create a boundary between the agent and what the rest of the system can access.
The agentic features are off by default, and Microsoft is advising users to “understand the security implications of enabling an agent on your computer” before turning them on.
Even if Microsoft executes perfectly, the landscape is different now. In the early 1990s, Windows became dominant because developers flocked to the platform, which attracted more users, which attracted more developers. It was a virtuous cycle, and Microsoft was at the heart of it.
But Windows isn't the center of the computing world anymore. Smartphones, browsers, and cloud platforms have fragmented the landscape in ways that didn't exist back then. Microsoft missed the mobile era almost entirely, and the PC is now one screen among many.
In the enterprise, Microsoft has better footing. Azure, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and a growing ecosystem of business-focused agents give the company a strong position, competing against Google, Amazon, OpenAI and others for cloud-based AI agents and services.
Agent Launchers is a different bet — an attempt to make Windows the home for agents that serve individual users on their own machines. That's a harder sell when the PC is competing with phones, browsers, and cloud apps for people's attention. Microsoft can build the platform, but it can't guarantee that developers will show up the way they did 35 years ago.
And unlike in the 1990s, Microsoft can't count on users to embrace what it's building. There's a growing sentiment that these AI capabilities are being pushed into Windows not because users want them, but because Microsoft needs to justify its massive AI investments.
In October, for example, Microsoft announced new features including “Hey Copilot” voice activation, a redesigned taskbar with Copilot built in, and the expansion of “Copilot Actions” agentic capabilities beyond the browser to the PC itself.
“They're thinking about revenue first and foremost,” longtime tech journalist and Microsoft observer Ed Bott said on the GeekWire Podcast at the time. The more users rely on these AI features, he explained, the easier it becomes for the company to upsell them on premium services.
There is a business reality driving all of this. In Microsoft's most recent fiscal year, Windows and Devices generated $17.3 billion in revenue — essentially flat for the past three years.
That's less than Gaming ($23.5 billion) and LinkedIn ($17.8 billion), and a fraction of the $98 billion in revenue from Azure and cloud services or the nearly $88 billion from Microsoft 365 commercial.
By comparison, in fiscal 1995, five years after the launch of Windows 3.0, Microsoft's platforms group (which included MS-DOS and Windows) represented about 40% of its total revenue of $5.9 billion. Windows was the growth engine for the company.
Windows is unlikely to play that kind of outsized role again. But AI integration is the company's best bet to return the OS to growth. Whether that ultimately looks like a restored Porsche or a rocket ship on the launchpad probably doesn't matter as much as keeping it out of the junkyard.
Accenture proudly supports GeekWire in its latest series highlighting how companies are using agentic AI to reinvent.
We're driving change across every industry with technology and human ingenuity. By embracing agentic architecture, organizations can unleash innovation, optimize their operations, enhance decision-making and foster collaboration between humans and AI.
Contact us to learn more about how AI agents can help transform your organization.
Click for more about underwritten and sponsored content on GeekWire.
AI is coming for your shopping cart: How agentic commerce could disrupt online retail
Real revenue, actual value, and a little froth: Read AI CEO David Shim on the emerging AI economy
Inside Microsoft's new ‘Experience Center One': What we learned at the edge of the AI frontier
Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline
Have a scoop that you'd like GeekWire to cover? Let us know.
Microsoft adds Anthropic's Claude AI models to 365 Copilot as OpenAI relationship evolves
Microsoft and NASA create AI agents that can help scientists anticipate floods and other water woes
Microsoft unveils AI agents for sales, striking back at Salesforce
Microsoft unveils new autonomous AI agents in advance of competing Salesforce rollout
Catch every headline in your inbox
What happens here matters everywhere
by Lisa Stiffler on Dec 30, 2025 at 7:16 amDecember 30, 2025 at 7:17 am
Xhuliano Brace quickly realized that venture capitalists weren't going to write big checks for two under-30 founders pursuing what he describes as a “contrarian” approach to using AI to design new drugs.
So he's making the bet himself.
After four years of working on AI projects at Amazon, Brace left the tech giant to self-fund his vision. Using personal savings and proceeds from online trading, he invested a six-figure sum into Rhizome Research, a Seattle-based startup developing made-to-order, small drug-like molecules.
After launching last year, the five-employee startup recently came out of stealth. In addition to CEO Brace, who has degrees in math, computer science and economics from the University at Albany, Rhizome's leadership includes:
Rather than working from existing molecule-building tools, Rhizome has built its own fine-tuned foundational model, named r1. The technology is a “graph neural network” and was trained on more than 800 million small drug-like molecules.
The approach is different from the popular RoseTTAFold model created by the University of Washington's Institute for Protein Design, which at its core is based on the amino acids that build proteins.
The r1 model focuses on the atoms and bonds that make up a molecule and its topography. That's where the graph idea comes in — the atoms are analogous to the points in a graph while the bonds are akin to its connecting lines.
The team aims to provide fragment-based drug discovery, creating small molecules optimized to bind to customer-specified targets. They will ensure each drug candidate can be synthesized efficiently in the lab and is suitable for patent protection.
Rhizome last week released ADAMS, an open-source, automated AI tool that uses natural language instructions for simulating the binding between biological molecules. It also plans to share MolSim, which is a physics-based simulation that uses advanced, free-energy calculations that predict how strongly a small molecule will bind to its target. MolSim won't be open source.
Rhizome recently established partnerships with wet labs that can validate the real-world performance of the potential drugs it designs, and it's exploring customer relationships.
Brace is operating out of Foundations, the Seattle-based startup community launched by entrepreneur and investor Aviel Ginzburg. Rhizome's other employees are working remotely, but the plan is to bring folks to Washington.
“I really want to make Seattle kind of a hub for small molecule drug discovery,” Brace said.
He pointed to the Allen Institute, the Institute for Protein Design and other Seattle-area organizations as key players. The region is also home to a slate of related drug design startups that include Pauling.AI, Synthesize Bio and Xaira Therapeutics, which is based in San Francisco and has labs in Seattle.
Brace said he's energized by the opportunity to work on a project that could have a meaningful impact on humanity and has no regrets in ponying up his own money for the effort. He's bullish in general on the use of AI for designing molecules, whether for health care or fields such as materials science and advanced manufacturing.
“This is the most interesting problem space to be in,” Brace said.
Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline
Have a scoop that you'd like GeekWire to cover? Let us know.
‘Scientist-as-a-Service': Seattle startup Pauling.AI aims to shrink drug discovery timelines by months
Seattle biotech startup Curi Bio lands $10M to expand its R&D support for drug discovery
Tech Moves: GE healthcare exec joins startup; Nautilus taps new CMO; WRF investor steps down
Fred Hutch leaders raise $10M for new AI startup aiming to expedite drug discovery
Catch every headline in your inbox
Latest
AI
Amazon
Apps
Biotech & Health
Climate
Cloud Computing
Commerce
Crypto
Enterprise
EVs
Fintech
Fundraising
Gadgets
Gaming
Google
Government & Policy
Hardware
Instagram
Layoffs
Media & Entertainment
Meta
Microsoft
Privacy
Robotics
Security
Social
Space
Startups
TikTok
Transportation
Venture
Staff
Events
Startup Battlefield
StrictlyVC
Newsletters
Podcasts
Videos
Partner Content
TechCrunch Brand Studio
Crunchboard
Contact Us
Every year, TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield pitch contest draws thousands of applicants. We whittle those applications down to the top 200 contenders, and of them, the top 20 compete on the big stage to become the winner, taking home the Startup Battlefield Cup and a cash prize of $100,000. But the remaining 180 startups all blew us away as well in their respective categories and compete in their own pitch competition.
Here is the full list of the consumer/edtech Startup Battlefield 200 selectees, along with a note on why they landed in the competition.
What it does: Helps people find places that are accessible to those with limited mobility.
Why it's noteworthy: Its inclusive technology makes places more accessible to those who might otherwise struggle to find locations to service their needs.
What it does: Uses nanophotonic technology to create lenses that enhance visual clarity.
Why it's noteworthy: The company says that it has created breakthrough technology that helps people, especially those with conditions like headaches and dizziness, to withstand prolonged extended reality experiences.
What it does: Billight is a light-up pool table.
Why it's noteworthy: It calls itself the first light-up pool table and gaming system.
What it does: This Gen Z dating app is bringing back the way people used to meet — via mutual friends.
Why it's noteworthy: It's the latest spin on a dating app during this time of romance app fatigue, trying to prove that digital love is still alive.
What it does: A platform that helps startups scale by providing business advice on topics like how to build a pitch deck or finding a target market.
Why it's noteworthy: The platform is using AI to offer insight into some of the most pressing questions founders always have — how to run and scale a business. It's an easier solution than trying to source information from various places by oneself.
What it does: A platform where luxury hotels can give customers vouchers for services like spas and dining.
Why it's noteworthy: The platform lets hotels monetize day passes while also giving consumers a way to treat themselves to a singular luxury experience, without having to spend the big bucks and stay at the hotel.
What it does: A company that creates QR codes for events and establishments so people can leave feedback and reviews.
Why it's noteworthy: It's an interesting product that also lets people give feedback by video or voice.
What it does: A platform that lets users create AI videos.
Why it's noteworthy: It's part of the wave of AI video companies launching, but it offers an all-in-one service, offering prompt assistance and numerous reusable clips.
What it does: Perfingo is a financial planning tool.
Why it's noteworthy: It hails itself as the first of its kind in its home base of Singapore.
What it does: Pintours is a tour-booking platform.
Why it's noteworthy: It's an AI tour guide, letting consumers guide themselves through a tour and personalize the experience to ways they see fit.
What it does: Prickly Pear provides a voice AI companion for women that monitors brain health.
Why it's noteworthy: This isn't a chatbot, but an AI is trained to decipher changes in language and context that could indicate cognitive issues, especially those arising from hormonal changes that women in their 30s to 50s experience.
What it does: Rax is a peer-to-peer clothing rental platform.
Why it's noteworthy: The winner of the top consumer pitch, Rax says it is one of the first to launch in Canada and just announced an expansion to the U.S.
What it does: Helps people find friends within their professions over the internet.
Why it's noteworthy: Unlike a social network, this app helps people identify potential friends and includes options like video calls and chats to help friendships sprout.
What it does: Renude offers an AI-powered skin care recommendation engine for beauty brands.
Why it's noteworthy: Using computer vision AI and LLMs, this e-commerce tool allows skin care brands to offer personalized product recommendations to every customer.
What it does: Offers a brain-computer interface intended to be used for hands-free everyday interaction.
Why it's noteworthy: Snap interacts with game development platform Unity and is intended for a range of uses, from games to stress management.
What it does: Tasteit is an app that helps people meet to dine together.
Why it's noteworthy: Tasteit calls itself the anti-dating app, as its mission is to use food and dining out as a way for people to match and meet.
What it does: Tattd is an AI-powered app that helps people find and book tattoo artists.
Why it's noteworthy: The startup uses generative AI to create a mock-up of a design and then matches that to a tattoo artist whose work aligns with the mock-up.
What it does: Vista InnoTech has invented tech that creates better photos by eliminating the effects of accidental shaking or shaking environments.
Why it's noteworthy: It has created a tech called Micro Gimbal Stabilizer, small enough to be embedded in most mobile devices, that works well even in low-light conditions.
What it does: A parental control app that watches over and prevents kids from engaging in unsafe online behavior.
Why it's noteworthy: The app rewards kids' smart online choices and offers a distraction-blocking feature for study time.
What it does: ZoraSafe identifies and protects consumers against scams.
Why it's noteworthy: Aimed at families and seniors, ZoraSafe scans links and messages to prevent scams, including through deepfakes and social engineering. It also offers features like AI coaching.
What it does: AI-powered training to improve an employee's workplace communications.
Why it's noteworthy: This professional development app was designed with diversity, equity, and inclusion in mind and uses AI to help people level up their word choices, message structure, and even their nonverbal language.
What it does: CampusAI offers a flexible platform to train people on AI.
Why it's noteworthy: The platform is geared to help everyday people who want to use AI to improve their work, be it in sales, HR, legal, or other areas.
What it does: The NeuroLingo headset helps people learn a foreign language.
Why it's noteworthy: This headset creates conditions that assist with language learning along with a synchronized app.
What it does: A story-time app for parents and kids.
Why it's noteworthy: The app follows along with the words as they are being read aloud, automatically adding sounds and music at certain text sections, making stories more interactive.
What it does: Super Teacher offers an AI-powered tutor for elementary schools.
Why it's noteworthy: This AI tutor offers individualized instructions and assessments for use in classrooms, with 24/7 access for students at home.
What it does: Zezedu is an AI-powered platform, developed in South Korea, that offers personalized math learning.
Why it's noteworthy: A math teaching tool for schools and academies that tracks assignments, grading, and feedback with personalized curriculum.
Topics
Venture Editor
Senior Reporter, Venture
Dominic-Madori Davis is a senior venture capital and startup reporter at TechCrunch. She is based in New York City.
You can contact or verify outreach from Dominic by emailing dominic.davis@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at +1 646 831-7565 on Signal.
Plan ahead for the 2026 StrictlyVC events. Hear straight-from-the-source candid insights in on-stage fireside sessions and meet the builders and backers shaping the industry. Join the waitlist to get first access to the lowest-priced tickets and important updates.
Meta just bought Manus, an AI startup everyone has been talking about
You've been targeted by government spyware. Now what?
Sauron, the high-end home security startup for ‘super premium' customers, plucks a new CEO out of Sonos
NY Governor Hochul signs bill requiring warning labels on ‘addictive' social media
How reality crushed Ÿnsect, the French startup that had raised over $600M for insect farming
Nvidia to license AI chip challenger Groq's tech and hire its CEO
Waymo explains why its robotaxis got stuck during the SF blackout
© 2025 TechCrunch Media LLC.
"In the METR study, developers predicted AI would make them 24% faster before starting. After finishing 19% slower, they still believed they'd been 20% faster."I hadn't heard of this study before. Seems like it's been mentioned on HN before but not got much traction.
I hadn't heard of this study before. Seems like it's been mentioned on HN before but not got much traction.
reply
Most people who cite it clearly didn't read as far as the table where METR themselves say:> We do not provide evidence that:> 1) AI systems do not currently speed up many or most software developers. Clarification: We do not claim that our developers or repositories represent a majority or plurality of software development work> 2) AI systems do not speed up individuals or groups in domains other than software development. Clarification: We only study software development> 3) AI systems in the near future will not speed up developers in our exact setting. Clarification: Progress is difficult to predict, and there has been substantial AI progress over the past five years [3]> 4) There are not ways of using existing AI systems more effectively to achieve positive speedup in our exact setting. Clarification: Cursor does not sample many tokens from LLMs, it may not use optimal prompting/scaffolding, and domain/repository-specific training/finetuning/few-shot learning could yield positive speeduphttps://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-o...
> We do not provide evidence that:> 1) AI systems do not currently speed up many or most software developers. Clarification: We do not claim that our developers or repositories represent a majority or plurality of software development work> 2) AI systems do not speed up individuals or groups in domains other than software development. Clarification: We only study software development> 3) AI systems in the near future will not speed up developers in our exact setting. Clarification: Progress is difficult to predict, and there has been substantial AI progress over the past five years [3]> 4) There are not ways of using existing AI systems more effectively to achieve positive speedup in our exact setting. Clarification: Cursor does not sample many tokens from LLMs, it may not use optimal prompting/scaffolding, and domain/repository-specific training/finetuning/few-shot learning could yield positive speeduphttps://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-o...
> 1) AI systems do not currently speed up many or most software developers. Clarification: We do not claim that our developers or repositories represent a majority or plurality of software development work> 2) AI systems do not speed up individuals or groups in domains other than software development. Clarification: We only study software development> 3) AI systems in the near future will not speed up developers in our exact setting. Clarification: Progress is difficult to predict, and there has been substantial AI progress over the past five years [3]> 4) There are not ways of using existing AI systems more effectively to achieve positive speedup in our exact setting. Clarification: Cursor does not sample many tokens from LLMs, it may not use optimal prompting/scaffolding, and domain/repository-specific training/finetuning/few-shot learning could yield positive speeduphttps://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-o...
> 2) AI systems do not speed up individuals or groups in domains other than software development. Clarification: We only study software development> 3) AI systems in the near future will not speed up developers in our exact setting. Clarification: Progress is difficult to predict, and there has been substantial AI progress over the past five years [3]> 4) There are not ways of using existing AI systems more effectively to achieve positive speedup in our exact setting. Clarification: Cursor does not sample many tokens from LLMs, it may not use optimal prompting/scaffolding, and domain/repository-specific training/finetuning/few-shot learning could yield positive speeduphttps://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-o...
> 3) AI systems in the near future will not speed up developers in our exact setting. Clarification: Progress is difficult to predict, and there has been substantial AI progress over the past five years [3]> 4) There are not ways of using existing AI systems more effectively to achieve positive speedup in our exact setting. Clarification: Cursor does not sample many tokens from LLMs, it may not use optimal prompting/scaffolding, and domain/repository-specific training/finetuning/few-shot learning could yield positive speeduphttps://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-o...
> 4) There are not ways of using existing AI systems more effectively to achieve positive speedup in our exact setting. Clarification: Cursor does not sample many tokens from LLMs, it may not use optimal prompting/scaffolding, and domain/repository-specific training/finetuning/few-shot learning could yield positive speeduphttps://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-o...
https://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-o...
reply
Their study still shows something interesting, and quite surprising. But if you choose to extrapolate from this specific setting and say coding assistants don't work in general then that's not scientific and you need to be careful.I think the studyshould probably decrease your prior that AI assistants actually speed up development, even if developers using AI tell you otherwise. The fact it feels faster when it is slower is super interesting.
I think the studyshould probably decrease your prior that AI assistants actually speed up development, even if developers using AI tell you otherwise. The fact it feels faster when it is slower is super interesting.
reply
Being armed with that knowledge is useful when thinking about my own productivity, as I know that there's a risk of me over-estimating the impact of this stuff.But then I look at https://github.com/simonw which currently lists 530 commits over 46 repositories for the month of December, which is the month I started using Opus 4.5 in Claude Code. That looks pretty credible to me!
But then I look at https://github.com/simonw which currently lists 530 commits over 46 repositories for the month of December, which is the month I started using Opus 4.5 in Claude Code. That looks pretty credible to me!
reply
I liked the way they did that study and I would be interested to see an updated version with new tools.I'm not particularly sceptical myself and my guess is that using Opus 4.5 would probably have produced a different result to the one in the original study.
I'm not particularly sceptical myself and my guess is that using Opus 4.5 would probably have produced a different result to the one in the original study.
reply
reply
It (along with the hundreds of billions in investments hinging on it), explains the legions of people online who passionately defend their "system". Every gambler has a "system" and they usually earnestly believe it is helping them.Some people even write popular (and profitable!) blogs about playing slots machines where they share their tips and tricks.
Some people even write popular (and profitable!) blogs about playing slots machines where they share their tips and tricks.
reply
reply
reply
reply
It reminds me of global warming where on one side of the debate there some scientists with very little money running experiments and on the other side there were some ridiculously wealthy corporations publicly poking holes in those experiments but who secretly knew they were valid since the 1960s.
reply
reply
reply
I ran a three month experiment with two of our projects, one Django and the other embedded C and ARM assembler. You start with "oh wow, that's cool!" and not too long after that you end up in hell. I used both ChatGPT and Cursor for this.The only way to use LLMs effectively was to carefully select small chunks of code to work on, have it write the code and then manually integrate into the codebase after carefully checking it and ensuring it didn't want to destroy 10 other files. It other words, use a very tight leash.
The only way to use LLMs effectively was to carefully select small chunks of code to work on, have it write the code and then manually integrate into the codebase after carefully checking it and ensuring it didn't want to destroy 10 other files. It other words, use a very tight leash.
reply
The worse part is reading a PR, and catching a reintroduced bug that was fixed a few commit ago. The first time i almost lost my cool at work and said a negative thing to a coworker.This would be my advice to juniors (and i mean basically: devs who don't yet understand the underlying business/architecture): use the AI to explain how stuff work, generate basic functions maybe, but write code logic/algorithm yourself until you are sure you understand what you're doing and why. Work and reflect on the data structures by yourself, even if generated by the AI, and ask for alternatives. Always ask for alternatives, it helps understanding.
You might not see huge productivity gains from AI, but you will improve first, and then productivity will improve very fast, from your brain first, then from AI.
This would be my advice to juniors (and i mean basically: devs who don't yet understand the underlying business/architecture): use the AI to explain how stuff work, generate basic functions maybe, but write code logic/algorithm yourself until you are sure you understand what you're doing and why. Work and reflect on the data structures by yourself, even if generated by the AI, and ask for alternatives. Always ask for alternatives, it helps understanding.
You might not see huge productivity gains from AI, but you will improve first, and then productivity will improve very fast, from your brain first, then from AI.
reply
Losing your cool is never a good idea, but this is absolutely a time when you should give negative feedback to that coworker.
reply
Now question is..is AI providing solutions smarter than the developer using it might have produced?And perhaps more importantly, How much time it takes AI to write code and human to debug it, even if both are producing equally smart solutions.
is AI providing solutions smarter than the developer using it might have produced?And perhaps more importantly, How much time it takes AI to write code and human to debug it, even if both are producing equally smart solutions.
And perhaps more importantly, How much time it takes AI to write code and human to debug it, even if both are producing equally smart solutions.
reply
* Force the AI to write tests for everything. Ensure those tests function. Writing boring unit tests used to be arduous. Now the machine can do it for you. There's no excuse for a code regression making it's way into a PR because you actually ran the tests before you did the commit, right? Right? RIGHT?* Force the AI to write documentation and properly comment code, then (this is the tricky part) you actually read what it said it was doing and ensure that this is what you wanted it to do before you commit.Just doing these two things will vastly improve the quality and prevent most of the dumb regressions that are common with AI generated code. Even if you're too busy/lazy to read every line of code the AI outputs just ensuring that it passes the tests and that the comments/docs describe the behavior you asked for will get you 90% of the way there.
* Force the AI to write documentation and properly comment code, then (this is the tricky part) you actually read what it said it was doing and ensure that this is what you wanted it to do before you commit.Just doing these two things will vastly improve the quality and prevent most of the dumb regressions that are common with AI generated code. Even if you're too busy/lazy to read every line of code the AI outputs just ensuring that it passes the tests and that the comments/docs describe the behavior you asked for will get you 90% of the way there.
Just doing these two things will vastly improve the quality and prevent most of the dumb regressions that are common with AI generated code. Even if you're too busy/lazy to read every line of code the AI outputs just ensuring that it passes the tests and that the comments/docs describe the behavior you asked for will get you 90% of the way there.
reply
I agree with the idea, I do it too, but you need to make sure the test don't just validate the incorrect behavior or that the code is not updated to pass the test in a way that actually "misses the point".I've had this happen to me on one or two tests every time
I've had this happen to me on one or two tests every time
reply
For some reason Gemini seems to be worse at it than Claude lately. Since mostly moving to 3 I've had it go back and change the tests rather than fixing the bug on what seems to be a regular basis. It's like it's gotten smart enough to "cheat" more. You really do still have to pay attention that the tests are valid.
reply
To give some further advice to juniors: if somebody is telling you writing unit tests is boring, they haven't learned how to write good tests. There appears to be a large intersection between devs who think testing is a dull task and devs who see a self proclaimed speed up from AI. I don't think this is a coincidence.Writing useful tests is just as important as writing app code, and should be reviewed with equal scrutiny.
Writing useful tests is just as important as writing app code, and should be reviewed with equal scrutiny.
reply
reply
However in my experience, the issue with AI is the potential hidden cost down the road. We either have to:1. Code review the AI generated code line by line to ensure it's exactly what you'd have produced yourself when it is generated or2. Pay an unknown amount of tech tebt down the road when it inevitably wasn't what you'd have done yourself and it isn't extensible, scalable, well written code.
1. Code review the AI generated code line by line to ensure it's exactly what you'd have produced yourself when it is generated or2. Pay an unknown amount of tech tebt down the road when it inevitably wasn't what you'd have done yourself and it isn't extensible, scalable, well written code.
2. Pay an unknown amount of tech tebt down the road when it inevitably wasn't what you'd have done yourself and it isn't extensible, scalable, well written code.
reply
reply
http://lpd2.com/
reply
reply
reply
reply
Have you considered having AI code review the AI code before giving them off to a human? I've been experimenting with having claude work on some code and commit it, and then having codex review the changes in the most recent git commit, then eyeballing the recommendations and either having codex work the changes, or giving them back to claude. That has seemed to be quite effective so far.Maybe it's turtles all the way down?
Maybe it's turtles all the way down?
reply
Garage Duo can out-compete corporate because there is less overhead. But Garage Duo can't possibly output the sheer amount of work matching with corporate.
reply
I think that the reason LLMs don't work as well in a corporate environment with large codebases and complex business logic, but do work well in greenfield projects, is linked to the amount of context the agents can maintain.Many types of corporate overhead can be reduced using an LLM. Especially following "well meant but inefficient" process around JIRA tickets, testing evidence, code review, documentation etc.
Many types of corporate overhead can be reduced using an LLM. Especially following "well meant but inefficient" process around JIRA tickets, testing evidence, code review, documentation etc.
reply
reply
reply
reply
There have been methods to reduce overhead available over the history of our industry. Unfortunately almost all the times it involves using productive tools that would in some way reduce the head counts required to do large projects.The way this works is you eventually have to work with languages like Lisp, Perl, Prolog, and then some one comes up with a theory that programming must be optimised for the mostly beginners and power tooling must be avoided. Now you are forced to use verbose languages, writing, maintaining and troubleshooting take a lot of people.The thing is this time around, we have a way to make code by asking an AI tool questions. So you get the same effect but now with languages like JS and Python.
The way this works is you eventually have to work with languages like Lisp, Perl, Prolog, and then some one comes up with a theory that programming must be optimised for the mostly beginners and power tooling must be avoided. Now you are forced to use verbose languages, writing, maintaining and troubleshooting take a lot of people.The thing is this time around, we have a way to make code by asking an AI tool questions. So you get the same effect but now with languages like JS and Python.
The thing is this time around, we have a way to make code by asking an AI tool questions. So you get the same effect but now with languages like JS and Python.
reply
I think for users this _feels_ incredibly powerful, however this also has its own pitfalls: Any topic which you're incompetent at is one which you're also unequipped to successfully review.I think there are some other productivity pitfalls for LLMs:- Employees use it to give their boss emails / summaries / etc in the language and style their boss wants. This makes their boss happy, but doesn't actually modify productivity whatsoever since the exercise was a waste of time in the first place.- Employees send more emails, and summarize more emails. They look busier, but they're not actually writing the emails or really reading them. The email volume has increased, however the emails themselves were probably a waste of time in the first place.- There is more work to review all around and much of it is of poor quality.I think these issues play a smaller part than some of the general issues raised (eg: poor quality code / lack of code reviews / etc.) but are still worth noting.
I think there are some other productivity pitfalls for LLMs:- Employees use it to give their boss emails / summaries / etc in the language and style their boss wants. This makes their boss happy, but doesn't actually modify productivity whatsoever since the exercise was a waste of time in the first place.- Employees send more emails, and summarize more emails. They look busier, but they're not actually writing the emails or really reading them. The email volume has increased, however the emails themselves were probably a waste of time in the first place.- There is more work to review all around and much of it is of poor quality.I think these issues play a smaller part than some of the general issues raised (eg: poor quality code / lack of code reviews / etc.) but are still worth noting.
- Employees use it to give their boss emails / summaries / etc in the language and style their boss wants. This makes their boss happy, but doesn't actually modify productivity whatsoever since the exercise was a waste of time in the first place.- Employees send more emails, and summarize more emails. They look busier, but they're not actually writing the emails or really reading them. The email volume has increased, however the emails themselves were probably a waste of time in the first place.- There is more work to review all around and much of it is of poor quality.I think these issues play a smaller part than some of the general issues raised (eg: poor quality code / lack of code reviews / etc.) but are still worth noting.
- Employees send more emails, and summarize more emails. They look busier, but they're not actually writing the emails or really reading them. The email volume has increased, however the emails themselves were probably a waste of time in the first place.- There is more work to review all around and much of it is of poor quality.I think these issues play a smaller part than some of the general issues raised (eg: poor quality code / lack of code reviews / etc.) but are still worth noting.
- There is more work to review all around and much of it is of poor quality.I think these issues play a smaller part than some of the general issues raised (eg: poor quality code / lack of code reviews / etc.) but are still worth noting.
I think these issues play a smaller part than some of the general issues raised (eg: poor quality code / lack of code reviews / etc.) but are still worth noting.
reply
This is the average software developer's experience of LLMs
reply
This is completely orthogonal to productivity gains for full time professional developers.
reply
The job of anyone developing an application framework, whether that's off the shelf or in-house, is to reduce the amount of boilerplate any individual developer needs to write to an absolute bare minimum. The ultimate win isn't to get "AI to write all your boilerplate." It's to not need to write boilerplate at all.
reply
AI won't give you much productivity if the problem you're challenged with is the human problem. That could happen both to startups and enterprises.
reply
reply
Complex legacy refactoring + Systems with poor documentation or unusual patterns + Architectural decisions requiring deep context: These go hand in hand. LLMs are really good at pulling these older systems apart, documenting, then refactoring them, tests and all. Exacerbated by poor documentation of domain expectations. Get your experts in a room weekly and record their rambling ideas and history of the system. Synthesize with an LLM against existing codebase. You'll get to 80% system comprehension in a matter of months.Novel problem-solving with high stakes: This is the true bottleneck, and where engineers can shine. Risk assessment and recombination of ideas, with rapid prototyping.
Novel problem-solving with high stakes: This is the true bottleneck, and where engineers can shine. Risk assessment and recombination of ideas, with rapid prototyping.
reply
Force the LLM to follow a workflow, have it do TDD, use task lists, have it write implementation plans.LLMs are great coders, but subpar developers, help them be a good developer and you will see massive returns.
LLMs are great coders, but subpar developers, help them be a good developer and you will see massive returns.
reply
I did not get the impression from this that LLMs were great coders. They would frequently miss stuff, make mistakes and often just ignore the instructions i gave them.Sometimes they would get it right but not enough. The agentic coding loop still slowed me down overall. Perhaps if i were more junior it would have been a net boost.
Sometimes they would get it right but not enough. The agentic coding loop still slowed me down overall. Perhaps if i were more junior it would have been a net boost.
reply
If you go the pure subjective route, I've found that people conflate “speed” or “productivity” with “ease.”
reply
We have a lot of useless work being done, and AI is absolutely going to be a 10x speed up for this kind of work.
reply
- corporateWHY CANT OUR DEVICES RUN TECHNOLOGIES ??????- also corporate
WHY CANT OUR DEVICES RUN TECHNOLOGIES ??????- also corporate
- also corporate
reply
reply
reply
In programming we've often embraced spending time to learn new tools. The AI tools are just another set of tools, and they're rapidly changing as well.I've been experimenting seriously with the tools for ~3 years now, and I'm still learning a lot about their use. Just this past weekend I started using a whole new workflow, and it one-shotted building a PWA that implements a fully-featured calorie tracking app (with social features, pre-populating foods from online databases, weight tracking and graphing, avatars, it's on par with many I've used in the past that cost $30+/year).Someone just starting out at chat.openai.com isn't going to get close to this. You absolutely have to spend time learning the tooling for it to be at all effective.
I've been experimenting seriously with the tools for ~3 years now, and I'm still learning a lot about their use. Just this past weekend I started using a whole new workflow, and it one-shotted building a PWA that implements a fully-featured calorie tracking app (with social features, pre-populating foods from online databases, weight tracking and graphing, avatars, it's on par with many I've used in the past that cost $30+/year).Someone just starting out at chat.openai.com isn't going to get close to this. You absolutely have to spend time learning the tooling for it to be at all effective.
Someone just starting out at chat.openai.com isn't going to get close to this. You absolutely have to spend time learning the tooling for it to be at all effective.
reply
reply
reply
reply
reply
A program is a series of instructions that tell a computer how to perform a task. The specifics of the language aren't as important as the ability to use them to get the machine to perform the tasks instructed.We can now use English as that language, which allows more people than ever to program. English isn't as expressive as Python wielded by an expert, yet. It will be. This is bad for people who used to leverage the difficulty of the task to their own advantage, but good for everyone else.Also, keep in mind that todays LLM's are the worst they'll ever be. They will continue to improve, and you will stagnate if you don't learn to use the new tools effectively.
We can now use English as that language, which allows more people than ever to program. English isn't as expressive as Python wielded by an expert, yet. It will be. This is bad for people who used to leverage the difficulty of the task to their own advantage, but good for everyone else.Also, keep in mind that todays LLM's are the worst they'll ever be. They will continue to improve, and you will stagnate if you don't learn to use the new tools effectively.
Also, keep in mind that todays LLM's are the worst they'll ever be. They will continue to improve, and you will stagnate if you don't learn to use the new tools effectively.
reply
I've been going the other way, learning the old tools, the old algorithms. Specifically teaching myself graphics and mastering the C language. Tons of new grads know how to use Unity, how many know how to throw triangles directly onto the GPU at the theoretical limit of performance? Not many!
reply
Understanding a "deeper" abstraction layer is almost always to your advantage, even if you seldom use it in your career. It just gives you a glimpse behind the curtain.That said, you have to also learn the new tools unless you tend to be a one man band. You'll find that employers don't want esoteric knowledge or all-knowing wizards who can see the matrix. Mostly, they just want a team member who can cooperate with other folks to get things done in whatever tool they can find enough skilled folks to use.
