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Photos of Christmas celebrations around the world

Wed, 12/24/2025 - 15:10

The Associated Press

From Bethlehem to Beijing, people around the world are celebrating the Christmas season. A polar bear mascot boards an elevator during holiday revelry. Swimmers plunge into frigid waters off Northern Ireland for a charity event. Singers fill a stadium in Indonesia.

Associated Press photographers have captured diverse, mesmerizing images such as these as they chronicle a holiday period abounding in joy, reverence and dazzling lights.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

People drive up to the top of the Feldberg mountain near Frankfurt, Germany, to join the traditional Christmas Eve meeting of tractor and motorbike drivers early Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) People take to the sea at Helen’s Bay, Northern Ireland, for the annual Christmas Eve swim in the cold waters in Belfast Lough to raise money for Dementia NI & Air Ambulance NI, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

People gather at Roemerberg square to attend the city’s bell ringing on Christmas Eve in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) People wearing traditional Ukrainian clothes sign carols on the Christmas Eve at a subway station in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk) Christians attend prayer on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, at St. Mary Cathedral in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Catholic clergy walk in procession next to the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land, is received by local community while crossing an Israeli military checkpoint from Jerusalem ahead of celebrations at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) People hold electric candles as they sing during a Christmas Eve service at Indonesia Arena stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Ukrainian servicemen attend a parade on Orthodox Christmas eve in downtown Lviv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mykola Tys) Wearing Santa Claus costumes, children watch the 40th annual Christmas parade heading towards the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Israel, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) A man walks past an illuminated church on the eve of Christmas in Ahmedabad, India, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

Children celebrate Christmas Eve in the southern Lebanese border village of Alma al-Shaab, near the Israeli border, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) A piece of meat is thrown to the buyer in the crowd during the annual Christmas Eve meat auction at Smithfield Market in London, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Related Articles

Miss Manners: Mom asked if we liked the fancy mattress, so I said ‘no’

Wed, 12/24/2025 - 02:42

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Help! My husband and I stayed at my parents’ house and slept in their guest bedroom. Friends of theirs had gifted them with a terrible, but very expensive, mattress. It slopes severely toward the edges so that you feel like you’re falling all night long, making sleep impossible.

My mom happened to ask if we liked the mattress, so I said “no,” and explained why. She proceeded to look up reviews for the mattress on her phone to see whether I was right about whether or not we liked the mattress (I guess).

What do we do next time we visit? We seriously won’t be able to sleep on that mattress, but saying that we’ll stay in a hotel would probably start World War III.

GENTLE READER: When you are a parent (if you are not already), remember that exchange when you ask your children for feedback (as you will) and then argue when they give it (as you also will).

Miss Manners notes this merely to grease the wheel of life. The answer to your immediate problem is to remind your mother that she asked, and hope that her own sense of fair play will win out. And to sleep on the sofa.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I live in an area that is known for terrible coffee, so my friends and neighbors often come to my house for an espresso drink. They know I take the process seriously to make a quality drink, using an espresso machine/grinder and milk frother.

Although I will ensure the machine is filled, cups are warmed and a filter is ready for making a fresh cup upon arrival, the process is very loud and I can’t hear my guest while I am making their requested drink.

What would be the correct way to let them know that I can’t hear them while I complete the five-minute task of making a drink? And should I let them stand there, or seat them?

GENTLE READER: As we are being careful with the coffee, Miss Manners recommends also being precise about the problem. You do not need to tell your neighbors that you cannot hear them over the coffee grinder; that will be obvious as soon as you press the button.

The problem is that you cannot politely press that button while they are halfway through asking you a question. Wait until a pause, therefore, point to the grinder, say, “Excuse me,” and grind away. If necessary, you can repeat this process for each noise-making step.

Even the most situationally unaware neighbor should be able to remain politely quiet in the hope of getting caffeinated.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have long been troubled by the carol “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” specifically the intimation that if we don’t give the uninvited guests their figgy pudding, they “won’t go.”

