Culture

Alan Jackson withdraws from defense of Nick Reiner in Los Angeles murder case

Alan Jackson, the high-profile criminal defense lawyer who was representing Nick Reiner, removed himself from the case during a hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday. Mr. Reiner is accused of killing his parents and was scheduled to be arraigned on two counts of first-degree murder. At the hearing

Culture

Prime Video unveils first images for pirate thriller The Bluff starring Karl Urban

Prime Video has released first images for The Bluff, a bloody, 19th-century Caribbean pirate thriller starring Karl Urban and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Movieweb reports. Courtesy of Esquire, the images show Chopra Jonas as Ercell Bodden, a former pirate nicknamed "Bloody Mary" who left her crew and fled to

World

Florida ER doctor and woman found dead in apparent murder-suicide

People reports that police in Coconut Creek, Florida, found 34-year-old Jean Dominque Foureau and a woman dead in what authorities described as an apparent murder-suicide. Officers responded to a disturbance at a home in the 4800 block of Acardian Trail around 4 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 3, according to

Health

Federal dietary guidelines remove specific daily alcohol limits

The federal government’s updated Dietary Guidelines, issued on Wednesday, no longer set specific daily limits for alcohol consumption, instructing people instead to consume less alcohol “for better overall health” and to “limit alcohol beverages.” The guidelines also omit previous warnings about alcohol’s links to cancer. Since the Dietary

Tech

Rolling Square unveils AirNotch Pro Dual tracker for Android and iOS users

Rolling Square has released the AirNotch Pro Dual finder tags, which ZDNET reviewed as a practical alternative for Android users who want a Bluetooth tracker they can keep on a keychain instead of an AirTag. ZDNET says the tags are compatible with both Apple's Find My and Google&

Politics

Laila Cunningham named Reform UK candidate for London mayor in 2028

Independent.co reports Nigel Farage has announced Laila Cunningham as Reform UK’s candidate for the London mayoral election in 2028. Cunningham is a former criminal prosecutor and Westminster City councillor who defected from the Conservatives to Reform UK in June last year. Farage said she will be the figurehead

Tech

Six of CES 2026's strangest gadgets, from music lollipops to AI companions

Mashable reporters on the showroom floor at CES 2026 in Las Vegas highlighted six of the convention's oddest gadgets, from a lollipop that plays music to AI-powered companion devices. Highlights include the Lollipop Star, which sells $9 lollipops that use bone conduction to play music through your teeth

Tech

Companies pursue space-based data centers to cut energy and cooling loads

Time reports that a growing group of companies — including Blue Origin, Google, Open AI and several startups — are exploring moving data centers into space to address the sector’s mounting energy and cooling demands. On Earth, data centers already consume large shares of power and water: the Pew Research Center

Culture

Katy Hessel links art and reading as UK launches National Year of Reading

Katy Hessel is calling for a renewed focus on reading among young people in the UK as the National Literacy Trust has designated 2026 the National Year of Reading, a government‑supported initiative aimed at helping more children rediscover the joy of books. The NLT found in 2025 that the

Business

Claims by oil majors that Venezuela owes billions complicate U.S. investment push

Western oil companies including Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips say Venezuela owes them tens of billions of dollars for assets seized two decades ago, a dispute that could complicate President Trump’s efforts to encourage U.S. firms to produce more oil in the country after Nicolás Maduro was captured by

Crypto

83% of XRP Supply in Profit, Raising Short-Term Sell Pressure

Beincrypto reports on-chain data showing roughly 83% of XRP’s circulating supply is back in profit, a figure that briefly rose to 85% over the past 24 hours and marks a one-and-a-half-month high. That widespread profitability is increasing incentives for short-term selling: wallets that accumulated XRP over the past week

Science

NASA completes second trajectory correction for one ESCAPADE spacecraft

On Jan. 6, the mission operations team for NASA’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) successfully completed the second trajectory correction maneuver for one of the two spacecraft. The attempt had been delayed in December 2025; the other spacecraft completed its first two maneuvers in December as