That said, you have to also learn the new tools unless you tend to be a one man band. You'll find that employers don't want esoteric knowledge or all-knowing wizards who can see the matrix. Mostly, they just want a team member who can cooperate with other folks to get things done in whatever tool they can find enough skilled folks to use.
reply
reply
This is the first technology in my career where the promoters feel the need to threaten everyone who expresses any sort of criticism, skepticism, or experience to the contrary.It is very odd. I do not care for it.
It is very odd. I do not care for it.
reply
this hostile marketing scheme is the reason for my hostile opposition to LLMs and LLM idiots.LLMs do not make you smarter or a more effective developer.You are a sucker if you buy into the hype.
LLMs do not make you smarter or a more effective developer.You are a sucker if you buy into the hype.
You are a sucker if you buy into the hype.
reply
Have you considered a career in plumbing? Their technology moves at a much slower rate and does not require you to learn new things.
reply
There's a debate to be had about what any given new technology is good for and how to use it because they all market themselves as the best thing since sliced bread. Fine. I use Sonnet all the time as a research tool, it's kind of great. I've also tried lots of stuff that doesn't work.But the attitude towards everyone who isn't an AI MAXIMALIST does not persuade anyone or contribute to this debate in any useful way.Anyway if I get kicked out of the industry for being a heretic I think I'll go open an Italian restaurant. That could be fun.
But the attitude towards everyone who isn't an AI MAXIMALIST does not persuade anyone or contribute to this debate in any useful way.Anyway if I get kicked out of the industry for being a heretic I think I'll go open an Italian restaurant. That could be fun.
Anyway if I get kicked out of the industry for being a heretic I think I'll go open an Italian restaurant. That could be fun.
reply
reply
reply
reply
If they can't, did they really do it in the first place?Are they actually literate in the programming languages they're using?
Are they actually literate in the programming languages they're using?
reply
reply
reply
reply
Here's where our opinions differ - I think replacing that Figma person with AI prompts will negatively affect product in a way that is noticeable to the end-user and effects their experience.It does of course depend what kind of product you're making, but I'd say most of the time this holds.
It does of course depend what kind of product you're making, but I'd say most of the time this holds.
reply
reply
reply
reply
Could people write scientific code without python? If they can't, did they really do it in the first place?Could people write code without use after free bugs without using a GC'd language? If they can't, did they really do it in the first place?Could people make a website without WYSIWYG editor? If they can't, did they really make a website?
Could people write code without use after free bugs without using a GC'd language? If they can't, did they really do it in the first place?Could people make a website without WYSIWYG editor? If they can't, did they really make a website?
Could people make a website without WYSIWYG editor? If they can't, did they really make a website?
reply
I think graduates of these programs are far, far worse software developers than they were in the recent past.edit: i think you mean "irrelevant", not "irreverent". that being said, my response is an expansion of the point made in my comment that you replied to.
edit: i think you mean "irrelevant", not "irreverent". that being said, my response is an expansion of the point made in my comment that you replied to.
reply
But this subthread is about interns who did not study CS, and are able to create advanced UIs using LLMs in the short time they had left to finish their project.
reply
That being said, I half agree but I think we see things differently. Based on what I've seen, the "illiterate" are those who would have otherwise dropped out or done a poor job previously. Now instead of exiting the field, or slowly shipping code they didn't understand (because that has always been a thing) they are shovelling more slop.That's a problem, but it's at most gotten worse rather than come out of thin air.But, there are still competent software engineers and I have seen with my own eyes how AI usage makes them more productive.Similarly, some of those "illiterate" are those who now have the ability to make small apps for themselves to solve a problem they would not be able to before, and I argue that's a good thing.Ultimately, people care about the solution to their problems, not the code. If (following the original anecdote) someone with an LLM can build a UI for their project I frankly don't think it matters whether they understood the code. The UI is there, it works, and they can get one with the thing that is actually important: using the UI for their bigger goal.
That's a problem, but it's at most gotten worse rather than come out of thin air.But, there are still competent software engineers and I have seen with my own eyes how AI usage makes them more productive.Similarly, some of those "illiterate" are those who now have the ability to make small apps for themselves to solve a problem they would not be able to before, and I argue that's a good thing.Ultimately, people care about the solution to their problems, not the code. If (following the original anecdote) someone with an LLM can build a UI for their project I frankly don't think it matters whether they understood the code. The UI is there, it works, and they can get one with the thing that is actually important: using the UI for their bigger goal.
But, there are still competent software engineers and I have seen with my own eyes how AI usage makes them more productive.Similarly, some of those "illiterate" are those who now have the ability to make small apps for themselves to solve a problem they would not be able to before, and I argue that's a good thing.Ultimately, people care about the solution to their problems, not the code. If (following the original anecdote) someone with an LLM can build a UI for their project I frankly don't think it matters whether they understood the code. The UI is there, it works, and they can get one with the thing that is actually important: using the UI for their bigger goal.
Similarly, some of those "illiterate" are those who now have the ability to make small apps for themselves to solve a problem they would not be able to before, and I argue that's a good thing.Ultimately, people care about the solution to their problems, not the code. If (following the original anecdote) someone with an LLM can build a UI for their project I frankly don't think it matters whether they understood the code. The UI is there, it works, and they can get one with the thing that is actually important: using the UI for their bigger goal.
Ultimately, people care about the solution to their problems, not the code. If (following the original anecdote) someone with an LLM can build a UI for their project I frankly don't think it matters whether they understood the code. The UI is there, it works, and they can get one with the thing that is actually important: using the UI for their bigger goal.
reply
reply
would you agree that LLMs make developer stupider?edit: answer my question
edit: answer my question
reply
reply
Looking at the brief history of their account, I don't think anything they are saying or asking is in remotely good faith.
reply
reply
As a comment reader this exchange with Simon translates directly to "no, but you have forced me to try and misdirect because I can't reply in good faith to an expert who has forgotten more about LLMs than I'll ever know".
reply
just write the code
reply
reply
reply
developers can exist in a small team, solo, large enterprise all with their mandates and cultures so just saying LLMs increase/decrease is reductive.have a feeling i'm being trolled tho.
have a feeling i'm being trolled tho.
reply
I think LLM addicts are particularly susceptible to flattery.
reply
There are a lot of sad people who have developed parasocial relationships with ChatGPT, but that's entirely a separate issue from whether agents are a good tool for software engineering.
reply
They don't emerge looking credible, either.
reply
reply
Israel deployed the first Iron Beam systems on Sunday, to complement its Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Arrow multi-layered defense architecture.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
The first Iron Beam laser defense system was deployed by Israel on Sunday. This 100kW laser weapon thus became the world's first high-power drone defense zapper to be operationally deployed. Iron Beam lasers will fortify Israel's multi-layered defense, complementing the existing Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Arrow system architecture.
The Iron Beam is a short-range line-of-sight laser interceptor that is extremely cheap to run and, therefore, perfectly suited for intercepting low-cost, high-volume threats. According to the official Israeli announcement, Iron Beam systems have “successfully intercepted rockets, mortars, and UAVs.”
A complex mix of government, military, scientific, and commercial interests were responsible for the research and development of the Iron Beam laser system. Central to the Iron Beam are “an advanced laser source and a unique electro-optical targeting system, enabling the interception of a wide range of targets at an enhanced operational range, with maximum precision and superior efficiency,” boasted the press release by Israel's MoD. Moreover, it works “at a negligible marginal cost, which constitutes the laser system's primary advantage.”
We don't get much more by way of technical details, perhaps understandably. However, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems execs heralded the system's “unique adaptive optics technology,” in what it calls “the world's most advanced laser-based system for intercepting aerial threats.” Its operational debut “marks the beginning of the era of high-energy laser defense,” they claimed.
We have seen low-energy laser defense systems deployed earlier this year, with Japan's NTT using relatively puny lasers to scare birds away from poultry farms and prevent the spread of avian flu. But the Iron Beam is in a different league.
We also previously reported on several other UK laser weapons under development to counter UAVs on land and at sea. But as far as we know, these are yet to become operational. With the brutal war between Ukraine and Russia ongoing, where drones have grown to be a pivotal feature of the conflict, laser-drone defenses similar to the Iron Beam are going to be in strong demand.
Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
Consumes 1/3 the power of optical, but costs 1/3 more than optical
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
Scale-up connectivity is crucial for the performance of rack-scale AI systems, but achieving high bandwidth and low latency for such interconnections using copper wires is becoming increasingly complicated with each generation. Using optical interconnections for scale-up connectivity is a possibility, but it may be an overkill, so start-ups Point2 and AttoTude propose to use radio-based interconnections operating at millimeter-wave and terahertz frequencies over waveguides that connect to systems using standard pluggable connectors, reports IEEE Spectrum.
Point2's implementation uses what it calls an 'active radio cable' built from eight 'e-Tube' waveguides. Each waveguide carries data using two frequencies — 90 GHz and 225 GHz — and plug-in modules at both ends convert digital signals directly into modulated millimeter-wave radio and back again. A full cable delivers 1.6 Tb/s, occupies 8.1mm, or about a half the volume of a comparable active copper cable, and can reach up to seven meters, more than enough for scale-up connectivity. Point2 says the design consumes roughly one-third the power of optical links, costs about one-third as much, and adds as little as one-thousandth the latency.
A notable aspect of Point2's approach is the relative maturity of its technology. The radio transceivers can be fabricated at standard semiconductor production facilities using well-known fabrication processes — the company has already demonstrated this approach using a 28nm chip with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Also, its partners Molex and Foxconn Interconnect Technology have shown that the specialized cables can be produced on existing lines without major retooling.
AttoTude is pursuing a similar concept, but at even higher frequencies. Its system combines a digital interface, a terahertz signal generator, and a mixer that encodes data onto carriers between 300 and 3,000 GHz that feeds the signal into a narrow dielectric waveguide. Early versions used hollow copper tubes, while later generations rely on fibers measuring approximately 200 micrometers across with losses as low as 0.3 dB per meter (considerably lower than copper). The company has demonstrated 224 Gb/s transmission over four meters at 970 GHz and projects viable reaches of around 20 meters.
Both companies use waveguides instead of cables because, at millimeter-wave and terahertz frequencies cables fail. While at very high data rates copper cables can pass signals, they do so by becoming thicker, shorter, and more power-hungry. Furthermore, their losses and jitter rise so fast that the link budget collapses and breaks, so cables cannot be used for such applications. Meanwhile, waveguides are not an exotic choice, they are among a few viable option for interconnects with terabit/s-class bandwidth.
Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom's Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.
Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
Then there's Helios that crashed near Athens. The pressurisation failed and the cockpit oxygen cylinder had been left closed. The preflight check of the crew oxygen mask flow had not been done. By the time a cabin crew member with portable oxygen figured out how to get through the door, the fuel was about to run out.
reply
I'm sure there has been a lot of thought put into this locking mechanism so that hijackers can't access the cockpit, but how about the rogue pilot scenario like this one? IIRC, pilots outside can enter a code to unlock the door but it can be rejected by the person inside (so it really only applies if they're incapacitated)EDIT: it appears some airlines mandate at least two people in the cockpit at all times after the 2015 Germanwings incident.
EDIT: it appears some airlines mandate at least two people in the cockpit at all times after the 2015 Germanwings incident.
reply
reply
reply
https://youtu.be/Y5K9HBiJpuk?si=nsR14R7Fl4Nk4qpOhttps://youtu.be/HIuXEU4H-XE?si=I_ZczAv-VmZT7rQn
https://youtu.be/HIuXEU4H-XE?si=I_ZczAv-VmZT7rQn
reply
reply
> New York has obtained a confidential document from the Malaysian police investigation into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that shows that the plane's captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, conducted a simulated flight deep into the remote southern Indian Ocean less than a month before the plane vanished under uncannily similar circumstances.
reply
Anyway, it's Malaysian authorities. I've lived in the region...But since we're not citing links, this is all gossip...
But since we're not citing links, this is all gossip...
reply
reply
reply
reply
reply
And that is that upon leaving the airspace of Malaysia into Thailand, the pilot changed course to take the plane over the Indian ocean to commit suicide.It's likely the pilot depressurized the cabin as hypoxia would've rendered the crew and passengers so they were unliikely conscious for any of this. Whether this happened before or after the course change is unknown.Given the minimal wreckage, it was likely a soft landing in the ocean rather than the pilot succumbing to a medical event. He almost certainly was conscious up until the ocean landing.The pilot knew the range and likely chose a part of the Indian Ocean that was remote and deep so the wreckage wouldn't be found as the black boxes would reveal this was intentional and it seemed like he intended his family to get the settlement and life insurance.It's unclear if the pilot was aware of the pinging that has narrowed down the location.
It's likely the pilot depressurized the cabin as hypoxia would've rendered the crew and passengers so they were unliikely conscious for any of this. Whether this happened before or after the course change is unknown.Given the minimal wreckage, it was likely a soft landing in the ocean rather than the pilot succumbing to a medical event. He almost certainly was conscious up until the ocean landing.The pilot knew the range and likely chose a part of the Indian Ocean that was remote and deep so the wreckage wouldn't be found as the black boxes would reveal this was intentional and it seemed like he intended his family to get the settlement and life insurance.It's unclear if the pilot was aware of the pinging that has narrowed down the location.
Given the minimal wreckage, it was likely a soft landing in the ocean rather than the pilot succumbing to a medical event. He almost certainly was conscious up until the ocean landing.The pilot knew the range and likely chose a part of the Indian Ocean that was remote and deep so the wreckage wouldn't be found as the black boxes would reveal this was intentional and it seemed like he intended his family to get the settlement and life insurance.It's unclear if the pilot was aware of the pinging that has narrowed down the location.
The pilot knew the range and likely chose a part of the Indian Ocean that was remote and deep so the wreckage wouldn't be found as the black boxes would reveal this was intentional and it seemed like he intended his family to get the settlement and life insurance.It's unclear if the pilot was aware of the pinging that has narrowed down the location.
It's unclear if the pilot was aware of the pinging that has narrowed down the location.
reply
I am curious, did changes take place due to this event ? Like real-time telemetry for airliners where their location is always available and saved on systems not on the plane.I remember during the search the commentators said that was not done because Airlines did not want spend for that.
I remember during the search the commentators said that was not done because Airlines did not want spend for that.
reply
Edited to add: There are also discussions underway on how to better handle pilots suffering from depression, since pilots are currently incentivized to never disclose mental health problems for fear of losing their livelihoods. Mentour Pilot talks about this too at the end of his Germanwings video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lotcRYD42e0
reply
Put a flight attendant in there?
reply
reply
7/10
It's hard to overstate just how seismic an impact the Commodore 64 had on home computing. Launched in 1982, the 8-bit machine—iconic in its beige plastic shell with integrated keyboard—went on to become the best-selling personal computer of all time. Despite the success, manufacturer Commodore International folded in 1994, with rights to the name floating around for years.
Then, retro gaming YouTuber Christian “Peri Fractic” Simpson got the bright idea to buy the company wholesale and re-create its most important piece of hardware. This isn't the first effort to resurrect the Commodore 64, but this particular reborn rig might be the best attempt yet. It's a near-perfect replica of that 43-year old titan, one that looks, sounds, and feels like the original. It is, by any measure, a frankly extraordinary achievement—but it's not going to be for everyone.
Dubbed the Commodore 64 Ultimate, the old-new (or new-old?) device looks like a relic of the '80s—and I mean that as a compliment. It bears the same all-in-one wedge-shaped design as the original, the same chunky keys, even the same overall color palette for the beige model (it's also available in a transparent “Starlight” model with RGB lighting and, for early buyers, a golden “Founder's Edition”). If it weren't for the distinctly un-yellowed plastic shell, it could be mistaken at a glance for the real thing, leftover stock straight from 1982.
For some, that will be the most compelling thing about the C64U—it is the real thing, sort of. At its core, this is a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, an approach most often seen to re-create classic game consoles (as with the recent Analogue3D “remake” of the Nintendo 64). To strip the idea right back, FPGAs tell one chipset to pretend it's another and, ideally, allow for performance near-identical to the original machine at a hardware level, rather than through emulation.
Commodore 64 Ultimate
Rating: 7/10
This goes a step further, boasting a heap of physical connectors and ports that allow you to use authentic peripherals from the '80s. If you still have your original joysticks or datasette to hand, they should all work as they did back in the day. For fans, collectors, or anyone who has their original Commodore gadgets stashed in a garage somewhere, that's a fantastic proposition. The revived Commodore International hasn't quite put the classic hardware back into production, but this comes damned close.
The C64U makes a few concessions to modernity. There are a pair of USB-A ports at the rear, where you'll connect the cassette-shaped USB stick that comes with each unit, pre-loaded with games, software demos, music that makes use of the C64's still legendary audio capabilities, and GEOS, a graphical user interface—more on that later. There's also built-in Wi-Fi and an Ethernet port, allowing access to bulletin boards and the Commoserve file server, and HDMI output. Even there, though, there's still the option for connecting to a CRT monitor, making the additions feel more like a tweak than an overhaul.
Commodore 64 Ultimate
Rating: 7/10
This dedication to the past goes too far at times, with elements painfully authentic to the point of being actively obtuse in 2025—original '80s labels on the casing, such as "H-L" and "RF" (how the C64 connected to CRT monitors or TVs), or "USER PORT" where the HDMI, USB, and Ethernet ports are. And, despite the presence of those USB ports, you can't use a modern mouse with the C64U—you'll either need a period piece or set the WASD keys to act as a virtual joystick whenever you might need to manipulate an onscreen cursor. There's almost a sense of resentment here, as if anything too modern would be a desecration of the holy hardware, and any concessions made to ensure the C64U is even halfway usable with present-day displays or add-ons were made reluctantly.
The Commodore International of 2025, leaning into its deliberately dated approach, is another fascinating aspect of the Commodore 64 Ultimate. The company has labelled itself the “digital detox brand,” positioning the C64U as a bulwark against the distracting, loud, attention-grabbing devices we're all accustomed to now. That actually appeals—I'm particularly sick of Windows cramming adverts into every corner of the OS and foisting unwanted AI features where they don't belong (and then warning people not to use them anyway), so maybe a trip back to how computing used to be done would be a virtual balm. Unfortunately, that means travelling back to a time before I was actually born, and the temporal whiplash is brutal.
Be forewarned: If you do not have first-hand experience of the original Commodore 64, a deep and abiding love for its genuinely ground-breaking era of home computing, or a burning curiosity for retro technology, the C64 Ultimate is far from welcoming, and probably not for you. I wasn't around for the original, so I have no innate nostalgia to lure me back in, but I can at least muster up that burning curiosity. Yet even then, getting used to the C64 environment is a steep learning curve.
Commodore 64 Ultimate
Rating: 7/10
Boot up the C64U, and you're greeted by a re-creation of the C64's menu. Here, you can type in operation commands just as you would back in the day, using the BASIC programming language. Problem: I don't have the first clue about BASIC. However, in what is possibly the greatest throwback of all, the C64U comes with a spiral-bound, 273-page user guide. It is an absolute tome. Somewhat surprisingly, it's not a reprint of anything that came with the original, but rather a tailored guide to what the C64U does, where it differs from the C64, and how to get to grips with the computer's capabilities. Equal parts history book and instruction manual, it starts out teaching you some simple commands and builds up to teaching you how to code. I'm still very much working my way through it, but that tactile approach—referring to the book, trying something out on the computer, back and forth—is a great touch.
If you don't fancy having to do homework, the C64U's own default menu, accessed at any time with a flick of the multifunction power button on the right-hand side of the unit, is a simple list of options and settings. Hit RETURN to go into any section—say, “Video Setup” to adjust whether the C64U outputs in original resolution, in PAL or NTSC modes (surprisingly important, given some games will only work with one display standard or the other), or a crystal clear 1080p with scanlines removed—and back out to save any changes to the system's flash memory. It's still a minimalist approach, but feels fairly intuitive.
This is also where you can start playing around with some of the other modern touches of the C64U, like how to leverage its far greater power. Well, “greater” in comparison to 1982. Spec-wise, this isn't going to threaten any more modern machine, but running on an AMD Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA chip and packing 128-MB DDR2 RAM—compared to the 64 KB of the C64—it blows its inspiration out of the water. While at baseline it replicates the performance of the 1982 hardware, meaning it operates as if there's only the original 64 KB were there, you can menu-dive to activate a virtualized RAM Expansion Unit, or activate a “Turbo Boost” to accelerate the clock speed to a lightning-fast (in this particular context) 64 MHz.
Commodore 64 Ultimate
Rating: 7/10
Then there's GEOS, loaded on that cassette-shaped USB. Navigate to the “Disk File Browser” on the C64U's menu to boot it up. This is the closest to a Windows or macOS type experience on the Commodore, a “regular” desktop environment. It has folders! And icons! It's likely the most comfortable way to use the C64U for anyone who wasn't there for the original—although if you don't have a compatible mouse, you'll have to get used to navigating it with WASD and RETURN to click.
However, while GEOS is clearer than BASIC, it's still not as smooth as more modern graphical user interface (GUI) operating systems. I've found it a little confusing switching between programs, for instance, as they seem to need to be mounted and then loaded into the OS before opening them. Even writing that back from my notes, preparing this review, I'm honestly not sure if I've been doing it correctly. Plus, when something doesn't work—failing to create a new document in GEOS apps like its word processor or paint suite was a low point—there's rarely an explanation of why it hasn't.
Away from “proper” computing, the C64 was a pioneer for home gaming, and that's one area where the C64U does feel extremely accessible. The USB drive includes a host of classic and modern retro-style games, and more can be added in the form of disk images if you have them.
The C64U can run games in NTSC or PAL format—there's a whole other rabbit hole to dive down here, but some games ran better, worse, or not at all depending on the version, and because the C64U replicates the original hardware performance, games can present the same issues here—but switching display modes is simple through the main menu. Once you've chosen what you want to play, an internal speaker mimics the sounds of the original tape or disk drive as it loads up, which is a nice—and extremely nerdy—touch.
Commodore 64 Ultimate
Rating: 7/10
The downside is that in authentically re-creating the performance of the original disk or tape drives, it's also authentically slow—you can be waiting whole minutes for games to load (the same goes for programs in GEOS). Maybe it's part of that digital detox approach, an attempt to teach us whippersnappers younger than the C64 itself some patience, but I wouldn't have minded losing that particular aspect of the traditional Commodore experience.
Ultimately—pun slightly intended—that's the tricky line the C64U has to walk. Yes, it's tremendously accurate to the experience of using a Commodore 64 four decades ago, but who does that serve in 2025? Its proposition of a return to distraction-free computing could be a distinctive selling point, but I'm not sure that this much of a throwback, with its ponderous nature and leisurely pace of doing anything, is going to win many converts. Even for those with the necessary levels of nostalgia, if that hankering is mainly for the C64's games, this is probably too much—emulation or those earlier C64 hardware re-creations that focused more on gaming are probably better options.
Despite all that, the Commodore 64 Ultimate really is an exceptional piece of kit. It's a beautifully crafted love letter to the groundbreaking original, and a reminder that there's a different way of doing things on a computer, and what they're for, than what Microsoft and Apple offer now. Returning hardcore enthusiasts will undoubtedly love it—but it's hard to see the C64U reshaping the world as the original did.
Commodore 64 Ultimate
Rating: 7/10
© 2025 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. WIRED may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices
This Skytech PC has epic specs for 4K and VR gaming
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
A 4K-capable gaming PC needs top-tier components, but in a pre-built machine, you can often expect to pay a hefty premium for the privilege. That isn't the case with this Skytech gaming PC, on sale at Newegg ahead of the new year with a very respectable $200 discount that pushes it under $2,500.
For the $2,499.99 sale price, you're getting a Skytech Gaming Azure 3 Plus gaming PC that's packed with a serious spec sheet for gamers. Front and center is the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, one of the best CPUs you can buy right now, along with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080, an elite-level GPU with 16GB of VRAM.
This Skytech Gaming Azure 3 Plus gaming PC is a 4K powerhouse, fitted with an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080. It has 32GB of DDR5-6000 RAM and a 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD with Gen 4 speeds.
The coupling of the RTX 5080 with the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a potent one. Our 9800X3D review explains in depth why this eight-core CPU is a powerhouse for gamers, fitted with its game-changing 3D V-Cache, which boosts the available L3 cache to 96MB, reducing the dependency on your system RAM and vastly reducing latency as a result.
The 9800X3D tops our benchmarks, it is one of the fastest gaming CPUs out there, easily beating any of its Intel rivals and offering a measurable step-up to older X3D chips like the 7800X3D. If you want an all-out rig that can push the limits of your hardware at 4K, with ray tracing and other goodies enabled, this is the CPU you'll want in your machine. If you dip down to 1440p or 1080p, you won't be much challenged, as these CPU benchmarks below show.
The RTX 5080, meanwhile, is the second-most powerful consumer GPU that you can buy right now from Nvidia's current Blackwell generation. Fitted with 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM, with a 256-bit memory bus, and with 10,752 CUDA cores at its disposal, this $1,000+ GPU is only beaten by the RTX 5090, which has (almost) double the cores and double the VRAM, and isn't too far behind the performance offered by Nvidia's last-gen flagship, the RTX 4090, either.
These two components alone set the tone for this Skytech gaming PC. This is a rig ready for 4K gaming, able to utilize the full power offered by Nvidia's Blackwell GPU, including DLSS 4 with ray tracing enabled in the games that support it. As long as you have a gaming monitor that can match it, this $2,499 machine offers performance that few other pre-build PCs can offer at this price point.
You're also getting 32GB of DDR5 memory, rated for 6,000 MT/s, with RGB lighting. A 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD is also installed, offering PCIe 4.0 speeds, which should be enough for a couple of big game installations, although there's always room to replace this with a bigger drive later. This rig also uses a 360mm AIO cooler with ARGB fans to keep your expensive CPU cool.
This $2,499.99 Skytech gaming PC isn't one you should easily dismiss in the current climate, especially with these specs. With PC prices expected to rise by around 8% next year due to the skyrocketing cost of flash memory, not to mention the risk of global economic crises, this might be one of the last chances to score a pre-built PC with these specs at a reasonable price. Don't expect this deal to be around for long.
If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.
Ben Stockton is a deals writer at Tom's Hardware. He's been writing about technology since 2018, with bylines at PCGamesN, How-To Geek, and Tom's Guide, among others. When he's not hunting down the best bargains, he's busy tinkering with his homelab or watching old Star Trek episodes.
Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
...with varying definitions of "usable," anyway.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
Computer archaeology lovers among the audience are in for a rare treat in these challenging times. Remember that Unix v4 tape that was found and recovered at University of Utah around last week? You can play it in a browser emulator right now, thanks to the wonders of modern browsers and the work of Mitch Riedstra.
The emulator's page actually runs a Linux emulator first, which then you can use to call up the SimH project's PDP-11 emulator, passing it a boot.ini file containing bootstrap instructions. After booting into Unix v4 proper, you'll be greeted with a familiar prompt so you can log in as the "root" user.
As the old saying goes, though: beware, there be dragons here. You'd think that much like the kid in Jurassic Park, you could find your way around it because it's a Unix system, but there's no shortage of proverbial grues just waiting to eat you.
First off, you can forget about most of your commands or aliases to them. For starters, ll is short for ls -la, so you better get used to typing the whole thing. Likewise, chdir was the Old English form of cd. And while the usual cat can output files like you'd expect, editing them is a process, as there's no nano. Brother, hold on, as there ain't no vi either — you use ed and enjoy viewing files a few lines at a time and humbly requesting for substitutions (ex: s/one/two).
Additionally, as you'll quickly figure out, the navigation shortcuts like arrow keys simply do not exist. The screen was treated like a roll of paper, and in order to go back one character you have to erase it with the "#" character, with one of them meaning "go back one character".
If you want to kill the entire line, Ctrl+C won't save you, only typing "@" and hitting Enter will do. You can click this link if you want a deep technical dive on the vicissitudes of emulating PDP hardware and Unix.
The backend of emulation comes by way of the Linux-native SimH emulator that's running inside the almost-magical JSLinux emulator, with a barebones version of Alpine Linux. Incidentally, JSLinux can also get you going with FreeDOS and even Windows 2000. That ought to trigger more than a couple waves of nostalgia.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.
Bruno Ferreira is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware. He has decades of experience with PC hardware and assorted sundries, alongside a career as a developer. He's obsessed with detail and has a tendency to ramble on the topics he loves. When not doing that, he's usually playing games, or at live music shows and festivals.
Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
Reading time 2 minutes
Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams loves crypto. He created a mayoral “Office of Digital Assets and Blockchain,” and supposedly had his first three paychecks converted to bitcoin so the city could even pay him in crypto. And in remarks made Monday at what was probably his final press conference as mayor, he indicated that his love affair with crypto is only intensifying. In fact, Adams is somehow going to fix violence, education, and antisemitism with crypto, he says. When speaking about next steps toward the end of the presser, he got off to a rocky start: “I'm excited about the next step. I cannot tell you … I've said over and over again, anyone would like to finish a job that you started.” And then he uttered three or four partial sentences I truly could not parse. Then he got his answer back on track with the following:
“I want to do my book. I'm going to go back to school. But I also want to use cryptocurrency to go after violence, educate our children, and really deal with antisemitism that we're seeing globally. So I've always wanted to uplift families and children, and I think this is a great opportunity to use technology to do so. And also I have a great deal of opportunities I've always wanted to do.”
What does he mean? Is he turning his time machine back to 2021 and starting a DAO to tackle violence, education, and antisemitism? Is he just donating a bunch of crypto to charities related to those causes? Is he creating his own memecoin? For now, I think it's best to assume he was just expressing himself artistically at this press conference, and that the statement was a sort of Etsy-style mood board in spoken word form.
Incidentally, 2025 was an absolutely massive year for lobbying in the crypto industry. According to the Hill, by July of this year no fewer than 27 crypto companies had filed their initial lobbying disclosures. Also in July, Politico reported that Coinbase erected branded vending machines on the National Mall and distributed 5,000 Coinbase chocolate bars, with a representative explaining that they were trying to “create a sugar rush for crypto across the Capitol.” If they're looking for more ideas like that one—and I truly mean this—they'd be fools to hire anyone other than the inventor of the phrase “All my haters become my waiters when I sit down at the table of success.” And they don't even have to pay him in real money.
Explore more on these topics
Share this story
Subscribe and interact with our community, get up to date with our customised Newsletters and much more.
Gadgets gifts are the best gifts to get friends and family.
Conflicts are good, actually.
The suit claims that the HAWK coin was rigged from the start to inflate its value rapidly before crashing.
It doesn't sound fun being a crypto juror.
"Mention markets" are the new cash grab.
Fed chair Jerome Powell made some on Wall Street uneasy when he signaled that another rate cut was no guarantee when the Fed meets again.
©2025 GIZMODO USA LLC.
All rights reserved.
We look at a maker's refined interpretation of the original Makeyo MK01.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
A maker has shared their take on the Makeyo MK01 3D printed PC case. They outline a handful of useful mods that they implemented based upon this premium 3D printing template. The MK01 was already a stunner, but the addition of a front USB-C port, inner 2.5-inch SSD brackets, and a fresh color scheme, all make Marst_art's re-spin worthy of attention.
The re-maker reckons that the PC case landscape is flooded with white / black / glass boxy structures, focused on showcasing RGB light shows. Marst_art would rather the case design to do the talking, not the lights, so was drawn to adopt the retro-futuristic Makeyo design.
It is difficult to find something perfect for your dream PC build, off the peg. Marst_art begins his video by commenting that “the Makeyo MK01 is exactly what I'm looking for in a case… Well, almost exactly.” Then the maker explained that he would implement the following enhancements, to tweak the Makeyo MK01 'just so':
Marst_art used a Bambu Lab A1 3D printer to output all the files required for this PC case build. He chose PLA for the case panels, which would be magnetically attached for quick servicing, while ABS was the material of choice for the frame for its heat resistance.
After printing and preparing all the parts, he noticed that he needed to print an adaptor to fit an SFX PSU in the design, as provided. With the Mayeko MK01 fitted with a full ATX motherboard, an SFX PSU is necessary, using the current plans.
Inside the finished chassis, Marst_art used his previous PC's guts, so it ended up being fitted with an AMD Ryzen 7 5700G CPU, Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU, 64GB RAM (bragging now), and a total 10TB of M.2 and SATA storage.
The final change, which the maker had previously suggested he would implement, was a power button shroud redesign. The interesting ‘X' motif which detached to allow the power button to be prodded wasn't required or desired by Marst_art. Instead, he 3D printed an ‘X' insert in a translucent material, so the assembly just became a prominent power button with the light shining through its center.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
If you want to check out the original Makeyo MK01 3D project, and compare it to the remake / tweaked version, check out the video below:
On the journey, following the Makeyo plans, Marst_art noticed that the plans and guide materials didn't quite match up. That is actually explained by Makeyo's diligent work on updating and refining the premium 3D printer design plans it sells. So, there's a slight disconnect, but what you are printing now is a refined (bug fixed) version of what was originally launched.
Apparently, Makeyo is actually working on an updated revision which supports the mounting of 2.5-inch SSDs. Marst_art therefore reasons that his ‘janky' SATA mounting 3D printer files aren't worth sharing at this time.
Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.
Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
Latest
AI
Amazon
Apps
Biotech & Health
Climate
Cloud Computing
Commerce
Crypto
Enterprise
EVs
Fintech
Fundraising
Gadgets
Gaming
Google
Government & Policy
Hardware
Instagram
Layoffs
Media & Entertainment
Meta
Microsoft
Privacy
Robotics
Security
Social
Space
Startups
TikTok
Transportation
Venture
Staff
Events
Startup Battlefield
StrictlyVC
Newsletters
Podcasts
Videos
Partner Content
TechCrunch Brand Studio
Crunchboard
Contact Us
Mark Zuckerberg has struck again.
