At age 47, Coles is making an impact in the same community in Jacksonville that he grew up in.

OK, 2025 wasnt the best year ever. But were arguably still in the best decade in the history of humanity.

This week, we close out the year with your best advice of 2025.

Welcome to a special holiday edition of the Abstract! Its been an incredible year for science, from breakthroughs in life-saving organ transplants to the discovery of 3I ATLAS, the third known interstellar object. But we cant cover everything, so to cap off 2025 Im pulling together a grab-bag of my favorite studies from the past year that fell through the cracks.First, a bitter feud that has divided dinosaur lovers for decades finally came to an end in 2025, proving at last that tyrannosaurs come in size small. Then: ye olde American cats, the search for the very first stars, and humanitys chillest invention.As always, for more of my work, check out my book First Contact: The Story of Our Obsession with Aliens or subscribe to my personal newsletter the BeX Files.The Vindication of NanotyrannusZanno, Lindsay E. et al. Nanotyrannus and Tyrannosaurus coexisted at the close of the Cretaceous. Nature.Griffin, Christopher T. et al. A diminutive tyrannosaur lived alongside Tyrannosaurus rex. Science.For decades, a tiny tyrannosaur has inspired big debates. The remains of this dinosaur were initially judged to be a juvenile tyrannosaur, until a team in the 1980s suggested they might belong to a whole new species of pint-sized predator called Nanotyrannussort of like a T. rex shrunk down to the size of a draft horse.This argument has raged ever since, causing bad blood between colleagues and inspiring a longstanding quest to reveal this dinosaur's true identity. Now, in the closing months of 2025, peace has at last been brokered in these bone wars, according to a pair of new studies that cement Nanotyrannus as a distinct lineage of predators that coexisted alongside heavyweight cousins like T. rex.Nanotyrannus has become a hot-button issue, and the debate has often been acrimonious, said researchers led by Lindsay Zanno of North Carolina State University in an October study. Over the past two decades, consensus among theropod specialists has aligned in favor of Nanotyrannus lancensis representing a juvenile morph of Tyrannosaurus rex.The only evidence that could shatter this consensus would be a skeletally mature specimen diagnosable as Nanotyrannus, the team continued. Enter: Bloody Mary, the nickname for a near-complete tyrannosaur skeleton found unearthed in Montana in 2006. After a scrupulous new look at the specimen, Zanno's team concludes that it demonstrates beyond reasonable doubt that Nanotyrannus is a valid taxon.These results were reinforced by another study earlier this month that argues that Nanotyrannus was a distinct taxonthat was roughly coeval with Tyrannosaurus rex and is minimally diagnosable by its diminutive body size, according to researchers led by Christopher Griffin of Princeton University.Nanotyrannus supports the hypothesis that dinosaurs may have been flourishing in diversity at the end of the Cretaceous eraright before they got punched by a space rock. In addition to confirming the existence of a new tyrannosaur, the new studies prompts a critical reevaluation of decades of scholarship on Earths most famous extinct organism, meaning Tyrannosaurus rex, said Zannos team.In other words, tyrannosaurs of all sizes were running around together at the end of the Cretaceous period. While T. rex will always reign supreme as the tyrant king of its time, we also salute this new dinosaurian dauphin.In other newsI can haz seas-burger?Welker, Martin H. et al. Exploring the Arrival of Domestic Cats in the Americas. American Antiquity.In 1559, a Spanish colonial fleet was dashed to pieces by a hurricane in Florida. Among the many casualties of this disaster were a cat and a kitten, whose remains were found centuries later in the lower hull of a galleon