Culture

Leak suggests Stranger Things prequel Tales from '85 renewed for Season 2

MovieWeb reports a recent leak seemingly confirms that the Stranger Things prequel, Stranger Things: Tales from '85, has already been renewed for a second season. After 10 years the original series came to an end with a divisive finale: the final episode of Season 5 landed on New Year’

World

Displaced Palestinians in Egypt await Rafah reopening as returns remain blocked

Tens of thousands of Palestinians in Egypt face an uncertain future as they wait for the Rafah border crossing with Gaza to reopen, the New York Times reported, leaving many unable to return home despite a cease-fire. The New York Times spoke to a family that remains separated. Nine-year-old Islam

Culture

Two young children unharmed after Columbus couple found dead

According to People, Spencer and Monique Tepe were found dead in their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30; their two children, both under the age of 4, were discovered unharmed in the house and are being cared for by immediate family members. Rob Misleh, who is married to Spencer'

Tech

Motorola unveils Razr Fold with 8.1-inch inner display at CES 2026

Motorola unveiled its first book-style foldable smartphone, the Razr Fold, during Lenovo's Tech World showcase at CES 2026. The device uses a central hinge to open like a book rather than the clamshell design used on previous modern Razr models. The Razr Fold features a 6.6-inch cover

Health

Survey finds most children avoid school toilets; Andrex launches campaign

Andrex has launched a campaign after a new survey of more than 500 girls and boys aged 10 to 17 found 68% have avoided going to the toilet at school, the company said. The survey found 73% cited embarrassment as the main reason for avoiding school loos and 63% worried

Tech

Wegmans rolls out facial scanning at stores it deems ‘elevated risk’

Wegmans is now using facial scanners to collect and store biometric data from shoppers at stores it says have an "elevated risk", Independent.co reports. Signs at some New York City entrances note that cameras inside scan faces and store information, prompting privacy concerns from customers. Shopper Deborah

Culture

Why Timothée Chalamet’s Marty Mauser divides audiences in Marty Supreme

In the new hit movie Marty Supreme, the plot is driven by lead character Marty Mauser repeatedly making messes that escalate rather than being fixed, and audiences are invited to like him in large part because he is played by Timothée Chalamet. Marty is trying to prove himself the world’

Tech

Codemao tops global ranking of 350 edtech firms in 2025 list

Time and Statista’s second annual global ranking of the 350 top edtech companies for 2025 places Chinese firm Codemao at number one and highlights the continued importance of online learning. The 2025 list reviewed data from more than 7,000 companies and scored firms using a formula that combined

World

Schiphol cancels at least 700 flights as snow and wind disrupt travel

Amsterdam Schiphol airport, one of the largest in Europe, said on Wednesday that it had cancelled at least 700 flights because of snow and wind. More than 1,000 people spent the night at Schiphol, the airport said, and the airport set up camp beds and offered breakfast to travellers

Crypto

Coinbase executive outlines two quantum-era risks to Bitcoin

Beincrypto reports Coinbase’s Head of Investment Research, David Duong, said advances in quantum computing pose long-term risks that extend beyond Bitcoin’s private key security and could challenge the network’s economic and security models. Duong stressed current quantum technology is far from capable of compromising Bitcoin today, making

World

Trump says Venezuela will send millions of barrels of oil to the U.S.

President Trump said on Tuesday night that Venezuela would begin sending oil to the United States after American forces captured President Nicolás Maduro, a move the New York Times described as a significant concession by Venezuela’s new leaders. The Venezuelan government has not commented on Mr. Trump’s announcement.

