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My wife and I are one and done' on kids. We're also one and done' with unsolicited advice about our decisionFor a few years now, I've kept a few vials of a stranger's sperm on ice. Not just hanging out in my freezer next to the frozen peas, to be clear. They're in a fancy cryobank and every six months a $285 charge pops up on my credit card statement for the privilege of storing them.I've been justifying that hefty price tag as the cost of keeping my options open. My wife and I have a perfect little three-year-old girl and we've ummed and ahhed about having another one. (I won't get into the specifics of assisted reproduction, but if you're a same-sex female couple, then sperm is kinda key.) We've held on to our toddler's baby things just in case a second one appears: our basement is full of boxes of old toys and clothes. It looks like we're going to have to clear out and cancel that sperm storage, however - we've finally decided that we are firmly in the one and done" club.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Green Bay and Minnesota have been flexed into the late-afternoon slot over Dallas-Philadelphia in what could be a preview of the NFC Championship GameGreen Bay Packers (11-4) v Minnesota Vikings (13-2)

Buy a power bank and write a will. You'll need a bug-out bag' packed and ready to go. In Kyiv, we've learned how to survive Russia's hybrid warfareDay 1,024 of the invasion. Kyiv, 7am. Friday the 13th. In a former life, someone would have observed that this is a day that portends bad luck. But in a country where shelling is a daily occurrence, it has become irrelevant. I wake up to the sound of an app on my phone warning me of an increased missile threat. While my partner and I are hiding in the corridor, I read the news that the Nato chief, Mark Rutte, has called on members of the US-led transatlantic alliance to shift to a wartime mindset".With the first bang of the air defence system, a thought strikes me: for those who have not already been living with it for nearly three years, how would you explain this mindset? What is this wartime thinking? Continue reading...

We cooked ragu and listened to records while lying on chaises longues. Then the M11 link road was built - and everything changed

I read 52 books that year and I've kept the habit up in the years that followed, the routine now firmly established

Kathy Hochul calls for ousting of correction officers and nurse allegedly involved in death of Robert Brooks, 43The New York governor, Kathy Hochul, has directed 14 workers at a state prison to be fired after they were allegedly involved in an attack that resulted in the death of an incarcerated man.Robert Brooks, 43, died in a local hospital a day after a 9 December incident at the Marcy correctional facility in central New York. Continue reading...

Outgoing Senate leader also says 235 judges appointed by Biden will preserve departing president's legacyDemocrats will rely on judges appointed by Joe Biden to protect his White House legacy from Donald Trump and blunt the most extreme elements of the president-elect's agenda, the outgoing Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, has said.Schumer, a senator for New York and the highest-ranking elected Jewish official in US history, said the party would use the judiciary to spearhead a fightback following an election defeat that left a Republican trifecta" in control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. Continue reading...

Northwest Naturals has told customers to throw out Feline Turkey Recipe pet food after batch tested positive for virusA voluntary recall of raw and frozen cat food has been issued in Oregon after a cat that died of bird flu was linked to the product, state officials have said.Northwest Naturals has instructed customers of its Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food to throw out the product if its sell-by date falls between 21 May 2026 and 23 June 2026. Continue reading...

On Truth Social, president-elect also lashes out at Chinese troops in Panama Canal and Canadian PM Justin TrudeauDonald Trump has told 37 people on death row who had their sentences commuted by Joe Biden to go to hell" in a lacerating Christmas Day social media post.The president-elect - long a vocal advocate of capital punishment - lashed out at Biden's decision on his Truth Social platform, after wishing a merry Christmas to political opponents he addressed as Radical Left Lunatics". Continue reading...

Over the holidays, this column will explore next year's urgent issues. Today we look at the crisis in western democracy, Donald Trump's victory and the role played by digital mediaIn November 2020, shortly after DonaldTrump's defeatin the US presidential election, Barack Obama observed that America risked entering anepistemological crisis". The prospect of MrTrump's return to the White House in January validates his predecessor's premonition.Mr Obama was talking about media fragmentation and polarisation: different segments of society existing in discrete information spaces; arguments no longer drawn from a common reservoir of facts; no shared reality, no foundation of truth. Then by definition themarketplace of ideas doesn't work," he said. Andby definition our democracy doesn't work."Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Tom Homan also said that undocumented parents of US-born children will be deported, with or without their kidsUS immigration authorities will resume the controversial policy of putting families with children in detention centres as part of a drive to deport undocumented immigrants, the incoming Trump administration's border czar", Tom Homan, has said.Homan, regarded as the architect" of the widely vilified family separation policy applied to undocumented immigrants in the first Trump administration, also said officials would not hesitate to deport parents whose children were American citizens because they had been born in the US. Continue reading...