Meta Platforms is acquiring Manus, a Singapore-based AI startup that's become the talk of Silicon Valley since it debuted last spring with a demo video that showed an AI agent doing things like screening job candidates, planning vacations, and analyzing stock portfolios. Manus claimed at the time that it outperformed OpenAI's Deep Research.
In April, just weeks after launch, venture capital firm Benchmark led a $75 million funding round that assigned Manus a post-money valuation of $500 million and saw Benchmark general partner Chetan Puttagunta joining the startup's board. Per Chinese media outlets, some other big-name backers had already invested in Manus at that point, including Tencent, ZhenFund, and HSG (formerly known as Sequoia China) via a $10 million round.
The company announced in mid December that it has since signed up millions of users and is generating annual recurring revenue of more than $100 million from monthly and year subscribers to its membership service.
It was around this time that Meta started negotiating with Manus, according to the WSJ, which says the tech giant is paying $2 billion — the valuation Manus was reportedly seeking for its next funding round.
For Zuckerberg, who has staked Meta's future on AI, Manus represents something new: an AI product that's actually making money. This is especially pertinent given that investors have grown increasingly twitchy about Meta's $60 billion infrastructure spending spree, and the broader tech industry's debt-backed expenditures on data center construction.
Meta says it'll keep Manus running independently and weave the startup's AI agents into Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, where Meta's own chatbot, Meta AI, is already available to users.
There is one wrinkle, however: Manus' Chinese founders founded its parent company, Butterfly Effect, in Beijing in 2022, before decamping to Singapore in the middle of this year. Whether that raises flags in Washington remains to be seen, but Senator John Cornyn has already dragged Benchmark for its investment in the company, raising concerns back in May about American capital going to a Chinese concern.
Cornyn, a Texas Republican and senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has long been one of Congress' most vocal hawks on China and technology competition, but he's hardly alone. Being tough on China has become one of the genuinely bipartisan issues in Congress.
Unsurprisingly, Meta has already told Nikkei Asia that after the acquisition, Manus won't have any ties to Chinese investors and will no longer operate in China. “There will be no continuing Chinese ownership interests in Manus AI following the transaction, and Manus AI will discontinue its services and operations in China,” a Meta spokesperson told the outlet.
Topics
Editor in Chief & General Manager
Plan ahead for the 2026 StrictlyVC events. Hear straight-from-the-source candid insights in on-stage fireside sessions and meet the builders and backers shaping the industry. Join the waitlist to get first access to the lowest-priced tickets and important updates.
Meta just bought Manus, an AI startup everyone has been talking about
You've been targeted by government spyware. Now what?
Sauron, the high-end home security startup for ‘super premium' customers, plucks a new CEO out of Sonos
NY Governor Hochul signs bill requiring warning labels on ‘addictive' social media
How reality crushed Ÿnsect, the French startup that had raised over $600M for insect farming
Nvidia to license AI chip challenger Groq's tech and hire its CEO
Waymo explains why its robotaxis got stuck during the SF blackout
© 2025 TechCrunch Media LLC.
Lois Anzelowitz Levine, MA
December 30, 2025
The association between periodontitis and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is stronger than previously recognized, a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) suggests.
Evidence also shows that treatment of periodontal disease can reduce inflammatory factors and improve certain intermediate risk markers associated with ASCVD.
However, there is still insufficient evidence to establish a causal relationship, the statement authors said.
“There has been increasing research showing an association between periodontal disease and heart disease; however, additional studies are needed to further clarify mechanisms and long-term effects from childhood into adulthood,” said lead author of the statement, Andrew H. Tran, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatric cardiology and director of preventive cardiology at The Heart Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio.
“We hope that this scientific statement brings attention to a modifiable risk factor that could decrease the risk of heart disease if addressed and spur additional research in this area,” he said.
Previous research indicates periodontal treatment improves inflammation-related blood markers and some intermediate cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, such as blood pressure and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
In the US, 42% of adults aged 30 years or older have periodontitis, with 7.8% experiencing severe disease. Severe periodontitis is more common among older adults, smokers, non-Hispanic Black people, and Mexican Americans.
Prevalence also rises with poverty: About 60% of people living below the federal poverty level have periodontitis.
These populations also carry a disproportionately high burden of ASCVD risk.
Studies have identified several plausible biological pathways linking periodontal disease and CV disease. Those studies include a 2024 umbrella review of periodontal disease and CV risk published in BMC Oral Health and a look at the association between these two diseases in a 2025 study published in The International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
Direct mechanisms include bacteria entering the bloodstream through bleeding periodontal pockets, leading to systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction and potentially contributing to atherosclerotic plaque development or instability, according to the scientific statement. Studies, including a 2025 review in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, also confirm these relationships.
Indirect mechanisms include chronic periodontal inflammation raising circulating CV risk markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-6 and TNF.
The statement authors also cited additional proposed pathways, including immune cross-reactivity, prothrombotic effects through increased platelet activation, and oral microbiome dysbiosis, all of which may contribute to vascular disease.
Oral hygiene measures, scaling and root planing, and, when appropriate, antibiotics have been shown to reduce inflammatory markers such as white blood cell count, fibrinogen, and CRP.
In addition, a meta-analysis reviewed in the AHA statement indicates that periodontal treatment can improve ASCVD-related biomarkers and endothelial function, with the strongest effects observed in individuals with established ASCVD and diabetes.
Reviews of multiple Cochrane systematic analyses and key clinical trials indicate that evidence remains insufficient to conclude that periodontal treatment prevents adverse CV events.
Establishing a direct causal link is challenging, largely because both conditions share common risk factors, including smoking, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and socioeconomic disadvantage.
The authors emphasize the need for further studies examining the long-term impact of periodontal disease and its treatment on CV outcomes.
“This important new American Heart Association scientific statement brings attention to an often-overlooked potential risk factor for heart problems — gum disease,” said Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, MBA, director of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital, New York City.
He noted that a prior analysis from the US NHANES registry found a clear relationship between increasing severity of periodontitis and CV risk.
“While a cause-and-effect relationship has not been definitively established, regular brushing, flossing, and dental visits remain sound advice regardless of their direct impact on cardiovascular risk,” said Bhatt, who was not part of the statement writing group.
Bhatt reported having no relevant financial relationships. Tran reported receiving research support in the form of a PEDSnet data analysis voucher and reported having no other relevant financial relationships.
Lois Anzelowitz Levine is a medical writer living in Dallas.
Send comments and news tips to news@medscape.net.
AI model using deep transfer learning – the most advanced form of machine learning – predicted with 92 % accuracy spoken language outcomes at one-to-three years after cochlear implants (implanted electronic hearing device), according to a large international study published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.
Although cochlear implantation is the only effective treatment to improve hearing and enable spoken language for children with severe to profound hearing loss, spoken language development after early implantation is more variable in comparison to children born with typical hearing. If children who are likely to have more difficulty with spoken language are identified prior to implantation, intensified therapy can be offered earlier to improve their speech.
Researchers trained AI models to predict outcomes based on pre-implantation brain MRI scans from 278 children in Hong Kong, Australia and U.S., who spoke three different languages (English, Spanish and Cantonese). The three centers in the study also used different protocols for scanning the brain and different outcome measures.
Such complex, heterogenous datasets are problematic for traditional machine learning, but the study showed excellent results with the deep learning model. It outperformed traditional machine learning models in all outcome measures.
"Our results support the feasibility of a single AI model as a robust prognostic tool for language outcomes of children served by cochlear implant programs worldwide. This is an exciting advance for the field," said senior author Nancy M. Young, MD, Medical Director of Audiology and Cochlear Implant Programs at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago – the U.S. center in the study.
This AI-powered tool allows a 'predict-to-prescribe' approach to optimize language development by determining which child may benefit from more intensive therapy."
Nancy M. Young, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
This work was supported by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong Grant GRF14605119, National Institutes of Health R21DC016069 and R01DC019387.
Dr. Young holds the Lillian S. Wells Professorship in Pediatric Otolaryngology at Lurie Children's. She also is Professor of Otolaryngology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and Professor and Fellow at Knowles Hearing Center, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northwestern University School of Communication.
Lurie Children's Cochlear Implant Program is one of the largest and most experienced in the world, with more than 2,000 cochlear implant procedures performed since its inception in 1991.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Wang, Y., et al. (2025) Forecasting Spoken Language Development in Children With Cochlear Implants Using Preimplant Magnetic Resonance Imaging. JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery. DOI:10.1001/jamaoto.2025.4694. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/fullarticle/2842669.
Posted in: Child Health News | Device / Technology News
Cancel reply to comment
Dr Bryony Henderson
GLP-1 agonists are pivotal in obesity care, promoting weight loss and addressing related health issues, with a focus on personalized, holistic treatment.
Guillaume Bentzinger, Luis Carrillo, Philippe Robin, and Alejandro Bara-Estaún
Discover how AI, flow chemistry, and NMR come together in the PiPAC project to revolutionize scalable and autonomous API production.
Dr. Raj Singh
Learn how digital connectivity and the PathoVerse are improving pathology workflows and accelerating access to expert diagnostics.
News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance
with these terms and conditions.
Please note that medical information found
on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship
between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide.
Last Updated: Tuesday 30 Dec 2025
News-Medical.net - An AZoNetwork Site
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2025
Your AI Powered Scientific Assistant
Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net.
To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account.
Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content.
A few things you need to know before we start. Please read and accept to continue.
Please check the box above to proceed.
Great. Ask your question.
Azthena may occasionally provide inaccurate responses.
Read the full terms.
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.
Provide Feedback
Gestational diabetes rose every single year in the U.S. from 2016 through 2024, according to a new Northwestern Medicine analysis of more than 12 million U.S. births. The condition, which raises health risks for both mother and baby, shot up 36 % over the nine-year period (from 58 to 79 cases per 1,000 births) and increased across every racial and ethnic group.
"Gestational diabetes has been persistently increasing for more than 10 years, which means whatever we have been trying to do to address diabetes in pregnancy has not been working," said senior author Dr. Nilay Shah, assistant professor of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
The findings update the research team's earlier work covering 2011–2019, confirming nearly 15 years of uninterrupted increases. Gestational diabetes, a form of glucose intolerance first diagnosed during pregnancy, carries immediate pregnancy risks and increases the chance of future diabetes and heart disease for both the mother and the child. Shah said the alarming trend likely reflects worsening health among young Americans.
"The health of young adults has been persistently worsening - less healthful diets, less exercise, more obesity," he said.
These trends likely underlie why the rates of diabetes during pregnancy have gone up."
Dr. Nilay Shah, Northwestern University
The study is the most current national analysis of gestational diabetes trends in the U.S. It will publish on Dec. 29 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
For the study, the Northwestern scientists analyzed every U.S. birth for first singleton pregnancies from 2016 to 2024, using birth certificate data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The team then broke down the data by race and ethnicity and found that women who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or from other Pacific Islander groups had substantially higher gestational diabetes rates than other groups.
"This is particularly important because these populations tend to be the least well-represented in health research, so we actually understand very little about why these groups have such high rates," Shah said.
Here's how many women per 1,000 births had gestational diabetes in 2024:
"The reasons for the differences in gestational diabetes rates across individual groups are an important area for further research," Shah said. See tables and charts from the study for visuals of the national rise over time and the rates within each racial and ethnic group, including Asian and Hispanic categories presented in detailed subgroups.
"We saw a lot of variation within Asian and Hispanic groups, which often gets overlooked in research," noted first author Emily Lam, a third-year medical student at Feinberg.
"These data clearly show that we are not doing enough to support the health of the U.S. population, especially young women before and during pregnancy," Shah said. "Public health and policy interventions should focus on helping all people access high-quality care and have the time and means to maintain healthful behaviors."
The study is titled, "Gestational Diabetes in the US From 2016 to 2024."
Northwestern University
Lam, E. L., et al. (2025). Gestational Diabetes in the US From 2016 to 2024. JAMA Internal Medicine. DOI:10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.7055. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2842943.
Posted in: Child Health News | Women's Health News | Healthcare News
Cancel reply to comment
Dr Bryony Henderson
GLP-1 agonists are pivotal in obesity care, promoting weight loss and addressing related health issues, with a focus on personalized, holistic treatment.
Guillaume Bentzinger, Luis Carrillo, Philippe Robin, and Alejandro Bara-Estaún
Discover how AI, flow chemistry, and NMR come together in the PiPAC project to revolutionize scalable and autonomous API production.
Dr. Raj Singh
Learn how digital connectivity and the PathoVerse are improving pathology workflows and accelerating access to expert diagnostics.
News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance
with these terms and conditions.
Please note that medical information found
on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship
between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide.
Last Updated: Tuesday 30 Dec 2025
News-Medical.net - An AZoNetwork Site
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2025
Your AI Powered Scientific Assistant
Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net.
To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account.
Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content.
A few things you need to know before we start. Please read and accept to continue.
Please check the box above to proceed.
Great. Ask your question.
Azthena may occasionally provide inaccurate responses.
Read the full terms.
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.
Provide Feedback
Immune cells called B cells make antibodies that fight off invading bacteria, viruses and other foreign substances. During their preparation for this battle, B cells transiently revert to a more flexible, or plastic, stem-cell-like state in the lymph nodes, according to a new preclinical study from Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The results could help explain how many lymphomas develop from mature B cells rather than from stem cells, as many other cancers do, and guide researchers in developing better treatments.
The study, published Dec. 29 in Nature Cell Biology, reveals a paradox: as mature B cells get prepped to make antibodies, a highly specialized process, they temporarily gain plasticity, a feature normally reserved for unspecialized stem cells. They do this by partially erasing their B cell features and activating stem-like programs, which are normally silenced in mature, differentiated cells. These are epigenetic changes, meaning the packaging of DNA is adjusted to regulate gene activity without altering the genetic information itself. Thus, the cells can turn these changes on or off as needed.
"Lymphomas are mostly driven by genetic mutations, but our study suggests that some of these mutations can take advantage of this epigenetic plasticity to drive tumor growth and fitness," said Dr. Effie Apostolou, associate professor of molecular biology in medicine and a member of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Dr. Laurianne Scourzic, a former instructor of molecular biology in medicine, also co-led the work in collaboration with Dr. Ari Melnick, adjunct professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and director of the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute in Barcelona.
After B cells encounter an antigen, a special environment called the germinal center forms around them in the lymph nodes, in which they cycle between two zones: In one zone, called the dark zone, B cells rapidly divide and mutate to make a random array of antibodies; then they move to the other zone, called the light zone, where they stop dividing and compete for selection from helper T cells in order to either form antibody-secreting cells or memory B cells, long-lived cells that help the body remember the antigen it encountered. If the B cells are not chosen for either of these options, they will undergo apoptosis (programmed death) or a minor fraction will recycle back for additional rounds of proliferation, mutation and selection.
These rapid and multidirectional changes are unusual in normal mature cells and prompted Dr. Apostolou's team to hypothesize that the B cells might be reverting to a stem cell-like state during process.
We know these B cells are mature and terminally differentiated, but they have features reminiscent of stem cells. This goes against the central dogma that cells lose their plasticity and stemness as they develop."
Dr. Effie Apostolou, Weill Cornell Medicine
The team employed stringent functional methods to test the plasticity of these cells and found that indeed, germinal center B cells have drastically higher capacity to reprogram to a stem cell-like state compared with other mature B cells. Further investigation revealed that only a small subset of the germinal center B cells, the ones that receive T cell help, acquire this plasticity, proving that this process is tightly regulated. Indeed, using various means to modulate the communication between B cells and T cells, the team could enhance or reduce B cell plasticity.
Using single-cell techniques, Dr. Scourzic found that the B cells that interacted with helper T cells showed reduced expression of B cell-specific genes, weakening their B cell identity, while they re-activated stem and progenitor-like programs and regulatory elements, which are usually repressed during development. In another experiment, the researchers deleted a protein called histone H1, which is commonly mutated in lymphoma patients and normally keeps chromatin tightly packaged inside the B cells. They observed an "opening up" of the chromatin and increased plasticity of all germinal center B cells, regardless of their interaction with helper T cells. "This result shows that there might be multiple roads to this plasticity," Dr. Scourzic said.
The team then examined associations with lymphoma patients. "All the signatures that we identified for this highly plastic state seem to be even further upregulated in many lymphoma patients, and they correlate with worse prognoses," Dr. Apostolou said. "We believe that the normal, tightly regulated plasticity during immune reaction can be hijacked by specific mutations to promote lymphomagenesis or enhance fitness." Mutations in histone H1 are one such example.
The current work highlights promising and targetable molecules and pathways involved in B cells plasticity. Ultimately, identifying the mechanisms involved in germinal center B cell plasticity and their functional links to lymphoma mutations could help researchers find biomarkers indicating which patients would respond better to therapies.
Weill Cornell Medicine
Posted in: Cell Biology | Medical Science News | Medical Research News | Medical Condition News
Cancel reply to comment
Dr Bryony Henderson
GLP-1 agonists are pivotal in obesity care, promoting weight loss and addressing related health issues, with a focus on personalized, holistic treatment.
Guillaume Bentzinger, Luis Carrillo, Philippe Robin, and Alejandro Bara-Estaún
Discover how AI, flow chemistry, and NMR come together in the PiPAC project to revolutionize scalable and autonomous API production.
Dr. Raj Singh
Learn how digital connectivity and the PathoVerse are improving pathology workflows and accelerating access to expert diagnostics.
News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance
with these terms and conditions.
Please note that medical information found
on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship
between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide.
Last Updated: Tuesday 30 Dec 2025
News-Medical.net - An AZoNetwork Site
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2025
Your AI Powered Scientific Assistant
Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net.
To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account.
Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content.
A few things you need to know before we start. Please read and accept to continue.
Please check the box above to proceed.
Great. Ask your question.
Azthena may occasionally provide inaccurate responses.
Read the full terms.
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.
Provide Feedback
Children with peanut allergies may not need large doses of peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT) to build protection to peanut, finds a new study led by The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and Montreal Children's Hospital. Researchers found that a small dose can help children with their peanut allergy and reduce the risk of severe reactions from accidental exposures, with less side effects than the current standard treatment.
In Canada, peanut allergies affect almost two per cent of children and adults and increasingly contribute to hospital admissions. Peanut OIT is a method to increase the amount of peanut that a child can eat before experiencing a reaction, helping to protect children against accidental contamination. Children receiving peanut OIT eat a gradually increasing amount of peanut over time until they reach a "maintenance" dose that is eaten regularly, even after the treatment, to help keep up the benefits.
While peanut OIT can help children with peanut allergies to build protection, current approaches use large doses that require lengthy treatment, close medical supervision and often can result in discontinuation due to dislike of the taste and side effects of allergic reactions like anaphylaxis.
The study is the first of its kind to compare a commonly used peanut OIT treatment to reduced doses in children, and provides evidence to support a significantly lower dose that could increase treatment accessibility and help protect more children with peanut allergy.
To investigate the safety and effectiveness of a very low maintenance dose of peanut OIT, the study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology – In Practice, randomly assigned 51 children with peanut allergy to three groups: low-dose treatment (30mg maintenance), standard-dose treatment (300mg maintenance) or avoidance (no peanut OIT).
Both peanut OIT treatment groups experienced significant and similar increases in their allergic reaction threshold to peanuts, showing that eating even small amounts is better than avoidance when it comes to training the immune system to manage more peanut.
"We were excited to find that peanut OIT maintenance doses can be much lower than previously thought and still contribute to positive outcomes," says Dr. Julia Upton, Head of the Division of Immunology & Allergy, Project Investigator in the SickKids Research Institute, Co-Director of the SickKids Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Program and co-first author.
The more options we have, the more we can support patients' experience and provide meaningful, tailored care."
Dr. Julia Upton, Head of the Division of Immunology & Allergy, Project Investigator, SickKids Research Institute
Children who were in the 30 mg maintenance group had fewer adverse reactions than the 300 mg maintenance group, and none withdrew from treatment.
"This is a small enough dose that even children who do not like the taste can continue treatment," says co-senior study author Dr. Thomas Eiwegger, Adjunct Scientist in the Translational Medicine program. "This is the first time we've compared standard doses to such a low dose, but the minimum maintenance dose to provide benefit may be even lower than 30mg."
The research team notes that some children and families may choose to remain on very low doses, while others may prefer to increase over time depending on their goals. This study marks an important step to further the development of safe and effective protocols for peanut OIT. Ultimately, the goal is to make peanut OIT accessible to more peanut-allergic children.
"The study found that very small amounts of peanuts, that are associated with less reactions, could be used as effectively as large amounts for oral immunotherapy, making it safer and accessible to more Canadians, even those who are very sensitive to the allergen," says Dr. Moshe Ben-Shoshan, co-senior author of the study, a pediatric allergy and immunology specialist at the Montreal Children's Hospital and Scientist in the Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health Program at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.
The Hospital for Sick Children
Upton, J. E. M., et al. (2025). Peanut Oral Immunotherapy Using 30 and 300 mg Maintenance Doses. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. DOI:10.1016/j.jaip.2025.10.007. https://www.jaci-inpractice.org/article/S2213-2198(25)00958-4/fulltext.
Posted in: Child Health News | Medical Research News | Healthcare News
Cancel reply to comment
Dr Bryony Henderson
GLP-1 agonists are pivotal in obesity care, promoting weight loss and addressing related health issues, with a focus on personalized, holistic treatment.
Guillaume Bentzinger, Luis Carrillo, Philippe Robin, and Alejandro Bara-Estaún
Discover how AI, flow chemistry, and NMR come together in the PiPAC project to revolutionize scalable and autonomous API production.
Dr. Raj Singh
Learn how digital connectivity and the PathoVerse are improving pathology workflows and accelerating access to expert diagnostics.
News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance
with these terms and conditions.
Please note that medical information found
on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship
between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide.
Last Updated: Tuesday 30 Dec 2025
News-Medical.net - An AZoNetwork Site
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2025
Your AI Powered Scientific Assistant
Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net.
To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account.
Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content.
A few things you need to know before we start. Please read and accept to continue.
Please check the box above to proceed.
Great. Ask your question.
Azthena may occasionally provide inaccurate responses.
Read the full terms.
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.
Provide Feedback
Many people live with chronic pain, and previous research has shown there is a connection between chronic pain and poor brain aging.
A new study took a closer look at this by exploring whether daily habits impact brain aging in people with chronic pain.
The researchers found that people who had healthy lifestyle behaviors had a younger brain age. In some cases, participants' brain age was up to 8 years younger than their actual age.
The findings suggest that while chronic pain was associated with accelerated brain aging in earlier studies, healthy behaviors may help protect the brain as people get older.
The study is published in Brain Communications.
As people age, their chances of developing chronic pain increase. This can happen due to wear and tear on joints, muscles, and connective tissue.
Conditions such as osteoarthritis and spinal disc degeneration contribute to chronic pain. While treatments such as physical therapy, medication, or surgery can help, recovery tends to be slower in older adults, and pain may not fully resolve.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), data from 2023 showed that 24.3% of United States adults reported having chronic pain. Additionally, 8.5% of adults had chronic pain that affected their daily life and work.
Chronic pain can also contribute to poor sleep and depression.
Aging is also associated with changes in the brain. Studies using MRI scans have indicated that aging is associated with the shrinking of some regions of the brain, as well as with changes in gray and white matter, which are linked to slower processing speed and memory deficits.
Ideally, a person's brain age would match or appear younger than their chronological age. However, in conditions such as dementia, the brain often appears older than expected.
The researchers behind the new study further explored chronic pain and brain age by analyzing data from more than 100 adults ages 45 to 85 who were tracked for 2 years.
The participants were part of a larger observational study on pain and osteoarthritis risk. The scientists assessed each participant's chronic pain stage on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being little to no chronic pain and 5 being severe chronic pain.
Some factors that they considered to determine the pain stage included:
The team also evaluated the participants' lifestyle habits and psychological traits, including tobacco use, waist size, sleep quality, stress levels, and optimism.
They used this to determine a “protective score,” and people with healthier lifestyles and stronger emotional and social well-being had higher scores.
At the start of the study, people with a higher protective score, including those with chronic pain, had brain ages that were up to 8 years younger than their chronological age.
People with lower protective scores, however, had a brain age that was older than their actual age.
After 2 years, participants with the healthiest lifestyle profiles continued to show younger brain ages, which suggests that positive habits can have a lasting effect on brain health.
Some of the most important protective factors, which were associated with a younger brain age in people with chronic pain, were:
The researchers said their results show lifestyle and social habits matter more than pain severity alone.
They emphasized that many of these factors can be changed, and people should speak with their healthcare providers about how to develop healthier habits.
For example, they could speak with their providers about improving sleep, stopping tobacco use, and finding ways to improve social support.
Dung Trinh, MD, an internist with MemorialCare Medical Group and Chief Medical Officer of Healthy Brain Clinic, discussed the study with Medical News Today.
“It's a compelling practical study linking chronic pain and everyday lifestyle psychosocial factors to an MRI-based ‘brain age' measure,” Trinh who was not involved in this research, told us.
He added that one of the study's strengths is using multiple brain scans.
Trinh emphasized that brain age is “a biological risk marker, not a direct guarantee of better memory or dementia prevention,” and said that because the study is observational, it does not prove cause and effect.
Still, he noted that modifiable factors such as sleep, stress, smoking, and social connection can add up over time.
“Even if we can't change age or genetics, we can influence sleep quality, stress load, physical activity pacing in the presence of pain, smoking status, and social connection,” Trinh explained.
Hanul Bhandari, MD, a neurologist and Chief Medical Officer at Vistim Labs, likewise not involved in this research, also spoke with MNT about the study.
Bhandari said the study stands out for showing that brain aging is shaped by daily habits:
“This study is compelling because it reframes brain aging as a dynamic process shaped by daily behaviors, psychosocial context, and chronic health stressors rather than as an inevitable consequence of time alone.”
He noted that the study did not focus only on what harms the brain, but highlighted protective factors, which he said aligns with how neurologists increasingly view aging.
“Preserving brain health supports not just memory, but independence, adaptability, and overall lifespan quality,” Bhandari emphasized. “Studies like this remind us that the brain is responsive, measurable, and worth protecting early, consistently, and deliberately.”
Share this article
In this In Conversation podcast episode, MNT discusses a study from Brazil which found links between seven artificial sweeteners and accelerated brain…
In this episode of In Conversation, Dr. Tom Barber, professor of endocrinology and obesity expert, helps us explore the evidence linking a…
This podcast episode examines two studies that assess the impact type 2 diabetes has on brain health and explores three lifestyle interventions that…
Sleep has emerged as the most important factor for life expectancy bar smoking in a new study from Oregon Health & Science University.
A common plant compound found in cocoa may help slow down the biological aging process, hinting that dark chocolate might have anti-aging effects…
OUR BRANDS
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is one of the most aggressive forms of lung cancer, with a five-year survival rate of only five percent. Despite this poor prognosis, SCLC is initially highly responsive to chemotherapy. However, patients typically relapse and experience very rapid disease progression. Current research into the biological mechanisms behind SCLC remains essential in order to prolong treatment responses, overcome relapse and, ultimately, improve long-term patient outcomes.
A research team led by Professor Dr Silvia von Karstedt (Translational Genomics, CECAD Cluster of Excellence on Aging Research, and Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne – CMMC) has discovered a novel mechanism used by this type of cancer that helps explain its aggressive nature. The study titled "Lack of Caspase 8 Directs Neuronal Progenitor-like reprogramming and Small Cell Lung Cancer Progression" was published in Nature Communications.
Unlike other epithelial cancers, SCLC shares features with neuronal cells, including lack of caspase-8 expression, a protein involved in programmed, non-inflammatory cell-death (apoptosis), a mechanism that is essential to eliminate faulty or mutated cells and to maintain health.
To better mimic the features of human SCLC, the team generated and characterized a novel genetically engineered mouse model lacking caspase-8. Using this new model, the team observed that when this protein is missing, an unusual chain reaction sets off. "The absence of caspase-8 leads to a type of inflammatory cell death called necroptosis that creates a hostile, inflamed environment even before tumors fully form" explains von Karstedt.
We were also intrigued to find that pre-tumoral necroptosis can in fact promote cancer by conditioning the immune system."
Dr. Silvia von Karstedt, University of Cologne
The inflammation creates an environment where the body's anti-cancer immune response is suppressed, preventing immune cells from attacking threats like cancer cells. This, in turn, can promote tumour metastasis. Surprisingly, the researchers observed that this inflammation also pushes the cancer cells to behave more like immature neuron-like cells, a state that makes them better at spreading and that is associated with relapse.
While it remains unknown whether similar pre-tumoral inflammation also occurs in human patients, this work identifies a mechanism contributing to the aggressiveness and patient relapse in SCLC that could be exploited as a way to improve the efficiency of future therapies and early-stage diagnostic methods.
This research was supported by the German Research Foundation within Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1399 "Mechanisms of drug sensitivity and resistance in small cell lung cancer".
University of Cologne
Androulidaki, A., et al. (2025). Lack of caspase 8 directs neuronal progenitor-like reprogramming and small cell lung cancer progression. Nature Communications. DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-67142-4. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-67142-4.
Posted in: Medical Science News | Medical Research News | Medical Condition News
Cancel reply to comment
Dr Bryony Henderson
GLP-1 agonists are pivotal in obesity care, promoting weight loss and addressing related health issues, with a focus on personalized, holistic treatment.
Guillaume Bentzinger, Luis Carrillo, Philippe Robin, and Alejandro Bara-Estaún
Discover how AI, flow chemistry, and NMR come together in the PiPAC project to revolutionize scalable and autonomous API production.
Dr. Raj Singh
Learn how digital connectivity and the PathoVerse are improving pathology workflows and accelerating access to expert diagnostics.
News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance
with these terms and conditions.
Please note that medical information found
on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship
between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide.
Last Updated: Tuesday 30 Dec 2025
News-Medical.net - An AZoNetwork Site
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2025
Your AI Powered Scientific Assistant
Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net.
To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account.
Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content.
A few things you need to know before we start. Please read and accept to continue.
Please check the box above to proceed.
Great. Ask your question.
Azthena may occasionally provide inaccurate responses.
Read the full terms.
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.
Provide Feedback
A research team at Oregon Health & Science University has discovered a promising new drug combination that may help people with acute myeloid leukemia overcome resistance to one of the most common frontline therapies.
In a study published today in Cell Reports Medicine, researchers analyzed more than 300 acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, patient samples and found that pairing venetoclax, a standard AML drug, with palbociclib, a cell-cycle inhibitor currently approved for breast cancer, produced significantly stronger and more durable anti-leukemia activity than venetoclax alone. The findings were confirmed in human tissue samples, as well as in mouse models carrying human leukemia cells.
"Of the 25 drug combinations tested, venetoclax plus palbociclib was the most effective. That really motivated us to dig deeper into why it works so well - and why it appears to overcome resistance seen with current therapy," said Melissa Stewart, Ph.D., research assistant professor at OHSU and lead author of the study.
More than 20,000 Americans are diagnosed with AML each year, making it one of the most common types of leukemia - and one of the most aggressive.
Since the drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2019, venetoclax combined with azacitidine has rapidly become a go-to treatment for many people with AML. But resistance remains a nearly universal problem.
"Unfortunately, almost everyone will eventually have drug resistance," said the study's corresponding author, Jeffrey Tyner, Ph.D., professor of cell, developmental and cancer biology in the OHSU School of Medicine.
This regimen has improved initial response rates and quality of life, but the five-year survival rate for AML is still only about 25 % to 40 %. We have a lot of work to do."
Jeffrey Tyner, School of Medicine, OHSU
Tyner, a co-leader of the national Beat AML 1.0 program said the new study builds directly on the work of that national initiative to help transform and expand treatments for AML.
"This combination was nominated from the Beat AML data, and Dr. Stewart validated that prediction, showing not only that it works, but why," Tyner said.
The study found that AML cells exposed to venetoclax alone try to adapt by increasing protein production, a shift that helps them survive. Adding palbociclib, a drug approved for breast cancer, blocked this adaptation by regulating protein-production machinery inside the cell.
"Patient samples that responded strongly to the combination showed clear downregulation of genes involved in protein synthesis," Stewart said. "This was a big clue."
A genome-wide CRISPR screen also revealed that while venetoclax alone becomes more effective when protein-production genes are lost, the combination therapy does not rely on that same vulnerability - a sign the two drugs work together to shut down multiple survival pathways.
The research team tested the combination using mouse models implanted with human AML cells carrying mutations known to cause venetoclax resistance.
"In this model, venetoclax alone didn't extend survival at all - just as we'd expect based on the genetics," Stewart said. "But with the combination, the majority of mice lived 11 to 12 months. In fact, one mouse was still alive when the study ended."
Stewart says the project holds personal significance.
"I'm a breast cancer survivor and was treated here at OHSU, so I know what it's like to be a cancer patient," she said. "The hope that research and clinical trials can bring - that's what motivates me. Working on AML gave me a way to contribute."
Both researchers emphasized the importance of following scientific data even when it leads outside traditional boundaries.
"Some might ask why a breast cancer drug would work in AML," Tyner said. "But biology can be shared across very different cancers. This is a great example of why keeping an open mind matters and following the data where it leads."
Stewart said that the team is already evaluating other drugs similar to palbociclib - many of them also approved for breast cancer - to expand future clinical trial options. The researchers hope to move the combination toward clinical testing.
"We haven't tested it in patients yet, but based on everything we've seen, our prediction is that this combination would mitigate most known resistance mechanisms to the current standard therapy," Tyner said. "Making it a clinical reality will take work, but this is exactly why we do what we do."
