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  • Trump welcomes Zelenskyy for talks, asserts Russia and Ukraine both want peace

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    PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump said Sunday he believes both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin truly want peace, as he welcomed the “brave” Ukrainian leader for talks at his Florida resort.

    What You Need To Know

    • President Donald Trump says he believes both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin want an end to their war

    • Trump welcomed Zelenskyy to his Florida club Sunday after speaking with Putin by phone

    • Trump is hosting Zelenskyy to try to close out a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia that would end nearly four years of war

    • Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s capital in the days before the meeting

    “The two leaders want it to end,” Trump said at the outset of the meeting at Mar-a-Lago. Before Zelenskyy arrived, Trump spoke with Putin by phone for more than an hour, and planned to speak with him again soon after.

    Greeting Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said of him: “This gentleman has worked very hard, and is very brave, and his people are very brave.”

    Zelenskyy, by Trump’s side, said he’d discuss issues of territorial concessions with Trump, which have so far been a red line for his country. He said his negotiators and Trump’s “have discussed how to move step by step and bring peace closer” and would continue to do so in the meeting.

    Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s capital in the days before the meeting.

    Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, said the Trump-Putin call was initiated by the U.S. side, lasted over an hour, and was “friendly, benevolent, and businesslike.” Ushakov said Trump and Putin agreed to speak again “promptly” after Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy.

    But Ushakov added that a “bold, responsible, political decision is needed from Kyiv” on the fiercely contested Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and other matters in dispute for there to be a “complete cessation” of hostilities.

    In overnight developments, three guided aerial bombs launched by Russia struck private homes in the eastern city of Sloviansk, according to the head of the local military administration, Vadym Lakh. Three people were injured and one man died, Lakh said in a post on the Telegram messenger app.

    The strike came the day after Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital with ballistic missiles and drones on Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding 27, a day before planned talks between the leaders of Ukraine and the United States, Ukrainian authorities said. Explosions boomed across Kyiv as the attack began in the early morning and continued for hours. Trump said, however, that he still believes Putin is “very serious” about ending the war.

    “I believe Ukraine has made some very strong attacks also,” Trump told reporters as Zelenskyy stood by his side. “And I don’t say that negatively. I think, you probably have to. I don’t say that negatively. But I think, he hasn’t told me that, but there have been some explosions in various parts of Russia. It looks to me, like, I don’t know. I don’t think it came from the Congo.”

    Trump and Putin will speak again

    Trump said he’d call Putin after the meeting with Zelenskyy and also reach out to European leaders who he said “have been really great.” He tempered his optimism about ending the conflict, however.

    “It’ll either end or it’s going to go on for a long time and millions of additional people will be killed,” Trump said.

    Trump and Zelenskyy sitting down face-to-face underscored the apparent progress made by Trump’s top negotiators in recent weeks as the sides traded draft peace plans and continued to shape a proposal to end the fighting. Zelenskyy told reporters Friday that the 20-point draft proposal negotiators have discussed is “about 90% ready” — echoing a figure, and the optimism, that U.S. officials conveyed when Trump’s chief negotiators met with Zelenskyy in Berlin earlier this month.

    During the recent talks, the U.S. agreed to offer certain security guarantees to Ukraine similar to those offered to other members of NATO. The proposal came as Zelenskyy said he was prepared to drop his country’s bid to join the security alliance if Ukraine received NATO-like protection that would be designed to safeguard it against future Russian attacks.

    ‘Intensive’ weeks ahead

    Zelenskyy also spoke on Christmas Day with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. The Ukrainian leader said they discussed “certain substantive details” and cautioned “there is still work to be done on sensitive issues” and “the weeks ahead may also be intensive.”

    The U.S. president has been working to end the war in Ukraine for much of his first year back in office, showing irritation with both Zelenskyy and Putin while publicly acknowledging the difficulty of ending the conflict. Long gone are the days when, as a candidate in 2024, he boasted that he could resolve the fighting in a day.

    After hosting Zelenskyy at the White House in October, Trump demanded that both Russia and Ukraine halt fighting and “stop at the battle line,” implying that Moscow should be able to keep the territory it has seized from Ukraine.

    Zelenskyy said last week that he would be willing to withdraw troops from Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war, if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.

    Putin wants Russian gains kept, and more

    Putin has publicly said he wants all the areas in four key regions that have been captured by his forces, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory. He also has insisted that Ukraine withdraw from some areas in eastern Ukraine that Moscow’s forces haven’t captured. Kyiv has publicly rejected all those demands.

    The Kremlin also wants Ukraine to abandon its bid to join NATO. It warned that it wouldn’t accept the deployment of any troops from members of the military alliance and would view them as a “legitimate target.”

    Putin also has said Ukraine must limit the size of its army and give official status to the Russian language, demands he has made from the outset of the conflict.

    Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told the business daily Kommersant this month that Russian police and national guard would stay in parts of Donetsk -– one of the two major areas, along with Luhansk, that make up the Donbas region — even if they become a demilitarized zone under a prospective peace plan.

    Ushakov cautioned that trying to reach a compromise could take a long time. He said U.S. proposals that took into account Russian demands had been “worsened” by alterations proposed by Ukraine and its European allies.

    Trump has been somewhat receptive to Putin’s demands, making the case that the Russian president can be persuaded to end the war if Kyiv agrees to cede Ukrainian land in the Donbas region and if Western powers offer economic incentives to bring Russia back into the global economy.

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    Associated Press

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  • Leftover, discontinued cars offer best deals at end of year, experts say

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    With average prices for new vehicles hovering around $52,000 and tariffs expected to nudge them even higher in the new year, it may behoove some shoppers to take advantage of car inventories that are piling up on dealers’ lots. The end of the year typically brings deals as some models are discontinued and others prove unpopular.

    What You Need To Know

    • With average prices for new vehicles hovering around $52,000 and tariffs expected to nudge them even higher in the new year, it may behoove some shoppers to take advantage of car inventories that are piling up on dealers’ lots

    • The end of the year typically brings deals as some models are discontinued and others prove unpopular

    • Interested in a Dodge Hornet plug-in hybrid compact crossover? How about a Jeep Grand Cherokee or Alfa Romeo Tonale SUV? The three models from parent company Stellantis top the list of vehicles with the highest levels of leftover 2024 inventory at 82.1%, 70.8% and 46.8% respectively, according to a new analysis from iSeeCars.com; while the overall average for 2024 model year inventory is 0.4%

    • Among all 2025 model year vehicles, the BMW i4 electric sedan tops the list with the most inventory (89.2%), followed by the Lexus GX 550 SUV (87.8%) and Subaru BRZ sports car (87.1%)


    Interested in a Dodge Hornet plug-in hybrid compact crossover? How about a Jeep Grand Cherokee or Alfa Romeo Tonale SUV? The three models from parent company Stellantis top the list of vehicles with the highest levels of leftover 2024 inventory at 82.1%, 70.8% and 46.8% respectively, according to a new analysis from iSeeCars.com, while the overall average for last year’s inventory is 0.4%.

    “If dealers are struggling to move an older, leftover 2024 or 2025 model, it can be an opportunity for buyers who want new car, peace of mind and warranty coverage at a reduced price,” iSeeCars.com executive analyst Karl Brauer said in a statement.

    Buyers in the market for 2024 model year luxury SUVs ordinarily priced over $50,000 will have plenty of options, he added, noting excess inventories of the Land Rover Discovery Sport compact SUV (5.3%) and Maserati Grecale SUV (7.4%).

    Electric vehicles that weren’t purchased during the third-quarter buying frenzy prompted by the end of a $7,500 federal tax credit could also offer room for buyers to negotiate, Brauer said.

    The Genesis GV60 SUV topped the list of 2024 model year EVs with the most leftover inventory at 21.8%, followed by the Dodge Charger EV (20.9%), Chevrolet Silverado EV (11.9%) and GMC Hummer EV SUV (5.5%). Of 2025 model year EVs, the BMW i4 ranked first for most leftovers (89.2%), followed by the Porsche Macan (67.8%) and Volkswagen ID.4 (59.1%).

    “With the federal EV incentive gone, dealers have to be even more flexible on their electric vehicle pricing,” Brauer said. “This is particularly true for EVs that have a high percentage of 2025 model year inventory even as January 1, 2026, looms.”

    Among all 2025 model year vehicles, the BMW i4 electric sedan topped the list with the most inventory, followed by the Lexus GX 550 SUV (87.8%) and Subaru BRZ sports car (87.1%). Several hybrids also made the top 20, including the Toyota 4Runner (80.4%), Hyundai Elantra (73%) and Chevrolet Corvette (72.5%), according to the analysis.

    “For dealers, the pressure is on to move these 2025 models off the lot before their model year brands them as a ‘leftover’ new car,” Brauer said. “Combine this with every dealer’s desire to hit their numbers before the month, quarter and year come to a close on December 31st, and it’s likely buyers can negotiate a lower price on these vehicles.”

