The United Center is partnering with FanDuel to open a sportsbook lounge inside the home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks

USA TODAY
'Lost everything': Fireworks explode during fire that leveled two houses in Massachusetts
Officials said a pair of Massachusetts families are without their homes after a fire broke out, shot fireworks into the sky and destroyed two homes.
Associated Press
Airport with runway straddling the border of the U.S. and Canada will close
The Piney-Pinecreek Border Airport has a unique claim to fame — its runway straddles the border of the U.S. and Canada. The airport opened in 1953 with a grass runway — a paved runway was added in 1978.
NBC News
NASA's solar probe flies closer to the sun than any human-made object ever
NASA's Parker Solar Probe is expected to make a fiery dive close to the solar surface on the morning of Christmas Eve.
Associated Press
Medellin Cartel victims demand truth and justice as cartel boss Fabio Ochoa walks free in Colombia
BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — The return of former drug trafficker Fabio Ochoa to Colombia following his deportation from the United States has reopened old wounds among victims of the Medellín Cartel, with some expressing dismay at the Colombian authorities' decision to let Ochoa walk free. In the late 80s and early 90s the Medellín Cartel killed police officers, politicians, judges, journalists and bystanders as it waged war on the Colombian state, which had stepped up its efforts to interdict drug shipments, arrest drug traffickers and seize their properties.
Associated Press
1 dead after a Russian missile hits a Ukrainian apartment block
A Russian ballistic missile struck a residential building Tuesday in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih and at least one person was killed, local authorities said. Gov. Serhii Lysak said at least 11 other people were injured and more people could be trapped beneath the rubble of the four-story apartment block. “Unfortunately, we are preparing for difficult news,” Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul wrote on his Telegram channel.
CNN
What we know about the suspect charged with murder and arson for allegedly setting woman on fire in New York subway
Prosecutors on Monday charged 33-year-old Sebastian Zapeta-Calil with first- and second-degree murder and first-degree arson in connection with the death of a woman who died after being set on fire in a New York City subway train a day earlier.
Associated Press
Bill Clinton is out of the hospital after being treated for the flu
Former President Bill Clinton was discharged from a Washington hospital on Tuesday and will be home for Christmas after he was admitted the day before with a fever. Clinton is being treated for the flu, Angel Urena, Clinton's deputy chief of staff, said in a statement about his release. “He and his family are deeply grateful for the exceptional care provided by the team at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and are touched by the kind messages and well wishes he received,” Urena said.
Associated Press
The pope is kicking off a yearlong Jubilee that will test his stamina and Rome's patience
Pope Francis on Tuesday opens the 2025 Holy Year, kicking off a celebration of the Catholic Church that is expected to draw some 32 million pilgrims to Rome and test the pope's stamina and the ability of the Eternal City to welcome them. At the start of Christmas Eve Mass, Francis pushes open the great Holy Door at the entrance of St. Peter’s Basilica. The ceremony inaugurates the once-every-25-year tradition of a Jubilee, in which the Catholic faithful make pilgrimages to Rome.
CNN
Two arrested in Egypt after attempting to steal hundreds of ancient artifacts from the bottom of the sea
Egyptian authorities have arrested two men for attempting to steal hundreds of ancient artifacts from the bottom of the sea, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said in a Monday statement.
Associated Press
Becoming a resident of South Dakota is easy. Some say too easy
All you have to do to become a South Dakota resident is spend one night. Stay in a campground or hotel and then stop by one of the businesses that specialize in helping people become South Dakotans, and they’ll help you do the paperwork to gain residency in a state with no income tax and relatively cheap vehicle registration. State leaders are at a stalemate between those who say people who don’t really live in South Dakota shouldn’t be allowed to vote in local elections and those who say efforts to impose a longer residency requirement for voting violate the principle that everyone gets to vote.
Associated Press
Seafarers move global trade — and Christmas gifts. These ministries bring them holiday cheer
On a balmy December evening, four Indian crew members, eager to go explore this Mediterranean city where their container ship docked for a few hours, turned for help to Stella Maris. “We just call them, they help us with everything,” from connecting with far-away families on video to changing currency to delivering small Christmas gifts, said second officer Sunit Kamal. Whether it’s offering religious services, helping address labor abuses, or something as practical as serving as a delivery spot for Amazon packages, faith leaders and volunteers don’t see their work as charity.
CNN
Former President Bill Clinton discharged from hospital after being treated for flu
Former President Bill Clinton was discharged from a hospital on Tuesday one day after being admitted for the flu, his office said.
CNN
How to track Santa Claus around the world with NORAD’s flight tracker
While public anxieties have loomed over the Northeast amid possible drone sightings, one sighting will soon bring holiday cheer across the country: Santa Claus.
AFP
Former US president Bill Clinton released from hospital
Former US president Bill Clinton left hospital Tuesday, his office said, a day after he was admitted with a fever in the latest in a series of health scares for the veteran Democrat.Though his prosperous time in office was marred by scandals, he has enjoyed a second life in the two decades after his presidency, which has seen him venture into numerous diplomatic and humanitarian causes. bur-ft/mlm
USA TODAY
Bill Clinton released from hospital one day after admission, aide says he had the flu
Former President Bill Clinton was released from the hospital on Tuesday, one day after he was admitted. An aide said he was treated for the flu.
AFP
Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
Hundreds of people gathered at the Church of the Nativity in the Christian holy city of Bethlehem on Tuesday to mark another solemn Christmas overshadowed by the war in Gaza.- Christians in Syria - Elsewhere in the Middle East, hundreds of people took to the streets in Christian areas of Syria's capital to protest the burning of a Christmas tree.
AFP
Ecuador vice president says Noboa seeking her 'banishment'
A rift between Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa and his deputy deepened on Tuesday as his ally-turned-adversary accused the leader of the South American nation of trying to banish her to Turkey.Under Ecuador's constitution, Noboa is permitted to campaign for re-election on condition that he hands over his powers to his vice president during that period.
NBC News
Hundreds protest in Damascus after Christmas tree set ablaze
Hundreds of demonstrators have taken to the streets in Christian neighborhoods of Damascus after a Christmas tree burning heightened fears that the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad could presage crackdowns on Syria's religious minorities.
AFP
NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
NASA's pioneering Parker Solar Probe made history Tuesday, flying closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft, with its heat shield exposed to scorching temperatures topping 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit (930 degrees Celsius)."Right now, Parker Solar Probe is flying closer to a star than anything has ever been before," at 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) away, NASA official Nicky Fox said in a video on social media Tuesday morning.
CBS News
Starbucks strike to expand to more than 300 stores, union says
More than 5,000 workers are expected to take part in walkout that ends later on Christmas Eve, according to labor group.

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