Culture

Sweet Home logged 43.8 million hours on FlixPatrol, ranking among 2025’s top horror shows

Collider reports that Netflix’s Sweet Home was one of the top five most watched horror TV shows in 2025, pulling in 43.8 million hours streamed on FlixPatrol’s charts. The series, adapted from Kim Carnby and Hwang Young-chan’s webtoon, follows Cha Hyun-su (Song Kang), the sole survivor

Culture

Mario Banushi’s wordless play 'Mami' leads Under the Radar in New York

Mario Banushi’s wordless, image-driven piece “Mami,” created in 2025, is leading the Under the Radar festival in New York and will be presented at N.Y.U. Skirball from Jan. 7 to Jan. 10. The opening moments of “Mami,” described in coverage, include a barking dog, a woman screaming

Culture

Kes the Band to headline Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Unity Jazz Festival

Kes the Band, the soca group from Trinidad and Tobago led by Kees Dieffenthaller (who goes by Kes), will headline Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Unity Jazz Festival in Manhattan this week, performing on Thursday and Friday. The band is known for blending soca with R&B, EDM, dancehall,

Sports

Slot says Ekitike faces late fitness test ahead of Arsenal meeting

Arne Slot has confirmed Hugo Ekitike faces a late fitness test ahead of Liverpool's showdown with Premier League leaders Arsenal, Goal reports. The forward has not trained fully since missing the recent 2-2 draw with Fulham, leaving his participation in doubt. Slot said: "He has not trained

Culture

Timothée Chalamet is a leading contender as Oscars historically favour older men

Timothée Chalamet, who turned 30 on Dec. 27, delivers some of his best work in "Marty Supreme" and is all but certain to earn his third Oscar nomination later this month, the piece says — but winning best actor would require overcoming a longstanding reluctance among voters to reward

Culture

Sophie Turner says she was happy with Sansa Stark's Game of Thrones ending

Movieweb reports Sophie Turner, who played Sansa Stark, told The Direct she was "very happy with the way Sansa ended her story in 'Game of Thrones,'" and that revisiting the role would be "hard." Turner said she joked that any return would require them

Culture

Creators describe how ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ grew from a skate-deck drawing to a Netflix smash

The filmmakers, songwriters and actors behind KPop Demon Hunters recounted how the animated film grew from a single character sketch into the most-watched movie in Netflix history. In interviews from New York, Los Angeles and Seoul, the team said the project is now a front-runner in several Oscar categories, including

World

China signals possible rare-earth export curbs to Japan

Coded threats from China that it might restrict exports of rare earths to Japan have raised alarms across Japanese business and politics, signaling a sharp escalation in a monthslong geopolitical feud, according to reporting in The New York Times. China’s Ministry of Commerce said it would ban the export

Culture

Dad finds sweet moment of daughter caring for baby brother in home video

People reports that Luke Morman, a 33-year-old father of three in the United Kingdom, had a "lovely surprise" when he watched back footage he had unknowingly recorded of his children. Morman, who began a TikTok account for travel clips with his wife Rachel and daughter Mila, 2, said

Politics

Trump's moves put Federal Reserve independence to two early 2026 tests

President Trump has intensified efforts to reshape the Federal Reserve, setting up two major tests of the central bank’s independence early in 2026: his imminent choice to replace Jerome H. Powell as Fed chair, and a Supreme Court hearing on his attempt to remove governor Lisa D. Cook. Mr.

Politics

Nearly 700,000 households eligible for DWP cold weather payments

Independent.co reports that nearly 700,000 households across more than 451 postcode areas can now expect a cold weather payment from the Department for Work and Pensions after sub-zero temperatures affected parts of the UK. The Met Office recorded the coldest night of winter overnight, with temperatures falling as

Health

UW professor shares science-backed takeaways for having better sex

Dr. Nicole McNichols, who teaches the most popular human sexuality course at the University of Washington, outlined her key takeaways on improving sex in a conversation for The New York Times Modern Love podcast and in her new book, You Could Be Having Better Sex. Drawing on years of research

Tech

OhSnap's Mcon magnetic phone controller ships at $150 with $70 dock option

OhSnap is shipping the Mcon, a Bluetooth gaming controller that uses magnets to mount iPhone and Android phones, priced at $150 after a year of refinements, ZDNET reported. Kerry Wan wrote that using the Mcon involves placing a phone on a magnetic pad and flicking outward to reveal an assembly

Politics

U.S. expands list of countries required to post costly visa bonds

The Trump Administration added 25 countries on Tuesday, after adding seven less than a week earlier, bringing the total number of nations whose citizens must post visa bonds to 38, Time reported. The bonds, announced last year, can be as much as $15,000 and are refunded if a visa