Oregon Health & Science University
Stewart, M. L., et al. (2025). CDK4/6 inhibition overcomes venetoclax resistance mechanisms with enhanced combination activity in acute myeloid leukemia. Cell Reports Medicine. DOI:10.1016/j.xcrm.2025.102526. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(25)00599-3?_returnURL.
Posted in: Medical Science News | Medical Research News | Medical Condition News
Cancel reply to comment
Dr Bryony Henderson
GLP-1 agonists are pivotal in obesity care, promoting weight loss and addressing related health issues, with a focus on personalized, holistic treatment.
Guillaume Bentzinger, Luis Carrillo, Philippe Robin, and Alejandro Bara-Estaún
Discover how AI, flow chemistry, and NMR come together in the PiPAC project to revolutionize scalable and autonomous API production.
Dr. Raj Singh
Learn how digital connectivity and the PathoVerse are improving pathology workflows and accelerating access to expert diagnostics.
News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance
with these terms and conditions.
Please note that medical information found
on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship
between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide.
Last Updated: Tuesday 30 Dec 2025
News-Medical.net - An AZoNetwork Site
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2025
Your AI Powered Scientific Assistant
Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net.
To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account.
Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content.
A few things you need to know before we start. Please read and accept to continue.
Please check the box above to proceed.
Great. Ask your question.
Azthena may occasionally provide inaccurate responses.
Read the full terms.
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.
Provide Feedback
Following stroke, some people experience a language disorder that hinders their ability to process speech sounds. How do their brains change from stroke? Researchers led by Laura Gwilliams, faculty scholar at the Wu Tsai Neuroscience Institute and Stanford Data Science and assistant professor at the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences, and Maaike Vandermosten, associate professor at the Department of Neurosciences at KU Leuven, compared the brains of 39 patients following stroke and 24 healthy age-matched controls to unveil language processing brain mechanisms.
As reported in their JNeurosci paper, the researchers recorded brain activity while volunteers listened to a story. People with verbal speech processing issues from stroke were not slower to process speech sounds but had much weaker processing than healthy participants. According to the researchers, this suggests that people with this language disorder can hear sounds of all kinds as well as healthy people but have issues integrating speech sounds to understand language.
Additionally, when there was uncertainty about what words were being said, healthy people processed speech sound features longer compared to those who had experienced a stroke. This could mean that, following stroke, people do not process speech sounds long enough to successfully comprehend words that are difficult to detect.
This work points to brain activity patterns that may be crucial for understanding verbal language, according to the authors. First author Jill Kries expresses excitement about continuing to explore how this simple approach-listening to a story-can be used to improve diagnostics for conditions characterized by language processing issues, which currently involve hours of behavioral tasks.
Society for Neuroscience
Kries, J., et al. (2025). The spatio-temporal dynamics of phoneme encoding in aging and aphasia. The Journal of Neuroscience. DOI:10.1523/jneurosci.1001-25.2025. https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2025/12/17/JNEUROSCI.1001-25.2025.
Posted in: Medical Science News | Medical Research News | Medical Condition News
Cancel reply to comment
Dr Bryony Henderson
GLP-1 agonists are pivotal in obesity care, promoting weight loss and addressing related health issues, with a focus on personalized, holistic treatment.
Guillaume Bentzinger, Luis Carrillo, Philippe Robin, and Alejandro Bara-Estaún
Discover how AI, flow chemistry, and NMR come together in the PiPAC project to revolutionize scalable and autonomous API production.
Dr. Raj Singh
Learn how digital connectivity and the PathoVerse are improving pathology workflows and accelerating access to expert diagnostics.
News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance
with these terms and conditions.
Please note that medical information found
on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship
between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide.
Last Updated: Tuesday 30 Dec 2025
News-Medical.net - An AZoNetwork Site
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2025
Your AI Powered Scientific Assistant
Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net.
To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account.
Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content.
A few things you need to know before we start. Please read and accept to continue.
Please check the box above to proceed.
Great. Ask your question.
Azthena may occasionally provide inaccurate responses.
Read the full terms.
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.
Provide Feedback
More than seven million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, and two-thirds of them are women, according to the Alzheimer's Association. The O'Banion Lab at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester has long been studying this disease and is looking more closely at the differences between male and female brains.
"It is well documented that males and females are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at different rates," said M. Kerry O'Banion, MD, PhD, professor of Neuroscience and Neurology.
But we still do not have a great understanding of why this is the case. We can only improve any possible treatment or prevention of this disease if we know the why, when, and where these differences are occurring."
M. Kerry O'Banion, Professor of Neuroscience and Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center
New research led by O'Banion and Neuroscience graduate student Lia Calcines-Rodríguez discovered that the immune cells in the brain, known as microglia, act differently in the male and female Alzheimer's brain, and appear to cause residual harm in the female brain. As described in their recent paper in the Journal of Neuroinflammation, they discovered that in mice, when microglia respond to amyloid-β plaques-the sticky clumps of protein that accumulate in the brain in Alzheimer's disease- female microglia express more interferon-related genes.
In the body, interferons are known for their role in combating viral infections; however, the role of interferons in Alzheimer's disease is unknown. Previous research has shown that interferon signaling can drive neuroinflammation and can damage synapses, the connections between neurons. Researchers believe that as the microglia consume the amyloid-β plaques, they may be exposed to DNA or RNA, mistake it for a virus, and this may cause the cells to release interferon, although the exact cause and function of interferon in Alzheimer's remains unclear.
This research also found that female microglia leave behind larger and more irregular plaques, which damage more neuronal connections than those in the male brain.
"It was surprising to see that female microglia had such a strong interferon response and that these interferon-responsive microglia were taking up more amyloid-β," said Calcines-Rodríguez, first author of the study. "Interestingly, we did not see differences in amyloid-β pathology or microglia gene expression in females at different hormonal stages of their cycle, suggesting that hormone fluctuation may not explain these differences." She also sees potential in the interferon signaling in microglia as a possible sex-specific, personalized treatment to combat Alzheimer's.
Microglia are an important part of the nervous system. In a healthy brain, they help maintain a stable environment. It is understood that these cells play a significant role in the pathogenesis and progression of Alzheimer's disease. Now, researchers aim to understand whether these differences between male and female microglia could provide a path to alter the disease course, if male and female microglia are inherently different, and if interferon signaling could be a potential pharmacological target.
University of Rochester Medical Center
Calcines-Rodríguez, L., et al. (2025) Microglial interferon signaling and Aβ plaque pathology are enhanced in female 5xFAD Alzheimer's disease mice, independent of estrous cycle stage. Journal of Neuroinflammation. DOI:10.1186/s12974-025-03659-1. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12974-025-03659-1.
Posted in: Medical Research News | Medical Condition News
Cancel reply to comment
Dr Bryony Henderson
GLP-1 agonists are pivotal in obesity care, promoting weight loss and addressing related health issues, with a focus on personalized, holistic treatment.
Guillaume Bentzinger, Luis Carrillo, Philippe Robin, and Alejandro Bara-Estaún
Discover how AI, flow chemistry, and NMR come together in the PiPAC project to revolutionize scalable and autonomous API production.
Dr. Raj Singh
Learn how digital connectivity and the PathoVerse are improving pathology workflows and accelerating access to expert diagnostics.
News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance
with these terms and conditions.
Please note that medical information found
on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship
between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide.
Last Updated: Tuesday 30 Dec 2025
News-Medical.net - An AZoNetwork Site
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2025
Your AI Powered Scientific Assistant
Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net.
To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account.
Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content.
A few things you need to know before we start. Please read and accept to continue.
Please check the box above to proceed.
Great. Ask your question.
Azthena may occasionally provide inaccurate responses.
Read the full terms.
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.
Provide Feedback
For the first time, clinicians have access to a clear, evidence-based roadmap for adjusting antiseizure medication doses during pregnancy and after childbirth.
The strategies, practiced by a group of leading women's neurology experts in the nationwide landmark Maternal Outcomes and Neurodevelopmental Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs (MONEAD) study, were published today in Neurology. They are expected to inform clinical practice and help ensure healthy pregnancies for women with epilepsy.
"Our goal was to generate practical evidence that empowers clinicians everywhere-from rural hospitals to urban subspecialty centers-to provide the best possible care for women with epilepsy during pregnancy," said Page Pennell, M.D., senior author of the study and chair of neurology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
These strategies are based on real-world data from hundreds of successful pregnancies and can be applied in the clinic immediately."
Page Pennell, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Epilepsy affects more than one million American women of childbearing age, but for decades, both patients and physicians have faced uncertainty about how to safely manage antiseizure medications during pregnancy. While some modern antiseizure medications are safer than older drugs, pregnancy changes how the body processes these medications, often necessitating careful dose adjustments to maintain seizure control and protect both mother and baby.
The MONEAD study followed women with epilepsy and their children from pregnancy through age six years. Researchers at 20 academic medical centers, including UPMC as a key clinical partner to Pitt, recorded real-world epilepsy care during pregnancy and postpartum and analyzed the patterns that led to healthy deliveries.
Leading up to the analysis for this new publication, Pennell and her research collaborators were the first to show that blood levels of epilepsy medications often drop early in pregnancy, requiring proactive dose adjustments to prevent breakthrough seizures. A prior MONEAD study report published in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that pregnant women with epilepsy experienced the same degree of seizure stability as non-pregnant women with epilepsy, but had their medication doses adjusted significantly more often. The MONEAD research also provided critical evidence that children born to women with epilepsy and who were exposed to antiseizure medications in utero reach neurodevelopmental milestones on par with their peers.
Despite these advances, translating knowledge into everyday clinical practice remains challenging. Research conducted by UPMC pediatric neurologist Laura Kirkpatrick, M.D., found that a significant percentage of healthcare providers report low confidence in managing epilepsy during pregnancy-a gap compounded by historical misconceptions and stigma, which contribute to lower birth rates among women with epilepsy.
The new study builds upon this earlier work and offers a detailed and practical week-by-week playbook for dose adjustments during pregnancy and postpartum, filling a longstanding gap in clinical care.
"As a practicing physician who specializes in women's neurology and pregnancy, I see firsthand how critical timely dose adjustments are for protecting both mother and baby," said Denise Li, M.D., lead author of the study and assistant professor of neurology at Pitt. "This guidance gives clinicians the confidence to adjust antiseizure medication doses precisely at every stage of pregnancy and postpartum."
Ongoing studies at UPMC and partner sites continue to refine medication management strategies for pregnant women with epilepsy to further improve outcomes and support raising awareness of best practices through initiatives such as the Epilepsy and Pregnancy Medical Consortium website.
Other authors of this research are Wesley Kerr, M.D., Ph.D., and Katherine McFarlane, M.S., of Pitt; Alison Pack, M.D., of Columbia University; Jacqueline French, M.D., of NYU Langone; Elizabeth Gerard, M.D., of Northwestern University; Angela Birnbaum, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota; and Kimford Meador, M.D., of Stanford University.
University of Pittsburgh
Posted in: Medical Research News | Women's Health News | Healthcare News
Cancel reply to comment
Dr Bryony Henderson
GLP-1 agonists are pivotal in obesity care, promoting weight loss and addressing related health issues, with a focus on personalized, holistic treatment.
Guillaume Bentzinger, Luis Carrillo, Philippe Robin, and Alejandro Bara-Estaún
Discover how AI, flow chemistry, and NMR come together in the PiPAC project to revolutionize scalable and autonomous API production.
Dr. Raj Singh
Learn how digital connectivity and the PathoVerse are improving pathology workflows and accelerating access to expert diagnostics.
News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance
with these terms and conditions.
Please note that medical information found
on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship
between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide.
Last Updated: Tuesday 30 Dec 2025
News-Medical.net - An AZoNetwork Site
Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2025
Your AI Powered Scientific Assistant
Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net.
To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account.
Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content.
A few things you need to know before we start. Please read and accept to continue.
Please check the box above to proceed.
Great. Ask your question.
Azthena may occasionally provide inaccurate responses.
Read the full terms.
Terms
While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena
answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses.
Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or
authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for
medical information you must always consult a medical
professional before acting on any information provided.
Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with
OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their
privacy principles.
Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential
information.
Read the full Terms & Conditions.
Provide Feedback
High Impact Player mechanism debate with NWSLPA signals pivotal moment for league
by
This holiday season brings a mix of cheers and jeers for National Women's Soccer League Commissioner Jessica Berman.
A record eight NWSL teams made the Forbes annual list of the world's most valuable sports teams. Atlanta will join the league as its 17th team, having paid a record-high $165 million for expansion rights. The league also garnered record-breaking TV audiences this year for its Championship game on platforms like ESPN.
Crucially, two of the United States women's national team's brightest stars, Sophia Wilson and Trinity Rodman, are seemingly choosing to remain stateside. On December 16, Sportico first reported that Wilson officially became the league's highest-paid player as she exercised her $1 million player option with the Portland Thorns.
It serves as a counterpoint to the narrative about the league's difficulty retaining elite American players, like Alyssa Thompson and Naomi Girma.
However, that is where things get complicated.
High Impact Player mechanism debate with NWSLPA signals pivotal moment for league
Atlanta paid a record NWSL expansion fee, numerous pregnancies highlighted the NWSL's progress on...
Simone Charley triumphantly returned from injury, Vlatko Andonovski won lots then stepped away from...
Canadian goalkeeper's contract was set to run through the 2026 season
Atlanta paid a record NWSL expansion fee, numerous pregnancies highlighted the NWSL's progress on...
Simone Charley triumphantly returned from injury, Vlatko Andonovski won lots then stepped away from...
The National Women's Soccer League's official announcement of its new “High Impact Player” rule...
Copyright © 2021 The Equalizer
Log in
Subscribe Now
Region
Search
Top News
Podcasts
Connections: Sports Edition
NFL
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Fantasy
NFL Odds
NFL Picks
NFL Draft
Podcasts
Scoop City Newsletter
Playoff Simulator
Postseason Picture
Race to No. 1 Pick
2026 NFL Draft Order
NCAAF
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
Newsletter
Recruiting
Odds
Picks
Michigan Hires Whittingham
Quarterfinals Preview
Bracket Predictions
CFP Team Guide
CFP Odds
Bowl Schedule
New Coach Grades
NBA
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
The Bounce Newsletter
NBA Draft
Podcasts
Fantasy
NBA Odds
NBA Picks
Latest Power Rankings
Inside KG's Minnesota Return
Steve Kerr Reflects
Top 25 Players Of 21st Century
NHL
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
Fantasy
NHL Odds
NHL Picks
Team Projections
Red Light Newsletter
MLB
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
The Windup Newsletter
Fantasy
MLB Prospects
MLB Odds
MLB Picks
Top 50 Free Agents
Way-Too-Early Power Rankings
WNBA
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
Fantasy Football
Home
NFL Home
Scoop City
Betting
Discord
NCAAM
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Bracket
Standings
Podcasts
Most Interesting People
NCAAW
Home
Scores & Schedule
Bracket
Standings
Podcasts
Olympics
Home
2026 Men's World Cup
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Premier League
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Fantasy
The Athletic FC Newsletter
Podcasts
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa
Uganda vs. Nigeria
2025's Oddest Football Stats
Life of a PL Referee
Season's Biggest Game?
Golf
Home
Coming Soon to Your Inbox
Tennis
Home
Global Sports
College Sports
Soccer
Women's Soccer
Home
NWSL Schedule
Full Time Newsletter
Podcasts
NWSL
Women's World Cup
USWNT
College Sports
MLS
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
NWSL
Home
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Full Time newsletter
Podcasts
Peak
Formula 1
Home
Prime Tire newsletter
Schedule
Standings
McLaren
Ferrari
Red Bull
Mercedes
Aston Martin
Alpine
Haas
Racing Bulls
Williams
Sauber
Sports Business
Home
MoneyCall Newsletter
Sailing
Opinion
Home
Betting
Home
Fantasy Football
Odds
NFL Picks
UK Betting
Fantasy Baseball
Home
MLB Home
Rates & Barrels
Betting
Fantasy Football
Fantasy Hockey
Top 50 Prospects
Terminology
Memorabilia and Collectibles
Culture
Home
Motorsports
Home
Podcasts
NASCAR
Women's Hockey
Home
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Teams
MMA
Home
Boxing
Home
Paul vs. Joshua Live
The Pulse Newsletter
Cities
Playoff Picture
Mock Draft
Offseason Intel
Connections: Sports Edition
Women's Soccer
Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Photos: Jamie Squire, Julian Finney, Robin Alam / Getty Images
Compared to the accelerated track to Olympic gold that was 2024, this year has been one of transformational adjustments within the U.S. women's national team. Relative to the tight deadline head coach Emma Hayes was under when she began her tenure last year, officially starting the job two months before the Olympics, she luxuriated in ample time with the team in 2025 .
Advertisement
This meant time to tinker with the development pipeline within U.S. Soccer, which led to the inaugural Futures Camp in January as well as a record-setting 16 new players called up to the senior team, which makes the USWNT's 2025 record of 12-3 even more impressive.
Throughout the year, players spoke of steep learning curves, exceptional challenges, and confidence building as they attempted to wedge their way into the core group Hayes plans to hone in on when the intensity of World Cup preparation increases further in 2026.
The U.S. finished the calendar year with a tidy 2-0 victory over Italy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Dec. 1, and only seven of the players who competed in that match were part of the team's gold medal-winning roster from the 2024 Summer Olympics. The Athletic reflects on some of the most pivotal moments from 2025 and sets intentions for the next.
USWNT's high-scoring summer
This summer felt like the epitome of Hayes' vision not only for the senior national team, but the system she's been forging with other head coaches on the women's side of U.S. Soccer. She kicked the summer off in surprising fashion by offering a break to players based in Europe who had just completed their seasons abroad; only center-back Naomi Girma, who was working her way back from injury, was called in to camp that summer. Everyone else featured came from the NWSL and included a slew of new faces, many of whom had been named to the January Futures camp or had recently impressed at the U-23 level, like midfielder Sam Meza and defenders Jordyn Bugg and Lilly Reale.
The U.S. competition over the summer was filtered through the schedules of continental tournaments like the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, Copa América Femenina, and the European Championship. They faced tests against China, Jamaica, Ireland, and Canada, and aced all four emphatically, scoring a total of 18 goals without conceding a single one. Given the volume of fresh faces who played during that window, this summer offered a glimpse of Hayes' program in motion.
Advertisement
—Tamerra Griffin
USWNT 1-2 Portugal
I'm enjoying the growing lore between the U.S. and Portugal, which started at the 2023 World Cup when Portugal nearly knocked the U.S. out in the group stage. This match, the first of two in the October window, was their first time meeting since the World Cup. Portugal, despite having the weaker roster in terms of individual talent, was assertive and unafraid, bouncing back after conceding in the opening minute of the match to claim a massive 2-1 victory.
The U.S., meanwhile, looked listless across the pitch, unable to conduct plays from the midfield and generally seeming unsure of themselves, which resulted in individualistic play that Hayes described as a “game of Whac-a-Mole.” Adding to the concern was the fact that the starting midfielders in that game were composed of USWNT veterans Lindsey Heaps, Rose Lavelle, and Sam Coffey.
That said, at the risk of sounding aggressively glass-half-full, this felt more like a one-off moment rather than a pattern in 2025. Hayes has been adamant all year that she would not prioritize winning over development, which is why the USWNT's other losses to Japan and Brazil that preceded this match are not “worst moment” candidates. Those games, which took place in February and April, respectively, were experimental for younger USWNT players like Ally Sentnor, Claire Hutton, and Lily Yohannes, who were going up against teams ranked among the top 10 in the world for the first time at the senior level. That was less the case in October and with a more experienced lineup, which is what made the Portugal match so confounding and disappointing.
—Griffin
Catarina Macario
Macario is a complete player, with a high, and frankly undefined, ceiling. So much so that it's hard to tell how much better the 26-year-old forward can get. After missing out on the 2024 Olympics due to irritation in her knee, Macario started 2025 with a bang that refused to dull. She scored the USWNT's first goal of the year against Colombia in the SheBelieves Cup and went on to net seven more, making her the team's top goalscorer this year.
Advertisement
As with most things related to Macario's game, the stat sheet only tells part of the story. Her awareness and movement off the ball are singular in the USWNT's attack, and her ability to combine with younger players like Yohannes (whose two assists this year both led to Macario goals) and older ones like Lavelle makes her a critical link between generations on the pitch. She started all 10 of the matches she appeared in and recorded two assists on top of her eight goals on the year.
—Griffin
Hayes on players going abroad
Hayes is good for a quirky metaphor; she's quoted Robert Frost and made culinary references to putting players in the frying pan and slow-cooking her development plans like a winter stew.
My favorite line from Hayes, however, was in response to a question the former Chelsea manager is likely tired of being asked about USWNT players moving abroad to play in Europe. It's a question she thinks exposes a subtle gendered assumption about where female athletes can and should be, rather than celebrating that they have viable options.
“I find it fascinating because nobody asked Mauricio (Pochettino, USMNT head coach) them, and it almost feels like we always have to ask that question because it's women. Now, all of a sudden, women get the opportunity to choose. We should celebrate the position that women are in to be able to do that. We shouldn't shoehorn it. Like, we can have an incredible league and still have incredible U.S. women's national team players that played both here and abroad and is celebrated instead of, like, picking it apart.
“It doesn't mean we're always going to lose people forever, and it doesn't mean we're going to lose everyone. We just have to accept that different things matter to different people.”
—Griffin
Sam Coffey the… goalscorer?
On a scale of 1-10, if someone had told me Sam Coffey would be in a three-way tie for second place on the USWNT's list of top goalscorers by the end of 2025, my surprise would register somewhere at around an eight.
Advertisement
Before this year, the 26-year-old defensive midfielder had one goal to her name from a 2023 friendly against China. This year she scored four (including in another friendly against China), along with forwards Lynn Biyendolo and Ally Sentnor. Only Macario has scored more with eight.
“I miss plenty of them in practice, so it was about time I made one,” Coffey joked after this year's China match. “I feel like I'm working a lot on trying to join the play more, get up in counter-measures. I tend to play it too safe, and think too ‘worst-case scenario,' so I was just trying to join.”
The USWNT hasn't seen a goalscoring No. 6 since Julie Ertz, who was known for her aerial prowess. Coffey's profile is very different, but her burgeoning hunger for the back of the net makes for exciting possibilities as the USWNT continues to build.
—Griffin
Sophia Wilson
2025 was marked by a Triple Espresso-shaped hole in the USWNT as Wilson and Mallory Swanson were absent on maternity leave and Trinity Rodman's ongoing back injury forced her into sporadic appearances on the national team. Wilson gave birth to her daughter Gianna in September, and by November was traveling with her to the NWSL Championship in San Jose, Calif. and the USWNT's final games of the year in Florida.
When she announced that she would exercise her player option with the Thorns and return to Portland in 2026, Wilson mentioned the importance of returning to a familiar place after such a significant life change and long break from soccer. On the national team front, she'll be returning to a completely different setup than the one she left shortly after the Olympics, which will make her return to the USWNT all the more worth paying attention to.
—Griffin
The bounce back in Connecticut
We all remember the panic that set in after the USWNT fell to Portugal at Subaru Park in Philadelphia. It was an uncharacteristic 2-1 loss from the U.S., as they seemed disjointed on the pitch. It was the first time the team played together in roughly 130 days, and it certainly showed.
Advertisement
But what stood out from this window was the team's ability to bounce back. The U.S. returned to the pitch at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn., just three days later, where they faced Portugal again. This time, the U.S. flipped the script. Both games started with an early goal from the U.S., but the players kept their pace in their much-needed redo. Rising star Olivia Moultrie played a key role in their 3-1 win with her second-ever career brace — a symbolic nod to the team's next generation. The team kept their momentum against Portugal, maintained control and ended the night on top.
As Hayes said after the match, “I'm really, really pleased with the mentality, most importantly, of the group to recover, but also (to) dominate the game in a way I expect and demand.” Losing against Portugal was just as important for the U.S. as winning against them was, and this pair of matches stands out as one of the most important weeks of 2025 for the USWNT as they continue to develop.
—Melanie Anzidei
16 first-time call-ups
As Tamerra pointed out in her dispatch from Florida earlier this month, a record 16 players earned their first senior national team caps with the U.S. in 2025. This stands as the most caps earned in any calendar year in program history.
Hayes' pipeline was put into motion this fall when Rodman had to miss the USWNT camps in October and November after sustaining a mid-season injury with the Washington Spirit. Paris Saint-Germain's Eva Gaetino, who was called up to train with the U.S. U-23 camp, was called up mid-window to fill in that vacancy on the senior side.
This fluidity between the two teams was also highlighted by Gotham FC's Jaedyn Shaw. The 21-year-old successfully moved between both rosters, returning to the USWNT senior side in October for the first time since April after spending two summer windows with the U-23. Upon her return, Shaw seemed refreshed. This was punctuated further by her dominance with Gotham, which she joined in September, and later helped lead to their second NWSL Championship win in three years.
Advertisement
Hayes' persistence in developing this pipeline will continue to strengthen the foundation of the U.S. team and allow players the flexibility to develop at their own pace.
—Anzidei
The return of Triple Espresso
About a year ago, when Hayes shared the USWNT's 26-player roster for January camp, the team's announcement included a line about the Triple Espresso. The beloved frontline of Wilson, Swanson and Rodman would be absent from the team's first camp of 2025, as they continued offseason rest and injury recovery.
No one could have predicted that we would go the entire calendar year without the trio together on a pitch, especially after they won the hearts of global soccer fans with their Olympic gold medal run in Paris just the summer before. Wilson and Swanson took time away from soccer in 2025 to start their families, while Rodman's long-anticipated return to the USWNT this fall was delayed by an injury sustained during the NWSL season.
To say the national team has moved on from Triple Espresso would be wrong. Sure, multiple players have stepped up in their absence, and these players will all have to earn their way back into the team's starting lineup, but as the USWNT eyes the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, this next year will be critical in identifying the tournament's final roster.
—Anzidei
Now
37°
Wed
48°
Thu
45°
by Unfiltered Soccer
Tim Howard sites Matt Freese's rapid ascent for why he is U.S. Soccer's Breakthrough Male Player of the Year while Landon Donovan focuses on Diego Luna's impact on the team's culture shift.
For the United States Men's Soccer Team, 2025 will likely not be remembered as a year of tremendous on-field success. Yes, they did end on a high note going unbeaten in 5 consecutive friendlies capped off by their 5-1 win over Uruguay. But those results are at best neutralized and at worst overshadowed by the team's 3rd place finish in March's Nations League and their runner-up finish in the summer's Gold Cup.
With results being mixed in the way that they were, 2025 may instead be remembered for the new faces that emerged along the way, faces that could yet blossom into national team mainstays in the years to come.
On the latest edition of Unfiltered Soccer with USMNT legends Landon Donovan and Tim Howard, the duo handed out their end-of-year “Unfiltie” awards, among which was the award for U.S. Soccer's Breakthrough Male Player of the Year. Howard identified a number of viable candidates, but ultimately, it was a player at the position closest to his heart whose rise was so extreme that it stood above the rest.
“If we sat here six months ago and someone would have said to both you and I, ‘the starting goalkeeper is going to be this kid Matt Freese from New York City,' we'd have been like ‘caller, get off the line, you're stupid.'”
But that is precisely what has happened. Freese didn't emerge as a regular starter at club level in MLS until 2024 when he was 25 years old. He didn't receive his first call up to the national team until this past January. But as the curtain comes down on 2025, he is the unquestioned number 1 goalkeeper for his country.
“He's gonna play every game in the World Cup,” said Howard. “That has to be the breakthrough player of the year.”
In Donovan's eyes, however, there was a player even more deserving than Freese.
In the summer of 2024, Diego Luna wasn't able to land a place on the U.S. Olympic team, a roster primarily comprised of up-and-coming players under the age of 23. But less than a year later, the Real Salt Lake midfielder had caught the eye of the senior team Head Coach and has subsequently played his way into serious contention to be a part of the USMNT's World Cup squad.
“When Diego Luna broke his nose during that January friendly and refused to come off the field," said Donovan, "[Mauricio] Pochettino gravitated to him and said, ‘okay, he's like me.”
In Donovan's estimation, Luna's impact was more significant than simply performing well on the field – he was also the catalyst to a much-needed culture change within the program.
“As players, we're always paying attention. And if the coach loves a guy who's doing a certain thing, you're like, ‘I'm going to do more of that because I want to get on the field.' And that's what Diego Luna was. He was that guy that everyone said, ‘okay, I have to play this way. I don't have to be perfect, but I have to play with that level of passion if I'm going to make the national team.' And I think that was a breakthrough moment. So for me, he's the breakthrough player of the year.”
New episodes of “Unfiltered Soccer” drop every Tuesday. Watch on YouTube, or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow the show @UnfilteredSoccer on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Facebook for bonus content.
2025 Sinclair, Inc.
Manage your account
...
Manchester City could keep one eye on a sell-on clause included in their deal that took James McAtee to Nottingham Forest in the most-recent summer transfer window.
McAtee decided to part ways with his boyhood club on a permanent basis this summer in the backdrop of a 2024-25 season wherein the 23-year-old struggled for regular minutes in his first full season back in the Manchester City senior ranks after successive loans at Sheffield United.
The Salford-born playmaker considered a January exit amid interest from Bayer Leverkusen but Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola pleaded with the academy graduate to see the season through as the Blues struggled with key absences in midfield and spent over £180 million on reinforcements in the January transfer window.
Guardiola handed McAtee a new lease of life in the business stages of the 2024-25 campaign as the midfielder made his first set of Premier League starts, notably scoring on his full debut in the English top-flight as Manchester City came from two goals behind to claim an emphatic 5-2 triumph over Crystal Palace in April.
However, it was too little, too late in terms of a show of faith as McAtee decided to captain England at the FIFA U-21 World Cup in the summer over a chance to represent Manchester City at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
Clubs across the Bundesliga expressed varying levels of interest in the Englishman, who toured suitor clubs' facilities in Germany before deciding to stay in England and join Nottingham Forest for £30 million.
Manchester City are understood to have included sell-on and buy-back clauses in the playmaker's sale to the City Ground – a standard practice for the Blues in the event of academy graduate sales over the years.
The Blues remain in an embryonic stage of their transition under director of football Hugo Viana, who made sweeping changes to Guardiola's ranks in the summer, and while the jury remains out on whether they can sustain their recent purple patch, City could well finish the season with silverware.
Meanwhile, McAtee has so far struggled to establish a regular starting place in the east Midlands following major upheaval at the City Ground, where Ange Postecoglou was sacked as manager in October 39 days into his reign and replaced by Sean Dyche.
Now, according to the information of Mail Sport's Simon Jones, both Leeds United and Chelsea have checked on McAtee's situation at Nottingham Forest, while Bournemouth, Fulham, and Sunderland have varying degrees of interest in a loan deal for the player.
It is explained that while Dyche and the club's hierarchy think highly of the 23-year-old and maintain he has a bright future at the club, his 10 appearances so far this season with several from the substitutes' bench has alerted interested clubs.
Further afield, it is pointed out that Bundesliga sides Stuttgart, Red Bull Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt have maintained a watching brief on McAtee, while Porto and PSV Eindhoven are also among the player's admirers.
Former Real Madrid star James Rodriguez is reportedly close to agreeing a move to MLS outfit the Columbus Crew as he aims to remain in shape ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The Colombian midfielder has left Leon in Liga MX and while he initially planned to remain in Mexico, he now looks set to move to the United States instead.
James has embarked on a nomadic career since leaving Real Madrid at the end of 2020. The Colombia international played for Everton, Al-Rayyan, Olympiacos, Sao Paulo, and Rayo Vallecano prior to his move to Mexico with Leon. During his time with the Liga MX club, he made 34 appearances, scoring five goals and registering nine assists. Now, Marca reports that he is set to head to the United States next. Oscar Orstos reports that the Columbus Crew are hoping to seal a deal, despite being without a manager following the departure of Wilfried Nancy to Celtic.
James is also said to be of interest to Orlando City, and there had been links with Santos, although the Brazilian club have denied their interest in the ace. James has 122 caps for Colombia and is eyeing a spot at the 2026 World Cup; he has already revealed he dreams of bringing the trophy back to his homeland, in what is likely to be his final tournament. He will turn 35 in 2026 and has yet to win a major trophy with his country. He has been a runner-up in the Copa America but has not tasted international success since Colombia's youth team won the Toulon Tournament back in 2011.
He said: “Playing in the World Cup is always a great joy. Now, at 34, I think it's much nicer because football passes, time passes for everyone. I'm in very good spirits for that World Cup. We're all on the same path. With the team we have, we'll stand up to anyone because this is a big team. We're playing for big things. A World Cup, and we want to win it.”
Looking for smarter football bets? Get expert previews, data-driven predictions & winning insights with GOAL Tips on Telegram. Join our growing community now!
James has become a star at previous World Cups, scoring the undoubted goal of the tournament at the 2014 showpiece, with a brilliant volley from range. He won the Puskas Award for the strike, and also won the Golden Boot, having scored six goals throughout Colombia's run to the quarter-finals, where they lost to Brazil. Rodriguez became the first player since Ronaldo in 2002 to score five or more goals at a World Cup. He was left in tears after their defeat to the Selecao, and claimed a "great team has been born" after the game, although Colombia have struggled since and have not scaled such heights, even failing to qualify for the 2022 tournament in Qatar. If he does settle at a new club in MLS, James may help play a role in changing that next summer.
Indeed, Rodriguez remains central to Colombia's plans, and played in every single one of his side's qualifiers, scoring against Argentina and Bolivia, and providing assists against Argentina, Chile, and Brazil, while setting up two more goals in their final game against Venezuela. He also played a key role at the Copa America in 2024, but Colombia were beaten by Lionel Messi and Co in the final after extra time.
Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting
Colombia know two of their group stage opponents at the tournament. They will play both Uzbekistan and Portugal, as well as one of New Caledonia, Jamaica, or DR Congo, depending on the winner of the play-off. First, James will hope to find a club, with the Columbus Crew seemingly closing in on his signature.
He could join the likes of Messi and Son Heung-min in America, as the profile of MLS continues to rise. James would undoubtedly be a major signing if the Columbus Crew can get the deal over the line, as he would be for Orlando, too.
Japan legend Kazuyoshi Miura, who will celebrate his 59th birthday in February, has agreed a six-month loan move to Fukushima United, extending a professional career that now stretches into a remarkable fifth decade. The agreement means Miura could feature in the J.League, encompassing Japan's top three divisions, for the first time in five years.
Miura has insisted that his love for the game remains the fuel that drives him forward. Preparing for what will be his 41st season as a professional footballer, the veteran made it clear that the fire still burns.
"My passion for football hasn't changed, no matter how old I get," he said. "I'm very grateful to be given this opportunity. I promise I will play with everything I have to make a contribution. Let's make history together!"
Nicknamed ‘King Kazu' in his homeland, Miura's journey began far from Japan. He started his professional career with Santos in 1986, immersing himself in Brazilian football culture at a time when few Japanese players ventured abroad. Miura would go on to play club football in Italy, Croatia and Australia, building a global resume long before such moves became commonplace for Asian players.
Since 2005, Miura has been registered with Yokohama FC, although his time there has largely been spent on loan. This latest switch to Fukushima United marks his fourth loan move since 2022. Last season, Miura spent time on loan at fourth-tier Atletico Suzuka, where minutes were limited. He made seven appearances, totalling just 69 minutes, and did not find the net.
Looking for smarter football bets? Get expert previews, data-driven predictions & winning insights with GOAL Tips on Telegram. Join our growing community now!
Miura scored 55 goals in 89 appearances for Japan, establishing himself as one of the country's most recognisable footballing figures. His last cap came in 2000, two years after he failed to make the cut in Japan's squad for their first-ever World Cup finals. Since then, he has even represented his country in futsal, earning six appearances alongside his enduring club career.
Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting
Setbacks have rarely discouraged him. After relegation to Japan's regional leagues, Miura spoke about his readiness to "take on a new challenge", a mindset that has once again shaped his next move. Fukushima United, who finished 10th in the 20-team third division last season, offer a fresh environment and a new chapter.
Napoli star Rasmus Hojlund has been hailed as the "strongest striker in Serie A" alongside Inter's World Cup-winning talisman Lautaro Martinez, as the Denmark international continues his impressive goalscoring exploits following his summer loan move from Manchester United. The forward has scored six goals and registered two assists in 12 appearances, proving his worth in Italy following a dismal spell in the Premier League.
Hojlund joined Napoli on loan with an obligation to buy in the summer, and has already gone on to score six Serie A goals, netting a brace last time out in a 2-0 win over Cremonese. The Denmark star's exploits may come as something of a surprise, given his well-documented struggles at Old Trafford. During his first two seasons at United after joining from Atalanta, he made 95 appearances but only scored 26 goals, of which only 14 came in the Premier League. Now, though, he has been hailed as one of the best centre-forwards in Italy's top-flight. He has already eclipsed his league goal tally at United last season, doing so in 22 fewer games.
Christian Vieri, the former Italy international, has claimed that Hojlund has the ability to become one of the best strikers in the world.
He said: "I consider Hojlund as potentially one of the five best strikers in the world. He can score goals, but he knows how to attack deep and wear down defences. He has a strong left foot and is great with his head and his physicality."
Giampaolo Pazzini, a former striker with Fiorentina, AC Milan and Inter, has also waxed lyrical about Hojlund, while giving Napoli boss Antonio Conte credit for bringing the best out of him. Pazzini told Sportsmediaset: “At the moment, Hojlund, under [Antonio] Conte, is the strongest striker in Serie A alongside Lautaro [Martinez]. Since he arrived, he has undergone an incredible transformation.
“He has always been a good player, but with great instinct, great power, he was a wild horse. Conte took him, educated him and raised him.
“Now he's a fantastic striker because he plays for the team, he doesn't make a single mistake, he never gets anticipated, he plays short, he plays long, he's vicious in front of goal.
“Now he's decisive throughout the match and you also find him in the defensive phase.”
Looking for smarter football bets? Get expert previews, data-driven predictions & winning insights with GOAL Tips on Telegram. Join our growing community now!
Conte has claimed that Hojlund is becoming "dominant" as he grows in Serie A.
He said: “Hojlund is a player who is very young, he's still only 22 years old, and can improve a great deal.
“Since he first joined us, he has already progressed to become a dominant player in that role, because he's starting to understand the right positions to take, how to defend the ball, when to come towards it or back off.
“He is really well connected with the team. In my style of football, the strikers have a very important and special role in the overall approach, and he has huge margin for further improvement.”
A member of Hojlund's entourage, Luca Nigriello, revealed his motivations, adding: “When we were closing the operation with Napoli there was great enthusiasm. Rasmus arrived from a complicated period at Manchester United, but he never experienced Napoli as a stop-gap (ripiego). He arrived with true hunger, with the desire to get back into the game. Character-wise he is strong, tough, he knows what he wants.
“Conte gives him confidence and is making him grow. Rasmus plays, makes mistakes, and learns. He has become hungrier, more consistent. He is a chameleon who adapts to what the team asks.”
Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting
Napoli play Lazio on Sunday as they bid to continue their title defence. Conte's side are third in Serie A, two points behind current leaders Inter. The two sides will clash on January 11 when Hojlund and Co head to the San Siro. Hojlund won the Suppercopa Italiana this year, and is now gunning for his first major trophy in Italy. He did lift the FA Cup during his time at United, having also won the league with Copenhagen in 2020-21.
Log in
Subscribe Now
Region
Search
Top News
Podcasts
Connections: Sports Edition
Nikola Jokic Injury
NFL
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Fantasy
NFL Odds
NFL Picks
NFL Draft
Podcasts
Scoop City Newsletter
Playoff Simulator
Postseason Picture
Race to No. 1 Pick
2026 NFL Draft Order
NCAAF
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
Newsletter
Recruiting
Odds
Picks
Michigan Hires Whittingham
Quarterfinals Preview
Bracket Predictions
CFP Team Guide
CFP Odds
Bowl Schedule
New Coach Grades
NBA
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
The Bounce Newsletter
NBA Draft
Podcasts
Fantasy
NBA Odds
NBA Picks
Latest Power Rankings
Inside KG's Minnesota Return
Steve Kerr Reflects
Top 25 Players Of 21st Century
NHL
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
Fantasy
NHL Odds
NHL Picks
Team Projections
Red Light Newsletter
MLB
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
The Windup Newsletter
Fantasy
MLB Prospects
MLB Odds
MLB Picks
Top 50 Free Agents
Way-Too-Early Power Rankings
WNBA
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
Fantasy Football
Home
NFL Home
Scoop City
Betting
Discord
NCAAM
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Bracket
Standings
Podcasts
Most Interesting People
NCAAW
Home
Scores & Schedule
Bracket
Standings
Podcasts
Olympics
Home
2026 Men's World Cup
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Premier League
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Fantasy
The Athletic FC Newsletter
Podcasts
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa
Uganda vs. Nigeria
2025's Oddest Football Stats
Life of a PL Referee
Season's Biggest Game?
Golf
Home
Coming Soon to Your Inbox
Tennis
Home
Global Sports
College Sports
Soccer
Women's Soccer
Home
NWSL Schedule
Full Time Newsletter
Podcasts
NWSL
Women's World Cup
USWNT
College Sports
MLS
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
NWSL
Home
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Full Time newsletter
Podcasts
Peak
Formula 1
Home
Prime Tire newsletter
Schedule
Standings
McLaren
Ferrari
Red Bull
Mercedes
Aston Martin
Alpine
Haas
Racing Bulls
Williams
Sauber
Sports Business
Home
MoneyCall Newsletter
Sailing
Opinion
Home
Betting
Home
Fantasy Football
Odds
NFL Picks
UK Betting
Fantasy Baseball
Home
MLB Home
Rates & Barrels
Betting
Fantasy Football
Fantasy Hockey
Top 50 Prospects
Terminology
Memorabilia and Collectibles
Culture
Home
Motorsports
Home
Podcasts
NASCAR
Women's Hockey
Home
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Teams
MMA
Home
Boxing
Home
Paul vs. Joshua Live
The Pulse Newsletter
Cities
Playoff Picture
Mock Draft
Offseason Intel
Connections: Sports Edition
World Cup
2026 World
Cup Prep
Design: Kelsea Peterson; Images: Omar Vegas / Getty, BSR / Getty, Robin Alam / Getty
Design: Kelsea Peterson; Images: Omar Vegas / Getty, BSR / Getty, Robin Alam / Getty
Coming out of the 2022 World Cup, as North American attention turned toward 2026, there was a relatively clear hierarchy among the tournament's co-hosts — Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Only one had reached the knockout rounds in Qatar. That same team, the U.S., would go on to win consecutive Concacaf Nations League titles. At the start of this World Cup cycle, the Americans were rising, whereas Mexico was in decline and Canada's trajectory was murky. If you had to pick one of the three to make a run at their home World Cup, the choice, throughout 2023, was clear: the USMNT.
Advertisement
Then, over the years since, the pecking order began oscillating. Mexico rebounded. The U.S. plateaued, then dipped. All three fired and hired coaches. Canada went furthest at the 2024 Copa América but, unlike its rivals, hasn't won a trophy of any kind. All three have spent time as the region's highest-rated team (per Elo).
So, with 2026 upon us, and with World Cup openers roughly six months away, the answer to the question — which home team is best prepared for the tournament? — is very unclear.
The following is an assessment of their men's national team programs and their hopes of meeting the World Cup moment, as their summer in the spotlight nears.
For the U.S., the long and low-pressure runway to this World Cup has been a roller coaster.
It began with unprecedented optimism. After bossing Mexico at the 2023 Nations League finals, newly re-hired head coach Gregg Berhalter said: “If we continue to develop in the way that we have, if this group continues to go where we think they can go, the sky's the limit.”
A year later, they were losing to Colombia 5-1 and crashing out of the Copa América. Berhalter was fired. Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino brought hope, then a barrage of pessimism and doubt, and then — now — the mood has swung again, back to where it was at the start of the cycle.
It crept, cautiously, toward optimism again as the U.S. won friendlies against Japan, Australia and Paraguay this fall, with a draw against Ecuador in between. Then a team of reserves — Pochettino would hate that description, but it's accurate — smoked Uruguay, 5-1. A few weeks later, the USMNT drew a winnable World Cup group, and suddenly, Pochettino and American fans alike were invoking the Miracle on Ice and dreaming.
Pochettino and players have adopted a slogan: “Be realistic, and do the impossible.”
And a realistic “benchmark,” midfielder Tyler Adams said earlier this month, is “the furthest a U.S. team has gone” — which would be a World Cup semifinal or final.
Advertisement
Rationally, such a lofty goal still seems far-fetched. The recent friendlies that sparked renewed hope were, in fact, forgettable friendlies. The team that will likely take the field on June 12 has, due to injuries and other absences, hardly played together under Pochettino. Man for man, they still do not measure up to international soccer's giants.
They do, though, have things they didn't have in 2022 — namely, a striker (Folarin Balogun) and depth. Pochettino's masterplan, to light fires under “regulars” who'd grown too comfortable, has seemingly worked. “The moment that we identified the problems, we started to destroy the things that we need to destroy, and start to build the house from the ground up,” he said in October.
Entering 2026, the house is looking structurally sound. The question, now, is whether Pochettino can add an extra story and take the USMNT to a place it's never been. At the very least, its ceiling now seems higher than Mexico's and Canada's. – Henry Bushnell
This will be Mexico's third opportunity to host a World Cup, and the three host cities (Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey) should leave a wonderful impression on the world. But folklore and culture won't propel Mexico towards a World Cup semifinal. And this version of Mexico has shown to be far too inconsistent to inspire confidence.
Mexico won the Concacaf Nations League in March 2025 and then lifted the Gold Cup trophy in the summer. The Nations League run included a win over Canada in the semifinals. Life was good for head coach Javier Aguirre. It appeared as though the veteran manager had restored the grit and pride that has long defined the Mexico men's national team.
Since then, Mexico has fallen back down to earth. Losses to Switzerland (4-2) in June and Colombia (4-0) in October set Aguirre's project back. Against two World Cup-caliber opponents, Mexico was outplayed, both tactically and physically. Aguirre was dumbfounded by his team's performances in those friendlies, which caused great concern among the fanbase.
Advertisement
Today, Aguirre remains unsettled on a preferred starting XI. Yet, there will be few surprises in the teamsheet when Mexico kicks off the World Cup against South Africa on June 11. And that's where the problem lies for Mexico. The 2026 squad will have some new faces, like 17-year-old midfield prodigy Gilberto Mora of Club Tijuana and Toluca's central midfielder Marcel Ruíz. Santiago Giménez (AC Milan) and Germán Berterame (Monterrey) will compete with Fulham's Raúl Jiménez at the No. 9 position.
But beyond those names, this summer's World Cup squad will resemble the 2022 team that failed to progress from the group stage in Qatar. Mexico is a veteran-led team, and that, perhaps, is its greatest strength. Aguirre must hope that playmakers like Diego Lainez and Alexis Vega, two players who have not lived up to expectations with the national team, deliver top-tier performances next summer.
In recent friendlies against Ecuador, Uruguay and Paraguay, Mexico competed but lacked an attacking edge in the opponent's final third. Mexico battled Ecuador and Uruguay to 1-1 and 0-0 results, respectively, then lost to Paraguay 2-1. Draws against Japan (0-0) and South Korea (2-2) in September left Aguirre grasping for solutions in several key areas of the field, namely both fullback positions and goalkeeper.
On paper, Mexico's Group A opponents won't cause too much concern. There isn't a tournament contender among South Africa, South Korea, and the UEFA playoff entrant (either Denmark, North Macedonia, Czech Republic or Republic of Ireland). And yet still, there's a fear in Mexico that Aguirre's side could flop on home soil. On the other hand, there's hope that national pride and partisan crowds in Mexico City and Guadalajara will inspire Mexico in 2026.
Of the three host nations, Mexico appears to be under the most pressure. That could either spell disaster or push Aguirre and Mexico to do what no other Mexican national team has done in the past – in a good way. – Felipe Cardenas
Advertisement
The World Cup presents different pressures and expectations for Canada than its American and Mexican counterparts. Both Canadian players and Canada Soccer genuinely hope that this tournament irrevocably changes the sports landscape at home.
Canadian sports culture is dominated by hockey. But more children play soccer than any other team sport, and have for a generation. That generation is lacking results and heroes to attach themselves to. When you couple soccer's rise with a shift in demographics and hockey nursing a black eye in the court of public opinion – numerous scandals will do that – you can understand why Canada hopes this tournament becomes a historical inflection point.
Canada's World Cup group features Switzerland, Qatar and the winner of a UEFA playoff (Italy, Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Northern Ireland). Getting to the knockout round for the first time constitutes the bare minimum for a successful World Cup.
Manager Jesse Marsch has done well to prepare his team for this opportunity. Whereas Pochettino spent 2025 rotating players for the United States to better understand his player pool, Marsch narrowed in on a pool of around 30 players and relied on them heavily through the final three international windows.
Canada played 14 games in 2025 and only lost two in regular time. That's fewer regular time losses than Mexico and the U.S. What was lacking, however, and what was a focus of Marsch's work late in the year was the cunning and strategies that will help Canada close out games. Canada lost its cool against lowly Guatemala (106th in the world) in the Gold Cup quarterfinals and suffered an early exit from a tournament it had designs on winning.
Canada was a lot of fun through Marsch's first year in 2024. To his credit, Canada's identity became solidified through 2025: Marsch's version of Red Bull soccer evolved with his player pool. Canada became the most defensively resolute team in Concacaf, allowing just one goal through its final six games – and that's without stalwart defenders Alistair Johnston and Moïse Bombito.
Advertisement
Canada was at its best playing European teams; easily handling Ukraine at home then getting back-to-back wins in Europe for the first time (against Romania and Wales) were highlights. That experience should serve them well at home this summer, where two European teams will be waiting in the group stage.
The most inspiring snapshot of Canada's World Cup readiness came in October. In an intense stadium in New Jersey filled with Colombian fans, Canada held Colombia, then ranked 13th in the world by FIFA, to a 0-0 draw and dominated play for long stretches. This game suggested Canada could grind out a result against a superior team with newfound resoluteness and confidence.
Canada still has to create and score in a way its co-hosts can, so it will still feel like an underdog in a way that Mexico and the United States won't. Yet just as much, its opportunity to surprise and change the way soccer is viewed at home feels like a much bigger motive is at play than that of their co-hosts. – Joshua Kloke
Log in
Subscribe Now
Region
Search
Top News
Podcasts
Connections: Sports Edition
NFL
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Fantasy
NFL Odds
NFL Picks
NFL Draft
Podcasts
Scoop City Newsletter
Playoff Simulator
Postseason Picture
Race to No. 1 Pick
2026 NFL Draft Order
NCAAF
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
Newsletter
Recruiting
Odds
Picks
Michigan Hires Whittingham
Quarterfinals Preview
Bracket Predictions
CFP Team Guide
CFP Odds
Bowl Schedule
New Coach Grades
NBA
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
The Bounce Newsletter
NBA Draft
Podcasts
Fantasy
NBA Odds
NBA Picks
Latest Power Rankings
Inside KG's Minnesota Return
Steve Kerr Reflects
Top 25 Players Of 21st Century
NHL
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
Fantasy
NHL Odds
NHL Picks
Team Projections
Red Light Newsletter
MLB
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
The Windup Newsletter
Fantasy
MLB Prospects
MLB Odds
MLB Picks
Top 50 Free Agents
Way-Too-Early Power Rankings
WNBA
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
Fantasy Football
Home
NFL Home
Scoop City
Betting
Discord
NCAAM
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Bracket
Standings
Podcasts
Most Interesting People
NCAAW
Home
Scores & Schedule
Bracket
Standings
Podcasts
Olympics
Home
2026 Men's World Cup
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Premier League
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Fantasy
The Athletic FC Newsletter
Podcasts
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa
Uganda vs. Nigeria
2025's Oddest Football Stats
Life of a PL Referee
Season's Biggest Game?
Golf
Home
Coming Soon to Your Inbox
Tennis
Home
Global Sports
College Sports
Soccer
Women's Soccer
Home
NWSL Schedule
Full Time Newsletter
Podcasts
NWSL
Women's World Cup
USWNT
College Sports
MLS
Home
Teams
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Podcasts
NWSL
Home
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Full Time newsletter
Podcasts
Peak
Formula 1
Home
Prime Tire newsletter
Schedule
Standings
McLaren
Ferrari
Red Bull
Mercedes
Aston Martin
Alpine
Haas
Racing Bulls
Williams
Sauber
Sports Business
Home
MoneyCall Newsletter
Sailing
Opinion
Home
Betting
Home
Fantasy Football
Odds
NFL Picks
UK Betting
Fantasy Baseball
Home
MLB Home
Rates & Barrels
Betting
Fantasy Football
Fantasy Hockey
Top 50 Prospects
Terminology
Memorabilia and Collectibles
Culture
Home
Motorsports
Home
Podcasts
NASCAR
Women's Hockey
Home
Scores & Schedule
Standings
Teams
MMA
Home
Boxing
Home
Paul vs. Joshua Live
The Pulse Newsletter
Cities
Playoff Picture
Mock Draft
Offseason Intel
Connections: Sports Edition
EPL
Reece James celebrates Chelsea's Club World Cup win Luke Hales/Getty Images
Reece James' 2025 has been peppered with landmarks in his Chelsea career, and he will end the year with another.
On May 25, Chelsea qualified for the Champions League for the first time under James' captaincy. Three days later, he lifted his first trophy as captain when Chelsea won the Conference League, and on July 13, he added another with victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final. October 18 saw James reach 200 appearances for his boyhood club on their trip to Nottingham Forest.
Advertisement
Tonight, when Chelsea host Bournemouth, will mark another milestone: one year injury-free. After a hamstring injury in November 2024, James returned to Enzo Maresca's matchday squad on December 30 for their 2-0 defeat away at Ipswich Town and, bar a brief illness in March, has been fit ever since.
Given how injuries have disrupted the 26-year-old's career to date, that is a huge achievement — for which both player and club deserve credit.
“The fact that he's been able to sustain a good period without injury is definitely a positive sign for him going forward,” says physiotherapist Luke Anthony, who has not worked with James but provided The Athletic with a general view from his time at Watford, Reading, and Norwich City.
“I think probably the biggest difference with him is he's been able to get on a run (of games) and he's had a period of adaptation where he has developed that robustness.
“What may have happened is either that he has just been able to develop that consistency of training and develop strength in his body, (or) whether he has changed his approach.”
Two statistics from Chelsea's festive fixtures highlight the improvement in James' availability.
He made his 50th club appearance of 2025 against Aston Villa on Saturday, the highest figure he has reached in a calendar year since 2021. Hamstring and knee problems have particularly plagued James, and across the past three full seasons, he has averaged 22.3 appearances in all competitions per campaign. He has already made 22 appearances this season with five months remaining.
The club's medical team, led by Bryce Cavanagh, have managed James carefully. Ben Macdonald, one of Chelsea's rehab physios, has been tasked with working closely with James on his fitness and the two have developed a strong rapport.
James is also an example of how Chelsea believe their approach to load management can pay off. As The Athletic have reported, this season has seen a deliberate strategy of carefully managing players' minutes, led by the medical and performance team.
Advertisement
The graph below shows James' rolling minutes-per-game average. Previously, steep drops were followed by sharp peaks as he was introduced to a heavy load quickly after returning. Since his return in January, his minutes have been managed more carefully.
“It makes perfect sense to take longer with the return to play,” Anthony says. “There is such a huge gap between a few days or a week of training and then being able to sustain 90 minutes of high-intensity Premier League football game by game.
“Sometimes with these soft-tissue injuries, you don't necessarily get the warning signs, and the player plays and feels OK. Then the temptation is to use him again, especially if they're an important player in your team.”
Anthony explains the importance of patience as a player's tissues adapt to the load of professional football after a lay-off. “It takes a period of time to develop that, especially when you're coming back from injury. Otherwise, you are more vulnerable to that injury.”
A tweak to James' position could also have helped his continued fitness. The idea of using him in midfield is not new; in the days after Maresca's appointment, the head coach sent James footage of him playing in midfield when on loan at Wigan Athletic in the 2018-19 season and suggested they could explore that.
It has become increasingly common to see the Chelsea captain playing in a defensive-midfield role, and as well as yielding impressive performances, Anthony suggests the shift might also have helped reduce the strain on his muscles.
“(Wide players) generally have an exposure to more distance of high-speed running and more sprints, more one-v-ones in those areas offensively and defensively. The central positions will generally have less distance of sprints and high-speed running.
“As a midfielder, you'll have more distance covered, but you'll likely have fewer offensive and defensive sprints, which are again, slightly more attritional for a soft-tissue injury.”
Advertisement
James himself is also credited for his hard work, with one source close to the player — speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships — saying it is like he lives at the training ground. The individual work he has done includes working with his own external physiotherapist, in addition to the support he is given by Chelsea.
Hand in hand with James' improved availability has been his growth as a leader, which has been noticed around the club.
“I spoke with him, and I expected more from him in terms of leadership, inside the changing room and for different kinds of things,” Maresca said of James in October 2024. “He's one of the captains. I expected from him, and his team-mates expected from him, to give always more in terms of leadership in general.”
Naturally, being on the pitch more often has helped James' leadership, and he has responded well to Maresca's challenge. As he has grown into the captaincy, he has expressed himself more and his increased comfort in media interviews has been noticed at Chelsea. He is described as having the respect of everyone at the club.
James' maturity was evident in his post-match interview with Sky Sports on Saturday, when he said Chelsea “have ourselves to blame” for errors that cost them in the 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa.
“Absolutely, yes,” Maresca said when asked in his press conference ahead of the Villa match if James was now playing and behaving like the captain he wanted. “He's growing in terms of leadership, he's growing also in terms of (as a) player, because he's playing more and more minutes.
“We are all happy, first of all, because he can be fit, he can be healthy. And then because we know that he can behave as a leader.”
Chelsea have supported their captain throughout his injury troubles. In September 2022, he signed a contract that runs until 2028. Chelsea's general policy is not to hold contract talks during the season, wanting players to focus on the campaign, and prefer to do so in summer. Even if James travels to the World Cup in 2026 with England as expected, that does not necessarily mean an agreement could not be reached this summer; Cole Palmer, for instance, signed a new deal in August 2024 after the European Championship.
At a time when Chelsea need strong leadership, James' continued fitness and growth are surely one of the biggest positives to take from 2025.
After a breakout year at both club and international level, Gilberto Mora now sits atop Liga MX's market value rankings heading into the Clausura 2026. Transfermarkt's final update of the year lists the 17-year-old Xolos de Tijuana standout alongside Club América's Allan Saint-Maximin. U.S. international Alejandro Zendejas also made the top 10.
Mora's surge is the result of an exceptional 2025 in which he impressed at both club and international level. Even with his Apertura campaign ending earlier than expected, his impact across competitions and with Mexico drew widespread attention, including from European scouts, a factor that played a key role in his rise to the top of the rankings.
Over the course of the year, Mora scored 12 goals across Liga MX, Leagues Cup, and international tournaments. That total made him the most prolific scorer worldwide in the 2025 calendar year among players under 17, finishing three goals clear of Bayern Munich prospect Lennart Karl and Irish striker Michael Noonan.
At club level, nine of those goals came with Xolos de Tijuana - seven in Liga MX play and two in the Leagues Cup - while he added three more at the U-20 World Cup in Chile, where he took on a leading role for El Tri.
Sharing the top valuation with Mora is Allan Saint-Maximin, also listed at $11 million. While the French winger remains one of the league's most high-profile names, his value has dipped slightly compared to his arrival at Club América following spells with Al-Ain and Fenerbahçe.
Just below them, a cluster of midfielders highlights the depth of talent in Liga MX. Marcel Ruiz ($9.9 million) and Erick Lira ($9.9 million) stand out after strong seasons with Toluca and Cruz Azul, respectively, both becoming key figures for their clubs and the Mexican national team setup.
Zendejas, who has been linked with a move to MLS over the last two seasons, came in at No. 8, valued at $9.35 million.
The USMNT winger continues to be a vital player for Club America, where he's notched 33 goals and 22 assists in 113 matches in his five seasons with the club.
Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting
connect with us
December 29, 2025
By Dante Gonzalez
Gianni Infantino has overseen several major rule changes in soccer, a sport traditionally resistant to altering how the game is played or officiated. With the 2026 World Cup now less than six months away, the FIFA president has again hinted at potential modifications, including a possible adjustment to the offside law long advocated by Arsène Wenger.
The year 2025 has served as a testing ground for multiple innovations across FIFA competitions, including the use of a “green card” to request VAR reviews at the U-20 World Cup and Arab Cup, referee body cameras at the FIFA Club World Cup, and the introduction of the eight-second rule for goalkeepers. Some measures were fully implemented while others were trialed, but collectively they provided valuable data ahead of the 2026 tournament.
Speaking during the inaugural World Sports Summit in Dubai, Infantino reflected on the evolution of officiating in recent years: “We introduced VAR to make football fairer, to give referees the chance to correct a mistake that millions of people, both at home and in the stadium, might have seen. We are continuously improving VAR with increasingly advanced technology to help referees make the right decision.“
With the aim of “making the game more offensive and attractive,” the FIFA president acknowledged that revisiting the offside rule could help achieve that goal. “We are considering the offside rule, which has evolved over the years and currently requires the attacker to be behind the defender, level with him. Perhaps in the future the attacker would have to be completely ahead to be considered offside,” he added.
Arsene Wenger, FIFA Chief of Global Football Development.
The offside law has been a frequent source of debate in recent seasons, with former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger emerging as the leading proponent of reform. Now serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development, Wenger's proposal has gained renewed momentum, with Infantino publicly acknowledging its growing relevance.
see also
FIFA president Infantino makes bold claim about Cristiano Ronaldo's Saudi Pro League growth ahead of 2034 World Cup
During the 2022 World Cup, matches regularly featured extended stoppage time to compensate for delays, a measure that later fell out of favor. Still, FIFA continues to explore solutions aimed at improving game flow. “We are also evaluating measures to prevent time-wasting. It is important for the game to flow properly, so interruptions must be minimized,” Infantino concluded.
The most significant change to the offside law dates back to 1925, when the requirement was reduced to two opposing players, typically the goalkeeper and one defender, between the attacker and the goal. Since then, the rule has largely remained intact, even as VAR has shifted decision-making from the assistant referee to technology, fueling ongoing controversy.
Under the so-called Wenger Law, the two-player requirement would remain unchanged, but the interpretation would shift dramatically. An attacker would only be offside if their entire body were ahead of the second-to-last defender, meaning that any overlap would keep the player onside.
By contrast, the current rule penalizes attackers if any playable body part is ahead of the defensive line. If implemented, the new interpretation would favor fast, attacking players and challenge teams that rely on a high defensive line, while sides defending deeper would be far less affected by the change.
Includes: Premier League + 84 Sports Channels
Includes: Bundesliga & La Liga
Includes: Champions League & Serie A
Includes: Premier League
Includes: every MLS game and Leagues Cup
Set to be the host nation for the 2034 World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino delivered a bold claim over the growth of Cristiano Ronaldo's Saudi Pro League.
With just 6 months left before the start of the 2026 World Cup, the FIFA Ranking has been updated, leaving Lionel Messi's Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal and the Top 10 positions unchanged.
The absence of Raphinha among the players honored at the FIFA The Best Awards prompted a strong reaction from Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick.
Uganda take on Nigeria on Matchday 3 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations group stage. Here's how to watch every moment, including kickoff times and TV and streaming coverage options in the United States.
World Soccer Talk © 2025. Made in Florida.
World Soccer Talk, like Futbol Sites, is a company owned by Better Collective. All rights reserved. World Soccer Talk is reader-supported and may earn a commission through our partner links.
United Cup action in Sydney does not begin until 3 January (2 January in Perth), but many of the biggest tennis stars in the world have been working hard at Sydney Olympic Park.
Alex de Minaur practised with fellow Sydneysider Aleksandar Vukic Tuesday with Team Australia's United Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt watching on. De Minaur has long enjoyed success at the mixed-teams event, where he has defeated Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the past.
Another man he has beaten at the season-opening event is Alexander Zverev, who is also on site and revving up for his 2026 season.
The two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion led Germany to United Cup glory in 2024 and will hope to do so again this year beginning with his country's clash on Sunday against the Netherlands.
Victoria Mboko is playing in the United Cup for the first time, leading the way for Canada alongside Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Auger-Aliassime ended his 2025 season playing some of the best tennis of his career, competing in the Nitto ATP Finals for the second time. He is at a career-high No. 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Casper Ruud has flown the flag for Norway since the inception of the event and will look to make a quick start to his campaign. The 27-year-old's first match of the year will come Monday against Czechia's Jakub Mensik.
Hubert Hurkacz has been waiting since June to step on court for an ATP Tour match after struggling with a knee injury. The Polish former World No. 6 again partners Iga Swiatek at the United Cup after falling short in the championship match in two consecutive editions.
Maya Joint will try to help carry home hopes inside Ken Rosewall Arena as Australia's No. 1 WTA player. Joint trained with Mboko on Tuesday and will open her season Saturday against Norway's Malene Helgo.
Your data will be used in accordance with the
ATP Privacy Policy
and
WTA Privacy Policy.
Get official marketing communications from the ATP and WTA! We'll send you newsletters keeping you informed about news, tournaments, competitions, ticketing, partner offers and more.
Your data will be used in accordance with the
ATP Privacy Policy
and
WTA Privacy Policy.
© Copyright 1994 - 2024 ATP Tour, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way or by any means (including photocopying, recording or storing it in any medium by electronic means), without the written permission of ATP Tour, Inc.. Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Community Social Media Policy | Modern Slavery Statement | Feedback | Cookies | Your Privacy Choices
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Rob Reiner, who tragically died along with his wife Michele earlier this month, will be remembered for making unforgettable movies that touched generations of viewers. And one of the best and most lasting is 1987's “The Princess Bride,” a fairytale farce about true love that turned leads Robin Wright and Cary Elwes into household names.
This week, Elwes — who was in his early 20s when he played Westley, the dashing but often hapless hero of the film — joined his co-stars and many of Reiner's other collaborators and colleagues in paying tribute to the filmmaker, actor, and philanthropist known for titles like “Stand by Me” and “When Harry Met Sally.” Like many who spoke out after the couple's alleged murder, Elwes described Reiner's warm personality and graciousness on set, something that often set him apart from other big names in the industry, as well as his willingness to take a chance on a young, relatively unknown actor.
Related Stories Don't Call It a Comeback: How Independent Film Will Be Rewired in 2026 How ‘Song Sung Blue' Composer Scott Bomar Turned Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson Into a Live-Singing Neil Diamond Tribute Act
“Enough time has passed that I can finally put my grief into words. I was 24 when I first met Rob Reiner on The Princess Bride. And from that very first meeting I fell in love with him. I was already a fan of his work so meeting him in person was a dream come true. As we began spending more time together I knew this was someone I wanted in my life. I also knew that by casting me as Westley he was giving me the keys to the castle,” the actor wrote in an Instagram post on December 29, adding that the first thing he noticed about the director was that “he wore his heart on his sleeve.” “This was a man who felt deeply. Whose heart was filled with love and compassion. He wasn't impressed by how much money you had or if you had a privileged upbringing. He just wanted to know if you were a ‘good guy.'”