shipwreck at Emanuel Point, near Pensacola.These felines are, most likely, the earliest cats in what is now the United States, according to a study from April filled with fascinating facts about the fallen felines. For example, the adult cat ate like a sailor, devouring nutritious fish and domestic meat (like pork or poultry), with few signs of rodents in its diet.This suggests the cat was so effective at controlling rat populations that such prey was an insufficient food source, said researchers led by Martin Welker of the University of Arizona.It seems that cats have been impressing people with their legendary hunting prowess for centuries.The study also includes some fun passages about the prized role of cats as pest control on these European ships, including this excerpt from a marine treatise from 1484:If goods laden on board of a ship are devoured by rats, and the owners consequently suffer considerable damage, the master must repair the injury sustained by the owners, for he is considered in fault. But if the master kept cats on board, he is excused from the liability.A resolution for 2026: Bring back cat-based legal exemptions.The search for the ur-starsVisbal, Eli et al. LAP1-B is the First Observed System Consistent with Theoretical Predictions for Population III Stars. The Astrophysical Journal Letters.For generations, astronomers have dreamed of glimpsing the very first stars in the universe, known as Population III. This year, these stellar trailblazers may have finally come into view, thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope and the natural phenomenon of gravitational lensing, which can magnify distant objects in space.Lensed light from an ancient galaxy called LAP1-B, which traveled more than 13 billion years before it was captured by JWST, contains the expected low-metal signatures of Population III stars, according to a December study.Understanding the formation and properties of the first stars in the Universe is currently an exciting frontier in astrophysics and cosmology, said researchers led by Eli Visbal of the University of Toledo. Up to this point, there have been no unambiguous direct detections of Population III (Pop III) stars, defined by their extremely low metallicities.We argue that LAP1-B is the first Pop III candidate to agree with three key theoretical predictions for classical Pop III sources, the team added. LAP1-B may only represent the tip of the iceberg in terms of the study of Pop III stars with gravitational lensing from galaxy clusters.JWST continues to be a JW-MVP, and it will be exciting to see what else it might spy next.A swing-kle in timeNorton, M., Kuhn, J. Towards a history of the hammock: An Indigenous technology in the Atlantic world. postmedieval.Lets close out this wild year with some rest and relaxation in the most soothing of all human creations: the hammock. In a study published last month, researchers meditated on the history of these sleepy slings, from their Indigenous origins in the Americas to their widespread adoption by European mariners and settler-colonists.The work is full of interesting ruminations about the unique properties and its multifaceted purposes, which ranged from rocking newborn babies to sleep at the dawn of life to comforting the ailing in the form of death beds and burial shrouds.The hammock facilitated transitions between life stages like birth, puberty, leadership, and death, said researchers Marcy Norton of the University of Pennsylvania and John Kuhn of SUNY-Binghamton. But it also facilitated more quotidian shifts in the body: sleep, dreaming, entering hallucinogenic states, and healing.What better way to celebrate this weird liminal week, suspended between the past and the future, than an ode to this timeless technology of transitions. Its been so much fun hanging out with you all in 2025, and I look forward to swinging into a New Year of all things Abstract.Thanks for reading and have a Happy New Year! See you next week.