How are we to address this request? I don’t want to be ungrateful for their wishes, but think that their insistence is a bit beyond what is considered polite and reasonable. Can you advise how to proceed?

GENTLE READER: What was that? Miss Manners couldn’t quite hear you over the ruckus made by the geese a-laying, the calling birds, the French hens and the turtledoves. The partridge, fortunately, appears to have passed out under the pear tree.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, gentlereader@missmanners.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

US and Ukraine reach consensus on key issues aimed at ending the war but territorial disputes remain

Wed, 12/24/2025 - 02:13

By SAMYA KULLAB

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The United States and Ukraine have reached a consensus on several critical issues aimed at bringing an end to the nearly four-year conflict, but sensitive issues around territorial control in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, along with the management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, remain unresolved, Ukraine’s president said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke as the U.S. showed the 20-point plan, hammered out after marathon talks in Florida in recent days, to Russian negotiators. A response is expected from Moscow on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president briefed journalists on each point of the plan on Tuesday. His comments were embargoed until Wednesday morning. The draft proposal, which reflects Ukraine’s wishes, intertwines political and commercial interests to safeguard security while boosting economic potential.

At the heart of the negotiations lies the contentious territorial dispute concerning the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, known as the Donbas. This is “the most difficult point,” Zelenskyy said. He said these matters will be discussed at the leaders level.

Russia continues to assert maximalist demands, insisting that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory in Donbas that it has not captured — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk.

In a bid to facilitate compromise, the United States has proposed transforming these areas into free economic zones. Ukraine insists that any arrangement must be contingent upon a referendum, allowing the Ukrainian people to determine their own fate. Ukraine is demanding the demilitarization of the area and the presence of an international force to ensure stability, Zelenskyy said.

How the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest plant in Europe which is under Russian occupation, will be managed is another contentious issue. The U.S. is proposing a consortium with Ukraine and Russia, with each party having an equal stake in the enterprise.

But Zelenskyy countered with a joint venture proposal between the U.S. and Ukraine, in which the Americans are able to decide how to distribute their share, presuming it would go to Russia.

“We did not reach a consensus with the American side on the territory of the Donetsk region and on the ZNPP,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the power plant in Zaporizhzhia. “But we have significantly brought most of the positions closer together. In principle, all other consensus in this agreement has been found between us and them.”

A free economic zone compromise

Point 14, which covers territories that cut across the eastern front line, and Point 12, which discusses management of the Zaporizhzhia plant, will likely be major sticking points in the talks.

Zelenskyy said: “We are in a situation where the Russians want us to leave the Donetsk region, and the Americans are trying to find a way so that it is ‘not a way out’ — because we are against leaving — they want to find a demilitarized zone or a free economic zone in this, that is, a format that can provide for the views of both sides.”

The draft states that the contact line, which cuts across five Ukrainian regions, be frozen once the agreement is signed.

Ukraine’s stance is that any attempt to create a free economic zone must be ratified by a referendum, affirming that the Ukrainian people ultimately hold the decision-making power, Zelenskyy said. This process will require 60 days, he added, during which time hostilities should stop to allow the process to happen.

More difficult discussions would require hammering out how far troops would be required to move back, per Ukraine’s proposal, and where international forces would be s tationed. Zelenskyy said ultimately “people can choose: this ending suits us or not,” he said.

The draft also proposes that Russian forces withdraw from Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv regions, and that international forces be located along the contact line to monitor the implementation of the agreement.

“Since there is no faith in the Russians, and they have repeatedly broken their promises, today’s contact line is turning into a line of a de facto free economic zone, and international forces should be there to guarantee that no one will enter there under any guise — neither ‘little green men’ nor Russian military disguised as civilians,” Zelenskyy said.