Popular on IndieWire
In the post — which includes behind-the-scenes footage from the making of “The Princess Bride” as well as a snippet of the stars and director discussing the pioneering comedy on its 25th anniversary — Elwes also touched on how Reiner, the son of comedian and industry legend Carl Reiner, had an infectious appreciation for the filmmaking process.
“He obviously loved making movies – and was clearly a brilliant filmmaker – but he told me what he really enjoyed the most was the experience itself. He used to say, ‘Once the movie is released it belongs to other people. But while you are making it, that's your time on the planet, so you wanna make it good.' And boy was my time with him on The Princess Bride beyond great. I can't remember a single day without laughter,” he wrote of the film, which was based on a 1973 romantasy novel by William Goldman.
Later in the post, Elwes, who was close with the Reiners, referred to the director meeting and falling in love with his future wife on the set of “When Harry Met Sally,” where she worked as a photographer. Praising her talent and passion for lifting others up, he wrote, “To say that they were a great team would be an understatement. Their only interest in fame was that it allowed them to shine a light on causes they believed in, especially helping those who were marginalized. In a town where many talk the talk, they truly walked it.
“Whenever we got together we would talk about family, life, movies and politics. But without fail Rob would always find a way to make us laugh. That was important to him. Finding the joy,” he added. “And if I could make him laugh in return, I felt like I had won the lottery. His laugh was one of the greatest sounds I've ever known — so heartfelt it still rings in my ears.”
As the British actor — who went on to star in a string of ‘90s commercial and cult hits, including “Days of Thunder,” “Bram Stoker's Dracula,” “The Crush,” and “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” — closed his message, he referenced a line from the film that changed the course of his career. “Sure, death cannot stop true love but life is pain without you. ⚔️💔,” he wrote, invoking the message at the heart of “The Princess Bride.”
In the hours and days following the Reiners' death on December 14, the people whose lives they touched, either directly or indirectly, expressed both heartbreak and gratitude for what they left behind. But many of those closest to the couple have taken time to process their thoughts and mourn in privacy. Given the immense legacy that Reiner alone forged, it's safe to assume that it will be a long time before the actors, writers, and directors who had the pleasure of working with him — along with the many people affected by his warmhearted films — will be finished reflecting on the once-in-a-lifetime cinematic personality.
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Apple TV's Shrinking, the therapy comedy created by Bill Lawrence and starring Harrison Ford and co-creator Jason Segel, returns for another season of dark comedy and uplifting humor. Providing relief to Apple's many television patients, the streamer has released a new trailer for season three, which follows the aging shrinks as they wonder what to do with the rest of their lives. We can only hope that the show's writing staff has figured it out.
This season sees Jimmy (Segel) facing an empty nest as his daughter, Alice (Lukita Maxwell), heads off to college, sending him into his latest existential crisis. Meanwhile, Gaby (Jessica Williams) is reconsidering her career choices, and Paul navigates his Parkinson's disease and gets some tips from Michael J. Fox in the process. Fox isn't the only guest star in need of therapy. Season three also features Brett Goldstein, Damon Wayans Jr., Wendie Malick, Cobie Smulders, and Jeff Daniels.
Here's the trailer:
After debuting to positive reviews in 2023, Shrinking grew in esteem throughout season two and received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series. Shrinking returns to Apple on January 28, 2026, with a one-hour season premiere. New episodes stream every Wednesday through April 8.
Recommended for You1Rhett Miller is "Cruel To Be Kind" in latest A.V. Undercover2Stranger Things packs an emotional punch as it sets the stage for its finale3AVQ&A: What's your 2025 pop culture gift to the world?4Great Job, Internet!: Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen are adorable in the Criterion Closet5The past boldly sings, shakes, and quakes in The Testament Of Ann Lee6Disney becomes first studio since 2019 to break $6 billion at the box office7Avatar: Fire And Ash works best when it gets hot and bothered8Spy drama The Copenhagen Test is heavy on twists and light on coherence9Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon finally welcomed the West to romantic action10In memoriam: 2025's cinematic obituaries mourned their losses before our eyes11Distracted gaming: Why nobody pays attention in multiplayer games anymore12Star Wars: The Force Awakens launched the opening salvo of the fan-service culture war13Love Bullet takes a shot at queer romance, but with a heavily armed twist14Cruelty spreads like The Plague in thrilling adolescent drama15Fallout asks, "How many pricks can one Wasteland take?"
© 2025 Paste Media Group. All Rights Reserved
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter
Running at more than five hours and without distribution, 'My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow' might seem like the longest of Oscars longshots. But the vibrant documentary has been shortlisted by the Academy and won major critics' prizes. We go inside the secret word-of-mouth hit of the season.
By
David Canfield
Senior Entertainment Writer
In an unusually competitive documentary landscape this awards season — featuring the return of an Oscar-winning Ukrainian filmmaker from a warzone, a critical and audience phenomenon that reached millions via Netflix — one especially unlikely contender has still managed to stand out. With her first documentary feature in nearly 30 years, Julia Loktev (The Loneliest Planet) is striking a chord with My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow, a vérité portrait of journalists in Russia as their country launches a war with Ukraine. In just under five and a half hours of runtime, these subjects feel the tightening, irreversible grip of authoritarianism forcing them out of their home — but they still live life, sharing meals and making jokes, and taking things day by day. Taken together, My Undesirable Friends weaves an epic tapestry of humanity.
Related Stories
Movies
Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards Nominations: 'Frankenstein,' 'One Battle After Another,' 'Sinners,' 'Weapons,' 'Wicked: For Good' Lead Film Nods
Movies
Oscars: Read THR's Reviews of the Shortlisted Documentary Features
The film premiered to strong reviews at the 2024 New York Film Festival, but in the year-plus since, has been unable to find a distributor. (It was self-distributed to qualify for Oscars consideration this cycle.) In the time since, My Undesirable Friends has won top documentary prizes from the New York Film Critics' Circle and other regional groups, been shortlisted for the best doc Oscar, and dominated publications' year-end best-of lists among nonfiction movies. Accordingly, just as Loktev finishes work on her second, equally lengthy installment, the film's fortunes may soon change. “We should hopefully have news soon,” Loktev tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Related Video
But the road has not been easy — Loktev has had miniscule funds to work with, compared with her competitors, and knows the challenge of getting voters to see the longest film in the running. “When you see on paper, ‘Oh, it's a five and a half hour film about Russian journalists,' you go, ‘Scary, I'm not sure about that,'” she says. “But then more people watch it, and the more people actually talk about what the experience of it is, the word starts spreading.”
See below for THR's Q&A with Loktev.
I'm curious how you thought about the way this would be released, given the length. Did an episodic format ever come up, especially with the existing chapter structure? What was it like planning to get it out into the world?
The whole making of the film has been this crazy endeavor. I shot it alone with an iPhone, no crew, and basically have been the director, producer, cinematographer — and I had a co-editor and an assistant editor, so literally most of the film has been three people. That's it. I started filming a film in Russia four months before the full scale war, when nobody knew that Russia would start this horrific war in Ukraine, and then history just started unrolling super fast, and I was there and filming it all. There was no time to think; I just had to keep filming. I was there during this historic event and I had a tiny seed development grant. There was no planning.
I continued to film all the characters in exile and then I just thought, I have this incredible historic footage, captured through people you get to know as characters the way you would in a fiction film. I let the film become what it needs to be rather than have somebody tell me what it should be. There was a point very early in the editing process that I walked away from equity that would've funded the whole film.
Really? Wow.
It would've imposed a format on it. “It's going to be a feature-length film.” I said, “I need to see how to shape this. I have this incredible footage and I want it to tell me what the film should be and I want to be true to the actual material and true to the events.” So I got some grants and just kept editing to make it what it needs to be. It was obvious it would've been an easier path to go and find a place and have somebody telling me exactly what to make it into, but I owed it to the story to let it be what it needed to become.
As you were starting to put this together, what told you that this was the final format, a five-plus-hour film? It's not typical, obviously, even if you had so much footage to work with.
And it's an enormous amount of story — it's not just footage. I mean you can condense all the footage you want to. I was basically there to capture this historic exodus from this moment, from when it's still possible to work as the opposition in Russia and be an independent journalist in this authoritarian society and fight back, to when everybody realizes that to continue to do this work, we have to flee this country. A million people left. What the film does, I think, is it lets you live through it with people. I come from fiction — I filmed them like they were characters in a fiction film that you live through it with them, feel through it with them. It's not experts explaining things. It's just really being in the moment.
If you make it into an hour and a half film or a two hour film, yes, you could do it and it would be this condensed version where you get the information — and you can get the information in a New York Times article, you can find the information elsewhere. But to feel what it feels like to live through it with characters that you could hopefully fall in love with, you needed to have time to understand that. It's a very long film, but a super fast-cut film — it's not a meditative film at all. You're having trouble sometimes keeping up reading the subtitles so fast, but it's dense.
And I mean, it's not a series because no streamer wanted it. (Laughs) I would've had a lot more money to make it if they did — and a lot more money now for an awards campaign, God knows. But at the same time, I question these distinctions because if you think about it, like all the great Russian novels, Crime and Punishment and War and Peace, not to mention the Charles Dickens novels or Ulysses, were all released in serialized forms and magazines first and then became novels. We don't question, now, is War and Peace a novel?
The beauty of the film is that this feeling of real life happening, but you are still a filmmaker and there is a certain rigor to your approach. Did the project formally evolve at all, the deeper you got into it?
I just tried to work really organically, even in the shooting: Something is happening in front of you and you're just trying to keep up and frame the shot. Because I do come from fiction, I don't know if I filmed them any differently than I would an actor giving a great performance, except it happens to be true in their real life and all the more tragic for that.
One of the things that I learned so much from this as a filmmaker is that people are so much more complicated and so much more contradictory and interesting than I could ever write them, to be honest. When we write fiction, so often people go a little bit more on the nose — if people are going through a tragic moment, they stay in that tragic moment. What I constantly observed with people here is this shift from the most terrible horrible things, to sudden humor, back to the terrible horrible things — very inappropriately and wonderfully and in a way that I'd think, “Wow, I wish I could write like this.” This taught me so much in having to observe in a very focused way as you're filming, and seeing people joke in the middle of their lives falling apart.
What was your relationship to the subjects like? You're very present in the movie as the one with the camera, and as you mentioned, they trusted you implicitly to do this.
I knew Anna Nemzer, who leads us into this world. She knew all the other characters in some way professionally or as peripheral acquaintances, friends to different degrees. She brought me into this world as a trusted person. I was born in Russia, and so Russian is the language I speak to my mom, even though I grew up in the States. It would be a completely different relationship if I was coming in without that. But people opened up to me very quickly, very instantly. We had a rapport, and then over the course of filming we became friends. That's a huge part of the film because you experience it with me — you literally meet a lot of these characters as I'm meeting them. You get to know them and hopefully they become your desirable friends as well as mine. They're “undesirable” only because that's what the Russian government has marked them as. That's an actual legal category in Russia where they have marked most journalist organizations and most of civil society as “undesirable organizations.” They're undesirable to their authoritarian project.
How have you experienced screening the film over the last few months, getting it out there in an awards context?
Oh, Jesus, my favorite subject — the campaign. (Laughs) We're trying to do our best. When I heard what the streamers spend on their films, my jaw dropped. We can only do a tiny fraction of what is supposedly considered necessary to do. We are just doing our best on a micro budget. It's really, really difficult because you're sitting there getting bombarded with things from the larger distributors. You're feeling small and insignificant and feeling FOMO when you have no budget to do anything about it. It's unfortunate that that's how things are, but it is how things are and all you can do is your best. We just want the film to reach an audience. That's what we care about.
It must feel like a nice bit of vindication, then, when you hit the Oscars short list or pick up these critics' awards.
Definitely. I mean, it's a tougher road. And $1 or $2 million for a campaign couldn't hurt.
Can I ask what you are working with in terms of money?
Oh God, it's a fraction. We're just trying to extract so little — like, well, I shouldn't say that in print. But it's not like there's some distributor paying for it. In all honesty, it's production money that was supposed to eventually pay me, and literally the characters in the film. I didn't want to do it, to be honest; I was like, “This seems so crazy to enter into this.” And it was characters from the film who said to me, “Listen, try to give the film the best chance possible. Let's do a little bit of something.”
Laura Poitras did an event with us at my house and I went to Tashkent Supermarket, which has all this post-Soviet food in New York. I got a bunch of snacks. I put them on a table. There were no waiters with tiny hors d'oeuvres. That's what we can do. We've had people be very kind. Laura's been supportive, and I love her film [Cover-Up] as well.
The film's portrait of living under creeping authoritarianism has certainly resonated in the U.S., as it's a relevant topic these days. Have you noticed that?
How people perceive the film has shifted so much since we opened at the New York Film Festival [in 2024]. It all felt so far away then. It's just transformed so much. What's interesting to me is it's not just about the larger picture, but very specific details in the film that were specific to something happening in Russia that suddenly took on resonance. Somebody has a throwaway joke about when they shut down Russia's biggest comedy show. It wasn't planted there. Or when Russia shuts down its oldest human rights organization, which was dedicated to preserving the memory of political repression and addressing political repression in the current times, the judge says, “Why must we talk about our unpleasant history? We must be proud.” Of course, I'm watching Trump with the Smithsonian now and saying, “Why must we talk about unpleasant things like slavery?”
Last night I read about the 60 Minutes piece being pulled. The crackdown on journalism with Russia, they didn't go straight for charging journalists with treason and extremism or terrorism. They started with economic pressure, pulling advertisements or threatening to sue journalists for libel — various kinds of strong-arm techniques that all looked perfectly so-called “reasonable.”
One of the nicest things that I've heard from people is that it gives them a way of processing the current moment because we're living through something unprecedented and we don't know how to deal with it emotionally. There is this cognitive dissonance or horrible things happening in our country. Meanwhile, the fabric of many lives looks completely normal and for the most part undisturbed. If you look around your neighborhood, it looks more or less the same. Life looks nice, and yet what's actually happening is horrific. That's really what dystopian societies look like. They don't look like V for Vendetta. Authoritarianism is really good for some people, and for the rest of us, it is this cognitive dissonance where parts of our lives remain intact and seem very normal, and meanwhile, people are being snatched into unmarked vans by masked men.
Where are you with Part 2?
I've edited four out of the five chapters, and so now I have to edit the last one. I'm in the process of doing that now. It's scary, but I am being given a little bit of hope. I've spent four years with these people, and in a way I'm kind of having separation anxiety of what will happen when I finish that. But if the Vladimir Putin regime ever falls, we're going to go back and make a third installment. We may be very, very old by then because it's not going to go well probably right after.
Have you stopped filming? Do you know where this story ends for now, as a film?
I haven't actually stopped filming. I'm not actively filming a lot, but as I'm meditating on the last chapter, I want to end as closely to where we leave off as possible because the story keeps unfolding. I'm pretty sure I know what that last shot will be. Once I get three quarters of the way or 80% of the way with editing this chapter, I want to film that one thing. Probably, that's when we'll stop.
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
Send us a tip using our anonymous form.
By
Kory Grow
After Republican Congressman Tim Burchett likened Jack White to Wednesday Addams in a snarky social media post to gin up a reaction from MAGA supporters, the musician responded on Tuesday with a 384-word missive on Instagram. “The great state of Tennessee deserves better, Mr. Burchett, but you and your cult are too dug in and blinded to even realize it,” he said.
Burchett's post, on Monday, retweeted a five-second clip of White saying, “Don't even think about listening to my music, you fascist.” In his response, White said that the video was AI-generated. The poster, @MAGAresponse, asked, “What's your response to Jack White?” The congressman, who reps a district in eastern Tennessee, replied on Monday,” That cute little girl from the Addams Family got really ugly and angry.”
White took the high road in his response. “Can you believe that a U.S. congressman, that's right, a CONGRESSMAN (from my state no less), a once hallowed and respected position in our society, would repost an A.I. generated video, containing a false comment that I never said and refuted (without researching that I might add) and like a 10-year-old on a playground, add to it attempted insults to my physical appearance?” the musician wrote. “What kind of joke are we all living in now? All of Trump's lackeys and bootlicks like this elected official are cowards that would never talk this way to anybody like me or you in person. Trump really lowered the bar when he brought his scourge to this government.”
Popular on Rolling Stone
White's response criticized what he characterized as “sycophantic” politicians who lack dignity and “regurgitate … fake Christian(!) rhetoric.” He expressed a wish that “the average American conservative” could converse with people from other countries to learn “what a joke our government (and by proxy our country) has become.”
Ultimately, he described Congressman Burchett, and those like him, as embarrassing. “I've said it before and I'll say it again: There will come a time in the future when none of these right wingers will admit to being a part of this cult from this time period,” he wrote. “All the MAGA hats will be in landfills and actual intelligent and honorable leadership will take their place. … I'm wondering if half of these so called representatives have ever actually read the Constitution that they pledged an oath to.”
Trending Stories
More Kennedy Center Performers Pull Out After Trump's Name Change
Chappell Roan Removes Brigitte Bardot Tribute After Learning About ‘All That Insane Shit'
NewJeans' Label Terminates Danielle's Contract, Puts Full Group's Return in Limbo
Michael Lippman, Longtime Manager for George Michael and Matchbox Twenty, Dead at 79
Although White did not tell MAGA supporters not to listen to his music, he has called Donald Trump “a disgusting, vile, egomaniac loser, child,” for the president's response to Rob Reiner's death, and has said that he considers Trump's insults a “badge of honor.”
In an op-ed, Rolling Stone praised White's responses to Trump. “He's speaking truth to power and getting under the president's skin, and his punches are landing,” Senior Writer Angie Martoccio wrote. “We should listen to him now, more than ever.”
We want to hear it. Send us a tip using our anonymous form.
Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.
By Natalie Oganesyan
Weekend Editor
Arden Cho and Ahn Hyo-seop, the voice actors behind KPop Demon Hunters main characters Rumi and Jinu, respectively, will appear in their first-ever sit-down interview together on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday, Jan. 12.
News of the duo's late-night TV debut, which will air at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and stream the following day on Peacock, was shared today on the show's social media accounts. The episode will also feature guests Kristen Wiig and Ashton Kutcher and a musical performance by Ty Meyers.
Netflix‘s KPop Demon Hunters quickly became a phenomenon for the streamer, skyrocketing to the top of its charts as the platform's most popular film of all time with more than 500 million global views since its premiere 27 weeks ago. Since then, the Sony Pictures Animation movie has notched three Golden Globe nominations, two Critics Choice nods and five Grammy Award noms for its record-breaking soundtrack, which is certified Double Platinum. As Deadline previously reported, Netflix and Sony are eyeing a 2029 release for a sequel.
Watch on Deadline
Related Stories
News
'Stranger Things 5' Series Finale Trailer Teases Intense Conclusion As Hopper Delivers Tearful Message: "I Need You To Fight One Last Time"
News
Ricky Gervais Uses Netflix Special To Declare Victory Over "Virtue Signalling" Elites Who "Find Anything Offensive" -- And Reveals Golden Globes Gag He Bottled
In October, Ejai, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami — the singing voices of the movie's powerhouse K-pop girl group Huntr/x, which is tasked with defeating a rival boy band of demons intent on taking over the world — visited The Tonight Show for their first televised interview and live group performance of their smash hit song, “Golden.”
From Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group and Broadway Video, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is executive produced by Lorne Michaels and produced by showrunner Chris Miller and Gerard Bradford. The late-nighter tapes before a live studio audience from Studio 6B in 30 Rockefeller Center.
The Tonight Show will return in 2026 with a brand new episode Jan. 5, featuring guests Sadie Sink and Josh Charles and a musical performance by AJR.
Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy.
Comments On Deadline Hollywood are monitored. So don't go off topic, don't impersonate anyone, and don't get your facts wrong.
Comment
Name
Email
Website
Δ
Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks
We want to hear from you! Send us a tip using our annonymous form.
Sign up for our breaking news alerts
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
By Jake Kanter
International Investigations Editor
“Lend me the strength of the All Fathers, so that I may fight once more. Defeat one more enemy. And return home to her.”
And so the scene is set for Thor‘s story in Avengers: Doomsday, the highly anticipated Marvel movie reuniting its most famous superheroes against a new enemy: Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom.
Chris Hemsworth will return as the God of Thunder, and the Doomsday teaser features him on bended knee in a sepia-lit forest praying to his late father, the Norse god Odin.
He is pleading for a safe return to his daughter, Love, who will be played by Hemsworth's real-life daughter, India. The character first appeared in 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder.
The Thor-themed trailer is the second to be released, following a teaser revealing the return of Chris Evans as Steve Rogers — another character doting on their child ahead of impending doom. The Doomsday teasers are playing in cinemas attached to showings of Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Watch on Deadline
Avengers: Doomsday will be the big Christmas movie next year, premiering on December 18, 2026. Joe and Anthony Russo's last Avengers title, Endgame, is the second-highest-grossing movie of all time with $2.799 billion at the global box office.
Watch the new trailer above.
Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy.
Comments On Deadline Hollywood are monitored. So don't go off topic, don't impersonate anyone, and don't get your facts wrong.
Comment
Name
Email
Website
Δ
Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks
We want to hear from you! Send us a tip using our annonymous form.
Sign up for our breaking news alerts
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
By Dessi Gomez
SEO Staff Writer
Ta-da! The GOATs are back. This applies to the three main therapists at Paul Rhodes' (Harrison Ford) practice and their extended web of friends and family. Apple has released the trailer for the Shrinking's upcoming third season.
Created by Emmy winners Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein alongside star Jason Segel, Shrinking Season 3 will premiere globally on Apple TV with a one-hour season premiere episode on Wednesday, January 28 followed by one new episode weekly until April 8.
Jimmy (Segel) has to work hard to mask his sadness and project excitement at Alice's (Lukita Maxwell) recruitment to play soccer at a college in Connecticut. Goldstein's Louis Winston will be back in Season 3 as he and Jimmy sit on a bench — quite a common setting in this series — talking about it.
“All I want is for her to live peacefully, and then she can go off and make whatever mistakes a young woman in her 70s might make,” Jimmy tells Louis, who remarks that “that sounds healthy.”
Watch on Deadline
Cue Kid Cudi's “Mr. Miracle” as Paul dispenses a nugget of wisdom: “Life is gonna keep demonstrating what you need most.” Lawrence told Deadline at the end of Season 2 that Season 3's main theme will be “moving forward.”
Sofi (Cobie Smulders) has a brief appearance, but Jimmy fails to ask her out, as pointed out by Liz (Christa Miller) spying from her balcony, Sean (Luke Tennie) doing something on the pool house roof and Derek (Ted McGinley) getting a football out of a tree.
Michael J. Fox also makes his grand entrance to the series when he appears at what looks like a doctors office Paul is visiting, joking that he's in for “a haircut” after Paul tells him he's getting seen for his Parkinson's.
Michael Urie is back starring as Jimmy's best friend Brian, and Season 3 also brings back guest stars Goldstein, Damon Wayans Jr., Devin Kawaoka, Wendie Malick and Smulders, along with new additions Jeff Daniels and the aforementioned Fox.
Shrinking is produced for Apple TV by Warner Bros. Television, where Lawrence and Goldstein are under overall deals along with Lawrence's Doozer Productions. Lawrence, Segel, Goldstein, Neil Goldman, James Ponsoldt, Jeff Ingold, Liza Katzer, Randall Winston, Rachna Fruchbom, Brian Gallivan, Ashley Nicole Black and Bill Posley executive produce.
Watch the trailer above.
Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy.
Comments On Deadline Hollywood are monitored. So don't go off topic, don't impersonate anyone, and don't get your facts wrong.
Comment
Name
Email
Website
Δ
Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks
We want to hear from you! Send us a tip using our annonymous form.
Sign up for our breaking news alerts
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Brigitte Bardot just died at 91, and it's hard to imagine anything she would have liked less than a curated list of movie recommendations from her brief, inescapable film career. But to let the controversial French icon's death go by as yet another moment of her quiet, confused erasure would be to knowingly repeat a mistake audiences have made with Bardot countless times before. Love her, hate her, or lust after her, cinema's original and most contentious “cool girl” still deserves better.When Bardot abruptly exited the film business at age 39, she was an international sex symbol and one of the most famous faces in the fashion industry. Her retirement, following 1973's “The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot,” baffled audiences and was quietly rejected by the public imagination. In Hollywood, that denial was treated as permission to collapse the Bardot persona into a static set of visual signifiers, which were swiftly Americanized. The blond hair. The bangs. The (sometimes) bikini. Even as her filmography receded from view, Bardot saw her image endlessly copied and commodified. Her artistic essence was reduced to a repeatable French “look,” and the woman herself pivoted into animal activism.
The flattening of Bardot's talent didn't stop there. Instead, it intensified as the actress further rejected what made her famous, resulting in increasing strain with the art world over the last three decades. Born to wealthy parents in Paris, 1934, Bardot trained as a ballerina before becoming a model and actress as a teen. She appeared on the cover of “Elle” magazine as a fresh-faced brunette (yes, brunette!) and was soon recognized as an emblem of the jeune fille. That youthful, “clean girl” aesthetic rewired European style back then and laid the groundwork for the '50s/'60s mod chic we're still chasing in design today.
Bardot's entrance onto the film scene was an act of romantic, rich-girl defiance, too, one that hinged on her turning 18. Traveling to auditions, Bardot rebelled against her parents by dating Roger Vadim, then a director's assistant whom she met on a failed casting call. After reportedly threatening suicide during a brief forced separation from Vadim, Bardot convinced her parents to accept her future as an artist. The first of Bardot's four husbands, Vadim eventually cast her as Juliette Hardy in 1956's “And God Created Woman.” The filmmaker didn't sexualize his star so much as relocate erotic agency into her hands, and Bardot changed the cinematic framing of physical desire as a result.
The character of Juliette Hardy was a feminine force driven by so-called “masculine” urges, and Bardot's memorable portrayal — ethereal, emotionally detached, and energized rather than disgusted by the novelty of sex — had consequences that continue to ripple through film, gender, and politics today. Already successful but not yet seismic when she broke out 70 years ago, Bardot became a cultural symbol almost overnight. The international popularity of “And God Created Woman” allowed audiences around the globe to project a fantasy of European sexual freedom onto the real woman behind it, and Bardot's private life soon became tabloid fodder throughout France, the United States, and beyond.
In the actress' own writing (Bardot authored a memoir and several quasi-memoirs beginning in the 1990s), she reflected on a profound ambivalence toward feminism, fame, and family. She frequently described a sense of feeling wanted everywhere but belonging nowhere — free to be anyone but judged by everyone. An unattainable reflection of sexual mystique, Bardot is often compared to Marilyn Monroe, and she's acknowledged that both were exploited as young women in Hollywood. But if Monroe was a tragedy mourned at the movies, Bardot actively rejected the language of victimhood. Her withdrawal from film was never fully forgiven by the fans who didn't understand it, and you can view what followed as a deeply unlikable attempt to wrestle control of a mythic image far bigger than Bardot herself.
By the mid-1970s, Bardot had withdrawn from performing entirely, and she increasingly framed that alienation as a kind of moral clarity. In the process, the aging actress became mired in self-inflicted political controversy and was sharply criticized for her ultra-conservative, provocative talking points. Bardot was fined by the French government repeatedly for racist and hateful rhetoric. She later minimized sexual harassment during the height of the #MeToo movement, effectively aligning Bardot with a corner of discourse in stark contrast to the rebellious assertiveness she embodied on screen.
That trajectory has made it easier to dismiss Bardot rather than reckon with her contradictions. But what's been lost in the repeated calls for her metaphorical dismissal is the degree to which Bardot's acting presence forever changed our understanding of female autonomy. What's more, we've missed her resistance to a tidy moral arc off-screen as an extension of that flawed legacy. At Bardot's most famous, her work didn't offer apology but friction-filled pleasure and unresolved playfulness. That tension is not incidental to her work. It is the work, and it deserves the layered reflection of any “serious” acting.
In the end, the woman synonymous with sexual liberation recoiled from global attention. The face that redefined desirability ultimately spent years fleeing visibility. That trajectory says as much about the culture that consumed Bardot as it does the icon herself, and revisiting these seven movies in the wake of her death isn't an act of absolution or nostalgia. It's an insistence on contending with women's complexity, however uncomfortable, and letting their imperfections pierce through to become poetry.
Listed in chronological order, seven essential feature films of Brigitte Bardot.
Shot in sunny Saint-Tropez (not far from where Bardot spent her final days in 2025), director Roger Vadim's debut follows Juliette Hardy (Bardot) as she ricochets between lovers, marriage, and rejection — refusing to organize her passion around punishment or repentance. She isn't a scandalous character because she's erotic. She's revolutionary because “And God Created Woman” refused to moralize her desire. Bardot behaves as if wanting is instinctual, not reward-based, and that seemingly obvious assumption about women subtly rewired film culture. The performance is raw, alluring, and executed without perceptible strategy. The result is a flirtatious tongue-tie of a film that made the public reaction to Bardot impossible to manage, but the censorship and backlash that followed were proof of her impact. Here, Bardot emerged both as a star and a problem Hollywood would spend years trying to solve.
Directed by Michel Boisrond, 1957's “La Parisienne” is a fizzy romantic comedy that stars Bardot as a naive yet calculating young woman navigating Parisian high society and political intrigue as the daughter of the French president. Breezy and knowingly lightweight, the film captures Bardot at the precise moment she was transforming her rumored sex appeal into silly charm that could sell tickets. She performs fame and femininity with impish delight here — appearing playful, coquettish, and increasingly aware of the gaze that surrounded and even preceded her by then. The role also shows how quickly autonomy can be stylized into something consumable, even as Bardot remains magnetic.
Jean-Luc Godard's exquisite “Contempt” from 1963 would indirectly look at the contradictions lesser Bardot films exposed, folding her ever-evolving reputation as a sex icon into a self-conscious meditation on art, commerce, and betrayal. The script unfolds during the collapse of both a marriage and a movie, and shot in widescreen color with aggressively composed primary hues, the film foregrounds Bardot's body even as it withholds access to her inner life. The final performance is emotionally opaque, even frustrating at points, and that tension isn't a failure so much as fuel. This is Bardot being used and critiqued simultaneously with a purpose, and discomfort is the point. “Contempt” doesn't see Godard rescue Bardot's warping ingénue image; he anatomizes it with exacting style.
In Louis Malle's “Viva Maria!,” Bardot stars opposite Jeanne Moreau as an opportunistic music hall performer out for a big adventure. The two women accidentally become revolutionaries alongside a strapping George Hamilton while traveling through a fictional Latin American country, and Bardot fully immerses herself in that theatrical fantasy. Her years of ballet as a young girl show immediately, and Bardot is funny and self-aware — having too much fun for any serious misunderstanding. Here, her liberation is still thrilling but it's also absurd. Malle gifts fans one of the few Bardot films that allowed the star to expand instead of slink and even produced some of the best photos of the actress ever taken.
In 1967's “Two Weeks in September” from filmmaker Serge Bourguignon, Bardot stars opposite Laurent Terzieff as a famous model who retreats to a seaside town in search of anonymity, only to drift into a fragile romance with a younger man. Desperate for privacy in a world that refused to grant it, the real Bardot embraced a premise that audiences interpreted as a kind of confession, even as the movie was badly received by critics and bombed at the box office. The result is pretty but palpably weary, foreshadowing the logic behind Bardot's eventual departure from film. It presents attraction itself as a kind of quiet violence but fails to achieve the meta impression made by the earlier “Contempt,” a sure sign that Bardot's grasp on her own persona was already slipping away five years before she quit.
By the time Bardot appeared opposite Sean Connery in “Shalako,” she was becoming a cookie-cutter movie star in a bad way. Transplanted into another Western framework she only sort of fit after “Viva Maria!,” Bardot was miscast by Edward Dmytryk not because she lacked the presence for a romantic gunslinger but because the film offered no language for her flavor of autonomy. Rather than diminishing Bardot, that mismatch quietly exposes the limits of global stardom in the late '60s, and Bardot comes out looking not neutral but stripped of her specificity. That's why “Shalako” best captures Hollywood's inability to understand her as one of its all-time greatest assets — with or without the cowboy hat.
A kind of anti-farewell for Bardot, her final film from 1973 is uncomfortable, unsentimental, and largely denied audiences the artistic grace note they wanted from the actress. In Nina Companeez's “The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot,” the star appears as an ensemble player in a bawdy historical farce about a sexually innocent young man (Francis Huster) and his belated awakening amid a kidnapping. Bardot is deliberately ungainly here, reinforcing her lifelong resistance to seeming palatable even as she's walking out the door. It's a shrugging kind of comedy from her, but also an indelible reminder that, for better or worse, Bardot rarely allowed her history to seem simple.
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
By Katie Campione
TV Reporter
The end of Stranger Things is lurking just ahead with Wednesday's highly anticipated two-hour finale set to conclude the epic supernatural series after nearly a decade.
Netflix revealed a trailer for the final episode on Tuesday, teasing what's to come.
“I need you to fight. One last time,” Hopper (David Harbour) says tearfully to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) inside the Upside Down as the crew mounts one last attempt to save the world.
“Life has been so unfair to you,” he says. “Your childhood was taken from you. You've been attacked, manipulated by terrible people, but you never let it break you. Fight for the days on the other side of this. Fight for a world beyond Hawkins. Let's end this, kid.”
Watch the trailer above.
