HBO Max raises ad-free subscription fee ahead of hybrid streaming launch this spring

Yahoo Finance
Why a housing market 'thaw' never came in 2024
Wall Street analysts had hoped the housing market would show signs of life in 2024. Instead, it remained stagnant: Sales of previously owned homes are poised to set the record for the worst year since 1995 for the second year in a row.
CNN
Deck the halls (extra carefully): Common Christmas injuries, illustrated
Every year, an estimated 16,000 people head to the hospital for holiday-decor-related injuries across the United States.
Reuters
Syria's new rulers name foreign minister amid push for international relations
The ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step "comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability". Syria's de facto ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has actively engaged with foreign delegations since assuming power, including hosting the U.N.'s Syria envoy and senior U.S. diplomats.
AFP
France's most powerful nuclear reactor finally comes on stream
France on Saturday connected its most powerful nuclear power reactor to the national electricity grid in what leaders hailed as a landmark moment despite years of delays and technical setbacks."The last time a reactor started up in France was 25 years ago at Civaux 2," he said, referring to the Civaux power plant in southwestern France.
CNN
4 ways artificial intelligence revealed the unexpected in 2024
Artificial intelligence came of age in 2024, helping to decode the mysteries of ancient scrolls, whale vocalizations, the building blocks of life, and more.
AFP
Scholz mourns 5 killed, hundreds wounded in Christmas market attack
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday visited the site of a car-ramming attack on a crowded Christmas market that killed five people and injured more than 200 as he called for unity while condemning the "terrible catastrophe".He said he was grateful for expressions of "solidarity ... from many, many countries around the world" and added that "it is good to hear that we as Germans are not alone in the face of this terrible catastrophe".
Reuters
Pakistan dismisses US official's warning over missile programme as unfounded
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry on Saturday dismissed as unfounded and "devoid of rationality" assertions by a senior U.S. official that its missile programme could eventually pose a threat to the United States. Earlier this week, U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer said Pakistan's development of long-range ballistic missiles made it an "emerging threat".
Associated Press
Senate review of Supreme Court ethics finds more luxury trips and urges enforceable code of conduct
A nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of Supreme Court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas and urges Congress to establish a way to enforce a new code of conduct. Any movement on the issue appears unlikely as Republicans prepare to take control of the Senate in January, underscoring the hurdles in imposing restrictions on a separate branch of government even as public confidence in the court has fallen to record lows. The 93-page report released Saturday by the Democratic majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee found additional travel taken in 2021 by Thomas but not reported on his annual financial disclosure form: a private jet flight to New York's Adirondacks in July and jet and yacht trip to New York City sponsored by billionaire Harlan Crow in October, one of more than two dozen times detailed in the report that Thomas took luxury travel and gifts from wealthy benefactors.
NBC News
What is the winter solstice? What to know about the shortest day of the year
Although temperatures have been dropping for weeks, winter doesn’t officially begin until Saturday.
USA TODAY
Debunking false claims about UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting | Fact check roundup
A fact check roundup of claims related to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the suspected shooter, Luigi Mangione.
NBC News
Houthis fire a ballistic missile named 'Palestine 2' at Tel Aviv
A missile launched from Yemen struck the Israeli city of Tel Aviv early Saturday morning, marking a rare instance of a failed interception over the city, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Politico
Senate Democrats render a verdict on Supreme Court ethics
Sen. Dick Durbin says justices have lost the trust of American people by failing to disclose gifts and other ethical lapses.
CNN
False rape allegations like the Duke scandal aren’t common enough to justify withholding support from victims, advocates say
When Katie – was 18 years old, a boyfriend slipped drugs into her drink and raped her.
CNN
Durbin uses new report to accuse Justices Thomas and Alito of violating disclosure laws
A top Senate Democrat on Saturday accused conservative Supreme Court justices of violating federal disclosure laws in a lengthy report that caps a monthslong investigation by the Senate Judiciary Committee and comes weeks before Republicans take control of the chamber.
NBC News
Congress avoids a shutdown but leaves 'a big mess' for Trump and Republicans in 2025
Congress averted a government shutdown during the holidays but lengthened Donald Trump and Republicans' to-do list for 2025 and previewed potential chaos.
Associated Press
What we know about the suspect behind the German Christmas market attack
Germany on Saturday was still in shock and struggling to understand the suspect behind the attack in the city of Magdeburg. Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a psychiatry and psychotherapy specialist, authorities said he has been living in Germany for two decades. Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had yet to come across a suspect in an act of mass violence with that profile.
CNN
Death toll rises to five with more than 200 injured in German Christmas market attack
At least five people were killed and more than 200 injured after a car plowed into a crowd at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg on Friday, local authorities said.
Associated Press
France's Mayotte struggles to recover as cyclone overwhelms hospitals
A week after its worst cyclone in nearly a century, France’s impoverished Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte is still grappling to count the dead, restore essential services and aid a beleaguered population. At Mayotte’s main hospital in the capital, Mamoudzou, doctors face a cascade of crises. “We lost 40% of patient rooms, about 50 to 60 beds,” said Dr. Roger Serhal, chief of the obstetrics and gynecology department.
AFP
Pakistan military courts convict 25 of pro-Khan unrest
Pakistan military courts have convicted and sentenced 25 people for involvement in pro-Imran Khan unrest last year, the armed forces said Saturday, with the majority handed decade-long prison terms.All of the convicted are men and 14 have been sentenced to a decade of "rigorous imprisonment", the military said with the remaining 11 set to serve lesser prison terms.
USA TODAY
97-year-old judge fights to get her job back after colleagues said she's unfit to serve
A complaint was filed in March 2023 arguing that Judge Pauline Newman is no longer fit to serve. She has since filed a lawsuit saying otherwise.

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