Managing Zaporizhzhia power plant

Ukraine is also proposing that the occupied city of Enerhodar, which is connected to the Zaporizhzhia power plant, be a demilitarized free economic zone, Zelenskyy said. This point required 15 hours of discussions with the U.S., he said.

For now, the U.S. proposes that the plant be jointly operated by Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia, with each side receiving dividends from the enterprise.

“The USA is offering 33 percent for 33 percent for 33 percent, and the Americans are the main manager of this joint venture,” he said. “It is clear that for Ukraine this sounds very unsuccessful and not entirely realistic. How can you have joint commerce with the Russians after everything?”

Ukraine offered an alternative proposal, that the plant be operated by a joint venture with the U.S. in which the Americans can determine independently how to distribute their 50 percent share.

Zelenskyy said billions in investments are needed to make the plant run again, including restoring the adjacent dam.

“There were about 15 hours of conversations about the plant. These are all very complex things.”

A separate annex for security guarantees

The document ensures that Ukraine will be provided with “strong” security guarantees that mirror NATO’s Article 5, which would obligate Ukraine’s partners to act in the event of renewed Russian aggression.

Zelenskyy said that a separate bilateral document with the U.S. will outline these guarantees. This agreement will detail the conditions under which security will be provided, particularly in the event of a renewed Russian assault, and will establish a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire.

This mechanism will utilize satellite technology and early warning systems to ensure effective oversight and rapid response capabilities.

“The mood of the United States of America is that this is an unprecedented step towards Ukraine on their part. They believe that they are giving strong security guarantees,” he said.

The draft contains other elements including keeping Ukraine’s army at 800,000 during peace time, and by nailing down a specific date for ascension to the European Union.

Elections and boosting the economy

The document proposes accelerating a free trade agreement between Ukraine and the U.S. once the agreement is signed. The U.S. wants the same deal with Russia, said Zelenskyy.

Ukraine would like to receive short-term privileged access to the European market and a robust global development package, that will cover a wide-range of economic interests, including a development fund to invest in industries including technology, data centers and artificial intelligence, as well as gas.

Also included are funds for the reconstruction of territories destroyed in the war.

“Ukraine will have the opportunity to determine the priorities for distributing its share of funds in the territories under the control of Ukraine. And this is a very important point, on which we spent a lot of time,” Zelenskyy said.

The goal will be to attract $800 billion through equity, grants, loans and private sector contributions.

The draft proposal also requires Ukraine to hold elections after the signing of the agreement. “This is the partners’ vision,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine is also asking that all prisoners since 2014 be released at once, and that civilian detainees, political prisoners and children be returned to Ukraine.

Today in History: December 24, Alan Turing granted posthumous pardon

Wed, 12/24/2025 - 02:00

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 24, the 358th day of 2025. There are seven days left in the year. This is Christmas Eve.

Today in history:

On Dec. 24, 2013, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II granted a posthumous pardon to code-breaker Alan Turing, who was criminally convicted of homosexual behavior in the 1950s.

Also on this date:

In 1814, the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent, which would end the War of 1812 following ratification by both the British Parliament and the U.S. Senate.

In 1851, fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroying about 35,000 volumes (about two-thirds of the library’s collection).

In 1865, several veterans of the Confederate Army formed a private social club in Pulaski, Tennessee, that was the original version of the Ku Klux Klan.

In 1913, 73 people, most of them children, died in a crush of panic after a false cry of “Fire!” during a Christmas party for striking miners and their families at the Italian Hall in Calumet, Michigan.

In 1914, during World War I, impromptu Christmas truces began to take hold along parts of the Western Front, principally between British and German soldiers but also involving French troops.

In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe.

In 1992, President George H.W. Bush pardoned former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others in the Iran-Contra scandal.

In 2018, a series of explosions ripped through fireworks workshops in Tultepec, a town just north of Mexico City, leaving at least 24 people dead and dozens injured.