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Fisherman Photis Gaitanos catches a toadfish while fishing from his boat off the coast of Larnaca, Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean, early Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)2025-12-27T05:18:24Z LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) Photis Gaitanos rough fingers adroitly untangle the venomous spikes of a lionfish from a net, throwing the exotic-looking creature into an ice-filled rubber bin along with other fish from the days catch. Unlike a few years ago when he would have mostly caught local staples as sea bream, red mullet or bass, the veteran fisherman now hunts for the invasive species that made its way from the Red Sea to the warming waters of the Mediterranean,Lionfish, with their red and orange-hued stripes and antennae-like barbs that menacingly ward off enemies, threaten to decimate indigenous fish stocks, wreaking havoc on the livelihoods of the roughly 150 professional fishermen in Cyprus.The prickly fish has even made its way as far north as the Ionian Sea, where Italian authorities have asked the public to photograph and report sightings. The East Mediterranean has also seen another invasive Red Sea fish in the last decade: the silver-cheeked toadfish. Known as an eating machine whose powerful jaws cut through fishing nets, decimating fishermens catch, it has no natural predators off Cyprus, allowing its population to explode. That toadfish also produces a lethal toxin, making it inedible. Warmer waters are the culprit Gaitanos, the 60-year-old fisherman, has fished for years in an area a few kilometers off the coastal town of Larnaca, once famous for its fishing bounty. Now, he says, its been more than two years since hes caught a red mullet, a consumer favorite.I have been practicing this profession for 40 years. Our income, especially since these two foreign species appeared, has become worse every year. It is now a major problem (affecting) the future of fishing, he said. How can it be dealt with? Europes General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean says with the sea warming some 20% faster than the global average, the presence of invasive species is progressively increasing in the western basin. Models show that warmer seas as a result of climate change could see lionfish swarm the entire Mediterranean by the centurys end. Warmer waters and an expanded Suez Canal have opened the floodgates to Indo-Pacific species in general, according to Cyprus Fisheries Department.The European Unions Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis, a Cypriot himself, told The Associated Press that more frequent and intense extreme weather, often linked to climate change, could make the Mediterranean more hospitable to invasive species.And thats taking a heavy toll on Europes fishing industry as fishermens catches diminish while their costs shoot up as a result of repairs to fishing gear damaged by the powerful intruders. The native marine biodiversity of a specific region, as in the case of Cyprus, faces heightened competition and pressure, with implications for local ecosystems and industries dependent on them, said Kadis. Fishermen cry for helpGaitanos, who inherited his fathers boat in 1986, is not sure the fishermens grievances are being handled in a way that can stave off the professions decline. We want to show the European Union that theres a big problem with the quantity of the catch as well as the kind of fish caught, affected by the arrival of these invasive species and by climate change, he said.Some EU-funded compensation programs have been enacted to help fishermen. The latest, enforced last year, pays fishermen about 4.73 euros ($5.5) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) to catch toadfish to control their number. The toadfish are then sent to incinerators.Another project, RELIONMED, which began in 2017, recruits some 100 scuba divers to cull lionfish around wrecks, reefs and marine protected areas. The Cyprus Fisheries Department says surveys show that frequent culls could buy time for native species to recover, but its not a permanent fix.Some try eating the problemWhat local fishermen are hoping will catch on with the fish-loving public is a new campaign to serve lionfish as a delicacy after its poisonous spines are carefully removed.Kadis, the EU Fisheries commissioner, said a social media campaign that began in 2021, #TasteTheOcean, had top European chefs and influencers plugging invasive species as a tasty alternative to the more commonly consumed fish. Renowned Cypriot chef Stavris Georgiou worked up a lionfish recipe of his own. For most Cypriots, local taverns with their rich meze menus that feature numerous plates different fish is the way to go. Although eating lionfish has been slow to catch on, many tavernas and fish restaurants have started to introduce it as part of their menu. The bonus is that lionfish is now priced competitively compared to more popular fish like sea bass. At the Larnaca harbor fish market, lionfish cost less than half as much as more popular fish like sea bass.By incorporating invasive species such as lionfish into our diet, we can turn this challenge into an opportunity for the fisheries sector and at the same time help limit the environmental threat caused by these species, Kadis said Stephanos Mentonis, who runs a popular fish tavern in Larnaca, has included lionfish on his meze menu as a way to introduce the fish to a wider number of patrons. Mentonis, 54, says most of his customers arent familiar with lionfish. But its meat is fluffy and tender, and he says it can hold up against perennial tavern favorites like sea bream.When they try it, its not any less tasty than any other fish, he said.___Associated Press writer Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report. MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Hadjicostis covers a challenging and ever-evolving region where the interests of Europe and the Middle East, West and East intersect with consequences that reverberate globally. He is based in Cyprus. twitter instagram mailto