    Cox Automotive reported this month that new vehicle sales are expected to end lower in December compared with last year. Cox expects total new vehicle sales to finish the year at 16.3 million.

    “The fourth quarter is showing the expected slowdown, as headwinds from tariffs, inflation and reduced EV incentives weigh on the market after nine surprisingly strong months,” Cox Automotive Senior Economist Charlie Chesbrough said in a statement. “Still, consumer demand has kept the new-vehicle market healthy throughout 2025.”

    Most types of cars have seen year-over-year sales declines, with mid-size cars seeing the largest drop, followed by compact SUVs, full-size pickup trucks and compact cars. The only vehicle segment to see increases were mid-size SUVs, according to Cox Auto.

    The average suggested retail price for a new vehicle in December is $51,986, according to Kelley Blue Book.

    While languishing 2024 and 2025 model year vehicles offer good opportunities for discounting, discontinued models may offer the best deals of all because they are seen as both “leftover” by dealers and “abandoned” by their manufacturers, Brauer said.

    Twenty-three new cars have been discontinued for 2026, according to iSeeCars:

    Acura TLX

    Alfa Romeo Tonale Hybrid

    Audi A4

    Audi Q8 e-tron

    BMW X4

    Cadillac XT4

    Cadillac XT6

    Chevrolet Malibu

    Dodge Hornet

    Dodge Hornet plug-in hybrid

    Infiniti QX50

    Infiniti QX55

    Jeep Wagoneer

    Jeep Wagoneer L

    Kia Soul

    Lexus RC 350

    Mercedes-Benz EQB

    Polestar 2

    Porsche 718 Boxster

    Porsche 718 Cayman

    Subaru Legacy

    Volvo S60

    Volvo S90

    “The cold weather and holiday distractions generally make the end of the year a good time to buy a car,” Brauer said. “Combine those factors with leftover new 2024 or 2025 models that dealers can’t seem to unload, and a deal-making opportunity is likely for buyers looking to take advantage.”

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    Susan Carpenter

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  • Akron man deported after living in U.S. for 44 years

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    CLEVELAND — Brittani Sisouphanh is spending her first holiday season without her father Sone Rassavong who was recently deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to his home country Laos.

    What You Need To Know

    • Brittani Sisouphanh is the daughter of Laotian immigrant Sone Rassavong, who she said was wrongfully arrested and deported by ICE earlier this year

    • The United States is home to an estimated 245,000 Laotian Americans

    • U.S. President Donald Trump is upping restrictions on nationals from more than a dozen countries he’s classified as “high risk,” including Laos

    Sone Rassavong first moved to the United States in 1981 as a refugee and lost permanent resident status after being accused of violating a protection order, Sisouphanh said. He was living in Texas at the time, she said, and lacked access to reliable transportation to check in for parole.

    “He didn’t understand what really comes with probation. So he had missed a day to go check in with his parole officer, and when he missed that appointment, they put a warrant out for his arrest,” Sisouphanh said. “He did not know that you check in once a month, and he just — they put him in jail, for missing that.”

    Sisouphanh said her father was detained by ICE officers that same year after serving several months in jail. 

    Still, she said, her father never received full due process.

    “Under ICE custody, they told my dad, again, no legal representation. They told my dad that if he signs this paper, he can go home. So he signed the paper,” Sisouphanh said. “And my dad has broken English. He doesn’t understand very well, but he didn’t know signing the paper, he was signing his status to be changed from permanent resident to deportation.”

    After signing the deportation order, Sisouphanh said, her father moved back to Ohio and had been living in Akron under a work visa.

    He checked in with Homeland Security and applied to renew his work authorization card each year, Sisouphanh said.

    “We went there just going to check in like normal, not knowing that my dad wasn’t going to come back out with us. I didn’t give any time for him to say bye to family or anything like that. Whatever he had on is what he had to go with,” she said.

    Rassavong is one of tens of thousands of Laotian Americans who became at risk of deportation after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing full restrictions and an entry ban on all immigrants from Laos and Sierra Leone.

    The White House wrote online last week that the limitations imposed under the proclamation are part of Trump’s promise “to restore travel restrictions on dangerous countries” and secure the nation’s borders.

    Sisouphanh said she and other family members have had limited contact with Rassavong since October.

    “It was so hard to be in communication with him. I had to call lots of places, talk to lots of people. I was able to find him on an app, and we were able to communicate that way. But, he did go to Laos and he did share some experience. Getting there was very traumatizing, inhumane,” she said.

    Rassavong is now being detained in Laos, being transferred to the country from a U.S. detention center last week, Sisouphanh said.

    “It’s going to be a culture shock, for sure,” she said. “He left Laos when he was 15, and he stayed in a camp in Thailand till he was 17, and then came to America when he was 17.”

    The impact of Rassavong’s deportation is being felt by many others in the family, Sisouphanh said. He was the head of their family as the father of seven children and grandfather of 13 grandchildren.

    “It changed my way of living because I was living with him the day to day life. And when the day he went, I had work … I just didn’t know how to deal with it,” said Logan Rossavong, Sone Rassavong’s youngest child.

    Still, Rossaving’s family said they’re holding on to hope.

    “When we were on FaceTime, he lost weight …  but right now he’s doing good,” Logan Rossavong said. “He’s trying to keep it, you know, positive, trying to make the best of it.”

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    Tanya Velazquez

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  • Judge to hold hearing on whether Abrego Garcia is being vindictively prosecuted

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    A federal judge this week canceled the trial of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man who was mistakenly deported, and scheduled a hearing on whether the prosecution is being vindictive in pursuing a human smuggling case against him.

    What You Need To Know

    • A federal judge has canceled the trial of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man mistakenly deported, and scheduled a hearing on whether the prosecution is being vindictive in its human smuggling case against him

    • Abrego Garcia became central to the immigration debate after the Trump administration deported him to a notorious prison in El Salvador, then returned him to the U.S. 

    • He was charged with human smuggling related to a Tennessee traffic stop in 2022; Abrego Garcia denies the allegations, arguing prosecutors are vindictively targeting him

    • The hearing is set for January 28, where prosecutors must explain their reasoning

    Abrego Garcia has become a centerpiece of the debate over immigration after the Trump administration deported him in March to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Facing mounting public pressure and a court order, the Trump administration brought him back to the U.S. in June, but only after issuing an arrest warrant on human smuggling charges in Tennessee.

    Abrego Garcia has denied the allegations, and argued that prosecutors are vindictively and selectively targeting him. Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr. wrote in Tuesday’s order that Abrego Garcia had enough evidence to hold a hearing on the topic, which Crenshaw scheduled for Jan. 28.

    At that hearing, prosecutors will have to explain their reasoning for charging Abrego Garcia, Crenshaw wrote, and if they fail in that, the charges could be dismissed.

    When Abrego Garcia was pulled over in 2022, there were nine passengers in the car, and the officers discussed among themselves their suspicions of smuggling. However, Abrego Garcia was eventually allowed to continue driving with only a warning.

    A Department of Homeland Security agent previously testified that he did not begin investigating the traffic stop until after the U.S. Supreme Court said in April that the Trump administration had to work to bring Abrego Garcia from El Salvador, where he was deported.

    Years earlier, Abrego Garcia had been granted protection from deportation to his home country after a judge found he faced danger there from a gang that targeted his family. That order allowed Abrego Garcia, who has an American wife and child, to live and work in the U.S. under Immigration and Customs Enforcement supervision.

    Members of President Donald Trump’s administration have accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of the MS-13 gang, but he has vehemently denied the accusations and has no criminal record.

    Abrego Garcia’s defense attorney and the U.S. attorney’s office in Nashville did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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    Associated Press

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  • Russia strikes Ukraine’s capital a day before Zelenskyy-Trump meeting

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    KYIV, Ukraine — Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital with ballistic missiles and drones on Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding 27, a day before talks between the leaders of Ukraine and the United States, authorities said.

    What You Need To Know

    • Russia struck Ukraine’s capital with missiles and drones in an attack that killed at least one person

    • The barrage came a day before the leaders of Ukraine and the United States meet.

    • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack “really shows that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin doesn’t want peace”

    • Authorities said that Saturday’s assault hit residential buildings and energy infrastructure in Kyiv, and Moscow said the strike was in response to Ukraine’s attacks on “civilian objects” in Russia.

    Explosions boomed across Kyiv as the attack began in early morning and continued for hours.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared to meet with President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday for further talks on ending the nearly four-year war. Zelenskyy told reporters that he and Trump plan to discuss several matters including security guarantees and territorial issues in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

    “This attack is Russia’s answer on our peace efforts. It really shows that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin doesn’t want peace,” Zelenskyy said after stopping in Canada to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Carney announced $1.8 billion worth of economic assistance to Ukraine that helps unlock financing from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for reconstruction and development.