In 2024, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe survived its record-breaking closest approach to the sun, hurtling 3.8 million miles above its fiery surface. Since its 2018 launch, the probe has completed numerous other close fly-bys to observe solar wind and other events.

Today’s Birthdays:

Immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci is 85.
Filmmaker Lee Daniels is 66.
Basketball Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright is 64.
Singer Ricky Martin is 54.
Novelist and film producer Stephenie Meyer is 52.
TV host Ryan Seacrest is 51.
Rock singer Louis Tomlinson (One Direction) is 34.
NFL wide receiver Davante Adams is 33.

Powerball’s $1.7B jackpot could make Christmas Eve unforgettable for a lucky winner

Tue, 12/23/2025 - 22:13

By OLIVIA DIAZ

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.

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.

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.”

___

Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

It’s love, set and match: Tennis icon Venus Williams weds actor, model partner in Florida

Tue, 12/23/2025 - 20:04

By Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Tennis legend Venus Williams wed Danish model and actor Andrea Preti over the weekend in Florida, the new bride announced in a shared post.

An Instagram post from Vogue Magazine’s Weddings section announced the nuptials, with the message garnering more than 30,000 likes as of Tuesday afternoon.

“We all love each other so much,” Williams, 45, said in the Vogue post. “It was just the happiest, most beautiful, sweetest day.”

The post was scant on details other than the event took place over five days in and around the couple’s home in Palm Beach Gardens.

An email for comment to representatives for Williams and Preti, 37, was not immediately returned.

The couple met at 2024 Milan Fashion Week and began texting shortly after, according to Vogue.

The couple eventually became engaged on Jan. 31 in Tuscany, according to Vogue. That detail was confirmed in July during what was a historic month for Williams.

The Compton native defeated 23-year-old Peyton Sterns 6-3, 6-4 in the first-round action of the D.C. Open after a 16-month hiatus from singles matches.

In victory, Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match, trailing only fellow legend Martina Navratilova, who was 47 when she won in 2004.

“Yes, my fiance is here, and he really encouraged me to keep playing,” Williams told the Tennis Channel’s Rennae Stubbs in a post-match interview. “There were so many times where I just wanted to coast and kind of chill. … He encouraged me to get through this, and it’s wonderful [for him] to be here. He’s never seen me play.”

Preti has written, acted and directed in a handful of films, primarily in Italy.

The wedding was the second for the couple, who also held a ceremony in Italy in September.

Kunin, Lundell score during Panthers’ five-goal third period in win over Hurricanes

Tue, 12/23/2025 - 20:01

By BOB SUTTON

RALEIGH, N.C. — Luke Kunin and Anton Lundell scored 43 seconds apart during a five-goal third period for the Florida Panthers, who rallied past the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 on Tuesday night.

Niko Mikkola began the Panthers’ burst with his first goal of the season and Florida ended up with four goals in slightly more six minutes. Anton Lundell also scored, and Seth Jones capped the scoring on the power play. Sam Reinhart had three assists, and Eetu Luostarinen and Aaron Ekblad each provided two.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves for his sixth consecutive victory as the Panthers, who made their first visit to Raleigh since their series-ending Game 5 victory in the Eastern Conference finals last spring, won for the fifth time in six games.

Eric Robinson and Andrei Svechnikov scored for the Hurricanes, who’ve lost three straight games for the first time this season. Frederik Andersen, playing for the first time after a nine-game layoff, made 17 saves but is winless in his last seven games (0-5-2).

It was Florida’s second comeback against the Hurricanes in less than a week. The Panthers wiped out a three-goal hole in the third period Thursday on the way to a shootout victory at home.

Robinson scored 4:15 into the game. Svechnikov’s goal came as he skated out of the penalty box and caught the Panthers off guard, scoring on a breakaway 1:58 into the second period. He slid the puck between Bobrovsky’s pads.

The Panthers had seven shots on goal through the first two periods and then nearly as many goals in the third on 15 shots.