Flight times are displayed at O'Hare airport in Chicago, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)2025-12-27T13:07:27Z BOSTON (AP) More than a thousand flights were canceled or delayed across the Northeast and Great Lakes regions due to snow as thousands took to U.S. roads and airports during the busy travel period between Christmas and New Years.As of Saturday morning, New York City had received just under three inches of snow roughly half of what some forecasts had predicted. At least 1,500 flights were canceled from Friday night into Saturday, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.Newark Liberty International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport posted snow warnings on the social media platform X on Friday, cautioning that weather conditions could cause flight disruptions.The National Weather Service warned of hazardous travel conditions from the Great Lakes through the northern mid-Atlantic and southern New England, with the potential for tree damage and power outages. Forecasters said the storm was expected to weaken by Saturday morning. Ahead of the storm, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for more than half of the state. Acting New Jersey Gov. Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency for all of New Jersey, due to a severe winter storm causing dangerous weather conditions, including heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain. This storm will cause dangerous road conditions and impact holiday travel, Way said in a statement. We are urging travelers to avoid travel during the storm and allow crews to tend to the roads. Drivers should plan their travel accordingly, monitor conditions and road closures, and follow all safety protocols.

CORRECTS NAME OF THAI DEFENSE MINISTER - In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Seiha, left, stands with Thai Defense Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit, right, at the General Border Committee Meeting in Chanthaburi Province, Thailand Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AKP via AP)2025-12-27T05:37:16Z BANGKOK (AP) Thailand and Cambodia signed a ceasefire agreement on Saturday to end weeks of fighting along their border over competing territorial claims. The agreement took effect at noon (0500 GMT) and calls for a halt in military movements and airspace violation for military purposes. Only Thailand has carried out airstrikes, hitting sites in Cambodia as recently as Saturday morning, according to the Cambodian Defense Ministry.The deal also calls for Thailand, after the ceasefire has held for 72 hours, to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held as prisoners since earlier fighting in July. Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side.Within hours of the signing, Thailands Foreign Ministry protested to Cambodia that a Thai soldier sustained a permanent disability when he stepped on an anti-personnel land mine it charged had been laid by Cambodian forces. Defense ministers met at the border to sign the agreementThe agreement was signed by the countries defense ministers, Cambodias Tea Seiha and Thailands Nattaphon Narkphanit, at a border checkpoint. It followed three-day lower-level talks by military officials. It declares that the sides are committed to an earlier ceasefire that ended five days of fighting in July and follow-up agreements. The original July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.Despite those deals, the countries carried on a bitter propaganda war and minor cross-border violence continued, escalating in early December to widespread heavy fighting. Civilians bore the brunt of the fightingThailand has lost 26 soldiers and one civilian as a direct result of the combat since Dec. 7, according to officials. Thailand has also reported 44 civilian deaths. Cambodia hasnt issued an official figure on military casualties, but says that 30 civilians have been killed and 90 injured. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated on both sides of the border.Todays ceasefire also paves the way for the displaced people who are living in the border areas to be able to return to their homes, work in the fields, and even allow their children to be able to return to schools and resume their studies, Cambodias Defense Minister Tea Seiha told reporters after the signing. Each side blamed the other for initiating the fighting and claimed to be acting in self-defense.The agreement also calls on both sides to adhere to international agreements against deploying land mines, a major concern of Thailand. Thai soldiers along the border have been wounded in at least 10 incidents this year by what Thailand says were newly planted Cambodian mines. Cambodia says the mines were left over from decades of civil war that ended in the late 1990s.Following the latest injury on Saturday, Thailands Foreign Ministry noted that the new agreement includes key provisions on joint humanitarian demining operations to ensure the safety of military personnel and civilians in the border areas as soon as possible. Another clause says the two sides agree to refrain from disseminating false information or fake news. The agreement calls for a resumption of previous measures to demarcate the border. The sides also agreed to cooperate in suppressing transnational crimes. Thats primarily a reference to online scams perpetrated by organized crime that have bilked victims around the world of billions of dollars each year. Cambodia is a center for such criminal enterprises. Malaysias leader hails the agreementMalaysias Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was instrumental in putting together the original ceasefire, said the new agreement reflects a shared recognition that restraint is required, above all in the interest of civilians.Many clauses similar to those in Saturdays agreement were included in Octobers ceasefire document, and were open to various interpretations and generally honored only in part. These included provisions concerning land mines and the Cambodian prisoners.The fragility of the new agreement was underlined by Thailands Defense Ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri in a news briefing after Saturdays signing. He said that the safe return of civilians to their homes would indicate the situation had stabilized enough to allow the repatriation of the captured Cambodian soldiers.However if the ceasefire does not materialize, this would indicate a lack of sincerity on the Cambodian side to create sure peace, he said. Therefore, the 72- hour ceasefire beginning today is not an act of trust nor unconditional acceptance but a time frame to tangibly prove whether Cambodia can truly cease the use of weapons, provocations and threats in the area.