    “The barbarism that we saw overnight, the attack of Kyiv, shows just how important that we stand with Ukraine during this difficult time,” Carney said.

    A rescue worker puts out a fire of a house destroyed after a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

    Apartment buildings hit

    The Russian Defense Ministry said that it carried out a “massive strike” overnight, using “long-range precision-guided weapons from land, air and sea, including Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles” and drones. It said it targeted energy infrastructure facilities used by Ukraine’s forces and military-industrial enterprises.

    But several residential buildings were struck.

    The ministry said the strike was in response to Ukraine’s attacks on “civilian objects” in Russia.

    Earlier on Saturday, the ministry said air defenses shot down seven Ukrainian drones over the Russian regions of Krasnodar and Adygeya overnight. On Saturday afternoon, the ministry said 147 more drones were shot down over a number of Russian regions.

    Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses intercepted more than 20 drones “flying towards” the Russian capital on Saturday. He didn’t report any damage or casualties. It wasn’t immediately clear whether those were included in the Defense Ministry’s count.

    Russia claims territorial gains

    In what could be viewed as an effort to further ramp up pressure on Ukraine before the Zelenskyy-Trump talks, the Kremlin on Saturday night released a video of Putin in military fatigues receiving reports from top military officials in an unidentified military command post.

    Russia’s General Staff chief, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, reported to Putin that the Russian troops have taken full control of Myrnohrad in the Donetsk region — Russia uses the old Soviet name of the city, Dimitrov — the city of Huliaipole in the Zaporizhzhia region, and a few other settlements.

    Putin said that ”if Kyiv authorities are not willing to end the matter peacefully, we will achieve all the goals we have in the special military operation by military means.”

    Ukraine’s General Staff rejected these claims as “not supported by facts.” It said that the situation in Huliaipole is “difficult, but the defensive operation in the city is ongoing.” In Myrnohrad, the situation remains “challenging.”

    “The senior political leadership of the aggressor state has once again resorted to spreading false claims about significant ‘successes’ by the Russian army on the battlefield,” the General Staff said in an online statement.

    Poland on alert

    Poland scrambled fighter jets and closed airports in Lublin and Rzeszow near the border with Ukraine for several hours during the Russian attacks, the country’s armed forces command said on social media. There was no violation of Polish airspace, it said.

    Civil aviation authority Pansa later said the airports had resumed operations. It was unclear what caused the alert in Poland when the Russian attacks were focused on Kyiv, which is far from the border.

    Russia targeted Ukraine with 519 drones and 40 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said. The main target was energy and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said. In some districts of the region there is no electricity or heating because of the attacks, he said.

    Man killed in attack

    More than 10 residential buildings were damaged, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on social media.

    Olena Karpenko, 52, said she heard a man as he burned to death. “His scream is still in my ears. I can’t believe it,” she said, weeping.

    Karpenko said they heard a explosion at the nearby thermal power plant, followed by a stronger blast that shook the windows of her home. Then came the strike on her building.

    Two children were among those wounded in the attack, which hit seven locations across the capital, the head of the Kyiv Military Administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on social media.

    A body was found under the rubble of one damaged building, he said. It wasn’t immediately clear if that person was the man who burned to death.

    A fire broke out in an 18-story residential building in the Dnipro district, and emergency crews rushed to contain the flames. A 24-story residential building in the Darnytsia district was also hit, Tkachenko said, and more fires broke out in the Obolonskyi and Holosiivsky districts.

    In the wider Kyiv region, the strikes hit industrial and residential buildings, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service. In the Vyshhorod area, emergency crews rescued one person found under the rubble of a destroyed house.

    Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said on X on Saturday evening that the Russian attack caused “extensive power outages” in Kyiv, saying that hundreds of thousands of customers remained without power.

    Security guarantees prioritized

    Zelenskyy told reporters he would aim to ensure there were “ as few unresolved issues as possible ” in talks with Trump, while respecting Ukraine’s red lines.

    Speaking by audio note in a Whatsapp chat with journalists, Zelenskyy said he would prioritize discussing security guarantees for Ukraine. He has said that in the draft peace plan, the U.S. has committed to providing guarantees that mirror the NATO alliance’s Article 5, which means an attack on Ukraine would trigger a collective military response from the U.S. and its allies.

    But key details must be worked out in a bilateral agreement.

    Territorial concessions are the most sensitive of issues the two leaders will discuss.

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    Associated Press

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  • Retailers brace for holiday shopping returns, though many items not resold

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    The holiday season will soon come to a close, but the busiest time of the year for product returns is just beginning.

    What You Need To Know

    • The month after Christmas has been dubbed “Returnuary” for good reason. The National Retail Federation estimates 17% of holiday purchases will be sent back this year

    • That’s billions of dollars of unused stuff heading back to retailers and lots of added planet-warming emissions

    • All those products must be moved again on fossil fuel-burning trucks, trains and planes, and a lot of the time the products are too damaged or too cheap to be worth selling again

    • That can mean retailers send them straight to landfill, but there’s still lots that consumers and companies can do to minimize that cost

    The National Retail Federation estimates 17% of holiday purchases will be sent back this year. More retailers are reporting extended return windows and increased holiday staff to handle the rush this year.

    A major driver for returns is uncertainty. When we buy for other people, finding what they want is a bit of a guessing game. Online purchases have higher return rates because finding the right size and color is tough when you’re just staring at images on screens.

    “Clothing and footwear, as you can imagine, because fit is such an important criteria, they have higher rates of returns,” said Saskia van Gendt, chief sustainability officer at Blue Yonder, which sells software designed to improve companies’ supply chain management.

    Returns come with an environmental cost, but there’s a lot consumers and companies are doing to minimize it.

    The impact of returns

    If a company sells a thing, it’s probably packaged in plastic. Plastic is made from oil, and oil production releases emissions that warm the planet. If that thing is bought online, it’s put on a plane or a train or a truck that usually uses oil-based fuel.

    If you buy a thing and return it, it goes through most or all of that all over again.

    And once those products are back with the retailer, they may be sent along to a refurbisher, liquidator, recycler or landfill. All these steps require more travel, packaging and energy, ultimately translating to more emissions. Joseph Sarkis, who teaches supply chain management at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, estimates that returning an item increases its impact on the planet by 25% to 30%.

    Roughly a third of the time, those returns don’t make their way to another consumer. Because frequently, it’s not worth reselling.

    If, for example, you get a phone, but you send it back because you don’t like the color, the seller has to pay for the fuel and equipment to get the phone back, and then has to pay for the labor to assess whether it has been damaged since leaving the facility.

    “It can be quite expensive,” said Sarkis. “And if you send it out to a new customer and the phone is bad, imagine the reputational hit you’ll get. You’ll get another return and you’ll lose a customer who’s unhappy with the product or material. So the companies are hesitant to take that chance.”

    Something as expensive as a phone might get sold to a secondary or refurbishment market. But that $6 silicone spatula you got off Amazon? Probably not worth it. Plus, some stuff — think a bathing suit or a bra — is less attractive to customers if there’s a chance it’s been resold. The companies know that.

    And that’s where the costs of returns are more than just environmental — and consumers wind up paying. Even free returns aren’t really free.

    “Refurbishment, inspection, repackaging, all of these things get factored into the retail price,” said Christopher Faires, assistant professor of logistics and supply chain management at Georgia Southern University.

    What consumers can do about it

    If you want to reduce the impact of your returns, the first move is to increase their chances of resale. Be careful not to damage it, and reuse the packaging to send it back, said Cardiff University logistics and operations management lecturer Danni Zhang.

    If you have to return something, do it quickly. That ugly Christmas sweater you got at the white elephant office party has a much better chance of selling on Dec. 20 than it does on Jan. 5. Zhang said it’s not worth the cost to the company to store that sweater once it’s gone out of season.

    Another tip: in-person shopping is better than online because purchases get returned less often, and in-person returns are better, too — because those items get resold more often. Zhang said it reduces landfill waste. Sarkis said it reduces emissions because companies with brick-and-mortar locations spread out across the country and closer to consumers thus move restocked goods shorter distances.

    “If I can return in-store, then I definitely will,” Zhang said. “The managers can put that stuff back to the market as soon as possible.”

    Obviously the best thing consumers can do is minimize returns. Many shoppers engage in “bracketing behavior,” or buying multiple sizes of the same item, keeping what fits, and returning the rest.

    “This behavior of bringing the dressing room to our homes is not sustainable,” said Faires.

    If you’re buying for someone else, you can also consider taking the guesswork out of the equation and going for a gift card.

    “I know we do really want to pick up something really nice to express our love for our friends or our family. But if we are more sustainable, probably the gift card will be much better than just purchasing the product,” Zhang said.

