US Offers Ukraine 15-Year Security Guarantee as Part of Peace Plan Trump Indicates The US 'hit' a Facility Tied to Alleged Drug Boats Why China is Holding Military Drills Around Taiwan Top Asia Pacific Breaking News Stories Trying to Improve Your Health and Wellness in 2026?
Stocks Slip on Wall Street as 2025 Winds Down
FACT FOCUS: Trump says he's ended eight wars. His numbers are off
Tiger Woods at 50: Players recall one shot they can't forget
Editorials from Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post
Out With the Old: In With 2026
NEW YORK (AP) – It’s that time – December’s waning days, when we prepare to turn the calendar page. Many Americans take stock, review goals accomplished and unmet, ponder hopes and plans. How’s our health? What’s up with our money? What about the country? Will the coming year look like the departing one year, or be something entirely different?
Hamas says its longtime spokesman was killed following an Israeli strike in August

BEIRUT (AP) – Hamas on Monday confirmed that its longtime spokesman was killed following an Israeli strike in August in war-torn Gaza, the first time the Palestinian militant group publicly acknowledged the death of one of its more prominent figures.

Judge orders release of transcript from closed hearing for man accused of killing Charlie Kirk

A Utah judge on Monday ordered the release of a transcript from a closed-door hearing in October over whether the man charged with killing Charlie Kirk must be shackled during court proceedings.

Iran Central Bank Governor Resigns as Protests Erupt Over Currency Drop

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – The head of Iran’s Central Bank resigned Monday as the biggest protests since 2022 erupted in Tehran and other cities after the country’s currency plummeted to a new record low against the U.S. dollar.

North Korea says it tested long-range cruise missiles

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea said Monday it fired long-range strategic cruise missiles into the sea to test the country’s nuclear deterrence, days after it showed apparent progress in the construction of its first nuclear-powered submarine.

Surging Silver and Gold Slide After CME Raises Margin Requirements

NEW YORK (AP) – Silver and gold futures fell sharply Monday after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, one of the world’s largest trading floors for commodities, asked traders to put up more cash to make bets on precious metals with prices surging this year.

UK Opposition Demand Human Rights Activist be Stripped of Citizenship

LONDON (AP) – Political opposition leaders in the United Kingdom have called for a human rights activist to be stripped of his citizenship over past social media posts allegedly containing violent and antisemitic language within days of the dual national returning to Britain after years in Egyptian prisons.

China Threatens Detention in Xinjiang Over Banned Uyghur Songs

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – It is a soulful folk song, filled with feeling and history: A love-stricken young man tells God about his hopes and dreams of happiness. Generations of Uyghurs, the Turkic ethnic minority in China’s Xinjiang region, have played it at parties and weddings.

Russia opens rebuilt Mariupol theater 3 years after airstrike killed hundreds

A historic theater in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol has opened its doors more than three years after it was pummeled in a Russian airstrike that killed hundreds of civilians sheltering inside.

Iraq's parliament elects a new speaker to face political challenges

BAGHDAD (AP) – Iraq’s parliament on Monday elected a new speaker following overnight talks to break a political deadlock. Haibet Al-Halbousi received 208 votes from the 309 legislators who attended. He is a member of the Takadum, or Progress, party led by ousted speaker and relative Mohammed al-Halbousi. Twenty legislators did not attend the session.

Chevy Chase is under the spotlight in a new documentary
Young Africans find hope in farming as urban life becomes too expensive
6 Islamic State militants and 3 police killed in northwest Turkey