Every day, we walk Odie along the same paths. He eats the same food at the same time. And yet, for him our bounties feel limitlessThe last patient on my rounds is elderly, cognitively impaired and wonderfully complimentary. The nurse is dedicated. Dutiful interns like mine go places. She loves my dress. We joyfully acknowledge these statements because we dread the next, heartbreaking question: Do you know I have a dog?"Lizzy is a corgi named after the late Queen. For 10 years, they have lived and grown as one, watching television, pottering in the garden and sleeping side by side. Continue reading...

From comedy to courtroom drama, if you thought you'd seen it all before, that's because this year ... you hadIf 2024 was defined by anything, it was a distinct feeling of deja vu. Donald Trump ran and won, Death Cab and Janet Jackson headlined music festivals, and aesthetes on social media lusted after Windows Vista design language circa 2007. Same old, same old - almost. Because 2024 was also the year of unexpected second chances: in some very special cases, those who suffered a fall from grace or otherwise unfortunate first run in the spotlight got another shot at glory. Call it a comeback, a redemption, or deja vu all over again ... for better or worse, it was their year once more. . Continue reading...

Announcement comes as Trump has threatened to reassert control over canal, which US handed to Panama in 1999President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated the Miami-Dade county commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera to serve as ambassador to Panama.Trump described Cabrera as a fierce fighter for America First principles" who he said has been instrumental in driving economic growth and fostering international partnerships. Continue reading...

The party is already looking ahead to the 2028 election, with a bench of contenders ready to take the mantleStill reeling from Kamala Harris's defeat to Donald Trump in the 2024 election, Democrats are already looking ahead to 2028 and assessing potential candidates for the White House. While some believe Harris deserves another shot, others are calling for a change of direction and new blood. The race appears to be wide open but state governors feature prominently because of their executive experience and ability to combat Trump's policies. Here are a dozen of the leading contenders: Continue reading...

Approaching disagreements with respect and curiosity can deepen our connections with even difficult relatives

So much of early 2000s indie' music was nothing but a backward-looking rerun of movements pastYou've probably noticed it by now: the smeared makeup in fashion editorials, the messy girl" style of gen Z celebrities like Olivia Rodrigo, and the dance-y, LCD Soundsystem-esque sound of artists like the Dare and ... well, LCD Soundsystem, whose reunited lineup seems to be playing shows every night now.The no-longer-so-niche pop star Charli xcx further foregrounded it with her breakout hit Brat this past summer, an album whose inescapable promotional cycle improbably combined an embrace by the Harris/Walz presidential campaign - cue Jake Tapper trying to explain brat summer" to your parents - and a birthday party photographed by none other than aughts-era shutter bug the Cobrasnake in his trademark high-flash, low-res style.Each artist ... fits the mold of a bygone trope. Ryan Adams was the self-professed wannabe beat poet guy,' fitting the chain-smoking mold of folk predecessors like Bob Dylan; LCD Soundsystem saw James Murphy fusing rock sounds with electronic elements as had been covered ad nauseum [sic] through the 80s; and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O rocked the costume-heavy art-punk done 20 years prior by Wendy O and the Plasmatics. Continue reading...

Distractions long predated today's fast-moving online world. Young people may well be discovering new ways of paying attention

Show livestreamed on Netflix is first live performance of material from country-themed album Cowboy CarterSome of Beyonce's most iconic moments have been on an American football field. Her barnstorming 2013 Super Bowl performance, complete with a Destiny's Child reunion, was outdone by her guest appearance during Coldplay's 2016 half-time show as she paid homage to the Black Panthers and freaked out a sizeable section of the US establishment (It is now cool' to embrace violence, mayhem and, frankly, even racial separatism in the cause of civil rights," the rightwing Heritage Foundation thinktank fumed at the time). Her 2018 Coachella performance, Homecoming, though not on a football field, featured college football's majorettes and marching bands as she celebrated historically Black colleges and universities.On Wednesday - in a Christmas Day half-time show streamed on Netflix from her native Houston as the Texans played the Baltimore Ravens - she again used a football game as somewhere for her to interrogate and play around with American iconography. Continue reading...