    What businesses can do about it

    Sarkis wants to see companies provide more information in product descriptions about the environmental impact of returning an item, or how much of the purchase price factors in return costs.

    “But I don’t know if they want to send a negative message,” he said. “If you’re telling someone to stop something because of negative results, that’s not going to sell.”

    Sarkis and Zhang both say charging for returns would help. Already Amazon is requiring customers pay in certain situations.

    On the tech side, Blue Yonder’s recent acquisition of Optoro, a company that provides a return management system for retailers and brands, uses a software to quickly assess the condition of returned products and route them to stores that are most likely to resell them.

    “Having that process be more digitized, you can quickly assess the condition and put it back into inventory,” said van Gendt. “So that’s a big way to just avoid landfill and also all of the carbon emissions that are associated with that.”

    Clothing is returned most often. Many sizes do not reflect specific measurements, like women’s dresses, so they vary a lot between brands. Zhang said better sizing could help reduce the need for returns. On top of that, Sarkis said more 3D imaging and virtual reality programs could help customers be more accurate with their purchases, saving some returns.

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  • Zelenskyy says meeting with Trump will happen in ‘near future’

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    KYIV, Ukraine — A meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump will happen “in the near future,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday, signaling progress in talks to end the nearly four-year Russia-Ukraine war.

    What You Need To Know

    • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump will happen soon

    • This signals progress in talks to end the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine

    • Zelenskyy mentioned Friday on X that a lot can be decided before the new year, and that he had a good conversation with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner

    • Trump has pushed for peace but conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv remain

    “We are not losing a single day. We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level — with President Trump in the near future,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “A lot can be decided before the New Year.”

    Zelenskyy’s comments came after he said Thursday that he had a “good conversation” with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that the Kremlin had already been in contact with U.S. representatives since Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev met with U.S. envoys in Florida over the weekend.

    “It was agreed upon to continue the dialogue,” he said.

    Trump has unleashed a diplomatic push to end Russia’s all-out war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, but his efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.

    Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he would be willing to withdraw troops from Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war, if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.

    Though Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that there had been “slow but steady progress” in the peace talks, Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized.

    In fact, Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.

    On the ground, one person was killed and three others were wounded when a guided aerial bomb hit a house in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, while six people were wounded in a missile strike on the city of Uman, local officials said Friday.

    Russian drone attacks on the city of Mykolaiv and its suburbs overnight into Friday left part of the city without power. Energy and port infrastructure were damaged by drones in the city of Odesa on the Black Sea.

    Meanwhile, Ukraine said that it struck a major Russian oil refinery on Thursday using U.K.-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.

    Ukraine’s General Staff said that its forces hit the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Russia’s Rostov region.

    “Multiple explosions were recorded. The target was hit,” it wrote on Telegram.

    Rostov regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar said that a firefighter was wounded when extinguishing the fire.

    Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion. Russia wants to cripple the Ukraine’s power grid, seeking to deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Ukrainian officials say is an attempt to “weaponize winter.”

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  • Christmas Eve winner in Arkansas lands $1.817 billion Powerball lottery jackpot

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    A Powerball ticket purchased outside Little Rock, Arkansas, won a $1.817 billion jackpot in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve drawing, ending the lottery game’s three-month stretch without a top-prize winner.

    What You Need To Know

    • A Powerball player in Arkansas has won a $1.817 billion jackpot Wednesday amid the Christmas holiday

    • That ends the lottery game’s three-month stretch without a top-prize winner

    • The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19

    • Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot higher than previous expected, and organizers say that made it the second-largest in U.S. history and the largest Powerball prize of 2025

    • The jackpot has a lump sum cash payment option of $834.9 million

    The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19. The winning ticket was sold in Cabot, lottery officials in Arkansas said Thursday. The community of roughly 27,000 people is 26 miles northeast of Little Rock.

    Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot higher than previous expected, making it the second-largest in U.S. history and the largest Powerball prize of 2025, according to www.powerball.com. The jackpot had a lump sum cash payment option of $834.9 million.

    “Congratulations to the newest Powerball jackpot winner! This is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize,” Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO, was quoted as saying by the website. “We also want to thank all the players who joined in this jackpot streak — every ticket purchased helps support public programs and services across the country.”

    The prize followed 46 consecutive drawings in which no one matched all six numbers.

    The last drawing with a jackpot winner was Sept. 6, when players in Missouri and Texas won $1.787 billion.

    Organizers said it is the second time the Powerball jackpot has been won by a ticket sold in Arkansas. It first happened in 2010.

    The last time someone won a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball said. The company added that the sweepstakes also has been won on Christmas Day four times, most recently in 2013.

    Powerball’s odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes growing as they roll over when no one wins. Lottery officials note that the odds are far better for the game’s many smaller prizes.

    “With the prize so high, I just bought one kind of impulsively. Why not?” Indianapolis glass artist Chris Winters said Wednesday.

    Tickets cost $2, and the game is offered in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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    Associated Press

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  • A look back at pop culture in 2025

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    From a wedding engagement that blew up the internet to the final chapter of one of TV’s most beloved franchises, 2025 was a huge year for pop culture that was chock-full of surprises.

    What You Need To Know

    • From a wedding engagement that blew up the internet to the final chapter of one of TV’s most beloved franchises, 2025 was a huge year for pop culture that was chock-full of surprises

    • The White Lotus” entranced millions of viewers, and the year saw some special movie releases, including “Sinners,” “Wicker for Good” and “KPop Demon Hunters”

    • An Instagram post revealing the engagement between pop star Taylor Swift and tight end Travis Kelce earned more than 30 million likes in less than 24 hours

    • A moment captured on the kiss cam at a Coldplay concert, when a CEO was seen embracing his date, who was not his wife, went viral
    • The fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” gave fans one more look at the “Upside Down”

    The year kicked off with a bang in Bangkok, as the third season of HBO Max’s hit show “The White Lotus” entranced millions of viewers with its story of meditation and murder. 

    2025 was the year of streaming content. According to an Associated Press poll, 70% of adults chose to watch movies in the comfort of their own homes instead of in theaters, which comes as no surprise to film correspondent John Horn. 

    “Ticket prices are really high,” Horn said. “If you take a family of four, especially in a city like Los Angeles or New York, it’s a hundred bucks.”

    Between that and the amount of pre-movie ads theaters show, Horn said, a film this year had to be really special to get audiences to venture out. 

    2025 did have some very special films, like Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners”; the sequel to last year’s holiday hit, “Wicked for Good”; and the Netflix animated movie that took the world by storm, “KPop Demon Hunters.” 

    This image released by Universal Pictures shows Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande in a scene from “Wicked for Good..” (Universal Pictures via AP)

    The “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack also went viral, with each of its 12 original songs going platinum.

    Another astronomical musical achievement was Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” album. Her tour grossed more than $400 million, becoming the highest-grossing country tour in history. 

    An Instagram post revealing the engagement between pop star Taylor Swift and tight end Travis Kelce earned more than 30 million likes in less than 24 hours.

    Another musical milestone came in a moment captured on the kiss cam at a Coldplay concert, when it showed a CEO embracing his date, who was not his wife. The incident resulted in both resigning from their roles. 

    Tragedy hit Hollywood when Rob Reiner, director of “When Harry Met Sally” and “The Princess Bride,” and his wife were killed in their home. 

    And in the legal spotlight, rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs was found guilty of two counts in a sex-related felony case.

    Only display Labubu dolls are left at the Pop Mart store at American Dream mall in East Rutherford, N.J., on Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

    Only display Labubu dolls are left at the Pop Mart store at American Dream mall in East Rutherford, N.J., on Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

    In the world of pop culture, a creature named Labubu became a top trend thanks in part to celebrity endorsements from Rihanna and Kim Kardashian and an appearance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

    Also seen at the parade — and on breakfast cereal boxes and footwear — was “Stranger Things.” The fifth and final season of the Netflix hit gave fans one more look at the “Upside Down.” Nearly 40% of U.S. households binged all four of the first episodes within 48 hours of release. 

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    Alex Cohen

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  • Pope Leo XIV urges faithful on Christmas to shed indifference to suffering

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    VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV during his first Christmas Day message on Thursday urged the faithful to shed indifference in the face of those who have lost everything, such as in Gaza, those who are impoverished, such as in Yemen, and the many migrants who cross the Mediterranean Sea and the American continent for a better future.

    What You Need To Know

    • Pope Leo XIV, during his first Christmas Day message, has urged the faithful to shed indifference toward those who are suffering

    • The first U.S. pontiff highlighted the suffering in Gaza, Yemen, and that of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea and the American continent

    • Addressing 26,000 people from St. Peter’s Square, he called for peace, justice, and stability in troubled regions like Lebanon, Ukraine, and Syria

    • The pope emphasized that everyone can contribute to peace through humility and responsibility, and he received especially warm cheers when he made his greetings in his native English and Spanish, the language of his adopted country of Peru, where he served as a missionary and then as archbishop

    The first U.S. pontiff addressed some 26,000 people from the loggia overlooking St. Peter’s Square for the traditional papal “Urbi et Orbi” address, Latin for “To the City and to the World,” which serves as a summary of the woes facing the world.