Up next

Panthers: Begin a five-game homestand Saturday vs. Tampa Bay

Winderman’s view: Time for Heat to get into playbook as they remain at a loss

Tue, 12/23/2025 - 20:01

MIAMI ã— Observations and other notes of interest from Tuesday night’s 112-91 loss to the Toronto Raptors:

– Self-confidence is one thing.

– Self-will is another.

– This is not a team with a do-it-alone player.

– Jalen Brunson is not walking through that door.

– Neither is Zach LaVine.

– Or others who have toasted victory over the Heat in December.

– When it all was working in lockstep in October and November, the ball movement and off-the-dribble creativity were enough to overcome a degree of talent deficit.

– Apparently that came with an expiration date.

– Instead, it’s Andrew Wiggins and Simone Fontecchio going off the dribble.

– Norman Powell launching in the tightest of spaces.

– Bam Adebayo coming up short on short jumpers.

– Individually it’s not working.

– So perhaps a play call?

– Perhaps return strategy to the equation?

– Add it back in?

– Something needs to change.

– Because self-will isn’t it.

– The Heat now a .500 team.

– And fading.

– Yes, the defense hasn’t been gangbusters lately.

– But this is a scoring league.

– A pick-and-roll league.

– So maybe the Heat weren’t so right, the other teams so wrong.

– The Heat again opened with Wiggins, Powell, Adebayo, Kel’el Ware and Davion Mitchell.

– Adebayo is now two games from tying Alonzo Mourning on the Heat’s all-time regular-season games list.

– Jaime Jaquez Jr. again was first off the Heat bench, entering with the Heat down 16-3, and immediately scoring on his first possession.

– Kasparas Jakucionis, Dru Smith and Fontecchio were next off the Heat bench.

– Asked pregame about Ware’s recent breakout, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra spoke of it not being a surprise, but how it also has to be accompanied by winning.

– “I think he had been stacking some good days. And you do that long enough and eventually you start to get some results,” Spoelstra said. “His practice sessions were good, film sessions, shootarounds were good. I’m talking about like six weeks ago, when it wasn’t necessarily translating to consistency.”

– Spoelstra added, “And he’s still young. So it’s not always going to be linear. It’s going to be some non-linear jumps. I want there to be some surprises not only with Kel’el, but with other guys. He’s handling it appropriately.”

– Again, Spoelstra stressed that Ware respects it also has to be a team thing.

– “He’s being held accountable to winning things,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be like a negative thing. We’re trying. We all want the same thing. We want a better result. We want growth faster. I want him to be like he’s 28, and that’s not realistic. And a little bit of impatience is good, as long as he handles it appropriately.”

– Powell extended his streak of games scoring in double figures to 28, seven off the longest such run of his career.

Misery continues for Heat, falling for eighth time in nine games, this time 112-91 to Raptors

Tue, 12/23/2025 - 20:00

MIAMI — On the night before the night before Christmas, another lump of coal for the Miami Heat.

So make it eight losses in the past nine games and a .500 record at the holiday break with Tuesday night’s 112-91 loss to the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya Center, this time their lowest-scoring game of the season.

Looking nothing like the team that dominated on offense at the start of the season, Erik Spoelstra’s team instead this time fell to Sandro Mamukelashvili & Co.

“This is not what I would have predicted,” Spoelstra said. “I thought we were ready.”

Unlike the efforts in road losses to the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks over the weekend, when the Heat competed until the decisive stages, this had the look of a team beaten down by the recent losses, in desperate need of a break.

“I don’t even know right now,” Spoelstra said.

At 15-15, the Heat now get Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, before returning for a back-to-back set on Friday night in Atlanta and then Saturday night at home against the Indiana Pacers.

By then, it will become a matter of whether they can avoid having a losing record for the first time since they stood 1-3 after a Nov. 2 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Got to be better, man,” center Bam Adebayo said. “We just got to figure it out as a whole.”