Joseph Benza III, main officer involved in incident with Emmett Brock, pleaded guilty in federal court last weekAt least eight deputies with the Los Angeles sheriff's department have been dismissed for their roles in the arrest and beating of a transgender man in February 2023, the Los Angeles Times reports. An FBI investigation remains ongoing.Deputy Joseph Benza III, the main officer involved in the incident with then 23-year-old Emmett Brock, pleaded guilty in federal court last week to one felony count of deprivation of rights under the color of law, which carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. Continue reading...

Flight left Chicago's O'Hare airport on morning of Christmas Eve and body discovered at Hawaii's Kahului airportPolice are investigating the discovery of a dead body in the wheel well of a United Airlines plane after it landed in Hawaii, the airline and the Maui police department said in statements on Wednesday.The body was found in the wheel well of one of the main landing gears on flight 202, which arrived at Kahului airport from Chicago on Tuesday, United said in an emailed statement. Continue reading...

Donations, not restricted by campaign finance laws, come as industries seek favor with incoming administrationUS business leaders are spending big on Donald Trump's second inaugural fund, which is predicted to exceed even the record-setting $107m raised in 2017.The donations, which are not restricted by campaign finance laws, come as industries and business leaders seek to curry favor with the incoming administration after the president-elect decisively won a second, non-consecutive term in November. Continue reading...

Wemby at The Garden! LeBron v Steph! The biggest day of the NBA regular season tips off on Wednesday with a jam-packed slate of blockbuster matchupsLeBron James made his Christmas debut in 2003. Victor Wembanyama was born 10 days later.That's right: James has been featured on the NBA's big day for longer than Wembanyama has been alive. And on Wednesday - when the league celebrates Christmas with games for the 77th time - the league's oldest player and brightest young star will be big parts of the holiday showcase. Continue reading...

Before he has taken a single executive decision, countries around the world are positioning themselves for his impactA revisionist state has arrived on the scene to contest the liberal international order, and it is not Russia or China, it is the United States. It is Trump in the Oval Office, the beating heart of the free world. The incoming administration contests every element of the liberal international order - trade, alliances, migration, multilateralism, democratic solidarity and human rights.The narrative now at home and abroad is that the US is not what we thought it was. Trump was not an aberration, not a bug, but a feature of American politics and of America's story." Continue reading...

Democrat Kris Mayes is not afraid' of Trump administration and vows to push back against key immigration policiesKris Mayes, the attorney general of Arizona, has vowed to fight the incoming Trump administration over key aspects of its immigration policy, including any attempt to set up deportation camps on Arizonan soil or remove thousands of migrant dreamers" who came to the US as children.In an interview with the Guardian, Mayes said that any move by Donald Trump in his second presidential term to unpick the rights of dreamers to remain and work in the US would be a bright red line for me. I will not stand for an attempt to deport them, or undermine them." Continue reading...

Candy canes, peppermint bark and minty mochas are signs the holidays are here - but how did it come to be?Peppermint has been the reigning flavor of winter since before pumpkin spice conquered the autumn season. Candy canes, peppermint bark, and Starbucks peppermint mochas - now, they're all clear signs that you're overdue to start your holiday shopping.But the association between peppermint and the winter holidays is still somewhat of a mystery. After all, peppermint is an herb commonly harvested in the spring and summer months. Pumpkins and apples are both autumn harvests, so their historical connection is clear. So, how did a minty herb become the icon of the coldest months of the year? Continue reading...

When a terrifying Ebola-like pandemic struck the Roman empire, Christianity offered solutions that the old ways didn'tIn our Christmas imagery, ancient symbols such as fir trees, mistletoe, holly and ivy sit alongside the baby Jesus, Virgin Mary, angels and shepherds. This mixture of pagan and Christian traditions reminds us that Christmas was superimposed on to much older midwinter festivities. Yet had it not been for a devastating pandemic that swept through the Roman empire in the third century AD, the birth of Jesus would probably not feature at all in our winter solstice celebrations.If the New Testament is to be believed, Jesus managed to fit a great deal into his short life. But despite all his wise words, good deeds and miracles - not to mention the promise of everlasting life - Christ was nothing more than the leader of an obscure sect of Judaism when the Romans crucified him in AD33.Jonathan Kennedy teaches politics and global health at Queen Mary University of London and is the author of Pathogenesis: How Germs Made History Continue reading...