    While the crowd gathered under a steady downpour during the papal Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica, the rain had subsided by the time Leo took a brief tour of the square in the popemobile, then spoke to the crowd from the loggia.

    Leo revived the tradition of offering Christmas greetings in multiple languages abandoned by his predecessor, Pope Francis. He received especially warm cheers when he made his greetings in his native English and Spanish, the language of his adopted country of Peru where he served first as a missionary and then as archbishop.

    Someone in the crowd shouted out “Viva il papa!” or ”Long live the pope!” before he retreated into the basilica. Leo took off his glasses for a final wave.

    Pope Leo XIV waves before delivering the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for ‘to the city and to the world’ ) Christmas’ day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

    Leo surveys the world’s distress

    During the traditional address, the pope emphasized that everyone could contribute to peace by acting with humility and responsibility.

    “If he would truly enter into the suffering of others and stand in solidarity with the weak and the oppressed, then the world would change,” the pope said.

    Leo called for “justice, peace and stability” in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Israel and Syria, prayers for “the tormented people of Ukraine,” and “peace and consolation” for victims of wars, injustice, political instability, religious persecution and terrorism, citing Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso and Congo.

    The pope also urged dialogue to address “numerous challenges” in Latin America, reconciliation in Myanmar, the restoration of “the ancient friendship between Thailand and Cambodia,” and assistance for the suffering of those hit by natural disasters in South Asia and Oceania.

    “In becoming man, Jesus took upon himself our fragility, identifying with each one of us: with those who have nothing left and have lost everything, like the inhabitants of Gaza; with those who are prey to hunger and poverty, like the Yemeni people; with those who are fleeing their homeland to seek a future elsewhere, like the many refugees and migrants who cross the Mediterranean or traverse the American continent,” the pontiff said.

    He also remembered those who have lost their jobs or are seeking work, especially young people, underpaid workers and those in prison.

    Fithful display an Ukrainian flag as they wait Pope Leo XIV's Urbi et Orbi (Latin for 'to the city and to the world' Christmas' ) day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

    Fithful display an Ukrainian flag as they wait Pope Leo XIV’s Urbi et Orbi (Latin for ‘to the city and to the world’ Christmas’ ) day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

    Peace through dialogue

    Earlier, Leo led the Christmas Day Mass from the central altar beneath the balustrade of St. Peter’s Basilica, adorned with floral garlands and clusters of red poinsettias. White flowers were set at the feet of a statue of Mary, mother of Jesus, whose birth is celebrated on Christmas Day.

    In his homily, Leo underlined that peace can emerge only through dialogue.

    “There will be peace when our monologues are interrupted and, enriched by listening, we fall to our knees before the humanity of the other,” he said.

    He remembered the people of Gaza, “exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold” and the fragility of “defenseless populations, tried by so many wars,’’ and of “young people forced to take up arms, who on the front lines feel the senselessness of what is asked of them, and the falsehoods that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths.’’

    Thousands of people packed the basilica for the pope’s first Christmas Day Mass, holding aloft their smartphones to capture images of the opening procession.

    This Christmas season marks the winding down of the Holy Year celebrations, which will close on Jan. 6, the Catholic Epiphany holiday marking the visit of the three wise men to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

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  • How some of Santa’s little reindeer relate to the weather

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    We all know that Santa travels the world on Christmas Eve on a sleigh pulled by eight… no, nine, reindeer! But are you aware of the weather tie-ins with Santa and his reindeer?

    What You Need To Know

    • Two reindeer are named after weather phenomena

    • Rudolph saved the day one Christmas Eve when fog covered most of the Earth

    • Santa uses forecasts from local meteorologists to plan his Christmas Eve flight

    (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

    We’ve all heard the tale of Rudolph, and we’ll cover that part of the story in a moment, but first, let’s start with two of Santa’s original reindeer.

    The original eight

    You know Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid, and Donner and Blitzen, but did you know that two of the reindeer are named after weather phenomena?

    But which ones?

    If you guessed Donner and Blitzen, you are correct!

    Donner, also sometimes called Donder or Dunder, is named after thunder. The name comes from the Dutch word for thunder.

    Blitzen, also spelled Blixen and Blixem, is named after lightning. The name also comes from a Dutch word meaning lightning.

    Santa’s reindeer were never officially named until the 1823 release of the poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” also known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” by Clement C. Moore.

    (AP Photo/Malin Moberg)

    Here’s an interesting reindeer fact.

    In the story “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” by L. Frank Baum, the author listed ten reindeer. Flossie and Glossie are Santa’s lead reindeer, while Racer and Pacer, Fearless and Peerless, Ready and Steady, and Feckless and Speckless are the rest of the team. 

    None of these names are weather-related terms.

    No offense to L. Frank Baum, but I’m glad we stuck with Clement C. Moore’s names for Santa’s reindeer.

    Rudolph leads the way

    I think we all know the story of Rudolph.

    This iconic reindeer showed up in 1939. Looked upon as a misfit (aren’t we all in some way), the other reindeer rejected Rudolph and made fun of him because of his red, glowing nose. Though that “little” abnormality came in handy “one foggy Christmas Eve.”

    In an unprecedented weather event, one never seen before or seen since, an “outbreak” of fog blanketed most of the planet, and it became impossible for Santa to make his flight on Christmas Eve around the world. 

    All was lost until Santa realized that Rudolph and his incredible nose could lead the way.

    This was Rudolph’s time to shine. (Pun intended.)

    (File Photo)

    And the rest is history. From that time on, Rudolph has been Santa’s lead reindeer.

    Santa’s Christmas Eve forecast

    Something you may not know is Santa Claus has a weather forecasting team at the North Pole.

    Some elves specialize in forecasting the weather around the world. These meteorologists give Santa an overview of the weather around the globe on Christmas Eve, but Santa depends on local National Weather Service and TV meteorologists to provide him forecasts for cities along his flight path.

    My daughter found out about this during a visit with Santa when she was about six years old.

    I had taken her and her younger brother to see Santa a few days before Christmas. As we were next in line, Santa saw us, stood up, walked over to me and asked, “Gary, what kind of weather am I looking at on Christmas Eve?”

    I gave him a quick forecast, he thanked me, walked back over to his chair and sat down as the next child climbed on his lap.

    The expression on my daughter’s face was priceless.

    “Santa knows you?” she asked as she looked up at me with a look of shock, confusion and pride. “Well, of course he does. Who do you think he gets his forecast from for this area? I’m a pilot, and he’s a pilot. I’m the perfect person to give him a ‘flight weather briefing.’”

    Talk about a priceless memory that I will always remember.

    (Gary Stephenson)

    In the Christmas Eve sky

    So on Christmas Eve night, if your skies are clear, look to the sky. You might see a red light moving across the sky. More than likely, it’s the beacon on an airplane, but it might, just might, be the glow of Rudolph’s red nose.

    And if the weather is not so clear, rest well knowing that Santa’s got a well-trained team of reindeer pulling the sleigh and an accurate forecast so he can safely complete his Christmas Eve journey around the Earth.

    I’ll finish my story with these final words.

    My wish for all of you is to have a safe and Merry Christmas. And to Santa and the reindeer, have a good flight!

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Chief Meteorologist Gary Stephenson

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  • How some of Santa’s little reindeer relate to the weather

    [ad_1]

    We all know that Santa travels the world on Christmas Eve on a sleigh pulled by eight… no, nine, reindeer! But are you aware of the weather tie-ins with Santa and his reindeer?

    What You Need To Know

    • Two reindeer are named after weather phenomena

    • Rudolph saved the day one Christmas Eve when fog covered most of the Earth

    • Santa uses forecasts from local meteorologists to plan his Christmas Eve flight

    (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

    We’ve all heard the tale of Rudolph, and we’ll cover that part of the story in a moment, but first, let’s start with two of Santa’s original reindeer.

    The original eight

    You know Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid, and Donner and Blitzen, but did you know that two of the reindeer are named after weather phenomena?

    But which ones?

    If you guessed Donner and Blitzen, you are correct!

    Donner, also sometimes called Donder or Dunder, is named after thunder. The name comes from the Dutch word for thunder.

    Blitzen, also spelled Blixen and Blixem, is named after lightning. The name also comes from a Dutch word meaning lightning.

    Santa’s reindeer were never officially named until the 1823 release of the poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” also known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” by Clement C. Moore.

    (AP Photo/Malin Moberg)

    Here’s an interesting reindeer fact.