Watch on Deadline
Stranger Things 5 picks up eighteen months after the events of Season 4, when the crew finally reunited back in Hawkins only for Vecna to split the earth open as he began his mission to reshape the world. Over the course of the first seven episodes, Season 5 has answered many of the mysteries of the Upside Down, including what, exactly, it even is.
RELATED LINK: ‘Stranger Things 5′ Creators & Star Noah Schnapp Unpack Will Byers' Leap Of Faith In Volume 2: “It Was So Freeing”
However, for all the questions answered, particularly in Volume 2, there are still some lingering loose ends to tie up, mainly regarding the remaining pieces of Henry's backstory and the enduring MKUltra experiments, which are responsible for creating Eleven and, by proxy, the Upside Down in the first place.
“The goal is to tie up the remaining loose ends and answer any questions that remain,” creator Ross Duffer teased to Deadline in an interview for Volume 2, promising a satisfying conclusion to the series.
Stranger Things cast and crew have set some grand expectations for the finale. Executive producer and director Shawn Levy (who directed Episode 6, “Escape from Camazotz,” and co-directed Episode 7, “The Bridge,” with the Duffers) paraphrased star Finn Wolfhard's enthusiasm about it, telling Deadline:
RELATED LINK: ‘Stranger Things 5' Star Caleb McLaughlin On That Emotional Scene With [SPOILER], Upside Down Mythology & More From Vol. 2
“I'll say something that I think Finn said, but I'll say it with even more fervor having watched the finale episode recently. It's one of the best finale episodes of any show that I've ever seen,” Levy said. “And I am so knocked out by the mastery that the Duffers show in the finale episode. I can't wait for the world to see it. I can't wait for them to see it on the biggest, loudest screen possible, because that's what it deserves.”
Added Wolfhard, “Couldn't have said it better myself, something that I've said myself.”
The Stranger Things finale arrives in theaters and on Netflix at 5 p.m. PT New Year's Eve.
RELATED LINK: Jamie Campbell Bower Unpacks Vecna's Reign Of Terror In ‘Stranger Things 5' Vol. 2: “There Are Times Where I Feel Wildly Inhuman”
Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy.
Comments On Deadline Hollywood are monitored. So don't go off topic, don't impersonate anyone, and don't get your facts wrong.
Comment
Name
Email
Website
Δ
Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks
We want to hear from you! Send us a tip using our annonymous form.
Sign up for our breaking news alerts
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
The annual list honors British figures for their work in their respective fields.
By
Thomas Smith
Idris Elba, Ellie Goulding and Cynthia Erivo are among the entertainment and music figures recognized in the U.K.'s New Year Honors List.
The King's annual list acknowledges and honors figures from across British society with knighthoods and damehoods, as well as CBEs (Commander), OBEs (Officer) and MBEs (Member). The former is the highest honor prior to earning the title of Sir or Dame with a knighthood or damehood. A total of 1,157 recipients from the worlds of politics, sport, entertainment, science and more appear in this year's list.
Elba has been awarded a knighthood in the list released on Tuesday (Dec. 30) and he will assume the title of Sir Idris Elba. The honor comes in recognition of his charity work with young people, having launched an anti-knife crime campaign and founded the Elba Hope Foundation alongside his wife Sabrina, which provides grants to organizations across the UK, the US and Africa.
As a teenager, Elba was a beneficiary of the Prince's Trust, and was given a £1,500 grant to attend the National Youth Music Theatre program. He went on to appear as an actor in hit TV shows The Wire and Luther, and has released music and performed as DJ Big Driis at festivals across the world.
Other music figures to appear in the list include Wicked star and performer Cynthia Erivo and singer Ellie Goulding, both of whom are awarded MBEs. Erivo is recognized for her work across the drama and arts space, while Goulding is also recognized for her efforts towards biodiversity and the climate, having worked with the UN as a global environmental ambassador.
Max Richter is honored as a CBE less than two weeks prior to the physical release of his original score for the Oscar-tipped film Hamnet, directed by Chloe Zhao and starring Paul Mescal. Scottish singer Eve Graham receives an MBE for services to the music industry. Graham is a founding member of The New Seekers, and had a global hit with a version of “I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing” in 1972.
Other industry figures include Karen Ruth Emanuel, founder and chief executive officer of Key Production Group, who receives an OBE for services to music; Philip Patterson, a former sector specialist at the Department for Business and Trade, who is awarded an OBE for his work for the music industry; and Live Music Now chair Janet Fischer, who is awarded an MBE for services to music and charity.
Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox
A daily briefing on what matters in the music industry
Send us a tip using our anonymous form.
A daily briefing on what matters in the music industry
Send us a tip using our anonymous form.
Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Billboard Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
By Jake Kanter
International Investigations Editor
Ricky Gervais is in typically unapologetic form in his latest Netflix stand-up special.
The co-creator of The Office used Mortality — which premiered on Tuesday — to bemoan a “really weird” time for comedy and declare victory over elites who “find anything offensive.”
Filmed at the London Palladium this year, Gervais said: “It's great to hear this sort of laughter again, because you probably don't notice it as much as comedians, but we've had a really weird 10 years where we're really second-[guessing jokes].”
Related Stories
News
Six Trends That Will Continue Shaping Asia Pacific's TV & Film Biz In 2026
Legal
Diddy "Still Pondering" Suing Netflix Over 'Reckoning' Series, Prison Release Date Moved Up
He explained: “People find anything offensive, but we pushed back and we won. So f*** them. Until the next time. They haven't gone away. They're just licking their wounds. They'll be back with something madder. But remember who it is next time? Right?
Watch on Deadline
“It's always these sort of educated, middle-class, privileged, elitist, sort of people telling ordinary working-class people what they can and can't do and say and laugh, not realizing how important comedy is to ordinary people.”
Gervais has been at the sharp end of controversies around comments in his previous stand-up specials. His 2022 show Supernature came under fire for trans jokes, which he later said didn't target “trans folk, but trans activist ideology.” In 2023, a petition was started requesting that Netflix remove material about young cancer sufferers from Gervais' Armageddon special.
Gervais said there had been numerous attempts to get him canceled over the past 15 years — including from fellow comedians who criticize him for “punching down.” “They've always failed,” he said. “I'm too old now not to say what I want. I want to say and do what I want all the time. I want to do my favorite thing all the time.”
Gervais turned to anthropology to offer an explanation for the rise of cancel culture. He said: “There's still two ways you can raise your status in society. One, be competent at something, like, ‘Oh, he's a good hunter, go with him, he's good for the tribe.' The other way you can raise your status is to have virtue like, ‘Oh, he's not a great hunter, but he's wise or kind or whatever.'
“And then, with the advent of social media, people suddenly discovered they could just say they were virtuous. No evidence, no proof, just loads of flags in their bio. And they would raise their status by bringing other people down, catching other people out … And that's where the term virtual signaling comes from, right?”
He continued: “The most annoying thing about virtue signalling is people being smug about having the morality of the age. You're what you're like because of where you are and when you are.”
Gervais said he considers himself to be anti-racist, but acknowledged that he could have been a slave owner in another century. He joked: “I'm willing to admit that if I'd have been born 300 years ago and I was white and wealthy, I'd have probably owned slaves. I'd be nice to them, so shut up, right? Yeah, I'd be the best slave owner.”
Golden Globes Gag
The After Life creator also reflected on his time hosting the Golden Globes, praising the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for never censoring his jokes. He did reveal, however, that he stopped himself from making a gag about Jason Momoa in 2020.
“I thought the meta joke would be to show my hypocrisy and my cowardice, like, ‘I'm ok to slag off actors who's scared of actors? But when it comes to a big dude, I'm not so brave.' So I was gonna go, ‘I've got nothing bad to say about our next presenter, because he's got a cock like a baby's arm.'
“I told my mate I was gonna do that, and my mate went, ‘Do you think people will think that's racist?' I went, ‘Why is it racist?' ‘Well, because he's a person of color.' I went, ‘It's nothing to do with that. It's to do with the fact that he's so big, he'd probably have a cock like a baby's arm.' So I didn't do it.”
Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy.
Comments On Deadline Hollywood are monitored. So don't go off topic, don't impersonate anyone, and don't get your facts wrong.
Comment
Name
Email
Website
Δ
He's still doing the same boring “look how offensive I am?” shtick. So many comedians do it so much better, because they just make the joke—without talking endlessly about how brave they are.
See Adrienne Iapalucci. A hundred times funnier than Gervais, a hundred times more offensive.
When does the podcast start?
Gervais: “The most annoying thing about virtue signalling is people being smug about having the morality of the age…”, that's exactly him, he actually doesn't make any jokes anymore, just complain about others and he's not funny just annoying virtue signaling others, dude Tina and Amy were way better than you, meaner and smarter at the Globes, and they never complain unlike you
Always one step ahead of the curve, eh Ricky?
These are new, edgy, relevant sounding jokes that will SHOCK THE WORLD!!
Great job!
It's almost as though only having the balls to do stand up once you're famous *isn't* the best route to good stand up…
Agree it's not that edgy. The new thing now is focusing on telling well crafted homes and being a good writer. Can still complain endlessly on the podcasts, if people need the good jokes as such a service don't waste time covering old ground…bring them these jokes man. It's your job. Jk?
Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks
We want to hear from you! Send us a tip using our annonymous form.
Sign up for our breaking news alerts
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Gia Giudice is speaking candidly about what it took to bring her family back together. The “Next Gen NYC” star recently confirmed she spent Christmas Eve with her uncle Joe Gorga and his wife Melissa Gorga — a major step forward for a family once plagued by tension.
During a December 26 appearance on Jeff Lewis Live on SiriusXM, Gia shared that her mom, “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Teresa Giudice, initiated the reunion with Joe at their parents' gravesite.
“They met alone at the cemetery first. It was just them at first, just my mom and her brother,” Gia explained. “After that conversation went really well, they were like, ‘OK, now it's time to have a conversation, us four.'”
She added that Teresa's husband, Luis “Louie” Ruelas, and Melissa joined the conversation later at a nearby park, before all four continued the discussion at Willow & Whisk, a popular Bergen County brunch spot.
“People took pictures of them, and that's kind of how [news of the reconciliation] got out,” Gia said. “They were like, ‘OK, whatever. We can't hide forever.'”
This year's Christmas Eve was particularly meaningful, marking the first time Gia had ever visited Joe and Melissa's Franklin Lakes home.
“They invited us around Thanksgiving,” she shared. “So we knew for quite some time now that we were gonna spend Christmas together.”
She said the evening was filled with heartfelt moments — including one with her cousins, Antonia, Gino, and Joey Gorga.
“I even said something to my cousins,” Gia recalled. “I said I am sorry for the disconnect and that I'm so happy we're here in a place where we're together… My mom and my aunt, everyone chimed in, and they were just like, let bygones be bygones, and we have to move on.”
Despite feeling grateful for the gathering, Gia admitted the catered food didn't quite meet her expectations. “It was OK. They had it catered,” she said. “Even next year — my mom even said it — we should all cook together because [the food] is always better.”
Still, one thing impressed the Bravo star: her aunt Melissa's Let's Sprinkle dessert line.
Gorga initially launched her dessert line in December 2024 with a debut batch of soft, baked-to-order rainbow sprinkle cookies. The brand was inspired by a now-infamous scene from “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” when Teresa Giudice criticized Melissa's contribution to their family's Christmas celebration.
“She came to my house Christmas Day, she brought me sprinkle cookies,” Teresa recalled in the viral moment. “I said to her, ‘Melissa, nobody touched the cookies you brought. I threw them in the garbage. You know what my favorite cookies are? Pignoli cookies.' That's what I said.”
Despite the brand's origins, Gia has since embraced her aunt's dessert line, saying, “I like crumb cake… I thought the cake was very moist,” she said. “I'm not kidding. I really liked the cake.”
Comment
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Δ
Previous
Like EntertainmentNow?
Go here and check the boxnext to EntertainmentNow
About
Contact US
Privacy Policy
Terms Of Service
Editorial Guidelines
Sitemap
Copyright © 2025 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Powered by WordPress VIP
By
Emily Zemler
Cary Elwes posted a lengthy tribute to Rob Reiner, celebrating the filmmaker for his “love and compassion.” The actor famously collaborated with Reiner on 1987 fantasy film The Princess Bride, which Reiner directed.
“Enough time has passed that I can finally put my grief into words,” Elwes wrote on Instagram. “I was 24 when I first met Rob Reiner on The Princess Bride. And from that very first meeting I fell in love with him. I was already a fan of his work so meeting him in person was a dream come true. As we began spending more time together I knew this was someone I wanted in my life. I also knew that by casting me as Westley he was giving me the keys to the castle. The first thing I noticed about Rob was that he wore his heart on his sleeve. This was a man who felt deeply. Whose heart was filled with love and compassion. He wasn't impressed by how much money you had or if you had a privileged upbringing. He just wanted to know if you were a ‘good guy.' He always tried to find the best in people. And if that person had problems he felt bad for them. He loved his family and friends immensely.”
The actor noted that Reiner “obviously loved making movies – and was clearly a brilliant filmmaker – but he told me what he really enjoyed the most was the experience itself.”
Popular on Rolling Stone
“He used to say, ‘Once the movie is released it belongs to other people. But while you are making it, that's your time on the planet, so you wanna make it good,'” Elwes wrote. “And boy was my time with him on The Princess Bride beyond great. I can't remember a single day without laughter. The movie is about love, loyalty and sacrifice. Things that Rob held dear. Which is among the many reasons he was the perfect person to direct it.”
Elwes also shared his memories of Reiner's wife, Michele Singer Reiner, who was stabbed to death alongside her husband on Dec. 14. Their 32-year-old son Nick has since been charged with their murders.
“Besides being a gifted photographer she was an incredibly loving, intelligent person,” Elwes shared. “Deeply passionate about her family and about lifting others up. To say that they were a great team would be an understatement. Their only interest in fame was that it allowed them to shine a light on causes they believed in, especially helping those who were marginalized. In a town where many talk the talk, they truly walked it.”
Trending Stories
More Kennedy Center Performers Pull Out After Trump's Name Change
Chappell Roan Removes Brigitte Bardot Tribute After Learning About ‘All That Insane Shit'
NewJeans' Label Terminates Danielle's Contract, Puts Full Group's Return in Limbo
Michael Lippman, Longtime Manager for George Michael and Matchbox Twenty, Dead at 79
He added, “Whenever we got together we would talk about family, life, movies and politics. But without fail Rob would always find a way to make us laugh. That was important to him. Finding the joy.”
Tributes for Reiner and Michele have poured in since their deaths. Last week, Martin Scorsese published a moving essay in The New York Times about Reiner, who he first met in the 1970s. “Right away, I loved hanging out with Rob,” he wrote. “We had a natural affinity for each other. He was hilarious and sometimes bitingly funny, but he was never the kind of guy who would take over the room.”
We want to hear it. Send us a tip using our anonymous form.
Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.
“Big Brother” fans are mourning the sudden loss of Mickey Lee, and revisiting moments from her time in the house through a new, heartbreaking lens. After Lee's family announced that the 35-year-old season 27 star died on Christmas following flu complications, viewers resurfaced an old clip in which she casually discussed a palm reading from a fellow houseguest. A moment that once felt playful but is now being described by fans as “eerie” in hindsight.
After the passing of Mickey Lee, a “Big Brother” 27 clip has resurfaced that shows Lee discussing a palm reading she received from fellow houseguest Ava Pearl.
In the clip, Mickey says, “She was like, ‘This is the lifeline. Oh, it's kinda short.” Then Ashley Hollis added, “[Pearl] freaked out, Mickey's like, ‘Does that mean I'm going to die early?' She's like, ‘Um, you know… let me do Ashley's.'”
Mickey then added, “But then she also said that she was confused about the lines.”
While the houseguests are joking in the video and having fun during an HOH sleepover, fans were quick to jump on social media to share how eerie the clip is following Lee's unexpected death.
One fan wrote, “This is wild in hindsight. Rest in Power, Mickey. 💔 Gone too soon,” while another added, “I think Ava was being nice. Saying she didn't know the life line. Avas demeanor changed A LOT during those weeks. Idkkkkk.”
A third user wrote, “this is so devastating 🙁,” while a fourth one added, “Oh my gosh 😱.”
Another fan happened to show concern for Ava's well-being after the news of Lee's passing, saying, “Does anyone know how Ava is doing btw? Is she okay?”
According to Parade, Pearl did speak on her Instagram Story following Lee's death. Pearl said, “Was hoping for different news regarding Mickey, a genuine tragedy for anyone to pass as young as she did.”
Pearl went on to say, “Wishing her friends and family peace, respect, and privacy during this time. No matter what, we lost a member of the ‘Big Brother' family, and she will be missed.”
After her passing, Mickey's family started a GoFundMe page to help support them with medical expenses. It's close to raising the $45K goal.
On that page, the family explains that she recently suffered a sudden and devastating medical emergency. She experienced a series of cardiac arrests due to complications from the flu and has since transitioned, surrounded by loved ones.
Comment
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Δ
Previous
Next
Like EntertainmentNow?
Go here and check the boxnext to EntertainmentNow
About
Contact US
Privacy Policy
Terms Of Service
Editorial Guidelines
Sitemap
Copyright © 2025 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Powered by WordPress VIP
Dakota Johnson was spotted on a cozy date night with a pop star, seven months after her split from Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.
The actress, who parted ways with Martin in June, appears to be moving on, as pictures obtained by TMZ showed her getting cozy with singer Role Model.
In the photos, Johnson and Role Model enjoy a candlelit dinner along with some friends. Onlookers told the outlet that the pair got “very close” during the dinner date. The source added that Johnson was “lying on him all cuddled up” at one point.
So far, both Johnson and Role Model have yet to address the dating rumors about them.
Role Model, whose real name is Tucker Harrington Pillsbury, is a singer-songwriter and former rapper. His debut studio album, “RX,” was released in 2022. In 2024, he released his second album, “Kansas Anymore.”
Aside from his music career, Role Model also turned to acting. He is set to star in Lena Dunham's rom-com film “Good Sex” alongside Natalie Portman and Mark Ruffalo. The movie is slated to premiere in 2027.
The singer's last known relationship was with influencer Emma Chamberlain. The two called it quits in 2023, after dating for three years, according to TMZ.
Meanwhile, Johnson and Martin had an on-off relationship for eight years before calling it quits for good in June. According to the Daily Mail, the two called off their engagement at the time and accepted that the relationship was over.
“Chris and Dakota have tried desperately hard over the past few months to make their relationship work,” a source told the outlet at the time. “They'll always have love for each other but they've both come to the conclusion the relationship cannot be sustained long-term.”
The source continued, “They wanted it to work, but it just hasn't, and they've now accepted it is best to move on.”
Recently, Martin has been romantically linked with “Game of Thrones” star Sophie Turner. According to a report by The Daily Mail, the actress went on a “secret date” with the singer after she and her aristocrat boyfriend, Peregrine “Perry” Pearson, broke up.
Meanwhile, fans took to the comment section to share their thoughts about Johnson's rumored new boyfriend.
One fan wrote, “I'm loving these two together,” while another chimed in, “Obsessed with this match up.”
Comment
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Δ
Previous
Like EntertainmentNow?
Go here and check the boxnext to EntertainmentNow
About
Contact US
Privacy Policy
Terms Of Service
Editorial Guidelines
Sitemap
Copyright © 2025 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Powered by WordPress VIP
As Hearties anxiously await the season 13 premiere of Hallmark's hit series “When Calls the Heart,” premiering on January 4, 2026, filming has begun on the show's just-announced prequel, “Hope Valley 1874” starring Benjamin Ayres, Bethany Joy Lenz, and Hallmark newcomer Jill Hennessy.
Hallmark revealed the surprise series to fans on December 12 and began shooting days later, racing to film an eight-episode first season in time for the series to debut on Hallmark+ in March. They faced some major hurdles right out of the gate, but there's been plenty of good news, too. Here's everything we know about the show so far…
Days after Hallmark announced “Hope Valley: 1874,” the primary cast and crew began filming in Vancouver in tough weather conditions. On December 22, “When Calls The Heart” production manager Mike Magnusson, who is also handling logistics on “Hope Valley: 1874,” shared on social media that the first week of filming was complete, and everyone had gone home for the holidays.
“I want to thank our cast & crew for a heroic week one,” he captioned a photo of ominous clouds over an inlet. “Weather systems conspired to make this a week of biblical level challenges. I am confounded by the personal stories of heroic dedication required to get the job done; or in some cases, heroics required just to make it to work! Heros, each & every one of you! Thank you so much for your dedication! 🙏🙏🙏”
Grip Grayson Wells, who also works on “When Calls The Heart,” wrote in the comments, “We killed it as a team👊🏼 My boots are still wet though! lol”
On December 28, longtime Hallmark actress Chelsea Hobbs revealed that she was the first cast member to join “Hope Valley: 1874,” but her busy schedule as a single mom kept her from celebrating her news online sooner. The “Dream Moms” and “Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane” star shared in an Instagram post that she's “over the moon” to be playing Peggy McCabe on the series.
She wrote, “To say I'm grateful and honoured to join the #whencallstheheart universe for this more rugged prequel, would be a wild understatement. 💞”
Fellow Hallmark stars cheered Hobbs' announcement, including Taylor Cole, who commented, “Oh I love this. You and @benjaminayres are going to have so much fun. 🤩 congratulations”
In her Instagram Stories, Hobbs posted a selfie video in which she further shared, “I'm giddy excited about this experience. I was actually one of, if not the first, person cast. I've been sitting on it, like, couldn't announce anything (or) talk about it.”
“I've learned how to drive a wagon, been back on a horse,” she said, and then gushed, “The costumes, the people, like everything already is just so fun. I'm giddy about it. It's so fun! Can't wait.”
Two days before Magnusson's update, Ayres posted a montage of footage he took behind the scenes, revealing rugged and dimly-lit backdrops, from the inside of a horse stable to him sitting near the water as clouds and fog rolled in.
Hennessy, who's starred in multiple hit series including “Crossing Jordan,” wrote in the comment section, “Wow, you really captured it!!! Really beautiful work this week, Ben!!👏👏👏” and he replied, “You crushed it sister! So fun being wet and cold with you:)”
For those Hearties wondering whether “When Calls The Heart” co-creators Brian Bird and Michael Landon Jr. have been involved in and aware of the development of “Hope Valley: 1874,” the answer is YES. Even “When Calls The Heart” showrunner Alfonso Moreno is at the helm, ensuring consistency across the franchise.
Bird acknowledged his involvement and support on December 12, tweeting an article about the show announcement and writing, “For #Hearties everywhere… this has been a big few weeks on the BREAKING NEWS front. Thanks to patron @hallmarkchannel and partners @MichaelLandonJr, @BradKrevoy and @AlfonsoMoreno, a new original series… Hope Valley: 1874!”
In an Instagram post on December 13, Landon Jr. wrote, “When I first created When Calls the Heart, I never imagined we'd one day be going back to explore how Hope Valley began. And now here we are. So thrilled to share that ‘Hope Valley: 1874' is officially coming to @HallmarkPlus. Watching this world grow and knowing it still resonates with so many of you means more than I can say. Can't wait to see what this talented cast and team bring to the frontier. March 2026—mark your calendars, #Hearties. 💛”
Some die-hard Hearties have questioned the name of the new series, noting that in Janette Oke's first novels that inspired “When Calls The Heart,” and in the show's first season, Hope Valley was originally called Coal Valley. Social media questions about why the show isn't called “Coal Valley 1874” have gone unanswered; the reason may be as simple as the need for consistent and recognizable branding across the franchise. The initial press announcement acknowledged that the show will be about “the early days of the settlement that later becomes Hope Valley.”
In the initial press announcement about the new show, Hallmark Media head of programming Michelle Vicary said, “‘1874' gives us a wonderful opportunity to further explore the universe of ‘When Calls the Heart' and build a deeper world around this show for our devoted fans, who have helped make it one of the most successful and enduring series on television today. We're excited for the Hearties to join us as we tell this rich origin story filled with the kind of heart, community and hope they know and love.”
Lenz will play Rebecca Clarke, “who travels from her home city of Chicago to the Western Canadian frontier with her 11-year-old-daughter. But when her wagon breaks down, she has no choice but to accept help from local rancher and confirmed bachelor, Tom Moore,” played by Ayres.
“Despite Rebecca's best intentions to remain unattached,” Hallmark's synopsis continues, “the future she dreams of for her and her daughter along with the people she meets in this fledgling town –including the guarded Tom and tenacious pioneer woman Hattie Quinn (played by Hennessy) – ultimately compel her to put down roots and make a fresh start.”
I love When Calls the Heart! Will the New Hope Valley be aired on The Hallmark Channel? I hope it will be!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but when When Calls the Heart premiered, the name of the town was Coal Valley and it was changed only in the aftermath of the mine disaster.
Disappointed that this will be on Hallmark+. Hoping it will be shown on Hallmark channel at a later date.
Comment
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Δ
Previous
Next
Like EntertainmentNow?
Go here and check the boxnext to EntertainmentNow
About
Contact US
Privacy Policy
Terms Of Service
Editorial Guidelines
Sitemap
Copyright © 2025 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Powered by WordPress VIP
This streaming release is gonna be popular.
After 53 days in theaters (and a buzzy, fashion-filled press tour), “Wicked: For Good” will finally be available to stream on video-on-demand (VOD) retailers like Prime Video.
The film's already generating early awards season buzz, with stars Ariana Grande (Glinda) and Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) both clinching individual Golden Globes nominations.
Read on for everything you need to know to catch act two of the much-discussed story — and change your at-home movie nights for good.
The second part of the “Wicked” movie is available to buy on Prime Video starting at midnight ET on Dec. 30, 2025. The ultra-high definition version costs $29.99.
You won't need to be a Prime member to watch it, although you'll need to sign up for at least a free Amazon account to store your digital purchase.
Luckily for “Wicked” obsessives, purchased movies live in your Amazon account indefinitely and can be watched and rewatched as much as you'd like.
While there's no word yet on when you'll be able to stream “Wicked: For Good” without purchasing it, the buzzy sequel will eventually make its way to Peacock, given it's owned by the same parent company as Universal Pictures.
Need to catch up? The first part of “Wicked” is already available to stream on Peacock.
The service starts at just $7.99/month for an ad-enabled plan. (If your 2026 plans also involve binging Apple TV shows, you can bundle the two services for $12.99/month.)
As of now, “Wicked: For Good” is still in theaters. Given its predecessor became the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation of all time in 2024, in addition to taking home two Oscars, its run isn't done quite yet.
This article was written by Hannah Southwick, Commerce Associate Editor for Page Six. Hannah spies deals on actually affordable celebrity-worn styles, puts Hollywood's favorite labels to the test and finds the beauty products that keep stars red carpet-ready. She consults stylists and industry pros — including celebs themselves — for firsthand product recommendations, trend predictions and more. In addition to writing for Page Six since 2020, her work has been featured in USA Today and Parade.
“Modern Family” star Eric Stonestreet penned a heartfelt tribute to Pat Finn, remembering him as a wonderful person and sharing just how much he had meant to him.
Finn's death was reported on December 24. He died from bladder cancer and was 60. “He was the kindest, most joyful person in any room, and was surrounded by his incredibly close and loving family and friends,” a statement about his death reads, Entertainment Weekly reports.
Stonestreet shared his tribute to Finn on X. “Everyone's favorite guy @thatPatFinn sadly passed away this week. To say Pat was beloved is a gross understatement. No ONE and I mean NO ONE jumped quicker and more head first into a bit with you than Pat Finn,” he wrote. “He was the definition of what an improviser is and also the definition of what a good guy is. Please keep his entire family and all of his close pals in your thoughts.”
Fans showed their support for the actor in the post's comments. “Rest in peace. Blessings to his family,” a comment reads. “He was such a funny actor. Loved him in everything he did. I'm sorry for the loss of your friend,” another fan shared.
Other reactions include, “Wow, I hadn't heard! He was awesome…prayers up for him, his family and friends,” and “I loved The Middle, and he was excellent in it, he's probably in the best scene of the entire show…He seemed like a great guy.”
Finn was an actor and comedian whose portfolio of work included appearances on “The Middle,” “Friends,” and “Murphy Brown.” He was loved by many, including fans and celebrities who knew him.
Finn is survived by his wife, Donna, and their children, Cassidy, Caitlin, and Ryan. A GoFundMe fundraiser, titled “Help the Finn Family Through Pat's Fight,” with the beneficiary listed as Donna Finn, was created to help support the family with the costs incurred from Finn's battle with cancer.
“The Finn family, cherished friends of so many of us, are truly in a tough spot. Pat has been battling cancer on and off for the better part of three years,” the statement reads. “Throughout the grueling and painful process that is Pat's fight against this insidious disease, the family has been a rock of support for each other. Pat, Donna, Cassidy, Caitlin, and Ryan have demonstrated enormous strength every day, supporting each other as Pat's fight has become more complicated, challenging, and physically difficult. As friends, we all continue to offer our help, and it's now time to expand that support into fundraising.”
The initial goal is listed at $230,000, and at the time of publication, the fund has raised over $188,000 with 369 people showing their support.
Comment
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Δ
Previous
Next
Like EntertainmentNow?
Go here and check the boxnext to EntertainmentNow
About
Contact US
Privacy Policy
Terms Of Service
Editorial Guidelines
Sitemap
Copyright © 2025 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Powered by WordPress VIP
Tom Brady is a celebrated sportsman, but he is also a dad, and during the Christmas holidays, he got to spend some quality time with all three of his kids. The former NFL superstar shared a photo of himself and his three children on Instagram, and fans have reacted with loving messages.
Brady is a dad to three kids: His firstborn is son John “Jack” Edward Thomas, whom he shares with his ex-girlfriend, actress Bridget Moynahan. He also has two children with his ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen, a son, Benjamin Rein, and a daughter, Vivian Lake (who looks strikingly similar to her supermodel mom). In the photo, Brady is posing in the middle of his children. They appear to be on a boat, and you can see the water behind them.
He shared his thoughts in the caption, writing, “Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Sending our love always – The Bradys.” Fans flooded the post with messages, eager to share their thoughts on Brady's children and how big they have gotten!
“Jack is so so handsome wow,” a comment reads. “Your children have grown up so fast! They are getting as tall as you!!,” another fan shared. Other reactions include, “She looks like her mama,” “They are really growing up fast,” and “This is all ya need in life tom!!!”
Brady and Moynahan had already broken up when they learned she was pregnant. Jack was born on August 22, 2007, in Santa Monica, California. At the time, Bündchen and Brady had already started dating.
Bündchen has discussed the situation and how it was initially challenging, but she also praised Moynahan in a 2018 interview with People. ”But I'm so grateful for [Bridget]. I know this was hard, but I couldn't imagine my life without [Jack]. I call him my bonus child,” she said. “He opened my heart in ways I didn't even know my heart could expand. I fell in love with him.”
Benjamin was born on December 8, 2009, and his sister Vivian was born on December 5, 2012. Brady was thrilled to become a girl dad. ”I grew up in a house with three sisters. I think it's great for my boys to have a girl in the house, just to understand at least a little bit about what makes a woman tick — not that I can certainly figure that out, because I can't,” he told ESPN days after his daughter's birth. “She's a beautiful little girl.”
.
Comment
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Δ
Previous
Next
Like EntertainmentNow?
Go here and check the boxnext to EntertainmentNow
About
Contact US
Privacy Policy
Terms Of Service
Editorial Guidelines
Sitemap
Copyright © 2025 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Powered by WordPress VIP
Romy Reiner and her brother Jake Reiner stepped out for a walk on the beach in their first joint sighting since the death of their parents.
On Monday, the siblings put on a united front outside a Malibu, Calif., beach house where they've reportedly been staying since their parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, were tragically murdered earlier this month.
In exclusive photos obtained by Page Six, the siblings appeared downcast while walking side-by-side.
Advertisement
They were joined by Jake's girlfriend, Maria Gilfillan, and another female.
Advertisement
At one point, the group was photographed standing in a circle and talking.
Romy wore a black sweater, jeans and a hat, while Jake wore a T-shirt, gray shorts and a hat for the outing.
Earlier in the day, Romy was seen being comforted by loved ones outside the home.
Romy, who lived across the street from her famous parents, was first seen outside the beach house on Saturday.
Advertisement
The date marked her 28th birthday, and she spent it surrounded by loved ones.
Advertisement
Jake joined his sister at the property on Sunday afternoon and was seen taking a somber stroll on the beach with his girlfriend.
The 34-year-old and Romy have been staying under the radar since their parents were murdered at their Brentwood, Calif., home on Dec. 14.
Romy discovered Rob and Michele's bodies after she went to check up on them when they missed a massage therapy appointment, sources told The Post.
Advertisement
Start your day with Page Six Daily.
Please provide a valid email.
By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Want celebrity news as it breaks?
The legendary director, 78, and Michele, 70, were found with multiple stab wounds to their bodies, according to their death certificates.
According to the Post, the couple's youngest son, Nick, was being investigated as a person of interest ahead of his arrest later that evening.
The 32-year-old, who has a past of violence and substance abuse, was reportedly diagnosed with schizophrenia and had his meds changed leading up to the killings.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Sources described the screenwriter's behavior as “alarming.”
Advertisement
Nick is behind bars at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles and will be arraigned on Jan. 7.
He reportedly plans on pleading not guilty.
