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The star-studded tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center in New York City serves as an unofficial start to the Christmas season once more. "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson, whose talk show is recorded at 30 Rock, will headline the ceremony and its TV special, Christmas at Rockefeller Center, once again. More than 20 years have passed since Clarkson's first performance at the ceremony, and last year she celebrated the milestone by hosting. She mentioned her hosting duties from the previous year when she said on her show last month, "I was suddenly in a Charlie Brown movie, and it was magical." After filming at Universal Studios in Universal City, California, "The Kelly Clarkson Show" relocated to New York City last year. Clarkson expressed her excitement at hosting the tree light...

WashingtonPresident-elect Donald Trump's troubled choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, dismissed rumors on Wednesday that he would resign and claimed to have spoken with Trump, who encouraged him to keep fighting. This morning, I had a conversation with the president-elect. "Keep going, keep fighting," he added. You have my full support. In the Capitol on Wednesday, Hegseth told CBS News. Why would I give in? I've been a fighter all my life. For the fighters, I am here. For me, this is intense and intimate. As he moved between meetings with the Republican senators whose votes he will need to confirm, Hegseth, a former Fox News anchor and veteran of the military, made his comments. Stay tuned for real-time updates. However, on Tuesday and Wednesday, a string of news headlines that...

According to health officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, dozens of people have died from an enigmatic illness that resembles the flu. As of Tuesday, the nation's Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene, and Social Security reported that the unnamed disease has killed 79 individuals and sickened 376. The ministry said in a statement on X that the sickness was discovered in the southwestern Congo's Kwango province and that its origin was yet unclear. Fever, headache, congestion of the nose, cough, dyspnea, and anemia are among the symptoms that have been reported. According to local officials, the death toll could reach 143, as reported by Reuters and the Associated Press. In addition to asking people to report any suspicious illnesses or unexpected deaths, the health ministry state...

The judge who oversaw Hunter Biden's tax fraud case in California criticized the president for downplaying and misrepresenting the accusations against his son in his remarks announcing his pardon. U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi said in a decision late Tuesday that "the Constitution gives the President broad authority to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, but nowhere does the Constitution give the President the authority to rewrite history." In light of President Joe Biden's Sunday night pardon, Hunter Biden's lawyer had asked the judge to drop the indictment against his client. However, instead of providing a formal copy of the pardon, the lawyer first sent a link to the president's statement claiming that his son had been "selectively, and unfairly, pr...

Police said Wednesday morning's shooting outside the New York Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan appeared to have been a "premeditated, preplanned targeted attack" that killed UnitedHealthcare's CEO. The gunman came up behind Brian Thompson, 50, who was en route to speak at UnitedHealth Group's investor conference, and "fired several rounds," Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated during a press conference. He was hit at least once in the right calf and at least once in the back, Tisch said, adding that the suspect had been "lying in wait for several minutes." "Many people passed the suspect but he appeared to wait for his intended target," she stated. According to Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, the suspect shot Thompson in the back after arriving at the site approximately five minutes...

WashingtonPresident-elect Donald Trump's troubled choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, dismissed rumors on Wednesday that he would resign and claimed to have spoken with Trump, who encouraged him to keep fighting. This morning, I had a conversation with the president-elect. "Keep going, keep fighting," he added. You have my full support. In the Capitol on Wednesday, Hegseth told CBS News. Why would I give in? I've been a fighter all my life. For the fighters, I am here. For me, this is intense and intimate. As he moved between meetings with the Republican senators whose votes he will need to confirm, Hegseth, a former Fox News anchor and veteran of the military, made his comments. Stay tuned for real-time updates. However, on Tuesday and Wednesday, a string of news headlines that...

Angola's LUANDA "The future runs through Angola, through Africa," said President Joe Biden from a hilltop overlooking the Bay of Corimba. During his speech Tuesday from Luanda, Angola's National Museum of Slavery, Biden made the remark. In the shadow of the historic church of the complex, where Africans were compelled to undergo Christian baptism before to being sent on ships to participate in the transatlantic slave trade, he stood. It is thought that the first Africans brought into slavery in 1619 from what is now Angola arrived in the 13 British possessions. Speaking to a group of young leaders and diplomats from Angola as well as American descendants of enslaved Africans, Biden called the slave trade the United States' original sin and explained that in order to truly appreciate how ...

Washington In a landmark case on transgender rights, the conservative-majority Supreme Court tilted toward preserving a Tennessee law that limits gender change procedures for children on Wednesday. Conservative judges' belief that the statute constituted a form of sex discrimination, which would require courts to closely examine it, did not seem to be supported by a protracted oral argument. All three of the court's liberal judges seemed to believe that the law classified people according to their sex. Transgender youth and their families, together with the Biden administration, have challenged the recently passed law before the court, which has a conservative majority of 6-3. The 2023 state law prohibits hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and gender reassignment surgery for minors. A lo...

On Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump declared his intention to appoint wealthy businessman Jared Isaacman to head NASA. In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that Jared will lead NASA's mission of inspiration and discovery, opening the door for ground-breaking advancements in space science, technology, and exploration. Isaacman founded Shift4, a payment processing startup, and serves as its CEO. He has not held a position at NASA or the federal government, but he has made two trips to orbit on commercial SpaceX missions. For an undisclosed amount, Isaacman personally paid for both of those space missions. Elon Musk, the multibillionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is close to Isaacman. Musk, who is close to the president-elect, was selected by Trump to co-lead a new Department of Gove...

Because it's Spotify Wrappedseason, social media users may once more examine and discuss their listening preferences with their pals. When the platform's customized end-of-year user streaming data became live on Wednesday, social media users shared their top 2024 listens in droves. Spotify introduced a tool this year called "music evolution" that lets users analyze how their tastes have changed over time. It will provide users with individualized, specialized music profiles to characterize their taste during certain stages, much like Spotify Sdaylist. Additionally, users may observe which musicians have the longest listening streaks. This year, many people shared images of their "pink pilates princess" period, which many linked to LGBTQ+-friendly music. A personal AI-generated podcast tha...