The numbers were limited across the board for the Heat, save for a 21-point performance from Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Otherwise, 17 points from Norman Powell on 6-of-17 shooting, nine from Adebayo and this time only five points and nine rebounds from Kel’el Ware.

“It all starts individually,” Jaquez said. “We’ve all got to look at each other in the mirror.’

Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 27 points, on a night Mamukelashvili also outscored much of the Heat roster.

“The defense wasn’t there,” Powell said. “The defense wasn’t good.”

Five Degrees of Heat from Tuesday night’s game:

1. Game flow: The Raptors led 21-16 after the first quarter and 51-44 at halftime.

The Heat then went down 16 in the third quarter.

Then, as was the previous two games, in the road losses in Boston and New York, the Heat swooned at the end of the third period, this time down 82-67 going into the fourth.

The Raptors extended their lead to 21 early in the fourth quarter, effectively ending it.

“We’re a young team, but we’ve got to focus on the details of the game,” Powell said. “That’s going to help us get out of this losing streak.”

It ended with the Heat at .402 from the field and 8 of 30 on 3-pointers, with 18 turnovers.

“We can’t afford games like this,” Spoelstra said of the lack of fight. “We haven’t had many like this.”

2. Nothing early: The Heat’s lowest-scoring first half of the season was a study in struggle.

The Heat were 4 of 18 on 3-pointers over the first two periods, with 10 turnovers at halftime.

No Heat player had more than three field goals in the first half, with Andrew Wiggins the lone starter with even that many.

For that matter, even the start was telling, with Toronto moving to an initial 16-3 lead.

“We got to do a better job of just executing,” Powell said.

Both of the Heat’s two lowest-scoring games of the season have come at Kaseya Center against the Raptors, the Heat’s only two games below 100 points this season.

“It was a lifeless start and then we felt like we were digging back the rest of the game,” Spoelstra said.

3. Adebayo off: The offensive struggles continued for Adebayo, this time with just three points in the first half on 1-of-5 shooting.

Adebayo also was just 1 of 3 from the foul line in the first half, compensating somewhat with his game-high eight first-half rebounds.

“I’ve got to fight through whatever I’ve got to fight through,” Adebayo said.

Adebayo closed 4 of 11 from the field, albeit with a game-high 12 rebounds.

“I have to be better for him,” Spoelstra said. “But his heart is in the right place. He wants to help the team.”

4. Three down: The Heat continued in the injury absences of Tyler Herro (toe), Pelle Larsson (ankle) and Nikola Jovic (elbow).

“I am very encouraged by the progress,” Spoelstra said pregame. “They’re not ready to go tonight, but we don’t have a timeline.

“I came in yesterday and I was encouraged.”

And then the Heat took the court, showing how much the scoring of Herro, the energy of Larsson and perhaps even the creativity of Jovic are needed.

5. Comeback tour: On the one-year anniversary of his Achilles tear, Dru Smith sparked the Heat off the bench with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting in his initial eight-minute stint.

Smith ruptured his left Achilles in a Dec. 23, 2024 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. He was on the verge of being converted to a standard contract at the time of his injury.

He finally got that contact this past offseason, re-emerging as a rotation mainstay.

Smith closed with 10 points, two rebounds and two assists.

“Now got to make it to January for the first time,” said Smith, whose past two seasons have ended with a pre-January injury, including tearing his ACL in November 2023.

Mexican Navy medical flight lost communication for several minutes before Texas crash

Tue, 12/23/2025 - 17:31

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and MEGAN JANETSKY

Air traffic controllers lost communication for about 10 minutes with a small Mexican Navy plane carrying a young medical patient and seven others before it crashed off the Texas coast in thick fog, killing at least five people, Mexico’s president said Tuesday.

Authorities initially believed the plane had landed safely at its destination in Galveston, near Houston, before learning it had gone down Monday afternoon, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said. A search-and-rescue operation in waters near Galveston pulled two survivors from the plane’s wreckage, while one remained missing, Mexico’s Navy said.

