Asian shares have begun the new year with an upbeat start, led by a 2% gain for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index.

Venezuela is open to reaching an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking, according to President Nicolás Maduro.

President Donald Trump defended his energy and health in an interview with The Wall Street Journal and disclosed that he had a CT scan, not an MRI scan, during an October examination about which he and the White House delayed offering details.

We are looking ahead to 2026 at what local analysts and realtors say is coming next for home prices and what it could mean for your bottom line in the year ahead.

The Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny has redefined what it means to be a global giant.

President Donald Trump signed a New Year’s Eve proclamation delaying increased tariffs on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for a year, citing ongoing trade talks.

The Trump administration faces a legal complaint from government employees over a new policy eliminating coverage for gender-affirming care in federal health insurance programs.

Enhanced tax credits that have helped Americans offset the cost of Affordable Care Act health insurance for the last four years expired overnight.

Russian officials say that a Ukrainian attack killed 24 people in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine’s Kherson region, as tensions between the two nations continue to spike despite diplomats hailing productive peace talks.

Demonstrations sparked by Iran's struggling economy have spread into rural provinces, with at least seven people killed.

Zohran Mamdani is reveling in what he calls a “new era” for New York City.

Chief Justice John Roberts says that the Constitution remains a sturdy pillar for the country, a message that comes after a tumultuous year in the nation’s judicial system with pivotal Supreme Court decisions on the horizon.

The Trump administration has ordered another coal-fired power facility to remain open.

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on four firms in Venezuela's oil sector and designated four additional oil tankers as blocked property.

The U.S. military says it struck three more boats that were allegedly smuggling drugs.

The Trump administration has ended the lease agreement for three public golf courses in Washington.

Former special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers that the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol “does not happen” without President Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump says he’s dropping — for now — his push to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.

Farmers are now learning how much aid they can expect to receive from a $12 billion package that President Donald Trump announced earlier this month.

A federal appeals court says the Trump administration can continue to withhold Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood while legal challenges continue.

The Department of Justice has expanded its review of documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to 5.2 million as it also expands the number of attorneys trying to comply with a law mandating their release.

Cody Campbell is a billionaire supporter of Texas Tech, his alma mater.

President Donald Trump has issued the first vetoes of his second term, rejecting two bipartisan natural resources bills.

President Donald Trump made a lot of tariff threats and trade promises this year.

The longest-serving White House chief usher says presidents before Donald Trump were interested in having a larger space for entertaining too.

China’s People’s Liberation Army says it has “successfully completed” two days of military exercises in the waters off Taiwan.

Russian drones have blasted apartment buildings and the power grid in Ukraine's city of Odesa, injuring six people including three children.

By most measures, 2025 was a rough year for those who care about freedom of the press.

Thailand has repatriated 18 Cambodian prisoners of war.

Zohran Mamdani will become mayor of New York City as the clock ticks over into 2026 — but the celebrations are set to last through New Year’s Day.

The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels.

Wall Street fell on the final day of trading for 2025, a banner year for markets that was driven by both optimism and uncertainty.

Mali and Burkina Faso have banned U.S. citizens from entering their countries.

The Trump administration has announced that it is freezing child care funds to Minnesota after a series of fraud schemes in recent years.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the deportation of South Sudanese immigrants in the U.S. The decision Tuesday comes as the Massachusetts court reviews whether President Trump's attempt to end their temporary protected status was illegal.

Nearly a year after a New Year's Day truck attack on Bourbon Street left 14 dead, New Orleans officials are still seeking permanent security solutions.

The U.S. military says nearly 25 operatives of the Islamic State group were killed or captured in Syria this month.

The United States and Ivory Coast have signed a health deal that would require the U.S. to commit $480 million to the West African nation’s health sector.

Immigration officials do not plan to detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia again as long as a judge’s order banning it stands That's according to a Tuesday court filing from the U.S. government.

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on 10 individuals and firms from Iran and Venezuela.

A federal judge has ruled that the White House cannot stop funding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The surge of federal officers this week in Minnesota follows new allegations of fraud by day care centers run by Somali residents.

The Kennedy Center is ending the year with a new round of artists saying they are canceling scheduled performances after President Donald Trump’s name was added to the facility.

The big story of the upcoming midterm elections will be the fight over which party will control the U.S. House of Representatives during the last half of President Donald Trump's second term in office.

President Donald Trump’s second term has brought major changes to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Faith leaders across the United States face challenges as they support anxious immigrants.

The new year will begin with some first-of-their-kind laws in several states.

Leaders from Europe and Canada have held talks on U.S.-led peace efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system has entered active service, Russia’s Ministry of Defense says, as negotiators continue to search for a breakthrough in peace talks to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

China’s top diplomat has slammed a record U.S. military sale to Taiwan.

China's People's Liberation Army is conducting large-scale military drills around Taiwan as part of "Justice Mission 2025."

Democrat Renee Hardman has been elected to the Iowa state Senate in a holiday-week special election, denying Republicans’ bid to reclaim two-thirds control of the chamber.