-Sopheng Cheang reported from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Afghan refugee families heading back to their homeland, gather next to trucks loaded with their belongings as they wait for documentation at the UNHCR Voluntary Repatriation Centre in Azakhel, Nowshera a district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad, File)2025-12-27T05:11:33Z KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) For 10 hours a day, Rahimullah sells socks from his cart in eastern Kabul, earning about $4.5 to $6 per day. Its a pittance, but its all he has to feed his family of five.Rahimullah, who like many Afghans goes by only one name, is one of millions of Afghans who rely on humanitarian aid, both from the Afghan authorities and from international charity organizations, for survival. An estimated 22.9 million people nearly half the population required aid in 2025, the International Committee for the Red Cross said in an article on its website Monday.But severe cuts in international aid including the halting of U.S. aid to programs such as food distribution run by the United Nations World Food Program have severed this lifeline.More than 17 million people in Afghanistan now face crisis levels of hunger in the winter, the World Food Program warned last week, 3 million more than were at risk more than a year ago. The slashing in aid has come as Afghanistan is battered by a struggling economy, recurrent droughts, two deadly earthquakes and the mass influx of Afghan refugees expelled from countries such as Iran and Pakistan. The resulting multiple shocks have severely pressured resources, including of housing and food. UN appeals for helpTom Fletcher, the U.N. humanitarian chief, told the Security Council in mid-December that the situation was compounded by overlapping shocks, including the recent earthquakes and increasing restrictions on humanitarian aid access and staff.While Fletcher said nearly 22 million Afghans will need U.N. assistance in 2026, his organization will focus on 3.9 million facing the most urgent need of lifesaving help due to reduced donor contributions.Fletcher said this winter was the first in years with almost no international food distribution. As a result, only about 1 million of the most vulnerable people have received food assistance during the lean season in 2025, compared to 5.6 million last year, he said. The year has been devastating for U.N. humanitarian organizations, which have had to cut thousands of jobs and spending in the wake of aid cuts.We are grateful to all of you who have continued to support Afghanistan. But as we look towards 2026, we risk a further contraction of life-saving help at a time when food insecurity, health needs, strain on basic services, and protection risks are all rising, Fletcher said. Returning refugeesThe return of millions of refugees has added pressure on an already teetering system. Minister of Refugees and Repatriation Affairs Abdul Kabir said Sunday that 7.1 million Afghan refugees had returned to the country over the last four years, according to a statement on the ministry website.Rahimullah, 29, was one of them. The former Afghan Army soldier fled to neighboring Pakistan after the Taliban seized power in 2021. He was deported back to Afghanistan two years later, and initially received aid in the form of cash as well as food.The assistance was helping me a lot, he said. But without it, now I dont have enough money to live on. God forbid, if I were to face a serious illness or any other problem, it would be very difficult for me to handle because I dont have any extra money for expenses. The massive influx of former refugees has also sent rents skyrocketing. Rahimullahs landlord has nearly doubled the rent of his tiny two-room home, with walls made half of concrete and half of mud and a homemade mud stove for cooking. Instead of 4,500 afghanis (about $67), he now wants 8,000 afghanis (about $120) a sum Rahimullah cannot afford. So he, his wife, daughter and two young sons will have to move next month. They dont know where to.Before the Taliban takeover, Rahimullah had a decent salary and his wife worked as a teacher. But the new governments draconian restrictions on women and girls mean women are barred from nearly all jobs, and his wife is unemployed.Now the situation is such that even if we find money for flour, we dont have it for oil, and even if we find it for oil, we cant pay the rent. And then there is the extra electricity bill, Rahimullah said. Harsh winters compound the miseryIn Afghanistans northern province of Badakhshan, Sherin Gul is desperate. In 2023, her family of 12 got supplies of flour, oil, rice, beans, pulses, salt and biscuits. It was a lifesaver.But it only lasted six months. Now, there is nothing. Her husband is old and weak and cannot work, she said. With 10 children, seven girls and three boys between the ages of 7 and 27, the burden of providing for the family has fallen on her 23-year-old son the only one old enough to work. But even he only finds occasional jobs.There are 12 of us and one person working cannot cover the expenses, she said. We are in great trouble.Sometimes neighbors take pity on them and give them food. Often, they all go hungry. There have been times when we have nothing to eat at night, and my little children have fallen asleep without food, Gul said. I have only given them green tea and they have fallen asleep crying.Before the Taliban takeover, Gul worked as a cleaner, earning just about enough to feed her family. But the ban on women working has left her unemployed, and she said she developed a nervous disorder and is often sick.Compounding their misery is the harsh cold of the northern Afghan winter, when snow halts construction work where her son can sometimes find jobs. And there is the added expense of firewood and charcoal.If this situation continues like this, we may face severe hunger, Gul said. And then it will be very difficult for us to survive in this cold weather.___Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed to this report.