    In the story “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” by L. Frank Baum, the author listed ten reindeer. Flossie and Glossie are Santa’s lead reindeer, while Racer and Pacer, Fearless and Peerless, Ready and Steady, and Feckless and Speckless are the rest of the team. 

    None of these names are weather-related terms.

    No offense to L. Frank Baum, but I’m glad we stuck with Clement C. Moore’s names for Santa’s reindeer.

    Rudolph leads the way

    I think we all know the story of Rudolph.

    This iconic reindeer showed up in 1939. Looked upon as a misfit (aren’t we all in some way), the other reindeer rejected Rudolph and made fun of him because of his red, glowing nose. Though that “little” abnormality came in handy “one foggy Christmas Eve.”

    In an unprecedented weather event, one never seen before or seen since, an “outbreak” of fog blanketed most of the planet, and it became impossible for Santa to make his flight on Christmas Eve around the world. 

    All was lost until Santa realized that Rudolph and his incredible nose could lead the way.

    This was Rudolph’s time to shine. (Pun intended.)

    (File Photo)

    And the rest is history. From that time on, Rudolph has been Santa’s lead reindeer.

    Santa’s Christmas Eve forecast

    Something you may not know is Santa Claus has a weather forecasting team at the North Pole.

    Some elves specialize in forecasting the weather around the world. These meteorologists give Santa an overview of the weather around the globe on Christmas Eve, but Santa depends on local National Weather Service and TV meteorologists to provide him forecasts for cities along his flight path.

    My daughter found out about this during a visit with Santa when she was about six years old.

    I had taken her and her younger brother to see Santa a few days before Christmas. As we were next in line, Santa saw us, stood up, walked over to me and asked, “Gary, what kind of weather am I looking at on Christmas Eve?”

    I gave him a quick forecast, he thanked me, walked back over to his chair and sat down as the next child climbed on his lap.

    The expression on my daughter’s face was priceless.

    “Santa knows you?” she asked as she looked up at me with a look of shock, confusion and pride. “Well, of course he does. Who do you think he gets his forecast from for this area? I’m a pilot, and he’s a pilot. I’m the perfect person to give him a ‘flight weather briefing.’”

    Talk about a priceless memory that I will always remember.

    (Gary Stephenson)

    In the Christmas Eve sky

    So on Christmas Eve night, if your skies are clear, look to the sky. You might see a red light moving across the sky. More than likely, it’s the beacon on an airplane, but it might, just might, be the glow of Rudolph’s red nose.

    And if the weather is not so clear, rest well knowing that Santa’s got a well-trained team of reindeer pulling the sleigh and an accurate forecast so he can safely complete his Christmas Eve journey around the Earth.

    I’ll finish my story with these final words.

    My wish for all of you is to have a safe and Merry Christmas. And to Santa and the reindeer, have a good flight!

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Chief Meteorologist Gary Stephenson

    Source link

  • Suspect in national guard shooting faces new federal charges

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    WASHINGTON — A man accused of shooting two National Guard troops near the White House has been charged in a complaint with federal firearms charges in connection with the ambush on November 26 that fatally wounded one of the West Virginia National Guard members and seriously injured the second.

    What You Need To Know

    • A man accused of shooting two National Guard troops near the White House is charged in a complaint with federal firearms charges over the ambush on November 26 that fatally wounded one of the West Virginia National Guard members and seriously injured the second

    • Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, has been charged with transporting a firearm in interstate commerce with the intent to commit an offense punishable for more than one year

    • He also also been charged federally with transporting a stolen firearm in interstate commerce

    • The federal charges allow the prosecutors to deliberate whether he should face the death penalty in the shooting that killed Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24


    Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, has been charged with transporting a firearm in interstate commerce with the intent to commit an offense punishable for more than one year. He has also been charged federally with transporting a stolen firearm in interstate commerce.

    “The transfer of this case from Superior Court to District Court ensures that we can undertake the serious, deliberate, and weighty analysis required to determine if the death penalty is appropriate here,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. “Sarah Beckstrom was just 20 years old when she was killed and her parents are now forced to endure the holiday season without their daughter. Andrew Wolfe, by the grace of God, survived but has a long road ahead in his recovery.”

    Lakanwal remains charged with first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill and illegal possession of a firearm in the shooting that killed Beckstrom, 20, and wounded Wolfe, 24, in violation of D.C. code. Lakanwal, who was shot during the encounter, has pleaded not guilty to the D.C. charges.

    There is no death penalty in D.C. Superior Court.

    Beckstrom and Wolfe were deployed with the West Virginia National Guard for President Donald Trump’s law-enforcement surge in the nation’s capital, which has flooded the city with federal agents and troops since August. Lakanwal is accused of driving from Bellingham, Washington to Washington, D.C. while in possession of a stolen firearm and ambushing the two Guard members outside a subway station three blocks from the White House.

    An Afghan national, Laknawal worked with the American government, including the CIA, “as a member of a partner force” in Kandahar, Afghanistan, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said.

    Lakanwal, 29, entered the United States in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, officials said. That Biden administration program evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country.

    Lakanwal’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment.

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    Associated Press

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  • US stocks drift to more records on a holiday-shortened day of trading

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    NEW YORK — Wall Street closed higher and reached more records Wednesday on a holiday-shortened trading day.

    The S&P 500 index rose 22.26 points, or 0.3%, to 6,932.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 288.75, or 0.6%, to close at 48,731.16, and the Nasdaq composite added 51.46, or 0.2%, to 23,613.31.

     

    What You Need To Know

    • US stocks drifted higher to more records on a holiday-shortened day of trading

    • The S&P 500 rose 0.3%

    • The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite edged up 0.2%

    • Markets closed early for Christmas Eve and will remain closed for Christmas Thursday


    Trading was extremely light as markets closed early for Christmas Eve and will be closed for Christmas Thursday. Roughly 1.8 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, which is roughly a third of the average trading day.

    Markets will reopen for a full day of trading on Friday; however volumes are expected to remain light this week with most investors having closed out their positions for the year.

    The S&P 500 is up more than 17% this year, as investors have embraced the deregulatory policies of the Trump administration and been optimistic about the future of artificial intelligence in helping boost profits for not only technology companies but also for Corporate America. Some of the strongest performers this year include Nvidia and Micron Technologies, both companies that make chips or other components that power the proliferation of data centers across the country.

    Much of the focus for investors for the next few weeks will be on where the U.S. economy is heading and where the Federal Reserve will move interest rates. Investors are betting the Fed will hold steady on interest rates at its January meeting.

    The U.S. economy grew at a surprisingly strong 4.3% annual rate in the third quarter, the most rapid expansion in two years, driven by consumers who continue to spend in the face of ongoing inflation. There have also been recent reports showing shaky confidence among consumersworried about high prices. The labor market has been slowing and retail sales have weakened.

    The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week and remain at historically healthy levels despite some signs that the labor market is weakening.

    U.S. applications for jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 20 fell by 10,000 to 214,000 from the previous week’s 224,000, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. That’s below the 232,000 new applications forecast of analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.

    Dynavax Technologies soared 38.2% after Sanofi said it was acquiring the California-based vaccine maker in a deal worth $2.2 billion. The French drugmaker will add Dynavax’s hepatitis B vaccines to its portfolio, as well as a shingles vaccine that is still in development.

    Novo Nordisk’s shares rose 1.8% after the weight-loss drug company got approval from U.S. regulators for a pill version of its blockbuster drug Wegovy. However, Novo Nordisk shares are still down almost 40% this year as the company has faced increased competition for weight-loss medications, particularly from Eli Lilly. Shares of Eli Lilly are up 40% this year.

    European markets moved between slight gains and losses. Asian markets were also quiet, with Hong Kong moving up 0.2% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.1%

    Gold prices were flat at $4,502 an ounce, and silver rose 0.8% to $71.69. U.S. crude oil was flat at $58.38 a barrel.

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    Associated Press

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  • Powerball’s $1.7B jackpot could make Christmas Eve unforgettable

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    OHIO — A Christmas Eve Powerball drawing could add new meaning to holiday cheer as millions of players hope to cash in on the $1.7 billion prize, which comes after months without a jackpot winner.

    What You Need To Know

    • The United States’ 4th-largest jackpot on record comes after 46 consecutive draws without someone claiming to have all six numbers

    • Wednesday’s $1.7 billion jackpot has a cash value of $781.3 million

    • Lottery officials set the odds at 1 in 292.2 million in hopes that jackpots will roll over with each of the three weekly drawings until the pool balloons so much that more people take notice and play

    The United States’ 4th-largest jackpot on record comes after 46 consecutive draws without someone claiming to have all six numbers. The last contest with a jackpot winner was on Sept. 6. The game’s long odds have people decking the halls and doling out $2 — and sometimes more — for tickets ahead of Wednesday night’s live drawing at 10:59 p.m. EST.