In this image provided by Sky Decker Jr., authorities and volunteers respond to a Mexican Navy plane crash near Galveston, Texas, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (Sky Decker Jr. via AP)

U.S. authorities are investigating the cause, but the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that it could take a week or more to recover the aircraft.

“What happened is very tragic,” Sheinbaum said in her morning press briefing, noting that sailors were among the dead. The Mexican Navy officers had been working with a group that transports Mexican children with severe burns to a hospital in Galveston.

Plane was too low as it descended

As the twin turboprop Beech King Air 350i approached Sholes International Airport in Galveston, radar shows it was far too low, said Jeff Guzzetti, a former NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration crash investigator.

A navigation system for the runway where the plane was supposed to land had been out of service for about a week, Guzzetti said. The system sends signals to the airplane cockpit that helps pilots navigate in the kind of bad weather that had enveloped the area. The fog was so thick that meteorologists estimated only about a half-mile of visibility.

The pilot should have aborted the landing if the runway wasn’t visible at an altitude of 205 feet, climbing back up before trying again or looking for another airport entirely, Guzzetti said.

Guzzetti said the reported radar track shows that the pilot was descending rapidly below 200 feet, a full 2 miles away from the runway.

“Maybe there was some sort of mechanical malfunction,” he said. “But just looking at the recorded flight track and comparing it with the weather and the airport equipment outage, seems to me that this landing approach should never have occurred.”

Witness describes crash scene

The plane crashed in a bay near the base of the causeway connecting Galveston Island to the mainland. The popular beach destination is about 50 miles southeast of Houston.

A map showing where the Mexican Navy plane crashed Monday. (AP Digital Embed)

Sky Decker, a professional yacht captain who lives about a mile from the crash site, said he jumped in his boat to see if he could help. He picked up two police officers who guided him through the thick fog to the nearly submerged plane. Decker jumped into the water and found a badly injured woman trapped beneath chairs and other debris.

“She had maybe 3 inches of air gap to breathe in,” he said. “And there was jet fuel in there mixed with the water, fumes real bad. She was really fighting for her life.”

He said he also pulled out a man seated in front of her who had already died.

Investigators dig into the cause

Crews from the NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration rushed to the scene.

Galveston Police officers watch the water on Galveston Bay west of the Galveston causeway, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, near Galveston, Texas, as emergency personnel search for a small airplane that went down in the bay in heavy fog. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)

A spokesperson for the NTSB said in an email that investigators will review maintenance records, weather forecasts and air traffic control communications. A preliminary report is expected within 30 days.

Guzzetti said the investigation also will likely look into how serious the young patient’s medical condition was and how motivated the pilot was to land.

“There have been previous accidents in the air medical community where pilots try to push their luck in order to save the patient,” he said.

The aircraft had a “very, very proven design,” said aviation safety expert John Cox. He said it’s the latest version of a series that has been in use since the 1960s and would have been outfitted with all the modern electronics, avionics and equipment.

Plane was helping with medical mission

Mexico’s Navy said the plane was helping with a medical mission in coordination with the Michou and Mau Foundation.

The charity was founded after a mother died trying to save her kids from a fire. One child died, while another survived after receiving treatment at Shriners Children’s Texas in Galveston. Over 23 years, the foundation has helped transfer more than 2,000 patients to that hospital and other medical facilities with burn expertise, according to the charity’s website.

In a social media post, the foundation offered condolences to the families of the crash victims.

Shriners Children’s Texas said in a statement that it learned of the crash with “profound sadness” but wasn’t able to provide any information about the child’s condition because the child hadn’t yet been admitted.

Crash comes amid focus on aviation safety

This latest crash comes amid a year of intense scrutiny on aviation safety after a string of high-profile crashes and the flight disruptions during the government shutdown driven by the shortage of air traffic controllers.