Hoda Abrahim, founder and CEO of, "Love, Inshallah," a matchmaker featured on the series, "Muslim Matchmaker," on Hulu, appears in her home on Aug. 11, 2025, in Conroe, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)2025-12-27T13:14:11Z COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Whether its stand-up comedy specials or a dramedy series, when Muslim American Mo Amer sets out to create, he writes what he knows.The comedian, writer and actor of Palestinian descent has received critical acclaim for it, too. The second season of Amers Mo documents Mo Najjar and his familys tumultuous journey reaching asylum in the United States as Palestinian refugees.Amers show is part of an ongoing wave of television from Arab American and Muslim American creators who are telling nuanced, complicated stories about identity without falling into stereotypes that Western media has historically portrayed. Whenever you want to make a grounded show that feels very real and authentic to the story and their cultural background, you write to that, Amer told The Associated Press. And once you do that, it just feels very natural, and when you accomplish that, other people can see themselves very easily. At the start of its second season, viewers find Najjar running a falafel taco stand in Mexico after he was locked in a van transporting stolen olive trees across the U.S.-Mexico border. Najjar was trying to retrieve the olive trees and return them to the farm where he, his mother and brother are attempting to build an olive oil business. Both seasons of Mo were smash hits on Netflix. The first season was awarded a Peabody. His third comedy special on Netflix, Mo Amer: Wild World, premiered in October. Narratively, the second season ends before the Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but the series itself doesnt shy away from addressing Israeli-Palestinian relations, the ongoing conflict in Gaza or what its like for asylum seekers detained in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers. In addition to Mo, shows like Muslim Matchmaker, hosted by matchmakers Hoda Abrahim and Yasmin Elhady, connect Muslim Americans from around the country with the goal of finding a spouse.The animated series, #1 Happy Family USA, created by Ramy Youssef, who worked with Amer to create Mo, and Pam Brady, follows an Egyptian American Muslim family navigating life in New Jersey after the 9/11 terrorists attack in New York. Current events have an influenceThe key to understanding the ways in which Arab or Muslim Americans have been represented on screen is to be aware of the historical, political, cultural and social contexts in which the content was created, said Sahar Mohamed Khamis, a University of Maryland professor who studies Arab and Muslim representation in media.After the 9/11 attacks, Arabs and Muslims became the villains in many American films and TV shows. The ethnic background of Arabs and the religion of Islam were portrayed as synonymous, too, Khamis said. The villain, Khamis said, is often a man with brown skin with an Arab-sounding name. A show like Muslim Matchmaker flips this narrative on its head, Elhady said, by showing the ethnic diversity of Muslim Americans.Its really important to have shows that show us as everyday Americans, said Elhady, who is Egyptian and Libyan American, but also as people that live in different places and have kind of sometimes dual realities and a foot in the East and a foot in the West and the reality of really negotiating that context. Before 9/11, people living in the Middle East were often portrayed to Western audiences as exotic beings, living in tents in the desert and riding camels. Women often had little to no agency in these media depictions and were confined to the harem a secluded location for women in a traditional Muslim home.This idea, Khamis said, harkens back to the term orientalism, which Palestinian American academic, political activist and literary critic Edward Said coined in his 1978 book of the same name.Khamis said, pointing to countries like Britain and France, the portrayal in media of people from the region was created and manufactured, not by the people themselves, but through the gaze of an outsider. The outsiders in this case, he said, were the colonial/imperialist powers that were actually controlling these lands for long periods of time.Among those who study the ways Arabs have been depicted on Western television, a common critique is that the characters are bombers, billionaires or belly dancers, she said. The limits of representationSanaz Alesafar, executive director of Storyline Partners and an Iranian American, said she has seen some wins with regard to Arab representation in Hollywood, noting the success of Mo, Muslim Matchmaker and #1 Happy Family USA. Storyline Partners helps writers, showrunners, executives and creators check the historical and cultural backgrounds of their characters and narratives to assure theyre represented fairly and that one creators ideas dont infringe upon anothers. Alesafar argues there is still a need for diverse stories told about people living in the Middle East and the English-speaking diaspora, written and produced by people from those backgrounds. In the popular imagination and popular culture, were still siloed in really harmful ways, she said. Yes, were having these wins and these are incredible, but that decision-making and centers of power still are relegating us to these tropes and these stereotypes.Deana Nassar, an Egyptian American who is head of creative talent at film production company Alamiya Filmed Entertainment, said its important for her children to see themselves reflected on screen for their own self image. Nassar said she would like to see a diverse group of people in decision-making roles in Hollywood. Without that, its a clear indication that representation is just not going to get us all the way there, she said.Representation can impact audiences opinions on public policy, too, according to a recent study by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Results showed that the participants who witnessed positive representation of Muslims were less likely to support anti-democratic and anti-Muslim policies compared to those who viewed negative representations. For Amer, limitations to representation come from the decision-makers who greenlight projects, not from creators. He said the success of shows like his and others are a start, but he wants to see more industry recognition for his work and the work of others like him.Thats the thing, like just keep writing, thats all its about, he said. Just keep creating and keep making and thankfully I have a really deep well for that, so Im very excited about the next things, he said.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. PATRICK AFTOORA-ORSAGOS Aftoora-Orsagos is a video journalist covering breaking news for The Associated Press. He is based in Columbus, Ohio. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Japanese boxing stars Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani won their respective fights Saturday, setting up a 2026 showdown between two of the world's best pound-for-pound fighters.