Culture

Tessa Thompson headlines Netflix thriller His & Hers after Hedda acclaim

Collider: Tessa Thompson is starring in Netflix’s miniseries His & Hers while also riding acclaim for her Golden Globe–nominated performance in Hedda, which premiered at TIFF in early September. His & Hers is a screen adaptation of Alice Feeney’s 2020 psychological-thriller novel. Thompson plays journalist Anna Andrews,

Crypto

Trust Wallet breach exposes supply-chain and verification risks for crypto SMEs

A December 2025 hack of Trust Wallet’s Chrome extension resulted in the theft of roughly $7 million after attackers pushed a malicious update between Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 that affected users running version 2.68. Security reports say 2,596 verified wallet addresses were impacted and nearly 5,

Sports

Romano denies Chelsea €150m bid for Vinicius Jr amid transfer talk

Goal reports that transfer claims linking Chelsea with a proposed €125m-plus-€25m add-ons (around €150m) offer for Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior have been dismissed by transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano. Romano said on YouTube: "Reports on Vinicius Jr and Chelsea are completely wide of the mark. No talks, no

Culture

Swift and Kelce Have Shared Few Wedding Details, Prompting Widespread Speculation

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have spoken about their wedding in recent interviews but offered few specifics, a reticence that has intensified public curiosity and led some fans to liken the event to an “American royal wedding.” The couple announced their engagement on Aug. 26, 2025, in a joint Instagram

Culture

Levy says Starfighter matches Stranger Things' scale while staying character-focused

Movieweb: Shawn Levy, who has moved on from Stranger Things and is entering post-production on Star Wars: Starfighter, compared his experience making the Netflix series with the upcoming film while speaking to The Hollywood Reporter. Levy said that both worlds are based on "spectacle and scale," but stressed

Science

Moroccan cave fossils dated to 773,000 years fill gap in African record

Researchers announced that hominin fossils recovered from Grotte à Hominidés, a cave in the Thomas Quarry near Casablanca, Morocco, have been dated to about 773,000 years and may help close a critical gap in Africa’s fossil record of human origins. The assemblage includes a nearly complete adult mandible,

Culture

The Rookie's Nolan and Bailey attempt a second honeymoon in Prague

People reports that in the season 8 premiere of The Rookie, Jenna Dewan's Bailey Nune and Nathan Fillion's John Nolan try to rekindle their romance during an international mission that doubles as a trip to Prague. "I don't think these two characters get

Health

OhmBody wearable aims to ease period cramps with ear neurostimulation

OhmBody, a wearable neurostimulation device on display at CES 2026, is being pitched as a way to reduce menstrual period symptoms and cramps without medication. The device attaches near the ear and targets the auricular branches of the trigeminal and vagus nerves to regulate menstrual cycle symptoms and help the

Culture

Sali Hughes says lactic acid is her preferred alpha hydroxy acid

Sali Hughes writes that lactic acid is her first choice of alpha hydroxy acid, offering benefits she finds valuable across skin types. She says lactic acid exfoliates without stripping or stinging because its larger molecule size makes it well tolerated by sensitive skin, can stimulate collagen and ceramide production to

Politics

Badenoch challenges Starmer over Commons debate on Paris troop agreement

Independent.co reports that at Prime Minister’s Questions Kemi Badenoch pressed Keir Starmer on why he was not giving MPs a chance to question or immediately debate an agreement signed in Paris that could see British troops deployed to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping operation if there is

World

U.S. seizes Russia‑flagged oil tanker tied to Venezuela under sanctions

Time reports U.S. forces have seized an oil tanker linked to Venezuela and sailing under a Russian flag, U.S. European Command confirmed Wednesday morning. The Command said the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department, in coordination with the military, took the vessel for “violations of U.

Culture

Kaouther Ben Hania makes film from five-year-old Hind Rajab’s recorded last call

Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania has made a film titled The Voice of Hind Rajab, built around the audio of five‑year‑old Hind Rajab’s final hours as recorded and posted by the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS). Ben Hania first heard Hind’s voice in February 2024 while

World

U.S. seizes Russian-flagged tanker in North Atlantic and intercepts second ship

The U.S. military seized two oil tankers on Wednesday, including a Russian-flagged vessel in the North Atlantic between Scotland and Iceland, saying the ships had violated U.S. sanctions. The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the Russian-flagged tanker after a roughly two-week pursuit, according to a U.S. official