I would elbow my mum when she spoke Italian in England, until I realised each part of my identity is more than just a half'

Labour party divided on whether incoming US ambassador should lean on Reform leader's ties with Donald TrumpNigel Farage has said he would be willing to help Peter Mandelson negotiate with the Trump administration, after the Labour grandee was confirmed as Westminster's new ambassador to the US.Lord Mandelson has indicated he believes the Reform UK leader, a friend of Donald Trump, could serve as a link between the UK and the Republican president-elect. Continue reading...

Trump can't reverse commutations of 37 people but says US will be Nation of Law and Order' when he is inauguratedDonald Trump has said he will direct the justice department to vigorously" pursue the death penalty for the perpetrators of violent crimes, one day after Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of most prisoners on the federal government's death row.In a post on Truth Social, the president-elect said as soon as he is inaugurated next month, he will direct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters". Continue reading...

Report comes day after Ford and GM said they'd donate $1m each as big companies look to cozy up with president-electToyota is reportedly donating $1m to Donald Trump's inauguration.The report, per Reuters citing a company spokesperson, comes one day after Ford and General Motors said they would donate $1m each to the president-elect's inaugural fund. The two US automakers will also provide vehicles to the 20 January event, the outlet reported. Continue reading...

IRS says payments going to those who did not claim under 2021 recovery rebate plan in what may be final installmentUS tax authorities have announced that special, $1,400 payments are going out to 1 million taxpayers who did not claim under the 2021 recovery rebate scheme, in what may be a final installment of pandemic-era stimulus checks.The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said in an advisory that the disbursements were a special step" after a review found that many eligible taxpayers who did not receive one or more Economic Impact Payments (EIP), also known as stimulus stimi" payments. Continue reading...

Ruling rejects part of governor-backed law that imposes criminal penalties on librarians for giving harmful' material to kidsA federal judge ruled on Monday that sections of an Arkansas law, which sought to impose criminal penalties on librarians and booksellers for distributing harmful" material to children, were unconstitutional.The law, known as the Arkansas Act 372, was signed into law last year by Republican governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. It was challenged by a coalition of organizations in the state, leading to a lengthy legal battle that concluded this week. Continue reading...

Award in advocating on behalf of women and girls' revoked after suit filed by Lively accusing him of sexual harassmentAn award recently given to actor and director Justin Baldoni, honoring him for courage and compassion in advocating on behalf of women and girls", was rescinded following a complaint filed by actor Blake Lively accusing him of sexual harassment and a coordinated effort to damage her reputation.The Voices of Solidarity Award was granted to Baldoni on 9 December by the Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international non-profit organization focused on women's empowerment. Continue reading...

In Middletown there's little indication that a local luminary will become second in line to the presidencyOrdinarily, the home town of an incoming vice-president of the United States ought to be awash with pride, vigor and celebration one month out from their big day.But across Middletown, JD Vance's home town in south-west Ohio, you would hardly know. Continue reading...

John Bolton delivers scathing critique of Trump's lack of knowledge or coherent strategy: I'm very worried'A major international crisis is much more likely" in Donald Trump's second term given the president-elect's inability to focus" on foreign policy, a former US ambassador to the United Nations (UN) has warned.John Bolton, who at 17 months was Trump's longest serving national security adviser, delivered a scathing critique of his lack of knowledge, interest in facts or coherent strategy. He described Trump's decision-making as driven by personal relationships and neuron flashes" rather than a deep understanding of national interests. Continue reading...

Ground stop, ahead of the busy Christmas travel, had threatened the holiday plans of thousandsAmerican Airlines on Tuesday lifted an hour-long ground stop of all its flights in the US due to an unspecified technical issue, a notice on the US aviation regulator's website showed.American Airlines flights arriving and departing Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky international airport showed short delays Tuesday morning, but it's unclear if those are tied to this technical issue or something else. Continue reading...

Committee found substantial evidence' for allegations including that Gaetz regularly paid for sexThe House ethics committee report on Matt Gaetz, the former Florida Republican congressman who was Trump's first pick for attorney general until he withdrew his nomination, has found substantial evidence" for allegations including that he regularly paid for sex and violated Florida's statutory rape law.Gaetz denies all of the allegations. Continue reading...