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to play Saturday night against the Bulls, as long as he clears his pregame routine without any issues, sources confirmed to ESPN.

Friday's "SmackDown" saw a new champion being crowned and the Cody Rhodes-Drew McIntyre rivalry reaching a new level.

The Saudis ramped up their rhetoric against a faction that has seized parts of Yemen in recent weeks.

But when I see Demi Moore, 63, looking far younger than me at 48, I wonder if I should be figuring out a way to keep up.

A man holds an imaginary depiction of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad who is revered by Syria's Alawite community, during the funeral of victims of an attack a day earlier at the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in the predominantly Alawite Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood of Homs, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)2025-12-27T10:00:01Z HOMS, Syria (AP) Hundreds of mourners gathered Saturday in the rain and cold outside of a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs for the funeral of eight people killed in a bombing, as an imam warned that the attack could spark more sectarian violence. The crowd assembled next to the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque, the target of Fridays attack that also wounded 18 others. The population of the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood, where the mosque is located, is predominantly from the Alawite minority. They later drove in convoys to bury the victims.Officials have said the preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque but have not yet publicly identified a suspect. A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its Telegram channel, in which it indicated that the attack intended to target members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam whom hard-line Islamists consider to be apostates. The same group had previously claimed a suicide attack in June in which a gunman opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in Dweila, on the outskirts of Damascus, killing 25 people as worshippers prayed on a Sunday. A neighbor of the mosque, who asked to be identified only by the honorific Abu Ahmad (father of Ahmad) out of security concerns, said he was at home when he heard the sound of a very very strong explosion. He and other neighbors went to the mosque and saw terrified people running out, he said. They entered and began trying to help the wounded. Sheikh Mohieddin Salloum, the imam of the mosque, who was lightly injured in the explosion, said the mosque was Alawite but was open to Muslims of other sects to come and pray, and they often did so.This is Gods house our Sunni neighbors come and pray here with us, but in small numbers. They might be five or 10 out of 300 attendees during Friday prayer, he said. Salloum said he believes the attack was intended to set off a new round of sectarian strife as the country struggles to heal after a nearly 14-year civil war that ended with the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in December 2024. Anger was palpable among Alawite residents who gathered for the funeral, but the imam called for calm.They set an explosion in an Alawite mosque to create emotions of hate and anger among the Alawites, and maybe a few days later someone will set off an explosion in a Sunni mosque and say that the Alawites took revenge, Salloum said. Then the idiots from both sides will come and start fighting, and well all be dragged behind them if we dont keep level heads.The country has experienced several waves of sectarian clashes since Assads fall. Assad, an Alawite, fled the country to Russia. In March, an ambush carried out by Assads supporters against security forces triggered days of violence that left hundreds of people dead, most of them Alawites. Since then, although the situation has calmed, Alawites have been targeted sporadically in sectarian attacks. Syrian government officials condemned Fridays attack and pledged to hold the perpetrators accountable.Mourners prayed outside because they were unable to enter the mosque as the crime scene remained cordoned off. Some marched through the streets chanting Ya Ali, a reference to the Prophet Muhammads cousin and son-in-law whom Shiite Muslims consider to be his rightful successor.