    It’s a sign the game is operating as intended. Lottery officials made the odds tougher in 2015 as a mechanism for snowballing jackpots, all the while making it easier to win smaller prizes.

    The Christmas holiday is not expected to impact the drawing process should there be a winning ticket, a Powerball spokesperson said.

    Here is what to know about Wednesday’s drawing:

    Christmas Eve cha-ching

    That ticket placed in a stocking or under the tree could be worth a billion bucks — but with some caveats.

    Powerball is played in 45 states, along with Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Most of those areas require players to be 18 or older, though some states have steeper requirements. In Nebraska, players have to be at least 19 years old, and in Louisiana and Arizona, people can’t buy tickets until they are 21.

    Winning tickets also must be cashed in the states where they were bought. And players can’t buy tickets in Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada or Utah.

    Other than that, lottery officials argue there is a chance a lucky Powerball ticket could be a gift that keeps on giving.

    Charlie McIntyre, the New Hampshire Lottery’s executive director, said Tuesday: “Just think of the stories you can tell for generations to come about the year you woke up a billionaire on Christmas.”

    A range of prizes can be presents

    Wednesday’s $1.7 billion jackpot has a cash value of $781.3 million.

    A winner can choose to be paid the whole amount through an annuity, with an immediate payment and then annual payments over 29 years that increase by 5% each time. Most winners, however, usually choose the cash value for a lump sum.

    The odds are high for the top prize, but there are smaller prizes players can reap.

    At the last drawing, players in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin each won $1 million. There are also prizes outside the jackpot, ranging from a few dollars to $2 million.

    One woman told Powerball officials that she already made plans for her $1 million win: “We’re going to pay off our cars and credit cards and get a bigger house!”

    And Thomas Anderson of Burlington, North Carolina, said he intended to use his $100,000 Powerball win from earlier this month to go back to school, according to Powerball.

    Long odds for the billion-dollar jackpots

    Lottery officials set the odds at 1 in 292.2 million in hopes that jackpots will roll over with each of the three weekly drawings until the pool balloons so much that more people take notice and play.

    The odds used to be notably better, at 1 in 175 million. But the game was made tougher in 2015 to create the out-of-this-world bounties. The tougher odds partly helped set the stage for back-to-back record-breaking sweepstakes this year.

    The last time someone won the Powerball pot was on Sept. 6, when players in Missouri and Texas won $1.787 billion, which was the second-highest top prize in U.S. history.

    The U.S. has seen more than a dozen lottery jackpot prizes exceed $1 billion since 2016. The biggest U.S. jackpot ever was $2.04 billion back in 2022.

    More about those unfavorable odds

    It’s hard to explain what odds of 1 in 292.2 million mean. Even if halved, they remain difficult to digest.

    In the past, one math professor described the odds of flipping a coin and getting heads 28 straight times.

    Tim Chartier, a Davidson College math professor in North Carolina, on Monday compared the odds of a winning lottery ticket to selecting one marked dollar bill from a stack 19 miles (31 kilometers) high.

    “It’s true that if you buy 100 tickets, you are 100 times more likely to win. But in this case, ‘100 times more likely’ barely moves the probability needle,” Chartier said. “Using the time analogy, buying 100 tickets is like getting 100 guesses to name that one chosen second over nine years. Possible — but wildly improbable.”

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • Options are narrowing to ship packages for Dec. 24 delivery

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    With two shopping days left before Christmas, the rush is on to not only find the perfect present but get it to its destination on time. The options are narrowing.

    Individuals who need their packages to arrive by Dec. 24 are down to a handful of options.

    What You Need To Know

    • Individuals who need their holiday packages to arrive by Dec. 24 are down to a handful of options

    • People who ship packages Tuesday can still use UPS Next Day Air and FedEx First Overnight Services. The time cutoff for many UPS locations is between 6-8 p.m. For FedEx, time cutoffs vary by location but is often 4-5 p.m.

    • The only shipping service offering same-day delivery on Dec. 24 is FedEx SameDay, which provides door-to-door delivery on packages of up to 150 pounds for all 50 states

    • While the U.S. Post Office is delivering mail and post offices are open for service on Dec. 23 and 24, the deadline for shipping priority mail with a guaranteed Dec. 24 delivery was Dec. 20


    People who ship packages Tuesday can still use UPS Next Day Air and FedEx First Overnight Services. The time cutoff for many UPS locations is between 6-8 p.m. For FedEx, time cutoffs vary by location but are often between 4-5 p.m.

    The only shipping service offering same-day delivery on Dec. 24 is FedEx SameDay, which provides door-to-door delivery on packages of up to 150 pounds for all 50 states. Prices are determined by distance, weight and how the item is packed. 

    While the U.S. Post Office is delivering mail and post offices are open for service on Dec. 23 and 24, the deadline for shipping priority mail with a guaranteed Dec. 24 delivery was Dec. 20. On Christmas Eve, mail will be picked up as scheduled from blue collection boxes, and regular mail and Priority Mail Express items will be delivered.

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    Susan Carpenter

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  • SpaceX is reportedly considering a land swap with the government

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    TEXAS — According to documents reviewed by The New York Times, the Trump administration is considering a land swap with SpaceX that would see Elon Musk’s company receiving over 700 acres of wildlife refuge in exchange for some of the company’s land approximately 20 miles away.

    The land will be used to expand SpaceX’s operations in Cameron County, including rocket launch and production.

    Opponents say that SpaceX’s use of the land could damage areas that are home to endangered species and Civil War-era artifacts. The company has already been the target of several environmentally based lawsuits regarding ecological damage near its launch sites.

    The agreement would give SpaceX 775 acres of land in the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, which is a sanctuary for endangered species such as the ocelot and the jaguarundi. The land is also part of the Palmito Ranch Battlefield, home to the last land battle of the Civil War.

    In exchange, the government would receive 692 acres of land in Cameron County about 20 miles away, which would be added to the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. Officials at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say that the swap would be a net positive for conservation.

    This is not the first time that SpaceX and the government have attempted a land swap, with a deal in place to trade nearly 43 acres in Boca Chica State Park in 2024. However, the company pulled out of the swap with no explanation of why.

    Land swaps of this nature, regardless of the political party in charge, are not uncommon. However, such exchanges are usually much smaller in nature.

    There is no word on whether SpaceX will be required to take steps to protect the affected wildlife habitats or cultural artifacts in the acquired area. 

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    Mike D’Alonzo

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  • U.S. regulators approve Wegovy pill for weight loss

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    U.S. regulators on Monday gave the green light to a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity.

    What You Need To Know

    • U.S. regulators have approved a pill version of the weight-loss drug Wegovy

    • This gives Novo Nordisk an edge over Eli Lilly, whose similar drug is still under review

    • Both pills mimic a hormone that controls appetite

    • The Wegovy pill is expected to be available within weeks

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval handed drugmaker Novo Nordisk an edge over rival Eli Lilly in the race to market an obesity pill. Lilly’s oral drug, orforglipron, is still under review.

    Both pills are GLP-1 drugs that work like widely used injectables to mimic a natural hormone that controls appetite and feelings of fullness.

    In recent years, Novo Nordisk’s injectable Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound have revolutionized obesity treatment globally and in the U.S., where 100 million people have the chronic disease.

    The Wegovy pills are expected to be available within weeks, company officials said. Availability of oral pills to treat obesity could expand the booming market for obesity treatments by broadening access and reducing costs, experts said.

    About 1 in 8 Americans have used injectable GLP-1 drugs, according to a survey from KFF, a nonprofit health policy research group. But many more have trouble affording the costly shots.

    “There’s an entire demographic that can benefit from the pills,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, a Massachusetts General Hospital obesity expert. “For me, it’s not just about who gets it across the finish line first. It’s about having these options available to patients.”

    The Novo Nordisk obesity pill contains 25 milligrams of semaglutide. That’s the same ingredient in injectables Wegovy and Ozempic and in Rybelsus, a lower-dose pill approved to treat diabetes in 2019.

    In a clinical trial, participants who took oral Wegovy lost 13.6% of their total body weight on average over about 15 months, compared with a 2.2% loss if they took a placebo, or dummy pill. That’s nearly the same as injectable Wegovy, with an average weight loss of about 15%.

    Chris Mertens, 35, a pediatric lung doctor in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, joined the Novo Nordisk trial in 2022 and lost about 40 pounds using the Wegovy pill. The daily medication worked to decrease his appetite and invasive thoughts of food, he said.

    “If there were days where I missed a meal, I almost didn’t realize it,” Mertens said.

    Participants in a clinical trial who took the highest dose of Lilly’s orforglipron lost 11.2% of their total body weight on average over nearly 17 months, compared with a 2.1% loss in those who took a placebo.

    Both pills resulted in less weight loss than the average achieved with Lilly’s Zepbound, or tirzepatide, which targets two gut hormones, GLP-1 and GIP, and led to a 21% average weight loss.