Who wants to see the Notting Hill follow-up where it all falls apart? Not me - I'd rather recover my faith in the possibility of loveIn 2003, I wanted to write a column about why Love Actually encapsulated everything bad about Britain, not just our culture, but our entire self-fashioning. The editor said no - we had to draw a line somewhere. I deferred, which was annoying, because I was completely right; everything that's wrong with that film was visible from space.And yet, give it its due, it caught the spirit of the age. It has nauseating class politics: the central love affair, between Hugh Grant's prime minister and Martine McCutcheon's tea lady, is a fairytale precisely because its emotional centre is lottery-winner gratitude, that a prince might fall for a peasant. And this, looking back, was merely the benevolent, festive face of a derision for the working class that, some years later, my colleague Owen Jones would describe in Chavs. Continue reading...

Augustus Holm helped organize a San Diego footwear drive that earned a Guinness World Record - and it started from an idea he had when he was 13Some 18-year-olds who take time off from their studies after graduating high school head off to travel, learn a new language or gain employment. Augustus Holm gathered some friends, gave away more than 21,600 pairs of shoes to families in need and set a world record that he hopes lends even more credibility to his future philanthropic efforts.The 7 December footwear drive that Holm had a major hand in organizing in his home town of San Diego clinched the Guinness World Records mark for largest donation of shoes in 24 hours. But the story neither starts nor ends there, he said in a recent interview. Continue reading...

Despite some theological differences, both denominations look to her as an inspiration for cultivating compassion and hopeI had just finished teaching a class on the Muslim Mary". Many non-Muslims who attended were puzzled to find out that Muslims had a connection with Mary at all, and had no knowledge of how important she is to our belief and practice. This came as no surprise. Half of Americans report they know not much" or nothing at all" about Islam.As a Muslim girl growing up in the overwhelmingly Catholic state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany, Mary was a constant presence in my life. Her images and statues, dotted across my city, smiled at me as I walked to school. At Christmas time, I joined with my classmates to sing songs such as Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht.Zeyneb Saylgan is the Muslim Scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore Continue reading...

North Carolina is the second-largest Christmas tree-producing state, but its farms were walloped by the powerful stormThe 2024 holiday season is in full swing, and as Christmas tree farmers in western North Carolina continue to recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, they say that customers and the local community are stepping up to support them this year.North Carolina is the second-largest Christmas tree-producing state in the US, harvesting nearly 4m trees annually, mainly grown in the western part of the state. Continue reading...

We can share a Christmas ham with people who cast different ballots, even if their decisions frustrate or pain usAs Donald Trump prepares to enter his second term as president, one thing is conspicuously absent (other than Ivanka): the proliferation of articles about how to handle Trump-voting family members at the holidays.During Trump's first term, holiday time was a bonanza for pieces about how liberals could rid their lives of Maga members. Now those pieces are still published, but they seem fewer and farther between, and take a different tone. Instead of focusing on why it's OK to cut off your Trump-voting family members (although a few do still take that tack), they largely emphasize how to get along, find common values and enjoy the holidays without politics. The narrative eight years ago - that Trump voters are irredeemable and should be marginalized - has given way to pleas for understanding and finding common ground.Jill Filipovic is the author of the The H-Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness Continue reading...

We've started building up our own yearly rituals, and asking what we really want to get out of the festive periodWhen people ask what I'm doing for Christmas this year, I've been replying, with not a little bit of glee, that we are going nowhere and entertaining nobody". The almost universal reaction is one of wistfulness, if not envy.Taking the pressure off the festive season and choosing to please only yourselves is something many people fantasise about. Some people feel so hamstrung by responsibility to others (and dare I say it, perhaps are so used to that well-established feeling of Christmas martyrdom) that they never get the Christmas they secretly want.Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The NFL is said to be a passing league with running backs are no longer critical to success. The metrics are telling a different story in 2024 - and not just in Philly and BaltimoreIf you're remotely familiar with the National Football League these days, you know what people say about both modern offenses and the value of running backs within them. Over the last two decades, with the increase in having multiple receivers on the field, and the decreasing value of running backs both in the draft and free agency, it's now writ large that the NFL is a passing game, and that running backs don't really matter.As is the case with any absolute, there's more to the story, and that's been especially true in the 2024 season. Most people already know that Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles and Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens are re-jiggering the concept of running back value with their MVP-level seasons, but there's an undercurrent of creative and effective run games throughout the league in 2024 that is showing up more and more in the metrics. Continue reading...