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The shadow of a supporter of former President Jair Bolsonaro is cast on an image of him displayed outside the hospital where he was transported from prison for surgery the next day, in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)2025-12-27T16:54:36Z SAO PAULO (AP) A Brazilian judge on Saturday issued house arrest orders for 10 people who have been convicted and sentenced for participating in a plot to keep former President Jair Bolsonaro in power after he lost the 2022 election.The decision by Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes came just hours after authorities in neighboring Paraguay arrested a former police commander, who also had been convicted in the plot and returned him to Brazil.Silvinei Vasques, the former director of Brazils Federal Highway Police, was extradited to Brazil on Friday night, after he had secretly entered Paraguay and attempted to board a flight to El Salvador using Paraguayan documents. According to Brazilian police, Vasques tore off his ankle monitor on Thursday and drove to Paraguay in a rental car.The 10 people subjected to house arrest orders Saturday had been facing cautionary measures, like the use of ankle monitors, or had been ordered to stay at the same location every night. They include Filipe Martins, a former adviser to Bolsonaro. Martins lawyer, Jeffrey Chiquini, said on X that they will file an appeal. There is no greater injustice than condemning a person for the actions of another, Chiquini said. Bolsonaro was convicted and sentenced to 27 years in prison in September for attempting a coup to remain in office despite his 2022 electoral defeat. The trials against Bolsonaro and several generals and police officers accused of participating in the plot have been closely followed in Brazil, where democracy was reinstated in 1985, after decades of military rule. U.S. President Donald Trump initially described the proceedings against ideological ally Bolsonaro as a witch hunt and raised tariffs on Brazilian imports over Bolsonaros trial, which he described as an international disgrace. The Trump administration had also placed financial sanctions against de Moraes, the lead judge in Bolsonaros trial. But the U.S. government appears to have softened its stance following Bolsonaros conviction. . In November, Trump signed an executive order lowering tariffs on Brazilian beef and coffee, two of the countrys largest exports to the United States.Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury lifted sanctions against de Moraes and his wife, as both nations continue to engage in trade negotiations.___Manuel Rueda reported from Bogota, Colombia.___Follow the APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Jeffrey R. Holland, member of the quorum of the twelve apostles, speaks during a news conference at the Conference Center, in Salt Lake City, Jan. 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File )2025-12-27T15:01:02Z SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Jeffrey R. Holland, a high-ranking official in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was next in line to become the faiths president, has died. He was 85.Holland died early Saturday morning from complications associated with kidney disease, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced on its website.Holland, who died in Salt Lake City, led a governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which helps set church policy while overseeing the many business interests of what is known widely as the Mormon church. He was the next longest-tenured member of the Quorum of the Twelve after President Dallin H. Oaks, making him next in line to lead the church under a long-established succession plan.Henry B. Eyring, who is 92 and one of Oaks two top counselors, is now next in line for the presidency. Holland had been hospitalized during the Christmas holiday for treatment related to ongoing health complications, the church said. Experts on the faith pointed to his declining health in October when Oaks did not select Holland as a counselor. He attended several church events that month in a wheelchair.His death leaves a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve that Oaks will fill in coming months, likely by calling a new apostle from a lower-tier leadership council. Apostles are all men in accordance with the churchs all-male priesthood. Holland grew up in St. George, Utah, and worked for many years in education administration before his call to join the ranks of church leadership. He served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University, the Utah-based faiths flagship school, from 1980 to 1989 and was a commissioner of the churchs global education system. Under his leadership, the Provo university worked to improve interfaith relations and established a satellite campus in Jerusalem. The Anti-Defamation League later honored Holland with its Torch of Liberty Award for helping foster greater understanding between Christian and Jewish communities. Holland is widely remembered for a 2021 speech in which he called on church members to take up metaphorical muskets in defense of the faiths teachings against same-sex marriage. The talk, known colloquially as the musket fire speech, became required reading for BYU freshmen in 2024, raising concern among LGBTQ+ students and advocates.Holland was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Terry Holland. He is survived by their three children, 13 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.-This story has been corrected to show that Holland was preceded in death by his wife.-Associated Press Writer Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed. HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Schoenbaum is a government and politics reporter based in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also covers general news in the Rockies and LGBTQ+ rights policies in U.S. statehouses. twitter mailto

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Rescuers carry the body of a victim after Russian drone hit a multi-storey apartment building during a massive missile and drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)2025-12-27T07:15:53Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russia attacked Ukraines 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.Explosions boomed across Kyiv as the attack began in early morning and continued for hours.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday for further talks on ending the nearly four-year war. Zelenskyy told reporters he and Trump plan to discuss several matters including security guarantees and territorial issues in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.This attack is Russias answer on our peace efforts. It really shows that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin doesnt 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. Apartment buildings hitThe Russian Defense Ministry said 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 Ukraines forces and military-industrial enterprises.But several residential buildings were struck.The ministry said the strike was in response to Ukraines 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 didnt report any damage or casualties. It wasnt immediately clear whether those were included in the Defense Ministrys count. Russia claims territorial gainsIn 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.Russias 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 and the city of Huliaipole in the Zaporizhzhia region.There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials. Ukraines General Staff on Saturday afternoon reported attempts by Russian forces to push Ukrainian defenders from their positions in a number of areas, including Myrnohrad, and Kyivs forces repelling enemy attempts to advance in the areas of Huliaipole and Bilohiria. 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. Poland on alertPoland scrambled fighter jets and closed airports in Lublin and Rzeszow near the border with Ukraine for several hours during the Russian attacks, the countrys 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, Ukraines 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. Screams as man burns to deathMore 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 cant 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 wasnt 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 Ukraines Emergency Service. In the Vyshhorod area, emergency crews rescued one person found under the rubble of a destroyed house.Ukraines 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 prioritizedZelenskyy told reporters he would aim to ensure there were as few unresolved issues as possible in talks with Trump, while respecting Ukraines 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 alliances 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, including the Donetsk region and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would never recognize any territory as Russian under any circumstances.___Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, and Rob Gillies in Toronto, contributed to this report. ___Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine SAMYA KULLAB Kullab is an Associated Press reporter covering Ukraine since June 2023. Before that, she covered Iraq and the wider Middle East from her base in Baghdad since joining the AP in 2019. twitter instagram mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

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San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, who had come off the bench in seven straight games since returning from a strained left calf that kept him out for 12 games, returned to the starting lineup on Saturday night at home against the Utah Jazz.