    All the GLP-1 drugs, oral or injectable, have similar side effects, including nausea and diarrhea.

    Both daily pills promise convenience, but the Wegovy pill must be taken with a sip of water in the morning on an empty stomach, with a 30-minute break before eating or drinking.

    That’s because Novo Nordisk had to design the pill in a way that prevented the drug from being broken down in the stomach before it could be absorbed by the bloodstream. The drugmaker added an ingredient that protects the medication for about 30 minutes in the gut and makes it easier to take effect.

    By contrast, Lilly’s orforglipron has no dosing restrictions. That drug is being considered under the FDA’s new priority voucher program aimed at cutting drug approval times. A decision is expected by spring.

    Producing pills is generally cheaper than making drugs delivered via injections, so the cost for the new oral medications could be lower. The Trump administration earlier this year said officials had worked with drugmakers to negotiate lower prices for the GLP-1 drugs, which can cost upwards of $1,000 a month.

    The company said the starting dose would be available for $149 per month from some providers. Additional information on cost will be available in January.

    It’s not clear whether daily pills or weekly injections will be preferred by patients. Although some patients dislike needles, others don’t seem to mind the weekly injections, obesity experts said. Mertens turned to injectable Zepbound when he regained weight after the end of the Wegovy pill clinical trial.

    He said he liked the discipline of the daily pill.

    “It was a little bit of an intentional routine and a reminder of today I’m taking this so that I know my choices are going to be affected for the day,” he said.

    Dr. Angela Fitch, an obesity expert and chief medical officer of knownwell, a health care company, said whatever the format, the biggest benefit will be in making weight-loss medications more widely accessible and affordable.

    “It’s all about the price,” she said. “Just give me a drug at $100 a month that is relatively effective.”

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    Associated Press

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  • U.S. economy expands at surprisingly strong 4.3% annual rate in third quarter

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    WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy expanded at a surprisingly strong 4.3% annual rate in the third quarter, the most rapid expansion in two years, as consumer and government spending, as well as exports, all grew.

    What You Need To Know

    • The U.S. economy economy expanded at a strong 4.3% annual rate from July through September as consumer spending, exports and government spending all grew

    • Tuesday’s report from the Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — up from its 3.8% growth rate in the April-June quarter

    • Analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet forecast growth of 3% in the period

    • However, inflation remains higher than the Federal Reserve would like

    • The Fed’s favored inflation gauge — called the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE — climbed to a 2.8% annual pace last quarter, up from 2.1% in the second quarter

    U.S. gross domestic product from July through September — the economy’s total output of goods and services — rose from its 3.8% growth rate in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department said Tuesday in a report delayed by the government shutdown. Analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet forecast growth of 3% in the period.

    However, inflation remains higher than the Federal Reserve would like. The Fed’s favored inflation gauge — called the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE — climbed to a 2.8% annual pace last quarter, up from 2.1% in the second quarter.

    Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core PCE inflation was 2.9%, up from 2.6% in the April-June quarter.

    Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity, rose to a 3.5% annual pace last quarter, up from 2.5% in the April-June period.

    Consumption and investment by the government grew by 2.2% in the quarter after contracting 0.1% in the second quarter. The third quarter figure was boosted by increased expenditures at the state and local levels and federal government defense spending.

    Private business investment fell 0.3%, led by declines in investment in housing and in nonresidential buildings such as offices and warehouses. However, that decline was much less than the 13.8% dropoff in the second quarter.

    Within the GDP data, a category that measures the economy’s underlying strength grew at a 3% annual rate from July through September, up slightly from 2.9% in the second quarter. This category includes consumer spending and private investment, but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.

    Exports grew at an 8.8% rate, while imports, which subtract from GDP, fell another 4.7%.

    Tuesday’s report is the first of three estimates the government will make of GDP growth for the third quarter of the year.

    Outside of the first quarter, when the economy shrank for the first time in three years as companies rushed to import goods ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariff rollout, the U.S. economy has continued to expand at a healthy rate. That’s despite much higher borrowing rates the Fed imposed in 2022 and 2023 in its drive to curb the inflation that surged as the United States bounced back with unexpected strength from the brief but devastating COVID-19 recession of 2020.

    Though inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target, the central bank cut its benchmark lending rate three times in a row to close out 2025, mostly out of concern for a job market that has steadily lost momentum since spring.

    Last week, the government reported that the U.S. economy gained a decent 64,000 jobs in November but lost 105,000 in October. Notably, the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% last month, the highest since 2021.

    The country’s labor market has been stuck in a “low hire, low fire” state, economists say, as businesses stand pat due to uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs and the lingering effects of elevated interest rates. Since March, job creation has fallen to an average 35,000 a month, compared to 71,000 in the year ended in March. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said that he suspects those numbers will be revised even lower.

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    Associated Press

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  • Trump announces plans for new Navy ‘battleship’ as part of ‘Golden Fleet’

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    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has announced a bold plan for the Navy to build a new, large warship that he is calling a “battleship” as part of a larger vision to create a “Golden Fleet.”

    “They’ll be the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built,” Trump claimed during the announcement at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

    What You Need To Know

    • President Donald Trump has announced a bold plan for the Navy to build a new, large warship that he is calling a “battleship” as part of a larger vision to create a “Golden Fleet”

    • Trump claims it will be “the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built”

    • Trump made the announcement Monday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida

    • Just a month ago, the Navy scrapped its plans to build a new, small warship, citing growing delays and cost overruns


    According to Trump, the ship, the first of which will be named the USS Defiant, will be longer and larger than the World War II-era Iowa-class battleships and will be armed with hypersonic missiles, nuclear cruise missiles, rail guns, and high-powered lasers — all technologies that are in various stages of development by the Navy.

    The announcement comes just a month after the Navy scrapped its plans to build a new, small warship, citing growing delays and cost overruns, deciding instead to go with a modified version of a Coast Guard cutter that was being produced until recently. The sea service has also failed to build its other newly designed ships, like the new Ford-class aircraft carrier and Columbia-class submarines, on time and on budget.

    Meanwhile, the Navy has struggled to field some of the technologies Trump says will be aboard the new ship.

    The Navy spent hundreds of millions of dollars and more than 15 years trying to field a railgun aboard a ship before finally abandoning the effort in 2021.

    Laser technology has seen more success in making its way onto Navy ships in recent years, but its employment is still limited. One system that is designed to blind or disable drone sensors is now aboard eight destroyers after spending eight years in development.

    Developing nuclear cruise missile capabilities or deploying them on ships may also violate non-proliferation treaties that the U.S. has signed with Russia.

    A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing plans, told The Associated Press that design efforts are now underway for the new ship and construction is planned to begin in the early 2030s.

    Both Trump and Navy Secretary John Phelan spoke about the new Trump-class warship as a spiritual successor to the battleships of the 20th century, but historically that term has referred to a very specific type of ship — a large, heavily armored vessel armed with massive guns designed to bombard other ships or targets ashore.

    This type of ship was at the height of prominence during World War II, and the largest of the U.S. battleships, the Iowa-class, were roughly 60,000 tons. But after World War II, the battleship’s role in modern fleets diminished rapidly in favor of aircraft carriers and long-range missiles. The U.S. Navy did modernize four Iowa-class battleships in the 1980s by adding cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles, along with modern radars, but by the 1990s all four were decommissioned.

    According to a newly created website for the “Golden Fleet,” this new “guided missile battleship” is set to be roughly the same size as Iowa-class battleships but only weigh about half as much, around 35,000 tons, and have far smaller crews — between 650 and 850 sailors.

    Its primary weapons will also be missiles, not large naval guns.

    Trump has long held strong opinions on specific aspects of the Navy’s fleet, sometimes with a view toward keeping older technology instead of modernizing.

    During his first term, he unsuccessfully called for the return to steam-powered catapults to launch jets from the Navy’s newest aircraft carriers instead of the more modern electromagnetic system.

    He has also complained to Phelan about the look of the Navy’s destroyers and decried Navy ships being covered in rust.

    Phelan told senators at his confirmation hearing that Trump “has texted me numerous times very late at night, sometimes after one (o’clock) in the morning” about “rusty ships or ships in a yard, asking me what am I doing about it.”

    On a visit to a shipyard that was working on the now-canceled Constellation-class frigate in 2020, Trump said he personally changed the design of the ship.

    “I looked at it, I said, ‘That’s a terrible-looking ship, let’s make it beautiful,’” Trump said at the time.

    He said Monday he will have a direct role in designing this new warship as well.

    “The U.S. Navy will lead the design of these ships along with me, because I’m a very aesthetic person,” Trump said.

    Phelan said the new USS Defiant “will inspire awe and reverence for the American flag whenever it pulls into a foreign port.”

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    Associated Press

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