A National Guard deployment in New Orleans authorized by President Donald Trump will begin Tuesday as part of a heavy security presence for New Year’s celebrations.

The U.S. military says it has conducted another strike against a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people.

Climate change worsened by human behavior made 2025 one of the hottest years ever recorded.

The Trump administration has announced the initial disbursement from its $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program.

A group of Peruvian shamans gathered in front of the sea in the Miraflores district of Peru’s capital city to carry out an annual ritual in which they make predictions for the upcoming year.

President Donald Trump has indicated that the U.S. has “hit” a dock facility along a shore as he wages a pressure campaign on Venezuela.

Voters in a Democratic-leaning West Des Moines-area district will pick a new state senator Tuesday in a special election that could allow Iowa Republicans to regain a supermajority in the chamber.

Iran's Central Bank head has resigned as the biggest protests since 2022 hit several cities over the currency plunge.

The United States is offering Ukraine security guarantees for 15 years as part of a proposed peace plan.

Foreign ministers from Cambodia and Thailand have convened with their Chinese counterpart to discuss the border dispute between the two Southeast Asian countries.

The United States has announced a $2 billion pledge for U.N. humanitarian aid as President Donald Trump continues to slash U.S. foreign assistance funding.

South Korea is chasing a coal-free future in efforts to slash carbon emissions, an ambitious goal for the fossil fuel-dependent country.

President Donald Trump is warning Iran against reconstituting its nuclear program.

Zohran Mamdani has promised to transform New York City government when he becomes mayor.

Stocks slipped on Wall Street, while crude oil prices rose and gold and silver prices pulled back after recent sharp gains.

The man accused of placing two pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol told investigators after his arrest that he believed someone needed to “speak up” for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen.

Winter rain has lashed the Gaza Strip and flooded camps with ankle-deep puddles as Palestinians displaced by war try to stay dry in fraying tents.

Top diplomats from Thailand and Cambodia have begun talks in China to address their border dispute.

Preliminary results of a snap parliamentary election in Kosovo shows that the party of Prime Minister Albin Kurti has won by a clear margin.

President Donald Trump says Ukraine and Russia are “closer than ever before” to a peace deal, but he acknowledges that negotiations could still break down and leave the war dragging on for years.

A Brazilian judge has issued house arrest orders for 10 people involved in a plot to keep former President Jair Bolsonaro in power after his 2022 election loss.

A mysterious group called Georgians for Integrity has spent around $5 million on television ads, mailers and texts attacking Lt. Gov. Burt Jones since November.

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.

The president of the Kennedy Center is criticizing musician Chuck Redd for canceling a Christmas Eve performance.

Venezuelan migrants transferred to a prison in El Salvador by the U.S. government are demanding justice.

California has dropped a lawsuit officials filed against the Trump administration over the federal government's withdrawing of $4 billion for the state's long-delayed high-speed rail project.

The shopping rush leading up to Christmas is over and in its place, like every year, another has begun as millions of people hunt for post-holiday deals and get in line to return gifts that didn’t fit, or didn’t hit quite right.

The developers of a Virginia offshore wind project are asking a federal judge to block a Trump administration order that halted construction of their project, along with four others, over national security concerns.

A U.S. airstrike that targeted an alleged camp of the Islamic State group in Nigeria has caused panic in the village of Jabo, close to where the strike hit.

Cambodia says that Thailand hit a site in the country's northwest with an airstrike on Saturday even as the two sides pursue talks to end clashes.

After the crystal ball drops on New Year’s Eve in New York City, it will rise again, sparkling in red, white and blue.

Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has overturned decades of U.S. trade policy — building a wall of tariffs around what used to be a wide open economy.

It’s been a rollercoaster of a year for U.S. trade policy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he will meet on Sunday with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he will meet on Sunday with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida.

The United States airstrikes targeting militants affiliated with the Islamic State group in northwestern Nigeria are a major escalation of an offensive that Nigeria’s overstretched military has struggled with for years.

Graphite mines in the United States are seeing renewed interest after being largely closed for decades.

President Donald Trump says the U.S. launched a deadly strike against Islamic State forces in Nigeria, after spending weeks accusing the West African country's government of failing to rein in the persecution of Christians.

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel takes aim at U.S. President Donald Trump in a message to U.K. viewers.

Mariela Gómez and thousands of Venezuelan immigrants have faced a challenging Christmas after Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.

Asian shares are mixed in thin holiday trading, with most markets in the region and elsewhere closed for Christmas.

Saudi Arabia has called on separatists in southern Yemen to withdraw from two governorates they now hold.

President Donald Trump marked Christmas Eve by chatting with children about their holiday wishes.

A planned Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center has been canceled.

Trump-backed candidate Nasry Asfura has won Honduras’ presidential election, according to electoral authorities.

The American Academy of Pediatrics sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday, seeking to block nearly $12 million in cuts to the group.

The Justice Department said Wednesday that finishing the release of all of the Jeffrey Epstein files could take a “few more weeks,” further delaying compliance with a Dec. 19 deadline set by Congress.

A federal judge is halting the enforcement of a March presidential memorandum that revoked the security clearance of a prominent Washington attorney.