There was a time when Sony's universe of Spider-Man villains really looked like it might have been something. Or, rather, it looked that way to executives counting the surprising $850 million box office of Venom. Assuming that all Spider-Man's villains were as popular and beloved as Eddie Brock, Sony pressed forward with films about Dr. Michael Morbius, Madame Web, and a hunter named Kraven. The quick diminishing returns felt by audience members who didn't know they were buying tickets to an off-brand superhero franchise eventually led to the series flaming out with the unsurprising disappointment of Kraven The Hunter last December. If Sony hadn't been so protective of characters that really need a good and recognizable hero to give them some juice, they may have been able to make a pretty good Kraven movie directed by Ryan Coogler. In fact, during Coogler's interview with Happy Sad Confused today, the director revealed that he originally wanted the character for his first Black Panther, but Sony put the kibosh on Kraven.
To be clear, Kraven wouldn't have been the film's big bad, nor would Michael B. Jordan have played the Hunter. From the sounds of it, the director wanted the character for a cold-open action scene. Coogler tells host Josh Horowitz that he and co-writer Joe Robert Cole took inspiration from Christopher Priest's run of comics, which starts with Black Panther, Kraven, and Everett Ross fighting in a kitchen. A self-proclaimed “big Spider-Man fan, especially Spider-Man: The Animated Series,” Coogler asked the higher-ups at Marvel if he could use the character. Sony clearly had other ideas. “I was like, ‘Yo, can I have Kraven in the movie?' [Marvel was] like, ‘We don't think so, but let us check.' So, they hit Sony, and Sony was like, ‘Absolutely not.' They came back to me like, ‘Yo, we can't do it.' So, I was like, ‘Okay.'”
Strangely, “okay” is what many moviegoers said after the trailer for 2024's Kraven The Hunter.
Recommended for You1Rhett Miller is "Cruel To Be Kind" in latest A.V. Undercover2Stranger Things packs an emotional punch as it sets the stage for its finale3AVQ&A: What's your 2025 pop culture gift to the world?4Great Job, Internet!: Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen are adorable in the Criterion Closet5The past boldly sings, shakes, and quakes in The Testament Of Ann Lee6Disney becomes first studio since 2019 to break $6 billion at the box office7Avatar: Fire And Ash works best when it gets hot and bothered8Spy drama The Copenhagen Test is heavy on twists and light on coherence9Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon finally welcomed the West to romantic action10In memoriam: 2025's cinematic obituaries mourned their losses before our eyes11Distracted gaming: Why nobody pays attention in multiplayer games anymore12Star Wars: The Force Awakens launched the opening salvo of the fan-service culture war13Love Bullet takes a shot at queer romance, but with a heavily armed twist14Cruelty spreads like The Plague in thrilling adolescent drama15Fallout asks, "How many pricks can one Wasteland take?"
© 2025 Paste Media Group. All Rights Reserved
By
Tomás Mier
At least three more events are no longer happening at the Kennedy Center after its board, which was handpicked by President Donald Trump, voted to rename the venue the Trump-Kennedy Center.
New York Dance Company Doug Varone and Dancers announced that they would no longer bring their pre-scheduled performance to the institution in protest of the decision to rename the arts center.
“It is financially devastating but morally exhilarating,” Varone told The New York Times in an email. (Varone did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.)
Also on Monday, the Kennedy Center's website said two events set for New Year's Eve by the Cookers had also been canceled. While jazz band the Cookers did not immediately share the reason for the show cancellation, it came after jazz star Chuck Redd canceled his annual free concert, originally scheduled for Christmas Eve.
Alabama folk singer Kristy Lee, who was set to perform a free show on Jan. 14, was also among the artists who pulled out. “I won't lie to you, canceling shows hurts,” she said in a Instagram post last week. “This is how I keep the lights on. But losing my integrity would cost me more than any paycheck. When American history starts getting treated like something you can ban, erase, rename, or rebrand for somebody else's ego, I can't stand on that stage and sleep right at night.”
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell said, “The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far left leadership. Their actions prove that the previous team was more concerned about booking far left political activists rather than artists willing to perform for everyone regardless of their political beliefs. Boycotting the Arts to show you support the Arts is a form of derangement syndrome.”
The new cancellations arrive several days after Grenell threatened to take legal action against Redd for canceling the Christmas Eve show, calling his letter to the musician an “official notice” that the center would seek $1 million in damages for the “political stunt.”
For more than 20 years, the Kennedy Center has hosted the Christmas Eve Jazz Jam, with Redd headlining the event since 2006. “When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd told the AP on Dec. 24.
Trending Stories
More Kennedy Center Performers Pull Out After Trump's Name Change
Chappell Roan Removes Brigitte Bardot Tribute After Learning About ‘All That Insane Shit'
NewJeans' Label Terminates Danielle's Contract, Puts Full Group's Return in Limbo
Michael Lippman, Longtime Manager for George Michael and Matchbox Twenty, Dead at 79
The cancellations mark another round of protests against the Kennedy Center after at least 26 performances were canceled earlier this year, including 15 by the scheduled acts themselves, in protest of Trump's self-appointment as chairman of the establishment. Issa Rae canceled a February show, citing “an infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds through all mediums.”
This article was updated at 11:30 p.m. ET to included a statement from Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell.
We want to hear it. Send us a tip using our anonymous form.
Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.
Previous research on the effect of wolves on the food web has been criticized, raising questions about the predator's role in the Yellowstone ecosystem.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
Over the last three decades, Yellowstone National Park has undergone an ecological cascade. As elk numbers fell, aspen and willow trees thrived. This, in turn, allowed beaver numbers to increase, creating new habitats for fish and birds.
The shift has largely been attributed to the reintroduction of wolves to the park — as predators, they helped control the elk numbers. But their return may not have reshaped the entire ecosystem in the way that scientists thought, and has sparked a fierce debate among scientists over exactly why and how Yellowstone has rebounded.
According to a study published in January, the reintroduction of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the 1990s created a trophic cascade — a chain reaction in the food web — that benefitted the entire ecosystem. The study linked wolves in the area to a reduction in the elk population, which in turn reduced browsing and allowed willow trees to grow. Between 2001 and 2020, this led to a 1,500% increase in crown volume, the total space filled by upper branches of the willows.
But now, scientists have written a response letter to the editor, published in Oct. 13 in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation, in which they argue that the original study's methodology was flawed, and that Yellowstone wolves' effect on willow shrubs is not so clear.
Large predators were targeted in Yellowstone from the end of the 1800s. By the 1920s, wolves were largely extinct from the park. Their disappearance created an ecological imbalance — the elk population exploded, which decimated plant populations and in turn threatened beavers, among other impacts. This is known as a trophic cascade, where the removal of one species causes ripples throughout the food web.
While the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone has led to changes within the park, the authors of the response letter claim the original study reinterpreted existing data to fit an oversimplified story.
The study converted willow height measurements collected and published by another research group into a metric called crown volume, response author Daniel MacNulty, a wildlife ecologist at Utah State University, told Live Science in an email. Crown volume was used as a proxy for willow size, meant to capture the shrub's entire three-dimensional growth more than simply measuring its height.
Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
"Because crown volume was built directly from height, [the study] only showed that height predicts height," MacNulty said. "They did not reveal anything new about how willow growth changed after wolf reintroduction."
The response letter suggests other inconsistencies in data analysis, like comparing willow measurements from different locations across years. This is problematic because it shows a misleading time series of willow growth, and MacNulty's research group has previously published research noting sampling biases in other studies supporting this same trophic cascade theory.
"There is substantial scientific evidence of a definitive effect of wolf recovery on the rest of the Yellowstone ecosystem," MacNulty said, like wolves increasing the supply of carrion to bears, coyotes, eagles and other meat-eating species. But the effect of wolves on vegetation is less clear because it operates through the decline of elk populations, which wolves were likely not solely responsible for. As MacNulty points out, humans, grizzly bears and cougars also hunt elk. "A major problem with the simple trophic cascade story is that it ignores the role of these other predators."
William Ripple, an Oregon State University wildlife ecologist and author of the original paper, stands by the original conclusions of the paper, maintaining that a large carnivore, elk, and willow trophic cascade occurred in Yellowstone. "Our methods are sound, the modeling approach is standard," Ripple told Live Science in an email. "So we reject the idea that there are fatal flaws."
The debate about Yellowstone wolves and the impact of their reintroduction goes beyond this study and the latest response. While scientists widely agree that there is a trophic cascade in Yellowstone, its strength — and which predators are most responsible for it — form the center of the disagreement, MacNulty said.
Some scientists argue the story is more complex. "There are reasons other than trophic cascades by which carnivores and plants can be positively associated," Jake Goheen, a wildlife ecologist at Iowa State University told Live Science in an email. Goheen, who was not involved in the research or response, said he doesn't believe that the authors of the original study provided enough evidence to support their conclusion that reintroducing wolves in Yellowstone caused a strong trophic cascade that affected willows.
"There is a growing body of literature at this point that has scrutinized the hypothesized cascade in Yellowstone," Goheen said. He adds that this does not mean there's no wolf-to-elk-to-willow trophic cascade in Yellowstone, only that the evidence presented so far is not clear enough.
—Yellowstone holds potentially untapped cache of 'carbon-free' helium for rockets, reactors and superconductors
—We finally know where the Yellowstone volcano will erupt next
—Yellowstone's 'queen of the wolves' killed by rival pack after living to 11 years old and having 10 litters of pups
To establish a clear trophic cascade from Yellowstone wolf reintroduction to willows, researchers would need to account for other predators and herbivores, said MacNulty. The ideal study would then analyze how much more total willow biomass there is now compared with before wolf introduction, to identify the strength of the effect; then calculate how much of that increase can be attributed solely to wolves, to identify its cause.
Ripple and his research team are now preparing a detailed reply, which explains that criticisms of the original study come from misunderstandings of what they did, Ripple said. "The basic scientific logic of the paper is solid," Ripple said.
Conservation priorities might be fueling the controversy over large carnivores' beneficial effects on ecosystems, said Goheen, adding that even if wolves are not definitively causing a trophic cascade to willows, they are still important to conserve.
Olivia Ferrari is a New York City-based freelance journalist with a background in research and science communication. Olivia has lived and worked in the U.K., Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia. Her writing focuses on wildlife, environmental justice, climate change, and social science.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
Please login or signup to comment
Please wait...
Charisma Magazine Online
The Magazine About Spirit-led Living
Charisma Magazine Online
The Magazine About Spirit-led Living
Share via:
UFO disclosure is no longer a fringe topic, and it is not going away. According to longtime researcher and filmmaker L.A. Marzulli, the conversation has reached a tipping point. “It's here. It's happening. And it's now,” Marzulli said in a recent reaction video, warning that the global push toward disclosure is unfolding “in real time,” not in the distant future.
Marzulli's recent reaction video centers on the new film Disclosure Day, which he believes is less entertainment and more ideological groundwork.
The movie repeatedly frames “full disclosure” as a moral necessity, suggesting the world has a right to know the truth all at once. That framing, Marzulli argues, is intentional. “People have a right to know the truth,” the film declares. Marzulli's response is pointed: “But what truth are we going to hear? Whose truth will we hear?”
Throughout his breakdown of the movie's trailer, Marzulli highlights imagery he believes is doing heavy theological lifting. Scenes of altered consciousness, possession-like behavior and religious symbolism are not incidental.
“There's no way around that,” he said of one scene depicting a woman losing control of her faculties. “That's possession. She no longer is in possession of her faculties.” He also noted the film's use of Catholic imagery, saying it subtly suggests that faith can be reinterpreted to accommodate non-human entities. “They're already spinning this thing within a certain theological framework,” he said.
More broadly, Marzulli rejects the film's assumption that alleged non-human intelligences are benevolent extraterrestrials. “They're not from Zeta Reticuli,” he said. “They're gods with little g's. They are the fallen angels with a very nefarious agenda.”
He ties this directly to biblical prophecy, warning that such revelations could trigger what Scripture calls a great falling away. “When they reveal themselves, that's the game changer,” Marzulli said. “And we are being set up for it.”
The push for disclosure is shaping how people think, believe and interpret reality. As governments, media and entertainment move in lockstep, discernment matters more than ever. Pay attention to the world around you. Deception rarely announces itself. It hides in plain sight, often where we are told to look for truth.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man's Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine.
Share via:
By submitting your comment, you agree to receive occasional emails from [email protected], and its authors, including insights, exclusive content, and special offers. You can unsubscribe at any time. (U.S. residents only.)
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment *
Name *
Email *
Website
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Don't miss a move of the Holy Spirit. Sign up now for our free Culture Conection filled with truth and power, delivered straight to your inbox.
Company
Discover
Flipbooks are available to paid subscribers only. Subscribe now or log in for access.
Researchers are developing a real-life tractor beam, with the goal of pulling defunct satellites out of geostationary orbit to alleviate the space junk problem.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
In science fiction films, nothing raises tension quite like the good guys' spaceship getting caught in an invisible tractor beam that allows the baddies to slowly reel them in. But what was once only a sci-fi staple could soon become a reality.
Scientists are developing a real-life tractor beam, dubbed an electrostatic tractor. This tractor beam wouldn't suck in helpless starship pilots, however. Instead, it would use electrostatic attraction to nudge hazardous space junk safely out of Earth orbit.
The stakes are high: With the commercial space industry booming, the number of satellites in Earth's orbit is forecast to rise sharply. This bonanza of new satellites will eventually wear out and turn the space around Earth into a giant junkyard of debris that could smash into working spacecraft, plummet to Earth, pollute our atmosphere with metals and obscure our view of the cosmos. And, if left unchecked, the growing space junk problem could hobble the booming space exploration industry, experts warn.
The science is pretty much there, but the funding is not.
The electrostatic tractor beam could potentially alleviate that problem by safely moving dead satellites far out of Earth orbit, where they would drift harmlessly for eternity.
While the tractor beam wouldn't completely solve the space junk problem, the concept has several advantages over other proposed space debris removal methods, which could make it a valuable tool for tackling the issue, experts told Live Science.
Related: 11 sci-fi concepts that are possible (in theory)
A prototype could cost millions, and an operational, full-scale version even more. But if the financial hurdles can be overcome, the tractor beam could be operational within a decade, its builders say.
Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
"The science is pretty much there, but the funding is not," project researcher Kaylee Champion, a doctoral student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder), told Live Science.
The tractor beams depicted in "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" suck up spacecraft via artificial gravity or an ambiguous "energy field." Such technology is likely beyond anything humans will ever achieve. But the concept inspired Hanspeter Schaub, an aerospace engineering professor at CU Boulder, to conceptualize a more realistic version.
Schaub first got the idea after the first major satellite collision in 2009, when an active communications satellite, Iridium 33, smashed into a defunct Russian military spacecraft, Kosmos 2251, scattering more than 1,800 pieces of debris into Earth's orbit.
Related: How many satellites orbit Earth?
In the wake of this disaster, Schaub wanted to be able to prevent this from happening again. To do this, he realized you could pull spacecraft out of harm's way by using the attraction between positively and negatively charged objects to make them "stick" together.
Over the next decade, Schaub and colleagues refined the concept. Now, they hope it can someday be used to move dead satellites out of geostationary orbit (GEO) — an orbit around Earth's equator where an object's speed matches the planet's rotation, making it seem like the object is fixed in place above a certain point on Earth. This would then free up space for other objects in GEO, which is considered "prime real estate" for satellites, Schaub said.
The electrostatic tractor would use a servicer spacecraft equipped with an electron gun that would fire negatively charged electrons at a dead target satellite, Champion told Live Science. The electrons would give the target a negative charge while leaving the servicer with a positive charge. The electrostatic attraction between the two would keep them locked together despite being separated by 65 to 100 feet (20 to 30 meters) of empty space, she said.
Once the servicer and target are "stuck together," the servicer would be able to pull the target out of orbit without touching it. Ideally, the defunct satellite would be pulled into a "graveyard orbit" more distant from Earth, where it could safely drift forever, Champion said.
Related: 15 of the weirdest things we have launched into space
The electrostatic attraction between the two spacecraft would be extremely weak, due to limitations in electron gun technology and the distance by which the two would need to be separated to prevent collisions, project researcher Julian Hammerl, a doctoral student at CU Boulder, told Live Science. So the servicer would have to move very slowly, and it could take more than a month to fully move a single satellite out of GEO, he added.
That's a far cry from movie tractor beams, which are inescapable and rapidly reel in their prey. This is the "main difference between sci-fi and reality," Hammerl said.
The electrostatic tractor would have one big advantage over other proposed space junk removal methods, such as harpoons, giant nets and physical docking systems: It would be completely touchless.
"You have these large, dead spacecraft about the size of a school bus rotating really fast," Hammerl said. "If you shoot a harpoon, use a big net or try to dock with them, then the physical contact can damage the spacecraft and then you are only making the [space junk] problem worse."
Scientists have proposed other touchless methods, such as using powerful magnets, but enormous magnets are both expensive to produce and would likely interfere with a servicer's controls, Champion said.
Related: How do tiny pieces of space junk cause incredible damage?
The main limitation of the electrostatic tractor is how slowly it would work. More than 550 satellites currently orbit Earth in GEO, but that number is expected to rise sharply in the coming decades.
If satellites were moved one at a time, then a single electrostatic tractor wouldn't keep pace with the number of satellites winking out of operation. Another limitation of the electrostatic tractor is that it would work too slowly to be practical for clearing smaller pieces of space junk, so it wouldn't be able to keep GEO completely free of debris.
Cost is the other big obstacle. The team has not yet done a full cost analysis for the electrostatic tractor, Schaub said, but it would likely cost tens of millions of dollars. However, once the servicer were in space, it would be relatively cost-effective to operate it, he added.
The researchers are currently working on a series of experiments in their Electrostatic Charging Laboratory for Interactions between Plasma and Spacecraft (ECLIPS) machine at CU Boulder. The bathtub-sized, metallic vacuum chamber, which is equipped with an electron gun, allows the team to "do unique experiments that almost no one else can currently do" in order to simulate the effects of an electrostatic tractor on a smaller scale, Hammerl said.
Once the team is ready, the final and most challenging hurdle will be to secure funding for the first mission, which is a process they have not yet started.
Most of the mission cost would come from building and launching the servicer. However, the researchers would ideally like to launch two satellites for the first tests, a servicer and a target that they can maneuver, which would give them more control over their experiments but also double the cost.
Related: 10 stunning shots of Earth from space in 2022
If they can somehow wrangle that funding, a prototype tractor beam could be operational in around 10 years, the team previously estimated.
While tractor beams may sound like a pipe dream, experts are optimistic about the technology.
"Their technology is still in the infancy stage," John Crassidis, an aerospace scientist at the University at Buffalo in New York, who is not involved in the research, told Live Science in an email. "But I am fairly confident it will work."
If you shoot a harpoon, use a big net or try to dock with them, then the physical contact can damage the spacecraft and then you are only making the [space junk] problem worse.
Removing space junk without touching it would also be much safer than any current alternative method, Crassidis added.
The electrostatic tractor "should be able to produce the forces necessary to move a defunct satellite" and "certainly has a high potential to work in practice," Carolin Frueh, an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Purdue University in Indiana, told Live Science in an email. "But there are still several engineering challenges to be solved along the way to make it real-world-ready."
—World's largest communication satellite is a photobombing menace, astronomers warn
—Chinese scientists call for plan to destroy Elon Musk's Starlink satellites
—Geomagnetic storm sends 40 SpaceX satellites plummeting to Earth
Scientists should continue to research other possible solutions, Crassidis said. Even if the CU Boulder team doesn't create a "final product" to remove nonfunctional satellites, their research will provide a stepping stone for other scientists, he added.
If they are successful, it wouldn't be the first time scientists turned fiction into fact.
"What is today's science fiction could be tomorrow's reality," Crassidis said.
Harry is a U.K.-based senior staff writer at Live Science. He studied marine biology at the University of Exeter before training to become a journalist. He covers a wide range of topics including space exploration, planetary science, space weather, climate change, animal behavior and paleontology. His recent work on the solar maximum won "best space submission" at the 2024 Aerospace Media Awards and was shortlisted in the "top scoop" category at the NCTJ Awards for Excellence in 2023. He also writes Live Science's weekly Earth from space series.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
Please login or signup to comment
Please wait...
New Mexico really can be out of this world.
Sharael Kolberg is a California-based writer and editor specializing in travel and adventure. Her work has appeared in publications including Orange Coast Magazine, Laguna Beach Magazine, and Adventure Sports Journal.
stellamc/Adobe Stock
With high altitude, dark skies, and vast expanses populated by few people, it's no wonder that New Mexico has a longstanding history as a hotspot for stargazing, rocket launches, and possible UFO sightings.
"New Mexico's connection to space is woven into our landscape, our history, and our spirit of exploration,” says Lancing Adams, acting cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Tourism Department.
One of the best ways to explore the Land of Enchantment's out-of-this-world history is by embarking on the New Mexico Space Trail. The road trip consists of 52 historic sites related to space—from ancient rock art to modern laboratories—that give insight and unique perspectives on the state's important role in the space industry.
“Dating back to the 1990s, the development and promotion of the Space Trail has been an ongoing initiative of multiple organizations, including the New Mexico Museum of Space History, which continues to play a key role in space education in the State,” says Sheli Hinds Armstrong, director of space tourism for the SpaceValley Foundation and owner and CEO of Destination Southwest, based in New Mexico.
Here's what you need to know before planning a trip on New Mexico's Space Trail.
kennytong/Adobe Stock
There are about a dozen observatories scattered throughout New Mexico, so witnessing the stars, planets, and galaxies through a high-powered telescope is a must. The state's low levels of light pollution and vast open spaces make it perfect for stargazing.
Attend a free open house viewing session at The University of New Mexico Campus Observatory in Albuquerque or The Tombaugh Campus Observatory at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, to use a wide variety of telescopes. Or, head to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science's planetarium for a guided tour of the night sky in the 55-foot full-dome theater.
The Magdalena Ridge Observatory in Socorro hosts Enchanted Skies Star Parties that include a tour of the observatory and professional astronomers, who explain what attendees are seeing in the sky. Visit the Sunspot Solar Observatory to get an up-close look at the sun via the Richard B. Dunn Solar Telescope. Another point of interest is the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array, which has 27 82-foot-wide radio antennas.
There are a variety of space museums in New Mexico that cover everything from planetary science to the Atomic Age. The free Bradbury Science Museum, at Los Alamos Laboratory, features interactive exhibits regarding the Manhattan Project that led to the creation of the first atomic bomb.
In Albuquerque, The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History provides information and education about nuclear weapons and features Heritage Park—a nine-acre outdoor exhibit with defunct rockets, missiles, and bombs.
For a broader history of space, visit the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo. Here, you can see astronaut and rocket artifacts, hear the roar of a rocket engine, and see enormous rockets at the Air and Space Park.
UFO enthusiasts will want to stop in Roswell, best known for two alleged crash sites that date back to 1947. Conspiracy theorists believe extraterrestrials were pulled from the wreckage, but the government maintains that it was simply a fallen weather balloon filled with anthropomorphic dummies.
The most comprehensive information about UFO and alien sightings in the area can be found at the International UFO Museum & Research Center in Roswell. It has historic photographs, audio recordings, videos, informational placards, and representations of aliens and spaceships.
New Mexico is home to many sites focused on World War II and the Cold War era—a time period during which the Space Race and the nuclear arms race took place between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
Once a year, in October, visitors can attend an open house at the Trinity Site—where the first atomic bomb was detonated in 1945. It's part of the White Sands Missile Range, an active United States Army facility, known as the "Birthplace of America's Missile and Space Activity." Learn more about U.S. missile development and testing, and walk through the outdoor display of missiles and rockets, at the White Sands Missile Range Museum. But New Mexico's role in aerospace isn't just a thing of the past, as is evident at Spaceport America—the world's first facility designed for commercial suborbital space travel.
Records of astronomical events date back thousands of years, and you can see ancient renderings created by the ancestral Pueblo people at Chaco Culture National Historic Park. There are both pictographs and petroglyphs, including a well-known drawing of a supernova. The Three Rivers Petroglyphs Site features more than 21,000 petroglyphs, accessible via a hiking trail.
Irjaliina Paavonpera/Travel + Leisure
Since the Space Trail crisscrosses the state, pick the sites you would like to see the most (there are 52 after all), and map out your route. You'll need to factor in things like the distance between points of interest, which sites require reservations, and how much time you'd like to spend at each. Some parts of the state do not have reliable cell service, so it's a good idea to print out a map with directions before hitting the road.
Mary Robnett/Travel + Leisure
New Mexico is largely a high-desert environment, which can mean triple-digit temperatures and monsoon rain in the summer months. Fall is the ideal time to take on a Space Trail road trip, with cooler weather, colorful fall foliage, fewer crowds, and the ExxonMobil Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta—the largest in the world—held annually in October.
Mary Robnett/Travel + Leisure
Albuquerque is the largest city in New Mexico and is also home to the Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ). The city is known for the historic Old Town, the annual hot air balloon festival, and the scenic Sandia Peak Tramway. For a chic stay, I recommend Hotel Andaluz, Hotel Chaco, or the new Arrive Albuquerque. Grab a bite to eat at a retro diner on Route 66, such as The Range Café or 66 Diner, or try authentic New Mexico cuisine at Church Street Cafe. Stop by Sawmill Market for a food hall experience or Itality, the only Indigenous, woman-owned, plant-based eatery in the city.
Known for its world-class art galleries, historic Santa Fe Plaza, and Spanish-Pueblo Revival architecture, the capital city of Santa Fe offers luxury lodging at The Inn of Five The Graces and the Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado. The vibrant culinary scene includes restaurants such as Terra, The Pink Adobe, and Cafecito in the Railyard District
Toas is most notable for its Taos Pueblo community and its downtown Historic District. It is home to the newly opened Hotel Willa with the on-site Juliette restaurant serving seasonal New Mexico cuisine. Picks up snacks for the road at Cid's Food Market and snag a reservation at The Love Apple.
In the small alien-themed town of Roswell, you'll mostly find small motel options, such as the Roswell Inn. For a truly immersive experience, just outside of town, spend the night in an underground bunker attached to a 180-feet-deep Atlas F nuclear ballistic missile silo. Make time to sample local wines and cuisine at Pecos Flavors Winery & Bistro.
Soak in geothermal hot springs baths in Truth or Consequences, at hotels such as the Sierra Grande, Hoosier Hot Springs & Inn, or Mothership Yoga Lounge & Hot Springs. For the best pizza in town, head to Outer Edge Pizzeria and swing by Passion Pie Cafe for delicious pastries and freshly brewed coffee.
The reports are alarming.
Angry residents say the Louisiana skies are being sprayed with chemicals, creating “tic-tac-toe” shapes up above, or in one case, an “Acura logo.”
The supposed culprit: Chemtrails, a long-debunked conspiracy theory that scientists say is not accurate.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the state agency charged with regulating the state's expansive petrochemical industry, among other sectors, has collected more than 400 such reports since just this summer, when the Republican-led Legislature passed a bill requiring them to track such reports.
A handful of Republican state lawmakers have encouraged their constituents to write in, propping up the conspiracy theory that the condensation trails airplanes leave behind are, in fact, dangerous chemicals or heavy metals.
The new law passed by the Legislature did more than require LDEQ to collect such reports. It also banned climate geoengineering and cloud seeding, which are real technologies designed to combat climate change or generate greater precipitation for agricultural or other purposes. Neither are used in Louisiana, according to state and federal regulators.
The debate about chemtrails among state lawmakers prompted a clash over longstanding farming practices, nascent climate technology and outright conspiracies. And as a result, the state environmental regulator is now required to collect reports of such alleged activities.
Records show that more than 400 of the reports received by LDEQ allege that condensation trails long left by airplanes are the long-debunked “chemtrails.”
“This garbage has been going on here for years,” one resident reported to the state system. “At some point We the People need a Say about this.....We are being poisoned and Our tax dollars are funding this.”
Another resident in Metairie in October wrote, “Very typical aerial dispersions of aerosols in lines or trails … some in straight lines, some in long narrow crosses and one in the shape similar to the auto emblem for an Acura vehicle. As usual they remained in place and gradually spread out to form cloudlike areas. Some shut off at certain points as the valve was turned off on the tank that was being utilized.”
This summer, President Donald Trump's administration sought to dispel the chemtrails theory and published webpages addressing chemtrail conspiracy theories and explaining how condensation trails work.
The Environmental Protection Agency calls chemtrails “a term some people use to inaccurately claim that contrails resulting from routine air traffic are actually an intentional release of dangerous chemicals or biological agents at high altitudes for a variety of nefarious purposes, including population control, mind control, or attempts to geoengineer Earth or modify the weather.”
Still, the EPA's efforts have not dissuaded at least one state lawmaker. State Sen. Valarie Hodges, a Denham Springs Republican, recently told residents to report sightings of “chemtrails” to the state. That advice appears to have prompted an uptick in reports. Hodges didn't respond to messages for this story.
“Have you noticed strange white trails crisscrossing our skies lately? Many residents across our state are reporting heavy chemtrails, contrails, geoengineering, and cloud-seeding activity — and now there's a new Louisiana law addressing it,” Hodges posted on Facebook, prompting hundreds of comments. “Our skies belong to We the People, not to corporations, contractors, or agencies experimenting with our weather. Let's document, report, and demand transparency.”
Louisiana for decades had a process for permitting cloud seeding, a practice of releasing tiny silver iodide particles into clouds to enhance precipitation. It is used in nine mostly arid states, but it was never used here, likely because Louisiana has abundant rainfall.
A handful of studies have suggested silver iodide is not harmful, though questions remain about whether the prolonged use and accumulation of the compound may cause health or environmental problems.
Jennifer Finley, spokesperson for the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry, said, “No license was ever issued under the law just repealed.”
The state's new law also bans solar geoengineering, a technology that does exist but is still in its infancy. It's a highly contentious source of debate among climate scientists and advocates, some of whom believe that spraying compounds high into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight could help mitigate the effects of climate change. Louisiana has felt the effects of climate change particularly acutely, with worsening hurricanes, rising heat-related deaths and more.
A 2016 study surveying the world's leading atmospheric scientists debunked the theory that “chemtrails” are harmful chemicals being released from high-flying aircraft. Surveys have found a small share of Americans believe in the theory, which the study's co-author Steven Davis said grew with widespread adoption of the internet. Davis said at the time that the study is important to establish basic scientific facts, like refuting the chemtrails theory.
State Sen. Mike Fesi, R-Houma, sponsored the bill to ban cloud seeding and climate geoengineering. The bill removed the state's ability to permit cloud seeding activities and required LDEQ to receive and monitor reports of alleged spraying of chemicals into the air at over 1,000 feet. Fesi declined interview requests for this story.
Throughout the legislative debate, Fesi repeated debunked theories that people are spraying hazardous chemicals in Louisiana to modify the weather or climate, though he offered no evidence. Republicans easily passed the measure into law, over the objections of Democrats who noted that much of the debate centered around the debunked “chemtrails” theory.
Meagan Molter, spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Quality, said the agency didn't ask for the bill and that the new law doesn't require the agency to do anything other than receive the reports.
With a real environmental hazard, like a chemical spill, the agency follows up on reports and responds to the hazard. But the new “chemtrails” reports are simply logged in the system.
“These are strictly for data collection,” Molter said. “It does not interfere with our daily regular duties we have by law to go and investigate things that are actually in our purview, like spills. We have a team whose whole job is to take these calls and reports and go out and investigate.”
The agency set up a separate system to receive reports of chemtrails and has tried to make clear to residents that they should report oil spills or other emergencies through normal channels.
“It is our job to take any and all reports from concerned citizens,” she said.
News Tips:nolanewstips@theadvocate.com
Other questions:subscriberservices@theadvocate.com
Need help?
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A Discovery Channel TV star says he used his “supernatural ability” to find out his cellmate was a predator before killing him, an arrest report says.
Chad Ollinger, 41, is accused of killing his cellmate on Dec. 26 after the evening meal at the Clark County Detention Center. According to an arrest report from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the victim was identified as Christopher Kelly.
The report says an officer discovered Kelly unresponsive while making rounds for medication. Ollinger was his cellmate and told police Kelly “was not feeling well.” Police entered the cell and found Kelly with blood on his face. Medical arrived and pronounced him deceased. Ollinger was placed in a temporary holding cell while police investigated.
Police said they took photographs of the cell and Kelly's body. When it was time to photograph Ollinger's injuries, he told officers, “good luck cracking the case.”
Officers interviewed nearby inmates in other cells. According to the arrest report, they told police they heard a fight, and someone was screaming for their life. One inmate said they heard someone scream, “they're beating me, they're killing me... help me.”
Police interviewed Ollinger. He told police he suffers from memory loss because of previous trauma, and he was not able to remember recent memories of his life. He said he does not have a mental illness, does not take medication, and was not diagnosed with memory loss. He said he did not ingest any drugs or alcohol.
He told police he must have done something traumatic to Kelly that caused the memory loss.
According to the arrest report, Ollinger said he had a “supernatural ability” to read people and know things about them. He said, “If I know something about somebody that's bad, I take care of it.”
The report says his ability told him Kelly was a predator and he had a “responsibility” to identify predators because he had his own children taken away from him. Other than this ability, he told police he had no proof Kelly was a pedophile.
He said Kelly's killing was not planned and it was spontaneous. According to the report, he said when he begins to “know” things, something “snaps.” He said he felt no emotion when he killed Kelly and said he did not care if he went to prison for the rest of his life.
Ollinger said Kelly screamed for help as he strangled him for about four to five minutes. After he died, he said he put him on the bottom bunk. He told police Kelly's bed was the top bunk, but he couldn't lift him there.
Ollinger found fame on The Discovery Channel's show, “Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch.”
Jail records from Clark County show that Ollinger has been in jail since October. He was sentenced for the contempt charge on December 18. The records show he was scheduled for release on January 12, 2026.
The arrest report says Ollinger was rebooked for open murder. He is scheduled in court for a hearing Tuesday.
Copyright 2025 KVVU. All rights reserved.