The January midair collision between an Army helicopter and an airliner near Washington, D.C., was followed by the crash of a medical transport plane in Philadelphia. This fall’s fiery UPS plane crash only added to the concerns. Still, the total number of crashes in 2025 was actually down a bit from last year, and experts say flying remains safe overall.

Hallie Golden contributed to this report.

Miami Heat’s Terry Rozier asks judge to throw out betting charges

Tue, 12/23/2025 - 17:15

By MICHAEL R. SISAK

NEW YORK (AP) — Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier ’s lawyers are asking a judge to throw out sports gambling charges that have kept him off the court this season, arguing that the government overreached by turning a private dispute over bettors’ use of non-public information into a federal case.

In a motion to dismiss made public on Tuesday, Rozier’s lawyers argued that the government’s theory of the case — that he prevented sportsbooks from making informed decisions about accepting certain bets — runs afoul of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the federal wire fraud statute.

Rozier, 31, is accused of helped gamblers cash in by tipping off a friend that he would leave a March 2023 game early because of a supposed injury. The friend, Deniro “Niro” Laster, who is also charged, shared or sold the information to others, who placed more than $250,000 in prop bets, prosecutors said.

“The government has billed this case as involving ‘insider betting’ and ‘rigging’ professional basketball games,” Rozier’s lawyers, James M. Trusty and A. Jeff Ifrah, wrote in the motion. “But the indictment alleges something less headline-worthy: that some bettors broke certain sportsbooks’ terms of use against wagering based on non-public information and ‘straw betting.’”

Rozier was on the Charlotte Hornets at the time and the information about his early exit was not listed on the team’s injury report, nor was it shared with the public or the sportsbooks that accept wagers on NBA games and player performances, prosecutors said.

Rozier pleaded not guilty in federal court in Brooklyn on Dec. 8 to wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges. He was released on $3 million bond and is due back in court for a hearing before U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall on March 3.

His charges were part of a sweep of more than 30 other people in a takedown of two sprawling gambling operations: one that authorities said leaked inside information about NBA athletes and another involving rigged, Mafia-backed poker games.

The charges have raised questions about the integrity of NBA games in an era of legalized betting and myriad prop bets, prompting the league to tweak its injury reporting requirements.

A message seeking comment on Rozier’s motion to dismiss the case was left for federal prosecutors.

In the motion, Rozier’s lawyers wrote that under the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in United States v. Ciminelli, prosecutors can’t make a wire fraud case out of allegations that defendants conspired to deprive a person — or, in this case, sportsbooks — of the right to information needed to make discretionary economic decisions.

They also questioned whether federal prosecutors have the authority to bring such a case, since sportsbooks are regulated at the state level, not the federal level.

“This is not to say that sports betting platforms are without recourse when their terms of use are violated — they can void bets, pursue civil remedies, or seek state prosecutor involvement,” Trusty and Ifrah wrote in the motion, which was dated Dec. 12 but only posted to the case docket on Tuesday. “But Ciminelli puts to rest the notion that federal prosecutors are here to enforce contractual agreements between bettors and platforms.”

Rozier has earned about $160 million over a 10-year NBA career. He was a first-round pick for the Boston Celtics in 2015 after starring at the University of Louisville. Charlotte traded him to the Heat last year.

In the game in question, Rozier played the first nine minutes and 36 seconds against the New Orleans Pelicans before leaving, citing a foot issue. He did not play again that season.

Rozier’s lawyers noted that the indictment does not allege that he ever placed a bet on any NBA game, nor does it allege that he knew Laster intended to sell his tip to others or that using it to place wagers would violate the sportsbooks’ terms of service. And, they said, he really was injured.

“The government’s cynicism as to whether Mr. Rozier was injured is belied by a variety of witnesses and medical professionals who were aware of Rozier’s injury, in many cases before the Pelicans game,” Trusty and Ifrah wrote.

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