This is the most popular Christmas movie in Massachusetts

Associated Press
China raises its estimate for the size of its economy in 2023
China's economy grew a bit more in 2023 than earlier thought, but the revision has not affected forecasts for “about 5%” growth in the GDP this year, the government said Thursday. The estimate for total economic activity, or GDP, in 2023 for the world's second largest economy was increased by about 2.7% to 129.4 trillion yuan ($17.7 trillion), based on an economic census conducted once every five years. The exact impact on China’s annual economic growth in 2023 was not given.
Associated Press
Russia arrests 4 suspects accused of plotting to kill top military officers on Ukraine's orders
Russia's top security agency said Thursday that it has arrested several suspects accused of involvement in an alleged Ukrainian plot to assassinate senior military officers, an announcement that follows the killing of a top Russian general last week. The Federal Security Service, a top KGB successor known under its Russian acronym FSB, said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that it had arrested four Russians accused of making preparations to kill senior Defense Ministry officials. The FSB said that the suspected organizers of the attacks were planning to kill one of the senior officers using a remotely controlled car bomb.
Reuters
UNIFIL urges timely Israeli pullout from south Lebanon under month-old truce deal
The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called on Thursday for a timely Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon, citing what it called Israeli violations of a Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement with Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a U.S.-brokered 60-day ceasefire that calls for a phased Israeli military pullout after more than a year of war, in keeping with a 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the their last major conflict.
CNN
3 shot, 1 stabbed at Phoenix airport in apparent family dispute, police say
Three people were shot and another person was stabbed at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona during a family dispute in one of the terminals Wednesday night, police said.
USA TODAY
Flu season is here. Here’s what you can do about it.
More Americans are getting infected with seasonal influenza and seeking care, a regular occurrence this time of year.
USA TODAY
Indian Ocean tsunami two decades ago left 230,000 dead and a lasting legacy
One of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami marks its 20th anniversary on Dec. 26
USA TODAY
Her ancestors left in chains. She came back as a guest of the president
Wanda Tucker first visited Angola to mark 400 years since Africans arrived in what is now America. This time she was invited by Biden.
USA TODAY
DNA testing can help Black Americans reclaim their identity and history
Today's improved genetic testing can help African Americans pinpoint their ancestry with greater precision than ever.
USA TODAY
Fire and angst: How an Africa trip reignited passions for teaching Black history in the US
Members of a delegation invited to Angola by the White House vow to continue to teach Black history.
CNN
‘It’s a scary time’: US universities urge international students to return to campus before Trump inauguration
President-elect Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration is leading to uncertainty and fear across US university campuses
Associated Press
Azerbaijan observes day of mourning for air crash victims as speculation mount about its cause
Azerbaijan on Thursday observed a nationwide day of mourning for the victims of the air crash that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured as speculation mounted about a possible cause of the crash that remained unknown. Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijan's capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons yet unclear and crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau in Kazakhstan after flying east across the Caspian Sea. On Thursday, national flags were lowered across Azerbaijan, traffic across the country stopped at noon, and signals were sounded from ships and trains as the country observed a nationwide moment of silence.
CNN
Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashes in Kazakhstan, leaving 38 dead, 29 survivors, officials say
An Azerbaijani airliner carrying 67 people crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing at least 38 who were on board, according to a Kazakh official.
NBC News
Mapping Trump's connections to tech's right-wing brotherhood
President-elect Donald Trump has surrounded himself with a tight-knit group of wealthy tech barons who will help define his second term in the White House.
NBC News
20 years after a devastating tsunami, a survivor celebrates what the disaster has given him
The Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami began with a 9.3-magnitude earthquake. A series of waves devastated coastal communities in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand.
Yahoo Finance
Crypto got everything it wanted in 2024
Crypto was once a fringe sideshow for the investing public, a concern for DC policymakers and a subject of ridicule for top Wall Street figures. That changed in 2024.
Reuters
Russia: It's up to Trump team to make first move to improve ties
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia is willing to work with Donald Trump's incoming administration to improve relations if the U.S. has serious intentions to do so but it is up to Washington to make the first move, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday. Trump, who will return as U.S. president on Jan. 20, styles himself as a master dealmaker and has vowed to swiftly end the war in Ukraine but not set out how he might achieve that beyond getting President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian counterpart President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to agree to end the fighting.
AFP
S. Korea's opposition moves to impeach acting president
South Korea's opposition said Thursday it filed an impeachment motion against acting president Han Duck-soo, in an escalating row over the composition of the Constitutional Court which would decide whether to remove his predecessor from office.If the opposition passes the impeachment motion against Han in Friday's vote, it would mark the first time democratic South Korea has impeached an acting president.
AFP
Palestinian TV says Israeli strike kills 5 journalists in Gaza
A Palestinian TV channel affiliated with a militant group said five of its journalists were killed Thursday in an Israeli strike on their vehicle in Gaza, with Israel's military saying it had targeted a "terrorist cell".The Israeli military said in its own statement that it had conducted "a precise strike on a vehicle with an Islamic Jihad terrorist cell inside in the area of Nuseirat".
CNN
At least 14 security personnel killed in ‘ambush’ by former Assad forces, new Syrian authorities say
At least 14 law enforcement personnel were killed in western Syria overnight in an “ambush” by the former forces of deposed leader Bashar al-Assad, the new interior ministry said on Thursday.
Associated Press
Pope brings Holy Year and a message of hope to Rome's main prison
Pope Francis inaugurated his Holy Year at Rome’s main prison on Thursday, bringing a message of hope to inmates and involving them in the Catholic Church’s once every quarter-century celebration that is expected to bring about 32 million pilgrims to Rome. Francis stood up from his wheelchair, knocked on the door to the chapel at Rebibbia prison and walked across the threshold, reenacting the gesture he performed at the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica two nights earlier on Christmas Eve. The opening of the Holy Door at the basilica officially kicked of the Jubilee year, a church tradition dating to 1300 that nowadays occurs every 25 years and involves the faithful coming to Rome on pilgrimages.

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